There goes November, and now Christmas is just around the corner. There’s no real theme to this month’s reading/watching log – I just sort of went with the flow and did whatever I wanted. Most of my free time is currently being taken up with festive-related activities, and my nephew/niece are fully into the Christmas spirit at this point (we’re taking them to the markets this Sunday, in which they’ll be able to see Santa go punting on the Avon).
Having taken it a bit easier this month, I’m going to have to start cramming if I’m going to get all the books/films/shows I wanted to finish this year done with. Sinners, Weapons, K-Pop Demon Hunters, Wake Up Dead Men, Philip Pullman’s The Secret Commonwealth re-read, Scott Westerfeld’s Behemoth… I’ll have to offset it all with the slightly more holiday-appropriate Ghost Stories for Christmas. But here’s November…
We are now halfway through the season, and what to make of it so far? I’ve found myself comparing it to the BBC’s Robin Hood a lot, mostly because that show looms so large in my imagination, but it strikes me that the biggest difference between long-form storytelling and a series of standalone episodes is how it effects the overall quality of any given project.
When you’re watching episodes that each have a beginning, middle and end (even if they plug into an overarching storyline) then it doesn’t really matter if there are a couple of duds. You know there are going to be ups and downs, and a solid episode usually makes up for a few weaker ones.
But in long-form storytelling, it’s either all good or all bad (or all average) since it’s all part and parcel of a single story. There’s no room for comparison, as the run-on effect makes it difficult to discern one episode from another.
That’s probably the most crucial structural difference between this show and the BBC’s version (and Robin of Sherwood, andThe Adventures of Robin Hood, and any other show based on these legends), making it impossible to tell if it’ll be worth our while until it’s over. Right now it’s levelling out at “it’s fine, I guess.”
Well, the most important news of the day is that my Reading/Watching Log for June is finally UP! Hopefully you’ll understand why it took me so long once you see the size of it.
The very day after I thought to myself: “hey, it’s been a while since we’ve heard anything about Laika’s Wildwood,” the studio goes and releases a behind-the-scenes promotional video. And damn, it looks gorgeous.
I’m so excited to see this one, and I have high hopes it’ll be a balm to my soul after being exposed to so much slop recently. Speaking of Laika…
Fifteen years after Paranorman, the studio is releasing a short film set in the same world, with Anna Kendrick returning as the voice of Courtney. Though it’s CG animated rather than stop-motion, it keeps the visual style of the original movie, and as a cute little bonus, we’re finally given a look at Mitch’s boyfriend (who was perpetually off-screen in the film itself).
Aww.
I can’t remember if I’ve posted this before, but Cartoon Saloon has a new animated short film coming up, called Éiru. As ever, it looks amazing, and very aesthetically similar to Wolfwalkers. Now the only question is: where can I watch it?
By the time this gets posted, most of fandom will have already absorbed the first four episodes of Stranger Things’ final season. I’ve got my viewing plans lined up, but I’m going to hold off commenting on it until I’ve seen every episode, which won’t be until the beginning of next year (the grand finale airs on New Years’ Eve). I’m casually looking forward to it, as it’s been a reliable source of entertainment since 2016 – yikes! – and I have faith that the Duffer Brothers will stick the landing. Of course, it helps that I’m not desperately invested, which means that if it does crash and burn, I can shrug it off and move onto the next thing. But I don’t think that will happen, and I’m ready for (as the trailers promised) one last adventure with these characters.
With the end of the year in sight, I’m looking ahead to more posts and projects. I’d like to write more about how our understanding of vampires has changed across the years, and continue my deep-dive into the portrayal of Rowena and Rebecca in various adaptations of Ivanhoe. Philip Pullman’s The Rose Fields is officially available, but I think I’m going to hold off reading it until I can read it in tandem with Philip Reeve’s Bridge of Storms, his new upcoming Mortal Engines book (and the third book in Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan trilogy). Those books just vibe so well with each other.
Come December, I’m reading my last two Babysitters Club books of the year, and am continuing my newfound fascination with Yuletide ghost stories: I’ve ordered a bunch of appropriately-themed anthologies from the library and downloaded a bunch of the most recent A Ghost Story for Christmas episodes. I’m also currently watching the latest season of Doctor Who, which ended up being the last for Ncuti Gatwa. It’s mildly devastating, but perhaps he’ll turn up again in future seasons. I mean, why not? David Tennant and Matt Smith have certainly done so!
And the Christmas festivities are in full-swing here in Christchurch. I took my nephew to the Santa Parade last Sunday, and this coming weekend is the annual Christmas in the Park (basically a lot of guest performers on a public stage – my friend and I usually head in a bit later just to watch the fireworks). Then there are the Christmas markets, and the carol singing at the local church, and the mall Santas, and the Christmas tree decorating… I’m getting myself into the spirit!
Oh, and my review for the latest episode of MGM’s Robin Hood is also forthcoming…
This is a bit of a patchy episode, the goal of which seems to be moving pieces around the board so that everyone is in place for the second half of the season. And introducing Friar Tuck, of course.
It’s also a Four Lines, All Waiting situation, as the writers’ room is now juggling a fairly massive cast of characters, all of whom are off in their own plotlines that barely intersect.
In which Robin’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (or Week) continues, and Marian kickstarts her own plot at the court of Queen Eleanor. The showrunners promised us something like this for her, and I’m glad it looks like they’re going to try and deliver.
This second episode of Robin Hood (which aired on the same night as the first, it’s just taken a while for me to write about) isn’t quite as good as the premiere. That was better structured, being bookended either side with scenes of Hugh: opening with him telling stories to his son, and ending with his death.
This episode probably should have ended with Robin and Marian parting in the rain given the emphasis on their relationship throughout this episode, but it decides to carry on for a bit longer and conclude with a cliff-hanger instead.
Don’t worry – this will be a much shorter review than the first.
And so it begins, a new Robin Hood show arriving with very little fanfare, virtually no promotion (I counted a teaser, trailer and a couple of interviews with the cast), on a streaming service that no one’s heard of. Still, it did have one very good poster (below), in which Robin holds the bow and Marian pulls the bowstring, which is hopefully an indicator of teamwork and equity in the episodes ahead.
Is there any point in getting invested, or will this be another one-and-done with an unresolved cliff-hanger finish?
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