Thomas & Friends: Calling All Engines! Film Review

While alot of people who grew up with Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends still talk about episodes of the show and occasionally mention Thomas And The Magic Railroad. Very people if anyone talk about the films that came out after Thomas And The Magic Railroad with the first of those films being the very film that i'm about to review for you all today and so then join me as I review the film that has more learning scenes then actual plot with the film in question being called simply just "Thomas & Friends: Calling All Engines" enjoy.

The plot of this film is when the steam engines and the diesel engines can't get along and cause several delays including the building of a new Sodor Airport it's up to the engines to put there differences aside before it's far to late. Now then in terms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / flt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that good as while it is understandable for a kids film to have a rather simplified plot for it's kid audience this films plot is so simple and easy to understand that all it does is make you wonder why this is the plot of a film as it's really epic enough to be a film plot with this not really being helped by the fact that the film straight up stops the plot of the film several times to have a learning segment for no reason whatsoever with the plot of the film not being really rather entertaining as well as not being really rather engaging either in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. 

The narrator and thus the only cast member for the film is of course the regular series narrator at this point in time Michael Angelis. Who gave the characters different voices to make it easier to fully understand who is talking something which Ringo Starr did try and fail to do in most regards with the voices that Michael Angelis gives the characters being oddly fitting for each of the characters altho Percy's voice can be a bit grating at times during the main series run here tho since he's not the main character his voice isn't as annoying to listen to and while Ringo Starr felt like an odd choice to be the series first official narrator Michael Angelis is the perfect choice as he sounds like someone who is reading you these stories as your drifting of to sleep where as when Ringo Starr was reading it felt like he was trying to keep you invested for five minuets instead of letting you drift of to sleep to the sound of his voice.

Now then interms of what I personally thought /felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought /felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. With Michael Angelis being the pitch perfect narrator for this series so much that amongst the franchises fanbase he really is a firm favorite with him being one of if not the best UK narrator that the series ever had and it's really not hard to see why as he has the voice that really is just pitch perfect for not only this film but for this series as a whole with his acting in this film really being one of the very few saving graces that this film has going for with the acting in this film not really being helped by the fact that the script for this film is just so bad as it gives Angelis nothing to work with interms of what the characters personalities are even meant to be in the first place which is something that really does bring down the overall quality of the acting that's in this film.

As this film was made when the series was still using models for all of the train characters there really isn't anything in the way of traditional animation. With the models in this film looking just as good as you'd expect them to from the model era of the franchise however at the same time it's quite clear that the models that are used in this film aren't up to feature film with them just basically being the exact same ones that would have been used in the filming of the show which from a money saving standpoint really does make sense as all of these models wouldn't have been cheap to make but at the same time tho as this is the second ever Thomas film the people that were behind making this film really should have upgraded the models for this film just to make them look film worthy instead of looking like they've just finished using these models to film an entire series of the show and while the faces themselves really don't look to bad they also don't really match up with what the narrator is saying about what's meant to be going on in the plot either.

For some reason this film uses the full series 8 intro which just doesn't make sense at all as this is meant to be a film. Yet by having the full TV intro play in full it makes the story feel alot less special then what it already is as you wouldn't expect any movie that's based of off a TV show to use the intro of that TV show and yet for some reason they do it here at least with the following film they have the excuse of there using to introduce the guest narrator where as here they don't even have that excuse working for them this is made all the more odd when you take into account that all of the later films in this franchise have there own unique intro that's exclusive to that particular film and all of which makes you wonder why they didn't do it for this film as this is meant to be the first Thomas film since Thomas And The Magic Railroad and as a result no one would blame the maker of this film if they really wanted to go all out on it and yet they don't they just play the intro for series 8 with nothing or interesting added to it.

This film does get some credit for daring to do something that the TV show at least during series 8 wouldn't do. With that being show a storm hitting the island of Sodor as that's a key plot point in this film and the film rightfully treats it as something epic as we get to see how alot of the steam engines are effected by the havoc that the storm causes be it from the suspension bridge collapsing or the fact that alot of the trains temporary sheds are destroyed we get to see every little bit of destruction that the storm leaves in it's path and while it would have been nice to see how the diesel engines would have been effected as well as that would have given the engines more of a reason to work together outside of trying to get the airport finished so that they can take passengers places on the island which is a neat thing but if both sets of engines were effected by the storm it would have shown that despite all of there differences in both appearances and personalities the steam engines and the diesel engines really are the exact same at the heart of it all. 

