It’s only Aramis on trial in the season two finale of The Musketeers, but everyone’s about to get punished – generally by death, because Rochefort’s on the rampage. Last week, it seemed like everyone was doomed to die, so could the Musketeers save Constance, Aramis and the Queen from execution, and expose Rochefort’s lies to the world?
by Helen Langdon
It’s only Aramis on trial in the season two finale of The Musketeers, but everyone’s about to get punished – generally by death, because Rochefort’s on the rampage. Last week, it seemed like everyone was doomed to die, so could the Musketeers save Constance, Aramis and the Queen from execution, and expose Rochefort’s lies to the world? by Helen Langdon There is a downside to the traditional way of watching TV, waiting until a specific time for each episode. With The Musketeers, we’ve seen it get pushed back several times for rugby, football and Comic Relief, and now, in the UK, we’ve got to wait a whole week for next week’s conclusion to this thrilling episode (those darn Americans are fine, what with BBC America). In “The Accused”, we got a perfect penultimate episode, well-paced and exciting as it tied together loose threads from the season. Basically, they’re all gonna die. by Helen Langdon The Discworld novels are beloved. And there’s only one way to please everyone when adapting a beloved series – don’t do it. That’s why it wasn’t until 2006, 23 years after The Colour of Magic was first published, for Sky One to start producing live-action adaptations of life on the Great Turtle’s back. by Helen Langdon In the first season of The Musketeers, one of the best things was Porthos. Howard Charles might have been the least well-known actor out of the four, but Porthos was fun, loyal, and deep when it mattered. He got all of the best lines and the episodes that centred on him were some of the best. Which is why this season’s Porthos-lack has been keenly felt, and it seemed like “The Prodigal Father” was going to redress the balance. Sadly, this wasn’t the most scintillating storyline, at least until the last five minutes of the episode. by Helen Langdon “Space – the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise...” Back in 1966, one man had a dream. A dream that would go on to become one of the most iconic sci-fi worlds ever. Exploring the galaxy and beyond, peaceful explorers would be able to tell allegorical stories about contemporary American politics. Gene Roddenberry’s original vision changed the world in multiple ways, from inspiring real-world inventions to creating tropes used across fiction today, and not just in science fiction. In the 49 years since Star Trek first aired, our screens have been treated to five live-action TV shows, one animated series, and twelve films (soon to be thirteen), but exactly where did it all start? by Helen Langdon The musketeers are under orders to protect a royal princess so she can be married off in a peace treaty with Sweden. Sounds like an ordinary day at the office for our merry band (seriously, do the other musketeers ever get to do anything other than stand around in the garrison?), but that’s before there’s assassination attempts galore on the beautiful princess’s life. Can they figure out exactly who’s behind the attacks before it’s too late? Just about, once they manage to navigate the twists and turns of this episode of The Musketeers. by Helen Langdon Politics is one of those subjects that programme-makers and audiences can’t get enough of, no matter what the country. Whether it’s American politics, with shows like The West Wing and Parks and Recreation tackling politics at every level, Borgen predicting the election of the first Danish female Prime Minister, or The Thick of It managing to pre-empt British political stories by mere days, tales of those in charge are irresistible. We want to imagine what goes on behind the scenes in the corridors of power. Sometimes, what we get isn’t as reassuring as we might hope. by Helen Langdon If you were to watch this episode of The Musketeers on iPlayer, you’d be warned beforehand that it’s only for over 16s, due to its disturbing imagery. And they mean it, with this episode’s plot seemingly ripped from a horror movie, featuring a psychopath’s deadly coin tossing game and more deaths than a trap in Saw. The episode started innocently enough, with Louis playing with the Dauphin, embarrassing Anne and educating the court, all with one demonstration of the upcoming eclipse. Then Rochefort invited the court to view the eclipse at a local observatory, which turned out to be the worst plan ever as their host started killing people left, right and centre, forcing the king to choose who to kill and playing games with the lives of the courtiers. by Helen Langdon It was the big reveal of the eighth season of Doctor Who. Missy, the mysterious woman who’d been haunting the Doctor’s steps and pushing him and Clara together, wasn’t just any old villain – she was the newly regenerated Master (after all, Steven Moffat made the Doctor female in The Curse of Fatal Death – it was only a matter of time before gender-bending Time Lords made it into the Whoniverse proper). But at the end of season finale “Death in Heaven” she was disintegrated by a Cyber-Brigadier. Wasn’t she? by Helen Langdon The musketeers might be known for their stylish headwear and their faithful horses, but who else has those exact same qualities? That’s right. Cowboys. That might be a tenuous link, but in this week’s Musketeers episode, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d stumbled upon The Magnificent Seven. In a dusty, abnormally sunny village in the French countryside, Athos must face his past and responsibilities, face down the evil men trying to steal the land, and somehow turn the local villagers into a fighting force to defend their homes. |
TV Editor: Graham Osborne
TVReviews on the best TV has to offer, as well as retrospective looks at the shows of yesteryear we miss so much. Email: [email protected]
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