"Penny Dreadful" Season 1, Episode 8, "Grand Guignol", Season 2, Episode 1, "Fresh Hell"

"Do you really want to be normal?" the man of God asks Vanessa in the final scene. She then thinks long and hard about it. Roll credits.
This series has promised a lot in its 8 episodes and it delivered in the series final.

• We had the welcome return of "Madame Kali" (Helen McCrory). Expect more of her scene-stealing in Season 2. 
• A touching farewell from theatre producer, Vincent: "Remember us better than we are," he tells The Creature, Caliban
• The show has never been afraid of filming in half dark, e.g. the vampire-hunting scene in the Grand Guignol. 
• Frankenstein's throwaway line after he has smothered Billie Piper (future mate for The Creature): "Don't worry, I'll take care of the body."
• In the riverside pub, the long awaited wolfman transformation scene.

Let's hope in the second series we get some full moon action, a look at Dorian's hidden portrait and loads more of Eva Green, dishevelled hair and smoky voice, acting either horny or possessed (or both).

Update:
Season 2, Episode 1 has a nifty solution to The Creature's employment worries - working in a cut price waxworks featuring grisly tableaux of recent murders. Writer John Logan has added a coven of witches into this already meaty stew. There's a thrilling attack on a Hansom cab and a creepy scene with Frankenstein fondling Billie Piper's breasts (Caliban's soon to be reanimated mate).

"Da Vinci's Demons" Season 2 Episode 1

I've missed this rollicking silliness. The over the top flash forward in South America (complete with Las Vegas showgirl costumes and gory ritual sacrifice), with Leo and Risario as unlikely comrades, will ensure a loyal fan base. More backstabbing, fruity language, a rudimentary blood transfusion and lots of mumbo jumbo flashbacks for Leo. This is a rattling good yarn.                                    
Once the scene changed to onboard ship, the tone was more like "Sinbad"/Saturday Matinee adventure.

"Bates Motel" Season 2, Episode 10, Episode 3, A&E, spoilers Episode 4, Episode 5

I swore I wasn't going to watch this soapy stuff anymore... but the Faye Dunaway-style "Chinatown" revelation was a ripper (he's your uncle/father, Norman).
No "South Pacific" for Norma. Shame, I would have loved to hear Norma sing, "I'm gonna wash that man right out of my hair" (in the style of Janet Leigh, of course).
Norman got hit on by a gay dude and Norma got hit on by a wealthy divorcee. Oxy-girl (Olivia Cooke, surprisingly from Manchester, England, great US accent, girl) got hit on also, before chucking her cookies.
Dylan (part-time gravedigger) got royally screwed in Caleb's Costa Rica scam (I'm assuming).
I like Norman new feisty girlfriend, though. Norman might be a psycho, but he's a straight psycho (with a Mother Complex).
Episode 4 was deadly dull, then redeemed itself in the final minutes with Norman finally 'becoming' his mother in front of  incestuous Uncle Caleb, brandishing a knife a la Tony Perkins. Will this  how get its mojo back?
Episode 5 - the season stalls again - White Pine Bay is becoming more like a teenage Banshee. The drug subplot is a yawn. This show is supposed to be creepy, isn't it? Too much teen bonking, not enough weird stuff.
Episode 10 - best bit was the final look at demented Norman. This second season has been a dud. Too much padding, not enough gothic/creepy business. Season 3, big ask....

"Banshee Origins" Cinemax, web series, prequel 2014, review

Web series "Banshee Origins" is required viewing for fans.  Economically told, well acted one scene pieces. No sex (tiny bit in "The Fields") and violence (apart from albino-prison flashback) but great back stories, filling in lots of gaps.

Season 1 consists of 13 1-2 minute episodes (deleted scenes?) filling in details about Allenwood Prison, Mr Rabbit, the albino, how Kai helps Sugar, Siobhan (drunk and in a miserable marriage) before she was a police officer, a lovely 'sisters' scene with Siobhan bumming a cigarette from Kai's niece, the all-important locket and the real Sheriff Hood arriving in town. Flashbacks range from 15 years ago up to 2 weeks ago and "Today".

