Tag Archives: Animated Television

Rick and Morty: Summer of All Fears – TV Review

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TL;DR – For the first episode back, I am glad that they leaned somewhat into familiar territory while also amping up the weird

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

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

Summer looking down on her kingdom.

Rick and Morty Review –

Rick and Morty was at an interesting place at the end of Season Seven. The one central plot line that has been burning in the background since the start of the show came to a grand conclusion in Unmortricken, and then the rest of the season was profoundly more experimental, including Rise of the Numbericons: The Movie, where Rick does not appear at all. Coming into Season Eight, I wondered if the lack of a central narrative will leave it with an unanchored feeling? Or will it let the series be cast-free?   

So, to set the scene, Rick (Ian Cardoni) might have decided to teach Summer (Spencer Grammer) and Morty (Harry Belden) a lesson about stealing his phone charger by locking them in a Matrix-like world, all about not stealing phone chargers. They were stuck in that jail for seventeen years and then brought all of those memories back with them. Beth (Sarah Chalke) thinks it would be great to let them keep the memories, and Rick believes it will all blow up in their faces. I wonder who will be right? We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Creature Commandos: Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – It was always going to be difficult being the vanguard of this new era, but for all its strengths, I am not sure this was the foundation that they needed.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Rick Flag, The Bride and Nina.

Creature Commandos Review –

Well, I don’t think you need to look hard to see the issues that the current DC slate of products has had in recent years. The DCEU never quite got on its feet and then floundered when choice after choice held back even well-performing films. Even their Elseworlds experiment has had issues with Joker: Folie à Deux floundering while The Penguin thrived. However, we are at an official turning point in the comic world. But can this new era thrive? And is this the best first start they can bring to the table?

So, to set the scene, the Belle Reve Correction Center is many things, including the Non-Human Internment Division. It is here where Waller (Viola Davis) and Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo) watch as the Sons of Themyscira, led by Circe (Anya Chalotra), cross into the country of Pokolistan and start causing trouble. Waller cannot let that happen because America needs their oil, so it is time to activate the Creature Commandos, including The Bride (Indira Varma), GI Robot (Sean Gunn), Weasel (Sean Gunn), Dr. Phosphorus (Alan Tudyk), Nina Mazursky (Zoe Chao), to lend Princess Ilana (Maria Bakalova) a hand. 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 Works from 2024 That Showed Off the Wonderful Glory of Animation

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Animation is a form of filmmaking that is often related to second-tier status, something just for kids. This is done by both the organisations giving out awards and the guilds promoting their members’ work. However, they are not second-tier films; in many ways, animated films push the frontiers of filmmaking and what is possible, and they should be championed for their work.     

Animated films can be hand-drawn, stop/clay motion, or computer-generated; it does not matter, but all of them show the unique techniques of hundreds of artists that bring the work to life.

Our Highly Commended Films in 2024 are The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim & Moana 2

Our Highly Commended TV in 2024 are: Jurassic World: Chaos Theory, Knuckles & Star Trek: Lower Decks

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Star Trek: Lower Decks: Fissure Quest – TV Review

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TL;DR – It has been a long time since an episode of Star Trek made me audibly explain, but that was this week’s outing.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

USS Anaximander coming out of a rift.

Star Trek: Lower Decks Review –

I honestly can’t believe that today’s episode of Lower Decks is potentially the second last one that we will ever get. There is just such a wealth of joy here that I am sorry to see it go. While this final season has been a bit hit-and-miss for me, I was hoping that it would end the season on a high. Well, after last week’s Fully Dilated and today’s outing, I think they just might do it.

So, to set the scene, all the way back in Season Two’s Kayshon, His Eyes Open, our Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) got duplicated by a transporter accident, and William Boimler (Jack Quaid) was created. Thought dead, we know that William was recruited into Section 31, but we were wondering what he has been up to. Today, we discover that he is the captain of the USS Anaximander and part of the mission to find out why quantum fissures between universities have been opening all over the place. His crew are full of dimensional castaways, but when there is a chance to find the people doing this, the question is, how far will William go? We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Creature Commandos: The Tourmaline Necklace – TV Review

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TL;DR – A solid follow-up that delved deeper into the lives of the characters while mudding the waters on many moral issues.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Frankenstein pouts.

Creature Commandos Review –

In many ways, the first episode is the easier one to pull off because the audience is prepared for the fact that you are mostly setting the scene. But it is the ones that follow, especially episode two, that doesn’t get a free pass and needs to be able to stand on their own feet, and here is where many falter. Will that happen today? Let’s take a look.


So, to set the scene, a long time ago [1831], in a land far, far away [Pokolistan], a bunch of body parts are being fused together in a lab. For you see, Frankenstein (David Harbour) wants a bride, and even though Dr Victor Frankenstein (Peter Serafinowicz) has reservations, he relents when Frankenstein finds the perfect skull. But back in the present, the castle is a ruin of what it once was, with graffiti on the walls. But there is one thing that The Bride (Indira Varma) needs to feel whole again. Unfortunately, everyone with issues with Creature Commandos now knows that two of them are by themselves. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Creature Commandos: The Collywobbles Review: A New Era for DC

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TL;DR – While this first episode does not give us much to go on, it was still a fun blast and has given me hope for the rest of the season.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Creature Commandos walk off a helicopter in a perfect line.

