BYLINEISSUE VII

2 Editor: Xander CosgraveDesigner: Robert O’SullivanFilm & TV Editor: Olivia BrownMusic Editor: Holly Cooney

Arts & Lit Editor: Colm FurlongGaming Editor: Aoife GleesonFiction Editor: Austin DowlingHumour Editor: Lauren Mulvihill

BYLINE EDITORIAL STAFF

Welcome back to college for term two, I’m sure you’re all sick of it already. That’s okay, it’s January, it’s cold, and 2016 already seems a bit awful. I mean, before college started David Bowie and Lemmy Kilmister both died, Star Wars came out last year, and the most intelligent person on Irish TV is a lad with a bag on his head. This is probably going to set the tone for the rest of the year, as we slowly wander around being hit with the phrase ‘1916’ while our childhood heros start dying off.

To cheer you up however, we have the first issue of Byline for this term ready for you, in which my talented team of editors, (who never actually read this and can’t see me commending them) have managed to pull off another great issue. We’ve got an interview with Fish Go Deep, which is way less artsy than our usual fare, but still niche enough that if you bring it up in conversation you seem very cultured and well read. Probably, I don’t know, I edit the culture section of the paper, I hardly want to continue to talk about it when I don’t have too.

I’ve made my token reference to the paper, back to Bowie, because

I’m literally writing this a few hours after finding out he died, and I’m more than a little crushed. His new album came out two days ago, and I was sitting around expecting this to mean a new tour, which was brightening up my week after Lemmy died. Then the universe Noped all over my face. It is very bleak to have someone who managed to so casually usurp the normal standards of pop culture and help a huge number of people be happier or more at ease in the world, die. It is even more so for it to happen when another of your childhood heroes passed in the last week, but here we are.

It hasn’t been a great start to the year, but hey, it’s only two weeks in, maybe everything will turn around, and at the very least Deadpool is coming out in a few weeks, R&G is only five weeks away, and all of your assignments are probably not due for the next little while. Cheer up, read the paper to distract yourself, and hopefully no one else amazing will die for the next month or so so we can recover.

Ch-ch-ch-changes...

#WooXander

What’s Inside... Headlines of Byline:FILM & TV

MUSIC

ARTS & LIT

GAMING

HUMOUR

INTERVIEW

“We remember David Bowie with a Bowie-centric playlist, Edel Carmody reviews the best of 2015 while Music Editor Holly Cooney previews the best to come in 2016”

“Colm Furlong talks through a to-do list for 2016 for any writers while previewing the best new books to be released in 2016 (if George R.R. Martin ever gets around to finishing the new GoT book)”

“Byline’s Gaming writers give out our ‘Game of the Year’ awards, and Gaming Editor Aoife Gleeson previews the best to come in 2016”

“We talk through the new must-have trends for 2016 and go through the must-have new years resolutions (and why they’re not going to happen)”

“Music Editor Holly Cooney speaks to Cork LEGENDS Fish Go Deep about their career, Sir Henry’s and what lies in the future of these Corkonian icons”

“Gaming Editor Aoife Gleeson reviews the Sherlock New Year’s Special: Sherlock & the Abominal Bride, while Edel Carmody talks about the portrayals of trans* characters on screen”

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FICTION EDITOR - AUSTIN DOWLING

Boundby Brian Conmy - UCC Express Editor

Somehow the resounding click of the handcuffs closing around the radiator pipe brought consciousness back to Isaac despite the numerous minutes of him being dragged across a floor failing to do so. In a daze he examines his surroundings, off white and dingy, tiled, a bathroom? Oh. His bathroom. Right. He knew then he was still out of it.

“That’s a fine state you’ve gotten yourself into” muttered the woman who had dragged him this far as she raised his wrist to meet the other slot in the handcuffs and clicked the cuff thoroughly closed. She stood now, her work done and looked with contempt at the shadow of a boy that slouched below her. This would be a long night, one long overdue, but she would do it for him she thought. For him.

Still dazed but with the world around him coming back into focus Isaac smirked while staring at his mother’s shoes. He knew this was coming too but he didn’t think it would be now or like this. He raised his arm to test his bindings, his wrist was securely fashioned as was the loop surrounding his dysfunctional radiator. His free hand reached down to the crook of his elbow to scratch a fresh wound, it bled slightly and he watched as a single red drop careened to the floor. “What state would that be Catherine?” he smirked as he lifted his head with some effort to meet her condescending gaze.

“You know exactly what state I’m referring to” she spat back at her son before turning to walk out of the bathroom. In the adjoined bedroom she scanned quickly to find a chair, eventually spotting one covered in discarded clothes. Lifting the pile of grotty t-shirts and jeans a small plastic baggy falls from one of the pockets. Nodding disapprovingly she kicked the bag away in no particular direction and threw the clothes on the bed. Grabbing the back of the chair she lifted it and tried to regain some composure. Breathing in and out, “for him” she mouths. Carrying the chair with her she enters the bathroom again and places it against the wall opposite her son.

“Coming to sober me up mother dear?” Isaac chirped. His friends had tried some form or another of this for a while, trying to isolate him while on a bad high or distract him when he craved. They’d come and gone though. They weren’t needed. He wondered how long this endeavour would take, it’d been so long since they’d spent any time together than the thought of her sitting and leering at him all night sobered him even further.

“Oh no I’m just paying a flying visit dear” she sat as she spoke and raised her dress slightly with one hand to cross one leg over the other. The thought of staying here the whole night with her husk of a child was daunting but it was a Saturday, or early Sunday morning at this point, her trip to church after escaping here would give her respite. “The people coming in the morning to take you off my hands will be the ones sobering you up” she added while holding back a smirk.

“Oh and who is it this time? Dad and aunts and uncles giving me a pep talk about why they need me to clean up my act? Or is it Father McNulty again. I really thought he was going to break out the exorcism gear last time, although he’s such an old priest he’d have needed a young priest for backup” Isaac retorted while scratching his track mark again, this time purely to anger his captor. This would pass.

“No not this time, this time God sent me an angel to save my lost soul of a son” Isaac’s mother declared proudly as she pulled her clutch bag from

the floor near Isaac and produced from it a brochure. “Angels of Calvary Respite Clinic? What, you’re sending me to one of those homes for old farts who can’t stop shitting themselves?” Isaac sneered at the threat he assumed to be idle. “No no, this particular facility is where good Christian boys and girls who’ve lost their way go to hear the word of God again and find a path back to their old, clean, happy lives. They had to change their name a few years ago, got in some trouble for, what did they call it.. homosexual conversion therapies? Of course they don’t do that anymore, no. Not that that would work with you now would it. Kicking your dirty little habit will do for now.”

The threat seemed less idle now than Isaac first thought. He began to panic slightly but couldn’t let it show. He thought for a second. “Hey these are my handcuffs aren’t they? The ones in my drawer next to my butt plug and

ana-“ he started to smirk as he spoke but the swiftness of his mother’s open

handed assault on his cheek stopped his remark. He rubbed his cheek as his mother stood, slightly taken aback by her own actions. She sat

again and let a brief silence envelop them. “You’re not going to embarrass me anymore, not in here and not out there” as she finished her promise she nodded her head to the window. As far as they were from her home and his birthplace, Isaac understood what she meant. What she really meant.

