Merlin - The Wicked Day

Finally, a major shift in the storyline.  If you don't like ##SPOILERS## look away now!
An assassin is let loose within the walls of Camelot and very nearly kills Arthur, when King Uther snaps out of his immense depression to save Arthur's life, only to be mortally wounded.
Arthur can't bear to see his father on his death bed and decides to make the incredible decision to use magic to save Uther's life.  Merlin becomes his aged alter-ego, Dragoon and attempts to heal Uther in the hope that with that one action, he can help bring an end to the death sentence to magic users.  Unfortunately, Morgana and Agravaine are one step ahead and plant a magic item on Uther that will give the opposite result multiple times over of any spell directed at the wearer.  So when Merlin/Dragood attempts to heal Uther, instead of saving his life, he kills him!
Finally Arthur is crowned King but Merlin still cannot openly help his friend with his magic as Arthur is now even more against any magic users.
This was a great episode and a massive turning point in the story.  It is about time that Arthur became King and now we just need to get Merlin fighting at his side as the mighty wizard that he is.
What did everyone else think?  How did you feel when Uther passed?

Stir Of Echoes

What would happen if a sceptic was hypnotised and left with a suggestion to have a more 'open mind'?  This is the premise of this 1999 supernatural thriller starring everyman Kevin Bacon as everyman Tom Witzky.  He's a blue collar bloke, renting a house in the 'burbs of Chicago, married with a son and another child on the way.  There is nothing special about him.  That is until his Sister-In-Law hypnotises him at a party and suggests he have a more open mind.  Trouble is, once the doors of him mind are opened, anything can get in!
Tom starts to see the ghost of a young woman played by House's Jennifer Morrison and as the story progresses, she becomes more insistent and Tom becomes more unstable.  He stops going to work, can't sleep, has increasing disturbing visions and ends up tearing his house apart to find the answer to the question the ghost is asking - help solve her disappearance.  Oh, and his young son is talking with her as well!
The movie turns in to a competent whodunnit with a spooky twist.  It's actually a clever story (based on a novel by acclaimed author Richard Matheson, adapted by director David Koepp).  It's also well acting with the always capable Kevin Bacon channeling some of his Flatliners energy.
I'm a big believer in the afterlife, what about you?  Could what happened in the movie happen in real life?  Could the dead communicate with the living, if they have 'open minds'?  Has anyone had any personal experiences they would like to share? I enjoyed this movie and give it a high 7 out of 10.

Camelot - Igraine

In the second half of night four, Morgan has assumed the guise of Igraine.  Clumsily, the writers introduce a cherub of an orphan who conveniently is very good friends with the real Igraine and Merlin (1. Would Merlin really be friends with a little boy? 2. Why have we not seen him before?) This just led me to see his fate written boldly in this story because he is only brought in for one purpose - to recognise Morgan for who she is.
Morgan/Igraine meets up with Leontes and lets slip about Arthur and Guinevere acting as if she thought he knew.  I presume this was the whole purpose of this and the last episode.  I am sure there could have been a more economical way of getting to this point?
Morgan then seduces Merlin and they end up in bed together and strangely, he appears to recognise that she is not Igraine, but keeps going anyway. 
Post-coitus, Morgan starts to lose grip on her identity and leaves the room, only for the boy to run across her.  Now why is the boy up at that late hour and why is no one else walking around?  Are there no guards in Camelot?  She accidentally kills the boy (once again, why does no one hear this or why are there no guards in the main chamber?) and then goes to leave.
However, coming in to Camelot at the same time is the real Igraine who has escaped Castle Pendragon by killing her guard.  She was not expecting to see herself standing there and the shock makes her think she is losing her mind.
This was a clumsily written episode.  Only one more night to go.  Hopefully they will get to the point.

Camelot - The Long Night

Night four of the Camelot 'Mini-Series' starts with the episode, The Long Night and this is exactly how it felt watching this meandering mess of an episode.  The wheels well and truly began to fall off this show at this point and they probably lost heaps of viewers I would think.
Morgan once again invites Arthur and his Knights to Castle Pendragon, which he goes to for some reason!?  While there, Morgan gives them food and drink and woman and then in the dead of night, creates a fake attack on the castle.  I am not really sure what the purpose of all this was but by the end of the episode, Arthur and his people return to Camelot unknowingly taking Morgan with them.  She has taken the guise of Igraine who is now locked and chained within the Castle.
A pointless storyline.

Supernatural - Meet The New Boss

Supernatural is back!  Season seven starts off where Season Six finished with Castiel proclaiming himself the new God.  With no other option open to them, the brothers call on Death to try and stop Castiel, but Death reveals that Cas also has The Leviathan within him and they should never have been allowed to escape.  Cas escapes but realises that he can't control all of the souls within him and return to Dean and Sam for their help.  While they are able to return all the souls to purgatory, The Leviathan remains and takes over cas, telling the brothers, they have killed Cas and taken over his body.  Meanwhile, Sam sees Lucifer who tells him that everything he has lived through and is living through is an elaborate sham.  He tells him he is still in The Cage with him and this is his torture.  Could this be true or is Sam losing his mind?  Will the Leviathan kill Dean and Bobby?  Is Cas really dead?  Find out the answers to these questions and more in next week's exciting episode of Supernatural!
Wow, so we might see an end to the whole angels and God storyline and the start of a new Big Bad, or are they going to pull a 'Dallas' and have the whole previous season be a figment of Sam's tortured soul from within The Cage?

The Defenders - Noland v. Galloway Pharmaceuticals

Two cases based on the same issue, poor packaging of a vital drug that can either save a person's life or, if given an overdoes, could give them brain damage or even kill them. Is it the fault of the packaging or the paramedics who have to administer the drug? A reasonably straight forward story with a couple of in-house issues, mainly the first case being looked after by Lisa being put on the back burner until they win the main case and her handling of that issue.  She feels slighted and when she is offered a job with the DA's office, she seriously considers it.  Her behaviour towards Nick is horrendous for an employee.  She should trust her boss.
A great scene to illustrate the problem with the packaging when Pete volunteers to eat something he is allergic to and needs the drug to survive and Nick puts the boss on the spot to identify the correct bottle (with a little trickery!).
A good solid episode.

Body Of Proof - Buried Secrets

A really clever little episode which starts of differently to the way it ends, not what you thought the story was about.  It starts with a woman who is overtired, driving home from her shift when she accidentally runs over something in the road.  The next morning, it is revealed the woman had run over a man, a police officer.  However, as usual, things are not as simple as they appear.  Megan starts to investigate and discovers that the man was already dead and that it appears he was poisoned.
Was it the drug dealer that had lodged a complaint against the cop?  Or is it related to the cold case he has been working on, searching for the killer of a high school girl?
Megan has to go to her Mother, Judge Joan Hunt played by Joanna Cassidy, to get permission to resume the body of the dead girl.  (Clever way of finding the killer but I really would have thought the body would have been more decomposition after all that time?).  At the end of the episode, she returns to her Mother to get permission to resume her Father's body, but her Mother denies her request.
Another great episode.