Michael*

Hello, good evening and welcome!

There's no disputing that Abrams has his critics, but he clearly loves the source material in a way that, ironically, George Lucas doesn't seem to any more. Not as much as he loves his lens flare, mind. Whatever Mark Hamill ends up doing in this, I hope it's more than just a rehash of Obi Wan's role in the original film. It's starting to feel like we're supposed to suspect Luke of being the villain of the piece, although I don't know if I could see that happening, particularly with Adam Driver confirmed to be playing Kylo Ren. My guess is that there'll be a big cheer during the final act when he comes out of hiding to save the day, and a 'phew' moment when we eventually figure out that he's still a good guy.

Thanks Shep. A fifth teaser just appeared online. It offers the first glimpse of the main antagonist, Dr. Zebediah Kilgrave/The Purple Man, to be played in the show of course by David Tennant. This series can't get here quickly enough.

Presumably, Nolan has already received the call from Allardyce and is just perfecting the finer points of his chicken dance goal celebration in front of a mirror. A decidedly dodgy goal (foul, handball, kicking it out of the keeper's hands - take your pick) to seperate the two teams yesterday but overall, a disappointingly familiar story. Relatively secure with extended patches of assured play, hampered by a midfield severely lacking in creativity and a dearth of cutting edge up front. M'Vila looks as if he could develop into a real star though, he's been front and centre in almost everything we've done well this season.

Looking back, the premise of the original series was probably more suited to the anthology format, although I don’t mind them trying to maintain the links to the old stuff if the writers can find a way to keep things fresh. The problem was that they burned through so much story during that terrific first run that the main cast were all hopelessly played out afterwards. Ali Larter’s character was the prime example, she was hammered into the ground over and over again for no other reason than to just have her there. Worse still, somewhere along the line the writers seemed to get obsessed with giving powers to non-powered characters. The original season had a balance of powered and non-powered people, but that chemistry they had was squandered and the plot fell apart.

I can't wait until Saturday. Big Sam vs Pulis, a classic encounter where neither side gets out of its own half. Seriously though, this is probably the most sensible thing Sunderland have done in years. The football Allardyce brings will never be mistaken for tiki-taka, but, as the majority of neutrals watching us play over the last five years or so would probably tell you, we're not exactly Barcelona. More often than not, the players have been terrible and seeing an organised side who look like they care would be an improvement.

Lincoln? Yeah, I find him pretty tedious too. Supposedly, Marvel only had enough leverage with ABC to produce the second run of 'Agent Carter' or the proposed Hunter/Bobbi spin-off series. They of course went with the former, which was probably for the best, but I hope the latter being shelved doesn't mean that the characters' involvement in 'Agents' is kept to a minimum. As an aside, I just realised - between the 'Secret Warriors' reveal and wondering what happened to Simmons, I'd completely forgotten about the thing with Phil's hand. It can't be too regular an occurrence for a TV show to have so much going on that the lead character losing an appendage just gets lost in the shuffle.

Thanks for the pics, Shep. If Simmons is okay, then all is right with the world. With any luck, S3 will primarily focus on Daisy and her quest to recruit more Inhumans. There was a lot to like about S2 overall, but the finale left me mildly underwhelmed. Looking back, it probably had a few too many different subplots happening, with many of the cast members built up to have great character arcs, only for some of them to end rather abruptly.

Season two concept art poster reveal.

Netflix continues to roll out teasers for the series. This latest one shows Krysten Ritter using her powers to expedite the process of travelling to her office.

Sticks to beat Brendan Rodgers with aren't exactly in short supply, so I always find it a bit ridiculous when people use the form of Luis Suarez in 2013/14 as one of them. You'd think Rodgers was the only manager to have benefited from having good players at his disposal.

Congratulations and keep 'em coming!

It's an old cliche, but if you have to beg your manager to stay in the job after he initially gives you the brush-off, and he still only commits to a year, then you allow said manager to put new signings on two and three-year contracts after he threatens to walk out again over a perceived lack of investment, it was probably never meant to be. Whoever comes in (please not Nigel Pearson) will have quite the mission on their hands (please not Nigel Pearson) to see out more than a year in the job (please not Nigel Pearson). A major clear-out of the old guard is still long overdue too, but with underperforming players content to sit there collecting inflated salaries and a distinct shortage of takers for any of them, it's hard to see anything changing in the short term. Really, as mad as it sounds now, Paolo Di Canio probably had the right idea. It's just that you'd need to actually be a half-decent manager to pull off what he was trying to do.

Another teaser. Clearly, the marketing department is playing coy with us.

Final trailer just landed. It pretty much showcases all the big action set pieces on offer.

There are a few reports going around at the moment, suggesting that an 'Apocalypse' trailer will be released this week alongside 'The Martian'. My fingers are crossed.

James McAvoy overacting? I'm sure, I don't know what you mean...

Congratulations and keep 'em coming!

I don't usually find runway shots to be especially memorable, but Hedvig's are some of the most striking I've seen from any model. There's a certain wistful quality to her facial expressions and a real mournful look in her eyes. Great name, too.

:Dinah:

Could have sworn I posted in here first time around. Must've finally cracked. Anyway, I've managed 52 so far, although a couple of them are bordering on tenuous.

Rachel McAdams now officially on board. There'll be plenty of scope for her to play Clea or maybe even Morgana Blessing. Clea is generally the more well known of the two, while Morgana has ties to Baron Mordo. If nothing else, this is going to boast some of the best casting ever in a superhero movie.

Season two teaser poster.

The first live-action teaser for the show has been released. Very strong grip or very cheap clock radio?

Welcome!