Season 2
Episode 1 (14 mins) takes place 15 years earlier in a police interview room (in 3 parts)
Episode 2 (4 mins) Job teaching our hero to hotwire a car, 17 years in the past.
Episode 3 (5 mins) Kai visits black boxer Sugar/later to be Sheriff's ally in prison, 17 years ago/4 years later (in 2 parts)
Episode 4 (<3 mins) "Carrie" (Ivana Milicevic) meets hubby to be, Gordon, 15 years ago.
Episode 5 (4 mins) A very pregnant "Carrie" moves in with Gordon, 15 years ago.
Episode 6 (5 mins) Mr Rabbit (Ben Cross) meets his brother, now a NY priest (Julian Sands), 11 years ago. Two English actors from the 80's doing dodgy Russian accents. Why are English used so much as baddies?
Episode 7 (6 mins) Rabbit's brother is questioned by Agent Racine (Slovenian-born actor Zeljko Ivanek playing a US agent). But what the Hell ... Antony Starr is a Kiwi (New Zealander).
Episode 8 (3 mins) Five years ago featuring Kai's niece. Amish nymphet frolics in the wheat fields with knife wielding elder spying. See S02, E04 for more about the Amish "teacher" character.

"Banshee" Season 2, Episode 4, Cinemax, review, spoilers,

Sheriff Hood has this knack of getting into fights with big dudes. This week it's the Amish "teacher"/psycho. You knew something was brewing as soon as he put on the kettle (and it wasn't Earl Grey).

A splatter fest of flying axes, pliers and spikes (the last two courtesy of Dr Proctor, frontier dentist).

The obligatory sex scene, a spectacular car wreck and Hoon Lee (Job) wearing a fetching white bodice (RuPaul goes to the sticks) tearing strips off teenage Hood make this another fun episode.

The final scene with the surprise return of wheelchair-bound Russian villain Mr Rabbit (Ben Cross) was the cherry on a very cheesy cake.

And remember "Love, truth, insanity".

"Dracula" Episode 10, finale, NBC TV series, 2013, spoilers

"Dracula" went out with a bang, literally. Bye bye to wireless electricity.
 Lots to like in the final episode (with possibly no Season 2 due to low ratings). The creator, Cole Haddon, was the writer for this finale. Although Harker and Van Helsing (love his nifty crucifixes) seem to be geared up for a vampire hunt in the last scene (shades of  the final scene of 1979 version of "Salem's Lot".
Van Helsing goes postal - mayhem in his lab, knifing good one Renfield (I'll miss that big dude) and a creepy revenge scene (kids putting the bite on daddy in the cellar). As Nigel Powers told Austin, "Never trust the Dutch, son."
The Italian seer was underused (loved his cool specs). The Jane/Grayson fist fight could have been much longer (a la "Banshee" fight scenes).
It's been a fun (and sumptuous to look at) ride - Victorian melodrama, bodice-ripping, dismemberment, blood lust, steampunk, a spot of lesbianism, secret societies, revenge and eternal love.

"Masters of Sex" Showtime Series 1, Episode 5, "Catherine"- spoilers

The first 40 minutes are slow moving and mannered. Then ka-boom! All hell breaks loose.
A spooky scene where William mistakes Virginia's child in the hospital corridor for the daughter he might have had. A truly devastating scene in the operating theatre with Dr Johnson holding his dead child (to be named Catherine). A bitter confrontation with his mum. Then the final scene where Bill's calm facade finally shatters. "Close your eyes", he desperately tells Virginia. Caitlin Fitzgerald is damn good as Libby Masters.
My own daughter (20 years) left the room about 20 minutes in, telling me I was watching "porn". She should have stuck around for the real drama.

"American Horror Story: Coven" FX TV Series 3, Episode 3 "The Replacements", mini-spoilers

Lots of flashy camera angles and flashing knives this week. Mare Winningham (remember "St Elmo's Fire"?) has some disturbing scenes as Kyle's (Franken-boy) incestuous mother. Joan Ramsey (Patti LuPone), the new bible-bashing neighbour, gets a housewarming gift (lemon cake and blazing curtains).
There is an amusing scene with Madame LaLaurie (Kathy Bates) watching (with disbelief and disgust) black President Obama on "the magic box". Queenie has a moonlit tryst with LaLaurie's ex-slave (Minotaur-boy).
Body count tonight : 3 (2 mothers and a teen witch). Didn't see that last one coming. New rug, please.
This show is overwrought with a capital "O" - and O, so good.

"Contagion" The thinking person's mega-budget zombie apocalyse movie

All right, it's not about zombies, but those scenes in Minnesota were damn close. "Contagion" was released a few years ago, but it's well worth a look.
Spoilers in last paragraph. Steven Soderbergh is an accomplished director (and versatile, compare this with Oceans trilogy, "The Informant!" and "Behind the Candelabra", but all starring Matt Damon). The stellar cast (Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne, Marion Cotillard), international locations, great Cliff Martinez musical score and believable situations make this an absorbing 100 minute film. Jude Law does a passable Australian accent as the opportunistic blogger.
You won't forget the Gwyneth Paltrow's early death scene and the subsequent skull removal. The scene with a dying Kate Winslet passing her coat to a fellow victim is touching, without being mawkish. The film starts with "Day 2" of the global pandemic and concludes with "Day 1", explaining the origin of the infection. This is a smart flick.

