Category Archives: TV Reviews

Doctor Who: Joy to the World [S2E0] – TV Review

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TL;DR – An episode that is filled with fascinating character moments and an interesting setup, yet tied together with a dull narrative.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this series.

The Time Hotel.

Doctor Who Review –

Many traditions exist out there for those who celebrate Christmas, and for many years now, for many, including myself, it has been capped off on Boxing Day with the Doctor Who Christmas Special. Last year, we got The Church on Ruby Road, which brought the two main characters for Season One together for the first time. In the past, we have gotten new regenerations, deaths, famous people from history, and even Catherine Tate that one time. Thus, the question is, what will we get today?

So, to set the scene, it is the Queen’s Hotel, Manchester, during the middle of the Blitz. People are lamenting the fall of democracy when a man bursts through the door carrying a ham and cheese toasty and a pumpkin latte. Wrong door, that’s okay. Let’s try The Orient Express. No. Okay, maybe Everest Base Camp? But maybe, just maybe. The Sandringham Hotel, in 2024, will be the right spot. Right where Joy (Nicola Coughlan) is arriving to spend the week. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Star Wars: Skeleton Crew: You Have a Lot to Learn About Pirates [S1E5] – TV Review

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TL;DR – An episode that balances both the fun that this show needs and the seriousness that the universe has acquired over the decades.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this series.

The crew on the bridge of the Onyx Cinder.

Skeleton Crew Review –

Well, today is the first day that I am going into Star Wars: Skeleton Crew with a touch of trepidation. This is because last week’s episode, Can’t Say I Remember No At Attin, was the first that fell flat for me. Which was doubly disappointing given the quality behind the production. The question I am now faced with is, was that just a speed bump on the road, or was that a sign that we had shifted in the wrong direction?

So, to set the scene, things are tense for the crew of the Onyx Cinder as SM-33’s (Nick Frost/Rob Ramsdell) memory was activated and they turned on Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law), Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), KB (Kyriana Kratter), and Neel (Robert Timothy Smith/ Kacie Borrowman). Knowing that they could turn on the crew again, the question remains: keep him tied up, or see if you can find the coordinates for At Attin in their memory banks? Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Black Doves: Season 1 Review – TV Review

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TL;DR – This was a series that was full of equal parts fun and suspense, and it shows that one of your best strengths is just letting your cast do what they do best.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this series.

Helen looks down at a church service.

Black Doves Review –

I love a good spy mystery with betrayals, twists and turns, and some good quality suspense. A lot of countries can make this work, but few do it as good as the Brits. So, when I heard there was a new series coming out and then that it was headlined by Keira Knightley & Ben Whishaw. Well, I had to check it out.

So, to set the scene, it is Christmas time at an English pub, and the vibe is cheerful, with people singing along to the carols and ignoring the death of the Chinese ambassador on the news. However, there is one person, Jason Davis (Andrew Koji), who is not having an enjoyable time. He is moving at speed because he thinks someone is following him. It turns out he was right, as all of his friends are murdered, and he is shot making one last call. That last call was to Helen Webb (Keira Knightley), the wife of the now Defence Secretary, Wallace Webb (Andrew Buchan). It is odd that someone would spend their last moments calling another person’s wife, but even odder when Reed (Sarah Lancashire) shows up to the Christmas party and we discover that Helen is not what she seems. We will be looking at the season as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Star Wars: Skeleton Crew: Can’t Say I Remember No At Attin [S1E4] – TV Review

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TL;DR – The first speed bump for the season

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this series.

The Onyx Cinder arrives at At Achrann.

Skeleton Crew Review –

Throughout the series so far, I have been filled with delight and joy. But there is always a feeling that there has to be a bump in the road somewhere; even DS9 had its rocky episodes. Well, unfortunately, it looks like today is the day.  

So, to set the scene, after getting a map back in Very Interesting, as an Astrogation Problem, the Onyx Cinder arrives back at At Attin. But instead of the friendly welcome, they are locked into an auto-piolet landing sequence. But something does not feel right because where are all the people? Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Star Wars: Skeleton Crew: Very Interesting, as an Astrogation Problem [S1E3] – TV Review

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TL;DR – Okay, so we are Star Wars x Treasure Island x Goonies. I can work with that.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this series.

People run with a gas giant hanging in the background.

Skeleton Crew Review –

There are a lot of reasons I want to sit down and watch some TV. It could be dangers, suspense, wonder, or sometimes I just want to have some fun. Well, if Skeleton Crew were only doing one thing right, it would be the fun. But they have a lot more going for them other than just that.

So, to set the scene, things went from bad to worse once the Onyx Cinder blasted outside of the barrier and into deep space. Because the kids didn’t understand just how valuable they were, and what weight the name At Attin had. So, Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), KB (Kyriana Kratter), and Neel (Robert Timothy Smith/ Kacie Borrowman) all end up in the brig at the Pirate Port of Port Borgo. Luckily for them, in the jail cell is also the Jedi Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law), and it looks like it is escaping time. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Star Trek: Lower Decks: The New Next Generation & Season 5 – TV Review

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TL;DR – I am sad that our time with Lower Decks is over. However, I am glad that it went out on such a high note.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ streaming service that viewed this episode. 

