It’s funny how your opinion can change regarding a character or a movie, depending on your perspective, or even how the character or franchise had itself changed since you last watched the particular character or movie. 

In 2006, not quite yet that controversial director Bryan Singer brought us the next chapter of the Richard Donner Superman universe. He cast a young Brandon Routh as Clark/Superman, an even younger Kate Bosworth as Lois and the really, not nearly that controversial yet Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor. The John Williams magnificent theme music was still in place and as inspirational as ever. 

Basically, Supes has been gone 5 years, but is back to find out Lois has a new guy and a kid. He’s got to adjust, Lex hatches a new plan, which Supes eventually foils but it damn near kills him but not. He survives and the kid is his after all.

When first watching it back in 2006, there was some great stuff in there — Supes saving the plane at the baseball field was incredible and every bit as joyous as the Reeve stuff a generation ago. In fact, Routh did a great job as Supes, easily worthy of Reeve himself but his Clark was simply refreshing and wonderful. Spacey was great as Luthor too. Not as camp as Hackman but great style. Actually, all the performances were great when I think about it.

But there were some concerning issues back then. First, it takes place five years down the road, yet Supes and Lois actually look a LOT younger than Reeve and Kidder. Bosworth actually looked like she could be Kidder’s daughter, not a five year older Lois. Next, the peeping Tom scene, where Supes flies over to Lois and boyfriend Richard’s house to see WTF happened here, using x-ray vision. A bit creepy? Superman’s costume was another thing. Gone was the bright and bold red, replaced by a dark maroon. Hey made the S Shield smaller as well. The new design took some getting used to. And the real elephant in the room, Supes had a kid now. And the circumstances around him felt a bit off. Kinda left a bad taste in your mouth. But aside from that, a pretty good film. 

Flash forward another decade. Warner bros puts out the dark and dour Man of Steel, directed by Zach Snyder. The studio figured if Dark Knight worked so well, let’s go really dark with Supes too. What followed was a great sci fi alien movie with violence and massive destruction porn. It just wasn’t really a “Superman” film. This was followed up and compacted with Batman v Superman.

Meanwhile, over in the comics, long story short, thanks to some dimension skipping and time hopping in one crossover event, Clark and Lois now had a son, Jon, who was about 10. DC comics had since had the new 52 reboot and the Rebirth reboot and things were different. 

So now it’s 2019 and I revisit Superman Returns. Boy. After Man of Steel and BVS, this is a helluva lot brighter and more fun all the way around. And when you can say that about a movie in which Supes gets stabbed with a sharp chunk of Kryptonite, it just goes to show you how dark everything else got. The kid was also cute and a decent actor. Suddenly, after all the changes in the comics over the last several years, him having a kid hardly registered a blip. Even the peeping Tom scene was harmless when you really think about it. He’s concerned about Lois and wants to make sure she’s ok, as well as the kid, because Supes is good at math. It’s not like he stayed and watched bathroom or bedroom antics. He left a minute or two after he got there. After five years, was that really such an offense? Making sure the woman you love and your new found kid are alright?

Yes, Bosworth was still too young but aside from that, this film not only holds up very well but I think is deserving of another look, because the thing is…

…it’s all a matter of perspective. 

Epilogue: it’s not often a certain “take” on a character gets a second chance, much less a third. The Routh version of Superman never got a proper sequel, but it did get a certain kind of closure. In the recent Crisis on Infinite Earths TV miniseries on the CW, we got to see an older version of the Donnerverse Superman played by Routh again. Touching on different points in comics history in the midst of the Crisis, he embodied the Kingdom Come Superman, beset by tragedy, but as the universe realigned after the Crisis, all was set right and this particular Superman was given his happily ever after ending. It was good to see.