"Hannibal" NBC Episode 13 Series 1 final "Savoureux" review, spoilers

Don't expect fast moving action in this series final. This is a mood piece. The beautifully executed final scene between Will and Hannibal (with Mads Mikkelsen's glimmer of a smile). He knows that he knows. And he knows that he knows....
Dr Du Maurier (Gillian Anderson) certainly knows heaps about Lecter's past.
No graphic violence, apart from a regurgitated ear in Will's kitchen sink. Toward the end, Will sees Hannibal as the darkly demonic deer creature he has been dreaming of throughout this series - the realisation of who and what Lecter is. Now you realise what Lecter was doing with Will's fishing lures in an early episode.
I suppose some viewers might be getting a bit toey (restless) - waiting for a confrontation. But I think the tension is delicious - as delicious as Hannibal's weekly gourmet treats.
Series 2 must feature the missing Abigail (Kacey Rohl).

"Da Vinci's Demons" Series 1, Episode 7 "The Hierophant" review, spoilers

God, I'm thick, just realising each episode title refers to a tarot card.
This is the penultimate episode in Series 1. We know Series 2 is going ahead so next week's episode shouldn't have too many revelations and disclosures. So much happened in this one, though. Leo's scuba dives into the Vatican, arising from the pope's misty bath waters like Martin Sheen in "Apocalypse Now". That snake-in-the-grass Pazzi poisoning one of his co-conspirators in front of his fellow villains. Remember James Bond villain, Blofeld? He used to top one of his underlings in Spectre HQ, as a warning to the rest. You know: "Kill Bond!" Enter piranha..... (gulp)"Yes No.1!"
Sorry, I'm rambling.
We discover why Lucrezia is a spy for Rome. Dad is the papal prisoner who played the board game with Riario in Episode 3. I wanted more time in the secret archives under the Vatican. Loved the papal elevator.
Didn't expect loyal Giulino (Tom Bateman) to be written out in the last scene. At least he had a good time with Vanessa the Underdresser.

"Hannibal" NBC TV Series Episode 9, "Tros Normand" review, spoilers

Best murder tableau yet.
The towering body part totem pole on the wintry beach confirms what a visually arresting show this is. God, it looks cold on that beach.
A great episode. Abigail (Kacey Rohl) is back. We find out she used to procure girls for dad so he wouldn't have the desire to kill her. Obnoxious tabloid parasite Freddie Lounds is sniffing around again. Invited, with her new bestie Abigail, to Lecter's dinner party. She is a vegetarian - wouldn't ya know it?
Hannibal takes advantage of a vulnerable Will - Will to keep stum about the Nick Boyle arrangement with the doctor and Abigail.
What a great question psychologist Dr Bloom asks Will, "Do you feel unstable?" He vigorously nods.
Great to see stalwart Lance Henriksen (remember Bishop, the loyal android in "Aliens") as the cold psycho sitting back complacently in his Naugahyde armchair. But Will has the last laugh.

Interesting side note: Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen became good friends while "King Arthur" (2004) according to Bryan Fuller in an interview for "Time Out". Fuller wanted to capitalise on that link when he cast these two.

"Bates Motel" Season 1, Episode 8 "A Boy and his Dog", A and E , TV series, review, no spoilers

How appropriate for Mr Decody, Emma's taxidermist dad, to have a Hitchcock like English accent. Norman has a new hobby - taxidermy ... things are fitting in nicely now. What about when he exploded with his well-meaning teacher. Freddie Highmore plays the tortured Norman like a tightly wound spring  The strength of this series lies in the talent of two leads, Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore.

I liked Emma's (Olivia Cooke) high school toilet confrontation: Emma - 1, Mean Girls - 0.
Mr Abernathy also showed his true colours, went from quiet menace with Norma to popping a little surprise in her bed. Intrigued by sleazy Sheriff Romano's mention of the "big boss" to Norma (if my ears didn't deceive me). Isn't the actor a dead ringer for Anthony Perkins? Dylan, the prodigal son, is turning out to be Mr Nice Guy. Yes, I googled "trimmers".

