Tony Todd up for a role on the new STAR TREK series

Veteran science fiction and horror actor Tony Todd is apparently being considered for a role on the new Star Trek TV series from CBS.

Tony Todd as the adult Jake Sisko in the Deep Space Nine episode The Visitor, which aired in 1995.

Tony Todd rose to fame playing the title character in the Candyman movies, but in the 1990s got involved in the Star Trek franchise. He is most famous in that franchise for playing the role of Commander Kurn of the Klingon Defence Forces, Lt. Worf's younger brother. He appeared in that role in four episodes: Sins of the Father (Season 3), Redemption (Season 4) and Redemption, Part II (Season 5) for The Next Generation and Sons of Mogh (Season 4) for Deep Space Nine. He also played two other characters: a far-future, adult version of Jake Sisko in DS9's The Visitor (Season 4) and the Alpha Hirogen in Star Trek: Voyager's Prey (Season 4).

Having played three different roles on three Trek series set in the same universe, Todd's possible return does not mean that the new series will definitely take place in the original continuity rather than the revamped canon of the J.J. Abrams movies. It's also unclear if Todd is being considered for a recurring role or a series regular.

The new Star Trek series will debut on CBS with following episodes to be released CBS's on-demand digital service. Bryan Fuller and Alex Kurtzman will be producing the new series, expected to debut in January 2017.

Atlas of Ice and Fire updates

The new Atlas of Ice and Fire blog has been a big success after just two days, attracting roughly comparable hits to the Wertzone. This is pretty cool stuff.

The posts I've up so far are as follows:

• Welcome to the Atlas of Ice and Fire
• Maps in Fantasy
• The Maps of A Song of Ice and Fire: A Game of Thrones
• The Maps of A Song of Ice and Fire: A Clash of Kings
• The Maps of A Song of Ice and Fire: A Storm of Swords
• The Maps of A Song of Ice and Fire: A Feast for Crows 
• The Maps of A Song of Ice and Fire: A Dance with Dragons 
• The Maps of A Song of Ice and Fire: RPGs and Box Sets 
• The Maps of A Song of Ice and Fire: The Lands of Ice and Fire 
• The Maps of A Song of Ice and Fire: The World of Ice and Fire 
• The Maps of Game of Thrones: Westeros on TV 
• The Maps of A Song of Ice and Fire: Fan Maps 
• Karen Wynn Fonstad and the Art of Fantasy Cartography 
• The Size and Extent of Westeros 
• The Size and Extent of Essos, Sothoryos and Ulthos

To summarise: MAPS.

A new blogging project: The Atlas of Ice and Fire

Because running this site isn't work enough, I have started a new blog: The Atlas of Ice and Fire.

This new blog will concern itself with fantasy geography, mapping and other issues related to maps. As the title implies, it will deal primarily with maps related to A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones, but it will also deal with maps related to other fantasy novels and other topics related to ASoIaF and GoT.

Of course, blogging on general SFF topics will continue here on The Wertzone and topics of interest to both sets of readers will be cross-posted on both sites.

A History of Epic Fantasy: Appendix A - Timeline of Notable Books

With work proceeding on the book version of A History of Epic Fantasy, I thought I'd share a tidbit with you here.

This is the first appendix, a timeline of notable, influential or discussed works in the history of epic fantasy or other subgenres which have had a reasonable degree or profile or impact on what came after. The list is, of course, highly subjective but I think this covers both the expected, major works and a number of lower-profile, interesting books. The list is not based on quality, which is why you may find a few lesser-regarded books on here which were, nevertheless, massive sellers. These are also the books that (mostly) will be discussed in the main body of the text.

With a couple of exceptions, only the first volume of a series is listed because otherwise the list would be fifty times longer than it is right now.