Albert Einstein is hilarious in his films

I’ve yet to get The whole family history because the kids don’t talk about it a lot, so I’ll tell you what I know. Many years ago there was a comedian named Harry Einstein, who moved about in the Hollywood circles and in the famed Friar’s club. He socialized with the likes of Milton Berle, Henny Youngman, and the like (look ’em up, kids). By all accounts, he was a quick witted, very funny guy and really beloved by the comedy community and participated in many comedy roasts at the Friar’s club back in the day. In fact, *during* one roast in 1958 in honor of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez, after doing his routine and leaving the podium, Harry collapsed into the arms of milton Berle, who, sensing immediately that this was no gag, shouted for a doctor. Turns out, there were five in the crowd, who got up on stage and after they brought Harry behind the curtain, one doctor cut open his chest with a pen knife and tried to massage his heart. Another doctor tried to use to ends of an electric cord to shock the heart into action again. Then more medical personnel arrived and was working on reviving Einstein for two hours, employing a “pulmonary motor” as they went. Berle had the band play and George Burns began to sing but at every break, the audience heard the sound of the pulmonary motor hard at work behind the curtain. In the end, it was too late and Harry was pronounced dead in the wee hours of the morning. As you can imagine, everyone was devastated, none more so than his wife and oldest son Clifford, who were in attendance. 

One of his sons was named Bob, who was about 14 at the time of Harry’s death. When he was old enough to get a job, he went into advertising. He also did a bit of sketch comedy on the side until getting a call from Tommy Smothers of The Smothers Brothers fame (again kids…), in the late ’60’s, who offered him a writing job on their variety show. A program which would later turn out to be one of the most popular and controversial shows of the era, as they took on the establishment and publicly denounced the Vietnam Nam war every chance they got. Another writer Bob was working with on the TSB was a young man named Steve Martin. After Nixon canceled the Smothers Brothers, Bob Einstein went on to write and produce many other variety shows through the ’70’s and into the ’80’s. Along the way, he created a new character, a daredevil stunt rider named Super Dave Osborne and appeared mainly in six seasons of Showtime’s “Bizarre” with John Byner. Bob had been most recently been appearing on HBO’s Curb your enthusiasm as Marty Funkhouser. Bob sadly passed in January of 2019 but if you ever get a chance to see or hear an old interview with Bob, don’t hesitate, he was one of the funniest guys on the planet. And then there was his brother, Albert.

Albert was only 11 when his father died. As for the name, I guess maybe it was Harry’s sense of humor or a cruel streak somewhere in the family but they named one of their sons Albert Einstein. That had to be tough. Well, at some point, he changed his last name to Brooks and was producing short film clips for Saturday Night live at the very beginning of the show’s run in ’75. Odds are, you know about Albert Brooks but if not, A) shame on you and B) go buy, rent or download Lost in America, Broadcast News and Defending Your Life. Start there. Watch those three in that order. You’re welcome. Then just start looking through his IMDB page. Albert is also one of the funniest guys on the planet.

Just a strange, fascinating, funny family, that happens to have Albert Einstein in it. 

Professor Xanax stepped out into the sun, over the bodies of the slumbering security force as he and his goons exited the bank, their duffels stuffed with cash. The plan had proceeded smoothly. Like any summer Sunday morning at 5AM, the city was deserted. The bank vaults combination and security protocols extracted from the former teller were spot on. His supply of sleep gas was ready. The perfect canvas for a Xanax crime masterpiece. 

Loading their overstuffed duffels into their van, they felt it. A vibration. Low, steady, building. Xanax froze.

“No, it can’t be. He couldn’t know!” 

One of the goons — suddenly sick to his stomach–turned to another and asked “What is that? Everything’s shakin’!”

His pal, now bent over, face screwed up in pain managed to respond..”It’s that… humming guy…..destroys stuff…with…vibrations” and hit the ground, unconscious. The humming grew more devastating -mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Defiant to the last, Professor Xanax, legs like jello, head throbbing, managed to get out in the open, away from the van, as its tires split with successive BANG-BANGBANGBANG!

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Xanax raised his fists high in the air, shaking them at the rooftops, screaming at his unseen foe.

“I know you’re there, you humming freak! One of… one.. of…these days… I’ll….. I’ll*”  and unable to continue, the spasming villain collapsed onto the pavement.

With the perpetrators down for the count, the vibrations stopped. The coast clear, the police rounded the corner, lights flashing. As they mopped up the scene, the captain picked up his communicator and flicked it on “I think we’ve got things in hand here, um… Purple Throbber, thanks again.”

The communicator crackled back: “My pleasure captain. Guess the professor’s information on the silent alarms weren’t all up to date. Take care now.”

The captain looked up at a nearby rooftop and saw only a flash of purple as the hero disappeared once again. 

One of his officers stepped up. “I guess he did it again, saved the day, huh Cap?” 

