tv review
Reviewing insightful and thought provoking science fiction TV and technology.
Review of 'For All Mankind' 4.9-4.10
"Without competition, there is no progress," Sergei says to Margot and Aleina, near the beginning of Episode 4.9 of For All Mankind, on Apple TV+. Later, he suggests that he and Margot leave the US and go to Brazil, which already has started an impressive space program (a nice alternate history touch). And ...
By Paul Levinson6 months ago in Futurism
Review of 'For All Mankind' 4.3-4.5
So, at this point in the story, episodes 4.3-4.4 of For All Mankind, Gorbachev didn't make it too far into the 21st century. He's been forcibly replaced in the Soviet Union by Korzhenko, a hardliner. So my hope that Putin would not come to power was fulfilled only by one fascist leader replaced by another, or a Putin coming to power with just a different name.
By Paul Levinson6 months ago in Futurism
'Doctor Who': Could These Other Doctor-Companion Duos Survive The Events Of 'Wild Blue Yonder?
The fan reception to Doctor Who's second 60th anniversary special, 'Wild Blue Yonder', has earned mostly positive reception from fans. After the defeat of Beep the Meep in the first special, The Fourteenth Doctor and Donna Noble's plans to visit Donna's Grandfather, Wilf, are disrupted when Donna spills coffee on the Tardis console, with the damaged Tardis then hurtling The Doctor and Donna to a seemingly abandoned ship at the edge of the universe. Things get worse when The Tardis's Hostile Action Displacement System is activated, and it leaves The Doctor and Donna behind to face the Not-things, creepy creatures who attempt to become perfect copies of our two heroes.
By Kristy Anderson7 months ago in Futurism
A Who-Tastic Year: Ranking The Best Events Of 'Doctor Who's' 50th Anniversary
In recent years, things have been a little shaky for long-running British sci-fi classic Doctor Who. For some fans, the decision to cast a woman, Jodie Whittaker, as the Thirteenth Doctor was a controversial one, while patchy writing, long gaps between new episodes, and the equally controversial 'Timeless Child' storyline saw others struggle to get into the Whittaker era. However, things seem to be picking up with the approach of the show's 6oth Anniversary, which will see David Tennant, previously the Tenth Doctor, return as The Fourteenth Doctor in three TV specials alongside Catherine Tate as popular companion Donna Noble, before passing the torch to The Fifteenth Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, just in time for Christmas.
By Kristy Anderson7 months ago in Futurism
Review of 'The Lazarus Project' Season One
So, a friend in the UK -- James Harris -- who knows how much I enjoy time travel stories (as a reader, a viewer, a reviewer, and an author) recommended The Lazarus Project, and sent me a link to a trailer, for its second season. I figured before I watched even a trailer for the second season, I might as well watch the first season, which I just did -- and thought it was brilliant -- and then discovered that although the second season debuted in the UK this month, it has not yet made it over to this side of the Atlantic. Why TV series can't be released at the same time all around the world, I have no idea. But rather than keep complaining about that, I thought I'd tell you why I not only think the first season of The Lazarus Project (which I binged on TNT) is brilliant, but the best time-travel series I've ever seen on television, bar none.
By Paul Levinson8 months ago in Futurism
'Tenet': Time-Bending Masterpiece or Misfire?
Released in theaters before the arrival of coronavirus vaccines, many had hoped in September of 2020 that Tenet would be the movie that proved why theaters were still necessary. But in a world reeling from the first pandemic in a century, it never managed to achieve the acclaim it strived for. When compared with so many of Christopher Nolan’s previous films, its reception was fairly tepid.
By Ben Ulansey8 months ago in Futurism