Tag Archives: TV

TV Review – Star Trek Discovery: Brother

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TL;DR – New faces, old friends, and a new dilemma, sign me up.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Star Trek Discovery: Brother. Image Credit: CBS Studios/Netflix.

Review –

The first season of Star Trek Discovery was one that started of interesting, took a bit to find its feet, but by the end of the Season a bunch of people had become a crew, and I was there for it. Tonight we dive back in with a bit of trepidation because they ended the season face to face with the most iconic starship in Star Trek history the original USS Enterprise. So where do you take the story from here, well into some very new territory it seems. 

So to set the scene, at the end of Will You Take My Hand? the USS Discovery was on its way to Vulcan to both drop of Sarek (James Frain) and also pick up their new captain. Well before they got there, they had to drop out of warp due to an emergency distress beacon coming from the USS Enterprise. In Brother, we start right from where we left off, trying to hail the ship when nothing else worked it was Morse Code that made it through and the Enterprise informed them that Captain Pike (Anson Mount) and two others were coming on board. Well, both Sarek and Michael (Sonequa Martin-Green) know who severs on the ship, but Spock is not there. Pike informs everyone that he is taking over command of the ship because of an emergency, you see seven lights just blared into existence across the galaxy, at the same moment, thousands of light years apart. Well since they just got out of a war The Federation is understandably nervous about what this might mean because this is not a natural phenomenon. Well off The Discovery goes, once more unto the breach, which turns out to be literal when they drop out of warp behind a fracturing asteroid. Now we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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TV Review – The Orville: Nothing Left On Earth Excepting Fishes

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TL;DR – In many respects, this is the most Star Trek-like episode I have seen so far, but in that it feels just okay and that it is missing something.  

Score – 3 out of 5 stars

The Orville: Nothing Left On Earth Excepting Fishes. Image Credit: Fox.

Review –

This is a great time for Sci-fi for tonight I get a new episode of The Orville and Star Trek Discovery. All of this is made all the more interesting because tonight’s Orville feels more like an episode of Star Trek than any so far this season. This gives some characters the chance to shine, but it also feels a bit odd.

So to set the scene, the USS Orville is once again being rerouted to a Starbase to help out rather than exploring, something that is starting to get on everyone’s nerves. But for Ed (Seth MacFarlane) it is all fine because he is using his love smile with Lt. Tyler (Michaela McManus) and Kelly (Adrianne Palicki) can see it. Well, after much thought they decide that it is time to make it public, always a big deal on a ship of this size, and celebrate this by taking some shore leave. Time to get away, see the sights, get harried by some Krill fighters, wait get harried by some Krill fighters. Soon both Tyler and Ed are captured and Ed has to make a choice, will he sit back and watch the love of his life get tortured, or will he give up everything he believes in and hand over his command codes. Now from here on in, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, and as such there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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TV Review – Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Hitchcock And Scully

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TL;DR – Today we go back into the deep past and explore 1980s NYPD while also dealing with the ramifications of today.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Hitchcock And Scully, Image Credit: NBC.

Review –

One of the great boons of having a new season of Brooklyn Nine-Nine is that you get to explore new stories and in this case that is explore the backstory of two of the shows amazing cast Hitchcock (Dirk Blocker) and Scully (Joel McKinnon Miller).

So to set the scene, the aftermath of Honeymoon, when Captain Holt (Andre Braugher) stood up to the new Commissioner John Kelly (Phil Reeves), has been a rough transition for the team. This is because Kelly has gone out of his way to punish the 99 for Holt’s deference in his public questioning the return to Stop and Frisk. This has meant that floors have been shut down and space has become a precious creating friction among the detectives and uniformed officers. This is bad enough, but the next round of Kelly’s punishment has arrived when he gets Internal Affairs to look into a case from 1986 run by a young Hitchcock (Wyatt Nash) and Scully (Alan Ritchson). Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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TV Review – Star Trek Short Treks: The Escape Artist

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TL;DR – What happens when you let Rainn Wilson run riot, well you get a fascinating moment in Star Trek history.  

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

Star Trek Short Treks: The Escape Artist. Image Credit CBS Studios.

Review –

We finish our run through the Star Trek Short Trek mini-episodes by looking at the episode that brings back one of the best guest cast members from Star Trek Discovery’s first season.

So to set the scene, we open inside a ship crewed by a Tellarite bounty hunter Tevrin Krit (Harry Judge) who is having a very good day because he was about to come into possession of Harry Mudd (Rainn Wilson) a man who has done great harm to his family. It is with joy that he takes Mudd from the broker (that gave me odd Breen vibes) to the nearest Starfleet vessel to claim the significant bounty, as Mudd pleads for his life every step of the way.

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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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