jgmcquarrie

Countdown

Can we count on Coundown to give Jensen Ackles a decent starring vehicle? Um…

What’s The Show? Countdown, Amazon’s attempt to get into the 24 market long, long after that seems like a Sensible Thing To Do.

What’s It All About JG? Starring, let’s say, Jensen Ackles as Detective Mark Meachum, Countdown asks a searingly pointed question – what if thrillers just somehow aren’t dumb enough yet? This one posits a threat which is going to be like 9/11 and Chernobyl, which is quite the thing – Meachum and a collection of the sort of people you always see in this type of thriller have joined a special task force dedicated to stopping whoever it is that’s planning this dastardly and nefarious deed. Not just any task force, see. A special one. Which means they get to do stunts and hacking and jumping and broom-broom fast driving, all while trying to prevent LA being turned into a fair approximation of the dark side of the moon. Oh and then also a potential presidential assassination that needs to be stopped as well, for reasons that seem to have less to do with the story and more to do with having something to do in the last three episodes after inconveniently wrapping up the plot far too early and also curing Meachum. Good luck with all that!

And Introducing… Billy Joel

One of the most successful singer/songwriters of all time, introduced

What’s The Topic? One of the most successful musical artists of the 20^th century, the singer/songwriter Billy Joel.

Billy Joel is one of the few artists who genuinely needs no introduction. A giant of the music industry from the early 70’s until his final album in 1993, Joel has enjoyed commercial success like virtually no-one else. Currently ranked as the third highest selling solo artist in American music history, his commercial success has been vast and, though well-appreciated as both a musician and songwriter, credibility has rarely been one of Joel’s hallmarks. Well loved but, you know, never cool.

Since officially ending his recording career in 1993 after a run of twelve studio albums, Joel has continued to tour to record-breaking success. He is now so popular that he became a resident and franchise of Madison Square Gardens in New York City, performing one concert per month, and was awarded the Kennedy Centre Honours in 2013 for his lifetime contribution to American culture. That’s quite the achievement, that is.

Despite a troubled personal life that’s taken in three marriages, depression, a suicide attempt and alcohol dependency issues, Joel managed to produce record-breaking music successfully for three decades and remains an inescapable part of any story of music in the 20^th century. And with a surprising new single released in 2025 as well as a brand new retrospective, And So It Goes, released the same year and providing a remarkably unflinching look at his career and personal life, it’s a perfect time to rediscover an artist whose back catalogue remains an indelible part of American music.

Superman

Superman is back! But can the character still work in a modern context?

What’s the Movie? Superman, 2025 version

What’s It All About, JG? Superman (David Corinswet) stops Jarhanpur from being invaded by Boravia, a US ally, and, as a result, gets his ass kicked and is defeated for the very first time by a metahuman going by the name of The Hammer of Boravia (which sounds like some kind of black metal band). Landing in Antarctica, he retreats to the Fortress of Solitude – or rather is dragged there by his dog, Krypto – before returning to the fight, unaware that he’s been followed. Later, after Luthor releases a monster in Metropolis to distract Superman and the “Justice Gang” (Green Lantern, Hawk Girl, Mr Terrific), The Engineer (Maria Gabriela de Faria) and Lex Luthor (Nicholas Holt) break in and The Engineer uses the nanotechnology in her body to hack the computer system there. They discover that a damaged message from Superman’s parents contains a second half where they tell Superman he should rule over humanity ruthlessly. Luthor uses this to destroy public support for Superman and ultimately captures him in a pocket universe using Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan), who can create kryptonite with his body.

Superman escapes, saving Metamorpho’s son in the process, while Mr Terrific and Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) find a way into the pocket universe so they can escape. A demoralised Superman returns to Ma and Pa Kent, who tell him it’s what he does that makes him who he is, not some silly message. This gives Superman enough hope that he stops Luthor, who has unleashed a dimensional rift and wants to start the war between Boravia and Jarhanpur, so he could have half of Jarhanpur after. Turns out he’s cloned Superman (which is how he got into the Fortress of Solitude) and used him as the Hammer of Boravia, and the whole scheme was just to take down Superman anyway. He doesn’t, and Krypto – the true hero of this film – takes him down.

Live and Let Die

It’s Roger’s first time in the tux! But does Live and Let Die manage to get the struggling movie series back on track?

Connery’s gone! Yes, again! So rather than a hard-nosed Scot or a slightly effete Australian, step forward instead the debonair, smooth and decidedly English Roger Moore, who takes over the role for the first time. But can his first outing hit the highs of Connery’s tenure? Or will he get lost in the slush like Lazenby?

Pre-Existing Prejudices

Well it’s the Blaxploitation one, isn’t it? James Bond coming up against the then-popular genre certainly isn’t an obvious combination, and there’s no denying the Bond series has generally struggled when it comes to displaying other cultures. I haven’t seen this in a very long time, so whether the racial or cultural politics stand the test of time I don’t know, but I do at least remember a few decent performances. And one which very, very much isn’t (can you guess who that might be?)