While this film gets so few things right like bringing back both Lady and Diesel 10 there's one thing that the film gets drastically wrong. That being the fact that the film stops the action for a learning scene where the narrator in the most condescending way possible tries to tech kids these most basic of things alot of which won't even apply to the kids real life and all of which really aren't needed as all it does is make it feel like that the makers of the film were forced to add them by HIT Entertainment the franchise owners at the time as the makers of the film wouldn't want to disrupt the story for something that adds nothing to the plot of the film and while it really was nice to see Lady again again she doesn't really do all that much as all she does is appear to Thomas in a dream and convince to set up a meeting between the diesels and the steam engines and that's really it which just makes her appearance in this film really feels like that she was only there really to help to justify the calling all engines title and nothing really all the more then that which even then still doesn't make sense as alot of the shows engines aren't even in the film at all.

Now then this film really has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and one second. Which does make it one of the more shorter Thomas films with the shortest one thus far being Thomas And Friends: The Adventure Begins which clocks in at around forty five minuets long with this film not really having alot of plot there to really cover that large of running time which only makes the forced learning scenes all the more worse as they feel like the makers of the film were padding out the films running time instead of just creating a story that was more fitting to that running tie or just going with a shorter running time either option would have been preferable then what it was that we got in the final cut of the film as it's those scenes that really drag the film to a complete halt to which it never comes back from each and everytime that one of these scenes appears with this not really being helped by the fact that the film has some really bad pacing to it.

So now then as this is a comedy that means that I have to actually talk about the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad. As while the film does rather rightfully have alot of jokes that are very child friendly when the film does tell a good joke it is something that is worth pointing as while little little kids might find this film to be both charming and hilarious the grown ups watching the film might not and yet there's still a few good jokes in this film that both sets of people will find enjoyable and will get a laugh out of them with this film very sadly having alot more bad jokes then it does have good jokes in them but when you hear a good joke in this film you really will no all about it as it is something that really does standout in the sea of of really bad jokes that are in this film in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Overall while Thomas And The Magic Railroad will always be the worst Thomas film out there this film has to be a close second just because of the fact that it's boring and has pointless learning scenes that feel more like filler to pad out the films running time all of which combine to make the film very hard for any one kid or adult to sit through and watch all the way through in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very film in this very review and as such that meas that this very film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 4.5 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from the official Thomas The Tank Engine fandom wiki page and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from these very episode that I used in this very review being the official Thomas The Tank Engine fandom wiki page really simply just due to the fact that really alot of the images that are on the official Thomas The Tank Engine fandom wiki page are all really fairly high in quality and as well as them all really being really fairly freaking high in definition.

Lizzie McGuire: Rumors Review

Disney Channel was once home to many a great TV show with alot of those shows being very fondly remembered to this very day. With the show that i'm going to be talking about today being one such as an example as this show still has quite alot of fans and is even loved so much that people cheered when it was announced that it was coming back with new episodes only to be let down when the show was cancelled and so the join me as I review of the episode of the show that made Hilary Duff a household name with the episode is question being called simply just "Rumors" enjoy.

The plot of this episode when Lizzie accidentally starts a rumor about the most popular girl at school she has to work up the courage and stop one of her best friends for taking the blame for her. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad as it was the kind of plot that you'd expect to find on the Disney Channel but at the same time tho this really wasn't the strongest plot either which makes it all the more baffling that Disney really chose this episode to air as preview for the rest of the rest of the series instead really of the shows actual pilot episode as that episode is a really more fitting to start the show with with plot of this also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Starring in this episode is  Hilary Duff as Lizzie McGuire , Lalaine as Miranda Sanchez and Adam Lamberg as David Gordon. Also starring in this episode is Jake Thomas as Matt McGuire , Hallie Todd as Jo McGuire , Robert Carradine as Sam McGuire Byron Fox as Danny Kessler , Davida Williams as Claire Miller , Taylor Gunnin as Head Cheerleader , Mitchah Williams as Kid , Britney Mitchell as A Dancer , Melissa Matthews as A Dancer , Tiffany Burton as A Dancer and  Ashlie Brillault as Kate Sanders.