Timeline of Key Books:

c. 760-710 BC: The Iliad and The Odyssey, Homer

19 BC:            The Aeneid, Virgil

8 AD: The Metamorphoses, Ovid

1485:   Morte d'Arthur, Sir Thomas Malory

1725:   Gulliver's Travels, Jonathan Swift

1854:   The Rose and the Ring, William Makepeace Thackeray

1858:   Phantastes, George MacDonald

1862:   Goblin Market and Other Poems, Christina Rossetti
1896:   The Well at the World's End, William Morris

1900:   The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Frank L. Baum

1922:   The Worm Ouroboros, E.R. Eddison

1924:   The King of Elfland's Daughter, Lord Dunsany

1926:   Lud-in-the-Mist, Hope Mirlees
1927:   Kull the Conqueror (short story series), Robert E. Howard

1932:   Conan the Barbarian (short story and novel series), Robert E. Howard

1934:   Jiriel of Joiry (short story series) by C.L. Moore
1937:   The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, J.R.R. Tolkien

1938:   The Sword in the Stone (The Once and Future King), T.H. White

1939:   Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser (short story and novel series), Fritz Leiber

1946:   Titus Groan (Gormenghast Trilogy), Mervyn Peake

1949:   The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia), C.S. Lewis

1950:   The Dying Earth (Dying Earth), Jack Vance

1954:   The Broken Sword, Poul Anderson

1954-55: The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien

1961:   The Dreaming City (Elric), Michael Moorcock

1962:   The Letter for the King, Tonke Dragt
1963:   Witch World (Witch World), Andre Norton
1964:   The Book of Three (Chronicles of Prydain), Lloyd Alexander

1965:   Elidor, Alan Garner

1968:   A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea), Ursula K. Le Guin

            Dragonflight (Dragonriders of Pern), Anne McCaffrey
            The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle

1970:   Nine Princes in Amber (Chronicles of Amber), Roger Zelazny

            Deryni Rising (Deryni), Katherine Kurtz
            The Crystal Cave, Mary Stewart

1974:   The Forgotten Beasts of Eld, Patricia A. McKillip

            Dungeons and Dragons (roleplaying game), Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson

1976:   The Riddle-Master of Hed (Riddle-Master), Patricia A. McKillip

1977:   The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien

            Lord Foul's Bane (Chronicles of Thomas Covenant), Stephen Donaldson

            The Sword of Shannara (Shannara), Terry Brooks

            A Spell for Chameleon (Xanth), Piers Anthony

1978:   The Stand, Stephen King
1979:   The Neverending Story, Michael Ende

1980:   The Shadow of the Torturer (Book of the New Sun), Gene Wolfe
1982:   Magician (Riftwar Saga), Raymond E. Feist

            Pawn of Prophecy (The Belgariad), David Eddings

            The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower), Stephen King

            Suldrun's Garden (Lyonesse), Jack Vance

            Daggerspell (Deverry), Katharine Kerr

1983:   The Colour of Magic (Discworld), Terry Pratchett

            The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley

            Harpy's Flight, Megan Lindholm (Robin Hobb)

            Cloud Warrior (Amtrak Wars), Patrick Tilley

1984:   Legend (Drenai), David Gemmell

            The Black Company (Black Company), Glen Cook

            Dragons of Autumn Twilight (Dragonlance),Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman

            Stormwarden (Cycle of Fire), Janny Wurts

1986:   The Wizards and the Warriors (Chronicles of an Age of Darkness), Hugh Cook

            The Anvil of Ice (Winter of the World), Michael Scott Rohan

1987:   Arrows of the Queen (Valdemar), Mercedes Lackey

            The Eyes of the Dragon, Stephen King

            Wolf in Shadow (Sipstrassi), David Gemmell

            Godslayer (Renshai), Mickey Zucker Reichert

1988:   The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow & Thorn), Tad Williams

            Dragon Prince (Dragon Prince), Melanie Rawn

            The Crystal Shard (Icewind Dale), R.A. Salvatore

            The Labyrinth Gate, Alis A. Ramussen (Kate Elliott)

            Sheepfarmer's Daughter (Deed of Paksenarrion), Elizabeth Moon

1989:   Shadowrun (roleplaying game), Jordan Weisman

            Guards! Guards! (Discworld), Terry Pratchett
            Sandman (comic series), Neil Gaiman

1990:   The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time), Robert Jordan

            Tigana, Guy Gavriel Kay

            Homeland (Dark Elf), R.A. Salvatore
            Good Omens, Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett

1992:   Earthdawn (roleplaying game), Jordan Weisman

1993:   Small Gods (Discworld), Terry Pratchett

            Curse of the Mistwraith (Wars of Light & Shadow), Janny Wurts

            The Last Wish (The Witcher), Andrzej Sapkowski

1994:   The Ruins of Ambrai (Exiles), Melanie Rawn

            Wizards' First Rule (Sword of Truth), Terry Goodkind

1995:   Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer), Robin Hobb

            Hawkwood's Voyage (Monarchies of God), Paul Kearney

            The Lions of Al-Rassan, Guy Gavriel Kay

            The Baker's Boy (Book of Words), JV Jones
            Northern Lights (His Dark Materials), Phillip Pullman

