The debut of the Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood on Starz had me a little thrown off by how produced it was relative to the BBC original. A bigger budget led to a lot of big action, but the essence of the show appears to be intact based on the series opener. A global mystery revolving around the end of death on Earth hits just the right notes and I’m genuinely excited for what comes next.

Spoilers for Torchwood: Miracle Day, The New World (episode one) and the histories of its principal characters may follow.

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We’re at the midway point of both Marvel’s Fear Itself and DC Comics’s Flashpoint. Each series has its share of strengths and weaknesses, but after four issues of Fear Itself it’s becoming difficult to envision a satisfying conclusion. We’ve seen a lot of worldwide carnage and destruction. Heroes like the Hulk and the Thing were corrupted by the Serpent, and Bucky Barnes, the current Captain America, was killed. Much of the impact of these events is just missing however. The series has an incredible number of tie-ins and mini-series telling different aspects of the story, but without having read them, the main series has at times seemed like a set of recap pages. Fear Itself #4 is an improvement, but where things have gone and how they have developed leaves something to be desired.

Spoilers for the issue and series will follow.

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DC Comics’ Summer event series, Flashpoint, hit the mid-way point this week as issue #3 arrived in stores. Flashpoint has perhaps become the most important series in the DC Universe with the announcement that every DC Comics title will relaunch after Flashpoint #5. The series got off to a strong start with big revelations and worldwide tension in the first two issues. There’s another significant revelation here, but generally the pace has slowed as we reach the middle.

Spoilers for Flashpoint and some of its associated tie-in issues may follow.

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Horrible Bosses is the new film from Seth Gordon who previously directed the hysterical documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters and the horrendous Vince Vaughn/Reese Witherspoon disaster Four Christmases. The film is carried by a cast of actors mainly known for their television work including Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston along with Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx in bit parts. The film benefits from the audience’s previously established affection for the main actors. There’s no way this movie would be nearly as watchable with a cast of unknowns.

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The BBC’s popular Doctor Who spinoff, Torchwood, is making a move to the Starz network premiering this Friday, July 8th at 10PM ET. The move took me a bit by surprise, and the press release for the premiere described the new show as a “reimagining of the original UK sensation.” I’m happy to say that this is not entirely the case as the show’s history is being preserved, but early indications suggest it will be very different in tone and presentation from earlier episodes.

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