Now then interms of what I personally thought  felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. With all of this episodes cast turning in some really decent acting and not just the kind of acting that you'd really expect to find on a Disney Channel show where everybody shouts there lines and over acts as here the cast talk normally and act like normal people which makes the acting all the more and it really shouldn't be all that surprising that the acting in this episode is good as alot of the episodes cast went on to become some really good actors in there own right and as such it would make sense that they would turn in some really good performances in this episode with the acting in this episode really being helped by the fact that the script for this episode is just so good that all the episodes cast have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them really naturally.

This episode does a fairly decent job of setting up the bond that Lizzie with both her family and her friends. Both of which are things that this show would become known for and yet because there set up early on in the series run and are defined so well in this episode it makes them feel all the more believable then what it really could have been as alot of Disney Channel shows only give us the bare bones of what these families are like and what these friends are like and yet this show even in just this episode we see Lizzie struggle to be a good friend and we see the parents struggle to find there sons class pet which while that is goofy is also a good example of what good parents would do for there good kids and by showing Lizzie struggle to be a good friend it makes her feel like a more real person as real people do have daily struggles be it on big things or on big things we all struggle from time to time and to see Lizzie struggle and find away to over come that shows that she really is a good friend and one that will come through when it matters the most. 

Watching this episode was so weird as alot of it was like travelling back in time to the early 2000's as there's alot of things that were only popular in the early 2000's. Like instant messaging for example something which hasn't been a thing for about ten years is a key plot point in this show and even the computers that the girls use look massive compared to the technology that we have now and while none of this dates the episodes in a bad way it does date the episode as alot of kids these days won't even know what instant messaging even is heck kids today will barely know what Facebook is as that's how far we've come technology wise as alot of what we knew and loved as a kid will now seem outdated when compared to what the younger generation are growing up with and while this obviously isn't the fault of those involved with making this show or this episode it is something that doesn't make this episode as timeless as it once was as while kids will always deal with rumors in there school it now won't come from instant messaging as it will now come from say Discord or Reddit to name but for a few examples.

As was mentioned at the start of this review this episode was technically the shows first ever episode as this episode aired as a preview episode about a week or so before the what Disney says is the official first episode Picture Day. Both of these are false as the actual pilot episode for the show was episode "Pool Party" as that episode quite literally has a scene with the animated Lizzie introducing us to all of the shows cast of characters where as this episode just expects you to know these characters and what there relationships are like which makes this choice to air this episode first was never the first episode of the show and nor was it intended to be because if it was then they would edited out the audio for animated Lizzie at the start of the Pool Party episode and yet they didn't which goes to show that this episode isn't the first episode of the show and yet because it was aired first it also technically is the first episode of the show all at the exact same time.

As was typical of this show this episode doesn't spend alot of the time on the parents and the brother storyline. Which does make sense as there not the main characters of the show but at the same time they are still main characters as well and yet not only does this episode not spend alot of the episodes running tine on that plotline it also never resolves it we get a resolution to the Lizzie plotline which does make sense as that is the main plot of the episode but the plot line that is just as interesting as it could tech kids that sometimes the things that we love do infact die and seeing a main character deal with that would be interesting to see even if it is basically just a comedic plotline is more interesting then seeing someone trying to be a better friend and learn to stand up for herself which just isn't that interesting of a plot line all of which makes you wonder why they didn't make the parents and brother plotline the main plot as while yes there not the title characters it's there plot line that is something that Disney Channel really didn't cover all that much in there series episodes or in there Disney Channel Original Movies either as that is soemthing that they never really did cover at all and it something that would have this episode standout and be really ground breaking.

Noe then this episode has / had an exact grand total running tie of exactly twenty one minuets and forty one seconds. Which is a solid running time as none of the episodes plots have enough running time to cover a running time longer then that but at the same time even with that shorter running time it does make this episode a nice littler watch and while the episode could have benefited from having a slightly longer running time as it would allow the show time develop it's characters and both of it's story alot more then what it already does given that this is a TV show they don't really need nor even have to develop all that well as the show has sixty plus episodes and in this case a feature length theatrically released movie to develop the characters and the relationships alot more then what they could have done in this one episode and if the episode did have a longer time then both the main plot and the subplot would be stretched even more thin then what they already are but I will admit that this episode really does have some really good pacing to it tho.