“My, the gossip must be something? First your son parades around as a faggot” Isaac spat the word and in return got the sought after flinch in his mother’s facial expression.

“And then he starts taking drugs and stealing from his parents. I must be the talk of the town. Then again there isn’t much else to talk about is there.

In a town that small I’m sure the news of my admittance to some rehab shithole will make you look quite the martyr. Oh and I’m sure they’ll all hear how you sat and held my hand before they carted me off, won’t they Catherine? You’re throwing away your only son for your good name.”

“My good name? No Isaac, this is all being done on your behalf. If this wasn’t done now you’d end up dead in a gutter somewhere from an overdose or some disease and we’d never even know what happened. It’s easy to paint me as the villain but you got yourself into this mess and it’s my job to get you out of it. Again and again.” Isaac’s mother crosses her arms with a sense of finality.

The pair sat in their respective places and let the silence fill the air. Neither knew really what came next.

To submit a poem, short story or any other form of creative writing to Byline, email Austin at: Fiction@UCCExpress.ie.

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HUMOURUpcoming Top Trends For 2016by Lauren Mulvihill

HEADLINES

TV LISTINGS

Politics: Micheál Martin and Gerry

Adams shock nation by confirming engagement

Crime: Student (20) writes year as 2015 by mistake, brings shame

on entire family

Ireland: Government already being more

annoying than usual as 1916 celebrations begin

World: Trump’s US presidential bid

officially not funny anymore

Literature: Old man doesn’t write book

Culture: Local clean-eater continues to convince self that

“handful of almonds” is legitimate snack

BBC, Friday @ 9: “Down” - gritty reboot

of Disney’s “Up” starring Samuel L.

Jackson. Directed by Quentin Tarantino.

Sky Sports, Sunday @ 12: Match of the Day,

featuring Maguire and Paterson’s Fireside

Safety Matches

2016 is now upon us, and style icons throughout Ireland are on the hunt for the year’s first must-have items. Here at Byline, we’ve found the trends that are sure to make you hot to trot in 2016.

The Shoulder SlumpIt’s time to throw away those shoulder pads, because 2016 is all about the slump! Inspired by the lingering knowledge of the inevitability of human mortality, the shoulder slump or ‘Atlas Armband’ is easily inserted into an average jacket, and leaves the wearer with highly desirable sloped shoulders and an air of world-weariness any Nietzsche fan would die for. Team with a pair of McQueen lead-lined bell bottoms for a catwalk-ready look that’s just in time for Spring.

The iBeard

Wearable tech has had a difficult few years. Whether it be the Fitbit, Google Glass or the Apple Watch, advertisers have had little success convincing the general population to wear our gadgets. This is all set to change with the iBeard, Apple’s newest technological venture. Simply by manipulating consumers’ DNA to support the growth of microchipped hair follicles, anyone with the ability to grow a beard can have all the benefits of an iPhone right there on their face for the low, low price of €32,000. By combining the biggest trend of 2015 with the biggest trend that has yet to actually trend, Apple desperately attempts to convince us that they’re still at the cutting edge of technological innovation.

Eau de PretentionWhereas once, it was believed that reaching the epitome of coolness was all about adopting an alternative diet, lifestyle, and fashion sense, science has now proven that all of this is fruitless if you don’t have a superior attitude to match. Fear no longer, fashionistas – the solution comes in the form of Eau de Pretention, the new must-have scent from the powerhouse that is Chanel! This patented formula will not only lend the wearer an almost tangible air of superiority, but the chemicals present in the solution will gradually force the chin upwards, allowing one to literally look down one’s nose at everybody. With Eau de Pretention, you too can act like you’re better than everyone else, simply by virtue of your inherently subjective choice of lifestyle. The future is now!

GreenThe centenary of the 1916 Rising is almost upon us, so now is the time to start stocking up on your greenery. The Irish citizenry will stand for nothing less than seas of men, women, and children clothed in pure emerald green on every street. Nothing will be greater revenge for our 700 years of oppression than an entire nation slaying green outfits left, right, and centre. Do feel free to depart from this trend if green ‘isn’t your colour’, however – for the West Brits among you.

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HUMOUREDITOR - LAUREN MULVIHILL

Upcoming Top Trends For 2016

Calendar Returns After Annual Winter Break

Top Ten New Year’s Resolutions (that you’ll fail by February)

by Lauren Mulvihill

by Lauren Mulvihill

UCC students have expressed their joy at the news that the calendar has finally returned following its annual winter break.

Each year, the calendar’s absence causes much confusion in Irish households, leading many to proclaim over the Christmas break that they don’t know what day they have at all. The loss of the dominant dating system has been known to cause bedlam throughout the country, with record amounts of mental arithmetic being performed by laypeople in an attempt to figure out the date of a specific day, going by the date of Christmas.

Professional healthcare workers have long urged the public to prepare in advance for the

calendar’s absence before the end of the school or college semester, warning that those who fail to do so are in danger of falling into a “psychological limbo” wherein time and space seem to cease to exist between mid-December and mid-January. An anonymous source suffering from this ailment has revealed what it is like to live without any knowledge of the date:

“Time isn’t real, man. The days just blend into each other. After Christmas and New Year’s Day, it’s just all the same. It’s just all the same, man.”

Spokespeople for the calendar have come to their client’s defence, noting that our system of dating has earned the right to take

a break every now and then.

“The Gregorian Calendar has provided a date for each day, without exception, since the end of the 16th century. It is not the calendar’s fault if the public fail to appreciate the work it does throughout the year, or the work of its associates, who produce many copies of its date allocations,” John Who, PhD, explains.

Modern western cultures rely heavily upon the calendar and its partner, the clock, in order to maintain a functioning society. This has not always been the case, with people throughout history being forced to make educated guesses regarding the time and date if required to attend appointments

of any sort.

The calendar’s absence often harshly affects 3rd-level students, who record time exclusively through the use of final submission dates. A small pseudo-religious sect of students claim to owe the calendar’s return to ritual dances performed on the roof of the Boole Library during Storm Frank, despite clear warnings from UCC buildings staff against this sort of behaviour.

Whatever the reason for its return, the calendar is sure to be here to stay until its summer recess in May.

January is a time for reinvention, getting a new lease on life, and the deep, deep sense of self-loathing that comes with a failure to do either of these things. The first month of the New Year is meant for making false promises and feeling bitter at the smug success stories of yesteryear that acquaintances post on social media. Frankly, maybe it’s high time we all stopped fooling ourselves and just accepted that personal improvement is a scam invented by the beauty industry and home gym equipment manufacturers. These top ten resolutions are so often abandoned that it’s probably better to – in the words of Homer Simpson – “never try”; and here’s exactly why.

20161. Lose weightIt must be a fact that we’ll all be better people if we can fit into a size 6 in Topshop (even if that’s a 10 in H&M, you great big tub of butter), or why would celebrity magazines tell us so? Even at that, maybe you could stand to put a bit of meat on your bones. You could do with shinier hair, while you’re at it. Also, how about a decent skincare routine, pasty-face? Or maybe if – you know what, this whole thing is just exhausting. Why bother? 2. Run a marathonWhat, you think you’re better than me because you can run around in those stupid-looking shorts for a couple of hours? You think you’re all that because you’ve managed to get your life together? You pretentious little shite. The first guy to run a marathon died at the end of it, you know. That was a clear warning against continuing the practice. 3. Get organisedI mean, yes, you could clean up that pile of clothes at the end of

your bed that’s probably sentient at this point, but does it not give the room character? By removing that little bit of mess, you’re removing a little bit of yourself. Is that what you want? To become a hollow shell of who you once were?