1996:   A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire), George R.R. Martin

            The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, Diana Wynne Jones

            The Roof of Voyaging (Navigator Kings), Garry Kilworth

1997:   Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter), J.K. Rowling

            Dark Lord of Derkholm, Diana Wynne Jones

            King's Dragon (Crown of Stars), Kate Elliott

1998:   Colours in the Steel (Fencer), K.J. Parker

            Heroes Die (Acts of Caine), Matt Woodring Stover

            Ship of Magic (Liveship Traders), Robin Hobb

1999:   Gardens of the Moon (Malazan Book of the Fallen), Steven Erikson

            A Cavern of Black Ice (Sword of Shadows), J.V. Jones

2000:   Ash: A Secret History, Mary Gentle

            Perdido Street Station, China Miéville

2001:   Kushiel's Dart (Kushiel), Jacqueline Carey

            Cities of Saints and Madmen, Jeff VanderMeer

            The Magician's Guild (Black Magician), Trudi Canavan

            Across the Nightingale Floor (Otori), Lian Hearn

            The Curse of Chalion (War of the Five Gods), Lois McMaster Bujold
            American Gods, Neil Gaiman

2002:   The Scar, China Miéville

            Eragon (Inheritance), Christopher Paolini

2003:   The Etched City, K.J. Bishop

            The Weavers of Saramyr (Braided Path), Chris Wooding

            The Briar King (Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone), Greg Keyes

2004:   The Darkness That Comes Before (Prince of Nothing), R. Scott Bakker

            Night of Knives (Malazan Empire), Ian Cameron Esslemont

            The Year of Our War (Castle), Steph Swainston

            Banewreaker (Sundering), Jacqueline Carey

2005:   Elantris, Brandon Sanderson

2006:   The Blade Itself (First Law), Joe Abercrombie

            The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard), Scott Lynch

            His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire), Naomi Novik

            Scar Night (Deepgate Codex), Alan Campbell

            A Shadow in Summer (Long Price), Daniel Abraham

            The Final Empire (Mistborn), Brandon Sanderson

2007:   The Name of the Wind (Kingkiller Chronicle), Patrick Rothfuss

            The Cardinal's Blades (Cardinal's Blades), Pierre Pevel

            Spirit Gate (Crossroads), Kate Elliott

            The Summoner (Necromancer), Gail Z. Martin

2008:   The Steel Remains (Land Fit For Heroes), Richard Morgan

            The Ten Thousand (Macht), Paul Kearney

            The Crown Conspiracy (Ririya Revelations), Michael J. Sullivan

            The Painted Man (Demon), Peter V. Brett

2009:   Pathfinder (roleplaying game), Paizo Publishing

            Nights of Villjamur (Legends of the Red Sun), Mark Charan Newton

            Retribution Falls (Tales of the Ketty Jay), Chris Wooding

2010:   God's War (Bel Dame Apocrypha), Kameron Hurley

            Under Heaven, Guy Gavriel Kay

            The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (Inheritance), N.K. Jemisin
            The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archive), Brandon Sanderson

2011:   Prince of Thorns (Broken Empire), Mark Lawrence

            The Dragon's Path (Dagger and the Coin), Daniel Abraham

            Tome of the Undergates (Aeons' Gate), Sam Sykes

2012:   The Killing Moon (Dreamblood), N.K. Jemisin

            Range of Ghosts (Eternal Sky), Elizabeth Bear

            Blood Song (Raven's Shadow), Anthony Ryan

            The Heir of Night (Wall of Night), Helen Lowe

2013:   Malice (Faithful and the Fallen), John Gwynne

            The Grim Company (Grim Company), Luke Scull

2014:   The Mirror Empire (Worldbreaker), Kameron Hurley

            Prince of Fools (Red Queen's War), Mark Lawrence

            The Emperor's Blades (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne), Brian Staveley

            Promise of Blood (Powder Mage), Brian McClellan

2015:   The Fifth Season (Broken Earth), N.K. Jemisin

            The City Stained Red (Bring Down Heaven), Sam Sykes

Trailer for ORPHAN BLACK Season 4

BBC America have released a new trailer for the fourth (and apparently penultimate) season of Orphan Black.