Son now then as this is a comedy that means that I have to actually talk about the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty In in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad. As Disney Channel shows from this time period weren't really known for there comedy and yet this episode does have alot of jokes that while dated do feel very character driven and are whilst not alot of this episodes jokes are laugh loud funny alot of them are cute jokes that are highly realistic as alot of this episodes jokes are jokes that kids would mist likely be saying to there friends or to there family members in real life and it's that kind of comedy that this show does so well as there jokes that do feel real and aren't as over the top as alot of the jokes are in say The Suit Life On Deck or The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody for example are in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Overall while this isn't the strongest episode to start this show of with it is still a really good episode as it gives you a good example of how really good this show show could have been and was like when it was at it's best as alot of what really made the show as good as it was in the first place it all stems from this episode in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very episode in this very episode in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very episode really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 6.5 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from the official Disney fandom wiki page , the official Lizzy Mcguire fandom wiki page and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very episode that I used in this very review being the really great Google Images simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this episode and are really of course on Google Images are all really high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

My SPOILER FILLED First Impressions Of The X-Men '97 TV Series

To say that the classic X-Men animated is one if not the best X-Men adaptation of all time would be a huge understatement. Heck the show itself really is still so popular that people talk about and are showing it to there kids and well now the long awaited sequel series has finally debuted it's first two episodes on Disney+ well you all just knew that I had to check this shown the very first chance that I got and so then join me as In review the first two episodes of a show that brings back alot of classic things from X-Men: The Animated Series with the show in question being called simply just "X-Men '97" enjoy.

The plot of the first episode is when Sentinel tech is found in the hands of a terrorist group the X-Men have to find out who the source is that is selling them the tech and stop it once and for all where as the plot of the second episode is when Magneto is brought to court for his past crimes the X-Men have to protect hi when someone tries to kill him. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plots that are actually featured / presented to us in these very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plots that are actually featured / presented to us in these first two episodes was in all honesty not that bad with the first episodes plot defiantly being the stronger plot of the two as while the plot for episode two is indeed a good plot it's not the strongest plot that the show has had where as the plot of episode one was one of the more stronger plots of both series with both plots being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Starring in these episodes are Ray Chase as Scott Summers / Cyclops and Cal Dodd as James Howlett / Wolverine. Also starring in these episodes are Lenore Zann as Anna-Marie Raven / Rogue , Alison Sealy-Smith as Ororo Munroe / Storm , George Buza as Dr. Henry "Hank" McCoy / Beast , A.J. LoCascio as Remy LeBeau / Gambit , Holly Chou as Jubilation Lee / Jubilee , Jennifer Hale as Jean Grey , Matthew Waterson as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto , Gui Agustini as Roberto Da Costa / Sunspot , J.P. Karliak as Kevin Sydney / Morph , Isaac Robinson-Smith as Lucas Bishop / Bishop Gavin Hammon as Bolivar Trask , Eric Bauza as Mastermind , Sentinels and A News Anchor and Lawrence Bayne as Lawrence Baynen and Carl Denti.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in these first two episodes well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in these first two episodes was in all honesty alot better then what it really had right to be. As while yes alot of the original series cast members do indeed return for these new episodes alot of them haven't been playing these characters for decades and as a result it would have been understandable if they didn't turn in that good of a performance in these first two episodes but nope all of the cast members in both of these first episodes really do hit it out of the park with the old actors sounding like that they just finished there playing there characters just yesterday and the replacement actors do such a good job of sounding like the original voice actors with the acting in these first two episodes well being helped by the fact that the script for both of these first two episodes being so good that all the cast have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out them naturally.

Doing the animation for these episodes and the rest of the series is the legends and the greats that are currently over at Studio Mir. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in these very episodes well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in these very episodes was in all honesty really good and was easily better then the animation that was in the original show which is not a knock against the original show at all it's just that the original shown really didn't have that good animation to it and yet here it's like they took what they did with the animation in the original series and just updated it and made it better and unlike the original show this show actually doesn't feature any animation errors with the show taking on what could best be described as an anime inspired look with it not really being all that surprising that the animation in these first two episodes was good as it's being done by Studio Mir who really only produce very high quality animation.

SPOILERS START HERE!!!!!!!!!!

One of the things that was Kevin Feige wanted when being convince to make this show was the rights to use the theme song. Well could job because they use the theme song once again for this show but on top of that is the fact that gave us a pretty much shot for shot recreation of the shows original intro all of which go a really long way to make this show feeling like the start of season six of the original show and not that start of a brand new show as they didn't have to use the original intro that was a nice touch and it's one that fans of X-Men: The Animated Series are going to pick up on and while the new version of the theme song does lack the epic sounding bell sound at the end of the intro it does still contain that epic guitar solo with the intro even adding in spots for both Morph and Bishop and heck they even bring back the original shows ending which again was something that they didn't have to do and yet they went ahead and did it anyway which just proves that this show was made by the fans for the fans of the original X-Men: The Animated Series TV show.

