Category Archives: TV Reviews

The Diplomat: Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is a delightfully amusing show for one delving into such topical stories. Like if The West Wing met Utopia by way of The Crown.   

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

A British funeral

The Diplomat Review –

In a former life, I got very much down the rabbit hole of the world of international affairs. While that is now deep in the past, it is nice to dip your toes back into what could have been from time to time. I thought I would do this when I saw a new show about being the new Ambassador from the USA to the UK. I am not quite sure what I was expecting when I sat down to watch, but I am not sure that a show that is equal parts drama and farce was one of them.

So to set the scene, after years of being the deputy chief of Mission for her husband Hal (Rufus Sewell), Ambassador Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) is getting ready to step up and be the next Ambassador to Afghanistan. However, there was no ambassador in London, which was a problem when an external actor attacked the Aircraft carrier HMS Courageous. So without warning, Kate is dropped into the thick of it as most people see this as an Iranian attack to avenge the Americans for taking an oil tanker earlier in the month. However, while Kate is trying to find her feet, what she is not aware of, but what White House Chief of Staff Billie Appiah (Nana Mensah) has given Stuart Heyford (Ato Essandoh), Deputy Chief of Mission, has given the heads up about is that Kate is on a shortlist to replace the Vice President who is about to get turfed in a scandal. Kate would be good for the job if not for the fact that her marriage is about to implode. Now from here, we will be looking at the series as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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How Ted Lasso Perfected the Nothing/Everything Episode with Sunflowers – Article

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TL;DR – This article explores how a show can have an episode focused on nothing, yet still be everything.  

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

Van Gogh's Sunflowers.

How Ted Lasso Perfected the Nothing/Everything Episode with Sunflowers –

One of the significant shifts in the Television landscape was the move from more episodic episodes to more serialised outings. It started taking steam in the 1990s with shows like Babylon 5 and Deep Space Nine. But this would explode in the streaming era, with nearly every show you watch having some serialised component. Whether the show works with the serialised content does not matter. With the insertion of boilerplate narrative arcs becoming more of the norm, looking at you Wednesday. In this world, can you have a stand-alone, nothing episode anymore?

There was a time when shows like Seinfeld built themselves around being the show about nothing, where there was no character growth. However, today if you have an episode, let alone a series, where nothing happens, you will get a chorus of comments claiming condensation over there being filler. I have seen a claim championed time after time, whether the show was filler. But can you still have an engaging episode of TV that does not move the plot along in the current landscape? Well, you must trust your audience to come along with you if you want to attempt something like this. Trust which is something that is earned, not given.

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Star Trek: Picard – The Last Generation and Season Three – TV Review

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TL;DR – They stuck the landing.   

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene

The USS Enterprise-D

Star Trek: Picard Review –

The third and final season of Star Trek: Picard has come to an end, and more like any season so far, this felt almost like Star Trek: The Next Generation season 8. There was a little concern coming into the start of the season as to whether they could make it more than just a nostalgia fest. Now, don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of nostalgia on offer here. But there is also a lot of heart. In today’s review, we will first look at whether they stuck the landing with the final episode and then at the season and maybe the series as a whole.

So to set the scene, in Võx, we discovered the terrible secret that Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) had been holding so tight that even he did not know, he is The Borg. Or at least he had inherited some of the DNA changes The Borg made to Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). This made him reach out to the voice in his head … The Borg Queen (Alice Krige/Jane Edwina Seymour) herself. Which sets in motion The Borg’s final plan to trigger the Borg DNA inserted in all the young officers and remotely assimilate them using Jack’s ability, and it works. The fleet is taken over, most of those not assimilated are killed, and only Spacedock stands between The Borg and the extermination of Earth. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode, and season, as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.     

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The Mandalorian: Chapter 24 (The Return) & Season 3 – TV Review

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TL;DR – While you could say they spared their best to last, it was still frustrating that this energy went missing a lot during this season.     

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) and The Armorer (Emily Swallow) decend.

The Mandalorian Review –

I am not sure we thought that at the start of the season, we would be feeling a bit odd now that we are drawing to an end. Indeed, I had to correct myself because I had inadvertently written this as the fourth season, though in hindsight, I don’t think that is far from the truth given how Book of Boba Fett turned out. However, as we come to the end of this season, and maybe even the series at the time of writing season 4 is not confirmed, I wonder what we got.   

So to set the scene, in The Spies, most of the disparate groups of the Mandalorians came together to help reclaim Mandalore after discovering that it was potentially inhabitable. However, Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) realised their plan. He set a trap because neither of the Mandalorian groups knew is that Gideon always knew the planet was habitable and had made his base there. A realisation that happened after Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) was captured. Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) was leading the survivors off to escape and warn the armada above that they were about to come under attack. Still, only time would tell if they would get the warning before obliteration. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode, and season, as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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Shadow and Bone: Season 2 – TV Review

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TL;DR – There are moments of absolute joy and action, but it does get bogged down in a story that does not reach the heights of the world’s potential.   

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix subscription that viewed this show.

Alina tries to collapse the The Fold

Shadow and Bone Review –

A while back, I caught up on some of the Fantasy series I had missed and stumbled upon an exciting delight. It was a show that took queues from a more Slavic inspiration, creating a universe that felt like we were not just running over the same cultural touchstones. Well, the show’s second season has now dropped, and I didn’t wait to give it a watch this time.

