Category Archives: TV Reviews

House of the Dragon: The Rogue Prince – TV Review

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – While still mainly just politics this week, the world has come into shape, and those intrigues have weight.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Death on the stepstones.

House of the Dragon Review –

There is one genre that I do particularly like, and it is a political drama. It is part of why I still think Deep Space Nine is my favourite of all the Star Treks because it didn’t move, so it had to deal with the politics of where it was. However, last week was mostly just politics, but it felt flat for me. I was wondering if the show would click with me at all, but this week gave a better chance at that.

So to set the scene, in last week’s The Heirs of the Dragon, we discovered a dynasty at the point of fracture. King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine) was named the king in a contested succession, and while he has tried to be a strong king, many see him as weak. But tragedy struck when his Queen Aemma Arryn (Sian Brooke) died in childbirth, and even a caesarean section could not save their child. With succession now being called into question again, the king finally cuts off his petulant brother Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) and declares his daughter Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock) as heir. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

Continue reading →

House of the Dragon: The Heirs of the Dragon – TV Review

Posted on by
3

TL;DR – You can feel them trying to get lightning to strike twice, but it never rose above being just fine, bar maybe the tournament scene.  

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

A dragon flies through the clouds.

House of the Dragon Review –

There are many TV shows that come and go, but few have stamped a legacy as much as Game of Thrones. But that legacy is complicated and fraught with tension. It rose to be one of the most well know shows in TV history, a place where everyone had to know what was going on, and moments like the Red Wedding echo across the zeitgeist in a way maybe only the MASH finale and moments like that had. But then Seasons Eight happened, and it was like watching all that momentum crash against a solid object like one of those experiments in MythBusters. The entire marketing push disappeared overnight under the wave of discontent, and I wondered if this was the last we would see of this universe that someone had paid a lot of money to dabble in. there were talks of sequels and prequels. Still, none of them ever got anywhere, well, that is until today.

So to set the scene, in the dying days of King Jaehaerys Targaryen (Michael Carter), there was a succession question, so he held a Great Council in the ruins of Harrenhal. Where the lords combined supporting Prince Viserys (Paddy Considine) over Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best). Eleven years later, King Viserys’ wife, Queen Aemma Arryn (Sian Brooke), is pregnant again, and all hope is that it is a boy. But the vultures are starting to circle, and one of those with knives out might be the king’s own brother Prince Daemon (Matt Smith), Commander of the City Watch. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

Continue reading →

She-Hulk Attorney at Law: Superhuman Law – TV Review

Posted on by
3

TL;DR – She-Hulk continues to be a delightful and fun romp

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

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

Courtroom sketches of last week's episode.

She-Hulk Attorney at Law Review –

One of the significant issues that the MCU has had when making the jump to Disney+ has been finding the right tone and setting. Shows have struggled to land their feet or find a reason to exist over so many episodes. So far, She-Hulk has avoided those fates because it knows exactly what it wants to be and shines while doing it.  

So to set the scene, last week in A Normal Amount of Rage, we got to find out how Jennifer ‘Jen’ Walters (Tatiana Maslany) became She-Hulk. It just took a crash and her trying to save her cousin Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and some accidental blood contamination, and now she can go Green. Hoping to keep that secret was dashed when Titania (Jameela Jamil) crashed into the courtroom, and Jen had to Hulk up to stop the jury from being killed. You would think saving people’s lives would be rewarded? But instead, Jen is fired from the DA’s office. Things are looking down when she is offered a job by Holden Holliway (Steve Coulter) at the law firm GLK&H. The only catch is that she has to represent Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) or, as he is more commonly called, Abomination. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

Continue reading →

The Bridge Australia: Season One – TV Review

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – This has an intriguing premise and a clear visual style but struggles in areas like how it represents some of the conflicts.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Day 3 - 306 metres to go

The Bridge Australia Review –

Regarding competition television shows, they can capture my heart like Survivor and make me watch season after season. Or I bounce off quicker than that time they tried to do Survivor but on a pirate ship. However, I am always looking for something new in this area which is where I found gems like Lego Masters. Today, I am looking at the first three episodes of The Bridge Australia to see which side of the coin it will land. Will it suck me in, or will it end up on the bottom of a Tasmanian river?   

