Tag Archives: TV

Star Trek Lower Decks: Upper Decks Review: A Love Letter to the Crew of the USS Cerritos

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TL;DR – This episode feels like a love letter to the crew of the USS Cerritos, and as such, it was honestly moving in a way I was not expecting.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

The rings of Bhungar V

Star Trek: Lower Decks Review –

One of the things that has always made Lower Decks stand out in the vast landscape of the Star Trek Universe is that much of its focus is not on the command crew of the ship. Of course, they are all still there, but they are more side characters and foils for our core cast. Over time, those lines started to blur as we had space to explore characters more, and the Lower Deckers spent more time on the bridge. However, today, we put that all aside to give a love letter to the crew of the USS Cerritos.

So, to set the scene, in the Buhgood Feeding Grounds around the rings of Bhungar V, the USS Cerritos crew are steeling down to explore an old Earth ritual, Halloween. As Tendi (Noël Wells), Rutherford (Eugene Cordero), T’Lyn (Gabrielle Ruiz), and Boimelr (Jack Quaid) all dig into their gourds in a carving session. Mariner (Tawny Newsome) got stuck in painting. All the good things only happen to the bridge crew, which, as fate will have it, is who we will be following today. We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Silo: Solo [S2E3] – TV Review

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TL;DR – Today’s episode is all about the tension between flexibility and rigidness, and it was a fascinating discussion.

Rating: 4 out of 5.
Eyes peer out behind a door.

Silo Review –

In the first two episodes of the season, The Engineer & Order, we got to catch up on what was happening in both of the Silos. Now that we have our grounding, it is time to start propelling the narrative forward. Well, that is what we will explore today.

So, to set the scene, back in The Engineer, Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) managed to survive cleaning and walked through a valley of corpses to the next Silo over. In it, after much exploration, she finds the one person left alive in Silo 17 called Solo (Steve Zahn). The only problem is that Juliette discovers that the fracture point for Silo 17 was when someone didn’t clean, and that caused the rebellion and deaths. And then it dawns on her, this is what she just did to Silo 18. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Earth Abides: Alone Review – Exploring an Unique Take on Post-Apocalyptic Themes

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TL;DR – This is a good start, but it was all set up, and I will need to see how it develops before I really can take a look at it.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

A mobile phone with the text message 'I Love You' on the screen.

Earth Abides Review –

Well, if there is one genre that has had an interesting way of times, it is the post-apocalyptic. On the one hand, we all just went through a pandemic, so that is very much on our minds in a way that shows like The Last of Us had to change core parts of their lore to make them work. Yet we have also found joyous explorations of comradery and self-exploration in shows like Station Eleven, which have been almost cathartic to watch. But can you find new space in that genre? That is the question we will ask today.   

So, to set the scene, the world of today is a very interconnected beast, and that brings with it a bunch of benefits and problems. In that world lives Ish (Alexander Ludwig), a geologist who lives out in the sticks, finding mineral deposits that haven’t been harvested yet. But on this day, as he tries to find some new pyrite deposits, a rattlesnake bites him and only just makes it back to his house before he passes out. He manages to ride out the poison in his cabin, barely, but when he wakes from his trauma weeks later, he comes out into a world that has dramatically changed from the one he left. We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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Star Trek: Lower Decks: Fully Dilated – TV Review

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TL;DR – This might be one of my favourite episodes this season because it nails its premise.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

The USS Cerritos over the time planet.

Star Trek: Lower Decks Review –

There are a lot of episodes of Lower Decks out there, and not all of them work for me. Their best combination is wherein they balance their deep Star Trek knowledge and in-jokes with telling a compelling story in their own right. Today’s episode is a good example of just how to do that.   

So, to set the scene, the USS Cerritos has found another of those pesky subspace ruptures and has been tasked to close it off. However, before they can do that, the crew discovers a Starfleet signal on a nearby pre-warp civilization. Not wanting to breach the Prime directive, they beam Mariner (Tawny Newsome), Tendi (Noël Wells), and T’Lyn (Gabrielle Ruiz) down in disguise to destroy/retrieve anything before it can contaminate the culture. The only problem is that this planet is living under a slight time dilation, so all Rutherford (Eugene Cordero) and Boimler (Jack Quaid) need to do is stand at the transport controls, wait a couple of seconds and beam them back. What is the worst they could do in just a couple of seconds …? We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Star Wars: Skeleton Crew: Way, Way Out Past the Barrier [S1E2] – TV Review

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TL;DR – It continues the energy of that first episode by throwing our characters right in the deep end and seeing if they can swim.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Hyperspace.

Skeleton Crew Review –

Today, it is time to look at the second part of our two-part opener for Skeleton Crew. Our first episode very much homed in on that Goonies-In-Space vibe, which was just a charm to watch. Today, we see if that was just a first-episode glitch or if they really can make this vibe last a whole season or more.