4. Quit smoking/drinkingYeah, right. Next.

5. Learn a new languageSo, you can sit through a good twelve years of Irish classes just to be able to say “an bhfuil cead agam dul go dtí an leithreas”, and yet are perfectly capable of learning fluent Russian over the next twelve months. Alright.

6. Stop procrastinatingFancy psychologists have done studies on this phenomenon and have found that procrastination is an integral part of some people’s work method, and so if you really want to do well, you should stop fighting it. Think about that the next time you try to start your assignment a reasonable amount

of time before the deadline: the only thing you may be getting a head start on is failure, my friend.

7. Get proper sleepThis statement is so ambiguous, though. What is “proper”? What is “sleep”? What is “sobriety”? These are the questions that have haunted college students since the dawn of time, and no amount of New Year’s resolutions will provide satisfactory answers. It’s just common sense that people with erratic sleeping patterns are better craic (when they’re not in the middle of a breakdown). Being better craic? Now that’s a resolution we can all get behind.

8. Join a gymSure, you may not have set foot inside a gym for so long that you pronounce the word as ‘gime’. Sure, what you call exercise some may call ‘standing upright’. Sure, you might technically be capable of going to the gym, but it’s all the way across the road and there are people there and you have to bring, like, a whole towel… echh.

9. Write a bookI don’t care whether you plan on penning a saga which will write Lord of the Rings out of history, it’s not worth it. In order to be successful in any venture in this day and age, it’s a well-known fact that you first have to sell your soul to Satan, and there are so many scams floating around the internet nowadays that you can never be sure where the immortal part of yourself will end up.

10. Study harderListen, we all make crazy promises to ourselves during study week. It’s ok. Nobody really expects you to learn from your mistakes. You’re hardly expected to study every night of the week – otherwise why would you have signed up for a Netflix account? Priorities!

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GAMINGByline: Games of the Year 20152015 was a big year, with a slew of massive AAA blockbusters, but what were our writers’ personal favourites?

Bloodborne – Jonathan Soltan

Say what you want about Bloodborne straying too far from the Dark Souls formula, it’s definitely the most fun I’ve ever had playing a Souls style game. Barely an hour into the game I was totally hooked: the gameplay just feels so right and the streamlining of weapons and stats was something I really appreciated. It’s the art direction that really pushes the game over the edge though: the hyper Gothic stylings of the city of Yharnam immediately draw you in and afford you countless breath-taking vistas to view. Outside of the city proper there are other areas to explore too, although they are a little less... appealing. On top of the 30 or so hours you’ll spend in the main game is the newly released Old Hunters DLC, which is a great addition to the game, adding new bosses to slaughter and areas to run through. All in all, I don’t think I’ve enjoyed a game more on PS4 and hopefully you’ll give it a try, too. May the good blood guide your way.

Tales from the Borderlands – Kieran Collins

On paper, the idea of an adventure game set in the world of a shooter like Borderlands sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, but in execution Telltale Games’ Tales from the Borderlands was nothing short of a masterpiece. From episode 1 I was hooked and the adrenaline never stopped until the very end. I found myself growing quickly attached to its many unlikely, hilarious heroes and worrying about their fates. Tales may appear to be just a spinoff, but the events that transpire during its 5 episode arc will have drastic effects on the Borderlands universe as a whole going into the series’ highly anticipated 3rd installment. Telltales’ well-known gameplay formula, which mixes together dialogue options, quick time events, and simple puzzle solving, is still just as enjoyable as it has ever been, and puts the emphasis where it really matters: the amazing story. It’s just too good to spoil but, rest assured, there are a plethora of big laughs, betrayals, deaths, and triumphs throughout. I would also be amiss to not mention what a stellar soundtrack it has. In the true Borderlands fashion, each episode contains an intro with a licensed song. In each episode, both the music and the cinematic are phenomenal and were always one of the things I looked forward to most each episode. In a year with the best graphics and biggest open worlds, my favourite title was the game with the biggest heart.

Until Dawn – Aoife Gleeson

In a year full of enormous, sprawling, 100 hour games Until Dawn feels like a distinctive treat. It throws you into a clichéd horror movie set up, with eight dumb teenagers stranded on an ominous snowy mountain being stalked by a possible serial killer, and uses a story and choice based game structure in the same vein as Heavy Rain. This was my favourite part of the game: the ‘Butterfly Effect’ system (where choices stack on top of each other to alter situations) is extremely dynamic and enjoyable. Your job is to keep all the characters alive but, given that they’re all walking, talking tropes, getting some of them killed off is actually fun. The atmosphere is creepy, jump scare horror fare and the graphics are absolutely beautiful, with some

of the best facial animation I’ve ever seen. For extra fun, play with a group of friends: playing Until Dawn while one of my friends screamed and fell off the couch in fright as the others shouted instructions at the screen like deranged movie goers was some of the most fun I’ve had with a game all year.

Agar/io - Sean Donegan

I have made a somewhat unconventional choice for my game of the year: agar.io. This game can be played by almost anyone, almost anywhere: all you need is a smartphone or web browser. It’s the kind of game you could use to kill five minutes with or dump hours into. The concept is deceptively simple: you are a cell in a petri dish surrounded by other cells and little nutrient dots of various colours. It’s your job to eat the dots and other cells in order to grow your mass, while avoiding being made someone else’s entrée.

This unassuming premise makes for dynamically fun gameplay: Marvel at the monstrosity and majesty of the supermassive cells which dwarf your tiny starter cell. Gasp as you narrowly escape the jaws of defeat. Bask in the glory of being one of the biggest fish in the pond. Feel glee as a random giant feeds you all their mass. Play hide and seek as you dance with your new best friend. Chuckle at the dank memes galore. This game really is a rollercoaster of emotions and has left me coming back for more throughout the year.

Her Story- Brian Conmy

Describing Her Story too much is to do the game a disservice, garnering huge word of mouth in a short space of time this indie PC game has remained a talking point in many outlet’s game of the year award considerations. While initially making a large impact what impressed me about Her Story’s relative simplicity is its staying power. It’s relatively simple premise and old fashioned presentation thoroughly brings the player into the world of the game’s narrative but what isn’t initially obvious is how much the game will stay with you after you’ve “finished”. Also, in a year strangely full of FMV games Her Story is still the stand out, with a stellar performance from its lead. If you’re into Making a Murderer or true crime novels then this will be right up your alley.

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GAMINGEDITOR - AOIFE GLEESON

2016 Spring Preview

The Proper Length of Games

by Aoife Gleeson

Kieran Collins discusses if games were too long in 2015

This past Christmas season was, in terms of game releases, fairly sparse. Instead of myriad releases vying for the attention of stretched thin gamers, many games turned tail and ran at the sight of Fallout 4, or were unfortunately crushed in its wake (ahem, Rise of the Tomb Raider). Star Wars: Battlefront performed well, happily fitting in with a Star Wars themed Christmas. Still, numerous release dates were pushed to the first half of 2016 but 2015’s loss may yet be our gain. Here’s a preview of some of the big games coming in the next three months.

