WORST: WWE NXT episode 273: After last week's unusual episode, NXT gets back to normal, and I get back to not quite understanding the hype. I suppose I should cut the performers some slack, because they are in developmental after all, but I don't see how they are better than the main roster as the hype would have me believe. What I do see is a lot of talent that's not quite polished, an uninvolved crowd, and a collection of meaningless matches. Only the main event, featuring Sami Zayn vs. Rhyno, was worth watching, and those two guys are veterans who shouldn't be in developmental at all.
WWE Smackdown episode 273: Smackdown has been surprisingly enjoyable for the last few weeks. Adrian Neville has been an exciting addition to the roster, and his match with Sheamus was no disappointment. The all-champions tag-match was a welcome, if meaningless, novelty for the main event, and The New Day have made one of the quickest turnarounds on record, from one of the least interesting things on the show to one of the most entertaining. My only complaint is the way they're handling the Miz/Mizdow feud, which ought to have been a slam-dunk. But hey, it's wrestling. If there wasn't a part of the show that sucked it wouldn't feel right.
WWE Raw episode 1,142: Raw was in London this week, which guarantees a hot crowd, and a hot crowd usually means an entertaining show. Not necessarily a good one, but in this case the good outweighed the bad. Adrian Neville and Dolph Ziggler had a top-notch match, as did John Cena and home-town hero Wade Barrett, who got to look competent for the first time in months. I'm into Kane's gradual face turn, and I flipped out for Fandango's return to his original music. All that, and Roman Reigns having his head slammed into a taxi. What's not to enjoy?
Avengers (2013) #15-28, written by Jonathan Hickman, drawn by loads of people: I feel like this series has taken a dip since the end of the Infinity crossover, which I discuss below. With the threat of the Builders done for now, the focus shifts to the machinations of AIM, the sinister cabal of scientist/terrorists that's been plaguing the Marvel Universe for decades. It's a bit of a step down, especially in terms of epic scope, but these are by no means bad comics. They're excellent, they just happen to not be as good as what came before.
Infinity #1-6, written by Jonathan Hickman, drawn by Jim Cheung and others: I honestly don't know how this series became Marvel's major crossover of 2013. Don't get me wrong, it's very good. It is, though, intrinsically tied to everything going on in Hickman's Avengers books, and any casual reader coming into this must have been utterly lost at sea. The story is a double-pronged one, with one group of Avengers fighting a space war against the mysterious Builders, and another defending Earth from Thanos, the Mad Titan (coming to an Avengers movie sequel in a few years time). It's epic, it's intricate, and it's gorgeously pencilled, but the story is a little disjointed at times due to its nature as a crossover. There are also some pivotal characters that don't get nearly the development they need for their role in the plot; Thane, son of Thanos, being chief among them. I feel like this one might have done better simply as an arc in Avengers, rather than the centrepiece of Marvel's whole line.
Game of Thrones season 5, episode 1: It's back! And as usual, the first episode is a slow burn serving more to reintroduce the characters than to push the plot forward. I was a bit dubious about this season, as it's reached the point where the novels faltered under their own weight. So far it's holding up well, and steering clear of the obvious mistakes that Martin made.
Tear the Roof Off 1974-1980 by Parliament: Yes, it's a compilation, and I tend to steer clear of those nowadays. But this one is so damn good, and Parliament's funky grooves so consistent in quality and tone that it holds together better than any compilation ought to. The songs are deeply silly; most of them are about Afronauts bringing funk from the stars to save the galaxy. But they're catchy, and infectious, and their message is ultimately an uplifting one about bringing all peoples together into one funky whole. That's worth a little bit of silliness, I reckon.
New Avengers (2013) #8-21, written by Jonathan Hickman, drawn by various artists: Whereas Avengers lost a step in the wake of Infinity, New Avengers has only gotten better. This is the point where the crisis facing the Illuminati peaks, and they're forced to decide whether they can destroy a planet to save their own. It's a level of moral greyness that mainstream superheroes rarely goes to, and the way it plays out is intense, deeply satisfying, and true to the characters. Anyone who accuses Hickman of short-changing the emotional aspects of storytelling should read these, because his skills are on full display here.
BEST: Daredevil season 1, episodes 1-7: The entire season of Daredevil dropped on Netflix last week, and I've been trying my best to get through it. Don't have Netflix? Get it, because this show is that damn good. It follows Matt Murdock, blind lawyer and vigilante, as he tries his best to clean up the area of Manhattan known as Hell's Kitchen. It's nominally set in the same world as the Avengers movies, but the tone is worlds away. This is gritty crime drama (though not without humour), with a level of violence that Marvel Studios has previously shied away from. It does get a little flat around episode 4, but episodes 6 & 7 are superb, probably the two best episodes of anything I've seen this year. Get on it!
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