"Hannibal" Series 1, Episode 6, "Entree", NBC TV show, review, few spoilers

This was an intricately structured episode, blending monochrome flashbacks with Jack and the very savvy trainee, Miriam. Eddie Izzard (last seen in as grandpa in Bryan Fuller's "Mockingbird Lane" pilot) has a juicy role as Dr Gideon, psychopath. We all know who the real Chesapeake Ripper is, don't we?
Interesting contrasting scenes: Jack's compassion, then Gideon's cruel mania. Isn't that Dr Chiltern a charmer - smarmy bastard. Hannibal has his number, though.
Are you enjoying Hannibal's weekly dinner parties? They are delicious fun. "Nice to have an old friend for dinner" is Lecter's fun pun of the night. And Lecter finally shows his true colours in the final few minutes. Main Course in a few weeks?
This show is a winner. Pity about the TV ratings.

"The Following" Series 1 final Episode 15 "The Final Chapter" review, spoilers

I was expecting everything to be tied up in with a neat little bow in the series finale. Joe is obviously set to return in Season 2 - dental records must be easy to fake - he has so many followers, one must have contacts in the dental records business. A spunky, long haired Emma (Valorie Curry) appeared in a Mobile diner in one of the final scenes. This kid is a real asset. Ryan's ex-girl friend provided a nice little surprise ending. Once again, everything is up in the air. Claire and Ryan are bleeding but not out.
Poor Parker was the scared cow - at least she made peace with her weird sect parents in her last minutes.
I get the impression this show is always going to always leave the viewer up in the air, when we want closure.
Oh well,  I still enjoyed series one. Hope Joe's writing skills improve in Series 2 - as Ryan said, "you were a great professor but ..." a crap writer. I think he dissed Poe, too!
As an ex-teacher, I've always liked the saying, "Those who can, DO; those who can't, TEACH."

"Da Vinci's Demons" Episode 3 "The Prisoner" Starz TV series, review, no spoilers

A great episode this week.
Our hero often looks like he is battling ADHD, but then so does Johnny Lee Miller in "Elementary".
Leo, in much of the series, is either drugged or drunk - dealing with his 'demons'. And we had quite a few demons in this episode - either real or imagined.
Da Vinci finds an ally in the usually incompetent Giulino Medici (Tom Bateman). Who knew? Loved the possessed nuns (very Ken Russell's "The Devils", 1971). The atmospheric abbey was quite Hammer Horror. More please. We had Leo solving the mystery of the wacky nuns while our favourite villain, Riario (Blake Ritson) talks strategies with the mysterious prisoner. Their board game of black and white pieces looks like the ancient Asian game of Go.
This game is played throughout the episode, parallelling the machinations occurring in Florence. A clever touch, Mr Goyer. As well as the motif of the caged parrot, who can escape but does not.
More furious bird sketching in the marketplace (such a great scene in Episode 1). The brief shot of sunrise over Florence was glorious.
Clarice Orsini (the very busy Lara Pulver - the lovely Irene Adler in "Sherlock", also in "Spooks" and "True Blood" - all great shows) proves herself to be no fool. Beware, Lucrezia.
Liked the blindman's quality control in the arms factory, Leo's spontaneous painting-licking and the frenzied bonking among the Medici horses (a stable relationship between Lorenzo and his filly???).
Leo's feverish nightmares were particularly graphic this week - reanimated corpses, scalpels and ripping apart chest cavities.
I assume we will see more of Riario's Abyssinian slave (if the naughty pope doesn't monopolise her time).

"Bates Motel" Episode 6 "The Truth" review, spoilers, TV series

A bit of a hotchpotch this episode.  It didn't make sense for Norma to allow the horny deputy to get so close to Jiao's motel room. This is totally not like Norma. Why didn't they bonk in the main house? This was a bit of a script setup.  The shootout scene in Chateau Bates was a bit over the top, but good fun. Norman spends a good part of the episode in a glassy eyed, trance like state, poor love.
I suppose this episode nicely establishes the bond between Norma and Normette. The police investigating the 'accident' in the garage must have been slack. Mr Bates was struck by Norman on the back of the skull. The metal shelves hit him on his front, below the head. Was the mortal blow supposed to be falling against the garage floor?
Best bit: Watch how Norma hesitantly hugs Emma, like she is gradually learning a new emotion.
Bro Dylan summed it up beautifully to Norman: His "father was a bastard and Norma is insane".
Nice to see some well recreated Bates scenery from the 1960 movie - the Victorian turreted house still grabs me, the internal staircase, the motel walkway. No basement scenes yet. I'm sure Carlton Cuse (creator) has factored that in.

