Based on the comic book series Alias: Jessica Jones created by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos, the 2015 TV series Jessica Jones is a fantastic character study that turns the notion of superhero stories on its head.

Following Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), an incredibly strong ex-Avengers member turned private eye, the series eschews the costumed superhero norm by playing down Jessica’s powers and instead focusing on the psychology of the protagonist and other victims of the series’ “villain”, Kilgrave (David Tennant). Taking a neo-noir and psychological thriller approach to the classic detective tale, the series explores Jessica’s post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as other important modern topics, such identity, self-will, and drug-addiction.

When Jessica encounters other victims of Kilgrave, a man who has the ability to make people do what he says, and who she’s got a sordid history with, she tries to capture him. This leads to a series of clever plot twists as Kilgrave continues to elude Jessica despite her best attempts.

One of the series’ strengths is that in most episodes, while Kilgrave’s abilities are obviously portrayed as a threat, the character himself, for the most part, seems very human, with his own weaknesses and frailties that, for a time, endear him to the audience. Tennant’s charismatic onscreen presence and realistic, yet occasionally larger-than-life, portrayal of the character make him very human in his angst towards and love for Jessica. Unfortunately, towards the end of the season, the writers eschew the psychological depth established in earlier episodes and turn Kilgrave into a stereotypical villain.

In the beginning, Jessica, too, shows much psychological depth in the way she copes with her PTSD. Further, the development of the support group for Kilgrave victims demonstrates a level of maturity not seen in other television writing. However, this too is eschewed in later episodes as Jessica’s quest to stop Kilgrave becomes all-consuming. Jessica, a dark, sombre character driven to stop Kilgrave, is very much an anti-hero with a tough exterior. Yet, at times we get a glimpse of the woman behind this persona and we come to understand that her tough “G. I. Jane” personality protects a vulnerable person.

Each episode moves at a brisk pace and is executed with movie-like production. The show includes a sizable cast, from well-known actors like Carrie-Anne Moss, who plays driven lawyer, Jeri Hogarth, to lesser knows like Rachael Taylor who plays Jessica’s best friend, Trish Walker; Mike Coltler as Luke Cage, another hero in hiding; Wil Traval as NYPD sergeant Will Simpson; and Eka Darkville as Jessica’s drug-addled neighbour, Malcolm Ducasse. All give great performances, making each episode seem very believable.

Drawing audiences in with its realistic portrayal of this material, Jessica Jones is an in-depth character study, thrilling ride, and an interesting psychological study of the frightening possibilities and repercussion of having someone control you. It comes highly recommended.

4 ½ stars

Season 10 of The X-Files brings back many elements that made the original series great but also omits important ones.

I’ll admit it: I’m an X-Phile – an obsessive fan of this once great 90’s television phenomenon. So it was with much excitement and trepidation that I eagerly awaited the airing of the new series. Would it reach the heights established in previous seasons or would it tarnish this once great series? The answer is a bit of both.

Episode One, My Struggle (10x01), reintroduces Mulder and Scully since the events of I Want to Believe, introduces several new characters, and establishes a new mythology. Unfortunately, towards the end it tries to introduce too many theories and struggles to do most  of them justice. Moreover, the episode rehashes some mythology elements from Redux (5x02) and Redux II (5x03) without acknowledging it, and disrespects much of the mythology from the first nine seasons. Nonetheless, the characters are respected and have developed since I Want to Believe, and there is enough mystery and intrigue to set up for future mythology episodes and keep viewers watching.
3.5 stars

Founders Mutation (10x05) picks up threads from the opening episode about the government’s experimentation on humans and ties it together with the emotional ramifications of putting William (Mulder and Scully’s son) up for adoption. While the emotional scenes are touching, their limited number means they don’t carry the weight to move audiences deeply. The case itself constantly evolves as new evidence is uncovered, yet so much of it seems unrelated that it seems schizophrenic at times. Therefore, it comes across as emotionally flat, hard to follow, and the least effective episode of this season.
2.5 stars

While Mulder and Scully Meet the Were Monster (10x03) has a terrible title, the episode sees comic genius Darin Morgan return to pen an episode (his first since season 3’s Jose Chung’s From Outer Space), and follows in the footsteps the other four classics he penned. Mulder begins to doubt his pursuit of the truth, while the agents pursue someone who can transform himself into a beast that kills people. As the hilarity ensues, the episode interweaves a potent message about being human, a clever twist, and plenty of easter eggs for X-Philes to locate. Despite being Scully-lite, this poignant and hysterical episode is the highlight of the season.
5 stars.

In Home Again (10x02), the agents investigate a case where a monster comes to the aid of the homeless to protect them from government machinations. Although initially mundane, the case ends with an interesting twist and speaks of life’s impermanence, the ability to give and take life, and the responsibility inherent in creating life. Interweaved with this is an emotional sub-story about the ailing Mrs Scully and Scully’s shame about putting William up for adoption. With an excellent performance from Gillian Anderson, these scenes draw audiences into Scully’s emotional landscape. But on the whole, the episode is fairly average.
3 stars.