“I guess he did,” the captain said as he turned back toward the clean up “but really, he’s got to think about changing that name.”

Companies pay millions and millions and MILLIONS of dollars to air 30, 60, or 120 second commercials *during* the Super Bowl. It is definitely an event, seeing the alleged best of the best, most creative commercials of the year. Even if you’re not a football fan, it is fun seeing the whole state of the art technological presentation of the game, an excuse for getting people together at a SB party, the whole shebang. It’s a fun time! The only negative being having to go to work Monday morning if the party was too successful. Really, Super Bowl Sunday night is a well crafted production on every level. The fans win, the advertisers win, the networks win. And some years, like this one, there’s the extra added bonus of this being a very anticipated match up. Even if you’re not a huge football fan (me), watching the two best teams go at it on the ultimate stage is usually worth watching.

But what I cannot figure out — is why, the last few years, that they’ve started showing the big, Super Bowl commercials ahead of time. Why spill the beans before the big moment? You, the advertisers, are paying 5.6 million for a 30 second commercial to be shown specifically during the Super Bowl, watched each year, fairly consistently, by over 100 million people worldwide. 

Now, I’ve worked in promotion in the past. I’ve drawn literally thousands of storyboards for ad agencies over the decades. Some of them have gone on to be produced and shown during the big game itself. You want maximum impact and you want your product to be remembered and memorable. The Super Bowl gives you the spotlight, a true moment to shine. And don’t forget the 5.6 mil you spent for every 30 second chunk of that spotlight. And you know there are people who watch the SB *just* for the commercials.

So sorry, but it seems the height of idiocy to me to take away from that spotlight and throw your babies out there on the Internet a couple days early. After the SB, the commercials are out there forever. Why spoil your big moment two days earlier? Lessens the impact. It just mystifies me. 

Hey, some of the smaller companies out there? Who can’t afford the ad prices during the big game? You should throw a couple new commercials out on line a couple days before the big game. If nothing else, it might make it seem as if you’re big-ballin’ it with the Doritos, Coca Cola, Chevy or Budweiser elite commercials. It might up your profile, you knows?

Hell, *somebody* should do something clever here. 

Sounds like something you need a lime wedge for. As I lay here with abnormal amounts of phlegm that keeps hanging on eight days after the worst of my cold has already passed, sure, I worry about extinction level events. 

Originating in some China zoo/market/carnival/bathhouse (?), Chinese officials have been incredibly proactive getting the word out to the rest of the world about this strain of coronavirus and they are to be commended for that. That’ll probably save lives. But hearing the death toll taking a sharp up-turn in China, I sometimes wonder if this will be *the* virus, the one that takes a huge bite out of humanity like some Hollywood blockbuster film.

“Contagion”, was a 2011 film starring Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law and amongst others, a goopy Gwyneth Paltrow, who makes everyone sick. And in the movie, she’s also Patient Zero! This movie filmed a few scenes in my own little town of Western Springs. It’s the part where the people start fighting each other in a grocery store for the cure, looting starts, small businesses start on fire. Exciting to watch my lil town get destroyed. Good times. 

But I digress — extinction events! Christ, that’s depressing. Let’s just hope this Corona virus can get wrestled under control before it gets too out of hand. And of course fingers crossed on the no asteroids thing. 

“Contagion” rent it today!

I cope with potential global disaster with humor. You should see my one man show “Wit and wisdom, by the Fiery Light of the Astreroid”. I dress up like Mark twain. It’s a hoot.

Gerry Conway got away with murder, back in the day. He was a young kid who got some prestigious writing gigs at Marvel. He’s the guy that wrote Spider-man #121, the death of Gwen Stacy. Must admit, I think I kinda hated him after that for awhile. It wasn’t entirely his fault but that’s another story. This was the early ’70’s and Gerry went on to a stint writing the Fantastic Four, under the editorial eye of Roy Thomas. We’re only going to take a look at one issue from the run though, #137.