NB Series producer, Mark Wolper, is following in his dad's footprints (David L. Wolper, super producer of TV blockbusters in the 1970's and 1980's like "Roots" and "The Thorn Birds", many movies - the original "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" and "L.A. Confidential").

"Da Vinci's Demons" TV series Starz Episode 2 "The Serpent" review, minor spoilers

Better than the first episode. Just as silly but with more substance. You need to forget about what Renaissance history you learnt in school and just sit back and enjoy this stuff. It's like Indiana Jones meets "National Treasure" (particularly the last scene). David S. Goyer (creator) has taken a  few key facts of the period and then gone on a roller coaster ride.
Goyer seems to like to shock the viewer with his first scene in each ep. Last week it was the naughty, soon to be stabbed Duke of Milan. This week it's a circumcised member ("I haven't seen one of those before" intones a girl). By the way, 'the hanged man' is quite well hung. We then get a very graphic autopsy performed by Leonardo.
"The Serpent" refers to the Pope's nephew, Count Riario (Blake Ritson). My new favourite character. If there was a railroad track in Florence, he'd have tied half a dozen damsels to it. He just has to put up with old fashioned decapitation and a nifty torture device called The Widow's Tear.
Once again there is the gorgeous black and white animation (the mechanics of the dual keys and lock). Our swashbuckling hero escapes up the scaffolding of the Duomo - a great scene. Tom Riley is definitely doing a bit of Sherlock (Johnny Miller version) when reconstructing the fate of the Jew and the Book of Leaves.
Loved the quarry scene - say hello to Leo's "little friend".
Da Vinci's mates are good value, the loyal servant, Nico the irreverent Zoroaster (whose favourite turn of phrase is not "Mamma Mia!" but a very English: "F*ck me!").
The use of colour to signify the two worlds - evil, forbidding, secretive Rome - shadowy scenes in the Vatican, black clad villains and the decadent, but enlightened Florence of the Medicis - garish colours, fireworks, torches, extravagant bejewelled costumes. Check out the Adam and Eve floorshow in the Medici ball scene.
Knowledge and the control of knowledge is the theme of the series (as well as bonking and butchery, of course, it's cable!)
The final scene with Leo perched above the grid pattern of pages was inpirational.

"Top of the Lake" Episode 7 series finale review some spoilers

Beware of pregnant teenage mothers hissing and brandishing a hunting rifle (c.f. Episode 6 review).
No dead spots in this episode. Heaps of revelations and complications. I knew that Parker was an evil bastard. The framed photos of the teenage 'baristas' was a giveaway. No wonder Jamie (Luke Buchanan) was so damaged, collecting bones and talking about the serpent in paradise and "the darkness" in ep 6.
Robin's biological father - didn't see that one coming. I knew Mitchum had the local police in his back pocket but didn't expect one to be his daughter.
As to newborn Noah's father, Parker had DNA proof it was Matt Mitchum. But can Parker trust him? Tui's "NO ONE" comment was true. Could have been any of the porn making paedophiles from Parker's luxury pad. Mitchum probably provided the rohypnol. The bit about Johnno's real father was a bit convenient, but I suppose there was enough depravity in Laketop without the incest angle.
Two nice bits: the shot of the Paradise containers, dwarfed by the towering mountains and GJ's (Holly Hunter) final scenes. Consulting her ipad for her latest investments, telling her tribe they were "crazy bitches" before washing her plate and fork, giving Tui some motherly advice and skipping off to Iceland.
Why didn't the Australian Broadcasting Commission want to show this series? Bad call, Auntie.
Was this series worth sticking with?

P.S. 

RE  Robin's lakeside booze scene. Why do people bother drinking liquor out of shopping bags, you know it's not 7up they're sipping.

"The Following" TV series Episode 13, "Havenport" few spoilers

Well, the shit hit the fan for Joe in this episode. Roderick tried his Plan B. Emma and Jacob are a couple again. Claire tried a bit of kiss and stab with her ex-hubby/slowly unravelling Joe. I laughed out when Joe told Claire, "I am having a really bad day" and to all in Chateau Psycho, "Everybody needs to calm down!"
When do they pass around the Kool-Aid?
I like the inspired casting of Warren Kole (Roderick) as the blond All American Boy country sheriff. I enjoyed the sparring on the phone between Joe and Ryan. Joe is a great manipulator of people, but a crap writer, as Claire commented last week. He is using "the therapy of words" ... you tosser, Professor.
Loved the gal with the hair pin in the last scene.