Tag Archives: Science Fiction Television

Doctor Who: The Reality War [S2E8] & Season 2 – TV Review

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TL;DR – After a better season overall, it felt like it fell apart in the final moments.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

London falling into the rift.

Doctor Who Review –

Well, here we are. The end of the season is upon us, and what an interesting season it was. It was full of fascinating highs and frustrating lows. But, unlike other seasons of Doctor Who, this one has been clearly building through the season (and also retroactively throughout Season One). That build has hit its crescendo this week, and the question is: was the song worthy of Dugga Doo, or did we not even make it to the grand finale?

So, to set the scene, The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Miss Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) finally make it back to Earth on the day Belinda leaves, only to find that everything is not well. Indeed, they have fallen into a deadly trap of one of The Doctor’s great foes, The Rani (Archie Panjabi) and have lost their memories. But The Rani wanted this because she was powering a machine on all the doubt of a whole planet, and what is more potent than the doubt of a Timelord? The Rani is looking for someone so ancient they have been lost to time and space, Omega (Nicholas Briggs), the first Timelord, and she is willing to destroy the Earth to find him. 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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Rick and Morty: Summer of All Fears [S8E1] – 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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Doctor Who: Wish World [S2E7] – TV Review

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TL;DR – What if you took vibes, like the most vibes that have ever vibed, and then smashed it into the densest exposition known to human and alien kind?

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

The Doctor and Belinda married with a child.

Doctor Who Review –

Well, here we are, with the beginning of the end in sight. Today, we are exploring the penultimate episode of Season Two, or if you believe the rumours, a penultimate episode of a series finale, or the penultimate episode until it shifts away from a global broadcast. Whatever the case may be, can this episode set up the ending that they need to land next week? Only time can tell, or you read my TLDR above and already know.

So, to set the scene, The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Miss Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) finally make it back to Earth on the day Belinda leaves, only to find that everything is not well. Indeed, they have fallen into a deadly trap of one of The Doctor’s great foes, The Rani (Archie Panjabi). But the thing about Earth is it is a place that The Doctor holds dear, but also where many of his allies call home. Like all Timelords and Timeladies, time travel is always on the cards. But wait! Didn’t the TARDIS explode at the end of The Interstellar Song Contest? Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Doctor Who: The Interstellar Song Contest [S2E6] – TV Review

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TL;DR – Do you want to make The Doctor mad? Well, I wouldn’t recommend it, because it is generally not good for your long-term prospects.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

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

The Interstellar Song Contest.

Doctor Who Review –

Today, we have reached what will probably be considered the penultimate episode for the season. Well, so far, I have to say that I have been highly impressed with the season so far. It might have stumbled a bit at the start, but we have seen it go from stride to stride in the past couple of weeks. The question is: can it keep up that momentum going forward, and will they make an Australia reference in a show all about Eurovision?  

So, to set the scene, The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Miss Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) have but one final place to test out the vindicator and it turns out they have picked The Harmony Station where the 803rd Interstellar Song Contest is happening and both immediately agree to stay and watch [look relatable]. But behind the pomp and circumstance, there is a terrorist on the prowl with death on the cards for all. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Andor (Star Wars: Andor): Jedha, Kyber, Erso [S2E12] – TV Review

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TL;DR – A bittersweet symphony of hope and coming sadness.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Two X-Wings flank Cassian on the way back in to Yarvin.

Andor Review –

Well, we are here, it is the end of it all, yet we find ourselves in an interesting place. Unlike most series finales, Andor doesn’t need to stick the landing because the third act of Rogue One has already done that for them. This puts it in an interesting space where you can ask: how do you definitely end something that already has another ending? Well, that is what we will look at today.   

So, to set the scene, much like last week, we start our episode moments after Who Else Knows? ends. Cassian (Diego Luna) and Melshi (Duncan Pow) have made it to where Kleya (Elizabeth Dulau) is hiding out. Unfortunately for them, the Empire is also tracking them, and Supervisor Heert (Jacob James Beswick) is but one floor away and closing in fast. Comms are down, so K-2SO (Alan Tudyk) can’t send a warning of the coming doom, as Stormtroopers start making their way down the hallway to the room where they are hiding. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Andor (Star Wars: Andor): Who Else Knows? [S2E11] – TV Review

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TL;DR – Tension starts to ratchet up now that the Empire knows what sort of information might just have leaked

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

A dead Stormtrooper lies on the ground.

