Other Doctor Lives: DuckTales: Season 2, Episode 2 – “The Depths of Cousin Fethry!” (2018)

Not much Scrooge in this episode, but still a good one. A nice side adventure for Huey and Dewey, who always play well off of each other.

When Scrooge gets an urgent call from his cousin Fethry, who works in an underwater research base, he’s inclined to ignore it as yet another of Fethry’s harebrained non-emergencies. But Dewey and Huey are both thrilled at the thought of an underwater research base, for entirely different reasons, and set off to meet this cousin. The resulting adventure isn’t what either of them expected, but they’re in for quite a ride.

Stories that set up Huey and Dewey opposite each pretty much always pay off, because their personalities are so different and they spark off of each other in such entertaining ways. Here, Huey is dreamy-eyed at the thought of all the science that awaits him at the research base while Dewey is obsessed with the thought of discovering a cool new sea creature and naming it after himself. The Dewey-related pun game is top notch, with such prospective names as, “Dewificus magnificus,” “the Great Blue Dewphin,” “dreaded dewsaurus of the deep,” and “the dewnificent krilldebeast.”

But like I said, the adventure isn’t exactly all it’s cracked up to be, in no small part because Fethry seems a bit cracked himself. Dewey quickly sours on the expedition, but Huey clings to a waning sense of optimism. It’s hard to ignore the similarities between Fethry and himself, and Dewey is very quick to point them out, so Huey is determined to come away with a positive impression of his off-kilter relation. “He’s a classic eccentric genius,” Huey tells his brother snippily. “‘Eccentric genius’ is the top rung of scientists! Don’t you know anything?”

Plenty of fun to be had here, a good mix of actual underwater science (which is definitely Earth’s closest equivalent to sci-fi exploration) and whimsical details. I love that you get to the research base via a lighthouse whose tower is actually a subaquatic elevator—yes!! And of course, it wouldn’t be DuckTales without some good old-fashioned threats of outrageous destruction.

Very little Scrooge here. He only appears in the cold open, setting up who Fethry is and giving Huey and Dewey the impetus for their adventure. Fortunately, the series is enjoyable enough to me that I really don’t mind the occasional episode that’s light on David Tennant, since the other characters/cast members are more than enough to hold down the fort. But even in a brief appearance, Tennant gets in a few good lines. I enjoy his cranky/bemused tirade about Fethry always calling him down to the bottom of the ocean “all to see a barnacle formation in the shape of a tractor, or some such nonsense.” Hee!

Elvis (2022, PG-13)

I went into Best Picture nominee #8 intrigued but not exactly excited. I was interested to see what Baz Luhrmann’s brand of excess would look like as a musical biopic, but while I appreciate Elvis for his role in pop culture history, I wouldn’t call myself a fan by any stretch. I feel like I understand him less as a person or a musician and more as an idea, a symbol of American rock ‘n’ roll. All that said, I really wound up enjoying the film.

Colonel Tom Parker is a mover and a shaker, someone who makes things happen through sheer force of will, underhanded dealings, and hitching his wagon to the right voice. The first time he sees Elvis Presley perform, he knows he has to manage the young singer’s career. So begins a wild ride of touring, musical and aesthetic exploration, and the world collapsing into moral debate over a pair of gyrating hips. But as Elvis’s star rises, troubles come with it, in no small part thanks to the colonel’s desire to keep the singer beholden to him.

As I said, I’m not an Elvis fan, and so I know very little of his history beyond the big-ticket items, such as his later issues with addiction. As such, I can’t say how well this film puts the “bio” in “biopic,” although I am aware of at least a few details that were massaged. The movie ignores just how young Priscilla was when they met, and while it explores the inspiration Elvis found in the Black music scene, it doesn’t really deal with the fact of this white boy becoming famous due to mostly Black music and style. Other than that, I don’t know how faithful it is to history.

I do know, however, that it’s an entertaining film. As with most musical biopics, the main plot beats get a little paint-by-numbers, and at more than two-and-a-half hours, the length starts to strain. But Luhrmann’s storytelling and directorial flourishes keep things feeling fresh, creative touches that convey familiar beats in interesting ways, and the dazzling camera work earned the film a Best Cinematography nomination. I particularly love how the film shows us Elvis’s musical awakening as a boy in Memphis, equally transfixed by the music emanating from a jazz club and a revival tent. This sequence leads wonderfully into the first time we see him perform, where the influences are plainly threaded through his voice, body, and style.

