tv review
Reviewing insightful and thought provoking science fiction TV and technology.
Is the New 'Doctor Who' Political Correctness Gone Mad?
Some fans of the long-running British show thought that a female Doctor was more than they could handle (ignoring that the Doctor is an alien with two hearts who frequently regenerates). But showrunners Matt Strevens and Chris Chibnall may have taken it even further than that for the new season of Doctor Who.
By Megan Paul7 years ago in Futurism
Biology Behind 'Zoo'
In the CBS show Zoo, the animals have evolved and mutated, they now recognize the way we as humans have treated our planet and them and are fighting back against us with their newly mutated ‘superpowers.’ The CBS show revolves around the fact that the animals are now more adept to the way humans have ruled the food chain and currently have the want to group together and fight back. Bats have begun to swarm together and are now taking planes down during the day. Rats are now slaughtering cabin crew members that they once peacefully shared a boat with. While everyday house animals like cats and dogs are just grouping together and making use of what they have to fight back. There are a select few animals that seem to have these ‘superpower” like gifts. Sloths now have the ability to cause earthquakes, there are ants that can create an electric current large enough to blow up buildings, and five other creatures that have mutated into a super beasts that can cause large scale destruction. As evolution itself as one of the facts in today's world concepts in the show, there are a few false to today's world technologies that the show revolves around as well. Such as the mother cell which is what is causing the animals to behave so differently so suddenly, the triple helix which is the three strand DNA which is why there are super mutated animals, and ghost gene which causes the “superpower powers” in these super animals.
By Megan Granter7 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'Manifest' 1.5
Finally, a glimmer of progress in understanding what is going on in Manifest, in Monday's episode 1.5, just a glimmer. It comes from Cal, who becomes the first of the passengers on the flight that skipped ahead in time to not hear an instructive voice, but be the speaker of that voice. His father Ben is the one who hears it.
By Paul Levinson7 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'Manifest' 1.3
A fairly interesting Manifest 1.3 last night, centering around the murder of a passenger on the flight that skipped forward in time, Kelly. It turns out that her death was apparently just a run-of-the-mill murder—by a significant other who didn't like how Kelly was treating her after the return—but the end of the episode provided a more important payoff for the overall narrative. Or, rather, a question: why did the Feds take her body?
By Paul Levinson7 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'The Man in the High Castle' 3.7-10
The Man in the High Castle saved its crucial metaphysical reveal until nearly the last scene of the last episode, where Abendsen (the actual man in the high castle) explains to Smith that you can travel to an alternate reality only if you're no longer alive in that alternate world. This means Smith can bring back his son Thomas to his/our world (in which the Nazis and Japanese won the Second World War), Juliana can escape our reality to the one in which she saw herself killed (which she presumably does, also near the end), Tagomi wasn't alive in our off-screen reality which he visited in which we won the war (but great seeing him beat that Hitler youth, and fine performance throughout by Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), Joe can come back to our world (in which Juliana killed him)—though I hardly missed him in these last four episodes—and all kinds of similar possibilities.
By Paul Levinson7 years ago in Futurism
We Don't Get Aliens in Sheffield
Jodie Whittaker impressed everyone on Saturday Night. When it was first announced that Dr. Who would be getting a female doctor for the first time, people were split which is understandable. People don't like change very much and find it hard to adapt to, especially a big one such as gender. I think the BBC did incredibly well with the transition of Capaldi to Whittaker. I think many viewers have had their doubts put to rest.
By Chloe Gilholy7 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'The Man in the High Castle' 3.4-6
The Man in the High Castle episodes 3.4-6 contain the biggest stunner of the series. It's so unexpected, and handled so well, that I won't say what it is, on the slim chance that you're reading this and haven't yet seen these three episodes.
By Paul Levinson7 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'The Man in the High Castle' 3.2-3
The Man in the High Castle episodes 3.2-3 go full bore into alternate realities, including: Dr. Mengele in New York schooling a shocked Smith about them, with Smith even remarking that this sounds like something out of "Frederic Brown"—a real science fiction writer in our reality, known mostly for his humorous science fiction stories, but author of the 1949 What Mad Universe, a novel with plenty of humor but also alternate universes. (The mention of Brown continues the weaving of elements from our reality into the alternate history of the Nazis and Japanese winning the Second World War that is the central story of The Man in the High Castle, with elements of our reality seeping through.) Smith, later watching one of the movie clips, sees his son Thomas alive and well, giving him a far deeper than professional stake in getting into or to the bottom of these alternate realities. Out West in Japanese California, the access to alternate realities is more mystical than scientific, as they are in the Nazi East Coast of America. This mysticism, by the way, is more consistent with Philip K. Dick's approach, but I like the way it's expanded to laboratory science in this third season of the story. Julianna's sister Trudy—the one who wasn't killed in her reality, but was in ours, now back in our reality alive and with Julianna—is discovered by Kido, the Japanese inspector who happened to kill her. This creates an unacceptable situation. Although Tagomi gets her and Juliania freed, they need to do something about Trudy, given Kido's understandable desire now to find out what's going on. Fortunately, I Ching is just thing to send Trudy back to her reality in a flash.
By Paul Levinson7 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'The Man in the High Castle' 3.1
With the kick-in-the-gut news of the all-but-certain confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the U. S. Supreme Court yesterday, I only managed to see the first episode of the third season of the brilliant Man in the High Castle on Amazon Prime last night. Its alternate history of the Nazis and Japanese winning the Second World War was much more enjoyable than the real news in our reality. Herewith a review of that first episode, with more to come as I see the rest over the weekend.
By Paul Levinson7 years ago in Futurism