Babylon (10x04) is a poignant episode about the power of words and the effect they can have on people and society. Taking a similar quirky, comedic, and feel-good tone to other Carter directed episodes (Post-Modern Prometheus (5x06), Triangle  (6x03), How the Ghosts Stole Christmas (6x08), and Improbable (9x14), it delves into the concept of duality (explored successfully in Syzygy (3x13) and mutilated in the abysmal Fight Club (7x20)). When terrorist bomb a club, agents Miller and Einstein, who parallel Mulder and Scully, draw on the expertise of The X-Files’ agents to communicate with one of the comatose bombers. Much hilarity ensues as each of the agents pit their theories against one another and Mulder “trips” on magic mushrooms. While some of the early humour is low key, like the aforementioned episodes, Babylon ends on a touching, feel-good moment between Mulder and Scully that will make audiences smile.
4 stars

The season finale, My Struggle II (10x06), parallels the opening episode, but focuses on Scully. When several viral outbreaks threaten the world’s population, Scully and Einstein struggle to prove alien DNA in everyone’s genetic makeup causes it, while Miller searches for Mulder, who encounters an old foe. Unfortunately, Monica Reyes, reintroduced here, is dishonoured because she makes a decision that is out of character with who she is. Moreover, the grandiose scope feels too big even for The X-Files. Nonetheless, the threads left dangling in the opening episode are used much more effectively here to create a suspense-filled, drama-driven thriller reminiscence of previous mythology episodes.
4 stars

Overall, this season has been about the writers re-locating the show’s voice and integrating a modern approach to storytelling by interweaving sub-stories into each episode’s narrative. Sadly, only a few episodes manage to do either successfully, let alone both. Moreover, much of the dialogue is overwritten, especially in the episodes written by Chris Carter (My Struggle, Babylon, My Struggle II).

Mark Snow's music retains its familiar tones, even reusing some cues from previous episodes. Instead of dating the series, this creates a sense of familiarity, drawing audiences into a comfortable state. Fortunately, Snow has updated his sound, giving the series a sense of aural progression.

Unfortunately, most of the episodes eschew the series’ traditional ‘hiding the evidence in shadows’ style, which used to make the unbelievable believable. This is further marred by filming during Vancouver’s summer, which lacks the dark atmosphere conveyed during seasons 1-5 and I Want to Believe. And many episodes are more of a nod to the series’ past than a progression of the series. This is evident in the original title sequence being used instead of a modern one, which dates the series more than anything, the lack of Scully’s name on the basement office’s door, and many other aspects like this.

Nonetheless, season 10 reveals that the show still has some validity in the modern era. With some tweaking and a focus on producing quality stories, future instalments of The X-Files have the potential to raise this once great series to the status it once had.

Overall: 3 stars.

The Legend of Korra, the animated series follow up to Avatar: The Last Airbender, centres on new avatar, Korra, some years after the death of Aang, the previous avatar. Set in the same world, the series delivers mature content through serious and pertinent themes.

Series one finds Korra under the tuition of air-bender guru, Tenzin, Kitara and Aang’s by-the-book son. During Korra’s training, she and Tenzin are often at heads with each other. Meanwhile, she makes new friends with Mako and Bolin, two bending champions, as well as team sponsor, Asami. When the anti-bending messiah, Amon, surfaces with the ability to remove people’s bending, Korra, finds herself caught in a big mystery as she comes to terms with her weaknesses.

Series two takes places some time later when Korra’s uncle Unalaq, chief of the northern water tribe, asks Korra to use her avatar-powers to open the portals to the spirit world. This results in some drastic changes to the world as well as several betrayals.

In series three, Korra and her friends deal with the consequences of opening the spirit portals as well as a secret society who wants to destroy all forms of government.

The fourth and final series picks up some months later, with Korra wandering the world trying to escape her powerlessness and shadow self. Meanwhile, Mako has become a bodyguard for Prince Wu, Bolin a member of Kovera’s earth nation, and Asami an industrialist. This series focuses on resolving many of the character arcs, while pitting Korra against Kovera’s militaristic view of bringing unification to the world’s nations.

The Legend of Korra’s storytelling is very tight, with many plot twists, and tense scenarios. Moreover, the series, especially series four, deals with some very mature, controversial issues, such as PTSD, fascism, the consequences of mass destruction, self-belief, eastern philosophy, and connecting with the spiritual self, while retaining the focus on balance and mindfulness. At times, the portrayal of some of this material, especially series two’s spiritual focus, is clumsy, however, for the most part it is presented in a believable and relatable manner.

The female characters really come to the fore, especially in series four, offering positive (and negative) role models for young girls.

The primary protagonists are well rounded and credible characters audiences will come to love. Unfortunately, from series two onwards, Bolin is turned into a buffoon for comedic purposes, which is disappointing because it fails to honour his character. Eventually, however, he re-evolves into the character established in series one.

The series features some amazing cel and 3D animation. Characters’ gestures and animations are realistic and convincing and, in most places, the blending of cel and 3D animation is seamless.

Overall, creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartno should be applauded for creating an avant-garde animated television series that confronts mature and engaging themes and pushes the boundaries of animation. The Legend of Korra is MUST SEE TV, especially series one and four.
 
4 ½ stars