Tag Archives: Science Fiction Television

The Acolyte (Star Wars: The Acolyte) – Teach/Corrupt – TV Review

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TL;DR – We take a breath after last week’s revel, only to dive deeper into the force.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

a 'Totally' Unknown Planet.

The Acolyte Review –

After a giant climatic episode, shows can struggle with the aftermath. Once you have paid off all that build-up, it can be hard to move on from that. Last week’s Night was very much an episode like that, with mass casualties and reveals a plenty. Today, we see if they can follow that up or if they will fall into the same traps.

So, to set the scene, at the end of Night, many Jedi had fallen, but Sol (Lee Jung-Jae) managed to escape with Osha (Amandla Stenberg), but wait, that is not Osha, that is her sister Mae (Amandla Stenberg). Because Mae was captured by the new Sith master on the scene, but for all Mae’s planning, she forgot to notice that Sol was not the only one to walk out of that forest. 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: Prodigy – Into the Breach, Part I & Part 2 – TV Review

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TL;DR – This was a joyful jump back into this world that you can clearly see was made with love.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Starfleet Academy.

Star Trek: Prodigy Review –

Well, the first season of Star Trek: Prodigy was a bit of an odd duck. It was first meant to be on Nickelodeon, then Paramount+, then even then we couldn’t get it out here, then dropped weirdly, and then it was cancelled on Paramount+ and removed from the service, which was a stupid choice, only to CBS to shop it around and get it picked up by Netflix. While it has been a wild ride to get to that point, I am glad we had it because it means we can look at the first two episodes of the second season today.    

So, to set the scene, after the end of last season, Dal (Brett Gray), Jankom (Jason Mantzoukas), Zero (Angus Imrie), Rok-Tanh (Rylee Alazraqui), and Murf (Dee Bradley Baker) have landed on Earth and have been taking classes to prepare them for the entrance exam to Starfleet Academy. They are not technically cadets yet, but they could be. But when Admiral Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) has a mission for them, they jump to join, especially when they see the new USS Voyager-A. Meanwhile, Gwyn (Ella Purnell) is taking the long trip back to her homeworld on a mission to stop the coming civil war from ever happening. 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 Acolyte (Star Wars: The Acolyte) – Night – TV Review

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TL;DR – An explosive episode that had me audibly gasping multiple times.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

The Sith is revealed.

The Acolyte Review –

Well, one of the big problems that a show can have is setting up a fascinating Part 1 only to mess it up for Part 2. Oh, the lousy letdown, after waiting a week or even more, is such a letdown … looking at you, Doctor Who. But sometimes they nail the landing, and today, we get just that.

So, to set the scene, Mae (Amandla Stenberg) has arrived to hand herself into Jedi Master Kelnacca (Joonas Suotamo), only to find him already dead because her Master (not spoiling it here) has returned. This is when Sol (Lee Jung-Jae), Yord (Charlie Barnett), Jecki (Dafne Keen), Osha (Amandla Stenberg), and a bunch of other Jedi arrive. Things could not get any worse. Well, that is when the Sith arrives and blasts all the Jedi away. 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: Empire of Death & Full Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – While the ending did not stick the landing as well as it could have for me, it was a wild, Doctor-filled ride to get there.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Australia about to get eaten by sand.

Doctor Who Review –

Well, we have reached the end of this first season in the new Disney/Russell T Davies era of Doctor Who, and what a ride it has been. But before we look at how the season worked as a whole, we need to unpack the season finale. If there is one thing Russell T Davies knows how to do, it is setting up a smashing part one to a season finale, but he has a mixed track record as to whether he can stick the landing. So where will this one fall? Let’s find out together.

So to set the scene, during The Legend of Ruby Sunday, The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and everyone at UNIT were focused on what happened on the day Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) was born through a little time travel shenanigans. Also, trying to learn what Sue Triad (Susan Twist) was up to with her clearly TARDIS-inspired anagram of a name. However, no one was paying attention to the real threat, that friendly blue box that is always there, but this time, it brought a guest to dinner that no one was expecting. An enemy from deep in The Doctor’s past, Sutekh (Gabriel Woolf). 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 Acolyte (Star Wars: The Acolyte) – Day – TV Review

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TL;DR – A slow build of tension, the creaking forest, the looming darkness, and lightsabres drawn.  

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

The Jedi line up.

The Acolyte Review –

Well, last week, we took a turn that I had not expected as we dived back into the past with Destiny. It was an episode full of mysticism and likely an unreliable narrator or two. It was an unexpected detour, but now we are back on the hunt because Jedi are falling like flies, and there is a new evil on the rise. Which, of course, is your average Saturday night in the Old Republic.  

