Reviews

The first seasons were about the protomolecule and humanity's expansion in the solar system. There was an abundance of real SciFi storylines, world building and character development.

With the last two seasons, even with a extra-solar new star system discovered the universe has been shrunk to soap opera size. Why care about the protomolecule ring and alien civilizations if you can have family drama?

The only explanation I have is that it's an exercise to appeal to a new viewer group, while barely keeping everyone else streaming with some cgi and battles. And the writers probably realized that they are unable to cram the book stories into the last two seasons, so they stopped trying. What a pity.

What made the Expanse such a strong show was the combination of the alien mystery, film noir and a steadily progressing storyline. After some great world building, there was simply too much happening to let boredom creep in.

But the recent season 5 is like watching paint dry, a mix of over the top space cgi and cheaper indoor or earth scenes. The family soap opera even seems to have taken a cue from Star Trek Discovery.

I understand this season is close to a part of the book, but it seems Amazon has chosen to dump the grandiose alien space exploration story arc to be able to wrap up after season 6. If they continue like this, they should have ended after season 4 in good faith, rather than make fans wish for cancellation.

Especially right after the second season finale of "The Mandalorian", watching STD is painful, and the series is probably beyond treatment. Even more so because Star Trek and Star Wars were deemed to be head to head in the olden days, now long gone.

Alas, the real accomplishment of STD is to make every other modern Trek series from TNG up to Enterprise shine again - that's 443 worth of episodes. So remember when revisiting the former critically acclaimed worst episodes from "Threshold" to "Code of Honor" - all these were free of any whispering, and it can be even worse on a constant basis.

When watching the series for the first time, for quite some time I didn't pay a lot of attenton because my impression was that this has to be just another mass-pleasing mashup of cgi, drama and horror.

I'd like to send a message in a bottle back in time to tell myself: It isn't, and The Expanse is one of the very best scifi and truely orginal series. There are no story lines I'd rather skip through, and the world building and "real space" setting is simply stunning.

The final proof that this has to be excellent is SyFy dropping it prematurely, just what happened to Firefly. Fortunately, Amazon picked up the series with good continuation and still close to the books - it's a lot more than live action Mass Effect.

So if you happen to start watching this and just want a quick imdb check reading some s01e1 review: Enjoy, you can only see it for the first time once!

Some storytelling of the middle part of the trilogy is goofy and far-fetched - but contrary to some reviews I feel this is exactly what creates the necessary suspension of disbelief.

In the first season "Deutschland 83", the very unlikely spy story collided with the feeling of reality created by historic events during the period. In the last part "Deutschland 89", all characters being re-used feels like Forest Gump in Germany.

But 'Deutschland 86' manages to create an authentic 80's feeling - after all, a state run by a gang of seniles trying to grab western currency wherever they could was the reality back in these days. The series still manages to be very serious depicting the treatment of dissidents.

The highlight of the series are the excellent actors, making the motivations of the characters credible. My favourite is the young ambitious career cadre, who further evolves from the first series... pity she wasn't re-cast in the last part.

I thought I've seen 'em all and couldn't laugh about so-called 'comedy' anymore - that's the 'maximum short laughs per minute' kind that even the Simpsons have resorted to.

While Red Dwarf is jumping the shark, Avenue 5 has a similar kind of basic absurd setting that keeps makes me smile constantly - and laugh out loud at every relevation of character development. There jokes about common make-believe about hierarchy and status are spot-on.

I think it could do with a little less of profanity (I don't want to spoil it, think 'ring') but otherwise this is has restored my hope for the whole genre.

Two key story elements were taken from a 2013 "Rick and Morty" episode, and 2003 "Animatrix", too. Does that mean the writers are running out of ideas? Let's hope not. But at least they copy from high quality source material, making this Westworld episode popcorn fun without rewachability.

The first episodes are ok-ish with some unexplainable scenes, and I continued to watch because I like the Watchmen movie. I certainly didn't expect the series to become this excellent and hilarious. This is old-school HBO quality, and I wish I could be Dr. Manhattan to tell my past self to pay more attention right from the start.

With the recent 1-rating spam spreading even to shows like Black Mirror, I'm really concerned. Why can't people simply stay with "That's not my {Game of Thrones} anymore", "That's not my {Star Trek} anymore", "That's not my {Star Wars} anymore"?

