Everyone in our and past generations should know who Charles Lee Ray is, known as Chucky! Chucky is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Child’s Play slasher film franchise. Chucky is portrayed as a vicious serial killer who, as he bleeds out from a gunshot wound, transfers his soul into a “Good Guy” doll and continuously tries to transfer it to a human body. The character has become one of the most recognizable horror icons and has been referenced numerous times.

Backstory

Charles Lee Ray was born on May 1st, 1958, in Hackensack, New Jersey. In 1965 when Charles was 7-years-old, after he returned home from trick-or-treating during Halloween, he decided to pick up an apple that he received and noticed a razor blade stuck inside of it. He bit into it regardless and smiled after the razor blade cut into his mouth causing it to bleed. During Charles’ eighth birthday party, he used a mallet to knock the piñata to the ground but continued to aggressively smash it even after it had fallen. He overheard the news of a serial killer on the loose on the radio and delighted in plunging a knife into his birthday cake.

Later that night, an assailant broke into his home and stabbed his father Peter to death right in front of him. His mother Elizabeth attempted to hide in a closet with him, however, when the intruder found them, he was surprised to see that Charles had stabbed his mother to death, claiming to have “helped”. The impressed killer gave Ray the advice of covering his tracks before leaving. After his parents’ deaths, Charles was placed in the Burlington County home for wayward boys. In 1972 when Charles was 14, he was known for playing with the smaller children, particularly a boy named Eddie Caputo who would become his future accomplice. One day after tracking mud through the hallway he was yelled at by the Janitor, Charles slit the man’s throat and cut off his hand so he could present him to the children as “Captain Hook” while playing Peter Pan. When the police came Charles decided to run away, leaving the Janitor’s severed hand behind as a gift for Eddie before fleeing into the night.

At some point in the 1980s, Charles picks up a woman named Delilah and a red-headed woman from a nightclub and takes them back to a hotel. As the two-woman start making out with each other, Charles takes out a knife and holds it over the red-headed woman. Instead of being afraid, the woman tells him to stab her, Ray then spares her and stabs Delilah instead. Charles invites the redhead to finish her off as she takes the knife and starts stabbing Delilah. After killing her together, the couple starts kissing passionately on the bed where the redhead tells Charles her name is Tiffany before suggesting Charles “should be Chucky” and he, in turn, suggests she should be blonde. Chucky and Tiffany left Hackensack in 1987 after killing a man selling his car and driving out of town in it. Chucky and Tiffany moved to Chicago in 1988 and settled in their new apartment by ordering pizza and killing the delivery boy. Eventually, tensions rose between them when Tiffany found out Chucky was killing people without her, leading to an argument that ended with Chucky storming out.

Child’s Play creator Don Mancini created a TV series, that was recently released. Chucky made his return to television on the October 12, 2021, premiere of Chucky, the sequel to Cult of Chucky. In this TV series, Chucky encounters 14-year old middle school student Jake Wheeler at a yard sale with his intentions to use him for his personal art projects. A younger version of Chucky as a human also appeared in flashback scenes which were portrayed by David Kohlsmith and Tyler Barish. The series went over so well they have already renewed it for a Season 2. You can read more about the upcoming new season here.

Everyone should know Rule No. 1: Always check for batteries in your killer toys. Chucky has busted out of the mint condition packaging to embark on another murderous rampage in his very first TV series. Created by the screenwriter behind the iconic Child’s Play franchise, Don Mancini, the show enjoyed its concurrent season premiere on SYFY and USA on Tuesday night.

“I think it’s so important to keep Chucky as a practical puppet effect, partly because it’s important for the actors to have something to respond to onset … I also think it’s important that Chucky have the feel of a doll, of a puppet. He should be a little bit herky-jerky,” Mancini mentioned.