First up is The Witness (Jan 26: Windows, PS4), the long awaited follow-up to Jonathan Blow’s critical darling, Braid. The Witness takes inspiration from Myth, set on a mysterious open world island

populated with puzzles and mazes for players to solve. It’s been in development for a very long time, since 2008, so hopefully it’s worth the wait.

Next is Mighty No. 9 (Feb 12), a Kickstarted platformer by Keiji Inafune, the creator of Mega Man. Running on nostalgia, the game is Mega Man’s spiritual successor and is coming out on almost every platform you could care about (Windows, OSX, PS3/4, Xbox 360/One, Wii U, PS Vita, 3DS).

Then comes Far Cry Primal (Feb 23: PS4, Xbox One). Set in the Stone Age, Primal lets you become a true caveman fighting to become the leader of a tribe by facing enormous predators, like mammoths, and fending off rival tribes. You can also

train a sabre-toothed tiger or prehistoric badger to be your companion, which sounds amazing. Some extra trivia: the simplistic language used in the game was created by prehistoric linguists for authenticity.

Next up is The Walking Dead: Michonne (PS3/4, Xbox 360/One, PS Vita, PC, OS X), Telltale’s next outing. The first episode (of three) has a soft release date of February and takes place during the comic book continuity at a point where Michonne disappears from the group. The Walking Dead: Season 1 remains one of Telltale’s best series and hopefully, despite their recent patchy quality due to taking on too many projects, the Michonne episodes live up to this quality.

Lastly is the unhelpfully, plainly titled Hitman (Mar 11), marking the return of Agent 47 in the sixth entry of the series. This looks like standard Hitman fare, with missions giving you an assassination target and an open sandbox to be creative with your kills.

This is just the beginning though, with heavy hitters like Uncharted 4: A Thief ’s End, Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst, No Man’s Sky, Horizon: Zero Dawn and Dishonored 2 coming later. It’s going to be a good year.

2015 felt like the first year that the PS4 and Xbox One were really able to flaunt their improvements over their predecessors. There were many titles to be excited about in the past year for not only their great gameplay and/or story, but also their beautiful graphics and intricate world design. On paper this all sounds great, and for the most part it is, but problems lie in density.

A shining example of this is The Witcher 3. I was really excited to get this game after seeing all the great reviews, gameplay, and trailers (I highly recommend you look up the griffin TV spot) and the game started out on a major high. I really took my time on the isolated map that you start out with and completed all the side and main quests. It was after this, however, that the game started to fall apart for me. I’m a bit of a completionist and because of this even looking at that map and all of the optional

activities made me tired. I gave it my best go and generally enjoyed the experience, but I put it back on the shelf when the next big release came: incomplete. I just didn’t have the time to fully experience it, and most people won’t either. Even after I spent weeks playing it I felt like I

had merely s c r a t c h e d the surface. The Witcher wasn’t alone. Other big releases this year that

shared its issues were Fallout 4 and Batman: Arkham Knight. Mad Max, one of my personal favourites this year, received some low scores for its superfluous content. Sites like IGN, GameSpot, and The Jimquisition all marked off the licensed game for its side quests, calling them mundane and repetitive.

So, from all of this you would figure that gamers want more compact, story-driven experiences, right? The answer is no, apparently, as

evidenced by a small s c a n d a l revolving

a r o u n d Ready at Dawn’s PS4 exclusive, The Order: 1886. 4 days before the game’s release, a playthrough leaked online of the game being completed in just 5 hours. The Internet was outraged (when are they not?). Many articles and comments were posted about its length being unacceptable for a $60 dollar game, especially given that it had no multiplayer. While this event was overblown, as The Order was really more like 8 or 9 hours if you took your time, it did show that a game being too short was just as bad as it being too long or too dense. Shorter, more compact experiences, like Until Dawn, were overlooked this year in AAAs in favour of monstrous time sinks. Looking forward, I hope 2016 will

try to normalize game length.

“You would figure that gamers want more

compact, story-driven expertiences, right? The answer is no,

apparently”

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ARTS & LITERATURETo Do List For 2016Colm Furlong suggests some fun things for you to try this year

It’s early in the New Year, and what better time is there to make a list of goals for the coming year? I’m going to provide a list of suggestions, literature related, writing related, and more, that you might want to try at some point over the next twelve months.

So there you have it; there’s some things for you to try this year. Set yourself some literary goals, some writing goals and stick to them. Make 2016 a literary year, as well as everything else it is going to be.

1. Discover, or rediscover your inner writer. Write something; a short story, a poem, and novella. Maybe something to submit to a competition or an anthology or a magazine, maybe an article/review for us here at the express. Get those creative juices flowing this year.

2. Attend a reading nearby. One of the great things about living in Cork City is that there is almost always a reading going on at least once a week. Maybe it’s a famous author, maybe it’s a local poet. Get out there and take in the ambiance of one of these events, and listen to what is being created all around you.

3. Visit the theatre. Whether it’s the Everyman, The Opera House, The Granary, Firkin Crane or anywhere else, make 2016 the year you go and see a production in one of our fine theatres.

4. Watch some movies based on books that you love. It’s always interesting to witness how something translates from the page to the screen, and what better way to try it than with a book you adore. Sure they may make a mess of it, but they may also do it justice.

5. Start a blog. If you’re a writer, or just someone who feels they have a lot to say, why not start a blog in 2016? It is a good way to get your name, and your work out there. You never know, your blog could go on to be one of the success stories that garners millions of followers.

6. Head out and read your own work at an open mic night. There is something to be said for reading your own work aloud. It feels good to have something you feel you can share with the world, and what better way to do it than in front of a group of your peers at an open mic like Cork’s own The Lightning Bug. Be it fiction, poetry, or anything in between, make 2016 the year you start to read your own work.

7. Support local bookstores. Head out and buy some books for yourself this year, if you don’t already. With the influx of e-reading, bookstores have lost some business. Make sure you get out and buy yourself a few hard copies this year. Nothing beats the feeling of having an actual book in your hands.

8. On the topic of books, why not try something you would not normally try? Read outside of your comfort zone. You never know what gems you might find, what you may develop a new love for.

9. Read something that is not required for your course. Many people lose the love they once had for reading because they are forced to trawl through extensive reading lists for their courses; not all of which may be of interest to them. Make 2016 the year you start reading things you want to read again (unless you never stopped in the first place).

10. And while you’re at it, why not reread an old favourite? Find a book you read a long time ago, and loved, and rediscover the magic that made you love it in the first place.

11. Write a fan letter to a writer you love. Writers, for the most part, love to hear from their fans. It is a wonderful show of appreciation, and some writers may even write back.

12. If you’re a writer, commit to writing a certain number of words each day/week. It could be any amount, whatever you feel comfortable with. You don’t necessarily have to write a story or poem either; it could be stream of consciousness, free writing, blogging, articles, anything. Make this the year you really commit to writing all the time, and you will be surprised how much you produce.