Back in the early 1070’s, it was catch as catch can as far as grabbing the latest issues of comics, be it at the grocery store or a 7-11. These businesses got what comics they got when they got ’em. You come in out of the blue or miss an issue, too bad. This was long before there were dedicated comic shops in every town. So I happened upon FF 137 and it was a part two. I had no idea what was going on and this was a crazy, bat-s**t story that I landed in. But I didn’t care, because I opened it up and splash…

Be still, my beating heart. Allow me to unpack all of this because believe it or not, there’s a lot, starting with the artists themselves. John Buscema was the penciler, Joe Sinnott was the inker and Glynis Oliver Wein was the colorist. Buscema was one of the finest illustrators to ever grace the comic book world. He had a graceful style but also delivered power. He was a master at composition, body language, expression, you name it. No one has ever mastered the fluid grace of Reed’s stretching ability like Buscema. Joe Sinnott had been inking the FF for a decade by that point, usually over the pencils of the king himself, Jack Kirby. But Kirby was a very different artist, drawing blocky, powerful figures, a more intense style that often called for a thicker line here and there to suit the power of the king. Sinnott had to adjust to a sometimes more delicate line when Reed was stretching or to accommodate Buscema’s more attractive and refined women. But he did so flawlessly. 

This next part is key — the printing process back then was very crude by today’s standards and the comics were printed on cheap pulp newsprint. So it could sometimes be a trial setting down colors knowing what the end product would be. But Glynis Wein laid down some beautiful tones that complimented the scene and the art but looked damn good even on newsprint. I wanted to show you the original look of the comic page because quite often these days, artwork tends to get “cleaned up” digitally and while it may indeed be cleaner, it’s not necessarily better. The newsprint usually aided in giving a slightly muted tone to the proceedings that would often tone down the more garish colors. Here’s a side by side, how the original may have looked when you cracked open the comic and then the digitally cleaned up and modified version. The cleaned up version isn’t bad but I still like the original a little better. Maybe it’s nostalgia.

Those that do the digital remastering and cleaning up– some know what they’re doing, some have no idea. Some techniques they use will actually subtly eat away at the lush linework of the art and some of the life of the line is lost. But of course, there’s always the original black and white art and when you have the opportunity to see the raw artwork on the page, it’s always a treat and always a better end product with absolutely nothing interfering with the art itself, no color to distract from it, no adverse effect from reproduction, etc. 

Now, the story itself is whackadoo. The Shaper of Worlds is some alien who looks like an albino Skrull (pointy ears) from the waist up and his torso rests on a type of tank travel machine instead of legs. He can grant someone’s wish and actually reshape the reality in your world. We eventually learn that the Shaper observed some two bit hood named Slugger Johnson, who was really missing the “good old days” of the 1950’s, so he just granted his wish and changed the present day into some ’50’s future hybrid civilization, which the FF had wandered into. But since anything Johnson wants gets whipped up by the Shaper, he grants him a castle and medieval guards with ray-guns for his protection. Also turns him into “The Brain”, an Einstein knock off. 

Listen, there’s mind control, with Johnny and fill in member Medusa (from the Inhumans) joining the Wild Ones (Brando type bikers on jet cycles) while Reed and Ben fall under the spell of the Patriots (conservative crew cuts) and when it all hits the fan, the FF start to snap out of it and intervene, Johnson feels threatened and the Shaper creates a creature with the body of King Kong and a Sputnik head (look it up, kids) to fight everybody. At a drive in. (Look it up, kids). 

There’s even a spotlight on how the ’50’s weren’t exactly great for the black populace back then, showing how they were disregarded and ignored by the white, clueless  Patriots.  It was a real Twilight Zone ep wedged into an FF comic but a true case of a kid like me not minding the bizarre elements of the story at all because the art was just so much fun, engaging, powerful. And really, just another day in the lives of the Fantastic Four in the ’70’s because… the Thing IS.

As a Doctor Who fan, first, if you haven’t caught the latest ep, spoilers coming, you’ve been warned.

But damn, showrunner Chris Chibnall has presented fandom with a puzzle regarding who exactly this new Doctor is. What makes this particular puzzle extra tricky is that the guy who set it up, Chibs, may have totally gotten in over his head and the foundation of his little query might be faulty. Like the goofy kid or absent minded grandpa who says they’ve got a really really great card trick, then halfway through it, they realize that no, it won’t work at all. Never mind.

Okay, so this new Doctor, portrayed by Jo Martin. Here are the facts about her we know so far, which aids us in our process of elimination. I am of course assuming that in reference to the following items, Chibs is not lying or screwed up and forgot details while in the planning stage.

