Tag Archives: Science Fiction Television

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew: We’re Gonna Be In So Much Trouble [S1E6] – TV Review

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TL;DR – We are jumping from strength to strength, making this one of the things I look forward to during the week.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

The barrier of Ad Attin is a gas layer.

Skeleton Crew Review –

For quite a while now, Star Wars has been a product filled with animosity and frustration where it felt like those with their hands on the wheel didn’t know what they wanted and with no clear leadership at the top, the community became toxic, or more toxic. That is why it has been such a joy to find Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, which has seemingly punctured through that malaise and is linked back to what made Star Wars good in the past yet with a modern veneer.

So, to set the scene, well, things are finally looking good for the kids: Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), KB (Kyriana Kratter), and Neel (Robert Timothy Smith/ Kacie Borrowman). At the end of Zero Friends Again, they reclaimed the Onyx Cinder and are on their way to At Attin. The only problem is that Jod (Jude Law) and their pirates might have gotten there first. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Dune Prophecy: Season One – TV Review

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TL;DR – A fascinating look into the Dune world when it was just starting, but it felt more like half a season than a full one.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Dune Prophecy Review –

Before we dive into our best of 2024, there is one final review we have to finish, and that is for a TV version of one of my favourite novels and movie series: Dune. I have always loved diving into this world, even if I would never want to live there. Today, we have had the chance to catch up with the entire first season of Dune Prophecy, so it is time to see if it all worked.

So, to set the scene, in the years after the Butlerian Jihad against the Thinking Machines, humanity had to find a new way forward. There were many competing forces during that time, one of which was the witches of the Bene Gesserit. On Wallach IX, those same sisters are grieving the death of their first Reverend Mother. The sisterhood is at a future point. Which way forward would they proceed? Shall they point people in the right direction, or should they be the ones controlling things from the shadows? Thirty years after, blood was shed in the Bene Gesserit cloister, 116 years after the end of the Great Machine Wars, and 10,148 years before the birth of Paul Atreides. It will be time to see which direction the sisterhood takes. Now, from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Star Wars: Skeleton Crew: Zero Friends Again [S1E6] – TV Review

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TL;DR – It’s a fun little romp to get us moving towards the end game.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Skeleton Crew Review –

If there is one thing that I will always appreciate Skeleton Crew for, okay, other than for making me learn how to spell skeleton correctly, is that it brought the fun back to the Star Wars universe. Now, I don’t mean that they brought jokes back. Every film in the modern era has had its fair share of quips. I mean that joy you get when you have a smile on your face because what you are watching is fun. Today, we will see if they can continue that moving forward.

So, to set the scene, well, things are not looking good for the kids, Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), KB (Kyriana Kratter), and Neel (Robert Timothy Smith/ Kacie Borrowman). For in You Have a Lot to Learn About Pirates, Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law) betrayed them all by forcing SM-33 (Nick Frost/Rob Ramsdell) to declare that the dubious force user was now captain. Not wanting to be a part of his dastardly plan anymore, Wim has a quick thought and yeets the kids through a trap into the floor. Now they all have to work out where to go from here, trapped on the bottom of a mountain, away from their ship, betrayed by the one person they trusted. 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: Joy to the World [S2E0] – TV Review

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TL;DR – An episode that is filled with fascinating character moments and an interesting setup, yet tied together with a dull narrative.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

The Time Hotel.

Doctor Who Review –

Many traditions exist out there for those who celebrate Christmas, and for many years now, for many, including myself, it has been capped off on Boxing Day with the Doctor Who Christmas Special. Last year, we got The Church on Ruby Road, which brought the two main characters for Season One together for the first time. In the past, we have gotten new regenerations, deaths, famous people from history, and even Catherine Tate that one time. Thus, the question is, what will we get today?

So, to set the scene, it is the Queen’s Hotel, Manchester, during the middle of the Blitz. People are lamenting the fall of democracy when a man bursts through the door carrying a ham and cheese toasty and a pumpkin latte. Wrong door, that’s okay. Let’s try The Orient Express. No. Okay, maybe Everest Base Camp? But maybe, just maybe. The Sandringham Hotel, in 2024, will be the right spot. Right where Joy (Nicola Coughlan) is arriving to spend the week. 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 Wars: Skeleton Crew: You Have a Lot to Learn About Pirates [S1E5] – TV Review

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TL;DR – An episode that balances both the fun that this show needs and the seriousness that the universe has acquired over the decades.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

The crew on the bridge of the Onyx Cinder.