Book Recommendation: American Gods by Neil GaimanNeil Gaiman is one of the world’s most popular writers. He is also one of exquisite talent. Stephen King once called him a treasure-house of story; a particularly apt description considering his vast body of acclaimed work.

Described by George R.R. Martin as “Original, engrossing, and endlessly inventive”, American Gods is Gaiman’s longest novel to date. It chronicles the journey of Shadow, the novel’s protagonist who finds himself on an increasingly strange journey across America in the company of one Mr. Wednesday.

American Gods delivers a rich, gripping fantasy story in a real world setting throughout the novel. He delivers a story which builds consistently, like a gathering storm (much like the brewing conflict in the novel itself).

American Gods is a wonderful novel by a fine writer, and it is one that comes highly recommended.

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ARTS & LITEDITOR - COLM FURLONG

Books to Look Out for in 2016

UCC Musical Society Presents: The Wedding Singer

Colm Furlong takes a look at some of the upcoming book releases in 2016

Colm Furlong takes a look at some of the upcoming book releases in 2016

Every year, thousands of new book titles are released into print; so many that a significant chunk of them don’t even make it onto the shelves in bookstores. Here is a couple of titles releasing later this year that might be worth keeping an eye on.

Calling all aficionados of the performing arts and people just looking for a fun night out. Why not come and watch some fellow students in funny costumes sing and dance on stage. Prepare to be transported back to that colourful age, the 1980s. This year UCC Musical Society (now celebrating its 5th year as the campus’s official answer to the West End/Broadway) presents its 2016 production, The Wedding Singer, the hit musical based on the popular Adam Sandler movie.

Featuring an all student cast directed by our good friend, the returning director of 2015’s UCC “Seussical” Ciarán Bermingham, this musical promises to be one of the liveliest productions of the year. A full set of cast biographies are available on the UCC Musical Society Facebook page, as well as a variety of samples from the official soundtrack.

So say “I do” and come along to support your friends and classmates or just to enjoy an evening of guitars, wedding dresses and interesting hairstyles. Tickets can be reserved now from the Granary Theatre. Shows run from February 3rd-6th at 19:00.

Winds of Winter Although, somewhat disappointingly, George R. R. Martin recently announced the sixth book of A Song of Ice and Fire would not release before the next season of the Game of Thrones T.V. show airs, it should still drop before the end of the year. The Winds of Winter is the long awaited follow on from 2011’s A Dance with Dragons. This book will resolve storylines left unfinished in the fifth book, and many readers favourites will be returning as viewpoint characters in the sixth volume, along with some new ones. We can only hope that Martin finishes the final draft sooner rather than later, as we are probably looking at at least a five month turnaround before it hits bookshelves. Judging by the previous instalments, the sixth book should be worth the wait for fans of the series; but that remains to be seen.

15th AffairFor long-time fans of James Patterson, the 15th book in his Women’s Murder Club series, co-written with Maxine Paetro, is releasing on 25th February this year. The Women’s Murder Club is probably Patterson’s second most known series, behind his most famous and longest running Alex Cross series. Patterson has spent decades writing crime thrillers, and he turns out numerous books each year. While some might argue that his ideas must be running stale and becoming repetitive, fans of the series’ are rarely let down. 15th Affair will be an exciting release for fans of the work Patterson and Paetro have done over the course of the series.

End of Watch Stephen King is revisiting an old character this year to complete a trilogy of books featuring one Bill Hodges. The brief blurb available for the novel sounds fascinating, and the master of the horror genre looks set to deliver another riveting thriller on 7th June 2016. End of Watch looks poised to be quite the suspense filled novel, and the plot is certainly one which sounds highly intriguing; featuring a killer who has a unique plan for his next mass murder. King is one of the finest writers alive today, and he consistently delivers original stories, and continually proves that he has not lost the skill he has for the craft. End of Watch will surely be a hit with his fans.

The Book of DustPhilip Pullman is the author of the phenomenal His Dark Materials trilogy. Seriously, I can’t recommend this trilogy enough. Since the trilogy concluded, Pullman has been working on a companion novel entitled The Book of Dust. He did not actually start writing it until 2005, five years after the final book of the trilogy was released. The Book of Dust will take place about four years after the His Dark Materials trilogy. Fans of Pullman’s work are eagerly awaiting this next instalment, and it should release later this year.

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INTERVIEWFish Go Deepwith...

New year, new semester and for some of us that means final semester and the start of the countdown to becoming an actual

grown-up. No more coco pops for dinner or pizza for breakfast, it’s time to get out, grow up and experience new challenges.

Remembering the good times, Music Editor Holly Cooney takes a trip down memory lane with Cork legends and student

icons, Fish Go Deep.

With the end of college in sight for me I’m starting to get a little bit panicky. It’s scary to be thinking about leaving the

lovely warm bubble of UCC and into the big bad world of work, especially when having an Arts degree can make for

some tricky employment prospects. Having said that, meeting two lads from Cork with a hugely successful twenty five

year career as house djs is quite inspiring and even reassuring. According to Greg and Shane it’s ok to not have a clue and

sometimes, as great as the rest of the world is, at the end of the day home is where the heart is!

Byline: So guys, for those who don’t know your background could you tell us how ye started djing and why?

Shane: It’s going back a long time, I started in UCC actually, however many years ago and I actually dropped out to be a dj. I started playing music while I was here for a couple of years and just had a bit of a music collection and a whole bunch of records. I had been going along (to Greg’s) club night on Thursdays in Redz in the late eighties and it was always my desire to play the music I loved for people, prior to that I had always just been bugging my friends with “have you heard this, have you heard that”. I think my desire to get music out there to people drove my career path.

‘...it wasn’t a decision we made, “we’re gonna become house djs overnight”, it was a bit more

gradual...’Greg: I would have been similar (to Shane). Around ’86 I was doing a club night in what was De Lacy House then but is now the Voodoo Rooms. I used to play hip hop and all sorts of music and I had friends in the art school and they used to show films so like I used to get fifty people in the thing and just started djing. As Shane said, I had these records and I just started thinking “God, I’d love to play them”. It’s a feeling that you just want to share this music with other people. Back then though I suppose you just kind of fell into it and they were the people in the corner, djs weren’t revered back then as they are now.

Shane: There wasn’t a DJ Society in UCC anyway!

Byline: Where did your interest in house and dance music come from, ye’re too Irish guys so I’m sure it wasn’t the most popular music when ye started out?

Shane: I really got into hip-hop in the mid eighties when I was a teenager and before I started playing with Greg I went along to the nights he put on and he would have played a lot of hip-hop and bits of disco and funk and I think house sort of just came along. To me it was a very natural progression. The first house records that we heard seemed to slot into any of the other stuff we were playing so it wasn’t a decision we made, “we’re gonna become house djs overnight”, it was a bit more gradual, playing two or three house records a week to five or six and over the years we just became a bit more specialist and just deep house. So by the early nineties that was pretty much what we played and what we became known for.

Greg: From my mind it’s because a friend of mine lived in London and he used to send me back mix tapes. He was on the gay scene and he was into going to clubs and he used to send me back these tapes and there were always one or two- now these were really early house records, and it was just kind of like “what’s that?” and that’s what sparked my interest.

‘One of the selling points for us [about Sir Henry’s] was that people could go in there and

not be worried about scuffing up the lovely furniture and they could really let loose.’