1. Chibs says she is definitely not an “alternate Doctor”. She is the real Doctor.
2. She can’t be pre-Hartnell because her TARDIS is in the shape of a police box and that didn’t happen until the Hartnell Doctor escaped Gallifrey and landed in the junkyard on Earth.*
3. She can’t have come into existence after Troughton/before Pertwee, because she didn’t recognize Jodie’s sonic and Troughton had already had one.

*In the time between typing this up and posting, it occurred to me that there is an explanation of why the TARDIS was in its police box shape when Jodie dug it up. Think back to Day of the Doctor, when 10, 11 and the War doctor crowded into the TARDIS. It instantaneously glitches the desktop theme twice in 15 seconds hanging from 10’s to war’s to 11’s. different Doctor’s in direct proximity to the TARDIS can effect it in extreme ways. It’s possible that the old girl, who hadn’t seen her Doctor in who knows how many years, reached out and made a quick link with Jodie and responded to the out shell she knew. Reasonable enough. Plus, Martin didn’t make any comment about a change in appearance because when she got there, it was buried and they teleported right in. A possibility. 

What else am I missing? The only other thing I can think of that fits the narrative is that no, Martin isn’t the alternate Doctor — because *Jodie* is. Somehow, Jodie got shunted to Martin’s parallel universe and she’s the odd Time Lord out. 

If I’m right, I’ll expect a No-prize. I don’t even know if we’ll find out anything more this Sunday, but I hope Chibs has crossed his T’s and dotted his I’s…..

Chris Chibnall is the current showrunner on Doctor Who. He is not thought too highly of as a writer or a showrunner in many circles. Some things about Chibs:

1. In the mid ’80’s, an early teen Chris Chibnall appeared with other members of a Doctor Who fan club on a live TV show with then producer John Nathan Turner and two regular writing contributors, Pip and Jane Baker. Young Chibs was the most vocal of the young, criticizing the previous season 23 as very disappointing, poorly written and often silly. 
2. Because of the popularity of Broadchurch, a show Chibs ran 3 or 4 years ago, the BBC actually wooed him into taking up the showrunning mantle of Doctor Who from the departing Steven Moffat. Chibs signed a five year deal to produce three, 10 episode series in those five years. 
3. Chibs’ first series, 11, was every bit as disappointing, poorly written and silly as the classic season 23 he criticized years earlier. In fact, even worse. After a huge ratings premiere, the ratings took a huge nosedive, and kept sinking, continuing into S12, which kept sinking for the first four eps as people kept on leaving.
4. Chibs wanted to be progressive and forward thinking, so he cast the first female Doctor. But instead of looking for the best candidate for such a momentous occasion, he hired his friend, Jodie Whitaker, who got bored researching the role, so she decided to base her Doctor on Doc Brown from Back to the Future. Whitaker’s lack of gravitas and familiarity with the show and the character have brought her under heavy criticism, while Chibnall’s substandard scripts haven’t served her well.
5. Chibs also wanted to be very progressive and have a diverse spread of companions. People representing all ages, colors and disabilities. He gave initial attention to their backstories and then ignored them and focused on expanding the character of Graham, the middle aged white guy. But to this day, half way through the Chibnall era, all the companions are presented as useless, clueless characters to be written around or shoved to the side. 
6. One of the main complaints about Chibnall scripts in S11 was the tendency to go heavy on preaching in episodes and talking down to the audience, aiming stories at a much younger audience, right down to some very Barney the Dinosaur like lectures or Scooby-Doo physical antics. No conflict, no danger, no real stakes, just blandness. Some people were content with this. Many were not.
7. The BBC is reported to be very very unhappy with what Chibs did in S11 and how it performed so poorly against no other competition on Sunday nights. There may have been some commands or ultimatums put forth. 
8. S12 has seen a jump in the action, raised stakes, more tension, drama and some actual excitement. As of S12, episode 5, roughly the halfway point of Chibnall’s  planned run, “Fugitive of the Judoon” has finally put the Chibnall era on the map, raising eyebrows. People are actually excited by a new, previously unseen incarnation of the Doctor. This time, a woman of color, another first for the show, played by Jo Martin, is a Doctor from the past, but not one who’s remembered by Whitaker’s version. 
9. This episode also featured the return of Captain Jack Harkness, which really had no purpose whatsoever except to maybe giving the three useless companions something to do and someone to talk to. On the bright side, Jo Martin is a vastly superior Doctor to Jodie in every way and she shows this in her every action, every line as the Doctor. Jodie’s at her very best in this one, yet pales in comparison to Jo. But Martin does prove without a shadow of a doubt that a woman can definitely be the Doctor.
10. The upcoming controversy seems to be that Martin’s Doctor may actually be an incarnation that emerged and operated for the Time Lords between 2nd Doctor Patrick Troughton and 3rd Doctor Jon Pertwee, as the audience never saw the regeneration/changeover from Troughton to Pertwee. When last we saw Troughton, he was fading from view into darkness as his features started to change. When we first see Pertwee, he’s stumbling out of the TARDIS, passing out, presumably in Troughton’s clothes.
11. Chibs is seemingly trying to exploit two loopholes here. First, that gap between 2 and 3 I mention above. Second, that the Human metacrisis Doctor that Tennant created in Journey’s end was indeed *not* counted as one of the thirteen bodies, and Martin would be the missing puzzle piece. So I wouldn’t necessarily have an issue with any of that.
12. What I do have an issue with is the fact that Chibnall is always just stealing old story ideas left and right. In Spyfall part 2, he blatantly stole from The Sound of Drums, Age of Steel, Blink, the Big Bang and others. Did it again in Orphan 55 with Mysterious Planet. He did it again Judoon but more subtly (maybe thanks to co-writer Patel). Now, he’s trying to rip off Moffat and the War Doctor idea. If he was a better writer, I’d feel differently about the theft because everyone borrows from the greats. Borrowing from the former greats in your own show, from seasons just a few years earlier though is a bit lame. Maybe desperate.

