Tag Archives: American Television

The Acolyte (Star Wars: The Acolyte) – Lost/Found – TV Review

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TL;DR – Overall, this episode did what it needed to do: it made me interested in what was to come.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Mae battles Indara.

The Acolyte Review –

Well, it is back into the world of Star Wars on the small screen and a world that has been quite a bit hit-and-miss from time to time. For every Andor, we have gotten missteps like the Book of Boba Fett, and it is hard to see where things will land with the constantly shifting tentpoles of the Star Wars Universe. With that in mind, we dive into a new show that has the benefit of being slightly detached from what has come before but maybe not as detached as it needed to be.  

So to set the scene, there was peace across the galaxy one hundred years before the rise of The Empire. But that peace was being held up in part by the Jedi Order, the training ground for all users of the Force. But some people trained themselves away from the Jedi Order in secret, one of which was an assassin on a mission of revenge. We find ourselves starting this journey on the planet of Ueda, which may shape the future of the galaxy or at least the Jedi Order. 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: Discovery – Life, Itself & Season 5 – TV Review

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TL;DR – While you can tell this was never meant to be a season finale, it did still give us a lovely swan song for the series.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

The Binary Blackholes.

Star Trek: Discovery Review –

All good things come to an end, and while it was never meant to be the final episode, it is the end. In today’s review, we will first look at how the episode works as a finale. Then, we will take a look at Season 5 as a whole. Finally, we will take a moment to look back at the series in its entirety, the bastion of a new wave of Star Trek during the second golden age of Sci-Fi.    

So to set the scene, after spending all season trying to track down the Progenitor tech, the crew of the USS Discovery-A finally made it to the end of the treasure hunt. However, the Breen beat them to it in Lagrange Point. But as the portal to the tech gets flung into the binary black holes, Michael (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Mol (Eve Harlow) get trapped inside. Now, the Discovery is trapped outside with an angry Breen dreadnaught and a new fleet on its way if Saru (Doug Jones) can’t stop them. Now, we will be looking at the Episode, Season, and Series as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Jurassic World: Chaos Theory – Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – This continues to be a love letter to both Dinosaurs and Jurassic Park. You feel the danger and the wonder of dinosaurs at all times, even if that highway turnoff looks suspiciously familiar.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Darius, Sammy, and Ben.

Jurassic World: Chaos Theory Review –

It should be no surprise that I am a fan of dinosaurs, and if you are talking about dinosaurs, the reigning champion of that world was and still is Jurassic Park. While the movies have been a bit hit-and-miss lately, one thing I have been consistently impressed with was this younger demographic-targeted animation on Netflix. Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous was an actual love letter to the series and the giant reptiles that once walked the Earth. Today, we are looking at the next follow-up to that series to see if it can still capture that joy and wonder.

So to set the scene, we open as a Tyrannosaurus Rex crashes onto a highway. It is a wild new world as Dinosaurs roam the countryside, and the Department of Prehistoric Wildlife try to keep people safe. While everyone from Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous made it home and tried to help out, not everyone survived the rise of the dinosaurs. Darius (Paul-Mikél Williams) is out hunting for one particular Allosaurus that he has beef with, for reasons, when Ben (Sean Giambrone) arrives with news that the Nublar Six are being hunted, which is when a whistle blows out into the night. Now from here, we will be looking at the series as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Star Trek: Discovery – Lagrange Point – TV Review

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TL;DR – A race to the end, but with some real charm.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Escaping twin blackholes.

Star Trek: Discovery Review –

Well, it is the penultimate episode of the series, and I am not sure, but I am ready for it to end. Today, we get a perfectly solid part 1 to the end of the season and a part 1 to the end of a series. This is a significant burden to bear, even when you know it is coming, which makes the question today, how did it hold up when it didn’t know what it would end up being?  

So to set the scene, after the final clue was revealed in Labyrinths, it is now a race between the USS Discovery-A and the Breen to get to the location of the Progenitor’s tech. The only problem is that it is not just one Breen faction after the tech, and the Discovery was severely damaged in the last conflict. After Spore jumping in between two black holes, the Discovery is finally able to find the technology, only to see the Breen arrive and snatch it in front of their eyes. So, can the crew find a way to steal it back before the warring factions of the Breen descend on the power of creation itself? Now, 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: Discovery – Labryinths – TV Review

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TL;DR – A fun action romp of an episode.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

The Breen Mourn.

Star Trek: Discovery Review –

We are getting to the pointy end of Discovery’s final season, and so far, I have been enjoying our treasure hunt across the galaxy. However, as we come towards the final piece in the puzzle, we need to ask, will the treasure be worth the hunt?

So to set the scene, in Erigah, two significant events happened. First, the Breen went from being mysterious and dangerous to being outright hostile, with the knowledge of what The Federation was seeking. Secondly, the crew finally unlocked the answer to take them to the final clue. This time, it was hidden in the Eternal Gallery and Archive in the book Labyrinths of the Mind. The Gallery is hiding in The Badlands, and hopefully, the USS Discovery-A can get to them before the Breen. Now, we will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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X-Men ’97 – Tolerance Is Extinction – Part 3 & Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – It perfectly sticks the landing, balancing emotion, narrative, and a cameo or 10 to create an episode that had an impact.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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

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

Bastion's eyes.