While this show does have alot of really good things going for it there are some issues to be found in both of the episodes tho like the fact that they do Storm dirty as by the end of episode they strip her of her god like powers and have her leave the team. While this might be an adaptation of a comic book storyline which wouldn't be all that surprising as the original show was known for adapting comic book storylines as the same time tho they have it come out of nowhere and not even play a part in the plot of the episode and the other thing that I really didn't like about the first two episodes is the fact that they killed of Charles Xavier off screen when a character that's this important to not only the characters but to the show as a whole he is a character that should have been killed on screen as that is the kind of death that a character like this one should get and by doing that we would get the chance to see how his death effects all of the X-Men instead of just seeing how it effects Scott which just isn't all that interesting at least not compared to when you have the opportunity to show us how the whole team would react to the death of Charles Xavier tho. 

For some reason it seems like this show is trying to redeem Magneto which just doesn't work as he's a stone cold villain. Yes he has teamed up with the X-Men before in both the movies and in animation and so having him team up with the X-Men here in this cartoon isn't out of character for his character but it just comes out of nowhere as something that's this big should be built up as it is something that really change the status quo as we know the X-Men to be and while having he team up with the X-Men isn't a bad idea what is a bad idea is trying to redeem him as he is a character that shouldn't be redeemed as he's tried to take over the world countless times in the original show something which they do bring up and while he did it for the right reasons it's how he went about it that makes him the bad guy and will always make him the bad guy but with that being said tho it is interesting seeing how this version of the character acts when he's trying to do good and it's fun and interesting to see the rest of the X-Men come to terms with this change and learn to try and trust him as there essential leader.

Now then episode one for this show has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly thirty minuets ad thirty seconds with episode two having a grand total running time of exactly thirty minuets and thirty nine seconds. Which this new thirty minuet running time pretty much being the bogstanderd running for this new show and to this shows credit both of the episodes really do have alot of running time there to really cover there respective amount of running time and while episode two has the weaker of the two plots it's also the one that really does make the best use of it's running as it really delves into how Magneto has been dealing with the death of Charles Xavier and how he's been doing good not because it's the right thing to do but because that's his own personal way of honoring his late friend but at the same time tho it's episode one that really had the more fitting running time as while the subplot with Roberto Da Costa goes nowhere with the character really being dropped just a few minuets after really setting him up which makes him really feel alot like a really useless character but episode does use alot of the it's main cast really well during it's running time tho with both episodes having some really good pacing to them both tho.

So now then as this an action show that means that I have to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in these very episodes well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in these very episodes was in all honesty really good. Which is something that's not all that new as the original show had some really good action in it as well with episode one having the best action out of the two episodes as while the action in the episode two was indeed really good the action that we got given to us in episode one was also more fun to watch on top of it being really creative and while the action in episode two did a really good job of advancing Magneto's character arc of that episode it didn't really show of the main team all that well where as in episode one it's the opposite that's true as we get to really see each and every member of the team in that episodes final fight sequence and that really that makes the action at the end of that episode alot fun and cool to watch in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

SPOILERS END HERE!!!!!!!!!!

Overall if these first two episodes are anything to go by then we finally another good if not great X-Men animated show to look forward each and every week but that is something that only time will tell but so far we are off to a really good start with this show feeling like it was a show that really was made for the fans and by the fans of the original X-Men: The Animated Series as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. ow then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in these very episodes in this very post as this is only my first impressions I won't give this show a rating as any show really can have a good or bad first few episodes but if this post does well then I really will look into covering more episodes of this show as a review tho.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very post well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very post from the official Disney fandom wiki page and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from these very episodes that I used in this very review being the great the official Disney fandom wiki page simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from these very episodes and are really of course on the official Disney fandom wiki page are really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

Doctor Who: The Mind Robber Review

As a TV show Doctor Who is filled to the brim with some really out there ideas that could only work in Doctor Who. With the episode that i'm going to be talking about today being one such an episode as it's episode that really does have an incredibly strange and bizarre idea that it could really only work in Doctor Who as this show is used to making the strange and weird ideas that the show has work really well for the show and so then join me as I review the episode that features a villain with a very familiar name with the episode in question being called simply just "The Mind Robber" enjoy.

