tv review
Reviewing insightful and thought provoking science fiction TV and technology.
Review of 'Severance' 1.1-1.2
Finally saw the first two episodes of Severance. Well it's only been up on Apple TV+ for less than a week, and I'd intended to watch the two episodes earlier, but got caught up in other things, and I wanted to give those two episodes my full attention. Hey, I almost sound like one of those perpetually apologetic workers (John Turturro's Irving in particular) in that quasi-totalitarian workplace, in which workers or "innies" have no knowledge of their lives outside of work, and vice versa, hence the title of the series, Severance.
Paul LevinsonPublished 2 years ago in FuturismReview of 'Raised by Wolves' 2.3
A fascinating and important Raised by Wolves 2.3 yesterday on HBO Max, in which Marcus beats Father in a fight, and Father works on bringing an android skeleton back to life (or tries to).
Paul LevinsonPublished 2 years ago in FuturismReview of 'Raised by Wolves' 2.1-2.2
Raised by Wolves is back for a second season on HBO Max, with two sharp episodes that advanced the narrative in all kinds of intriguing and important ways.
Paul LevinsonPublished 2 years ago in FuturismReview of 'Beforeigners' seasons 1 and 2
I just binged the first two seasons -- twelve episodes -- of Beforeigners on HBO Max over the past few nights. On Jackie Reich's suggestion. She was Chair of my Department of Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University, and is now Dean of the School of Communication and the Arts at Marist College. She told me on Twitter, "I think about you when I watch it — all that time travel!" She has my number. As Ricky Nelson almost said, "I am a [time-] travelin man."
Paul LevinsonPublished 2 years ago in FuturismThe Year of Martha Jones - Review
Freema Agyeman’s Martha Jones was my first official companion when I started watching Doctor Who back in 2007 and therefore, one of my favourite characters from that franchise. My first review here was actually of Agyeman’s debut at Big Finish in Torchwood, which was an absolute joy to hear her reprising her role - especially in a darker narrative without the Doctor.
Review of 'Playhouse Presents: Snodgrass'
My just-published Beatles alternate history story, It's Real Life, is getting some good response. Over in the Steve Hoffman Music Forums, someone (Wildest cat from Montana) recommended that I see a short 2013 movie Snodgrass -- actually a 24-minute episode of a British series of standalone dramas, Playhouse Presents, that ran from 2010-2015.
Paul LevinsonPublished 2 years ago in FuturismReview of 'Station Eleven' Finale
What a glorious, hopeful finale to the masterful television series known as Station Eleven. An ending so uplifting, in a story of humanity beset by a virus that kills 99% of the population, that it can serve as beacon of hope, a map to a better world, in our own world, also beset by a deadly virus, but far less lethal than the deadly flu in Station Eleven.
Paul LevinsonPublished 2 years ago in FuturismReview of 'Needle in a Timestack'
For some reason, I just saw something about Needle In A Timestack late last evening. It's been streaming on something called Amazon Instant Video -- apparently since the end of this past October -- and it costs 99 cents to see. It will be on Amazon Prime Video, presumably for free, on January 28. Now, ordinarily I'd wait the two weeks and see it on Prime Video. Readers of my reviews will know I'm a cheapskate. But, by my reckoning, not only does time wait for no one, neither does time travel, or at least time travel narratives should not be obliged to wait. That, and the fact that the movie is based on a story by Robert Silverberg (which I haven't read), a great writer whom I not only admire but know fairly well, tipped the balance.
Paul LevinsonPublished 2 years ago in FuturismReview of 'Station Eleven' 1.8-9
Station Eleven is such a deep and deeply nuanced story, it's going to be talked about and studied for years, even decades, to come. Just as episodes 1.8 and 1.9 coax us through these times and time spans. If this characterization seems a little more poetic than usual, it's because Station Eleven is itself pure poetry.
Paul LevinsonPublished 2 years ago in FuturismReview of 'Station Eleven' 1.6-7
First, let me say in this review of Station Eleven 1.6 and 1.7, just up on HBO Max, that I thought episode 1.7 was the best so far in this superbly powerful series.
Paul LevinsonPublished 2 years ago in FuturismReview of 'Station Eleven' 1.4-1.5
Well, if you thought Station Eleven wasn't dead serious, you'll give up any hope that it wasn't after you've seen episodes 1.4-5, up on HBO Max today. No, only kidding, of course. This is a series about the near extinction of the human species, so how could it not be deadly serious? But I wasn't really kidding, if that makes any sense. As serious and to-the-core frightening as this narrative was from the get-go, it's even more, a lot more so, after these two new episodes.
Paul LevinsonPublished 2 years ago in FuturismReview of 'Station Eleven' 1.1-1.3
With Apple TV+'s run of superb science fiction -- Foundation, Invasion, and Finch -- temporarily on pause, it looks like HBO Max has picked up the slack with a powerful new series, Station Eleven, a new Matrix movie up next week, and the first half of Dune this past October.
Paul LevinsonPublished 2 years ago in Futurism