Vikings

2017 has been a pretty strange year in a lot of ways. And that’s been as true on a personal level as it has been politically with the fallout from Brexit and a UK General Election, or the sad realisation of how widespread the exploitation of women still remains. But there are also reasons to be positive. I’ve been more committed to supporting change when it comes to politics, sexism, and other worthwhile causes. And managed to make some improvements to my own life, including finally ditching smoking for good by vaping, and recently moving house.

And Disposable Media is steadily growing, whether that’s our audience here, or a growing social media audience on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, etc. One major aim for 2018 is to continue to increase the number of diverse writers and contributors to ramp up the quantity and quality of our articles and videos, so if you’ve ever fancied creating something or want to reach an ever-wider audience, let us know. Anyway, time for my Disposable 2017 rundown.

Gaming in 2017:

Is there still a place for annual lists in videogames, considering the longevity offered by DLC and updates? By hours invested, my top game of 2017 would be the same one I picked out in 2016, as Overwatch continues to keep me involved due to the depth of teamwork and social aspects. The only flaw so far has been a slow release schedule for new maps, but that seems to be picking up now with the recent arrival of Junkertown and the new Blizzard World map coming soon. And in the meantime, new characters like Moira have added a new skill set to learn. The same is true of Battlefield 1, as the new Turning Tides DLC will lead me back into the epic surroundings of World War 1.

So what personal highlights are there for me in gaming in 2017? Well, if I’m honest, I was fairly disappointed by most major titles. Step forward Call of Duty: WW2 which typically didn’t make the most of returning to a historical setting.

And there were flaws in many of the other major titles I’d looked forward to, whether that’s Forza Motorsport 7 still solving clean online racing, or Destiny 2 not building enough on the previous game. And let’s not mentioned Star Wars Battlefront 2 and loot boxes.

So what has been a highlight? Well, first up comes Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, which isn’t perfect. But it is the most interesting Wolfenstein title I’ve ever played, simply due to the stand the game and developers have taken regarding Nazis. I’ve never been a particular Bethesda fanboy, their work with developers MachineGames might have converted me.

Then there is PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds, preceded on consoles by imitators like Fortnite. I haven’t fallen in love with PUBG as much as some of my friends, but even if it’s not my favourite title, I can understand why it has captured so many people.

And one ‘sequel’ that did work was Sonic Mania. It’s particularly curious as it’s so close to the original games, but came about via external developer Christian Whitehead.

From the indie world, there’s obviously Cuphead, if you’re a fan of run and gun games. My advancing age and slowing reactions means it’s somewhat frustrating, but still worth trying out. And for something story-based and around exploration, there’s Night in the Woods. I’m generally not patient enough for exploration and puzzles, but finally got around to playing Gone Home when it was free for Xbox Live Gold subscribers. And it made me wish I’d played the PC release back in 2013, given the 3-year delay for console versions. Fortunately the next game by The Fullbright Company, Tacoma, was released in 2017, and shares the same focus on emotional connections with the characters in a relatively short package. And while some may criticise the relatively short lengths of Gone Home and Tacoma, for me it makes them much more accessible in my limited gaming time. I’d rather complete both and want more than give up halfway through and have it sitting guiltily on my hard drive.

Movies & TV in 2017:

It’s been largely about the sequels when it comes to films, too. We had Guardians of the Galaxy 2 early in the year, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi at the end. Both were decent, but not perhaps as interesting as the other big follow-ups of Blade Runner 2049 and Logan.

In terms of decent action films, there’s also been Baby Driver and Logan Lucky to appeal, and a list of movies released late in the year which I really want to see as soon as possible, including The Florida Project, The Death of Stalin and Mother! But of the films I did get to see, the most interesting highlight had to be Christopher Nolan’s take on war with Dunkirk.