The USS Cerritos.
The USS Cerritos

Star Trek: Lower Decks Review –

One of the many wild swings this new era of Star Trek undertook was jumping back into the animated world with a show that would be more farcical and self-referential than ever before. Playing off one of the most famous episodes of The Next Generation, Lower Decks rode the line between being a love letter to Star Trek fans and telling a good story in its own right. Now we have come to its final episode, and the question is: did they stick the final landing?

So, to set the scene, after William (Jack Quaid) poured all the rift energy into his universe, our Prime-Star Trek world, there was only one chance to stop it. Well, after Boimler (Jack Quaid) has had an acceptable freakout, he lets Captain Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) know, and while Starfleet Command would have preferred any ship but the Cali-Class USS Cerritos to be the ones to fix it, time is not on their side, and the Cerritos is already near the Klingon border. The only problem is that The Federation might not be the first one to find the rift. We will be looking at the episode, season, and probably series as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Earth Abides: World Without End – TV Review

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TL;DR – How do you build community when you fear the world outside?

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Stan service that viewed this series.

The group has to start salvaging a wider area.

Earth Abides Review –

Earth Abides has been a very interesting show so far, in many respects, in how it can blow through time yet still make it feel like a coherent whole. Alone was about Ish’s journey to find himself in a world alone, and then The Space Between discovered a world where there are now two. But you need more than two for a community, but with community comes benefits and potential dangers.

So, to set the scene, it is now Year 6 of a world without humans or most humans, and nature has started to reclaim much of the world that once was. However, as the human world shrinks to nothingness, those few connections that remain become even more critical. This is what forces Ish (Alexander Ludwig) to race after a young child he sees in the woods. However, as time passes, their small community will face their biggest challenge, which is a throuple. We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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Star Trek: Lower Decks: Fissure Quest – TV Review

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TL;DR – It has been a long time since an episode of Star Trek made me audibly explain, but that was this week’s outing.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ streaming service that viewed this episode. 

USS Anaximander coming out of a rift.

Star Trek: Lower Decks Review –

I honestly can’t believe that today’s episode of Lower Decks is potentially the second last one that we will ever get. There is just such a wealth of joy here that I am sorry to see it go. While this final season has been a bit hit-and-miss for me, I was hoping that it would end the season on a high. Well, after last week’s Fully Dilated and today’s outing, I think they just might do it.

So, to set the scene, all the way back in Season Two’s Kayshon, His Eyes Open, our Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) got duplicated by a transporter accident, and William Boimler (Jack Quaid) was created. Thought dead, we know that William was recruited into Section 31, but we were wondering what he has been up to. Today, we discover that he is the captain of the USS Anaximander and part of the mission to find out why quantum fissures between universities have been opening all over the place. His crew are full of dimensional castaways, but when there is a chance to find the people doing this, the question is, how far will William go? We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Earth Abides: The Space Between Review – Exploring Cast Chemistry

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TL;DR – Today shows why the chemistry between the cast is so important because it helps make this episode everything it is.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Stan service that viewed this series.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Alone in an empty supermarket.

Earth Abides Review –

Last week, we got to dive into a fascinating look at a post-apocalyptic world where someone woke up to a world gone. While the first episode was very much a primer for the world and the stories that we will be telling in it. I am looking forward to seeing what the show can do when it expands on its premise.

So, to set the scene, at the end of Alone, Ish (Alexander Ludwig) was contemplating his life as possibly the last human on Earth, or at least the last one in his part of the country, which was emotionally devastating but still a cathartic ending. That was until he saw smoke coming out of the chimney of a house on the other side of town. But what starts as a confrontation at the barrel of a gun begins something a bit more. Because with Emma (Jessica Frances Dukes), he has met someone who understands what he has gone through. We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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Silo The Harmonium [S2E4] – TV Review

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TL;DR – Today, we hit the point of no return.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Apple TV+ service that viewed this series.

Judge Mary Meadows analyses.

Silo Review –

Fundamentally, what works so well about Silo is that even though it is a post-apocalyptic sort of sci-fi story about people living in a heavily class-stratified society under a quasi-fascist government with a veneer of democracy to make it palatable. That is not the focus; the people are the focus, and that is why I check in each week to see what happens next.

So, to set the scene, at the end of Solo, Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) discovered that her no cleaning might be the catalyst for her entire Silo getting killed because that is what happened in Silo 17. But her suit is destroyed, and any replacement is now deep underwater. Well, until Solo (Steve Zahn) reminds here that a fire suit might be able to be adapted for the job. The only problem is that the only fire station left is still underwater, but only by one floor. So, there is hope, only if they can find a way to pump air down to her. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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