This episode is lighthearted,makes good observation concerning teenagerhood plus the music industry, and has a completely unexpeced ending (in the Black Mirror tradtiion, that is). What's wrong with that?

Last not least, I'd like one of these unlocked dolls, please.

The Orville manages to create suspension of disbelief by combining comedy with suspense and character interaction. Which makes great, immersive entertainment - you don't want to time-jump ahead or look for plot holes.

Would a crew be more serious on a starship in the future? Probably. Would they apply different procedures concerning ship security? Likely. Should we care about the lack of a realistic, dark and gritty mood? Definitely not!

Drama needs conflict, and the Orville has strong characters. There is no need to repeat the previous Terminator-Matrix-style double feature, but every episode is unexpected and different.

Compare with how much story the first two seasons had covered after 5 episodes. There has to be some very ingenious continuation to make me consider re-watching this, while I cannot see season 1 often enough.

It's certainly worthwile to guess how the aging technique works, and to experience people in three different phases of their lives. Probably Pizzolatto figured one more time jump than season 1 should be enough to make it interesting.

But the climax it builds up to is like the child stating "But he isn't wearing anything at all!" in "The Emperor's New Clothes" ... meaning a lot of season 3 is like watching paint dry, and once you realize the magic is gone.

Remember Futurama's "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid" episode? Well, Discovery's writers seem to have been stupified, there's no other explanation for this script.

Your best bet: Watch last week's "New Eden" again. Directed by TNG's Frakes, the previous episode had a decent story and genuine mystery of the Trek amongst the stars.

As there's now proof that Discovery could be less, eh, Discovery-ish, this makes the real thing even harder to bear.

After watching the next episode, I'm coming back to find out why "New Eden" one is so unusually decent. I didn't know Frakes directed it before watching - but now I'm positive this is what Discovery needs.

This episode features some old-school Trek appeasement that seems forced - including "The Search for Spock" 2.0. But it has the classic Trek ethics, and lacks constant facepalm scenes. The mystery and wonder of the Trek amongst the Stars is there.

Pity they probably won't be able to keep 'em coming: in other episodes, cgi is used to stuff plot holes and good directing just seems to be an optional extra.

So the out-of-luck tough guy falls in with the bad guys, and has to sustain his sweet lil' daughter, eh? Usually, such a story would be a recipe for disaster, especially when the movie stars a former action hero who's too old do any real action.

To my everlasting surprise, this one is neither cheesy nor predictable or boring. It's simply a very good movie. The slower approach results in a realistic appeal, even though it suffers from the "blockbuster" orange-and-teal color grading. The gunshots sound like the real thing - and cars don't explode on impact.

At the end I was saddened that it only runs 90 minutes. Highly recommended for the JCVD's performance alone, let's hope they keep this coming.

It's not necessary for a Sci-Fi series to use technobabble or to fire phasers in each and every episode. And the mash of sitcom, drama, action and satire might still be confusing to some critics.

The Orville writers are very clever not to get trapped in the hype, but to keep doing what they're good at. This this gives a lot of freedom to produce original tv entertainment. The final scene combining comedy and suspense is hilliarious, nobody could do something this otherwise.

And it enables wrapping themes what couldn't be addressed in maintreasm global tv. Which is unfortunate, because the fact that our primal urges don't combine with modern technology will become increasingly problematic. Refer to "Black Mirror" for further details.

I don't want to use spoilers, but where is you-know-what illness covered elsewhere, and some might even be offended by Bortus' gender and relationship. Just like the first interracial kiss by Captain Kirk back in the day - which proves The Oriville is today's Star Trek.

Probably few expected Groening to pull a third rabbit out of his hat and create another cult series. But it is surprising that he didn't seem to even try to create some original content but just mixed well-known and safe ingredients.

Either the writers wanted to step on no toes, or they ran out of ideas before the series even began. There's no tackling of cultural or social themes like Futurama did. The result are boring late-Simpsons style jokes, but with a fantasy theme and added gore.

One character stands out: the demon Luci isn't just a mash of Nibbler and Bender, but has a distinctly different visual style from "Full Metal Alchemist". It is even captured up in a flask in episode three just like in FMA! This isn't inspiration, but plagiarism.