The show takes place in Hackensack, New Jersey, the hometown of Charles Lee Ray (the remorseless criminal who transferred his soul into the body of a Good Guy doll via an archaic voodoo ritual all the way back in 1988). When the red-haired doll we all know and fear turns up at a local yard sale, the sleepy American hamlet is plunged into utter chaos. Naturally, Brad Dourif is back to voice the hack-and-slash character, who was brought to life with the old-school puppetry methods utilized in the earlier films.

Chucky is the most murderous Good Guy Doll around and has found somebody new to play with. In Chucky, the new USA Network and SYFY series, the serial-killer possessed doll have found a new “owner,” a teen named Jake Webber (Zackary Arthur). However, Jake is not the first person to have encountered Chucky, and the series premiere alludes to Chucky’s first “owner,” Andy Barclay. Andy first appeared in the first 1988 Child’s Play and went on to face off with Chucky in several sequels. After a vintage Chucky doll turns up at a suburban yard sale, an idyllic American town is thrown into chaos as a series of horrifying murders begin to expose the town’s hypocrisies and secrets.

Where is Andy during the events of the Chucky series? Andy is presumably still on his anti-Chucky crusade, and he calls Jake to warn him about Good Guy dolls. We know that Vincent will appear in the series, so it probably bodes well for Jake that he’ll have a seasoned doll-killer in his corner. Now, if only Andy were able to kill Chucky and make it stick…

Andy (played by Alex Vincent in most of the films and in the series) made his debut as a 6-year-old in Child’s Play, when he’s gifted a Good Guy doll for his birthday. Unfortunately, as is so often the case, that Good Guy doll has been possessed by the spirit of a serial killer, the notorious Charles Lee Ray. After gruesomely murdering several people in Andy’s life, Chucky attempts to transfer his soul into Andy so that he can be a real boy. However, Andy, his mother Karen (Catherine Hicks), and detective Mike Norris (Chris Sarandon) are able to defeat the doll.

If you missed it, don’t worry — the season opener (clocking in at just over 46 minutes) is currently available to stream on the official SYFY app at no extra cost. The app itself is free to download, and viewers can either connect to their cable subscribers to access the full content or sign up for an NBCUniversal profile and use up to three free credits.

In the next episode, S1 Episode 8, Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent) takes a trip to visit the Wheelers in hopes of finally putting a stop to Chucky but is confronted by an eery Junior Wheeler (Teo Briones). Meanwhile, Jake Wheeler (Zackary Arthur) and Lexy Cross (Alyvia Alyn Lind) try to piece together the meaning behind Chucky’s motives until they get an expected visit from an old friend.

To read more amazing stories like this one, check out Gamactica Portals

Every once in a while, a show comes out that surprises me. At first glance, Apple TV’s See sounds a bit… strange, and it seems to be largely flying under the radar with its first 2 seasons. It’s about what happens when the world loses sight, and how the world adapts to this change. It’s a very interesting concept, but it’s one of those ideas that is far enough out there that you need good performances from the cast to make it actually work. That is where See truly shines IMO, even if some of the characters are VERY over the top. The cast does an excellent job of bringing these characters to life in a believable way, even if the world itself is a bit unbelievable at times.

The main characters that we follow are:

– Baba Voss (Jason Mamoa) – The main protagonist and adoptive father of the twins.
– Maghra (Hera Hilmar) – Baba’s wife and mother to the twins.
– Haniwa (Nesta Cooper) & Kofun (Archie Madekwe) – The twins that we watch grow up over the first 3 episodes.
– Queen Kane (Sylvia Hoeks) – Queen of Paya and main antagonist of Season 1.
– Tamacti Jun (Christian Camargo) – The Witchfinder General, the leader of the Queen’s army who hunt’s and kills any witches that they find (Anyone with sight).
– Edo Voss (Dave Bautista) – Main Antagonist of Season 2, General of the Trivantian Army and Baba’s brother.
– Jerlamorel (Joshua Henry) – The twins’ biological father, who is sighted, and is trying to have as many sighted children as possible.

Overall, the cast does a pretty incredible job with bringing these characters to life. Jason Mamoa leans into the protective father role and does a great job telling that story. His relationship with his wife is believable and real, and both do a great job of feeding off of each other’s energy. That paired with Nesta Cooper and Archie Madekwe as Haniwa and Kofun, and the core of this show puts on a great performance.