Skeleton Crew Review –

Well, today is the first day that I am going into Star Wars: Skeleton Crew with a touch of trepidation. This is because last week’s episode, Can’t Say I Remember No At Attin, was the first that fell flat for me. Which was doubly disappointing given the quality behind the production. The question I am now faced with is, was that just a speed bump on the road, or was that a sign that we had shifted in the wrong direction?

So, to set the scene, things are tense for the crew of the Onyx Cinder as SM-33’s (Nick Frost/Rob Ramsdell) memory was activated and they turned on Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law), Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), KB (Kyriana Kratter), and Neel (Robert Timothy Smith/ Kacie Borrowman). Knowing that they could turn on the crew again, the question remains: keep him tied up, or see if you can find the coordinates for At Attin in their memory banks? 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 Wars: Skeleton Crew: Can’t Say I Remember No At Attin [S1E4] – TV Review

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TL;DR – The first speed bump for the season

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

The Onyx Cinder arrives at At Achrann.

Skeleton Crew Review –

Throughout the series so far, I have been filled with delight and joy. But there is always a feeling that there has to be a bump in the road somewhere; even DS9 had its rocky episodes. Well, unfortunately, it looks like today is the day.  

So, to set the scene, after getting a map back in Very Interesting, as an Astrogation Problem, the Onyx Cinder arrives back at At Attin. But instead of the friendly welcome, they are locked into an auto-piolet landing sequence. But something does not feel right because where are all the people? 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 Wars: Skeleton Crew: Very Interesting, as an Astrogation Problem [S1E3] – TV Review

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TL;DR – Okay, so we are Star Wars x Treasure Island x Goonies. I can work with that.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

People run with a gas giant hanging in the background.

Skeleton Crew Review –

There are a lot of reasons I want to sit down and watch some TV. It could be dangers, suspense, wonder, or sometimes I just want to have some fun. Well, if Skeleton Crew were only doing one thing right, it would be the fun. But they have a lot more going for them other than just that.

So, to set the scene, things went from bad to worse once the Onyx Cinder blasted outside of the barrier and into deep space. Because the kids didn’t understand just how valuable they were, and what weight the name At Attin had. So, Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), KB (Kyriana Kratter), and Neel (Robert Timothy Smith/ Kacie Borrowman) all end up in the brig at the Pirate Port of Port Borgo. Luckily for them, in the jail cell is also the Jedi Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law), and it looks like it is escaping time. 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: The New Next Generation & Season 5 – TV Review

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TL;DR – I am sad that our time with Lower Decks is over. However, I am glad that it went out on such a high note.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

The USS Cerritos.
The USS Cerritos

Star Trek: Lower Decks Review –

One of the many wild swings this new era of Star Trek undertook was jumping back into the animated world with a show that would be more farcical and self-referential than ever before. Playing off one of the most famous episodes of The Next Generation, Lower Decks rode the line between being a love letter to Star Trek fans and telling a good story in its own right. Now we have come to its final episode, and the question is: did they stick the final landing?

So, to set the scene, after William (Jack Quaid) poured all the rift energy into his universe, our Prime-Star Trek world, there was only one chance to stop it. Well, after Boimler (Jack Quaid) has had an acceptable freakout, he lets Captain Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) know, and while Starfleet Command would have preferred any ship but the Cali-Class USS Cerritos to be the ones to fix it, time is not on their side, and the Cerritos is already near the Klingon border. The only problem is that The Federation might not be the first one to find the rift. We will be looking at the episode, season, and probably series as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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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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Silo The Harmonium [S2E4] – TV Review

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TL;DR – Today, we hit the point of no return.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

Judge Mary Meadows analyses.

Silo Review –

Fundamentally, what works so well about Silo is that even though it is a post-apocalyptic sort of sci-fi story about people living in a heavily class-stratified society under a quasi-fascist government with a veneer of democracy to make it palatable. That is not the focus; the people are the focus, and that is why I check in each week to see what happens next.

So, to set the scene, at the end of Solo, Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) discovered that her no cleaning might be the catalyst for her entire Silo getting killed because that is what happened in Silo 17. But her suit is destroyed, and any replacement is now deep underwater. Well, until Solo (Steve Zahn) reminds here that a fire suit might be able to be adapted for the job. The only problem is that the only fire station left is still underwater, but only by one floor. So, there is hope, only if they can find a way to pump air down to her. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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