Agatha All Along : Death’s Hand in Mine
Season 1, episode 7
Watched Oct 23, 2024
This review contains full spoilers.
Well … where to begin. Last night’s episode was so dramatic, heartfelt, heartbreaking and full of more surprises than any other episode so far. And that’s saying something. I don’t think I’ve cried so hard at any other TV show like I did last night. Why?
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday that was hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.
Having just finished reading a Murder Most Royal by SJ Bennett, I was delighted when I read on her website that the next in the series, A Death In Diamonds, was coming out in Canada next year, in February. I can’t wait.
To quote:
1957 – The young Queen has been on the throne for five years, as the United Kingdom adjusts to being a country without an empire, without a set place in post-war Europe, and without a reliable friendship with America.
As Elizabeth travels the world to try and build bridges, she is advised by the ‘men in moustaches’, as Philip calls them – her father’s old courtiers, who may or may not have her best interests at heart. One of them is trying to sabotage her: that much she is sure of.
And then two bodies turn up, horribly murdered, in Chelsea, and the Queen finds herself unwillingly used as the alibi for somebody very close to her.
She knows she can’t face these challenges alone. She needs support from someone clever, discreet and loyal, someone she can trust. Then she meets ex-Bletchley Park code breaker, Joan McGraw …
Agatha All Along : Familiar by Thy Side
Season 1, episode 6
Watched Oct 16, 2024
I am so behind in my reviews of Agatha it’s not funny. This week’s episode was centred around Teen (Pet/familiar) and is packed to the gills with surprises and reveals …
So, where to begin? At the beginning I suppose.
Be warned, there are spoilers ahead!
The first in a trilogy, Planetside melds the best in the military science fiction tradition with a murder-mystery, and a droll and somewhat jaded perspective of the lead protagonist, in the guise of Col. Carl Butler. Who, with a healthy dose of scepticism, in an action-packed plot infused with plenty of snark, gets to the bottom of the odd disappearance of a young lieutenant.
But what should be a simple premise—find out what happened to Lt. Mallot—turns out to be anything but simple for Butler and his team. And when he doesn’t trust the team he’s been given, any more than the commander of Capa Base, Col. Butler’s job becomes a game of matching wits with those around him. Military personnel who, at best, are either not enthusiastic about helping, or are doing their best to hinder his investigation while hiding secrets of their own.
What Planetside is, at its heart, nestled within a framework of military science fiction, is a multi-layer and very cleverly written mystery. And while Butler delves further into what happened, layer after layer is peeled back to reveal an insidious underbelly of corruption and ambition. Well, we all know about people using the mantra, “I’m doing all this to save humanity,” is a cover for their behaviour usually means they are so focused in their belief, as to forget they are probably selling their soul for a lie.
Which is exactly what we find in Planetside. Small discrepancies, minor incidents, all begin to add up. And the more he digs, the more everyone stonewalls his investigation. To the point where Butler realises the only way he’s going to get to the truth is to go planetside to confront the problem head-on and, hopefully, in doing so, finally get some answers.
Well, Butler finally gets his answers and, so do we. In a taut twisting build-up, pieces of the jigsaw puzzle slowly fall into place, as we arrive at resolution, I for one, wasn’t expecting, in a truly twisted endgame that well, quite literally, blew Planetside wide apart!
With flowing, easy to read prose, a congenial, well-defined MC, and a twisted plot layered with ruses and complexity, Planetside is one of the best military SF reads I’ve had in a long while. Mammy certainly has all the right credentials to write what is, a thoroughly absorbing mystery built within a futuristic framework, with plenty of nail-biting action as the bullets and rockets explode. Plenty enough to satisfy even the most jaded SF palate.
PLANETSIDE
Author: Michael Mammay
Publisher: Harper Voyager
ISBN: 9780062694669
Genre: Military Science Fiction
This last couple of evenings we’ve crammed in the latest episode of Agatha All Along, which was excellent—you can check out my review HERE.
Thursday and Friday night we started watching Vigil, a six-part BBC drama set aboard the Royal Navy nuclear-powered Vanguard-class submarine, Vigil. We finished the last episode last night and, I have to say, this was one of the best scripted shows I’ve seen in ages. The plot, characters, and setting had us hanging on the edge of our seats. I highly recommend watching this one if you can find it in your area. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Then yesterday afternoon, through the evening, we caught up on the last handful of episodes of Star Wars: Rebels through to its heartbreaking final conclusion, finding out what happened to Kanan Jarris, Ezra Bridger, Sabine and the rest of the crew of the Ghost. This show epitomises everything I love about the animated Star Wars shows. It had a great story arc and snappy dialogue, and was genuinely entertaining from beginning to end. More of this please. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
We also managed to squeeze in Disney Pixar’s Inside Out 2, which while not as spontaneous as it’s predecessor, was certainly entertaining enough and, had great heart. If you haven’t seen it yet, I recommend you do so, and have a hanky or two on hand. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Now I’m wondering what we’ll watch tonight.
Agatha All Along : If I Can’t Reach You / Let My Song Teach You
Season 1, episode 4
Watched Oct 03, 2024
If you are not watching this one then you are definitely missing out on one of the campiest, funniest, silliest, fun-filled, snarky, Marvel Disney collaborations I’ve seen in, well, forever.
Hands down the best thing to cheer up a dull Wednesday evening, Agatha All Along is shaping up to be defying Disney convention not only taking us, literally, down the garden path, but introducing a character who is not only the ex-lover of Agatha (played by Aubrey Plaza) but, if you read between the lines and follow the logic of this week’s episode, also Death Herself! Though, of course, she introduces herself as the Green Witch.
Never mind trying to figure out who Rio Vidal really is, having literally birthed out of the very dead Mrs. Hart’s grave, to replace her as the coven’s much needed Green Witch. The ladies themselves, with Teen in tow, enter their second house (of horrors?) and … transform into every singing icon since Sony & Cher. Jennifer is suddenly Donna Summer, Alice becomes Yoko Ono, while Lilia transforms into a credible Liza Minnelli.
And banishing demons aside, we learn more about what is stalking each of the ladies and the relationship’s between not only Rio and Agatha, but the revelation that Teen is most definitely not Agatha’s son. Leaving us wondering just how Rio knows this for certain.
All in all, some interesting revelations and fun easter eggs, and who didn’t love seeing the ladies recreate their own rock band. Priceless.