The plot of this episode is The Doctor , Jamie and Zoe find themselves trapped in a land that's filled with fictional characters and have to escape before it's far to late. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured  presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad as the episode does have a really weird idea to work with and yet even with that roadblock really firmly in place the plot of the episode is still something that is not only fresh and different but it's also something that captures the imagination and makes you think of really just how good of an idea like this one really could've been as well with the plot of the episode being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Starring in this episode is Patrick Troughton as The Doctor , Frazer Hines as Jamie McCrimmon and Wendy Padbury as Zoe Heriot. Also starring in this episode is Hamish Wilson as Jamie McCrimmon , Emrys Jones as The Master , Bernard Horsfall as Gulliver , Christopher Robbie as Karkus , Sue Pulford as The Medusa , Philip Ryan as Redcoat , Christine Pirie as Princess Rapunzel , John Greenwood as D'Artagnan / Sir Lancelot , David Cannon as Cyrano and Gerry Wain as Blackbeard.

Now then inters of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / resented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. With all of the episodes cast members turning in some really slid performances but at the same time tho there are some performances in this episodes that aren't that good like Christine Pirie who is just wooden at best as Princess Rapunzel with the same thing also being true for the kid actors as well as alot of them just give these really rather wooden performances but apart from that alot of the episodes cast members do turn in some really rather good performances which is to be expected from this show as usually this show really does have some good really rather good performances in it with the the acting in this episode really being helped by the fact that the script for this episode is just so good that all the episodes cast have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally. 

This show is known for having alot of really creepy moments in it's episodes with the same thing also being true for this episode. As the scene where Jamie gets turned into cardboard is a pretty scary scene and even the actual cardboard cutout itself is a fairly scary image and yet at the same time it's also something that works for this episode as there are works of fiction that are scary and have those scary moments and given that this episode is based of off the idea of characters in fiction basically coming to life it does make sense that this episode would be a bit more forward with what it is that's trying to be scary and while the more modern eras of the show will stay away from trying to scare people for whatever reason the classic era of Doctor Who was all in on trying to scare as alot of the time the episodes demanded that something scary happen to the characters with the same thing also being true for this episode as this is a Land Of Fiction where anything could and really does happen in this episode and as a result of that it makes sense that someone could get turned into a cardboard cut out of them selves.

The idea of having fictional characters basically come to life is a good idea as it does allow for alot of fun interactions with the main cast. As we do get to see alot of really good interactions with characters that wouldn't get the chance to meet to each other but on the flip side of that is that while the interactions are indeed fun the fictional characters and that whole aspect of the episodes don't really add anything to the actual plot of the episode as that whole aspect of the episode could have been removed entirely or toned down and nothing about the plot would have been effected all that much which is a shame as the idea alone is strong enough to maker for a really good and fun plot and yet because of the fact that the episode doesn't really push that whole aspect of it's plot to as far as it really could have done then all we are left with are a bunch of ideas that while good on paper do seem to come across as being really half baked as there ideas that could have been alot better if they were alot more fully developed then what they where in the final cut of the episode.

As was mentioned near the start of this review this episodes main villain is also called The Master and just to be clear he's not the first incarnation of the more famous Master he's his own villain who is just so happened to be called The Master. With this character not being all that interesting of a character as he's someone who was stolen out of time by an unknown entity to create stories and yet while he's under this entities control he tries to trap The Doctor even tho The Doctor had done literally nothing to him at that point apart from refusing his offer to replace him as ruler of that world with this not really being helped by the fact that we don;t really get to find out why this character is evil in the first place with him just being for the sake of being evil which is a shame as the character had all of the potential to be a good and memorable villain with his plan of trapping people in this land of fiction to play out it's stories being a good idea and yet because of the fact that the character is underdeveloped he can't be as memorable nor as good as a character as he really could have been.

The classic era of the show was known for having cliffhangers at the end of the episodes with this episode having a really good one at the end of the first episode. As the TARDIS explodes leaving just the central control panel Jamie , Zoe and The Doctor all floating in space which is just such a cool idea as it does make you wonder how it was that they filmed that scene as this era of the show was known for mostly being filmed in a studio with them very rarely if ever going to Ealing Film Studios which it does look like that they did here as the shot does go from a studio shot to a film one which is something that they would do whenever the show went on location with even the episodes practical effects looking really good as the TARDIS explosion looks really good as the effect holds up almost fifty years later and it makes you wonder they really didn't do alot more of this stuff in this classic era of the show as it really would have made the show look more expensive then it actually was to make but on the flip side of that is the fact that if they did do this more often then it would become alot more boring and it wouldn't be as shocking when it does happen in the show.

