Category Archives: TV Reviews

Murderville: Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – While I don’t think they quite nailed the concept, it is a delight when it lands.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Murderville. Image Credit: Netflix.

Murderville Review –

I always love when someone takes a new spin on a familiar concept. While Police Procedurals have led into the realm of comedy, most notably with Brooklyn Nine-Nine. There is still a vast untapped gold mine of choices that you could explore. With that in mind, let us look at a show that combines police and improvisation oddly and uniquely.

So to set the scene, we open in on Terry Seattle (Will Arnett), a senior detective in the City Police Department. Things have not been going well for Terry, with the lingering death of his partner Lori (Jennifer Aniston) 15 years ago and the very recent divorce from his wife Rhonda (Haneefah Wood). She also happens to be the Police Chief. Well, on this day, things are going from bad to worse because there has been a murder, and Terry has just been lumped with a new partner Conan O’Brien. Now from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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The Book of Boba Fett: Chapter 7 (In the Name of Honor) and Full Season – TV Review

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TL;DR – A lacklustre ending to a frustrating series overall.   

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene in the final episode

The Book of Boba Fett: Chapter 7 (In the Name of Honor). Image Credit: Disney.

The Book of Boba Fett Review –

Well, we have reached the end of the first season of The Book of Boba Fett and does it end on a triumph? Well no. What we have gotten is a season flailing around in the sand and finding the odd gem, but not much else. With that in mind, let us unpack the final episode and the season as a whole.

So to set the scene, at the end of From the Desert Comes a Stranger, Cad Bane (Corey Burton) kills the chance of Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) getting back up by taking out Marshal Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant) in a showdown. Meanwhile, the Pyke Syndicate strikes the first blow of the coming war by destroying Sanctuary and killing (probably) Garsa Fwip (Jennifer Beals) in the process. The oncoming storm is near, all Boba, Fennec (Ming-Na Wen), and The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) need to do is hold out for reinforcements (that are not coming) and hope that the criminal families of Mos Espa continue with their neutrality between a more significant winning power and family about to get stomped on. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole and the rest of the season, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Reacher: Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – What we get here is a solid action series that hits all the beats it needs to do, not revolutionary, but still solid.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime subscription that viewed this series.

Reacher. Image Credit: Amazon Studios.

Reacher Review –

When I first heard there would be a new Reacher series, my first impressions were ‘meh’. I had watched the films starring Tom Cruise, and while Jack Reacher: Never Go Back was okay, it was never more than okay. But then that trailer dropped, and I went from ‘meh’ to ‘hmmm’, and now that I have seen it, I have gone from ‘hmmm’ to ‘nice’.

So to set the scene, one fine morning Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) or just Reacher got off the bus from Tampa at the small town of Margrave, Georgia. As he walks into town, his first stop is the local diner for coffee and a slice of peach pie. The only problem is before he can even touch his pie, multiple police cars pull up and take him into custardy. For you see, there was a murder in the town, and someone matching his description was seen at the crime scene. The only problem is that Reacher did not do it, and the person who did confess to the crime also clearly didn’t do it. So the question is ‘what is going on in Margrave, Georgia’? Now from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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All of Us Are Dead (Jigeum Uri Hakgyoneun/지금 우리 학교는/ Now at Our School): Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – A very compelling look at a zombie outbreak at a school and the carnage that would leave in its wake but one that goes on for a bit too long.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

All of Us Are Dead. Image Credit: Netflix.

All of Us Are Dead Review –

The Zombie genre is one that has been played out in many regards. However, if there is one place that can still create something new in this space, it is South Korea, where you can get visually fascinating stories, but ones that also hit on an emotional level. When I heard that there was a new series on Netflix that hit all these marks, well, I had to check it out.

So to set the scene, it is an ordinary day at Hyosan High School, with the students cleaning the school after class. However, while most of the school goes home, one student falls asleep in the Science Lab. When Kim Hyeon-ju (Jung Yi-seo) wakes up, she hears a noise in the supply room, where there is a tiny mouse in the cage that just so happens to bite her. The science teacher Lee Byeong-chan (Kim Byung-chul), notices the bite and kidnaps the student. The next day Nam On-jo (Park Ji-hu), Lee Cheong-san (Yoon Chan-young), Choi Nam-ra (Cho Yi-hyun), Han Gyeong-su (Ham Sung-min) and their friends make their way to school when the missing student is found in an agitated state. People think the science teacher drugged her, but they don’t know that she is turning into a zombie and that one bite is all it will take to spread the virus. Now from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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The Book of Boba Fett: Chapter 6 (From the Desert Comes a Stranger) – TV Review

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TL;DR – A show that is getting interesting by ignoring its lead … not the best step forward

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

The Book of Boba Fett: Chapter 6 (From the Desert Comes a Stranger). Image Credit: Disney+.

The Book of Boba Fett Review –

This week we have an episode that swings wildly from two different extremes. The first extreme is a clear love letter to Star Wars fans with characters and callbacks galore. However, this is also an episode that shows deeply that the creators/writers don’t really care about their titular character.

So to set the scene, at the end of Return of The Mandalorian, the titular Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) ended up getting abandoned by his sect, but not before he obtained a gift for Grogu. But as he arrives at Tatooine to pick up a new ship, he comes across Fennec (Ming-Na Wen), who offers him a job. In this episode, out in the wastes of Tatooine, Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant) comes across some of the Pyke Syndicate dealing spice in his territory and takes offence. 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 Book of Boba Fett: Chapter 5 (Return of The Mandalorian) – TV Review

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TL;DR – Alas, this week’s episode felt like spinning wheels, holding back the exciting stuff for next week.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

The Book of Boba Fett: Chapter 5 (Return of The Mandalorian). Image Credit: Disney+.