So I guess we’ll see where Chibs takes the second half of his run. It’s definitely got possibilities, I just wish he was a better writer, a more imaginative one, someone who knew how people interact with other people. He’s absolutely horrible with that aspect. It looks like one or more of the current companions are leaving at the end of S12 and I can only say good riddance. Thanks to the massive amount of crap writing, these three have been a huge waste of dialogue, and a waste time that could have been better spent of more interesting plots and details. 

In Chibs’ “valiant” effort to be so forward thinking on diversity, he never thought about the fact that he’d have a responsibility to these characters to actually flesh them out, respect them and except for Graham, he hasn’t done that. Even the Doctor, and if he doesn’t like or respect characters, the audience won’t either. The mere fact that he thought he was blazing a trail with diverse companions is a joke. In the new Who era, we’ve had Mickey, Martha and Bill, all vastly more well written and realized than any of the current set. 

Even within the TARDIS crew, after a series and a half, they don’t know each other well, the Doctor treats them like distant acquaintances (but calls them her “fam”) and has shown she really doesn’t care about them. The “fam” stumble around planets, gasping and blinking numbly, not even caring much about what goes on. No one else cares, so we don’t either. Chibs has done everyone here a disservice. Let’s hope that with the help of other more gifted writers, he can right the ship a bit in the second half of his era. 

The dead machine burst through the clouds at Mach one within a green sphere. Inside the renegade flight simulator, the test pilot had no control, so he held tight, trying to keep a cool head. In the distance, large rocky outcroppings were approaching very quickly. But just as the pilot’s heart threatened to hammer free of his chest… soft, smooth, deceleration. His craft was then gently lowered and set down on the desert floor near a rocky base. The Green subsided, the simulator hatch yawned open. As the pilot tentatively reached the opening, out beyond the rocks he saw the wreckage. Another crash. Closer, in the shadows, he saw someone lying very still,  head and shoulders propped up against the rocky wall. A few pieces of machinery lay around him… some tools perhaps, and a lantern. As he moved closer, he could tell the stranger was holding his side, injured. And something diff–

He wasn’t human. The pilot stopped, unsure what to do. The stranger’s clothes — form fitting, almost like a streamlined flight suit, green and gray-black. But his skin….it was an intense purplish red. Definitely not human. But whatever, whoever this was, his eyes opened … filled with pain. The stranger’s head turned toward the him, the pilot came to his side, where he could see the wound that was going to kill this man. When the stranger tried to speak, the pilot leaned in closer. 

