Before I get too deep into this personal retrospective of “Star Trek: Voyager” (1995-2001), I have to state upfront that “Voyager” (VGR) is perhaps my least favorite series of the Star Trek canon, but that’s not to say that I actively dislike it, or that this is going to be a hatchet job on the…
Doctor Who S12.3, "Orphan 55”; a worthwhile message is lost among the ‘dregs’…
The 12th season of Doctor Who (or 38th, including the classic series) has unveiled its third episode, “Orphan 55”, written by Ed Hime and directed with a distinct lack of panache by Lee Haven Jones, and it fails on multiple levels. I usually try to look for positives in my reviews, but this is a…
Short Treks 2.6: “Children of Mars” glimpses things to comes…
*****STARSHIP-SIZED SPOILERS AHEAD!!***** CBS All Access has just released the latest “Short Trek” and this one is less of a story and more a tantalizing glimpse of what lies ahead for “Star Trek: Picard” which debuts January 23rd. Written by Kirsten Beyer, Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet and directed by Mark Pellington, “Children of Mars” feels…
Doctor Who, “Spyfall” Parts 1 and 2: The Doctor “Bonds” with her fam…
Doctor Who’s current showrunner Chris Chibnall has unveiled a new two-part Doctor Who 12th season opener (“Spyfall” Parts 1 & 2) after a year-long break following an uneven first year at the TARDIS controls in 2018. And the resulting spoof on the conventions of James Bond is well, once again, something of a mixed bag……
Galactica 1980: The Colonial Fleet came a calling 40 years ago…
On a January evening nearly 40 years ago, I was 13 years old, and eagerly awaiting the return of a favorite TV series of mine that had been unceremoniously cancelled the previous year. “Battlestar Galactica”, created by Glen Larson (“The Fall Guy”), was the TV-sized, Star Wars-styled opus chronicling the exodus of humans from a…
Smooth sailing for Season 2 of Netflix’s “Lost In Space”…
The second season of Netflix’s reimagined “Lost in Space” is now streaming, and it ups the stakes, both dramatically and cinematically, looking better than many current science fiction films, and providing a family drama series that isn’t hokey, corny or condescending. To say it surpasses this series surpasses both the original 1965-8 TV series and…
The Mandalorian, Chapter 8: “Redemption” ends Season One…
****BANTHA-SIZED SPOILERS!!**** The eighth and final chapter of The Mandalorian, “Redemption”, is now available for streaming on DisneyPlus, and it answers a few nagging questions that have cropped up in this short sophomore series of this young series. The episode was written by series’ creator Jon Favreau and was exceptionally well directed by Taika Waititi…
“Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker” solders together the saga’s many pieces…
*****PLANET-KILLER SIZED SPOILERS AHEAD!***** The most difficult aspect of writing this review was deciding how to write it. I decided not to write a full-length story synopsis, because the moment-to-moment plot mechanics are a lot less important (or interesting) to me than how “The Rise of Skywalker” (TROS) manages to pull off a few cinematic…
The Mandalorian, Chapter 7: “The Reckoning” exacts a price…
****BANTHA-SIZED SPOILERS!!**** Chapter 7 of “The Mandalorian” is up now on DisneyPlus streaming, and as the second to last episode of the season, “The Reckoning” sees Mando and his allies headed back to Navarro (the Bounty Hunter Guild planet seen early on, but not named until later) for a final confrontation with ‘The Client’ over…
Season 4 of “The Expanse” sticks the landing at Amazon Prime….
Amazon Prime has resurrected SyFy’s cancelled sci-fi saga “The Expanse,” and it’s never been better. The greater production value afforded by Amazon’s money bags have given the series a luxe sheen that is greatly deserved, as “The Expanse” is easily one of the greatest sci-fi series going on right now (and of the 21st century…
The Mandalorian, Chapter 6: "The Prisoner" delivers a motley crew…
*****REPUBLIC CRUISER-SIZED SPOILERS!!***** Chapter 6 of The Mandalorian is now streaming on DisneyPlus. Directed by Rick Famuyima and written by Famuyima and Christopher Yost, “The Prisoner” is the closest we’ve seen to a standalone adventure in this young series to date. The Prisoner. Mando (Pedro Pascal) lands the Razor Crest aboard a large station, seeking…
Star Trek "Short Treks” 2.4-5 warp into animation with “The Girl Who Made The Stars” and “Ephraim and Dot”…
*****WARP CORE-SIZED SPOILERS AHEAD!!***** CBS-All Access has dropped two more Short Treks to fill the void (and to slow subscriber cancellations) between the end of “Star Trek: Discovery”’s second season, and the debut of “Star Trek: Picard” (coming January 23, 2020). These 10-15 minute shorts are designed as brief experiments within the Star Trek universe….