The Book of Boba Fett Review –

I have been on the record in these reviews that since Chapter 2, The Book of Boba Fett has been badly losing steam. The show has struggled to maintain momentum as it explores two different timeframes with less than stellar results. However, this week we see a remarkable shift back on course. The question is, can they keep it up for the rest of the season. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.    

So to set the scene, at the end of Chapter 4, it became clear to both Bobba (Temuera Morrison) and Fennec (Ming-Na Wen) that war with the Pyke Syndicate is the only option coming to Tatooine and the streets of Mos Espa. However, away from the planet on a Ring World, Din Djarin/ The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) is about to take a bounty only for the Dark Sabre to take a bite out of him. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Station Eleven – TV Review

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TL;DR – This stunningly beautiful show is about the connections we make and how love can triumph even in the darkest of worlds.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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

Station Eleven. Image Credit: Stan.

Station Eleven Review –

I came into Station Eleven not knowing anything really about what I was getting myself into. I had heard vague mentions that it was pretty good, and I knew it was post-apocalyptic, but not much more than that. So I was completely unaware that I would inhale this show in the space of a week and everything about it. It has been a long while since a show has affected me like this, and goodness, what a ride it was.

So to set the scene, one night in Chicago, Jeevan Chaudhary (Himesh Patel) is seeing to opening night of the play King Lear. However, halfway through, something odd happens on stage and star Arthur Leander (Gael García Bernal) collapses on stage. Jeevan rushes to help, but Arthur dies of a heart attack. As chaos erupts around him, Jeevan finds one of the child actors, Kirsten (Matilda Lawler), has been forgotten, so he offers to walk her home. But after finding no one home at Kirsten’s house, Jeevan got a call from his sister (Tiya Sircar), that works at the hospital. The flu spreading across Europe is not usual. The death rate was 999 in 1000, and a kid had arrived in Chicago from Moscow that day. The flu is here, and it will rip through the population in 24 hours. Jeevan has to get supplies and head to his brother Fred’s (Nabhaan Rizwan) apartment, don’t talk to anyone because society is about to collapse. Just one problem, what does he do with Kirsten? Now from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.     

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The Book of Boba Fett: Chapter 4 (The Gathering Storm) – TV Review

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TL;DR – Alas, this week’s episode felt like spinning wheels, holding back the exciting stuff for next week.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

The Book of Boba Fett: Chapter 4 (The Gathering Storm). Image Credit: Disney+.

The Book of Boba Fett Review –

I am not quite sure what has happened here. Chapter 1 held so much promise, and Chapter 2 showed that when it was good, this show could be excellent. However, since then, we have seen two back-to-back episodes that have left me wanting, and it is starting to get frustrating.

So to set the scene, we jump back in time to when Boba (Temuera Morrison) discovered that all of the Sand People had been murdered while he was away. Noticing the mark of the Kintan Striders, Boba decides to set the score. The only problem is that they work for Bib Fortuna (Matthew Wood). There is no way that Boba can do this by himself, which is lucky because right at that moment, he sees a couple of flashes in the distance and discovers the body of Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) bleeding out from a gut wound and where The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) left 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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The Book of Boba Fett: Chapter 3 (The Streets of Mos Espa) – TV Review

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TL;DR – We get a lot more action this episode, but it did feel like it lost some of last week’s substance.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

The Book of Boba Fett: Chapter 2 (The Streets of Mos Espa). Image Credit: Disney+.

The Book of Boba Fett Review –

In Chapter 1, my big concern was that the show would keep navel-gazing too much into the past. While in Chapter 2, the show went almost full-past and was better for it. All of this has put my first thoughts in harsh contrast because this week, we get the reverse, with most of it being in the present, yet I think this was the weakest episode so far.

So to set the scene, last week we discovered that all was not as it seems in Mos Espa, as the Mayor (Robert Rodriquez) had let slip that others were looking to take over Boba Fett’s (Temuera Morrison) territory. Jabba had family, and just that moment, The Twins arrived with their Wookie bodyguard Black Krrsantan (Carey Jones). Boba is looking to try and stamp his authority on the city with everything in flux when vassal Lortha Peel (Carey Jones) arrives and explains that social order is collapsing and a new gang is in town. 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 Great: Season 2 – TV Review

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TL;DR – There is an absurd chaos on display from start to finish.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.
The Great: Season 2. Image Credit: Stan.

The Great Review –

There is something so odd watching something proposing to be one thing but is another. There is a level of tonal dissonance that can take you out of the experience if there is not a deft hand on show. Today we look at a show that dances through history while ignoring actual events for a more engaging story.

So to set the scene, at the end of Season One, Catherine (Elle Fanning) finally made her move on Peter (Nicholas Hoult) with the help of her advisors Orlo (Sacha Dhawan) and Velementov (Douglas Hodge). Catherine had to sacrifice her lover to take the crown, but her love for Russia overtook her personal desires. However, Peter still has some support at court and weeks in. He still controls part of the Palace even though he is now surrounded. Time is short, and the one constant is everyone around Peter and Catherine has made it clear, they need to kill the other. Now from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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