So, to set the scene, we arrive on the forested planet of Khofar, where the Wookie Jedi Kelnacca (Joonas Suotamo) is located. Unfortunately for him, he is next on Mae’s (Amandla Stenberg) hit list as she targets all the Jedi involved with whatever happens on her home planet. Back on Coursaunt, Vernestra Rwoh (Rebecca Henderson) and the other Jedi have also noticed the pattern. But Sol (Lee Jung-Jae) convinces them to send him and Osha (Amandla Stenberg) out to get Mae because she knows things the Jedi Order desperately needs to know. 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 Legend of Ruby Sunday – TV Review

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TL;DR – This did everything it needed to do for a penultimate episode, as well as remind us how short this season was.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

The TARDIS flies into UNIT Headquarters.

Doctor Who Review –

Well, we are almost at the end of the first season already, and goodness, what a ride it has already been. Since we started in earnest with The Church on Ruby Road, back in Christmas, we have seen Space Babies, gone back in time with The Devil’s Chord, discovered that the Doctor needs to watch where he is walking in Boom & 73 Yards, tried to save naïve racists in Dot and Bubble, and went Rogue in Rogue. But it is time to get that Part 1 energy on and dive back into UNIT.


So to set the scene, we start with the TARDIS smashing through the atmosphere and slamming into the control room of UNIT headquarters in London, UK. As you can see, The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) has two problems. The first is everywhere he goes since Wild Blue Yonder, he sees the same lady (Susan Twist). But Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) can conger snow at will, which is a neat trick but also a harbinger of some powerful timey-wimey stuff. Well, it’s a good thing UNIT is monitoring the situation and has cobbled together a time window for just such an occasion. 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 Acolyte (Star Wars: The Acolyte) – Destiny – TV Review

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TL;DR – I thoroughly enjoyed this flash to the past to set the scene for the future.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

The yellow tree of Brendok.

The Acolyte Review –

We’ve met the players, worked out that it is twins, and even got a few hints as to what the Jedi were up to. However, since Revenge/Justice, there have been some questions about what the inciting incident was that threw this mess into motion. I thought we would have to wait for the rest of the season to see that answer delivered, and the show was like, nope, ep three, here you go.  

So to set the scene, around sixteen years before the events of Lost/Found, we find ourselves on the planet of Brendok, where a young Osha (Lauren Brady) and Mae (Leah Brady) are living with their mothers, Anieseya (Jodie Turner-Smith) and Koril (Margarita Levieva). Brendok is an abandoned planet seemingly outside of Republican control, but you soon understand why everyone is upset that some Jedi was found snooping around. 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: Rogue – TV Review

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TL;DR – An entertainingly camp episode, playing into the current hotness.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

The aftermath of a dual.

Doctor Who Review –

It does not matter if you are Doctor Who, James Bond going into space, or that one time Deep Space Nine was James Bond. When there is a current hotness in pop culture, you know people are going to ride that vibe. Well, it doesn’t take much to see that Bridgerton is the current hotness, so slap on some suits and frocks, amp up the drama, and let’s all go to a dance.  

So to set the scene, it is the year of our Lord 1813, and we are at a high society function, my dear, in the most exotic place we can find: Bath, England. We pan down to two gentlefolk who have a row over the honour of one of their sisters. The only problem is that when a dual is called, one of the men is packing electricity. But of course, it would not be a party without The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) popping by, and well, who is that brooding man on the balcony (Jonathan Groff)? 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 Acolyte (Star Wars: The Acolyte) – Revenge/Justice – TV Review

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TL;DR – We move from intrigue to a very narrow path, but one that still has me interested.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Warning – depicts scenes that may cause distress.

Mae squares off with Torbin.

The Acolyte Review –

If the last episode was an Amuse-bouche to get us ready for this world, then this week is, it is time to serve us up with an entrée, well, narratively speaking, at least. We are done speculating, and it is time to dive all into this world where the Jedi are hiding something.  

So to set the scene, Sol (Lee Jung-Jae), after securing Osha (Amandla Stenberg) and proving she was innocent because only Luke can be in two places at once. He takes his Padawan Jecki Lon (Dafne Keen) and new knight Yord (Charlie Barnett) to the planet Olega, where Mae (Amandla Stenberg) has attacked another Jedi Master Torbin (Dean-Charles Chapman). This time, she was unsuccessful in the kill, the first time, but where there is a will, there is a poison. 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 Acolyte (Star Wars: The Acolyte) – Lost/Found – TV Review

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TL;DR – Overall, this episode did what it needed to do: it made me interested in what was to come.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Mae battles Indara.

The Acolyte Review –

Well, it is back into the world of Star Wars on the small screen and a world that has been quite a bit hit-and-miss from time to time. For every Andor, we have gotten missteps like the Book of Boba Fett, and it is hard to see where things will land with the constantly shifting tentpoles of the Star Wars Universe. With that in mind, we dive into a new show that has the benefit of being slightly detached from what has come before but maybe not as detached as it needed to be.  

So to set the scene, there was peace across the galaxy one hundred years before the rise of The Empire. But that peace was being held up in part by the Jedi Order, the training ground for all users of the Force. But some people trained themselves away from the Jedi Order in secret, one of which was an assassin on a mission of revenge. We find ourselves starting this journey on the planet of Ueda, which may shape the future of the galaxy or at least the Jedi Order. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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