Tag Archives: TV

TV Review – Star Trek Short Treks: The Brightest Star

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TL;DR – We explore the difficult past of one of Discovery’s officers and learn once again that hope is better than fear.

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

Star Trek Short Treks: The Brightest Star. Image Credit CBS Studios.

Review –

Our next dive into the Star Trek Short Trek series takes us into the past to let us know more about a character we know very well in Star Trek Discovery and what is driving him forward.

So to set the scene, we open in on Kaminar a planet never visited before in Star Trek and homeworld of USS Discovery first officer Saru (Doug Jones). Though at this moment he is not in Starfleet because his people are part of a pre-warp society, which is a big no go area in Federation law. The Kelpien people live in small villages along the coast where they harvest seaweed and grasses, as well as the flowers of the jungle. However, while Saru looks up at the stars and sees hope, the rest of his people see fear because the Ba’ul are coming for their harvest.

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TV Review – Sex Education: Season One

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TL;DR – It a show where sex is very much front and centre, however, it is actually the relationships that actually shine through.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Sex Education. Image Credit: Netflix.

Review –

There are some people who would like a do over, go back in time and do high school all over again, or indeed there are those people who never left. I would never go back to that hellscape of hormones, and finding yourself while the world gets ripped out from underneath you. Well today we look at a series that explores that very time period in all its uncomfortableness.

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TV Review – The Good Place: The Book of Dougs

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TL;DR – While it does not always quite get there, it was still an interesting ride.

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

The Good Place: The Book of Dougs. Image Credit: NBC.

Review –

After three seasons of trying the gang is finally in the good place, and after all this, the emotional and social capital to get us here does it actually hold up? Well no, but then I think it does something a little more important, maybe.

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TV Review – The Orville: Home

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TL;DR – In Home, The Orville finally finds that balance between the absurd and the sincere and creates one of their best episodes so far.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

The Orville: Home. Image Credit: Fox

Review –

So far this season The Orville have continued on in its mission to highlight the juxtaposition between the absurd and the sincere. Now, this is something that you can completely do, but the show in both Season One and so far this season just couldn’t quite find that right balance. Well with Home I think they really are starting to head in that right direction and it doesn’t hurt when you throw in some great guest cast and beautiful art design help along the way.

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TV Review – The Orville: Ja’loja

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TL;DR – This first episode was all about us getting back into the groove with The Orville and its juxtaposition of absurdity and sincerity, but not all of it works.  

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

The Orville: Ja'loja. Image Credit: Fox

Review –

I finally got the chance to see Season One of The Orville early this year when it finally got a release down under, and I was struck by how funny and also how many serious issues it tackled. It was not just a Star Trek parody with the first officer and captain being exs, okay it is totally that, but it is also a beautiful sincere look at the work, with some fantastic characters and alien races. Now that Season Two is about to start, I am really interested to see how the show evolves going forward, and can it keep this interesting juxtaposition going.

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TV Review – Tidelands: Season One

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TL;DR – This opener immediately drags you into a world of multiple factions that are all untrustworthy and makes you wonder who will you back?

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Tidelands. Image Credit: Netflix

Review –

There is this surreal moment that, I assume if you lived in Vancouver or cities like that you would be used to, when you see someone drive down a street in a film and then instantly realise that you have driven there before. You know those cane fields, the factories, you know that bridge, that university hall. It has happened before with places I have visited overseas, but never here in Australia, and never with Brisbane playing Brisbane.However as a critic, this is potentially dangerous territory, do I like the show because it is good or because I have a natural drive to see the local film industry do well. However, with Netflix’s new show Tidelands, I don’t think this is the case, and as I review all of the first season I think you will see immediately if this is a show that you should dive into or not.     

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TV Review – Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: A Midwinter’s Tale

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TL;DR – It emphasises the ‘things that go bump in the night’ theme of the show, but also some of its get out of jail free cards, for a mixed result.

Score – 2.5 out of 5 stars

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: A Midwinter’s Tale. Image Credit: Netflix

A Christmas special is a time honoured tradition of many shows, indeed when I was growing up we would always get this great Christmas in July moment because TV took about 6 months to get down under back then. With that in mind, and with the more schlocky nature of the TV show so far, it felt like this would be the perfect fit for Sabrina. With a Christmas but not themed show. But while it hits all those notes, I was left feeling all a bit meh at the end of the day.

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TV Review – Tidelands: Home

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TL;DR – This opener immediately drags you into a world of multiple factions that are all untrustworthy and makes you wonder who will you back?

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Tidelands. Image Credit: Netflix

Netflix is this big global juggernaut, which is currently dominating the media landscape. Now while that’s fine because we are getting such amazing shoes like Stranger Things (see review) and Lost in Space (see review) however, they have not really engaged with local content as much as they should. Well, today we see the first steps in changing that with Tidelands,Netflix’s first show produced for them out of Australia. So without a doubt, there is a certain amount of novelty seeing my hometown up there on the big screen, and you can’t help but be sucked in. However, beyond the novelty is a story that had me immediately hooked and wanting to see more.

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TV Review – The Good Place: Janet(s)

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TL;DR – The entire universe is against them, but it is here where the show finds its core drive and so many Janets

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

Janet(s). Image Credit: NBC

Review –

So far this season, The Good Place has been a bit hit and miss, with a lot of episodes that make you wonder where are they going with this? Add to this, the show started splitting up the group which didn’t fit the tone of the show. The good thing is that even though some episodes were not working, because the show itself is so good it meant that even when an episode didn’t work, it was at least still compelling. Well this week, not only do we come back to form, we get one of the show’s most fascinating episodes to date.

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TV Review – Doctor Who: Demons of the Punjab

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TL;DR – In the battle between love and hate, on which side would you be on? This is the question today’s episode asks before emotionally punching you in the gut.

Score – 5 out of 5 stars

 

Doctor Who: Demons Of The Punjab. Image Credit: BBC

 

Review –

When I heard Doctor Who was going to set an episode in colonial India, you can bet I was deeply concerned. A British TV Show doing an episode on the British occupation of another country, it is a recipe for disaster if handled wrongly, and the title Demons of the Punjab didn’t exactly fill me with confidence either. However, then we got to see Rosa (see review) earlier this season all about Rosa Parks and her struggles, they showed a real understanding of exploring deeply complex historical events, so I had a hope that they would be able to here as well, and I honestly think they pulled it off.

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