Then, I don’t know how long we’d been playing at [Sir] Henry’s when we got Mike Pickering from the Haçienda. The whole house and ecstasy culture exploded at the time in Manchester and it coincided with the time we had Mike doing a few guest spots for us. He actually brought me over to the Haçienda in it’s early days and it was mental, like nothing I’d ever seen before and I forged a link with what was, at the time, the most seminal club in Britain, they were way ahead of London and everywhere else, they had the house sound.

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INTERVIEWThey had the early house and techno records and we were getting those records because back then getting the actual records was really difficult, so the same records they played in the Haçienda for one of the biggest club nights in the UK we were playing in Cork.

Byline: The 1990s was a great time for ye with your residency in the legendary Sir Henry’s. Do you think their support helped to develop the scene in Cork specifically Ireland in general?

Shane: One of the selling points for us was that people could go in there and not be worried about scuffing up the lovely furniture and they could really let loose. It was a very bare bones venue with a really good sound system.

Greg: It focused people very much on why they were there and it brought people together for the music and I think because all the various owners while we were there just didn’t know, they didn’t have a clue so they just left us alone.

Shane: They were happy to let us just do our own thing.

Byline: Do you think that attitude of just letting you do your own thing helped the house scene?

Shane: Yeah.

Greg: Totally, it was just like “whatever”, half the time in the early days nobody really knew what was going on.

Shane: Yeah, including us! We were learning on the job as well, literally on the job.

‘I think New York maybe was more of our spiritual home, the sound of New York and the

sound of the music’Greg: We were literally learning, just about mixing records and going “oh what’s happening now, why have they all gone mad to that song?”

Byline: Greg, you had friends in London and pretty strong links with the UK, did ye do any travelling that maybe broadened your horizons or got you to discover new sounds to bring home?

Greg: Definitely not Europe, but going back and forth to Manchester and London a bit, but I think New York maybe was more of our spiritual home, the sound of New York and the sound of the music. And there, we were both there,

I think we realised that the American’s obsession with the sound system was all that mattered. You saw how it was a spiritual thing for people, to come to these places and hear this music on these stunning sound systems.

Byline: You’ve played clubs and festivals around the world, do ye have a favourite or best experience?

Shane: It’s kind of hard to pick one, I’d always say a good night at home where the crowd know your style, they may not know every track but they know what you’re about so you don’t have to win them over as much, I’d say that’s always the most satisfying for me, it’s where you can play pretty much exactly as you want to. Most other places you travel to you have to adjust and that’s a good thing and you feel a great sense of satisfaction, but personally I just love a good night at home, whether it was way back at {Sir} Henry’s or now, in The Pavillion.

Greg: I think when you’re a dj and you’re playing a big festival it’s more slap it and bang it on but me and Shane have built a career out of being residents which is quite different to the way it’s gone these days.

Byline: What’s your go to track to get the crowd up on their feet?

Shane: You have some…

Greg: (laughs) The Cure and the Cause!

Byline: Do you think your different sound is why ye’ve been playing since the late eighties and are still popular now?

Shane: I reckon so.

Greg: I hope so!

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MUSICByline’s Best of 2015Ahead of what looks to be an extremely promising 2016, musically speaking of course, the return of Bowie in his self-penned eulogy and many more, Edel Carmody takes time to look back and evaluate some of the very best of last year’s offerings, genre by genre

Rock: Wolf Alice -My Love Is CoolThe London based quartet have fans and critics following their every move with great anticipation, so really, it wasn’t much of a shock when their freshman album turned out to be one of the best of the year. Encompassing shoegaze and indie rock sensibilities, My Love Is Cool is a breath of fresh air in the rather generic landfill of rock quartets. From grungy Grammy nominated songs written from Lisa Simpson’s perspective (“Moaning Lisa Smile”) to odes of female friendship (“Bros”) this album has it all. Guitarist and vocalist Ellie Rowsell’s vocals leap from dreamily breathy to snarling and ferocious in a heartbeat. Ultimately, My Love Is Cool is an album that takes some courageous risks but it pays off a hundredfold, resulting in an album that is splendid in it’s melancholia, nostalgia and ferocious beauty.

Pop: Lana Del Rey –HoneymoonThe Queen of old world Hollywood glamour and sweeping baroque pop returned to us last September with her third album “Honeymoon”. Del Rey’s references ranged from T.S. Elliot, Bond to Bowie and for good measure she even threw in a Nina Simone cover. Her jaded, unlucky in love persona relays the bleak realities of romanticized L.A. life. While 2014’s Ultraviolence produced by Dan Auerbach played with guitar sounds this one returned to her trip-hop Born to Die roots. Honeymoon is characteristically sultry, dark and moody with Del Rey in full hopeless romantic mode singing to the beat of the lush orchestra that lends a truly cinematic quality to proceedings.

Punk: Slaves- Are You Satisfied?Nobody could accuse Kent’s riotous punk duo Laurie Vincent (guitar) and Isaac Holman (drums, vocals) of not making enough of a racket, or of taking themselves too seriously. They embrace and even revel in some light-hearted silliness on fan favourite tracks like “Feed The Mantaray” (live shows often feature fan favourite ‘the Mantaray’ dancing around the stage) and on “Where’s Your Car, Debbie?”, which is inspired by reports of sasquatches and lost cars. Sure, a lot of the concerns they deal with might be a bit punk 101 (government distrust, the mundane drudgery of everyday life, paychecks and melting ice caps) yet they do so with considerable flair and snarkiness. “Are You Satisfied?” resulted in a Mercury Prize Nomination and a feverishly devoted fan base of mosh pit enthusiasts so they must be doing something right! Their short and snappy approach to music means the album clocks in at a mere 33 minutes, but nevertheless it’s an enjoyable and rollicking journey at breakneck speed.

Psychedelic: Tame Impala –CurrentsKevin Parker is a perfectionist and the one man mastermind behind some of the decade’s best albums. Currents is a true labour of love that Parker delayed the release of for months. Thankfully, Currents crowns Parker as king of the considerable Australian psych scene and is a testament to his incredible range as a vocalist, songwriter, producer, mixer and engineer. Curiosity was piqued when Parker mentioned that Goa trance would influence the new material and he did not disappoint. Indeed, he significantly dispatches the guitar sound, instead favouring synths. As a result “Psychedelic” is much more dance-floor ready than its predecessors but achieving the impossible in that it keeps the essential essence we know and love of Tame Impala.

Indie/Alt: Ezra Furman -Perpetual Motion PeopleWhen the Chicagoan Indie darling Ezra Furman’s Perpetual Motion People was released last summer via independent label Bella Union, it elicited appropriately rave responses from fans and critics alike. With an eclectic range of influences and musical heroes, including the legendary Lou Reed, Furman frenetically and compelling explores his life. Mental illness, religion, bodily autonomy and gender identity all feature. While Reed’s influences may not be overtly discernible, Perpetual Motion People embodies good old rock ‘n’ roll, blues and folk as well as a plethora of other genres. The key to Ezra Furman is his vibrantly and joyously oddball music, just don’t try to pin down what it is exactly.