So to set the scene, there is a river deep in the wilderness of Tasmania, and in that river is a $250,000 prize sitting on an island beckoning them to claim it. All the twelve participants must do is work together and build the titular 330-meter bridge from the materials around them. They have 17 days to work together to get across the island while a guardian blinks with its red light and tempts those making the trip.

Continue reading →

The Orville: New Horizons (Season 3) – TV Review

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – The terrain constantly shifts out from underneath the crew of the USS Orville, as enemies become friends and friends become enemies.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I streamed this on SBS OnDemand

Ed and Kelly look out over Earth.

The Orville Review –

A few years ago, it was announced that Seth MacFarlane, most well known for Family Guy, would do his take on a Space Opera, a show like Star Trek but with more jokes. It was a premise that had me both intrigued and concerned. That is because I was sure you could make that balance work, just that it would be hard, and Season One was rough at times. But by the time Season Two drew to a close, it had wholly found its feet and was soaring forward. Now it is time to dive into the much delayed and possibly final season, titled New Horizons, and if it is the end, at least it went out on a bang.

So to set the scene, in The Road Not Taken, the threat that the Kaylons pose is shown when we see a universe where the crew of the USS Orville never came together, and the galaxy is in ruin. But there is hope, and the team come together for some last-ditch time travel shenanigans to set the timeline right. It worked. But now, everyone on the ship has to work to get it ready for the next attack, and while the refit takes place, there is a lot of resentment brewing on board, with most of it landing square on the lap of the ship’s lone Kalon crewmember Isaac (Mark Jackson). While captain Ed Mercer (Seth MacFarlane) and first officer Kelly Grayson (Adrianne Palicki) work to keep the ship together, there are crew members like new navigator Charly Burke (Anne Winters), who lost people in the war and have legitimate reasons not to trust. But they will need to find that trust because the galaxy is on the precipice of collapse. Now from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.     

Continue reading →

She-Hulk Attorney at Law: A Normal Amount of Rage – TV Review

Posted on by
2

TL;DR – This week could be titled ‘backstory the episode’, but I think it worked because it got all of this out of the way while also letting Tatiana Maslany shine.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

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

Bruce about to wake Jennifer up with a horn.

She-Hulk Attorney at Law Review –

When the new slate of Disney+ MCU shows was announced, a lot piqued my interest, but I have to be honest, She-Hulk was not one of them. The idea did not click with me, and I didn’t have the joy of the comics to carry me through. But. When I heard that Tatiana Maslany of Orphan Black fame was being cast in the lead. Well, I can be honest and say that one casting choice made this a much watch, and now that I have seen the first episode, I can say this was a good choice.

So to set the scene, we open in on Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany), who is preparing a significant closing argument for a case she is working on. But before we go there, she talks to the audience and tells them she will explain her backstory first. Several months earlier, she was on a trip with her cousin Bruce (Mark Ruffalo) when a Sakaaran ship dropped out of the sky and caused their car to crash. As Jennifer tries to help Bruce out of the crashed car, some of his blood falls into a cut on Jennifer’s arm, infecting her with the same gamma radiation that turned Bruce into the Hulk. When Jennifer wakes up, she is in Bruce’s lab in Mexico because it is time for her to learn what it means to be the She-Hulk. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

Continue reading →

Westworld: Que Sera, Sera & Full Season 4 – TV Review

Posted on by
2

TL;DR – While I am not sure it landed its final episode, this season was a successful course correction, and I hope they make that one last test.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

The Man In Black appears from the smoke.

Westworld Review –

Ever since the second season of Westworld failed to capture the dramatic highs of that first season, people felt that it could never live up to the hype it built. However, I still found Season Two to be engaging, and even more, it is still the high watermark for the show for me with Kiksuya. I also enjoyed Season Three’s more streamlined narrative. However, there was a feeling that maybe the show didn’t have much more to explore. Well, if nothing else, Season Four showed the latter assertion plainly wrong. With our review today, we are first going to look at the season [or possible series] finale before taking a broader exploration of the season as a whole.

So to set the scene, at the end of last week’s Metanoia, the host copy of The Man In Black (Ed Harris) went on a killing spree, first killing the original Man In Black (Ed Harris) before taking out Maeve (Thandiwe Newton), Charlotte (Tessa Thompson), and Bernard (Jeffrey Wright). Before that can even sink in, he causes the control tones from the tower to infect every human being left on the planet to send them into a murderous rage. As Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) with Teddy (James Marsden) tries to stop the carnage, and Caleb (Aaron Paul), his daughter C (Aurora Perrineau), and Stubbs (Luke Hemsworth) try to escape it. One thing is clear: this might end sentient life on Earth. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode and season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.   