Season 4 will start airing on Thursday 14 April in the United States (and presumably Canada, which usually airs the same night on the Space Channel). No UK airdate has been set. With the demise of the show's former home on BBC3, it's assumed it will go straight onto the BBC iPlayer service. However, last year they still, bizarrely, made fans wait six months for this. The timescale this time around is not known.

So a new HALF-LIFE game came out today

Sadly not Half-Life 3. Instead the new game is called Prospekt and is a stand-alone expansion for Half-Life 2 whilst also serving as a sequel to the classic, original Half-Life expansion Opposing Force.

Long-term gamers will recall that in Opposing Force you played Adrian Shephard, one of the special forces sent into the Black Mesa facility to kill the witnesses to the resonance cascade event that permitted the invasion of Earth by the evil Combine in the first place. Shephard didn't take part in the morally murky shenanigans, instead being enlisted by the enigmatic G-Man to help out Gordon Freeman in his mission from behind the scenes. At the end of the game G-Man temporally suspended Shephard like he did Freeman.

In Prospekt, Shephard is awoken after a decade or so in suspension. Earth is now under Combine occupation and the events of Half-Life 2 are underway. Gordon Freeman is mounting his assault on the Nova Prospekt prison facility and Shephard is once again deployed to help him from behind the scenes, diverting Combine reinforcements and so forth. The game pits Shephard against traditional Half-Life 2 enemies (and some from the episodes). The game features updated visual effects because, well, it's not 2004 any more.

Sadly, overeager fans shouldn't read too much into the release of this episode and what it might mean for the long-MIA Half-Life 3. The game is the creation of Half-Life superfan Richard Seabrook. It so impressed Valve that they've agreed to release it officially, and you can get it on Steam here.

Warren Spector working on SYSTEM SHOCK 3

In a surprising but welcome move, legendary video game designer Warren Spector has joined Otherside, the company who are making the long-awaited System Shock 3.

Warren Spector has a storied history in video games development. He began his career at Origin Systems working on the Wing Commander and Ultima franchises in the early 1990s, particularly on the well-received Ultima Underworld which was praised for its cutting-edge 3D graphics system and the game's remarkable reactivity to player choice. When Origin became defunct he joined the infamous Looking Glass Studios, where he worked on System Shock and Thief: The Dark Project. When Looking Glass Studios broke up, he co-founded Ion Storm and worked on System Shock 2 and Thief: The Dark Ages. However, his main claim to fame is creating the Deus Ex franchise and working on both Deus Ex and Deus Ex: Invisible War. After Ion Storm broke up he joined Disney and worked on the Epic Mickey franchise. Most recently he has been working at the University of Texas in Austin on a game development programme.

Otherside Entertainment is currently working on both System Shock 3 and Underworld Ascendant, a spiritual successor to Ultima Underworld and its sequel. Having Spector on board to work on both is a huge boon. He is one of the few video game developers with big name recognition and will no doubt reduce concerns that both games are simply nostalgia cash-grabs. It'll be interesting to see how these develop.

Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold

Miles Vorkosigan is enjoying his honeymoon...right up to the point that he is diverted to Graf Station in Quaddiespace to sort out a diplomatic mess involving Barrayaran warships, Komarran transports and some missing personnel. What initially appears to be a straightforward mission rapidly escalates into a major incident that threatens to break out into full-scale war.

After several novels in a row concerned primarily with Miles Vorkosigan's character development, Diplomatic Immunity sees Lois McMaster Bujold returning to something of a more "normal" approach for the series. She sets up a series of interconnecting mysteries built around some interesting SF ideas and then sets Miles loose to investigate and resolve the situation with a (relative) minimum of fuss. This time around Miles is accompanied by his wife, Ekaterin, and reunited with one of his old Dendarii compatriots, but for the most part it's Miles doing what Miles does best: fast-talking, quick-thinking and having a lot of fun in the process.

The novel is also a bit of a sequel to one of Bujold's earlier novels, Falling Free, which is set in the Vorkosigan universe but is not part of the core series. That book explored the development of the quaddies, humans genetically engineered to best exploit freefall by being given an extra pair of arms and hands instead of legs. Diplomatic Immunity also catches up with the quaddies and reveals what has become of their society in the  intervening two centuries (Falling Free accompanies Diplomatic Immunity in the omnibus edition).