It’s not realistic in portraying the diverse forces, the scale of the evacuation over multiple days or the timespan of the movie. And the audio motif of a watch ticking can get annoyingly distracting at times. But as a general fan of ‘traditional’ squad and story based war films, whether they’re historical or set in the future (e.g. Aliens), the impressionist interpretation was fascinating. And definitely lets you feel the potential emotions of the situation.

Television continues to have a lot of standouts. For me, 2017 was mainly a fond farewell to Halt and Catch Fire, which is one of the best series I’ve seen recently. A mix of the tech industry meets Mad Men, it’s not only accessible due to the characterisation and acting. But you can also almost smell the resistors, dust and packaging of each tech era the show has passed through due to the excellent attention to detail when it comes to the sets, music and other atmohspheric elements. A Guardian farewell to the series describes it as the ‘best show that nobody watched’, which can still be rectified thanks to Amazon Prime video. Along with Black Sails, which also finished this year, and remained eminently enjoyable until the very end.

For the future, there were good continuations for the likes of Mr Robot, and the new series of Vikings – which is managing to remain as good as ever despite the loss of a major character. Preacher remained great fun. And there are the likes of American Gods to get into alongside big names like The Handmaid’s Tale, Outlander, etc.

The Vietnam War stood out as a documentary series which offered a lot of potentially new insight into a war many of us think we know about from movies like Platoon and Full Metal Jacket. Even having done a degree based largely around the conflict, I gained some new information and perspective.

To end on a happy note, there have been plenty of good comedies in 2017, but the highlight really has to be the output of Sharon Horgan, considering the triumph of both Catastrophe and Motherland. Supported by the slightly more gentle comedy of the Detectorists.

Music in 2017:

Kendrick Lamar has been rightly praised almost everywhere, along with the likes of SZA, Lorde and more. But my personal highlights start with Charly Bliss, whose power-pop sounds like someone distilled most of the best female-fronted bands of the 90s into one record. I always love distinctive vocals, and you’ll probably either love or hate the yelps of Eva Hendricks, which one Youtube comment compared unkidly to Chuckie from the Rugrats. Personally it’s one of the records I found myself not only playing on repeat, but also humming when I wasn’t listening to it.

Speaking of the 90s, the other personal highlight is also linked to that decade by including a former member of Kenickie. The Cornshed Sisters are a four-piece from the North of England whose first album was largely traditional English folk inspired. Their new album Honey & Tar has taken a while to come together due to the commitments of each member, but it was worth waiting for. It keeps the same folk inspiration and great harmonies, but opens itself up with elements of pop, prog and more to make something truly memorable.

It’s also lyrically brilliant, with more cutting and insightful looks at relationships, family and more.

And to round off the highlights, there are a couple of albums I’m really looking forward to in 2018, based on singles already released. The first is the debut from Dream Wife, whose Anglo-Icelandic art punk just gets better and better.

And the other is the new album from the Screaming Females. All At Once is the 7th album from the trio and first single Glass House shows that it’ll be up to their typically high standards.

So that’s an attempt to pack 12 months into words. There’s loads I’ve probably missed out, and there’s been a notable lack of recent books and comics over the past year simply due to the fact I’ve run out of time. Although I did make time for Gillen and McKelvie’s ‘The Wicked and The Divine’ which would be in any highlights list no matter how much I’d managed to read.

Taken By TV:

So this year saw the history of the Bryan Mills character played by Liam Neeson in the films explored on the small screen. Alongside the references to his famously ‘particular set of skills’ the younger Mills was played by Clive Standen, who like Neeson, was born in Northern Ireland, but grew up in England.

We discover that Mills is particularly unlucky, losing his sister as part of a revenge attack years before his daughter and ex-wife develop a strange habit of becoming kidnapped. And we learn that the ex Green Beret special forces soldier ends up being part of a shadowy Government department, led by Christina Hart (Jennifer Beals).

