Tag Archives: American Television

The Wheel of Time: Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is a show that looks amazing but always feels like it is just about to click together but does not quite get there

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

The Wheel of Time. Image Credit: Amazon Prime.

The Wheel of Time Review –

I have been at a bit of a loss for a while now, leading to me spending nights just binge-watching Alone, which is not a good headspace when you live alone in the middle of a global pandemic. Realising that it was probably not good for me to continue down that road, I decided to focus those energies elsewhere and catch up on some of the Fantasy shows that I missed last year. The first of the three is Amazon Prime’s dive into the 14-book world of Rober Jordan.

So to set the scene, 3000 years before the start of the series, there was a battle to lock The Dark One (Fares Fares) away for good, only it backfired. The Dragon was tainted and, as legend stated, ‘broke the world’. This legacy is felt to this day as men still can’t channel the One Power without being driven insane eventually. However, prophecy has stated that the Dragon will be reborn again and will heal the world or break it apart again. This is the mission that Aes Sedai Moiraine Damodred (Rosamund Pike) and her ward al’Lan Mandragoran (Daniel Henney) are on as they race to find the Dragon before others of her sect, or even the Dark One finds them. As fate would have it, five people fit the bill for the Dragon, Nynaeve al’Meara (Zoë Robins), the Wisdom of Emond’s Field, her apprentice Egwene al’Vere (Madeleine Madden). Egwene’s love interest Rand al’Thor (Josha Stradowski), and his best friends Perrin Aybara (Marcus Rutherford) and Mat Cauthon (Barney Harris). However, before Moiraine could tell which of the five could be the Dragon, an army of Trollocs attacked the village. Now we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there may be some [SPOILERS] ahead.     

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Moon Knight: The Goldfish Problem – TV Review

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TL;DR – An intriguing opening, more tease than substance, which could be a good sign for the future

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Moon Knight: The Goldfish Problem. Image Credit: Disney+

Moon Knight Review –

While I thought I had a reasonably good idea of the realms in the MCU and Marvel in general, as we get into the wilds of Phase Four, we are starting to get into areas that I do not know about. Today is an excellent example of this because coming into Moon Knight, I don’t think I had ever really heard of the character bar one or two comic stills of him being sassy that pop up as memes now and again. Meaning we are diving into the deep end this week.

So to set the scene, on all accounts, Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac) is a perfectly average person. He goes to work at the London Museum, has dinner out, enjoys that town, and loves ancient Egyptian history. The only issue is that he straps himself to his bed at night, puts sand around his bed, and seals the door multiple ways. Because Steven suffers from dissociative identity disorder, which manifests when he is asleep, leading to him waking up in random places. His steps at control are working, right up until one night he wakes up not in his bed but outside a castle somewhere in Europe, and everyone is shooting at 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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Halo: Contact – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is a very definition of a mixed bag, with some promise shown, but also many issues.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Halo: Contact. Image Credit: Paramount+.

Halo Review –

I am what you would call an agnostic when it comes to the Halo video games. I didn’t grow up with an Xbox (or PlayStation if you are about to go video game console wars in my comments), so Master Chief was someone I had a vague knowledge about but not someone I cared about. Since then, I have watched the first couple of games streamed, and I get the appeal, even if the narrative is now a bit dated with time. I forward this all right from the start, so you know where I am coming from with this review and before I start hacking chunks of this apart.

So to set the scene, it is the year 2552, and the human race has spread across the stars, but it has been fraught with division. On the planet Madrigal, designated a Tier 4 Heavy Water Extraction Planet, the locals have been fighting a war of independence from the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) for an age. However, one day as some kids from a local outpost, including the leader’s daughter Kwan Ha Boo (Yerin Ha), go out into the woods, they stumble across not the UNSC and their feared Spartans, but something so much worse. 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: Picard – Penance – TV Review

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TL;DR – Every moment, the tension is ratcheted up perfectly, so much so that I gasped when it cut to black and the credits rolled.  

