The Stand Episode 1 is the premiere of the post-apocalyptic dark fantasy drama miniseries based on the beloved 1978 Stephen King novel of the same name. The Stand Episode 1 entitled “The End”, introduces us to the setting and starting premise of the miniseries.
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The Expanse S05E03 continues the new season narrative for the highly acclaimed scifi space opera streaming TV drama series. Entitled “Mother”, The Expanse S05E03 focuses on key character plot events as they impact on the underlying new season narrative – Marco (Keon Alexander) Inaros’ devious plan to attack Earth with stealth asteroids.
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The Expanse S05E02 continues the new season of this scifi space opera drama streaming TV series. The opening episode revealed that the Rocinante was undergoing repairs and thus its crew was undertaking a valuable furlough to take care of unfinished business. The Expanse S05E02 picks up on some of these plot treads but not all of them.
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Star Trek : Discovery S03E10 is the penultimate episode of Season 3. Entitled “Terra Firma Part. II”, Star Trek : Discovery S03E10 continues Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) journey back into the past in the Mirror Universe where she has to deal with a rebellion led by her daughter Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green).
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The Expanse S05E01 is the first instalment in the ongoing science fiction space opera streaming TV drama series developed by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, based on the series of novels of the same name by James S. A. Corey. James S.A. Corey the joint pen name of authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. Thus far, there have been nine books in The Expanse novel series since 2011 and is due to be concluded with Leviathan Falls in 2021.
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His Dark Materials S02E06 is the penultimate episode in Season 2 and thus, story events needed to progress beyond the static. His Dark Materials S02E06, entitled “Malice”, certainly shook up the status quo as far as this series is concerned. One main flaw of the series so far is the slow moving plot and sloppy pacing issues. While less than perfect, at least this episode seemed to move the plot forward.
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The Mandalorian S02E07 turned out to be another half an hour episode. However, The Mandalorian S02E07 “The Believer” was a much stronger instalment of this Star Wars bounty hunter epic series as fans were given a deeper insight into the character of Migs Mayfield (Bill Burr) last seen in Season 1.
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Star Trek : Discovery S03E09 is the opening instalment of a two-parter that is dedicated to an exploration of the deliciously wicked character that is Emperor Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh). Star Trek : Discovery S03E09 entitled “Terra Firma Part 1” contains a wonderful setup before bringing us somewhere entirely unexpected.
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Room 2806 : The Accusation is a four-part Netflix documentary series focusing on the allegations of sexual assault made against French politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn (“DSK”) in 2011. While Room 2806 : The Accusation is ostensibly concerned with a particular historical incident, thematically it addresses the wider issue of sexual abuse carried out by men of power and status.
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His Dark Materials S02E05 was built around a highly anticipated confrontation. Things had come to a head in the previous episode as the machinations of Lord Boreal (Ariyon Bakare) to acquire the Subtle Knife reached the point of hopeful fulfilment. Not only does Boreal bring Mrs. Coulter (Ruth Wilson) into his confidence, he takes her to our world, where he has set up a trap to lure Lyra (Dafne Keen) and Will (Amir Wilson).
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Heaven’s Gate : The Cult of Cults is a 4-part HBO documentary about the religious cult that committed mass suicide in 1997. Heaven’s Gate as a cult documentary is bound to be compared to The Vow, which was about the NXIVM sex slavery cult. Which I guess is an appropriate starting point in discussing Heaven’s Gate : The Cult of Cults.
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The Mandalorian S02E06 provided Star Wars fans a memorable moment with the proper return of fan-favourite Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison). Entitled “The Tragedy”, The Mandalorian S02E06 certainly telegraphed that the episode would be a difficult one for Mando (Pedro Pascal) as Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) set his plan in motion to capture Grogu.
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Star Trek : Discovery S03E08 focused on Book (David Ajala) and his home planet of Kwejian, which is in league with the Emerald Chain (reluctantly). Now, the Emerald Chain is the villain of Season 3 and is a syndicate of Andorians and Orions that rose to prominence in the wake of the Burn, the cataclysmic event that has defined the 32nd century.
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Glad to report that His Dark Materials S02E04 carries on the quickening of the pace, the improvement in quality first seen in the previous episode. His Dark Materials S02E04 finally reveals the role of Will Parry (Amir Wilson) in the storyline. Strange to witness Lyra (Dafne Keen) being relegated to a supporting role but that’s essentially what happened in His Dark Materials S02E04.
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The Undoing S01E06 completes the HBO mini-series based on the novel You Should Have Known. Unfortunately, the series finale only confirms what I had suspected from episode 4 onwards – that The Undoing is a poorly conceived, badly written TV series.
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The Mandalorian S02E05 is the episode that diehard Star Wars fans had been waiting for. Entitled “The Jedi”, The Mandalorian S02E05 delivered the ultimate fan-service – the live action debut of a beloved animated character, Ahsoka Tano! At the end of the previous episode, Bo-Katan had revealed the location of one of the last surviving Jedis – the city of Calodan on the forest planet of Corvus.
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Star Trek : Discovery S03E07 is probably the best episode of the new season thus far. Entitled “Unification III”, Star Trek : Discovery S03E07 fulfils the promise of the series to more than live up to the legacy of Star Trek and does justice to the lore of this beloved franchise.
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Black Narcissus is a 3-part psychological drama mini-series based on the 1939 novel by Rumer Godden and the 1947 film adaptation of the same name. This FX series is essentially a remake of the 1947 film.
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His Dark Materials S02E03 is probably one of the strongest episodes thus far in this adaptation of Philip Pullman’s novel series. If you have been following my reviews, you would be aware of my complaint that the world-building that this adaptation is attempting is so dense that it can all get very confusing.
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The Undoing S01E05 is entitled “Trial by Fury”, which suggests fire and brimstone occurs at the murder trial of Jonathan Fraser (Hugh Grant). That is false advertising sadly. In my review of S01E04, I had expressed hope that things would pick up from the somewhat pedestrian pacing that had plagued The Undoing thus far. No such luck!
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After the big revelations of the last episode, there were obviously great expectations for The Mandalorian S02E04. But alas, the poor condition of the Razor Crest necessitated yet another diversion from the quest as Mando and the Child re-visited Nevarro for needful repairs. Cue the reunion with Greef Karga (Carl Weathers), Cara Dune (Gina Carano) and even Mando’s former bounty Mythrol (Horatio Sanz), all from the first season.
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Star Trek : Discovery S03E06 seemed like a step back from the narrative of Discovery returning to the Starfleet fold as Michael Burnham once again proved herself incapable of following Starfleet protocol. But what is a story without tension, without drama, without conflict? Nothing. Star Trek : Discovery is definitely more than nothing!
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His Dark Materials S02E02 continues Lyra’s sojourn away from her home world as she continues to seek the truth behind ‘dust’ – the substance that facilitates traveling between alternate realities. Entitled “The Cave”, His Dark Materials S02E02 now takes place on multiple planes of existence as part of its narrative.
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After a bit of a teased twist at the end of episode 3, I was hoping that The Undoing S01E04 would bring us down an intriguing road. But alas, a tease was all it was, and it was unfulfilled. But still, The Undoing S01E04 is managing to keep my interest in the limited series so far. Why is that?
The Crown is a historical drama streaming television series about the reign of Queen Elizabeth II (played by Olivia Colman). Certainly, in modern times, no other royal family has captured public imagination like the Windsors. Also, in the context of the prolonged reign of Queen Elizabeth II, such a drama series is definitely merited. The Crown Season 4 perhaps begins the Queen’s most tumultuous years, to be concluded with Season 5, coming in 2022.
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