So, to set the scene, after being accidentally flung into hyperspace on a surprise spaceship in This Could Be a Real Adventure. The new crew of Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), KB (Kyriana Kratter), and Neel (Robert Timothy Smith/ Kacie Borrowman) have to work out how to get the Onyx Cinder back home. When they wake up the robot’s first mate, SM-33 (Nick Frost/ Rob Ramsdell), all they want to do is get back home. The only problem is that the ship does not know where that is. It is also damaged, so they go to a pirate port for repairs. 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: This Could Be a Real Adventure [S1E1] – TV Review

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TL;DR – This was a charming start to the series that gives the set-up you need for an adventure like this.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Wim pretends to be a Jedi.

Skeleton Crew Review –

Sometimes, there is a premise so strong that you know it will be interesting and what if Star Wars was also The Goonies is right up there. But a concept will only get you so far. It is the execution that is make or break, and today, we look at the first episode to see if they can marry the two together.

So, to set the scene, a long time ago, in a galaxy far away, The New Republic has been trying to maintain order after the collapse of the Galactic Republic, but piracy remains a significant issue. The life of a pirate is a fraught one, and coups are many. But where there is action, there are also just normal people living their lives on the planet of At Attin. But when Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers) was running late for a test and took a shortcut that did not turn into a shortcut, he instead stumbled on something long buried in the 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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Silo: Order [S2E2] – TV Review

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TL;DR – We get to see a society on the brink of collapse, where years of lies have come home to roost

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Juliette Lives Graffiti.

Silo Review –

While the opening episode, The Engineer, was all about what happened to Juliette, I wondered if we were just going to keep following their story. However, the casting list showed me that we were still going to stay linked to the Silo from the first season in some capacity. Well, today, we see just what those links will be.

So, to set the scene, after being set up by Bernard Holland (Tim Robbins) and Robert Sims (Common), Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson) was forced to go outside and ‘clean’ in the season finale. However, she does not clean and just walks away, breaking centuries of tradition. Also, Nichols was well-liked in many sectors of Silo, and people were upset and asking questions. The whole Silo is on the cusp of rebellion. Everyone just saw Juliette walk over that hill, and everyone, especially those down below, wanted to know what that meant. Is it safe? Can they all leave? What else is management lying about? 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: Of Gods and Angles – TV Review

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TL;DR – It is a solid, fun episode that makes the most of its silly premise.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

The USS Cerritos in the Veraflex Nebula.

Star Trek: Lower Decks Review –

There are many ways in which Star Trek Lower Decks can shine, and one of the best of them is when they decide to go on a deep dive into the lore to find something to explore. Sometimes, that can be expanding on Orion culture for the first time since Enterprise, and other times, it can be a love letter to Star Trek’s fondness for caves. Today, we dive all the way back to the era of Those Old Scientists, with some demigods and a fight over angles.

So, to set the scene, the USS Cerritos has been positioned next to the Veraflex Nebula for weeks as it hosts peace talks between the Orbs and the Cubes, the photonic species that live there. It is hard to get people to talk when they complain that the ship has too many edges or that article ten is wrong because ten has an o in it. But as this goes on, Mariner (Tawny Newsome) is put in charge of an ensign, Olly (Saba Homayoon), on their last chance and gets some home truths when one of the diplomats turns up dead. They have to investigate because they are not high enough status to arouse suspicion, which, of course, went down as well as you would expect it to. We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Nautilus Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – When this series comes together, it is a delight to watch. Unfortunately, a lot of the episodes are a bit hit or miss.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

The crew does a slow walk.

Nautilus  Review –

In today’s re-make/re-boot culture, there are stories that you hear over and over again because they are in the public domain. Sure, it is great to see another take on Peter Pan, but there is a treasure trove of works in the public domain that are interesting and ready for interpretation through a modern lens. Today, we are looking at just such a property that has not been delved into since 2003’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

So, to set the scene, it is 1897, and the British India Company has stretched its influence across the globe through colonisation and imperialism. One of those ships, in its vast navies, was on its way to Bombay when something rumbled the ship from below. They could have let it go, but Captain Youngblood (Jacob Collins-Levy) had to hunt it down. The only problem is that what they saw was not a beast but a craft unknown to science at the time and one that just ripped their hull out from underneath them. For this is a machine, a machine made of metal, that can travel under the water and is led by the magnificent Captain Nemo (Shazad Latif). We will be looking at the season as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Star Trek: Lower Decks: Starbase 80?! – TV Review

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TL;DR – A weird little fun episode that gets to put the cap off the running joke of Starbase 80

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Starbase 80.

Star Trek: Lower Decks Review –

One of the recurring jokes on Star Trek: Lower Decks is that no one ever wants to get transferred to Starbase 80. The very joke of it is enough to put a pause on any dubious activity. We have known how bad it was since way back in Season One and now it is time to find out if the legacy lives up to the reality.

So, to set the scene, after cataloguing a bunch of algae on the ocean planet Piskes 9, the USS Cerritos was meant to head to a Captain’s Conference on Casperia Prime. However, after a navigation malfunction, the ship had to drop out of warp because they were flying blind. That is no problem. There is a Starbase they can reach by impulse. The only problem is that base is Starbase 80: Insert creepy music here. We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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