Science Fiction

Star Trek: Prodigy – First Con-tact

  • Title: Star Trek: Prodigy – First Con-tact
  • wiki: link

Star Trek: Prodigy - First Con-tact

Star Trek Sunday gives us another episode of Star Trek: Prodigy. “First Con-tact” introduces DaiMon Nandi (), the Ferengi conwoman who raised Dal R’El (Brett Gray) and convinces him to help her in what she describes as a victimless scheme of acquiring a valuable gem from a nearby world. Under the guise of first contact, our rag-tag crew and Nandi encounter the harmonic aliens of the planet who need the crystals to survive. Out for herself, Nandi steals one of the crystals almost getting away with the theft and revealing Dal wasn’t kidnapped. She sold him into servitude. 

Star Trek: Prodigy – First Con-tact Read More »

Smallville – Kinetic

  • Title: Smallville – Kinetic
  • wiki: link

Smallville - Kinetic

Superman Saturday takes us back to Smallville, Kansas, and the time Clark Kent (Tom Welling) fought criminals who could walk through walls. In terms of all parts of the episode being tied together and progressing both the individual episode and season-long arcs, “Kinetic” is one of the best designed episodes of the show’s First Season. We start with Kryptonite-tattooed goons (David Lovgren, Kavan Smith, and David Coles) stealing from Lex and injuring Chloe (Allison Mack) in the opening scene. With a damaging disc being included in the theft, Lex isn’t in any hurry to report details of what was taken to the police. 

Smallville – Kinetic Read More »

The Umbrella Academy – The Cleanse

  • Title: The Umbrella Academy – The Cleanse
  • wiki: link

The Umbrella Academy - The Cleanse

“The Cleanse” is most notable for revealing how the Ben died during the flashback of the opening scene showing the last mission he went on as a member of the Umbrella Academy. Hargreeves (Colm Feore) explains the action of his other self and also why this version was working so hard to keep the team away from the adult Jennifer (Victoria Sawal) whose proximity to a member of the team, or anyone exposed to the marigold which gives them their powers could lead to the end of the world (foreshadowing the end of the series).

The Umbrella Academy – The Cleanse Read More »

Terminator Zero – Model 101

  • Title: Terminator Zero – Model 101
  • IMDb: link

Terminator Zero - Model 101

Despite showrunner Mattson Tomlin‘s assurance that the new Netflix anime set within the Terminator universe treats all the films as canon (a troubling proposition in its own right as the films don’t really fit together), the opening episode of Terminator Zero feels distinctly separate and different from what has come before. Jumping between 1997 and a cliched workaholic father’s science experiments and 2022 where the machines are hunting down the last of humanity, the most the show feels like the original Terminator is in a brave young woman (Toa Yukinari) running from, fighting, and escaping a Terminator after her. Although it appears both she and a Terminator will join the 1997 time fairly soon, in the opening episode it’s definitely the weaker of the two stories.

Terminator Zero – Model 101 Read More »

The Umbrella Academy – The Squid and the Girl

  • Title: The Umbrella Academy – The Squid and the Girl
  • wiki: link

The Umbrella Academy - The Squid and the Girl

As the show moves into the rockier final episodes eventually limping to an unsatisfying series finale, the family, minus Klaus (Robert Sheehan) who begins his own misadventures getting stuck using his powers for his old dealer, go in search of Jennifer (Victoria Sawal) who wakes up to meet her kidnappers Gene (Nick Offerman) and Jean (Megan Mullally) and their cult is obsessed by helping bring about the return of the original timeline through a cleanse. Ben (Justin H. Min) eventually finds and rescues her which will turn out to be not great for the rest of the world.

The Umbrella Academy – The Squid and the Girl Read More »