Tag Archives: American Television

Halo: Halo and Season 2 – TV Review

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TL;DR – It was a season of highs and lows, but it ended in a wave of potential.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Master Chief looks up to the Halo.

Halo Review –

Well, we have reached the end of Halo’s sophomore season, and oh, do I have a lot to say. It was a wild swing from impressive to frustrating as we both rose above the mess of Season One while also falling back into the same problems. In today’s review, we will first tackle the season finale, the titular Halo, before looking at the season as a whole.

So to set the scene, the conflict between Humanity and the Covenant is coming to a conflagration. The main Covenant Fleet has chased Makee (Charlie Murphy) and the Arbiter (Viktor Åkerblom) to a non-descript solar system, except for what is hidden orbiting around it. After being tipped off by the infiltrated Cortana (Jen Taylor and Christina Bennington), Admiral Parangosky (Shabana Azmi) implements her plan to wipe out the fleet, even if it means taking every Earth spaceship with them. Parangosky knows what is in the middle of this system, and it is better to destroy it than let the Covenant get it. But it would be a shame if the very dead on Reach Master Chief (Pablo Schreiber) turned out to be alive, the one person that can hold Parangosky and Ackerson (Joseph Morgan) to account. 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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Halo: Onyx – TV Review

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TL;DR – Alas, we have started to fall back on some of the previous problems that plagued the series.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

John stalks his prey.

Halo Review –

If there is one thing this new season of Halo has done, it has been to refocus what was a pretty meandering Season One. There were some series highs in both Visegrad and Reach that had me profoundly happy that the show had found its feet. However, since then, alarm bells have been ringing, and I am afraid that this week will be no different.  

So to set the scene, we open with Talia Perez (Cristina Rodlo) as a new recruit to the next wave of Spartans as she jumps out of a transport with her team to take down a Covenant Cruiser. Everyone dies, but thankfully, this is just a simulation led by Kai (Kate Kennedy), who we discovered last week threw her lot in with Colonel James Ackerson (Joseph Morgan) and Admiral Margaret Parangosky (Shabana Azmi). But while they hide away on Onyx, a ship flies through their detection network, a ship with Dr Catherine Elizabeth Halsey (Natascha McElhone) and a giant of a man full of scars (Pablo Schreiber). Now from here, we will be looking at the episode, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Avatar: The Last Airbender – Aang – TV Review

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TL;DR – While it had its clunky moments, the first episode does a good job of setting up this world that we are about to dive into.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Southern Air Temple.

Avatar: The Last Airbender Review –

Today, we are looking at an interesting show because I feel that it has all the cards stacked against it. It is a live-action remake of a beloved property made by Netflix, and there is a graveyard behind us of failed attempts at this. Then there were the original creators leaving because of some pretty significant creative differences before we got one of the most ill-fated press campaigns, which was probably only tempers because Madame Webb was happening at the same time. However, a rocky production does not mean the end product is not great, and this is what we are looking at today.  

So to set the scene, in the world of Avatar, there are four elements that people can bend: Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire. However, only the Avatar can bend all four elements and use this to keep the peace between the different tribes. However, while the world waits for the next Avatar to come from the Air Tribe, the leader of the Fire Tribe, Fire Lord Sozin (Hiro Kanagawa), uses the moment of Sozin’s Comet’s appearance to attack the Air Temples all he has to do is kill the Avatar before they are announced, the only problem is that no one knows who it is, so they have to kill all of them. But they were not ready for the rambunctious Aang (Gordon Cormier), who had different ideas that fated night.

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Mr. & Mrs. Smith: Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – This fascinatingly compelling series that took the essence of the film and then turned everything up to eleven while providing a slightly more plausible scenario.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

End Credit Scene – Infidelity & A Breakup have mid-credit scenes.

Donald Glover & Maya Erskine

Mr. & Mrs. Smith Review –

If you are of my age, then you know about the cultural moment that was Mr. & Mrs. Smith even if you never watched the film. I did get to watch the movie at the time, and it was funny, entertaining, and incredibly hot. However, that was such a moment in pop culture history that, understandably, no one has attempted to take another stab at it before now. But after a troubled production, can the show reach the heights of where it came from? I would say yes. 

So to set the scene, we open in a small house in the middle of nowhere. It is here where John Smith (Alexander Skarsgard) and Jane Smith (Eiza Gonzalez Reyna) are enjoying a glass of wine until an unannounced car arrives and kills the both of them. Later, we see two anonymous people going through the application process to join an independent spy agency. This application process is about finding a compatible partner as well as seeing if they are a good fit for the agency. But as John (Donald Glover) and Jane (Maya Erskine) Smith settle into their new brownstone in New York, they soon discover just how intense this job can be. We will be looking at the season as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Halo: Visegrad – TV Review

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TL;DR – In what might be the best episode of the series so far, we ratchet up the tension, and give some real danger.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

Warning – This episode contains scenes that may cause distress.

Reach before the fall.

Halo Review –

When you have a whole galaxy to play in, it can be hard to find your focus. You have so many competing demands on your story where you want to give it depth, but then all you do is bring complexity. Science Fiction shows can very much fall into this trap, but when it all fits together, well, you get today’s episode.

