Tag Archives: American Television

Star Trek Discovery: Die Trying – TV Review

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TL;DR – Home, well not quite home, at least not quite yet.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Star Trek Discovery: Die Trying. Image Credit: CBS Studios.

Die Trying Review –

For the past four episodes, one of the core questions that has been left has been if the Federation and Starfleet even still exist in the 3100s? Well, this is the episode where we get things confirmed, but also where more questions get asked than answered.

So to set the scene, at the end of Forget Me Not when Adira (Blu del Barrio) finally connected with her Trill Symbiont Tal, we finally discovered the location of Starfleet headquarters. It was not on a planet but hidden out in space. When we start this week’s episode, the USS Discovery is on the cusp of making contact. As it approaches, they discover it is hidden behind a disruption field, the ship breaches it and finds multiple Starfleet vessels around a central starbase, even some floating habitats. However, the only thing they were not expecting was a frosty reception. 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 Mandalorian: Chapter 10 (The Passenger) – TV Review

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TL;DR – A visual spectacle with some fun moments but not much more

Rating: 4 out of 5.
The Mandalorian: Chapter 10 (The Passenger). image Credit: Disney+

The Mandalorian: The Passenger Review –

It has been an interesting shift watching the episodes of The Mandalorian one at a time rather than all at once. This is especially true of at least the first three episodes that look like they flow from one to another. Well, we can’t get all of it at once, but we can at least get a taste of what is to come, and I’ll take it.   

So to set the scene, we open with Mando on the way back to Mos Eisley after defeating the Krayt Dragon in The Marshal. Just before he gets back, he and The Child are ambushed, and his racer is destroyed. After the long walk back he runs into Peli Motto (Amy Sedaris) in the cantina who tells him that she has a contact who knows where there are more Mandalorians, and she is happy to tell him where they are. The only catch is that the nice Frog Lady (Misty Rosas) needs a ride home … at sublight … and before her spawn becomes unviable. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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TV Review – Star Trek Discovery: Forget Me Not

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TL;DR – A beautiful episode about coming together through the pain of the past

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

Star Trek Discovery: Forget Me Not. Image Credit: CBS Studios.

Forget Me Not Review –

Throughout Star Trek, there has been a long history of letting events happen, but to not really explore the aftermath. However, The Next Generation’s Family as well as, Deep Space Nine’s It’s Only a Paper Moon, both show that this can be some of the best the show can make. This week’s episode also knew this lesson and was the better for it.    

So to set the scene, so far this season, Michael (Sonequa Martin-Green) got trapped in the future alone for a year, the USS Discovery crash-landed on a planet with ice that eats you, and last week we found out that Earth had become an isolationist power and the Federation had left 100 years ago. All of this is leaving a toll on the crew because there has been no time to process what has happened to them appropriately. Things are starting to fray, which is understandable given the circumstances, but who will be the first to break. 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 Boys: What I Know & Season 2 – TV Review

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TL;DR – Just when I thought I had worked everything out, The Boys was like, you know nothing while pulling the rug out from under my feet and maintaining eye contact as I fell to the floor.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
The Boys: What I Know. Image Credit: Amazon Studios.

What I Know Review –

After an exciting and long season, we have drawn to the final episode for their sophomore season. This is a season where back in episode three, we exploded through the guts of a whale in its entire gory spectacle, and even that was not the most bonkers moment. With that in mind, in today’s review, we are going to look first at how the final episode came together. Then we will explore an overview of the season as a whole.  

So to set the scene, in last week’s episode Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker, we thought everything was coming to ahead … until the head’s started popping. Throughout this episode, there were several essential plotlines. The first was getting a good look at Butcher’s (Karl Urban) life and the world that formed him as to who he is today. Homelander (Antony Starr) and Stormfront (Aya Cash) manipulated Ryan (Cameron Crovetti) and turned him against his mother Becca (Shantel VanSanten). Meanwhile, after Vought captures starlight (Erin Moriarty), Hughie (Jack Quaid) goes on a rescue mission with Lamplighter (Shawn Ashmore) to save her, and it goes … mostly okay. Finally, after everything they have done up until this point, there is a congressional inquiry led by Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) into Vought and what they did. Finally some progress, or not, as heads start exploding on live TV. 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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The Boys: Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is the episode that any semblance of subtly gets thrown out the door.

Rating: 4 out of 5.
The Boys: Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker. Image Credit: Prime Video.

The Boys: Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker Review –

The Boys is a show that has never shied away from the gore, sex, violence, subtle this is not. However, when it comes to the story, it was always framed around a simple good v bad framework. Throughout this season we have seen that there is more to that narrative as we dive down the well that is Vought, and this week the story takes all of its gloves of to show you just what it wants to say.

