The Worf/Alexander stuff was good with Worf coming to terms about who his son is and his role in his son's life despite Klingon traditions, it's almost a shame that K'Ehleyr was killed off in this episode - it would have been interesting to see more of another half human/half Klingon and their role as an outsider from their own species and how they're different from Worf.
I do appreciate how the show is continuing to return to Sins of the Father and use that as a touchstone for many of the Klingon-centric arcs that I've seen so far. Worf's secret and status as a traitor is providing plenty of drama. Michael Dorn is great in these episodes. A Riker/Worf fight would have certainly been interesting.
And Duras' death is among the most satisfying in the whole series so far, and the resulting Worf/Picard scene was as effective as they come.
A jet-ski/yacht chase! I was waiting for that to happen and Outer Banks didn't disappoint. What a way to kickstart the episode - I feared the show might kill off Ward and have John B. get blamed for it and I'm glad it didn't go down that route.
I hate everyone in the Cameron family now apart from Sarah, I really do. Especially after that ending. Rafe shooting Sheriff Peterkin was actually unpredictable, although I was worried for her early on when she started going on a solo crusade against Ward - but it's still among the more surprising things that this show has done, so full credit to it. This was an episode that really ramped up the tension, and threw Rafe in with his father whilst surely now, Sarah will turn against him. That climatic showdown on the runway was as insane as you could imagine. We're in the endgame now.
Positioning Ward as the villain does a good job at creating more tension between the poorer and rich parts of the island - and showing that he has friends everywhere instantly creates plenty of unpredictability going forward - nobody really knows who to trust anymore.
And things really, really don't look too good for John B at all. I get why this isn't a mini-series now.
Star Trek: Black Mirror with the return of Wesley Crusher. I liked the send-off for Wesley the last time and it's cool to see him back, Wil Wheaton improved a lot the older he gets as an actor and the straightforward Wesley saving the day allowed for an almost horror-fied Trek. The game itself was a disappointment though, even by Trek standards. And was not expecting Ashley Judd to show up here.
Surprisingly low-key for such a major crossover as this with Spock involved; he's barely in the first part at all. Seeing Picard & Spock pose as Vulkans was a fun diversion in Romulus but the best scenes of the episode were easily the moments between Sarek and Picard, they're amazing every time and both Patrick Stewart & Mark Lenard have great chemistry. Lenard is terrific - I'll miss seeing him on the show.
A mostly consistent season; even if that works both ways - aside from maybe the finale itself there are no bad storylines here; but there aren't really any episodes that I'd call top-tier TNG apart from maybe Tapestry either, so it's a step-down from Season 5 in that regard (Darmok, The First Duty, Cause & Effect & I, Borg - all episodes that I'd put in my Top 10 TNG episode ranking).
The double header of Rascals & A Fistful of Datas are both TNG at its most fun and entertaining; whilst Chain of Command is a two-parter that is elevated mainly thanks to Patrick Stewart's impeccable performance more than anything else. There's a few good episodes in here like Relics (Scotty!) Timescape, The Chase, Face of the Enemy & Birthright in addition to this but the main novelty here in Birthright is seeing it be the crossover episode with Deep Space Nine: Julian Bashir showing up was a welcome surprise.
I'd put this below Seasons 5 and 4, but above Seasons 1-3.
Completely fearless, brave, unique and breathtakingly weird. By far the most original show to come out of 2020, Lovecraft Country is a trip that has to be experienced fully to be believed: I loved it! Its anthology-esque structure is refreshing with largely different storylines each episode with a core group of characters. It throws everything at the wall and most of it sticks, the genre-shifting is handled really well and you will almost certainly be surprised. For a great double-act, pair it with the equally insane Lovecraft horror fare Color out of Space.
Season 14 started off on a pretty weak note with this enjoyable but imperfect caper set in San Martino. It really needed a better alien.
An interesting start. Like the period setting, soundtrack and atmosphere. Will be fun to see where this one goes.
I'm hooked. Very captivating first two episodes and has a lot of potential. Could well end up being Netflix's best original series yet. Will be watching more when I can.
Really solid episode. Season 2 has been excellent so far.
RIP David Bowie. Legend. Great film, this.
Finally back and well worth the wait!
A really solid comedy that has excellent performances from Spacey and Shannon.