Part of the problem is that you can predict Mills will take time to integrate and be accepted by the special intelligence unit. But that he’ll eventually become a respected leader of the team as he overcomes the loss of his sister and the desire for revenge. And in the meantime, get involved in various other missions to hone his particular skill set.

Being slightly predictable isn’t necessarily a bad thing. After so many spy shows, it’s hard to imagine something which doesn’t have some of the genre traditions. And there a few interesting moments, whether it’s featuring the terrorist and drug lord Carlos Mejia, who murdered Mill’s sister in revenge for the death of his own son by Mills during a Colombian drug bust. Or with some of the side missions, involving other U.S agencies, Russian SVR agents, and a member of the Iranian Quds Force.

But it’s a little too formulaic. You can predict the personalities of the special intelligence team from the moment you meet them. And the same is true of Mill’s love interest, and most of the additional cast. You don’t need special intelligence to predict what’s going to happen. In fact, Taken has a strangely anaesthetic quality, as it dulls all your senses if you risk binge-watching more than one episodie at a time.

The other problem is also down to the cast. Clive Standen is a fine actor, and he has excelled as Rollo in the series Vikings. Having previously also appeared in Robin Hood for the BBC and as Sir Gawain in Camelot for the Starz network, you can understand he might want to be involved in something more modern. The problem is that he’s great at the action work, but despite being slightly shorter than Neeson in real life, he’s broader and more imposing. So as a special intelligence spy, he tends to stand out a fair bit in a crowd. The approach of Taken appears to have been to have him disguised by wearing some particularly crap jumpers.

The loss of main cast members for the next series isn’t a particular susprise after the first season. Any of them could turn in a great performance with a bit more to work with. But every time they seemed to start showing some kind of investment and talent, they’re kneecapped with some cliched dialogue or a moment so implausible, you don’t even register the fact that Bryan Mills 20-year-old history appears to be taking place with 2017’s technology. Presumably the budget was a bit tight to recreate the vehicles, surroundings and old Nokia handsets.

It’s a shame, because in throwaway lines about the backgrounds of team members, there are some potentially interesting insights. One may have robbed banks. One has a family. One ends up helping out his brother by disrupting a local drug lord in a sub-plot which is now completely irrelevant as the character will vanish. Given that such a large part of the cinematic Taken was about family, surely that could have been reflected more? And given 10 hours for the first series will be expanded to 16 for the next, there’s more room to explore the psychological side of special intelligence?

Ironically one comparison is with the British TV series Spooks, which recently attempted a switch to the big screen. It also struggled to adapt what worked well in one format to the other. The typically low key British cast generally kept their muscles hidden under a suit or sensible wax cotton jacket and relied on brains as much as strength. And characters tended to have more interesting personalities and back stories. Despite having a fairly low survival rate, which many of the characters not making it through more than one or two seasons.

Taken Season Two might turn things around. At which point you might be intrigued to go back and watch the first series. But it’s hard to recommend spending almost 10 hours or your time on the initial season when it doesn’t reveal an awful lot, and six of the main characters aren’t going to be around any more.

Especially with so many other good crime and spy dramas on Amazon Prime right now. At the moment off the top of my head, there’s Prison Break, Bosch, Sherlock Season 3, before you get into the likes of Mr Robot, Ripper Street and more. And obviously there’s no shortage of great spy and crime series available on DVD. Plenty of people mention The Wire, but I’ll still pick The Shield first. Or head to Scandinavia for Wallander or The Bridge etc. And stick to watching The Vikings for Standen’s brilliant performance as the headstrong viking turned French Duke with the help of an equally stubborn wife.

When it comes to our Taken TV Series Season One review, it’s not kidnapped characters that are a problem, but the missing plot and excitement.

2/5

Dan’s Disposable 2017 – Highlights of the Year

Gaming in 2017:

Movies & TV in 2017:

Music in 2017:

Taken TV Series Season One Review

Taken By TV:

Gaming in 2017:

Movies & TV in 2017:

Music in 2017:

Taken By TV:

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