So to set the scene, in last week’s episode, Sword, we discovered a genuinely horrific fact: not only do The Covenant know where Reach is, but they are already on the planet. Given that The Covenant has been glassing every planet they find with humans on it, this is a bad, bad, bad thing. Thus, we find John-117 (Pablo Schreiber), Riz-028 (Natasha Culzac), Vannak-134 (Bentley Kalu) & Kai-125 (Kate Kennedy) making their way through the Visegrád Sector to a comms relay that has gone dark, hoping to find the Cobalt team alive. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Halo: Sword – TV Review

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TL;DR – A more contained story that was slightly frustrating until you understood its context.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

The green mountains of Reach.

Halo Review –

We are making a splash with the second of the two-episode opening for Halo’s second season. The first episode showed a bit more focus than we saw in Season One, and that intrigued me. More than anything, I want to see if this was a blip or if this is a new direction for the series.  

So to set the scene, we open with Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey (Natascha McElhone) in a beautiful room, getting all her favourite things, which, of course, means that she is in prison somewhere. It is a nice prison, with pomegranate, but a prison nonetheless. Meanwhile, on Reach, John (Pablo Schreiber) is struggling to find himself now his team has been grounded by Ackerson (Joseph Morgan), and the lies continue to build. On Rubble, Kwan Ha (Yerin Ha) discovers that their precarious position might be even more perilous than they thought. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Halo: Sanctuary – TV Review

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TL;DR – It’s an intriguing start to the season, even if it flounders a bit in the middle.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Master Chief gets Cortana removed from his head.

Halo Review –

Back in the first season of Halo, we got an interesting story that actively went in different directions from the Halo series it was adapting. Some of it worked, some of it was a mess. I was not all that attached to the original story, so I didn’t mind the story changes. However, since then, while I might not have a greater love of the story, I have found a great love of the Halo games itself, which made me wonder how they would take the story from there.

So to set the scene, on Sanctuary in the Branta System, a platoon of Spartans are helping with a particularly difficult civilian evacuation. This is made even more so when a Covenant cruiser is spotted on an intercept course. It should be a routine evacuation mission, bar the fact that maybe the Covenant are already on the planet, and maybe Master Chief (Pablo Schreiber) is all by himself outside of comms range. Well, it is a good thing he is a super soldier. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Prophecy Comes True & Full Season – TV Review

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TL;DR – Some staging issues aside, I am glad to see that Percy Jackson stuck the landing as it brought season 1 to a close.

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.

Percy approaches the tree.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Review –

Well, we have come to the end of the first and hopefully not the last season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians and what a season it has been. But the critical question we must always ask in the final episode of a season-long story is: Did they stick the landing? Which is slightly more difficult with the God of the Skies is your enemy. 

So to set the scene, at the end of We Find Out The Truth, Sort Of  Percy (Walker Scobell) had a revelation about the whole situation and the oncoming war. For you see, there is someone even more ancient than the Greek Gods stirring, and Kronos (Nick Boraine) is not at all happy with the Gods that defeated him, cut him into tiny pieces, and threw him into Tartarus. I mean, fair point. However, before Percy has time to tell anyone about it or possibly return the Master bolt to Zeus (Lance Reddick), he, Annabeth (Leah Jeffries), and Grover (Aryan Simhadri) are confronted by an angry Aries (Adam Copeland) out for blood. We will be looking at the episode and season as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Percy Jackson and the Olympians: We Find Out the Truth, Sort Of – TV Review

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TL;DR – It is time for things to come together and for answers to be given … maybe …

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.

Hades' Palace

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Review –

We are getting to the pointy end of the season, and we are about to dive into the penultimate episode of the season. It is the time when you have to stop holding your cards close to your chest and to use the metaphor from We Take a Zebra to Vegas, you have to go all in. Well, I am not sure we quite get that, but maybe something close.  

So, to set the scene, after being given a hint as to where there might be a portal to the underworld, our gang of Percy (Walker Scobell), Annabeth (Leah Jeffries), and Grover (Aryan Simhadri) just have to get by Procrustes or as he likes to be known Crusty (Julian Richings), kin he may be to Percy, but danger is his game. But no matter what your obstacles are, walking into the underworld is no mean feat. We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Reacher: Fly Boy & Full Season 2 – TV Review

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TL;DR – While the season might have had some pacing issues, the final episode sticks the landing.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Langston pontificates.

Reacher Review –

Well, all things must come to an end, and for Reacher, that means the end of their second season, a season full of reuniting with their old team, fighting bad guys, and stopping terrorism. That is, if they can survive this final test where the bad guys hold all the cards. In today’s review, we will first look at how the final episode landed before exploring the season as a whole.

So to set the scene, things are looking bad for Reacher (Alan Ritchson). He has turned himself in because Dixon (Serinda Swan) and O’Donnell (Shaun Sipos) have been captured by Langston (Robert Patrick). They are being tortured, and Neagley (Maria Sten) is dead. Langston holds all the cards. Or he would if Neagley was actually dead. For you see, the bad guys have not captured Reacher. They are trapped in this building with him. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode and season as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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