So to set the scene, Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li) and Malyen “Mal” Oretsev (Archie Renaux) have escaped overseas after defeating General Aleksander Kirigan / The Darkling (Ben Barnes) but not having the power to stop the Fold. But they are still being hunted, this time by a charismatic pirate (Patrick Gibson) and the nation they just abandoned. Meanwhile, the Crows have returned to Ketterdam only to find that someone has bought their club out from underneath them, and some people are mighty upset that they did not bring back the prize they were hired for. Now from here, we will be looking at the series as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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The Night Agent: Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – While not groundbreaking, what we get is a solid spy thriller with a dash of West Wing to boot.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

The Capital Building

The Night Agent Review –

I am always looking for a new spy series to dabble in after last year’s delightful The Recruit. When I heard rumblings that The Night Agent was one to give a watch. So, I had some time off from work and thought I would give it a watch, then bamm, that first scene happened, and then wait, where did all those episodes go?

So to set the scene, Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) is an FBI agent who was going about their day when they noticed that a gentleman (Andre Anthony) had just left their bag on the DC Metro. Opening it, he found there was a bomb and was able to evacuate the train before it exploded. A year later, Chief of Staff Diane Farr (Hong Chau) has given him a job in The White House, working the late shift as a Night Action operator. Most nights, all that entails is him looking over briefs and giving advice. But one night, the phone rings because Rose Larkin’s (Luciane Buchanan) family has been attacked, and she has been given this one lifeline for help. Now from here, we will be looking at the series as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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Aunty Donna’s Coffee Café: Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – It is a glorious, joyful symphony of comedic talent when it lands.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I watched this on the ABC iView service

Morning Brown Coffee Café

Aunty Donna’s Coffee Café Review –

Back in 2020, the local absurdist Australian comedy troupe Aunty Donna who pioneered being a ‘Chuffed Dad’ and how to do a ‘Roll Call’ struck out from the local scene and made their way to Hollywood with Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun. Coming back to Australia, I was interested to see what they would do next, and the answer to that question seems to be opening a café in Melbourne. 

So to set the scene, it is Stephanie’s (Gaby Seow) first day on the job at the new café in town called Morning Brown. But this café does not have just one boss. It has three. Broden (Broden Kelly) is a pretty cool f-ing boss. Zach (Zachary Ruane) is the more classic professional boss, and Mark (Mark Bonanno) is the goofy one around here. It feels like an average trendy, overpriced Melbourne café. However, unlike the rest of the cafés, they don’t have a hook. Every café has a hook. You need to find a hook, just as long as that hook is not heritage-listed wasps. Now from here, we will be looking at the series as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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The Mandalorian: Chapter 23 (The Spies) – TV Review

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TL;DR – Everything comes to a crescendo as the big players make their mark.    

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

The Mandalorian fleet over Mandalore.

The Mandalorian Review –

To say that this season of The Mandalorian has felt a bit disjointed is a bit of an understatement. While clearly entertaining, it has felt like we had forgotten all these side quests we needed to do, and this season, we caught up on all those. But at some point, that all needed to come together, and this was the week for it.    

So to set the scene, on Coruscant, the spy Elia Kane (Elia Kane) has let slip to Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) that his failures with the pirates at Navarro came from a team-up of Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff). Two figureheads of the opposing divisions of Mandalorians coming together for a common goal. Moff sees this as the apparent threat that it is because the combined Mandalorians are a genuine threat to the purposes of the resurgent empire. 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: Picard – Surrender – TV Review

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TL;DR – This week’s episode had me on the edge of my seat for the entire runtime

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

The Shrike looms over the Titan.

Star Trek: Picard Review –

There is an art to naming an episode. You want it to be relevant, and the more esoteric, the more disconnected you leave your audience. Indeed, Chuck famously titled all their episodes a version of Chuck Versus the Colonel for that reason. However, you can’t be too literal with the title because why watch a show when you already know what will happen. The goldilocks of episode titles are those that are relatively straightforward but then can have multiple meanings. This is what we get this week with Surrender.

So to set the scene, well, things are actually at the darkest [I hope] for the crew of the USS Titan-A. Because in last week’s Dominion, Seven (Jeri Ryan) didn’t sacrifice Shaw (Todd Stashwick), Vadic (Amanda Plummer) was able to storm the bridge and take over the ship. She is looking for Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) and is now using the crew as pawns to lure him out of hiding. Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Crusher (Gates McFadden) do not want him to turn himself in, knowing they will destroy the Titan once they have their prey. But that is easy to say but hard to do when you hear the voices of the crew being killed around you. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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The Mandalorian: Chapter 22 (Guns For Hire) – TV Review

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TL;DR – While we may have started ticking off some side quests, if you are going to do that, you should at least make them as fun as this.   

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Plazir-15

The Mandalorian Review –

I have not been sure how to feel about this season of The Mandalorian, and viewing statistics has shown that I am not alone on this front. This week’s episode does not help that feeling in any way. But in all its weirdness, it might have at least found something weird and wonderful.

So to set the scene, at the end of The Pirate, Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff) was given a mission to go out into the universe and gather all the disparate Mandalorian groups and bring them back together. The first stop on this quest is the outer-rim planet Plazir-15, where a group led by her former crew member Axe Woves (Simon Kassianides) is located. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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