Platform
‘The Big Fake’ Review – Netflix’s Forgery Thriller Is A Pretty Tame Copy
It’s often easy to see how someone could be lured by a life of crime. The upsides are pretty considerable, after all, at least in...
Netflix’s Ghoulish ‘Skyscraper Live’ Sets A Worrying Precedent For Live Programming
Let’s be frank here: Anyone who tunes into Skyscraper Live is doing so for one reason and one reason only, which is to see if...
‘The Hunting Party’ Season 2, Episode 3 Recap – It’s Always Daddy Issues
It’s always daddy issues, isn’t it? Since The Hunting Party deals with the psychology of killers, it’s kind of unavoidable that parental problems will frequently...
‘The Pitt’ Season 2, Episode 3 Recap – This Is Getting Pretty Heavy
The secret to The Pitt – or, more accurately, one of several secrets, but arguably the most important – is realism. Case in point: There’s...
‘Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’ Episode 3 Recap – Prank Wars Are Underway
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy comes into its own in Episode 3. Granted, I was among those – apparently few – people who thought the two-part premiere was pretty good, but “Vitus Reflux” is a bit of a step up, since it really embraces the young-adult vibe in a way that both makes sense and feel suitably Trek-y, and also begins fleshing out the individual characters so that they feel like more than just a single race or gimmick.
‘The Beauty’ Review – Ryan Murphy Is Back Near His Demented Body-Horror Best
You can never quite predict what Ryan Murphy is going to do next, and by extension, whether his latest project will be representative of his...
‘The Beauty’ Episode 3 Recap – An Eye For An Eye
How many people can you see explode before it starts to get tedious? I do worry that The Beauty might be leaning a little too heavily against this gimmick, since Episode 3, “Beautiful Christopher Cross”, opens in much the same way as the premiere, with a woman getting very thirsty and violent before eventually combusting in the middle of a crowded restaurant.
‘The Beauty’ Episode 2 Recap – Oh, Hey, It’s Ashton Kutcher
In Episode 2, “Beautiful Jordan”, The Beauty gives us our first glimpse of the villain of the piece, played by Ashton Kutcher. It also turns into John Wick for a good chunk of the very clipped 25-minute runtime, which is an interesting stylistic choice.
‘The Beauty’ Episode 1 Recap – The Most Ryan Murphy Opening Ever?
The Beauty might have the most Ryan Murphy opening ever. Here’s a supermodel on the runway, looking great. But also looking a little off-kilter. It’s a believable model performance because it’s Bella Hadid, a casting coup a bit like Kim Kardashian starring in a legal drama.
‘High Potential’ Season 2, Episode 10 Recap – This Show At Its Very Best
High Potential is an above-average procedural at the best of times, and that has been evident pretty regularly in Season 2. But only rarely does it come together in quite the way it does in Episode 10, “Grounded”, a really excellent hour that neatly embodies all of the interesting and unique things this show does well.
‘Fallout’ Season 2, Episode 6 Recap – I’m Not So Sure About This One
I’m not sure about “The Other Player”, truth be told. One has to wonder whether Fallout Season 2 really needs an episode like this so late in its run, one that takes a notable present-day pacing hit to better flesh out some wider world-building details.
‘Drops of God’ Season 2, Episode 1 Recap – A Sumptuously-Shot Premiere
Just in case you thought Drops of God might have lost a step in the almost three years it has been away, just peep the opening scene of the Season 2 premiere. Name me another show that can deliver such a beautiful-looking sequence with almost no light and sound, and I'll give you a cookie.
‘Hijack’ Season 2, Episode 2 Recap – A Crisis Management Exercise
If you were worried about Hijack Season 2, and there was reason to be given its relatively tame premiere, then Episode 2, "Control", should hopefully provide a nice corrective.
‘WWE: Unreal’ Season 2 Review – A More Personal Follow-Up Makes Some Smart Choices
WWE: Unreal was a cynical marketing ploy when it debuted, and most people – wrestling fans most of all – didn’t especially care for it....
‘Tell Me Lies’ Season 3, Episode 4 Recap – Oh, It’s Going to Get Worse
Tell Me Lies Season 3 is already darker and more thoughtful than previous seasons, but it still works in more or less the same way. It's about awful people doing awful things to each other.
‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Review – A Tremendously Fun Time
It’s difficult to tell whether A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is for Game of Thrones fans who are still smarting about how badly it...
‘Industry’ Season 4, Episode 2 Recap – A Truly Demented Hour Of TV
Blimey, where to start? Industry doesn't do episodes like "The Commander and the Grey Lady" very often, since it's usually too firmly rooted in the real world -- albeit the grimmest corners of it -- to indulge in visions and metaphor.
‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Episode 1 Recap – A Charming Introduction
Let's be totally clear here -- despite being set in the same brutal universe, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms really is nothing like Game of Thrones. And that's a good thing!