Continue reading →

Westworld: Zhuangzi – TV Review

Posted on by
1

TL;DR – There is a new God, and they are bored with the human race.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Christina discovers the control she has.

Westworld Review –

There are some aspects of Westworld that hide in the subtext, and there are others that blare at you like a foghorn. Today’s title is Zhuangzi, which takes its name from one of the core works of Taoism. Its view of a central authority starkly contrasts with other core philosophical schools of China. That tension has been playing out across Westworld’s many seasons and, as we will see, the episode today.

So to set the scene, as we have been going through the season, Caleb (Aaron Paul) and Maeve (Thandiwe Newton) have been on a mission to stop Hale/Delores (Tessa Thompson) and her mission to take over the world through the use of parasites. We didn’t know until the closing moments of Generation Loss is that Hale had already won that war a whole generation ago. She has such control over the human race, using audible sounds from the tower, that she can stop and the entire city in its tracks like it was one large Westworld park, and everyone was a host. But in the deep desert, the long-buried remains of Maeve were unearthed by the prophetic Bernard (Jeffrey Wright), and a rebellion is on the move. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

Continue reading →

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Season 1 – TV Review

Posted on by
9

TL;DR – One of the strongest opening seasons I have seen, jumping from genre to genre like it was nothing

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

The USS Enterprise from behind

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Review –

In 2019, I wrote about how we were entering ‘A New Golden Age of Science Fiction on Television’ and back then, we only had Discovery and the coming Picard. We had no idea of the explosion of Star Trek that was about to come our way, and at the core of that new wave was the announcement of Strange New Worlds, a show that would explore Captain Pike’s time at the helm of the USS Enterprise. Another prequel series led to more than a bit of concern, but now that we have seen it, I can say this might be one of the best opening series of Television that I have seen in an age.

So to set the scene, after the event of Star Trek Discovery: Such Sweet Sorrow Part 2, Pike (Anson Mount) has been hiding out in his cabin in Bear Creek, Montana. He has been dealing with the revelation that he will be badly wounded in the future. To the point, he is very much considering leaving Starfleet. That is until Admiral Robert April (Adrian Holmes) takes a shuttle and unambiguously tells Pike that Number One (Rebecca Romijn) is missing and if he wants to leave, he can do it after this. Well, one, unfortunately, timed phone call to Vulcan to pick up Spock (Ethan Peck), and the Enterprise is on to Kiley 279 to find out what happened to the USS Archer. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

Continue reading →

Resident Evil: Season 1 – TV Review

Posted on by
1

TL;DR – This is a silly, over-the-top, ridiculous show in all the right ways …until its not.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Welcome to New Raccoon City.

Resident Evil Review –

When the original Resident Evil video game came out, I didn’t have a PlayStation, so I was tangentially aware of it and probably watched someone play it at some point. Still, I would never consider myself a fan at any moment and never had the drive to try and work out the convoluted lore built up over the years. But then the films came out, and at least the first couple were … let’s say engaging, but then they got … well, they got Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. I don’t think it would be hard to say that I was not chopping at the bit for a new Resident Evil TV Series, but then I watched one episode out of interest … and ended up watching them all.

So to set the scene, we opened in a ruined London in 2036, 14 years after the world ended. There are probably only 300 million people left on Earth in small walled communities or the few remaining nations like Fortress Scandinavia or the Umbrella Corporation. But there are 6 billion zombies or zeroes infected by the T-Virus ready to rip anyone’s throat. In a small research camp, Jade Wesker (Ella Balinska) has spent six months researching the Zeroes to see if the virus is mutating and allowing more cognitive control when she accidentally cuts herself and becomes a target for the horde. Back in 2022, three months before the fall, Jade (Tamara Smart), her sister Billie (Siena Agudong), and her father, Albert Wesker (Lance Reddick), have just arrived in their new home in New Raccoon City in South Africa. It has a bland, corporate feeling, but behind the scenes, the new boss of the Umbrella Corporation, Evelyn Marcus (Paola Núñez), is pushing hard to get the new drug Joy delivered to the market. The only issue is just what did happen at their plant in Tijuana? Now from here, we will be looking at the episode and season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.       

Continue reading →