Tom Hanks is doing the most as Colonel Tom Parker. For whatever reason, what best comes to mind is a used car salesman crossed with the Penguin, wrapped in a European accent of vague origin. It’s a performance that takes a little getting used to, but I got on board with it quickly enough. The film also features appearances from Kodi Smit-McPhee, who was in last years The Power of the Dog, and David Wenham (Faramir!) Not to mention Kelvin Harrison, who played Fred Hampton in The Trial of the Chicago 7 and makes a nice turn here as B.B. King.

But of course, it’s all about Austin Butler’s Lead Actor-nominated performance as Elvis. Butler was someone who looked familiar to me but I couldn’t place him—IMDb finally told me I must be recognizing him from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. At any rate, I don’t know much of his other work, but he’s incredibly good here. Obviously, it’s a skillful impression, and he nails the voice and physicality required to play the King. But beyond the mimicry, it works because, in the same instant that Butler is delivering those larger-than-life elements, he also makes Elvis feel very human and real. This isn’t a performance of a mythic figure in rock history; this is a portrayal of a talented, flawed man who dealt with serious struggles and exploitation. For me, this is what really resonates in Butler’s performance.

Warnings

Sexual content, drinking/smoking/drug use, language, and thematic elements.

Doctor Who: Series 20, Episodes 9-12 – “Mawdryn Undead” (1983)

This serial is memorable for a lot of reasons. It introduces a new companion, revisits an old one, and kicks off a mini arc, and besides all that, it’s just an interesting story. Quite a bit going for this one (premise spoilers.)

An encounter with a damaged spaceship waylays the TARDIS, and the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, and Tegan need to repair the mysterious capsule before the TARDIS can take off again. They land near a boarding school, where their paths cross with an old friend: the Brigadier, who started working at the school after leaving UNIT. However, they also meet Turlough, a young humanoid alien stranded on Earth and posing as a student. A particularly persuasive devil has convinced him that he’s Turlough’s only way home, but the ticket he requires is for Turlough to kill the Doctor.

I’ve said before that I really like Turlough’s introduction on the show. Apart from the novelty of being a bit of a black-hat companion from the start, I also love that he’s an alien stuck on Earth. It’s a nice demonstration of the fact that, even 20 years in, the series still had some tricks up its sleeve. Turlough’s interactions with Team TARDIS are immediately interesting.

And mixed in with that serving of something new and different, we’re also treated to something familiar. This is the first story to feature a return visit from an old companion, even if some quibble over whether or not the Brigadier “officially” qualifies as such. It’s delightful to see him with Five and have him meet Nyssa and Tegan. I like what they do with his story, which takes some fun turns. In addition, we also get another appearance from the Black Guardian, who first showed up in the Key to Time arc in the Fourth Doctor era. Granted, I’ve never been a huge fan of either Guardian (although the Black Guardian’s ridiculous bird hat is a sight to behold,) but his presence adds to the callback feel of the whole serial.

It’s funny—episodes that are set on Gallifrey often feel pretty dull to me, but I tend to love stories that introduce other Time Lords or give us insights into Gallifreyan history, so long as those stories are set elsewhere. Give me the Meddling Monk or the Rani and tell me the story of Omega any day! While Mawdryn’s story is a little tangential in that regard, he and his people tie to the Time Lords in interesting ways. (Disgusting, though—I did not need to see his brain peeking through his skull!)

What else? Mawdryn’s ship is really cool-looking, Turlough is a weasel but one who’s compelling to watch, Tegan handles herself well in a tricky situation, and the Brigadier is a stand-up guy anywhere in time. (It’s funny. During the UNIT era, Three is frequently annoyed by the Brigadier and the two of them often butt heads, but any kind of return appearance from or callback to him in the Whoniverse is always so fond.) A neat story that sets the Black Guardian trilogy in motion, which I really like despite, as I said, not being very into the Black Guardian himself.