Baba Voss (Jason Mamoa) and Maghra (Hera Hilmar). Source – IMDB

The first season takes us through the journey to reunite the Twins with their father, with the Witchfinders in pursuit. There are a ton of setpiece battles, exciting chases, and surprises along the way. There is also some political intrigue mixed in with how Queen Kane is handling a potential uprising, which is highlighted by a stellar (if over the top) performance by Sylvia Hoeks. She balances terrifying and crazy near perfect and has some truly chilling moments as the Mad Queen.

The Mad Queen Kane. Source – IMDB

We also follow the pilgrimage of sorts that the Twins go through to find their biological father throughout the season. This sets up a confrontation at the end about what kind of world they should live in… Do they embrace the sight, or do they continue to live among the blind, hiding what they can do? Personally, I think they handled this well, and they really pushed hard into setting up for season 2.

Overall, 2 seasons in this is a really good show. The world seems like a bit of a stretch at times, but it’s not so far out there that it breaks immersion. The characters are engaging, and the story is fantastic. If you have some time, and an Apple TV+ Subscription, I can’t recommend See enough.

What are your thoughts on the show? Comment below and let me know!

The best Marvel show isn’t on Disney plus, its on Hulu. What do you get when you combine an assassin snow monkey, Ghost of an American Hit-Man voiced by Jason Sudeikis, With Olivia Munn as a love interest in the Beautiful setting of Japan? You get Hulu original Hit-Monkey.  So why isn’t this amazing show on Disney plus? Hit-Monkey is rated TV-MA for almost every reason you could imagine.

Hit-Monkey debuted in 2010 as a one-shot for Marvel Digital Comic Unlimited. Then later was part of a 3 story arc co-starring the merc with a mouth Deadpool.  He also has a small cameo as a member of Nick Fury’s Howling Commando’s. One of many groups created by Nick Fury made up of several monsters turned hero.

The story follows an assassin or hit-man and or a Hit-Monkey trying to get revenge for his whole clan being murdered after nursing Jason Sudekis character (Bryce) back to life. Hit-Monkey clan finds him face down on a snowy mountain in Japan with an almost fatal gun shot wound.  As the monkeys are taking care of  Bryce a clean up crew comes to finish the job, shoots Bryce several times then turns their attention to Hit-Monkeys clan, and mows down the Monkey Clan in front of Hit-Monkey.  In a Moment of Rage Hit Monkey grabs two guns and starts to paint the snow red with the blood of the team that killed his family. After Hit-Monkey is done Bryce tells him to get revenge for him and his clan before he dies just to be brought back as a ghost tethered to Hit-Monkey.  The Dynamic between these two characters is hilarious and filled with growth as Bryce teaches Hit-Monkey how to be a hit-man .

Hit-Monkey is a complete surprise to me. Not knowing what to expect, I couldn’t stop watching every time an episode ended I would say ok after this one I am going to bed…then all of a sudden its 4 in the morning wide awake wanting to see more. The character list is very interesting, and mixes Japanese super heroes, ghost assassins, and Yakuza all together in a bloody revenge story. Hit-Monkey is a mix of Kill Bill a buddy comedy, and a love story kind of.  Olivia Munn lends her voice to Hit-Monkey’s love interest and yes she is human. The murder scenes are creative and in some scenes the gory and ruthless way that Hit-Monkey dispatches his enemies is pure entertainment and leaves little to the imagination.

This comical, dark, and blood bath story filled with redeeming moments goes to show the amazing stories comics contain when you take off the kid gloves, and write for street level heroes. I highly recommend Hit-Monkey on Hulu if you like a good revenge story or Japanese Snow Monkeys.  You can find Hit-Monkey season 1 streaming on Hulu right now as a Hulu original.  If you want to see all the latest and greatest news on gaming, streaming, advice, television, and movies.  Portals is the place for you.