The book is standard fare for Bujold and Miles: well-written, with some clever ideas, some unexpected twists (the escalation of the situation from a minor drama to a massive diplomatic incident is sudden but convincing) and some nice work in terms of both characterisation and plot. It's a smart novel, although it is a little too reliant on coincidences. We are told repeatedly how obscure, bizarre and off the beaten track Graf Station is, so Miles running into two people he's met in previous adventures purely by chance is a little hard to swallow. Once you move past that, it becomes a more interesting story combining mystery, action and politics.

If Diplomatic Immunity does have a major flaw, it's that it feels a little slight in terms of Miles's own character development in the wake of Mirror Dance, Memory, Komarr and A Civil Campaign. But after a whole series of traumas, it is also kind of fun to see Miels not being put through the emotional or physical wringer so much and just getting on with his job.

Diplomatic Immunity (****) is a fun, enjoyable addition to The Vorkosigan Saga. It is available now as part of the Miles, Mutants and Microbes omnibus (UK, USA).

The Wire: Season 5 (HD)

On 4 February 2009 I reviewed the fifth season of The Wire. I recently completed rewatching the season thanks to the recent HD re-release, courtesy of HBO, and here's the original review with some updated thoughts.

 
The fifth and final season of The Wire is given the task of wrapping up all the loose ends from previous seasons and also to give space to a new storyline element, that of the media. With the police, criminals, politicians, working class and teachers already covered, moving into the newspapers is the logical next port of call, especially since many of the show's writers cut their teeth as journalists at one time or another.

Thanks to the efforts of the ever-redoubtable defence attorney Maurice Levy, Marlo Stanfield and his crew have avoided jail time, despite being linked to 22 bodies discovered in vacant housing in Baltimore. New mayor Tommy Carcetti wants the murders solved, so the Major Crimes Unit has been reconstituted with most of the old team back in play: Kima, Freamon, McNulty and Sydnor. Meanwhile, Herc has been forced to leave the police and is now working for Levy as a private investigator, and Omar is enjoying a holiday life down in the Caribbean, having apparently left behind the game for good. Unfortunately, Carcetti has inherited a massive education budget deficit from his predecessor and is forced to divert substantial financial resources away from the police to the schools. The Major Crimes Unit is disbanded, and even the street cops find their vehicle maintenance funding being pulled. With the police off his back, Marlo's consolidation of control over the city's drug trade suddenly ramps up to a new and dangerous level and he vows to settle his score with Omar.

With bodies dropping but no funds available to investigate them, McNulty comes up with a scheme to get attention and resources back to the police force but, needless to say, it backfires spectacularly. At the same time, the Baltimore Sun is facing cutbacks but an ambitious young reporter, Scott Templeton, finds unorthodox means of finding new stories that please the bosses but annoy his editor.

The final season of The Wire has a lot of ground to cover, as the police force's attempts to take down Marlo hit a brick wall and a new case rapidly rises to prominence, whilst a whole new facet of the city is explored through the newspaper. Simultaneously, many subplots running from the previous season continue to be explored, such as the continuing trials of the former schoolchildren from Prez's class (although only Dukie and Michael have a lot of screen time this season, Namond and Randy being reduced to cameos) and Marlo's attempt to dispose of the last barrier between him and total control of the city's drug trade. As a result a lot of other storylines fall behind. Carver and Herc appear a lot less than before (although when they do appear, they have some important things to contribute to the show's ending), Prez only has a brief cameo and the school storyline is pretty much abandoned. Cutty also only has a brief appearance, although given that his rehabilitation arc through Seasons 3 and 4 is pretty much complete that is more understandable.

The name of the game this year is resolution. McNulty and Freamon are out for Marlo's blood and plan to bring down his organisation and put him in jail at any cost, and the extraordinary (and increasingly illegal) lengths they go to achieve that are breathtaking. Having played the system for four seasons prior without much to show for it, the two police officers are at breaking point, which isn't surprising. We also see Carcetti, the wonder boy who wanted clean stats and a new dawn for his city, being driven down by the system into the same morass of murky compromises and grey morality that blighted his predecessor. The newspaper storyline is nicely handled, and encapsulates the idea of people trying to do the right thing and getting beaten back for it whilst those who ride and exploit the system can succeed. It's a very cynical view of the world, although one that seems to be depressingly backed up by reality.

