Tag Archives: American Television

The Diplomat: Season 3 – TV Review

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TL;DR – While there is joy in watching this cast eat up the screen in every frame, this is a messier season as they try to transition to something different.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Military Helicopters flying over Big Ben.

The Diplomat Review –

My background is in International Relations, and it does not come up here as much as I would like, other than the occasional The Hitman’s Bodyguard jaunt. Well, today, given the situation of the world, I thought I would take a chance to have some wishful thinking in a world where the right things still matter, integrity still matters, to pretend for a couple of hours that everything hasn’t just gone to shit everywhere. But to understand why Season Three feels so volatile, we need to look at where Season Two left us.

So, to set the scene, at the end of Season Two, things went from bad to worse when the person, Grace Hagen Penn (Allison Janney), behind the scheme that blew up the British Ship in Season One has become the new President of the United States after the former suffered a heart attack during a conversation with Hal (Rufus Sewll). What was the conversation you ask? Well, it was informing him that his Vice-President may have committed a terrorist act on an ally, that very same Vice-President who is now the President of the United States. This is not a good day for Kate (Keri Russell) because the person she wanted removed just became the most powerful person in the world. Now, from here, we will be looking at the series as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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PLUR1BUS: Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – A profoundly moving series exploring isolation, consent, and free will in the framework of an all-powerful and all-knowing Hivemind.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

Warning – This series contains flashing lights.

Warning – This series contains scenes that may cause distress

71D 13H 31M 30S.

PLUR1BUS Review –

To be honest, I was not sure what to expect when I sat down to watch Pluribus. I didn’t expect Pluribus to immediately contend for my favourite series of the year — though in hindsight, given the creative pedigree, perhaps I should have. But whatever the case, few shows have made me ponder like this.   

So, to set the scene, one evening, two SETI scientists find a repeating message coming from space. It is nothing bouncing off the Moon. It is a code repeated every 78 seconds and sent from 600 light-years away. As the scientists try to break the message, Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn) is busy signing the latest addition of her romance fantasy book. But little does anyone know that one bite and a kiss later, the entire world changes. Now, from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there may be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Percy Jackson and the Olympians: We Check In to C.C.’s Spa & Resort [S2E5] – TV Review

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TL;DR – Today, we get to one of the most iconic moments in the book while also dramatically shifting the narrative of one of the characters.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

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

A bloodied helmet.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Review –

When you knew that there was a second season to Percy Jackson and the Olympians, there was a certain glee because you knew that one of the milestones they had to hit was going to happen, and in this episode, we get it in all its glory. But even if you like something from a book, it does not always translate to the screen, and we will see how they do that today.

So, to set the scene, after the ironclad was exploded due to an interaction with an iron boiler and a bottle of wind, our heroes were left for dead. But thankfully, Percy (Walker Scobell) and Annabeth (Leah Sava Jeffries) wash up on an island, surviving but finding they might be in more danger than in the ocean. For they are in Circe’s (Rosemarie DeWitt) spa, a place of safety, but to continue their quest, they have to get past one thing … the sirens who lead everyone who ventures near to an untimely death. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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PLUR1BUS: We Is Us [S1E1] – TV Review

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TL;DR – A masterpiece in tension and build-up.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

Warning – This episode contains flashing lights.

439D 19H 56M 11S.

PLUR1BUS Review –

Today I begin my first dive into a work of Vince Gilligan. I know his work is quality, but unfortunately for me, by the time that Breaking Bad was accessible in Australia, it had already been mostly spoiled. It also meant I did not have the energy to explore Better Call Saul, even though I know it is excellent. But now it’s the time for fresh starts and as the show came highly recommended by my friends, and some dabbling into science fiction helps things along nicely. I found it the right time to press play.    

So, to set the scene, one evening, two SETI scientists find a repeating message coming from space. It is nothing bouncing off the Moon. It is a code repeated every 78 seconds and sent from 600 light-years away. As the scientists try to break the message, Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn) is busy signing the latest addition of her romance fantasy book. But little does anyone know that one bite and a kiss later, the entire world changes. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there may be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Peacemaker: Season 2 – TV Review

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TL;DR – A very oddball second season filled with genuine earnest moments, topped off by a profoundly rushed ending.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the HBO Max subscription that viewed this series

Post-Credit Scene – There are end-credit scenes in each episode.

Top Trio mural.

Peacemaker Introduction –

Back in 2022, one of the oddest moments in the modern comic era happened: in the midst of all of its serious problems, as the DC Studio was falling apart, film after film, they decided to put out a TV series around one of the less-liked characters from the Suicide Squad films. What made it even odder is that it kind of worked, with a level of charm that managed to undercut its many issues. Well, it may have helped get James Gunn the job in the big chair and changed the direction of a multi-billion-dollar media empire, but after a cameo in Superman, it is time to dive back into Peacemaker.  

So, to set the scene, in the time since the end of the first season of Peacemaker, things have not quite worked out for many of our characters. Many of them had been blocked and couldn’t get work anymore, and Chris Smith/Peacemaker (John Cena) is still working through the trauma of having to kill his very racist and unpleasant father, Auggie (Robert Patrick). But what happens when you are at your lowest and temptation strikes? Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Foundation: Season 3 – TV Review

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TL;DR – This season has started to diverge considerably from the source material, and among its bombast and stunning visuals are some creeping worries.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Apple TV+ service to view this episode.