Now then while I cannot for the absolutely life of me remember what this episodes grand total running time was but I do know that this episode has / had an exact grand total running time of roughly two hours. With this episode being five episodes long which does make the whole story feel a bit rushed as you could have gotten a good six episodes out of this one story alone just by fleshing out the characters and by fleshing out the plot of the episodes alot more then what's actually does in the final cut of the episode all of which would have made the episode even better then what it already is as it would mean that us the audience would have more of a chance to really from a connection with some of this episodes guest characters and it's main villain and it really would go along way to help making the plot of the episode alot more memorable then what it already is but I will admit that the episode really does have some some really good pacing to it tho.

So now then as this is an action show that means that I have to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual actin that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad. As the classic era of Doctor Who wasn't really all that known for having good or even having action sequences at all whereas compared to the more modern era of Doctor Who where there's an action scene every five minuets and as a result of that is what little action that they do have both in this era and in this episode has to have some sort of impact on the plot of the episode which is true for this episode as the action in this episode does play a part on the plot of the episode even if it is in just a very minimal way with the action in this episode being as good as it could have been for sixties Doctor Who in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Overall this wasn't a bad episode as it does have alot of really good ideas and as historic as this episode is as the first episode is the only one in the shows history not to have a credited writer it is still an episode that could have been so much better then what it ultimately ended up being in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good ad as well as all of the bad things that are in this very episode in this very review ad as such that really does mean that this very episode really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 6.5 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Amazon . Co . Uk , the official Doctor Who fandom wiki page and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very episode that I used in this very review being the really great and really legendary Google Images simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this episode and are really of course on Google Images are all really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

X-Men: The Animated Series "The Dark Phoenix" Parts One Through Four Review

X-Men: The Animated Series is perhaps one of if not the best animated series that Marvel has ever produced. With the series being so good that in little under a weeks time the series is to return and well with there being a ton of great episodes to watch from this wonderful series it was hard to pick one to be the basis of this tie in review and so then join me as I review the four part saga that is best adaptation of The Dark Phoenix saga with all four episodes of this show being collectively known as "The Dark Phoenix" enjoy.

The plot of all four of these episodes is when the Phoenix begins to fully take control of Jean Grey it's up to the X-Men to find a way of destroying it without destroying Jean. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in these very episodes well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in these very episodes was in all honesty really good with the plot of all four episodes being really well written with the plot despite being in a kids cartoon series being just as mature and adult as you'd really want it to be and unlike the Dark Phoenix movie the plot of these episodes felt fresh , new and different compared to the type of plots that you'd normally get from a kids cartoon from around the same time as this show as well as being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Starring in these episodes is Cedric Smith as Professor Charles Xavier and Norm Spencer as Scott Summers / Cyclops. Also starring in these episodes are Catherine Disher as Jean Grey / Dark Phoenix and Dazzler , Lenore Zann as Rogue , Chris Potter as Gambit , Cal Dodd as Logan / Wolverine , George Buza as Beast , Nigel Bennett as Jason Wyngarde / Mastermind , Walker Boone as Donald Pierce , David Bryant as Sebastian Shaw , Geoff Kahnert as Harry Leland , Camilla Scott as Lilandra , Tracey Moore as Emma Frost , Alison Sealy-Smith as Storm , Len Carlson as The Supreme Intelligence and anime voice acting legend Richard Epcar as A Gladiator.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in these very episodes well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented t us in these very episodes was in all honesty really good. With all of these episodes cast members turning in some really solid performances with the best performer in these episodes going being Catherine Disher who voices multiple characters across all four episodes and yet she still manages to make you feel something during the more emotional moments that are all in all four of these episodes and while all of the cast members do turn in some really good performances none of them make you feel something when all four of these episodes getting emotional with the same thing also being true for Norm Spencer who does turn in a good performance but he just can't hold a candle to Catherine Disher with the acting in all of these episodes really being helped by the fact that the script for all fur pf these episodes being really good as it gives the cast a whole lot to work with interms of it is that there respective characters personalities are even meant to be in the first place.