Creature Commandos Review –

Well, I don’t think you need to look hard to see the issues that the current DC slate of products has had in recent years. The DCEU never quite got on its feet and then floundered when choice after choice held back even well-performing films. Even their Elseworlds experiment has had issues with Joker: Folie à Deux floundering while The Penguin thrived. However, we are at an official turning point in the comic world. The DCEU is dead; long live the DCU.

So, to set the scene, the Belle Reve Correction Center is many things, including the Non-Human Internment Division. It is here where Waller (Viola Davis) and Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo) watch as the Sons of Themyscira, led by Circe (Anya Chalotra), cross into the country of Pokolistan and start causing trouble. Waller cannot let that happen because America needs their oil, so it is time to activate the Creature Commandos, including The Bride (Indira Varma), GI Robot (Sean Gunn), Weasel (Sean Gunn), Dr. Phosphorus (Alan Tudyk), Nina Mazursky (Zoe Chao), to lend Princess Ilana (Maria Bakalova) a hand. 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: Lower Decks: Fully Dilated – TV Review

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TL;DR – This might be one of my favourite episodes this season because it nails its premise.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

The USS Cerritos over the time planet.

Star Trek: Lower Decks Review –

There are a lot of episodes of Lower Decks out there, and not all of them work for me. Their best combination is wherein they balance their deep Star Trek knowledge and in-jokes with telling a compelling story in their own right. Today’s episode is a good example of just how to do that.   

So, to set the scene, the USS Cerritos has found another of those pesky subspace ruptures and has been tasked to close it off. However, before they can do that, the crew discovers a Starfleet signal on a nearby pre-warp civilization. Not wanting to breach the Prime directive, they beam Mariner (Tawny Newsome), Tendi (Noël Wells), and T’Lyn (Gabrielle Ruiz) down in disguise to destroy/retrieve anything before it can contaminate the culture. The only problem is that this planet is living under a slight time dilation, so all Rutherford (Eugene Cordero) and Boimler (Jack Quaid) need to do is stand at the transport controls, wait a couple of seconds and beam them back. What is the worst they could do in just a couple of seconds …? 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: Lower Decks: Of Gods and Angles – TV Review

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TL;DR – It is a solid, fun episode that makes the most of its silly premise.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

The USS Cerritos in the Veraflex Nebula.

Star Trek: Lower Decks Review –

There are many ways in which Star Trek Lower Decks can shine, and one of the best of them is when they decide to go on a deep dive into the lore to find something to explore. Sometimes, that can be expanding on Orion culture for the first time since Enterprise, and other times, it can be a love letter to Star Trek’s fondness for caves. Today, we dive all the way back to the era of Those Old Scientists, with some demigods and a fight over angles.

So, to set the scene, the USS Cerritos has been positioned next to the Veraflex Nebula for weeks as it hosts peace talks between the Orbs and the Cubes, the photonic species that live there. It is hard to get people to talk when they complain that the ship has too many edges or that article ten is wrong because ten has an o in it. But as this goes on, Mariner (Tawny Newsome) is put in charge of an ensign, Olly (Saba Homayoon), on their last chance and gets some home truths when one of the diplomats turns up dead. They have to investigate because they are not high enough status to arouse suspicion, which, of course, went down as well as you would expect it to. 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: Prodigy – Ouroboros, Part I, Part 2, and Full Season – TV Review

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TL;DR – A beautiful end to a season, and hopefully not an end of a series.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

A time portal opens up over Earth.

Star Trek: Prodigy Review –

Alas, we have come to the end of the second and hopefully not last season of Star Trek: Prodigy. What a season it was. We will take some time a bit later to explore the season as a whole, but before that, we need to dive into this incredible season finale that went places I was not expecting at all.

So, to set the scene, after Asencia (Jameela Jamil) attacked the USS Voyager-A and the USS Protostar, it became clear that something had to happen before she did irreparable harm to The Federation with her time weapons. The problem is that Starfleet is already spread so far that there is no one else about to get out that far to help them. The combined crews need to stop them fast because, little do they know, Asencia has captured Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) and mined his mind for secrets she can use to cause galaxy-wide chaos. 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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Star Trek: Prodigy – Ascension, Part I & Part 2 – TV Review

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TL;DR – Honestly, wow, I was sitting on the edge of my chair for the whole episode.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

The USS Voyager-A and the USS Protostar.

Star Trek: Prodigy Review –

Have you ever been sitting watching a show and suddenly thought, “Hey, whatever happened to [insert important plot point here]”, only to get slapped in the face with that plot point a few moments later? Well, if you have ever had that happen to you, then you will know what I felt like as we jump into the episode today.  

So, to set the scene, after getting the USS Protostar back into orbit during the Last Flight of the Protostar and a number of struggles, we finally get back into contact with the USS Voyager-A. While Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and Chakotay (Robert Beltran) get a moment to reconnect, things go from bad to worse. First, Starfleet wants them back to Earth so that they can deal with the Protostar themselves. But before that can happen, a danger from the past comes back with a vengeance. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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