BREAKING BAD 5.16: “Felina”

Congratulations, Vince Gilligan, you did it! As creator and executive producer of BREAKING BAD, you crafted a finale that totally lived up to the series, and you gave fans the ending they deserved.

In contrast to a lot of the high-tension episodes we’ve endured in the final run-up, this installment was almost elegiac as Walt shambled through town, tying up loose ends, settling grudges, healing wounds and saying goodbyes. It was a masterful way to end the series — leaving nothing ambiguous for viewers to fight over for years to come. BREAKING BAD was product of one vision — that of creator Vince Gilligan — and it was able to consistently confound and amaze viewers because it was true to Gilligan’s idea of the story, not network committees or viewer ratings. From first episode to last, Gilligan told his story the way he wanted to, now he has ended it his way. And that’s the way it always should have been.

BROADCHURCH 1.8

The final episode of BROADCHURCH began with Detective Inspector Alec Hardy getting his walking papers and literally walking away — but he also got his man, collaring Danny’s killer on his last day on the job. True, the murderer wanted to get caught, but Alec had his suspicions and would have got him even without Danny’s cell phone.

The best thing I can say about the BROADCHURCH finale is that lived up to it promise; the series got the ending it deserved. And, as the recently concluded DEXTER proved, that’s no easy feat.

DOCTOR WHO, River and the Planet of the Rain Gods

Just as you probably are, I’m sitting by my mailbox awaiting my copy of the DOCTOR WHO series seven box set, and while waiting we could use some entertainment. Enter: YouTube, which features one of the minisodes included in the box set to bridge the gap between episodes or, as in this case, merely to entertain.

Enjoy “Rain Gods,” featuring River Song (Alex Kingston) and in which Matt Smith reminds us why his departure from the title role is such a tragedy…

On the plus side, the complete seventh series will help pass the time until the 50^th anniversary story, “The Day of the Doctor,” on Nov. 23.

AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. 1.1: “Pilot”

I can best sum up my feeling about AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. by saying that I really wanted to like it more than I did. And I did enjoy it; I just didn’t love it. Even though I wanted to love it.

It felt like the show was coasting too much on Executive Producer Joss Whedon’s reputation and its association with last year’s blockbuster The Avengers movie. I got the sense that the pilot was Joss slapping together a demo piece and telling the network, “This is just a placeholder; trust me, the real series will be great.” And, yes, the script was generously stocked with Whedonesque quips and Easter eggs, but I expected it all to be much more… well, polished.

As such, the pilot for AoS was pretty okay, but it demonstrated nothing close to its potential. It felt a bit like one of the characters, Grant Ward — shiny and a bit smug, and not as charming as it thinks it is.

Inking Bad

When it comes to BREAKING BAD, (almost) everyone’s a fan, and when you’re noted good-girl comics artist J. Scott Campbell, you can show your love for the show with pen and ink on Twitter!

No, Mr. Campbell did not turn Walter White and pals into his trademark voluptuous comics vixens — instead, he distilled the essences of several favorite male characters into illustrations with serious attitude!

BREAKING BAD ends its run this Sunday, so soon all we will have will be fan tributes like this.

SLEEPY HOLLOW 1.2: “Blood Moon”

After last week’s pilot did the heavy lifting of establishing the show’s premise and setting up the loopy (and complicated) mythology, the second episode of SLEEPY HOLLOW had the equally tough job of setting up and status quo of the ongoing series and, luckily, it did an excellent job.

It does look like SH will follow a “monster of the week” formula, with each creature filling in some of the mythology and giving us an excuse to learn Ichabod’s and Abbie’s  backstory. I do like the winking hubris of the script, suggesting that our two leads are fated to endure seven years of biblical tribulations — that stretch would get them well into syndication territory.

The Greatest PEZ Dispenser Ever Made. Ever. Seriously, Ever.

The good folks over at Movies.com have spotted the greatest PEZ dispenser ever made, hands-down. It was created by artist Peter “Rat” Davidson, who, as far as I can tell, does not actually work for PEZ.

Too bad we cannot actually buy this.

BREAKING BAD 5.15: “Granite State”

Poor Walter White.

Honestly, I know he’s a retired meth kingpin who has killed and ordered people killed, but who can’t feel sorry for Walt, trapped in the wastes of New Hampshire with nothing but two copies of Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium to keep him company? He was so desperate that paid a vacuum-cleaner salesman $10,000 to spend an hour with him.

And when Walt Jr. rejected the money — the very reason that Walt did everything he did — it was heartbreaking to watch Walt blubbering on the phone how the money for his family was the only thing that ever mattered to him; that providing for them was what kept him going and kept driving him make decisions and do things he never intended to do. And, besides — he wants to hire a hit squad to wipe out the white supremacists. (The very same neo-Nazis he hired to whack Jesse.) That’s a good thing, right?

AMERICAN HORROR STORY: COVEN Is Booting Up

AMERICAN HORROR STORY is probably the most loopy series on TV, so maybe that’s why big names line up to star. (I think the reason there’s a new storyline every season is because all the scenery gets chewed right down to the ground, so they have to start over.) The latest series, COVEN, has attracted three ladies who have won Academy Awards as best actress in a lead role, so there must be some meat to the characters they will be playing.

The cast includes Oscar-winners Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates and Angela Bassett, as well as Sarah Paulson, Frances Conroy, Gabourey Sidibe, Denis O’Hare, Patti LuPone, Evan Peters, Taissa Farmiga, Lily Rabe and Emma Roberts.

Check out these awesome (and very atmospheric) posters:

Thor Posters for Lady Sif and Jane Foster

Great posters for Thor: The Dark World continue to be released overseas, while we here in the States get stuck with the low-concept images.

At least we can use the Internet to see the good stuff that Hollywood doesn’t think we can handle without becoming confused. (“Dem’s gurls… I thought dis movie wuz ’bout Thor!”)

Also check out these other great character posters — including the Big Bad, Malekith.

Thor: The Dark World will be released here in the USA on Nov. 8.