Looking at a sun.

Foundation Introduction –

When I first started watching the third season of Foundation with A Song for the End of Everything, I was concerned they would be trying to force all of The Mule’s story into this one season. While they avoided that particular pitfall, the season still shows signs of strain as it pushes further from Asimov’s framework, as you can start to feel the show beginning to wobble a bit and potentially head towards disaster as we move farther away from the source material.

So, to set the scene, it has been 152 years since the Second Crisis, and while the Empire continues to collapse, the Foundation grows, expanding further out of the outer reach. Now both the Empire and The Foundation are fighting to control Kalgan, a pleasure planet, and the key to controlling The Middle Band. But there may be a third player out there, ready to tear everything up. For after much prediction, or perhaps, not enough prediction, The Mule (Pilou Asbæk) is on the move, and both sides should fear him because with him comes calamity, and the galaxy is not prepared for what he is about to wreak. Now, from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.    

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Fallout: The Golden Rule [S2E2] – TV Review

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TL;DR – A riot of whimsy as we delve into the world of Fallout, as the characters try to make sense of everything that goes on.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime subscription used to watch this series.

The destruction of Shady Sands.

Fallout: The Golden Rule Review Introduction –

One of the great things about Fallout has been its ability to be filled with contrasts, yet still manage to keep the whole from being ripped apart. Which, as we have seen from a multitude of adaptations, is a difficult thing to pull off. Grounding something this inherently silly is a rare skill, and the show pulls it off again here.

So, to set the scene, many years before the time of the show, there lived a town called Shady Sands. Life was still hard, but they had found their niche in the wilderness, and they were starting to rebuild the world that had been lost during the Great War that rained down nuclear fire on the earth. However, their success drew the attention of forces they did not know were out there, or in this case, under there, which is why they may not have acted quickly enough when the trader walked into town acting odd. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there may be [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Clarisse Blows Everything Up [S2E4] – TV Review

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TL;DR – We get reminded again how good the casting has been in this series, and also what the stakes are, because you never know when things are going to explode.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

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

Clarisse and Percy fight.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Review –

Well, we have heard a lot about the Sea of Monsters, but so far, we have been spending a lot of time not actually visiting it. Well, that all changes today, because cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war, because nothing will stop Percy when he is on a quest.

So, to set the scene, a long time ago, Luke was a demigod on the run from monsters with a young Annabeth (Marissa Lior Winans) in his care. They were hiding in a sewer to escape cyclopes that were chasing them and Thalia (Tamara Smart). It is a great sadness for Annabeth (Leah Sava Jeffries) because Thalia never made it to Camp Halfblood. But it may be an illegal quest, but everyone is on board, right up until the part where Clarisse (Dior Goodjohn) blows up their boat. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Fallout: The Innovator [S2E1]– TV Review

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TL;DR – The first episode back ramps up the wackiness and brutality of the new world.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime subscription used to watch this series.

End Credit – There is a mid-credit sequence.

Los Angeles before the fall.

Fallout: The Innovator Review Introduction –

We have gotten a lot of video game adaptations, and to be honest, most of them have been trash. But back in 2024, a miracle happened, we got an adaptation that not only had a decent story with compelling characters, but it also was not afraid of the game it was adapting. Because it leapt into that world, warts and all, with some monumental deep cut lore knowledge and care. It is in that space that we jump into the first episode of the second season to see if they can keep that power going.  

So, to set the scene, back in Season One, Lucy’s (Ella Purnell) world all came crumbling down when she discovered that everything she understood about her life and history was a lie. Also, the Golden Rule doesn’t hold much sway in the Wasteland. While walking, or in some cases being dragged through the rubble of a former life, she ran into Maximus (Aaron Moten), a somewhat reluctant squire of the Brotherhood of Steel, and The Ghoul (Walton Goggins), a ghoul that is one of the few people left who were alive before The Great War. But the world needs answers, and for Lucy, those answers might be found in New Vegas, where her wounded ‘father’ Hank (Kyle MacLachlan) retreated to. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there may be [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Demon Pigeons Attack [S2E2] – TV Review

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TL;DR – Despite some forced tension, the episode shines with a thrilling chariot race and heartfelt godly moments.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

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

A swarm of Stymphalian Birds.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Review –

A couple of days ago, we looked at the first part of this opening introduction to Percy Jackson’s second season: I Play Dodgeball with Cannibals. We talked about how it felt like the first part of an opening episode. Well, today we take a look at that second part where things ratchet up in tension as the real threat comes into view.  

So, to set the scene, Tantalus (Timothy Simons) is ruling Camp Half-Blood like his own fiefdom, which is getting in the way of everyone wanting to go save Grover (Aryan Simhadri) and secure the Golden Fleece. But Percy (Walker Scobell) and Annabeth (Leah Sava Jeffries) think they have found a loophole in the rules, thanks to the chariot race, that should let them go on an official quest. Well, that was the idea, but a cryptic warning from Chiron (Glynn Turman) and the sudden swarm of Stymphalian Birds put a wrench in their plans. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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