Viewers knowing Miyazaki's Japanese animations will immediately recognize what Groening actually has revealed himself by now: A lot of content for the sidekicks and settings were taken from gems like "Howl's Moving Castle", "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Spirited Away".

Bottom line: You can get some mild entertainment by guessing which voices and character traits are featured in Simpsons and Futurama. But better spend your time watching Miyazaki's originals again (or, even better, for the first time).

Remember "Captain Picard Day" from TNG? This is where they got the balance between awkwardness and comedy right, while still keeping believable characters that live in a future reality.

The Orville writers might have have screwed this up by tipping the balance into cringeworthy embarrasement or latrine comedy. But they didn't, and started season 2 with a whole episode observing human behavior. As always, not being predictable might not appeal to everyone.

The Orville keeps being more Trek than the current official movies or series. Good Star Trek always was a people show, and defining the crew's personalities is a good start for the season.

The "interesting henchmen" idea has been tackled by the successful "Despicable Me" movies - what could go wrong with a revival? Well, apparently a lot.

While "Minions" gave lovable identities to the henchmen, in "Henchmen" they're back to being anonymous and disposable. Except the handful of storyline henchmen, which are so nauseating helpful you'll keep wishing for more screen time of the arrogant superheroes.

After just 20 passable minutes (the original was a short) they run out of ideas and start ripping off one of the most memorable scenes from "Kung Fu Panda". It might be a merciful clue to leave the theatre. From there, it's only downhill with a betrayal of every possible promising idea. Including the basic premise that the bad guys always give it their best and should win for once - but this villain is just bland and erratic.

The director Adam Wood has worked his way up in the animation departments of various Pixar gems. This is the first movie he wrote and directed, and it proves he should have stuck with his old job. It's unbelievable he didn't remember how "Toy Story" featured an interesting oddball team, or how "Monsters, Inc" excelled with the charming "the bad guys are the good guys" story.

Look at the trailer to check out the animation style, then give it a miss.

Westworld has excellent story writing with the whole season in mind. With only three eps to go, this means that things have to get wrapped up. Even in the golden age of TV and with the bliss of a 10-hour story instead of just 45mins, this is bound to happen.

And like the end of a holiday, this feels sad, now you know what's around that mountain and there's less to imagine. But what's the alternative - watching paint dry in endless mystery until cancellation (like Carnivale) or end-of-the-season rush with everything crammed into the last ep (like some of GoT)?

With a lot of revelations done, we're bound to see some "Westworld movie" carnage - and it shows the writers' self-confidence to delay it for so long. But the remaining eps now have enough time for what's so amazing about the series: the story of how to be be truly alive.

Last not least, there's brilliant acting apart from the clever "flagship" choice Anthony Hopkins. While Yul Brynner simply had the job to look robotic, former backbench actors like Thandie Newton excel at making the whole range of emotions credible. Go, Arnold, go!

I am a big fan of the original UK series, and thought the US remake was about "ok" since it's hard to screw up a near 1:1 copy. Season 2 was used to branch from the original UK-centered story line, and Season 3 introduced the foreign policy sub-plot which was fun to watch but appeared rather artificial to me.

With Season 4, I somehow expected the series to jump the shark, but this is one of the times I was completely wrong. The characters and story lines have matured and it's getting domestic political again, which was the strength of the shows in the first place. While some elements (no spoiler here) are of course far-fetched, they're ramping up the cynicism, power play and backstabbing.

With Frank talking directly into the camera again more often, it's back to the basic idea and I cannot wait for Season 5 and beyond. Thanks Netflix for not dumbing down even when in troubled water!

The one likely upside of amnesia is that you can read all of Agatha Christie's novels again wondering "whodunit". Alas, today's viewers will already know the rough story line - but this mini-series (which equals a long movie) manages to keep you interested.

Fortunately, the BBC has gone to lengths to match ITV's recently concluded "Poirot" with David Suchet. The cast is sheer class without a hint of overacting, and the setting delivers just the right inescapable atmosphere. My only criticism would be the the infamous 'organge and teal' blockbuster color grading, in this case with slight 'vintage' flavor. A good show can contain more realistic colors and still shine!

Put it on your "must watch" list and dial the rating to 11.