Review: Doctor Who, Episode 4.12, "The Stolen Earth"

I'll try to compose myself to write this review, lest I fall into the fangirl madness of squeeing and running around screaming from the sheer awesomeness that is "The Stolen Earth."

Part two of the three-part season finale is hands down my favorite episode of the fourth season so far, thanks to the mad genius writing of departing showrunner Russell T Davies. Paul Cornell and future showrunner Steven Moffat may be the best writers on the show since its revival, but Davies at his best is the one who can rain down the fire of pure insanity and make it work oh so well. He's ending his final full season by pulling out all the stops to deliver one exquisite moment of fanservice after another. The visual effects this week are absolutely fantastic.

Next week: the conclusion of the season finale, "Journey's End." Can it possibly top this episode? I don't how I can possibly wait another week to see how it all ends!

Warning: spoilers below, please highlight the white space with your mouse to read them.

A season finale this big could only take the form of a complete Whoniverse crossover of Doctor Who, Torchwood, and The Sarah Jane Adventures!

Oh my! Where has the Earth gone?

We finally meet the people behind the Shadow Proclamation!

Judoon!

Daleks! Daleks everywhere! Millions of them! Yay!!! Oh, yes, God, bring on the exterminating!

Wilf is once again made of awesome!

Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister!

We finally see the oft mentioned Medusa Cascade! Apparently the Doctor hasn't been there since he was the First Doctor.

Dalek Caan has completely lost his little mutant mind. I love it!

Team TARDIS, Martha Jones, Team Torchwood, and Team Sarah Jane finally meet each other (or at least those who haven't previously met)!

Another First Doctor reference, this time to the 1964 serial, "The Dalek Invasion of Earth."

Davros finally wheels out of the shadows so we can see him!

Rose and the Doctor see each other!

Oh no! The Doctor's been shot by a Dalek!

Cliffhanger ending: the Doctor begins to regenerate!

Early buzz for The Dark Knight is extremely positive, with noted film critic Peter Travers calling Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker "mad-crazy-blazing brilliant" and "a Joker for the ages."

Robert Rodriguez (director of Sin City and Planet Terror) will produce a new version of Red Sonja to be directed by Douglas Aarniokoski (Highlander: Endgame) with Rose McGowan in the title role.

1981's Clash of the Titans is set to be remade by director Louis Leterrier (Transporter 2, The Incredible Hulk) from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan (The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark). The original film was most notable for Ray Harryhausen's stop motion visual effects, but no doubt the new film will rely on CGI, as it will be shot using the same digital backlot method as Sin City and 300.

Sticking with the themes of Greek mythology and digital backlots, Tarsem Singh (The Cell, The Fall) is attached to direct War of the Gods, a fantasy epic set in ancient Greece. There's reportedly a race on to see which of the two Greek mythological films will get made first.

This week's comic book purchases: Uncanny X-Men #499 (wow, I've been reading this title since #135 in 1980), X-Men: First Class #13, X-Men Legacy #213, Green Lantern #32, Runaways #30 (Joss Whedon's final issue as writer), Trinity #4, Madame Xanadu #1, Jack of Fables #23, Conan the Cimmerian #0, Final Crisis #2, Superman #677, Angel: Revelations #2, Mythos: Captain America #1, Captain America #39, and Wolverine: Origins #26.

Teaser: Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Here's the teaser for Joss Whedon's upcoming three-part internet musical series, Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Whedon is the director and co-writer, and the cast includes Nathan Fillion, Neil Patrick Harris, and Felicia Day (Potential Slayer Vi on the final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer).

Review: The Middleman, Episode 1.2, "The Accidental Occidental Conception"

The enjoyably tongue-in-cheek adventure show developed by former Lost staff writer/producer Javier Grillo-Marxuach based on his comic book series of the same name continues with another fun episode, this one by staff writer/co-producer Sarah Watson.

This week, the Middleman and sidekick Wendy Watson are aided by a reformed succubus as they face off against a mystical Chinese warrior with the fate of the world in the balance. There are also several clever nods to The Devil Wears Prada and Frank Herbert's Dune. I like this show a lot. It makes for something light and entertaining to watch on Monday evenings.

Viewers might notice it's broadcast in an unusual aspect ratio. I couldn't tell what the ratio was, so I went to the source and asked creator/showrunner Grillo-Marxuach on his blog. He responded, and it turns out the network is broadcasting it in the 14:9 (1.56:1) widescreen ratio instead of the more common 16:9 (1.78:1) widescreen ratio. 14:9 is more commonly used in Britain, Ireland, and Australia as a compromise between 4:3 (1.33:1) fullscreen and 16:9 widescreen. The show is filmed in 16:9, though, and it will be released on DVD and iTunes in the correct aspect ratio.