But inbetween the cracks there are rays of light. Michael has been put through the wringer in the show's last two seasons and done some very bad things, but towards the end he comes to the realisation that he is in the game but not a gang player, which leads to a very logical end point for him, whilst Bubbles' traumas over the years finally lead him down the path of redemption. It would have been easy for the writers to have had Bubbles rehabilitate at the end of Season 1, but making his journey much longer and more painful before the possibility of a happy ending presents itself results in a more satisfying resolution.

The series ends by showing us the hard-won victories the forces of law and order have achieved, but elsewhere many of the villains are still at large with blood on their hands. Some of the 'good guys' are left broken, or homeless, or without their jobs, or as drug addicts. But some people get what's coming to them, and the series ends with a long, lingering shot of Baltimore, a crime-addled, bankrupt city where the people are just struggling to survive day by day. It was this city, which stands in for pretty much any city in America, that was the real star of the show. David Simon and his writers, directors and actors are to be commended by giving us the definitive portrait of the American city in the 21st Century, and that portrait is not a positive or a happy one. But it has a ring of truth and authenticity to it that no other cop or lawyer show has ever achieved.

Season 5 of the The Wire (*****) is a fitting end-point to the series, and a fine capstone to one of the greatest TV shows of all time. Storylines and mysteries stretching back to Season 1 are resolved satisfyingly, but no easy answers are given and the ending is anything but neat. The season is available on DVD in the UK and USA, and as part of the complete series box set (UK, USA).

Updated Thoughts

The fifth season of The Wire is widely regarded as the weakest. On my original viewing I wasn't too sure, feeling it tied with the second season. However, on this HD rewatch it became clear that the second season was far superior on a rewatch, with my initial scepticism of it coming more from the jarring shift of tone and storyline from the first season. If the second season improves on a rewatch, the fifth season certainly declines a little.

Which is not to say that it is bad, but for the first time in the series it feels like David Simon doesn't really have a lot to say. The decline of print media and well-paid, driven reporters is bad for journalism? Hardly a major revelation. The bosses become the bosses due to a bland willing to compromise and sell out their ideals in the process? The previous four seasons said the same thing and in a much better way. The fifth season doesn't bring much that's new to the table and the newspaper storyline, particularly the bizarre activities of Scott Templeton (who on this rewatch now appears to be mentally ill rather than simultaneously ambitious and lazy, which I think was the original intent), is not really well thought-out. Not to mention that the police storyline, where McNulty crosses the line to secure more funding for the police department, is implausible to the point of being farcical. For a show so steeped in criminal and social realism, these aspects of the fifth season feel unconvincing and even contrived.

Fortunately the show is about much more than that. The war on the street between Marlo Stanfield and Omar is absolutely gripping, driven by fantastic performances and an escalating level of violence and rising stakes that is compelling. Carcetti's decline in moral authority and ability as he loses his earlier idealism and capitalises on disastrous crime and and school issues to try to get into the governor's mansion is also phenomenal, Aiden Gillen bringing all of the snake-oil charm, political nous and wafer-thin charisma that he doesn't to the role of Littlefinger in Game of Thrones (seriously, what is up with that?). Other elements are much reduced this year, with characters like Prez and Cutty being reduced to cameos, but others return to prominence, such as the return of the Greek and his gang from the second season.

When The Wire hits the right notes, even in this more problematic final season, it more than earns its title of the Best TV Show Evaaaah. At its best, the writing and casting and direction are sublime. At its worst, the show loses focus and becomes just another crime show, but still a well-made one. Fortunately, the cast and crew do manage to turn around the moderate decline in quality in the last two episodes of the series and bring things together for an absolutely outstanding finale that really encapsulates what the show is about.

The Wire complete series blu-ray set is available now in the UK and USA and, for anyone who enjoys good drama and good television, is an absolute must-purchase.

Deadpool

Wade Wilson is a smart-talking mercenary who takes a lot of small-time jobs warning off stalkers and helping people (for money). He meets Vanessa, the love of his life, but then discovers he has cancer. Fearing losing her, he accepts an offer from a shadowy surgeon named Ajax to grant him superpowers of healing to get rid of the cancer, in return for working for Ajax. When it turns out that Ajax is a lunatic and only gives Wilson his powers after disfiguring him for life, Wilson is "unimpressed" and seeks revenge, becoming the crime-fighting lunatic (and constant thorn in the side of the X-Men) Deadpool.