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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

Star Trek: Picard – Penance. Image Credit: Amazon Prime.

Star Trek: Picard Review –

One of the most dangerous times for a narrative is when you are setting it up because people have to buy into it or not. Many stories have never gotten out of the gates because they stuffed up those opening moments, too little or too much information, and it all falls apart. Today we get an episode of Star Trek that can perfectly weave the narrow ledge between those two extremes.

So to set the scene, at the end of The Star Gazer, almost the whole team ended up on the USS Stargazer just as the Borg Queen transported onboard and started taking over the ship. Using the ship as a beacon to capture the entire fleet, Picard (Patrick Stewart) had no choice but to set the self-destruct. But then, he did not die. Instead, he woke up back on Earth, at his château, dressed in black with an odd symbol on his chest. This is bad, but what was worse was when he turned around and discovered Q (John de Lancie) standing there. Earth is the head of a great Confederation in this world, and it is Eradication Day. 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 – Species Ten-C – TV Review

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TL;DR – An episode that is equal parts uplifting and frustrating  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Star Trek: Discovery – Species Ten-C. Image Credit: Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery Review –

As we reach the pointy end of the season, it is time for everything to get put into focus. This focus applies both to the season’s narrative and the strengths and weaknesses of the narrative choices that led to this moment. Here, we can find some of the very best that Star Trek has to offer and also some of the most frustrating aspects.

So to set the scene, after breaching the Galactic Barrier, the crew of the USS Discovery were both literally and metaphorically in uncharted space. In Rosetta, Captain Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) took a gamble and made a slight detour to a solar system near the Hyperfield. Here they found the remains of a Gas Giant whose atmosphere had been blown off by a series of asteroid impacts. It was also the original home of Species Ten-C. in the ruins of the former society. They found a nursery and hydrocarbons that form part of the species’ emotions. With that knowledge obtained, the crew make their way to the Hyperfield, only to get sucked in and the power shut off. 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: Picard – The Star Gazer – TV Review

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TL;DR – An episode that respects the past as well as diving full force into the future.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

Star Trek: Picard – The Star Gazer. Image Credit: Amazon Prime.

Star Trek: Picard Review –

When the first season of Star Trek Picard was announced, I was intrigued by how they would extend the story into the future. What we got was a show full of promise, but also one with a lot of rough edges. With this opening episode, we get a show that has had time to reflect on the past. Improve on what worked and upgrade the things that didn’t.

So to set the scene, it has been two years since we last checked in with the team. Picard (Patrick Stewart) now spends his time working on the château and being Commandant of Starfleet Academy. Elnor (Evan Evagora) has graduated as the first Romulan in Starfleet and is assigned to Raffi’s (Michelle Hurd) ship, the USS Excelsior. Seven (Jeri Ryan) is still fighting for the Fenris Rangers, while Soji (Isa Briones) and Anges (Alison Pill) have been on Diplomatic missions. However, things start to shift under their feet when a portal opens in space shouting for Picard. 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 – Rosetta  – TV Review

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TL;DR – Preparing for the end by going into the belly of the beast  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Star Trek: Discovery – Rosetta

Star Trek: Discovery Review –

This season we have gotten a combination of some of the best Star Trek has to offer attached to what feels like story elements that just exist to pad out time. Thankfully, the strength of the characters and the production has smoothed over some of those issues, but as we rocket towards the end, I have begun to be a bit concerned. But this week, we finally got some answers about the nature of the 10-C.

So to set the scene, after the colossal stuff up of Book (David Ajala) and Tarka (Shawn Doyle) led to the 10-C not only replacing the anomaly but shifting it to the Alpha Quadrant in direct line to Earth and Ni’Var. The USS Discovery, its crew and the delegates onboard raced through the Galactic Barrier to attempt diplomacy before the deaths of billions. When they breached the barrier, they discovered a solar system near where 10-C live. It soon becomes apparent that the 10-C used to live here, as the corpses of their species litter the surface. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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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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