Tag Archives: Science Fiction

Andor (Star Wars: Andor): Make It Stop – 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 – 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 – 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  – 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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Doctor Who: The Well – TV Review

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TL;DR – Today, Doctor Who took a turn into an unsettling one, and I was not quite ready for them to commit as much as they did.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

Warning – contains scenes that may cause distress.

A space scape.

Doctor Who Review –

When I was first introduced to Doctor Who, I was inundated with several episodes that were meant to unsettle you. Where a child in a mask could be more terrifying than the London Blitz, and where there was a ‘Silence in the Library’ incident that still lives in infamy in my family’s lore. However, it has been a long time since Doctor Who had me sitting on the edge of my chair, but they got that tonight.    

So, to set the scene, after The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Miss Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) tried to hook an anchor into May 2025 in last week’s Lux, they have still struggled to get it to land where they want it to be. But while The Doctor is busy promising that he will get Belinda home, the TARDIS makes a landing 500,000 years in the future. They just need to get another Vindicator reading, only to find themselves immediately jumping out of a spaceship. 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): Sagrona Teema – TV Review

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TL;DR – This episode is all about the foreboding feeling that ebbs into every pore of your being.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Saluting the new bride to be.

Andor Review –

In the modern era, there are many different distribution models. While Netflix was famous for its binge dumping of a whole season at once, it still mostly follows that arrangement. It has become clearer that the binge model does not build engagement for shows, bar the odd exception. Andor has chosen a slightly hybrid model, in that they are releasing three episodes at a time, which I think will work because this very much feels like a part two of three episodes.

So, to set the scene, Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) is trapped on a jungle planet with a big problem. The pilot he was meant to be handing off this new tie fighter to has been killed by rebels that were dumped and left. Now, those rebels have started fighting amongst themselves. The only thing keeping Andor alive is the fact that he is the only pilot, but with tempers flared and rational thoughts cast aside, is that enough to keep him alive when even the planet could be the greater threat? 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: Lux – TV Review

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TL;DR – A profoundly weird episode that leans into its weirdness in a way that made it profoundly compelling.

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.

Mr Ring-a-Ding

Doctor Who Review –

While this new era of Doctor Who has been a bit hit-and-miss for me. The episodes that have shined through all of that have been the ones where they dialled up the camp, or the weirdness or the absurd. Stories with real teeth that let the cast have a lot of fun with the concepts. There have not been many of them, but today, we get another to add to the pantheon.

So, to set the scene, The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Miss Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) have landed in 1952 so they can use a Vindicator as a lure to get back to when Belinda was taken from. They can’t just go back normally because the TARDIS keeps bouncing off the day. But when they arrive in Miami, they find a cinema that has been boarded up with flowers of people missing. Fifteen people walked in three months ago and just disappeared from the cinema/picture house. A haunted cinema, it’s like catnip to The Doctor, but maybe they should have left this one alone. 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): One Year Later – TV Review

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TL;DR – A reintroduction to our world and characters and the layers of issues they face.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

a tie fighter.

Andor Review –

Things were not looking good for Star Wars on TV back in 2022, as the Mandalorian experiment seemed to be running out of steam, and a lot of their experiments were falling flat. So, I didn’t hold a lot of hope when it came time to watch a prequel to the very messy Rogue One. But goodness, if there was ever a time to be wrong, I am glad it was then. Andor was subversive, fascinating, and profoundly compelling, not something you expect to come out of the House of Mickey. Well, it is back for a second and final season, and I can’t wait to see what they cook up.     

So, to set the scene, it has been a year since the riots on Ferrix, and it is four years before the Battle of Yavin. Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) has joined the Rebellion and is in the process of infiltrating Test Facility 73 on the planet of Sienar. All across The Empire, the Rebellion is slowly growing, one act of disobedience at a time. The Empire is trying to find ways of crushing any chance of this coalescing into a significant power, but freedom will always be the better choice. Now, from here

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Doctor Who: The Robot Revolution – TV Review

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TL;DR – An odd opening episode that is equally interesting, odd, and also a bit frustrating.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Belinda arrives at Miss Belinda Chandra I.

Doctor Who Review –

Well, we’re back, and the series that keeps on truckin’ is back with the second season of its third era. Doctor Who has always been a bit of an odd duck because there are times when it soars in the sky and other times when it flounders around with its but hanging in the air. Last season was a bit of both, where interesting characters and scenarios got lost at times due to a lack of focus. Will this second season work on some of those issues? Well, since it was filmed before the first episodes came out, I am not holding my breath, but I am always happy to be proven wrong.   

So, to set the scene, Miss Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) is a nurse working in a local hospital and lives a generally unremarkable life bar the time one day that an old flame bought one of those silly ‘name a star’ certificates. But the one people who did not think the certificate was ridiculous was the new robot overlords of Miss Belinda Chandra I. Who capture her and take her back to the planet, now named after her, to marry their AI overlord, who is the new royal queen of the planet. The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) is there to help, but it looks like time is in flux. 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 Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A fun pomp back to that past nostalgia, which, while not quite having the strength to get all the way to the end, was still a blast when it leaned into the looney side of the toons.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Daffy Duck and Porky Pig

The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie Review –

Unfortunately, if there has been an entity that has been the most affected by this current blight of shelving products for tax purposes, it has been the Looney Tunes. So, to see one of those fallen products escape containment and get a release was reason enough to make it down to the cinemas. My big question was: could it connect with a new audience? And I was fascinated to see the outcome.  

So, to set the scene, Daffy Duck (Eric Bauza) and Porky Pig (Eric Bauza) have grown up together under the guidance of Farmer Jim (Fred Tatasciore). But with him gone and suburbia encroaching on their former farm, they are stuck with a profound predicament: find $10,000 to fix a hole in their roof, or their house will be condemned. But what caused the hole? Why is that scientist (Fred Tatasciore) covered in goo? And does it have something to do with Petunia Pig (Candi Milo), who just walked into the coffee shop?

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