An excellent, family-friendly underseen gem of 2016. A movie with heart and a great soundtrack.
This was Wesley Crusher's best episode, so naturally, it's his last one as a series regular - I know he returns semi-regularly further on down the line so I've got that to look forward to at least and I'm glad he wasn't killed off.
Shooting on location really helped this episode especially with the hostile atmosphere of the desert planet; and Wesley aspiring to not dissapoint Picard led to some great, emotionally charged moments between the two - and Wil Wheaton has really grown into his role as an actor and went from strength to strength this episode. It's another one of the standouts from Season 4 so far for me, along with Family, Best of Both Worlds Part 2 and Reunion.
The strongest parts of the episode were easily the scenes between Picard and Wesley - I couldn't care about the supporting throwaway character at all this time out but at least the plot was interesting and he was a good foil to both characters, allowing Wesley to come into his own. this was very much a character-centric episode first and foremost and TNG usually does these very well. The less said about the stuff on the Enterprise; the better as well, but we can't have everything be perfect, can we?
It says something about Wesley's growth as a character that by the end I'm actually going to miss him being a permanent feature on The Enterprise.
This was another highlight from Season 4 so far and one of my favourite episodes of the eleven from this season that I've seen so far.
Data and Dr. Crusher dancing in the holodeck was a great scene that the two shared together; I really like both characters and they come into their own here. This was a big Data-centric episode too as he learnt more about human wedding customs and the show reflected on the definition of what marriage was as a concept and what it meant to him. Brett Spiner knocked it out of the park - he was really born to play Data. I couldn't imagine anyone else in the role.
This feels like very classic Trek in all the best ways. Having seen Deep Space Nine Miles O'Brien is one of my favourite Trek supporting characters so he had that advantage coming in and it's great watching Colm Meaney grow into the character and get bigger and more important roles in episodes rather than just cameos as The Next Generation continues - and it was fascinating to meet Keiko for the first time here. Rosalind Chao was great too in her role, and she more than delivered.
I wasn't too much of a fan of the Vulcan/Romulan subplot but then the show has usually - at least so far - never really been able to balance two plots in one episode that well, with it feeling tacked on in comparison and lets anotherwise good episode down. But even so; it's not the weakest subplot that we've had.
A strong episode, overall - and a good, optimistic look at the risks that can go when Starfleet's practise of First Contact goes wrong - encountering an xenophobic society who maybe aren't quite ready to reach for the stars just yet. It was good to see the decision to switch from the space race to education being made, with the outlook of preparing the planet for first contact rather than forcing them to make it when they're not ready for it yet.
It does feel like the Enterprise jumped the gun a bit too early - they should have known that they arrived at the world too early. But it's a very nice contrast to Discovery's New Eden, my favourite episode of that series so far, and the decision to take the Minister with them rather than leave her behind echoed Pike's approach in that episode. No surprise to see that Jonathan Frakes was heavily involved in both episodes.
This episode kept me hooked from start to finish - its plot was gripping and the stuff with Riker kept things unpredictable if there were a few things that didn't quite have the intended effect.
I'm a sucker for a good Robin Hood story and it was great to see a Q-inspired take on the legend. The concept of seeing the crew of the Enterprise as the Merry Men was hilarious and played for laughs to brilliant effect, and they were brilliantly chosen to match up with the characters. It's another fun opportunity for Patrick Stewart to play Picard playing someone else in a fun, light-hearted affair that is one of the better Q episodes and involving Vash made for a nice continuation of her arc.
A really fun episode with a nice twist on the time traveller being from the past rather than the future. Matt Frewer hams it up a bit too much but the final reveal was, as ever, classic Trek.
Talk about a show that has unfairly swept under the radar of many: a spiritual sequel to Crystal Moselle's terrific Skate Kitchen utilising the same cast for a series of 30 minute episodes. It's over too quickly but captures the same indie tone effortlessly and is a joy to watch unfold, the performances are mostly natural and the group has brilliant chemistry across the board. One of my favourites of the year.
A mostly really solid episode that follows the present day-past-future formula of the first three episodes of any given season that RTD stuck to quite frequently during his era. The dystopia set-up of an endless motorway of caravans is established with ease, the return of the Macra is handled really well, and I love the establishment of the "You Are Not Alone" mystery with the return of the Face of Boe. Maintains its suspense throughout and Tennant is able to sell even the cheesiest of scenes with the emotional beats handled really well. Novice Hame is handled much better here than in New Earth, and it acts as a great sequel.