Doing the animation for all fours of these episodes is the legends and the greats that are currently over at Akom Production Company. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in these very episodes well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in these very episodes was in all honesty not that bad which is in line with this shows standard of animation as while the show has always had some really good looking animation with these episodes not being an exception the animation in this show isn't as good as say Spider-Man: The Animated Series for example as the animation in this show and in these episodes in particular whilst they do look expensive it also looks really dated as well with there not really being any animation errors in any of these four episodes.

These four episodes are the only adaptations to do the The Dark Phoenix saga any kind of justice as while yes these four episodes only cover the end of the saga. Literally just a few episodes before these four aired they did the opening of the saga in five episodes with this proving that this saga will never work in film media unless it was done in multiple parts as that's the only way to do it any kind of justice and yet it's something that Hollywood has tried and failed to learn not once but twice now and while yes these episodes don't end with Jean dying which is an understandable change as this is still after all a kids show the fact that they even dared to do an adaptation of this saga at all and do it in a way that was respectful to the comics means that the story doesn't loose any of if it's impact as the story will still hit you the same way that it did in the comic books.

While the episodes do have plenty of good things going for them there are some issues to be found in all four episodes. The chief amongst which is the fact that they introduce a new mutant into the show but then they do nothing with her with that show being Dazzler who appears in the first episode and they make it look like that she's going to play a big part in the story but then they just drop her character after that first episode and they never mention her again and the second thing that's wrong with this episode is the fact that while the plot of this episode is indeed a really solid plot that works well in the medium of television it's also a really weakly drawn out plot as well with it being hard to tell what the actual plot of the episode is even meant to be alot of the time both of which are things that could have been fixed as they could have had Jean see Scott and Dazzler kiss like she does at the end of episode but then have that be what triggers the phoenix force to come out and have her try to kill Dazzler as this would show us that Jean isn't in control of her own body and it would also give Dazzler alot more to do interms of the overall story of all four episodes of this show.

Another kind of issue with these four episodes is The Hellfire Club as while they are yes the villains of the first two episodes. They are pretty much all gone and forgotten about by the end of episode three which does make sense as the stories overall villain isn't meant to be The Hellfire Club it's meant to be the phoenix force itself but at the same time give that they played such a big role in the stories early episodes it would have made sense to give us some closure on those characters even if it's just a brief scene with this being made even worse when you take into account that these characters aren't as fully developed as the other characters are with us the audience not even finding out why these are even after The Phoenix Force in the first place and as a result of that it's hard for us the audience to feel anything for Jean when they do capture her outside of the fact that there the bad guys and there for we're meant to hate them which isn't enough to make them interesting characters and yet despite all of this the members of the The Hellfire Club do seem like there interesting characters in there own right there just given the chance the shine in these episodes.

Now then while I cannot for the absolutely life of me remember whatever this episodes grand total running tie even was I do know that for a fact that all of these episodes has / had an exact grand total running time of roughly one hour and thirty minuets. With all four episodes not being any longer then twenty two minuets with all four episodes averaging n about twenty one minuets which is a solid running time for all of these episode to have as while the episodes do have more then enough plot there to cover that one hour and thirty combined running time this is a story that really could have done with being five or even six episodes long just to give the story really alot more room to breathe as they really could have gotten a good six episodes out of this one story alone and with that adding running time it really would mean that the episodes could be alot more faithful that what it might already be as there are bound to be some things that are cut out or cut down really just to meet the running time of the episodes but I will admit that all four of these episodes really do have some really good pacing to them all tho.

So now then as this is an action show that means that I have to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in these very episodes and as well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in these very episodes was in all honesty really good. Which is really nothing new for this show as one of the things that this show is known for is it's top notch action with the same thing also being true for these four episodes as all of the episodes have some really good action in them and while yes some of the action in episodes one and two really could have been better when the action gets really good like it does from at the end of episode two onwards it is really good to see with it being the kind of exciting action that you'd both expect and really want to to see in a nineties superhero action TV shown as it's really just that good to see and is just that entertaining to watch as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Overall these four episodes are a good example of just how good this show really was when it was at it's best and it does prove that The Dark Phoenix saga really should only be told in a television format as they could spend several episodes telling the story instead of just covering in one two hour movie in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in these very episodes in this very review ad as such that meas that these episodes really do earn a grand old score of exactly an 8 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from the official Marvel Animated Universe fandom wiki page , the official Marvel Database fandom wiki page , the official Disney fandom wiki page and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from these very episodes that I used in this very review being the really great and really legendary Google Images simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this episode and are really of course on Google Images are all really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.