*****STARSHIP-SIZED SPOILERS!!***** While this week’s Star Trek: Picard bears the unfortunate title of “Stardust City Rag” (possibly the least catchy Star Trek title ever), it is nevertheless a solidly entertaining entry in this young Star Trek series. The episode was written by Star Trek novelist/producer Kirsten Beyer (“The Farther Shore”) and again directed by longtime…
Doctor Who, 12.8: “The Haunting of Villa Diotati” scares up an old enemy…
*****TARDIS-SIZED SPOILERS AHEAD***** This week, the Doctor and her TARDIS-traveling companions arrive at Lake Geneva, Switzerland on a stormy night in June of 1816; the very night that saw the birth of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s “Frankenstein” story…and their time travel tour, as usual, hits a few snags. Written by Maxine Alderton and directed by Emma…
The TARDIS touches down in L.A. yet again for Gallifrey One 2020…
Gallifrey One: It’s Bigger On The Inside! Since 2014, my wife and I have been steady attendees of what is the largest Doctor Who convention in the United States, “Gallifrey One” (or, as it’s known by longtime conventioneers, “Galley One”). Compared to the Soylent Green-level madness that is San Diego Comic Con (130,000 attendees) Galley…
Star Trek: Picard, S1.4: “Absolute Candor” opens up…
*****STARSHIP-SIZED SPOILERS!!***** Written by series’ showrunner Michael Choban and directed by former “Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) costar/veteran director Jonathan Frakes (“Commander William T. Riker”), the 4th episode of “Star Trek: Picard” takes a closer look at Romulan culture following the aftermath of their star system’s supernova (2009’s “Star Trek”) and in the wake…
Doctor Who, S12.7: “Can You Hear Me?” isn’t giving us the finger(s)…
*****TARDIS-SIZED SPOILERS AHEAD!***** Stylishly directed by Emma Sullivan, Doctor Who 12.7, “Can You Hear Me?” was written by current showrunner Chris Chibnall and Charlene James, and is a solid, if not exceptional, outing in what has largely been a hit-and-miss era from Chibnall. “Can You Hear Me?” isn’t among the best of the series, but…
Living Star Wars at Disneyland’s Galaxy’s Edge: “Chewie, we’re home…”
Welcome to Disneyland, in Anaheim, California… Funny thing is, for the last 21 years, I’ve lived only about a half hour to 40 minutes (in good traffic) from Disneyland, but I rarely go there. In fact, I’ve gone to Disneyland exactly six times over four decades. Mainly because it’s very expensive (increasingly so all the…
Star Trek: Picard, S1.3: “The End Is The Beginning” assembles a ‘motley crew’…
*****STARSHIP-SIZED SPOILERS!!***** The third episode of CBS-All Access’ “Star Trek: Picard” series has been released, and it is a strong chapter in this new series; we see Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) get back into space, and we see him assemble a new ‘crew’… former First Officer Raffi Muskier (Michelle Hurd, who is excellent), Dr. Agnes…
Doctor Who, S12.6: “Praxeus” is a mashup with a message…
*****TARDIS-SIZED SPOILERS AHEAD!!***** The latest episode of Doctor Who, “Praxeus”, is written by current series’ showrunner Chris Chibnall & Pete McTighe, and was directed by Jamie Magnus Stone. Once again, as we’ve seen many times in the Chibnall-era, global locations are used to impart some international scope to the episode, with various locations passing for…
Star Trek: Picard, S1.2: “Maps and Legends” is Star Trek’s answer to CSI…
*****STARSHIP-SIZED SPOILERS!!!***** The second episode of Star Trek: Picard, “Maps and Legends”, written by series’ creators Michael Chabon, Kirsten Beyer, Alex Kurtzman, Akiva Goldsman and directed (once again) by Hannale Culpepper has been released on CBS-All Access and Amazon Prime (overseas). This particular episode plays like a procedural drama; more “CSI: Starfleet” than Star Trek…
Doctor Who, S12.5: “Fugitive of the Judoon” is quite a boon…
****TARDIS-SIZED SPOILERS AHEAD!!**** I’ve said in previous posts that I’ve had many issues with the Chris Chibnall-era of Doctor Who; mainly that it’s been characterized by uneven writing and an overall feeling of creative entropy. Tonight, with “Fugitive of the Judoon”, scripted by Chibnall, Vinay Patel (“Demons of the Punjab”) and directed by Nida Manzoor…
Star Trek: Picard, S1.1: “Remembrance” isn’t merely a sentimental journey…
*****BORG CUBE-SIZED SPOILERS!!***** I would’ve preferred to find some way of discussing the new CBS All Access series’ “Star Trek: Picard” in depth without going into spoilers, but given the number of revelations in the first hour alone, I’ve decided that’s more or less impossible, so I’m going to go full steam ahead and discuss…
Doctor Who S12.4: “Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror” adds a much-needed jolt of electricity…
After the uneven Chris Chibnall era of Doctor Who hit a creative brick wall last week with the jaw-droppingly awful “Orphan 55”, it just as quickly rebounded this past weekend with arguably the best historical episode of the series to date. Scripted by Nina Metivier, “Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror” is, in some ways, a…