"I've Invented a Sport!"
Really fun mood setter featuring an early performance from Andrew Garfield doing an American accent. Infinitely better than Evolution of the Daleks that holds up so much better on a rewatch, the Murray Gold score is firing on all cylinders. It's one of those stories that captures its time setting perfectly.
A genuine delight, soars like a firecracker on all cylinders - matches the same chaotic energy that films like We Are the Best! (no doubt an inspiration) had - grippingly authentic and a genuine breath of fresh air on the British comedy scene.
Hard-edged, sometimes self-serious modern-day Peaky Blinders. Gets a bit too far fetched at times (there's no way half of this would be possible in modern-day London) and some of the characters are very thinly drawn, but Gareth Evans delivers some of the best possible action on television that not even the likes of Daredevil match. Could have used shorter episodes, especially in its first, though - I don't think it earns its length, or its ending.
Proper good Doctor Who - one of the best of the current era, suitably chaotic and all over the place but I love the dog monster and both Vinder and Dan Lewis are more charismatic than both Ryan and Graham, who I admittedly quite like. The Doctor being a Liverpool fan I'm less of a fan of though.
Chibnall's best at serialisation and this is him playing to his strengths, the ending shots of all the major players involved felt very Broadchurch episode 1 ending-y. There's a lot going on - almost too much, but it's fairly simple to follow - The Doctor fighting the end of the universe, and I loved it. The bit about the alien Dogs being man's best friend was hilarious too (as was The Doctor being Trent Alexander Arnold's ball boy, and the nod to the Scottish accents) - very Moffat-y in tone and sheer amount of stuff going on. This feels like what Series 6 would have been like had it been allowed to be full serialised and I'm absolutely here for this Shada/Trial of the Time Lords approach. The smaller TARDIS crew works wonders for now, and Yaz has gone full Clara here - meaning her days are surely numbered (possible death of both The Doctor and Yaz at the same time but with The Doctor regenerating looking on the cards here?) - but I like that she's getting to call out The Doctor.
Also like - as one of the 5 people that didn't mind Timeless Children - that they're going full in with The Division plot. Hopefully this leads to more surprise cameos and it'd be rude to not see Ruth!Doctor one more time - Jo Martin was excellent in Fugitive of the Judoon. The Weeping Angels haven't been overused (they last appeared in Obama's first term) so I'm excited to see more of them especially under a different showrunner than Moffat. More to come with most of these - it's all set-up and so much is now riding on the payoff, but what a way to keep me hooked for next week.
Might actually rewatch this before next week's as I'm also in the middle of a Series 12 rewatch (just ran out of time to do it before Series 13, sadly) - and it's been a while since I watched a Who episode twice in the same week. Big fan. Will miss 13 when she goes...
Excellent. Fantastic portrayal of the Sontarans - arguably the best of the current era - and the Crimean War is a perfect backdrop for them - great visuals with the work of director Jamie Magnus Stone, and the humour that the Sontarans have always had comes through. Chibnall's fantastic at writing classic monsters + historicals so classic monsters + historicals is a match made in heaven, and although his storyline was rather short this week almost echoing The Lie of the Land with the suburban fighting of the Sontarans straight out of The Stolen Earth (and the parents/companion dynamic too!), Dan is already becoming a favourite. The set-up with Swarm and Azure is brilliant - just hope it sticks the landing with both of them. Jodie Whittaker is at her best in the confrontational scenes with the Sontaran/British General - and playing to the Sontarans weaknesses is classic Doctor Who.
Nothing particularly groundbreaking but still, The Whispers is a decent watchable thriller that although doesn't go into as darker places as shows like Hannibal, due to it being on ABC, it's still fairly, chilling and with some solid acting (again, nothing too brilliant, but decent enough) both from adults and child actors alike (getting the child actors to put in good performances is crucial in a show like this) and the concept is intriguing enough to keep me around for the season. Four episodes in and I'm warming up to this show a lot more than I was at first.
An excellent comedy. With the end of Parks and Rec, this and Brooklyn Nine-Nine are my favourite comedies on TV right now.
Interesting start. Moves fairly slowly though and there's a fair amount of exposition.
Wow! Season 2 is loads better. Massive improvement.
