tv review

Reviewing insightful and thought provoking science fiction TV and technology.

Review of 'Kindred'
Just binged Kindred on Hulu the past two nights. It's a time travel story unlike anything I've ever seen or read (I haven't read the Octavia Butler* novel from which it's adapted). And it's powerful, beautiful, tender, and tough, and altogether superb.
By Paul Levinson3 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'The Peripheral' 1.6-1.8
Now or Soonest A really high-octane high-intellect episode 1.6 of The Peripheral on Amazon Prime Video -- by which I mean the action, as good as it was, was easily surpassed by the ideas and razor sharp conversation.
By Paul Levinson3 years ago in Futurism
Why the "Flowers Never Bend" Performance in The Orville 3.9 Will Last Forever
This sweet soulful rendition by Lt. Gordon Malloy (Scott Grimes) and Ensign Charly Burke (Anne Winters) of Simon & Garfunkel's "Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall" this past July on the 9th episode of the 3rd Season of The Orville certainly wasn't the first vocal performance in a TV drama or comedy that wasn't a musical. It's not even the first sustained singing in a Star Trek or Star Trek inspired TV show. Lt. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) sang "Beyond Antares" in a memorable scene with Spock (in "The Conscience of the King,” episode 1.13 of the original Star Trek series in December 1966) and a couple of other times on the USS Enterprise on network television back then.
By Paul Levinson3 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'The Peripheral' 1.4-1.5
Who took Lev's tea? The disappearance of his tea in episode 1.4 of The Peripheral on Amazon Prime Video was an another signalic moment, just like the coffee container materializing in thin air in what now seems like a much earlier episode. The tea gone and the coffee appearing just like that symbolize the immense forces at play in this so far delicately powerfully rendered series, which as far as I can tell so far hasn't missed a step. (Reminder: I haven't read the book.)
By Paul Levinson3 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'The Peripheral' 1.3
So, I entitled this review of The Peripheral 1.3 "John Snow," even though it had an already excellent title, "Haptic Drift".
By Paul Levinson3 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'The Peripheral' 1.1-1.2
I saw the first two episodes of The Peripheral on Amazon Prime Video last night. It's an adaptation of the 2014 novel of the same name by William Gibson, the veritable godfather of cyberpunk who practically invented the genre with his novel Neuromancer in 1984. It was made by the creators of Westworld on HBO. So, The Peripheral has to be good, right?
By Paul Levinson3 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'Quantum Leap' (2022) 1.1-1.3
The new Quantum Leap sequel debuted on NBC two weeks ago. I was prepared not to like it, though recently, I've very much enjoyed the sequel of The Man Who Fell to Earth on Showtime, and, for that matter, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on Paramount Plus. And turns out I did enjoy this first episode of the new Quantum Leap, for all kinds of reasons, which I'll tell you about after I warn you about spoilers ahead.
By Paul Levinson3 years ago in Futurism
Elon Musk's Life - Childhood, Wealth, Personal Life, And Other Rumors
Who is Elon Musk? Elon Reeve Musk (born June 28, 1971) is an American entrepreneur and businessman of South African descent who founded X.com in 1999 (which later became PayPal), SpaceX in 2002, and Tesla Motors in 2003. Musk became a multimillionaire in the late 1920s when he sold his start-up company, Zip2, to a division of Compaq Computers. Musk made headlines in May 2012 when SpaceX launched a rocket that would send the first commercial vehicle to the International Space Station. Elon Musk Net Worth bolstered his portfolio by acquiring SolarCity in 2016 and cemented his position as an industry leader by taking on an advisory role in the early days of President Donald Trump's administration.
By Viorel Secareanu3 years ago in Futurism
Using The Right Hashtags To Promote Your Business On TikTok
The popularity of TikTok is skyrocketing at an incredible rate. It is one of the social media apps that is used the most frequently because it has more than 1.2 billion monthly active users.
By Estalontech3 years ago in Futurism
Vertical Video Byte Dance Income Stream
Are you interested in making use of the vertical video option? You really ought to be! The structure of short-form videos was helpful to a large number of independent creators who wanted to reach a wider audience.
By Estalontech3 years ago in Futurism
The Time Traveler's Wife - Series One Review
When looking back on Steven Moffat’s era of Doctor Who, one can see the similarities between his work and Audrey Niffenegger's debut novel about a time travelling love story. Which is why this review is bittersweet, because sadly this show has been cancelled weeks after the first season finale despite having a strong first season.
By Ted Ryan4 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'For All Mankind' 3.3-3.4
Catching up with a double review of For All Mankind on Apple TV+ -- episodes 3.3 and 3.4 -- which started as a pretty good espionage story in and of itself, and catapulted into one of the most exciting out in space episodes of the series. Before I warn you about spoilers, I've gotta say that the verisimilitude of this series -- fancy word that philosophers use for realism -- makes you, or at least me, feel like I'm really out there way off this planet.
By Paul Levinson4 years ago in Futurism