“What is your….. name?”

“Hal….my name is Hal Jordan. Don’t try to talk. Maybe I can get help.”

“No, Hal Jordan of Earth. My time is… almost finished. That is why I had the ring seek you out. Here…”

The stranger took a ring off his finger, placing it in the pilot’s hand, which he then closed and gripped with his own trembling hands. The stranger from another world then closed his eyes…concentrated… and began talking to Jordan. But Hal realized he could hear the stranger speaking in his head.

Hal Jordan of Earth… I am Abin Sur. I patrol sector 2814 as part of the Green Lantern corps. But my time is done and my ring has chosen you to replace me. I sent it to find someone who is brave, bold, fearless. You, Hal Jordan, are that man. You will command the ring’s energy through will power. The Lantern charges the ring when you recite the Oath. Listen carefully and then repeat it out loud…

A few moments later, Abin Sur was still. The desert air whipped through the rocks.

Hal Jordan stood up. He glanced at the stranger and then down at the ring in his hand. It felt alive. He put it on, and pointed it in the direction of the Lantern next to body of the stran–next to Abin Sur. And then he spoke. A steady voice. Clear, determined:

“In Brightest Day, In Blackest Night,

No Evil Shall Escape My Sight.

Let Those Who Worship Evil’s Might, 

Beware My Power, Green Lantern’s Light!”

And the earth shook.

It was 1959. Writer John Broome and artist Gil Kane created the latest incarnation of the Green Lantern. Hal Jordan would be wielding the ring on and off for over 60 years.  He’s had some good runs in the comics over the years. My favorite is The New Frontier by Darwin Cooke. Hal shares the stage with other silver age DC heroes but it’s a fantastic late ’50’s period piece. Ryan Reynolds did the GL movie a while back– no, it wasn’t as bad as you may have heard and it’s worth a watch. The other popular GL is John Stewart, whose star shines brightest in the animated Justice League series. Well worth checking out. HBO MAX will be producing a new Green Lantern series, which I’m also curious about. There’s a lot to like about the Green Lantern. The Green constructs he creates with the ring’s energy, limited only by his will power. The Guardians of the main power battery on OA, his arch enemy Sinestro, etc. 

But the thing IS…… it’s that Oath….. oh, that oath…

Go ahead… say it out loud. I dare ya. 

***WARNING: Spoilers abound!****

With this daring adventure, Chibnall either began unveiling his own master plan which has been brewing since he got the gig but decided to wait until he was halfway through his run to enact it… or the Beeb had made it very apparent that he had to up his game BIG time to save his butt and maybe Doctor Who itself. FAST. I’m thinking the latter but nevertheless, high octane engaged! 

First he set the scene and kept us wondering what’s really going on while we enjoyed the Judoon being back. That was fun. Then the fam disappeared and no one, especially the Doctor, cared, but that’s normal. She barely thinks about her pet– I mean her “fam”. Then we start wondering what the deal is with Ruth and where’d she get the mad fighting skills!?!! “Baby, she tore off his horn!”

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Second, a chunk of the episode is spent on a diversion. See, once again, the fam are utterly useless. Even with two writers, they have no idea how to utilize them, so hey! Let’s get Barrowman back for an afternoon, that gets him out of Chib’s hair and gives the fam something to do! The viewers will be so shocked at seeing Jack, they won’t realize those ten minutes were a stall! High five!

Third, the real magic happens, instead of a fob watch, it’s a break the glass sign. Instead of the Master, or whoever, it’s the Doctor?! What’s more, this is a more imposing, impressive, better dressed Doctor who frankly has shown up the incumbent in less then ten minutes. Jo Martin has got gravitas, a much nicer console room, mad fighting skills and proves that a woman does have what it takes to be the Doctor. 

Is this Doctor truly pre-Hartnell or from a parallel universe?

I’m still not sure whether to be impressed, amazed or repulsed by the brazen explosion of flash over substance that’s successfully keeping us buzzing about a story that has barely started. But so far, it’s exciting.

CAN Chibs keep this thrill ride moving?

CAN the fam be killed off so we won’t have to waste more time on them in the future?

CAN they deliver a returning audience *and* ratings?

Tune in next time!

Same Who time, same Who channel!

…..because the thing IS…..I have to *rewatch* this one……