Tomorrow the BBC will be airing its annual Children In Need charity drive, and as part of the presentation they will Preview the Doctor Who Christmas Special. The exclusive clip will see the 12th Doctor and Nardole team up with an investigative reporter (think Lois Lane) and a Masked Vigilante to protect New York from an Alien Invasion. Because, you know, there is always an Alien Invasion of the Earth on Christmas Day, it’s in the rules! This clip forms part of the BBC’s Children in Need’s Appeal Show on Friday November 18th. The charity special starts at 7pm on BBC One, with no guesses what time the clip will air, while the actual Christmas Special (entitled The Return of Doctor Mysterio) airs on December 25th.
In Movies the animated Finding Dory from Disney and Pixar is the only film that had a widespread theatrical release. Ron Howard’s The Beatles: Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years was in theaters, but being a documentary it didn’t get the number of screens needed to take it beyond Limited Release. It did get enough that most people who wanted to see it could do so, although some folks had a bit of a drive, and is part of Hulu’s Because The Beatles collection. How Sarah Got Her Wings missed the big screen as it was a TV Holiday Special from Ion the other year.
Anime brings us Charlotte 2, the last 6 episodes of this 13 episode series about those with special powers. Priced at right around $13 per episode, I will be watching it on Crunchyroll for the foreseeable future. Ultimate Otaku Teacher Part 1 is about a smart guy who is only interested in his blog and hobbies of anime and manga. His sisters gets fed up and signs him up for a job as a teacher, which he turns out to be surprisingly good at. Yes, it isn’t genre, I am including it for its Otaku aspects. Chaos Dragon tells of a small country caught between two larger countries war. Its Dragon deity is insane, but the only hope they have is for the surviving member of the ruling family to form a bond with the Dragon, and channel his power to get the country back its freedom. Castle Town Dandelion – Complete Series has nine super powered siblings campaigning to take over their dads job and become the new king. File it under silly fun.
Think Ground Hog Day meets American Pie and you will be somewhere in the ball park. Yet another variation of living the same day over and over again until you get it right, the time travel story Premature looks like it just might end up being silly fun. While the movie was built in 2014, it has been bouncing around on the indi circuit for a few years and is just now making its way into the public realm.
This week brings Star Trek Beyond, yet another excellent episode from the rebooted Federation universe. There are all kinds of options on this release including multiple collectors sets with one or more different spaceship models, getting all three rebooted movies in one box set, and various exclusive bonus content add ins combined with cards and artwork, depending on who you decide to pick it up from. It looks like a whole lot of shopping outlets have jumped all over the Star Trek 50th celebration. Nine Lives is a family fantasy with Kevin Spacey as the cat and Christopher Walken as the guy who put him there. The 2016 animation Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders is based on the 60s TV show and features Adam West, Burt Ward, and Julie Newmar doing the voices for their characters from that series.
In Anime, Snow White with the Red Hair is about an herbalist with unique relationships with the royalty of two countries, and yes this is a medieval fantasy. Psychic School Wars is a 2012 movie about a time traveler awakening psychic abilities in students in the hope of avoiding a future disaster, but he may end up causing one in the present. To Love Ru Darkness 2 is season 4 of that franchise, with devil dolls and alien girls taking over the school.
There really aren’t any genre movies this week, but Keeping Up with the Joneses could be amusing if they didn’t go too over the top. Or it could be a good week to catch up with something you missed that is still in the theaters.
In Movies the two primary winners, both sequels. Tim Burton’s Alice Through the Looking Glass can be picked up by itself, or in a two-pack with the earlier film Alice In Wonderland. I saw both of them in the theaters, and I highly recommend each of them. Independence Day Resurgence is all about the action visuals, more than the plot or dialog, although a few of the actors were able to make something out of what the writers gave them to work with. There is also the kid-centric Nessie & Me for those looking for something to share with your children.
Anime doesn’t really have any new genre titles this time around, but the classic series The Vision Of Escaflowne is being re-released, both the complete series and the movie in a single boxed set. For those who already own some portion of it they are also coming out with the movie separately, and each 13 episode season in its own box. Finally, a 4 movie set made up of Memories, Paprika, Steamboy, and Tekkonkinkreet is being released, four of the finest anime feature films ever made.