Tag Archives: Sci-fi

TV Review – Star Trek Discovery: Despite Yourself

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TL;DR – We welcome Chapter Two with a jump into the familiar and it was a delight to watch

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Despite Yourself

Review –

So Star Trek: Discovery is back for Chapter Two of its first season and as I have really been enjoying Season One so far I am really looking forward to seeing where the back half of the season takes us. If you want to read our reviews Chapter One’s episodes: See Here, and if you want to read our overview of Chapter One: See Here. Now just a warning that because of the nature of the episode we really can’t say much before we hit major spoilers, so after we set the scene this review will go [FULL SPOILER] so be careful if you have not seen the episode yet.

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TV Review – Star Trek Discovery: Season 1; Chapter 1

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TL;DR – A fascinating start to the new show, and a great platform to develop and move forward with.

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

Star Trek Discovery

Review –

So today we are going to take a quick look back at Chapter One of Star Trek: Discovery’s first season. Look to be honest, straight from the start I am just glad that I get to talk about Star Trek, and not just Star Trek, but really good Star Trek to boot, and I’ve not really been able to say that since Deep Space Nine. In our review today what I want to do it take a moment to look at four facets of Chapter One that I found really interesting, the story, the enemies, the technology, and then talk a bit about the future. Now let’s dive in and take a look at the story, and of course, because we are looking at this part of the season as a whole, there will [SPOILERS] here, so proceed with caution if you have not watched the whole season. To read our reviews of each of the episodes of Season One so far: See Here.

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TV Review – Black Mirror: USS Callister

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TL;DR – This is a bleak dissection of fan culture and what would happen if you were given ultimate power, and it is a problem we need to talk about

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

USS Callister

Review –

So Black Mirror is one of those shows I have heard about and had full intentions to give it a watch, but whenever I went to take a look something else came up. Well, Season Four just came out on Netflix, so now is the best time to dive in. It does help that their first episode is examining the fan culture created around science fiction shows like Star Trek, a subject very dear to my heart. Now of course, just like I had been warned Black Mirror then took a knife and stabbed it in my heart and then held up a mirror to show me that I was the one doing it, so some complicated emotions happened during the watching of this episode. Look this is one of those episodes where it is best to go in knowing as little as possible and even my setting the scene is probably too much. So quickly before we move on, the acting is superb, they capture the essence of classic Trek warts and all, and it has something very important to say about how we relate to the media we consume, especially power fantasies. I do recommend.

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Movie Review – Star Wars: The Last Jedi

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TL;DR – The Last Jedi is charting its own story and this is where its strengths and faults lie.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Star Wars The Last Jedi. Image Credit: Disney/Lucasarts.

Review –

Ok here we go, I didn’t think The Last Jedi was a fantastic film, nor did I think it was a really bad film. It was a film which had some aspects that really worked and some things that just didn’t, which made it a fascinating film to watch. However, this was also a problem for me because I wasn’t sure just how I felt about this film, and indeed for the first time this year, I actually went and saw the film twice before writing my review because I wanted to be sure about my feelings. Now in today’s review, I am going to set the scene and then give a general overview, and then we are going to go full spoiler with my analysis.

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TV Review – Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time

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TL;DR – The beginning of the end, and the start of the new beginning, this shows what Doctor Who can be when it is firing on all cylinders.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Review –

Twice Upon A Time banner

It is the end of an era as Peter Capaldi and Steven Moffat say goodbye to Doctor Who (this is not a spoiler because this was announced 6 months ago) but while it is the end, it is also the start, and that is what is amazing about Doctor Who. So today we look at the last story of the Twelfth Doctor, and a new story of the First Doctor, and also the first story of the Thirteenth Doctor, it was a packed episode.

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TV Review – Star Trek Discovery: Into the Forest I Go

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TL;DR – The mid-season finale is both gut-wrenching and fascinating, both an ending and a new beginning.

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

Into the forest I go

Review –

This week marks a couple of first for Star Trek as a franchise, it is the first time ever that we have had a mid-season finale, the end of Chapter One. As well as this, it is the first time that women’s nipples have ever been shown on screen, though men’s nipples have been fine since the days of The Original Series. Also, this week we get the first gay kiss between two men, indeed there are a lot of firsts. So today we are going to break down what worked in this final episode for a while, and I think it is a good sign that part of me kind of wishes we didn’t have to wait until January to see more.

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TV Review – Star Trek Discovery: Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum

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TL;DR – Back to the war this week and the Federation is starting to lose, and desperate times calls for desperate measures, and an away team.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum banner

Review –

After taking a pause from the galactic battle last week when Mudd (Rainn Wilson) invaded the USS Discovery in Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad (see review). This week we are back to the war between the Klingons and the Federation, and the tables have turned once again. In tonight’s episode, we get three intertwining stories play out, and we get to learn some Latin, so that’s always fun, says everyone never raised in the English private school system. This three-story structure is good because we get to see some character pairings we have not seen so far, and it also gives us a chance to explore more of the Klingon world. For those interested, this is the 9th time Star Trek has used Latin in an episode title, and today’s episode ‘Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum’ translates to ‘If you want peace, prepare for war’ and well it is an apt title this week. So after we set the scene, we will break down each of the stories and as always there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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TV Review – Star Trek Discovery: Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad

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TL;DR – What is the future of the Federation going to be? As the war drags on we get a glimpse of two possible directions.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad banner

Review –

Today we get Star Trek Discovery’s first bottle episode, and what is a bottle episode you may say? Well, this is a term in TV for an episode that uses minimal effects, guest stars, and filmed only on existing sets. You may have seen many of these before, where say something forces people to stay in one location, or if you are really unlucky you get a clip show like The Next Generations episode Shades of Gray. Bottle episodes are usually created to be cheaper episodes to produce and tend to be looked down on, however, good bottle episodes use the limitations to tell profound stories like the Deep Space Nine episode Duet. So like all good bottle episodes, we spend a lot of Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad getting to know our characters better, and it is a delight to watch. Now as we will be looking at the full episode there may be some [SPOILERS] ahead, so be a bit careful if you have not seen the episode.

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TV Review – Stranger Things: Trick or Treat, Fool

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TL;DR – Today we learn that even when people are not the worst, they can still disappoint you

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Stranger Things

Review –

It’s Halloween in the quaint town of Hawkins, and with the season there is a time for everything,
a time to make friends and a time to lose them,
a time to make promises and a time to forget them,
a time to get dressed into costume and a time to realise maybe don’t do that at school,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to say hello to a girl in the woods and a time to get hit in the head with a half-cooked squirrel,
a time to reach out and a time to miss the response,
a time to be bold and a time to run away from the all oppressive shadow in the sky,
a time to forget the past and a time to be defined by it,
a time to hold on for dear life and a time to let go,
a time to eat Eggo Waffles™ and a time to channel surf,
a time to wear all denim and a time to do literally any other fashion choice
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
a time to come together as a team and a time to be just the absolute worst, I mean come on Ted (Joe Chrest) The Russians, really, get it together.

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TV Review – Stranger Things: MADMAX

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TL;DR – It is a joy to be back in the world, because there is an attention to detail and understanding that you just do get very often

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Stranger Things

Review –

Oh Stranger Things, you were a revelation in Season One (see review), with an amazing cast and intertwining storylines that even with starkly different tones it still worked together as a whole. As well as this, it nailed both the films it was paying homage to, and the 1980s in general. So it has been just over a year since Season One, so today we will jump in and start our look at Season Two, and please be prepared as there may be some [SPOILERS] in this review.

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