Electronic: Years and Years- CommunionThe British synth-poppers sped from being virtually unknown to one of the most recognizable bands of the summer. While their music may not be the most original, frontman Olly Alexander’s unusual and striking vocals, their slick production and solid song-writing adds a spark to their work which sets them apart from the crowd. With their 80’s synth vibes abundantly clear the trio reigned over the charts with Communion debuting at number 1 in the United Kingdom and single “King” reached number 1 on the UK Singles Chart.

David Bowie1945-2016

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MUSIC EDITOR - HOLLY COONEY

What’s to Come in 2016?

Review: U2, 3Arena Dublin

While 2014 was the year of the surprise album, 2015 was undoubtedly the year of the comeback. Adele went into 2015 with the intention of releasing one album and not only ended up rewriting the whole thing but released a surprise music video which saved the industry. Justin Bieber dropped the teenage angst, went home and came back with an album full of club anthems that, no matter how much you hated “Baby”, you found yourself singing and dancing along to. Dr.Dre came back after a 10 year hiatus with an album of countless collaborations and retook his place as the undisputed king of Hip-Hop.

2015 was a great year of music but looking forward, what can we expect from 2016? Cailean Coffey takes a look at the confirmed, the rumoured and the anticipated releases of 2016.

Going into 2016 it’s clear that electronica will have a big year, with EDEN, Jack Garratt, MMOTHS, The XX, James Blake and Kygo all expected to release new music. Calvin Harris and Deadmau5 are also rumoured for new albums and lest we forget, one of the most anticipated dance duos, Jack Ü, made up of Skrillex and Diplo are surely on the cusp of a release?

In the pop world, Beyoncé is almost guaranteed to release something and secure her place as Queen B whilst Lady Gaga and Katy Perry battle it out for the pop princess title. Ed Sheeran has dropped hints for autumn and Lily Allen has been seen in the studio so it’s pretty much assured we’ll hear from them. Meanwhile, Walking on Cars are releasing their eagerly awaited debut album, The 1975 and Sia will be back with new music and Zayn Malik hopes to become the new Justin Timberlake.

On the rock circuit, U2 are releasing the 2nd half of their Innocence and Experience double album and Bruce Springsteen, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Haim are all rumoured for new releases. Radiohead are in the studio with new music only a matter of months away and Biffy Clyro have promised a very different sound to their last album “Opposites” when they release again.

Of course the main event is Kanye West who will finally release his seventh album. Drake is expected to release and 50 Cent makes an appearance. Macklemore has to follow up the success of “Downtown” with new music, and P Diddy is back to give his take on the world.

Venturing into the unknown, everyone wants to know about the Frank Ocean follow up we’ve all been waiting for but for that, we’ll just have to wait and see…

by Alan Murphy

New Year, New Music

Kali Uchis The first time I came across Kali Uchis was when I saw a Dazed & Confused article write about her then new video ‘Loner’, which they described as a ‘neon fever dream’ and I for one wholeheartedly agreed. Seeing the Colombian-born singer swirl around in different shades of pastel clothes confirmed my view that she was a star on the horizon. 2015 saw the release of her EP Por Vida, which has not yet been released on Spotify. Her lyrics are that of a post-teenage broken heart and echo those of the late and great Amy Winehouse. For anyone who has not yet heard of Kali, check out Ridin’ Round, an empowering ‘girl power’ track and Know What I Want for a slowed-down reggae vibe.

The Internet Nominated for Best Urban Contemporary album at this year’s Grammy awards, The Internet are a soul band that are finally receiving the recognition they deserve. A by-product of Odd Future’s rap group, despite being around since 2011 they were finally noticed in 2015 when they featured in Kaytranada’s Girl. The Internet’s whole discography is available on Spotify and their sound has been compared to that of SZA and Frank Ocean. Check out Get Away, Cocaine and Special Affair.

Lxury Signed on Disclosure’s label, Method Records Lxury is an as yet unknown British producer but it’s clear that won’t be the case for long. Playing for Duke Dumont’s Blasé Boys Club and touring with Disclosure, Lxury’s release J.A.W.S was also co-produced by Disclosure and is featured on MK’s 2013 BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix. Most of Lxury’s EP’s are found on Spotify and soundcloud.

Michelle O’Callaghan takes a look at the new acts for 2016.

U2 played four spine tingling sell-out shows in the 3Arena as part of their “Innocence and Experience” tour which I myself was highly fortunate to land a ticket for. The performance was incredibly intimate and emotional and was broken up into two parts. The first half of the show created a theatre like atmosphere where the songs depicted the band’s past with awesome lighting and digital imagery. The visuals and choreography for songs such as “Sunday Bloody Sunday”, “Raised by Wolves” and Cedarwood Road ( which sees Bono walk down the street of his former neighbourhood in North Dublin) presented an impressive and powerful correlation with the meanings behind the songs.

The second half saw the band in a much more conventional and familiar stage setting. Songs such as Mysterious Ways, Elevation, Pride (in the

name of love) and New Year’s Day really energized the crowd and everyone was on their feet singing and dancing along. The lead single off the new album “Every Breaking Wave” was played as a more emotional alternative using only Bono’s vocals and the Edge’s impressive piano playing.

The encore gave way to the “City of Blinding Lights” with the Edge playing the familiar guitar riff with a metal slide which I must admit, sent shivers down my spine. “Beautiful Day” and “One” rounded off this emotional, intimate and atmospheric musical performance. They certainly surpassed my expectations and for fans who hadn’t seen them in an indoor arena since 1989 I’m sure they knocked their socks off!

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FILM & TELEVISION‘Sherlock: The Abominable Bride’ Review

by Aoife Gleeson - Gaming Editor

It’s been almost two years since we last saw Sherlock and Watson: the season 3 finale, ‘His Last Vow’, aired on the 12 January 2014. Fervour grew in the show’s protracted absence as the two stars shot to fame and pursued other projects. But, finally the dynamic duo have briefly returned to satiate our desire for season 4 with ‘The Abominable Bride’, a ‘once-off ’ Christmas special. Yet, after the long, long wait: does it live up the hype?

‘The first two acts are, by far, the strongest, containing the trademark Sherlock fun and playful chemistry between the two leads as

they struggle to solve the case’As a whole, not really. The special starts out strong, set in an alternative Victorian London, as Sherlock and Watson are tasked with solving a murder seemingly carried out by the ghost of a women who had publicly shot herself. The first two acts are, by far, the strongest, containing the trademark Sherlock fun and playful chemistry between the two leads as they struggle to solve the case. The cinematography is also, as per usual, beautiful and the Victorian aesthetic is utilised to great effect.

‘...the episode devolves into a convoluted, time-hopping mess that has trouble getting to

the point’Then comes the divisive twist: this is, in fact, not an independent story, but a dream in the mind of modern Sherlock as he lands back in London, where we left him back in Season 3. The case has been his subconscious mind’s attempt to draw a parallel which would help explain how Moriarty could have shot himself in the head and survived. This is where the episode devolves into a convoluted, time-hopping mess that has trouble getting to the point. When we get to the solution of the Abominable Bride case, it feels like an afterthought (particularly since the logic applied to that case seemingly isn’t applicable to Moriarty’s).