 So to set the scene, in last week’s episode we got to see inside Vought International’s final plan. They aim to stabilize Compound V so that it can be given to an adult and cause an instant and safe transformation to being a Supe. But that is how it is not the why. The why is that Vought is not just Nazi adjacent, it is straight-up completely Nazi. Stormfront (Aya Cash) who is leading this campaign was born in Nazi Germany, and the aim is to given powers to select people to ‘take the country back’. This week with the turning of we start with the turning of Lamplighter (Shawn Ashmore) and the best possible chance to take Vought down … if everyone can make it to the hearings alive. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous: Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is a strong entry into the Jurassic franchise leaning both into joy and terror of dinosaurs  

Rating: 4 out of 5.
Bumpy in Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous. Image Credit: Netflix.

Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous Review –

It should go without saying, I love Dinosaurs. I have loved them since I was a kid, and I still love them today. So I take whatever chance to watch, which unfortunately is few and far between. Well, today is one of those few times when I get to sit back and enjoy the world where Brachiosaurus loom over treetops, and you need to be careful at what goes bump in the night. [Insert T-Rex Roar sound here]

So to set the scene, we open with two people running through the jungle trying to reach an extraction before Raptors take one of them out. The other person who we see their point of view tries to escape before being cornered by a T-Rex. That is the point where the VR goggles come of, and we are introduced to Darius (Paul-Mikél Williams). He is trying to beat this apparently unbeatable game to win a ticket to Jurassic World’s new Camp Cretaceous because it was always his and his late dad’s dream to go. Well while tossing and turning in bed, he is woken from a dream and finally it all clicks, and he becomes the first person in the world to beat the game. With this, he books his ticket to Camp Cretaceous where absolutely nothing will go wrong … right …?  

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The Boys: We Gotta Go Now – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is an episode of getting all our ducks in a row, but a good version of that.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
The Boys: We Gotta Go Now. Image Credit: Amazon Studios.

The Boys: We Gotta Go Now Review –

In a world where superheroes have the power to do anything they want … what is to stop them from just doing it? This is the question that The Boys has been asking for a while, and this week we get to see that the answer to that is not a whole lot.

So to set the scene, in last week’s Nothing Like it in the World everyone’s world got turned on their heads. A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) got kicked out of the Seven, Homelander (Antony Starr) is continuing to lose his position on top, and Butcher (Karl Urban) lost everything because of his blind hatred of Supes. With everyone spiralling out of control, it is the perfect time for people like Stormfront (Aya Cash) to spill in and upset everything, which is precisely what happens. 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 Boys: Nothing Like it in the World – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is the episode where we get to see the direction of the season

Rating: 4 out of 5.
The Boys: Nothing Like it in the World. Image Credit: Amazon Studios.

The Boys: Nothing Like it in the World Review –

Well, The Boys came back with a whale splatted gore explosion, but unlike last season, we are getting weekly episodes to space out the carnage. Given the places this show goes, this is very much for the best to give us some moments to breathe given what we just watched. With that in mind, let’s dive into an episode that gets ew in 4 minutes.

So to set the scene, New York is still reeling from the supposed super-terrorist attack on an apartment building. However, we know it was not the terrorist but Stormfront (Aya Cash) the newest member of The Seven with clear Nazi undertones. With the way Vought is manipulating the media not even the revelation that supers are made not born has shaken them from the prime position they are in. 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 Boss Baby: Get That Baby! – TV Review

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TL;DR –  Besides one or two interesting moments, it never makes use of its formula   

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene

The Boss Baby: Get That Baby!. Image Credit; Netflix.

Review –

Back in 2017 the was this odd animated film that landed in the world. Some despised it, and I found The Boss Baby to be well just fine. Since then, I have seen it pop up occasionally on Netflix where it has done well enough for a follow-up series. Today they take another step as they take on Netflix’s newest format the interactive episode.

So to set the scene, we open in on Staci (Alex Cazares) and Jimbo (Kevin Michael Richardson) as they introduce the audience to the employer training VR simulator. You are a baby, and they are trying to find which of the 16 jobs on offer you are the best fit for. You could work out in the field, in middle management, or be the titular Boss Baby (JP Karliak) themself.

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The Boys: Season One – TV Review

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TL;DR – Confronting, uncomfortable, but entirely compelling.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Warning – Depicts scenes of abuse

The Boys: Season One. Image Credit: Amazon Studios.

Review –

When I first heard of The Boys, the concept of ‘what if superheroes were assholes?’ I’ll be honest it didn’t grab me. Maybe it was the Suicide Squad fatigue that had set in; perhaps it was the general feel of the time. However, given this is 2020, and what’s the worst that can happen? Well, I am glad I did because a lot is going on here, some unsettling, some subversive, but all fascinating.

So to set the scene, we open with bank robbers driving recklessly through the streets of New York. The truck carriers off the side of the road heading to some innocent bystanders when Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott) of The Seven steps in front and takes all the damage herself while Homelander (Antony Starr) flies in and laser eyes the bandits while stopping to take a selfie or two. Meanwhile, Hughie (Jack Quaid) is walking down the street with his girlfriend Robin (Jess Salgueiro) after finally deciding to move in with each other when one second she is standing there talking. The next she is red mist as A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) runs into her at super-speed after being too preoccupied to see what was coming. Now from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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