Conventional wisdom is that superhero movies are for, if not kids, then all the family. People in funny costumes running around and blowing things up? Definitely something mainly for children that adults can also enjoy. That assumption has driven the marketing and budgets of almost every superhero movie since the original Superman in 1978, but it has certainly been the dominant market stance since Iron Man in 2008. The occasional attempt to make a superhero movie for adults like Watchmen and Kick-Ass, complete with swearing and more graphic violence, has met with relative financial failure. If you have an adult-oriented comic and want to see it faithfully on screen, your only bet has been to get it on TV instead (the route chosen by Preacher and The Walking Dead).

Ryan Reynolds doesn't do conventional wisdom. A long-time fan of the Marvel Comics character Deadpool, he finally got to play the role in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. After an extended cameo, the character had his mouth sewn up and turned into a lobotomised bad guy. Reynolds wasn't impressed and neither were the fans. So began a seven-year campaign to get the character on screen, taking in multiple script runs, test footage, leaked test footage, last-minute budget cuts and a genius marketing campaign. Finally Reynolds and comic fans everywhere have had their patience and faith rewarded: Deadpool got rave reviews and took just under $300 million in its first five days on release. The R-rated action movie may have just had the shot in the arm it needs.

Deadpool is a gloriously demented, funny action move about a dude who gets disfigured for life by a British villain and then spends ages trying to get revenge, only for it to be upset by the X-Men (well, two of them). He then spends a bit more time trying to get revenge, the bad guy kidnaps his girlfriend because reasons and there's a big showdown on a beached aircraft carrier. The stakes are surprisingly low, the action fast and brutal and the one-liners never stop coming. Deadpool is a very, very good action film and superhero movie as well as a satire on the genre. This is what helps make it successful.

The other thing is timing. Watchmen isn't a terrible movie, but its heavy, metafictional commentary on superhero movie tropes didn't resonate very well in 2009 when the superhero movie genre was still in a relatively early stage (there'd been loads of them, but it wasn't until the Marvel Cinematic Universe took off that it became all-encompassing). In 2016, with a new superhero movie coming out every five minutes, Deadpool's fourth-wall shattering commentary on the genre works a lot better. Plus Deadpool is genuinely funny, the result of a tremendous script and some excellent ad-libbing from the cast.

The cast are phenomenal. This is the role that Ryan Reynolds was born to play and his delivery of hilarious, foul lines is perfect. More importantly, he can also sell scenes of anger and emotional distress. His Wade Wilson is a flawed human being, not just a delivery mechanism for dick jokes. TJ Miller is equally hilarious as his friend/barkeeper/confidante Weasel, whose ad-libbed responses to Wilson's new appearance may form the best part of the film. Ed Skrein doesn't have a lot to do as villain Ajax, lacking any kind of backstory or motivation, but then that's kind of the point. Stefan Kapičić turns in a great vocal performance as Colossus, whose role in this movie is to try to make Deadpool become a hero (mainly by boring him with unnecessarily long speeches), and Brianna Hildebrand brings the requisite teenage moodiness as Negasonic Teenage Warhead. Particularly well-cast is the Tony Award-winning, Emmy-nominated actress Leslie Uggams (noted for many prestigious film and stage roles in the 1960s and 1970s) as Blind Al, Deadpool's somewhat reluctant housemate. One performer who starts out brilliantly but then drops off (due to the script, not her) is Morena Baccarin (Firefly, Gotham, Homeland). Baccarin plays against type as a foul-mouthed escort who matches Wilson's verbal quippage and wins his heart, but ends the film reduced to a damsel in distress (a line lampshading this in the trailers is, slightly oddly, removed in the film), which is a bit disappointing.

What helps the film is its short running time, its focus on a relatively straightforward story and the clarity of the stakes. Alongside last year's Mad Max: Fury Road and Ant-Man, it certainly makes another argument for action movies where the scale is more personal and the fate of the whole world is not at stake. It is certainly a vast improvement over the leaden and overblown pomp of films like Age of Ultron and Man of Steel.

Deadpool (****½) is fast-paced, well-written and tremendously well-characterised. It's a funny movie but doesn't rely on just being funny, remembering to bring heart, satire and thunderous action as well. It is, in a rather bizarre way, charming under all the filthy one-liners and sexual references. It is on general release right now, and a sequel has already been greenlit.