‘The episode morphs into ‘Sherlock: An Intervention’ which is disorienting and

distracting, robbing the case of its momentum’Instead, focus shifts to Sherlock’s tenuous grip on reality and continuing drug addiction. The episode morphs into ‘Sherlock: An Intervention’ which is disorienting and distracting, robbing the case of its momentum. The emphasis on Sherlock’s drug usage is likely setting up for season 4, the theme of which is ‘consequences’ according to Steven Moffat, one of the showrunners. The episode also contains a lot of fan service, meta references and nods to the original stories, for which your mileage may vary. One that bothered me particularly w+;as Sir Carmichael receiving orange pips in a letter which he interprets as an omen of a visit from the Bride. In its original story, ‘The Five Orange Pips’, this was a calling card of the KKK and it makes little sense within the context of this story.

‘Ultimately, nothing much happens in the special’

Ultimately, nothing much happens in the special: Sherlock gets off a plane and into a car. Nothing altogether new is revealed and the special seems to

function as a protracted trailer for season 4. Now begins the long wait for 2017: hopefully it’s worth it this time.

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FILM & TVTrans* People on Screenby Edel Carmody

As our world gets a little bit more progressive year by year, thankfully we have seen a growing acceptance of the transgender community. By extension this is reflected by the slowly expanding representation of the transgender community on our screens, in an assortment of genres from reality to drama to science fiction.

Of course while representation is vital it is not merely enough to have transgender characters present on screen. The portrayal of transgender characters must be multi-dimensional, intelligent and free of any tokenism. Numerous television shows on major broadcasting networks with millions of viewers have featured transgender characters, including Glee, Ugly Betty, Elementary and Sons of Anarchy, to name but a few but not always respectfully or with nuance. The sitcom Mike and Molly has been criticized in the past for using transphobic and dehumanizing language, misgendering transgender characters and using transgender characters as a punchline. According to a 2012 report by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) since 2002 there have been 102 instances of transgender representation in TV shows. However an overwhelming 54 % of these depictions were deemed to be negative and stereotypical.

Yet the past three years, in particular, have seen more acceptance of the transgender community in mainstream media and entertainment spheres. Netflix’s hit show Orange is the New Black features Laverne Cox as hairdresser Sophia Burset. The show’s portrayal of gender and sexuality have been enthusiastically welcomed by many. Cox has broken down barriers within the industry and has become the first ever openly transgender person to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category. As well as being the first openly trans person to grace the front cover of Time magazine.

Reality TV, maybe not the most respected of genres, has also seen a substantial increase in transgender representation. Cox hosted the 2014 the reality show Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word which documented the daily lives of young trans people. Of course, Caitlyn Jenner’s show I Am Cait became one of the talking points of 2015 and opened up a widespread public dialogue about the transgender community.

While Britain, up until now, may have slightly fallen behind America in its push for more trans-inclusive TV, the BBC has of late made a push for more diverse casting. Transgender actress Rebecca Root made headlines when BBC announced she would star in Boy Meets Girl. The sitcom centres on the relationship between Judy (Root) with a much younger man Leo (Harry Hepple).Unlike other shows, some commentators have noted Boy Meets Girl’s usage of ‘odd couple’ tropes and gentle humour are not at the expense of Judy’s gender identity but rather arise from the awkwardness their substantial age gap creates. Also on the British small screen, transgender comedian and actress Bethany Black guest starred as 474 in the ninth episode of the ninth season of Doctor Who. Black is also known for her recurring role as transgender woman Helen Brears in Channel 4’s Cucumber (created by Russell T Davies of Queer as Folk fame) which premièred last winter and has also subsequently guest starred as a protagonist in its sister series Banana.

As well as the surge in visibility of the transgender community on TV, one of the most critically acclaimed films of last year was undoubtedly Sundance and Indie darling Tangerine which premièred last January. The film shot entirely on an iPhone focuses on the friendship between two transgender sex-workers (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor) in Los Angeles, as well as exploring trans street culture. Director Sean Baker met the women at a LGBTQ center. Both women are familiar with the city’s red light district and it was crucial to Rodriguez that Baker would show the harsh reality of street work while not dehumanizing its protagonists. As Oscar season rapidly approaches, there is a sustained campaign calling for both Rodriguez and Taylor to be recognized by the Academy for their performances. No

openly transgender person has ever received an Academy Award nomination.

In an interview with Out magazine numerous transgender performers like Alexandra Billings, Candis Cayne, Zackary Drucker and Scott Turner Schofield amongst others discussed trans people playing cisgender characters. They maintained transgender actors and actresses should not be confined to non-cisgender roles. Cox guest starred as a cisgender teacher in MTV’s Faking It, Erika Ervin appeared in American Horror Story: Freakshow as a cisgender circus performer and Rebecca Root appears as a cisgender German nurse in the The Danish Girl. While the rise in the representation of the transgender community is an encouraging step towards greater acceptance and destigmatization, it is not easy to erase years worth of damaging depictions and images of the community.

Casting choices for trans* characters can be controversial: for example, the recent casting of Eddie Redmayne as Lili Elbe in ‘The Danish Girl’ was another sign of Hollywood’s willingness to cast men in the roles of trans* women. Not all casting decisions are so polarizing; Amazon’s Transparent initially raised eyebrows when it was announced Jeffrey Tambor would star as Maura in the comedy-drama which follows a family that learns their Father identifies as a woman. Yet many have lauded the shows intelligent and sensitive depiction of Maura’s and her family’s journey toward embracing her true gender identity. The show’s creator Jill Soloway is a cisgender woman but the show’s events are loosely based on the experiences of her own family when her Father came out. Transparent has been renewed for a third season and has been a resounding success securing recognition from the Television Academy. While Tambor is a cisgender man, the show has made an effort to be trans-inclusive. Transgender musician Our Lady J is a writer for the show and has also guest starred, transgender performance artist Zackary Drucker served as a consultant, while transgender director Silas Howard was hired for the second season and numerous transgender actors dot the cast.

As well as future seasons of the aforementioned shows, even more leaps of progress can be seen. British soap EastEnders cast the previously unknown 21 year old Riley Carter Millington as Kyle, a young transgender man, making him the first – ever transgender actor to star as a transgender character in a British Soap. Hollyoaks soon followed suit and cast transgender actress Annie Wallace as Sally St Claire, the new high school headmistress. In previous years British Soaps like Coronation Street and Hollyoaks have featured transgender characters in the form of Hayley Cropper and Jason Costello respectively but they were not played by transgender actors. Furthermore, the somewhat contentious Lena Dunham is set to produce the HBO documentary Three Suits which follows Bindle & Keep, the bespoke Brooklyn located tailoring service that caters for the LGBTQ community.

So where do we stand in 2016 in terms of representation on both the small and the big screen? While there is a marked improvement in visibility and awareness, it is too early to think real tolerance has been achieved and is subsequently reflected by what we watch. Transgender men are still significantly less represented in mainstream entertainment. Our world is ever shifting in its attitudes and it is only fair that our mainstream pop culture reflects this. Yes, TV and film, can be escapism for us but they have also always acted as a mirror to reflect real life situations. Thus by extension viewers can relate and identify with what they see and hear on screen. If what we watch fails to be diverse and does not reflect a vast spectrum of our society it ultimately alienates communities that we have often marginalized.

EDITOR - OLIVIA BROWN