X-Men ’97 Review –

When I first started this series, I had this concern that maybe this new series would dent the old memories, or what if I was living in the world of rose-tinted glasses? The X-Men are the one side of the Marvel Universe that I have been the most connected to over the years, and the original X-Men: The Animated Series was the critical catalyst to that. This first season had its highs and lows, but I still wondered if it could stick the landing, so I needn’t have been concerned.    

So to set the scene, after Bastion (Theo James) lets loose his sentinels in Tolerance Is Extinction – Part 1 leading to Magneto (Matthew Waterson) declares war on humanity. The X-Men joined together under newly returned Professor-X (Ross Marquand) to try and stop him in Tolerance Is Extinction – Part 2 while also attacking Bastion. But as Jean Grey (Jennifer Hale) was despatched by her own son Cable (Chris Potter) and Magneto decided to rip every atom of adamantium off Wolverine’s (Cal Dodd) bones, all looked lost. But never count the X-Men out, even in the face of complete failure. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode and series as a whole, so there may be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Star Trek: Discovery – Erigah – TV Review

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TL;DR – A very Star Trek episode all about whether violence or diplomacy is the best way forward.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

USS Locherer catches up with Moll and l'ak.

Star Trek: Discovery Review –

We are starting to get into the back half of the season, and you can feel things starting to come ahead. This would be tense in any season, but given this is the final season of Discovery, you can feel that being amplified even more so because the Breen are coming.  


So to set the scene, after finding the next clue in an abandoned weather tower, the next hint was some sort of Betazed text inscription. But when the USS Locherer catch up with Moll (Eve Harlow) and L’ak (Elias Toufexis), the Discovery jumps straight there and beams them to their sick bay. L’ak is in bad shape and needs emergency cryo-therapy at Starfleet HQ before he dies. But the Breen knows where they are and are coming for Starfleet HQ with a dreadnaught, and everyone can feel that we are at a tipping point. Now, we will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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X-Men ’97 – Tolerance Is Extinction – Part 2 – TV Review

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TL;DR – The ending gave me pause, but this was still a fantastic episode.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

A painting of the Sentinels.

X-Men ’97 Review –

When you have a trilogy, the middle part is always going to be, well, for lack of a better world, the middle child. They are stuck following up on what went before while also having to set everything up for the final part. In that space, there is rarely time for them to shine on their own. Today, we will see if Tolerance Is Extinction – Part 2 will continue or buck that trend.

So to set the scene, at the end of Tolerance Is Extinction – Part 1, just when everything looks like it is about to fall apart, two critical events happen. Professor X (Ross Marquand) returned to Earth and called all his X-Men to him, and then Magneto was released from his prison. But this time, Magneto is not going to let humans get away with their crimes. This time, Magneto is going to war. The problem is that Magneto is destroying the Earth’s magnetic field, and in 12 hours, that might be irreversible. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there may be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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X-Men ’97 – Tolerance Is Extinction – Part 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is a solid opening to the final arc of the season.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

X-Men opening logos with Rouge and Storm.

X-Men ’97 Review –

Over the last week, I have finally had the chance to dive into the heart of X-Men ’97. I did come into it a bit wearily because X-Men: The Animated Series was my first introduction to all things X-Men and Marvel. There was this concern that maybe this new series would dent those old memories, or what if I was living in the world of rose-tinted glasses? So far, it has been mostly fantastic, but the truth is in the landing, and we look at the first part of that today.  

So to set the scene, in last week’s episode, we discovered that Mister Sinister (Christopher Britton) is not the main villain pulling the strings because Bastion (Theo James) has returned. But as the X-Men still try to pick up the pieces after the Genosha genocide and discovering who Cable (Chris Potter) is. But there is no time for that because there is a more significant threat moving, a threat that might be closer to home than anyone knows. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there may be [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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Star Trek: Discovery – Mirrors – TV Review

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TL;DR – There are reflections a plenty this week, and that is not even contained to a mirror universe.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

The USS Discovery-A approaches the wormhole.

Star Trek: Discovery Review –

This season, we have had an interesting situation with a pair of antagonists who don’t quite fit the bill as bad guys. Sure, they deal with the shady side of things, but I also think we might forget that the Romulan ship in Red Directive was also legitimate salvage. But you could feel that some backstory was ready to be dropped. Well, today’s episode does just that.

So to set the scene, after flashing through time in Face The Strange, we discovered that Moll (Eve Harlow) and L’ak’s (Elias Toufexis) gambit worked, and they are now ahead of the USS Discovery-A crew. But as luck would have it, they know where they went because there is a wormhole of sorts, but not a nice friendly wormhole like in DS9. No, this one will rip your ship in half without thinking of it, which is what Michael (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Book (David Ajala) discovered as they went in. That was surprising, but even more so was stumbling across the ISS Enterprise. Now, we will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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