tv review
Reviewing insightful and thought provoking science fiction TV and technology.
Review of 'Raised by Wolves' 1.4-5
I thought the 4th and 5th episodes of Raised by Wolves were really good, especially the 5th, because it gave us a nice big origin story about Mother -- how she was created, and endowed/programmed with her mission. Her maker tells her she's humanity's last hope, a nod to Star Wars mythology.
By Paul Levinson6 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'Amazing Stories (2020)' 1.2: The Heat
Life after death stories -- the departed coming back to help, haunt, or otherwise interact with the living -- are a dime a dozen. Amazing Stories' (2020) second episode, "The Heat," manages to visit this well-trodden path with a story that is at least somewhat original, even if that originality relies upon yet another very well-worn gambit in fiction.
By Paul Levinson6 years ago in Futurism
review of 'Away'
My wife and I just finished binge-watching Away, a 10-episode series, on Netflix. I can't recall a better movie or television series about missions to Mars or early human settlements on Mars, and that includes contenders like The Martian, The Martian Chronicles, and Total Recall.
By Paul Levinson6 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'Raised by Wolves' 1.2-3
I just watched Raised by Wolves 1.2 and 1.3, on HBO Max. It's all that is available there now (along with the first episode that I saw and reviewed here the other night), but the three are more than enough to convince that this will be a major science fiction series, with a complex, multi-level, intriguing narrative.
By Paul Levinson6 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'Raised by Wolves' 1.1
I saw Raised by Wolves 1.1 last night, courtesy of HBO Max, where the series is set to debut tomorrow, September 3. In a sentence, it's a big concept, altogether excellent combination of fast action and deep philosophy, as befits Executive Producer Ridley Scott, and especially well-suited to our pandemic ridden time, when the very fate of humanity could well be at stake if things get much worse.
By Paul Levinson6 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'Star Trek: Picard'
Just finished binging Star Trek: Picard on CBS All Access. It's the best Star Trek since Star Trek: The Next Generation, which is where Jean-Luc Picard was introduced. And unlike TNG which was episodic, this first season of Picard was serial, which is a big plus in my book.
By Paul Levinson7 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'Emergence' 1.8
To be blunt: I thought Emergence 1.8 was, well, a weak episode. Here's why: I think the series is spinning its wheels, or choose your metaphor for a series that started out ok, got considerably better, and now seems to be going nowhere. This in part is because there have been too many deaths of villains or conflicted characters — Kindred and then Wilkis. And to make up for this, we keep getting new villains emerging on Emergence. Unfortunate, since that presumably is not why the series was so named.
By Paul Levinson7 years ago in Futurism