Andor Review –

So far, each of the mini-arcs has been almost a mini-season in its own right. This week is the first time this season that it felt like I was watching a Part 2 of 3, which leans terribly on that feeling of growing dread that you sense in the back of your mind. When you feel a large wave or a fully stocked Stormtrooper platoon coming,  

So, to set the scene, we start in the moments after Make It Stop, as the Empire tries to work out how one of their highest value prisoners was murdered out from underneath them. Recriminations are coming, and indeed, the people on the ground might be taking more time shielding themselves from that than actually finding out who did it. Knowing time is not on her side, Kleya (Elizabeth Dulau) makes a desperate last stab at getting the information out there, because it is do or die, and few people know this more than Cassian Andor (Diego Luna). Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Andor (Star Wars: Andor): Make It Stop [S2E10] – TV Review

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TL;DR – We see the beginning of the end through a beginning and an end.  

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.  

BBY 1.

Andor Review –

Well, after many years of production, through many highs and lows, today we start our final look at Andor. When I sat down to watch Kassa back in 2022, I didn’t think much of what felt like a useless prequel series for a prequel movie. Little did I know that I was sitting down to watch the start of some of, if not the best, work Star Wars had ever produced. Today, we begin our look through the final episodes of what has been a remarkable series up to this point.

So, to set the scene, it has been a year since The Empire eviscerated Ghorman, and things are still tense across the galaxy, especially on the capital planet Coruscant. They look for rebels near and far, but little do they know there might be some right under their noses. But when a beeping emergency transmission wakes up Kleya (Elizabeth Dulau), soon everything changes. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Doctor Who: The Story and the Engine [S2E5] – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is one of those stories that shows you why getting authenticity into your production matters.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

The TARDIS putting out a fire.

Doctor Who Review –

There have been a lot of debates about what constitutes authenticity in the world. Should actors be playing certain roles or not? Should writers be writing characters or not? It is a wild discussion full of interesting points, bad actors, and all the hallmarks or the bitterness of modern culture discussions. However, today’s episode of Doctor Who might give us an insight into what authenticity means.  

So, to set the scene, The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Miss Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) have arrived in Lagos, Nijeria, in 2019. Partly to make use of the of its tech industry, but also to visit an old friend, Omo Esosa (Sule Rimi). But when he arrives at the barber, he finds all the clientele on missing posters. Inside, everyone is still there but someone new is running the place, but the vibes are off, and soon the door is locked behind them and the TARDIS started to freak out and the house began to shake. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Doctor Who: Lucky Day [S2E4] – TV Review

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TL;DR – It’s a fascinating episode, but I think we will need to see it in context with the rest of the season to see if it has the impact they clearly are hoping it has.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Fireworks over Big Ben.

Doctor Who Review –

Today, we are looking at what has come to be known as a ‘Doctor-Lite’ episode, where to help with production, they have an episode where Ncuti Gatwa does not have to have a significant presence so they can film the season over a shorter period by having dual productions running at once. As a production cost-saving measure, it can reach the heights of a bottle episode or the lows of a clip show, and it is time to see where we land today.   

So, to set the scene, it is New Year’s Day, and The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Miss Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) have arrived back in 2007, but still London, Earth, is better than before. Before they leave, they bump into a little boy who makes it his mission to find out more about the big blue box and the man who travels in it. But now Conrad (Jonah Hauer-King) has something he has never had before: an interview with someone who has actually been inside it, one Miss Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson). Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Andor (Star Wars: Andor): Harvest [S2E3]  – TV Review

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TL;DR – A profoundly upsetting episode of harsh juxtapositions, but war is not meant to be rosy or simple.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

Mon Mothma begins to disassociate.

Andor Review –

Well, I had held off watching this episode for a couple of days because I knew that it was going to have an impact. It was clear that both One Year Later & Sagrona Teema were building to something, and the three-episode release strategy helped secure that view. But sometimes, you have to take a deep breath and dive in, so let’s do that today.

So, to set the scene, Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) managed to escape his capture by the skin of his teeth, and now it is time to connect with his resistance team before The Empire works out where the stolen tie fighter is. But time might not be on his side as things are coming to a head across the galaxy. On Mina-Rau, the Empire’s inspections have started to get close, and there is a good chance everyone will be rumbled. On Chandrilla, Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) finally realises just what a sacrifice her daughter is undertaking. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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