A few shorter reviews of marathoned shows in recent weeks:

Moon Knight: Starring Oscar Isaacs in more than one role, to put it unspoilery. He's not quite on a Tatiana Maslany level, but pretty good, and like her has excellent chemistry with himself. I also thought Marvel does a bit better by Egyptian mythology than it does with the Norse gods. ( Spoilery Remarks. )

Werewolf by Night: affectionate homage to Universal and Hammer horror movies, mostly, though not exclusively in black and white. Made me miss Being Human (the UK version).

House of the Dragon: I think I dropped out from Game of Thrones around the fifth season or thereabouts (or was it the fourth? I honestly can't renember), but word of mouth about this one was mostly good, so I thought, why not? Well, I was entertained. ( Spoilery remarks ensue. )

The power of the provider of my internet is with me once more, thus:

( How can this be the season finale? )

In which we had multiple subplots, and I am suddenly very worried for one of the midwives in particular.

( Read more... )

YES! Ever since Graham in Doctor Who outed himself as a Call the Midwife fan, I was hoping the show would reciprocate, and in this episode it did.

( Find out who the Whovian Midwife is under the cut )

I'm not nearly half through the archive, but here are some recs already.

The Americans

The show being over and the finale inspired a lot of great fanfiction this year. Honestly, I could rec the lot, but for now, here are some particular favourites, each imagining the aftermath of the finale and the choices the characters in question make somewhat differently, each feeling plausible:

Gifts Henry's and Paige's first Christmas after.


And you give yourself away: this one focuses on Paige and Philip in two timelines, post finale on the one hand, through her childhood and adolescence on the other.

Walk of Life: Stan and Henry in the immediate aftermath of the finale. Devastating.

Childish Things: sibling-focused story about Paige and Henry until the fall of the wall.

Better Call Saul:

Organized Lightning: how Howard experienced Chuck's backstory breakdown.

Call the Midwife

A way in the wilderness: Shelagh through the years.

The Charioteer

One for the Christmas card list: Reg was my favourite character in this novel, but he hardly shows up in fanfiction. I was delighted to discover this gem which gives us his pov and presents him (and various other of the novel characters) some years into the future. The Alec cameo in particular is great.

Class

Craptastic Beasts: April and Ram in their awkward, tender, PTDS-ridden glory. Loved it.

Historical Fiction

Ascension (There is no I in coup d'etat): Empresses Z'hian and Cixi, survival, and changing Chinese history.

We'll burn that barn when we come to it: this one is hilarious crack AU, Harold/William the Conquerer, and since it's present day a far less lethal ending.


The Lion in Winter:

Lion Rampant, Contourné: Eleanor and Richard. How she created her heir.

When the fall is all there is: this one single-handedly changed my mind about coffeeshop AUs. Eleanor the coffee empress is a hoot, the narrative voice has all of the play's elegant viciousness and affection in it ("One of Henry's sterling qualities is his ability to provide unstinting admiration, even when in the midst of a towering rage. He respects his enemies and his friends, and sometimes even his lovers"), and all the analogues (Henry installing a boutique café "Rosa Mundi" in Lyon!) are a riot. Simply divine.

About to expire from exhaustion. Haven't had the chance to watch any new movies for months. Weeks of literary festivals are fun to experience but draining to organize, is what I'm saying.

So, in brevity.

( Spoilers thought this was one overtly Dickensian episode )

Due to living through some incredibly busy weeks right now (not in a bad way, just in a "can only get online very briefly a few times" way), I didn't have a chance to catch the latest tale of midwives and their patients until now.

( Spoilers are all about fear and dealing with same )

In which reality ensues, and our heroines try their best to cope.

( Read more... )

Nope, am still in ignorance of the Christmas Special, though I did have a chance to watch the first episode of the new season.

( Welcome back, Midwives! )

1. Norma Bates (Bates Motel version)

2. Philip Jennings (The Americans)

3. Missy (aka Gomez!Master) (Doctor Who)

4. Jimmy McGill (Better Call Saul)

5. Rachel Duncan (Orphan Black)

6. James McGraw/Captain Flint (Black Sails)

7. Ahsoka Tano (Star Wars: The Clone Wars)

8. Bernie Gunther (Philip Kerr: The Bernie Gunther Mysteries)

9. Sarah Connor (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles)

10. Alfred of Wessex (The Last Kingdom)

11. Andra'ath/Miss Quill (Class)

12. Londo Mollari (Babylon 5)

13. Phyllis Crane (Call the Midwife)

14. Doc Holliday (Wynona Earp incarnation)

15. Jessica Jones (MCU version)

And you came up with some awesome prompts!

( Now the questions: )