Diamonds Are Forever

The second of three exits for Connery but is this one any better than his first effort to leave the role?

Connery’s back! After Lazenby’s attack of ego / poor management advise-inspired decision to turn down a contract for several more Bond movies, Connery steps back into the role after having a metric fucktonne of money thrown at him to persuade him to do so. But now the first Bond has returned to the role, will the movie sparkle as brightly as the titular diamonds?

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Link is back in the sequel to Breath of the Wild! But can Tears of the Kingdom live up to the high standards of its predecessor?

What’s The Game? The second fully open-world Zelda game, Tears of the Kingdom

How Much Did You Know About It Before Playing? A fair amount, this time out. I played through (though for reasons I’m not exactly sure about, didn’t write up) Breath of the Wild. I loved Breath of the Wild. It’s a fantastic game which I thoroughly enjoyed taking my time to explore so I was very much looking forward to playing the direct sequel. I have also watched my partner play through Tears of the Kingdom (well, most of it – he didn’t quite finish it) from A Time Before I Played Zelda when I didn’t especially know what was going on but nevertheless enjoyed seeing him play. So I was pretty clued up on what to expect going into this one.

Doctor Who Season 15/2 Episode Eight, “The Reality War”

So the second Gatwa season bows out but does the last episode stick the landing?

Maybe the point of all this is up there?

What’s The Episode? The Reality War

What’s It All About, JG? Wondering if RTD has ever seen Doctor Who before, strangely. Anyway, following on from last week, the Doctor escapes the falling balcony because Anita from “Joy To The World” opens a Time Hotel door which he can then step through. The Time Hotel doors allow actual reality to start breaking through, so UNIT becomes UNIT again.

Doctor Who Season 15/2 Episode Seven, “Wish World”

The Rani’s (and also the Ranis) have an evil plan! Who would have guessed?

What’s The Episode? Wish World

What’s It All About, JG? Discovering RTD has seen Wandavision (or maybe Pleasantville) for the most part. But story-wise, we start off with the Rani (Panjabi version) in Bavaria, stealing a baby who can make wishes come true. We then find ourselves on a version of Earth where the Doctor and Belinda are married with a child, Poppy, and the Doctor works at UNIT, now an insurance company. Every so often, when someone doubts something, a cup will fall through a table. This is because the Rani is trying to measure doubt (can one assign a number to such a nebulous concept?). Conrad, from “Lucky Day“, has wished this world into existence, so it’s enforced heterosexuality, disdain for the disabled etc. – the typical right-wing fascist fantasy. Eventually, to get the plot moving, Rogue turns up on telly to give the Doctor a push in the direction of something interesting and he ends up confronting The Two Ranis (Panjabi and Dobson). The “current” version reveals she is trying to find…. Omega. Oh good. Then the Doctor plummets to his apparent death while screaming about Poppy being actually real while the world disintegrates.

Doctor Who Season 15/2 Episode Six, “The Interstellar Song Contest”

Is this what it’s come to?

What’s The Episode? The Intergalactic Song Contest

What’s It All About, JG? Eurovision in space, innit? But fine, the Doctor and Belinda turn up at the Intergalactic Song Contest, shit happens and most of it is really, really terrible (the writing, not the events, though also that). Susan pops in for a cameo (the only bit I actively enjoyed) and Mrs Flood is the Rani. Woo. The end.

Doctor Who Season 15/2 Episode Five, “The Story and The Engine”

What is the Story of Doctor Who anyway?

What’s the Episode? The Story and The Engine

What’s It All About, JG? The Doctor lands in Nigeria so he can go hang out in a barber shop with his friend Omo (Sule Rimi), leaving Belinda to cool her heels in the TARDIS. The barber shop has, however, been taken over by The Barber, who has abducted Omo and a few others. The barber, alongside a woman called Abby (Michelle Asante), is using them to power a mysterious engine with the power of stories which the abducted men are compelled to tell. Trying to leave the shop, the Doctor discovers it is both in Nigeria and on the back of a giant spider simultaneously. Fed up of not being in the episode, Belinda eventually arrives and gets caught too.

The Barber reveals he is a storyteller who spread stories of the Gods but received no credit so now wants revenge. The Doctor also figures out that Abby is in fact Abena, someone he met (and abandoned) when he was the Fugitive Doctor – she’s also looking for revenge. The Barber wants to reach the centre of the spider’s web to cut off the gods from the web and killing them, which the Doctor things will destabilise all human culture (or something). Abenda changes her mind on the revenge thing and – via braiding – gives the Doctor a map to the engine’s power source. The Doctor links the engine to his story which overloads it, the Barber is persuaded to let everyone go free, and everyone escapes. Omo retires, the Barber gets the (now normal) shop and Abby goes and gets on with her life.