To MARS!

It’s great seeing how the world is diverging from our own, with another Great Space Race to MARS! This time, not just the US and USSR, but also the private sector (Helios) getting involved, which just manages to make everything more complicated.

And even with some things so far ahead… it’s still the (fictional) 90s. US/USSR tensions are still high. There are still plenty of hidden secrets just waiting to come out at the right moment.

As we jump another decade forward, our original cast (those that have survived at least) are getting older, but still perfectly capable of causing all sorts of chaos. We have a few new faces as well, but I’ll admit, less than I expected. There’s no way that’s sustainable…

Overall, another wonderful season. Man the reviews for this one makes it look worse than it is. It’s a show about the space race… but not just about space. It’s also a show about the people going to space, and some people miss that.

Quite enjoyed it. Looking forward to season 4!

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Now that I’ve caught up with Taskmaster (for now/barring specials)… well there’s the whole world of INTERNATIONAL TASKMASTER.

First up, New Zealand! And because… well, I have no justification. I’m starting with season 3 because that’s the one that is coming out on YouTube around now.

It’s a bit weird watching a new Taskmaster and assistant after so many seasons, but so far I really like Jeremy Wells and Paul Williams. They don’t try to copy Greg Davis and Alex Horne (entirely), but rather build their own thing.

Contestantwise, they’re all fun this series (I think I always say that). I think my favorite this series was either Chris Parker or Josh Thompson. Either such chaotic energy or generally playing it straight … until doing something absolutely bonkers.

Love it.

Onward!

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I’ve watched through modern Doctor Who a few times, but it’s been a while. I haven’t actually caught the 13th Doctor yet, let alone 14 and 15… Now, with the new ‘reboot’, it’s about time to give it another go. And a good time to review them this time around!

Oh, I love this show. It’s wacky and cheap looking at times. Tonally, we’re all over the place, from farting aliens right up to the borders (if not more so) of horror with The Empty Child. Callbacks to the old show (which I still haven’t watched, one day) and all new friends.

I do wish we’d gotten more of Eccelston, I forgot how much I liked his Doctor. But still, it’s good to have what we have!

Onward.

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Oh hey, I’m all caught up!

I actually watched Joan is Awful on accident a while back and that’s really the highlight of the season. The problems with generative AI written perhaps a little too large, but that’s what Black Mirror does.

Other than that, this is really getting more into horror anthology territory, which I’m not sure what to think about. I’ll still catch Season 7 if/when it’s out, but it’s a bit less sure than I used to be.

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Another season, we’re on a roll!

Another great cast, and I absolutely enjoyed them all, although I didn’t have a favorite stand out quite so much as did in the previous seasons.

Poor Lucy through so many of those tasks, but she took it in stride. The Sues were great, especially together. Julian–so gay. And Sam Campbell was just a lot of fun–and that hair the last episode. O.o

Onward to one more (for now)!

And then of course… all of the other regional Taskmasters as well.

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We’re almost caught up to the present day! And what a crew to catch up on.

Mae Martin I think was my favorite, followed closely by Ivo Graham. Ironic given the final scores. 😄

I did love Jenny Eclair’s energy throughou the tasks though. And both Frankie and Kiell were a delight to watch as well. Really, I loved the entire cast.

Favorite task of the season? Wayne. The flail’y man.

Go watch it and find out why. 😄

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Well that got away from me for a bit.

After the explosive introduction that was For All Mankind: Season 1, with the Soviets beating the US to the moon and all that changed through that… no we’re a decade in the future and things continue to change!

It’s fascinating to see Jamestown grow to a crew of around 20. The Baldwins have adapted a daughter. The chaos of escalating tensions, both on the moon and also back on Earth–and all the perils of space travel, even without that. And Gordo, Danielle, and Ed, back to space.

And that’s all in the first part of the week.

Man this is a good show.

And next season, with another time skip we may very well be going to Mars!

Onward!

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A whole series in three episodes? Whee!

It’s interesting how the three episodes are at once similar and so different. There’s little enough radically different technology–mostly extrapolations of what we have now or may expect to have soon–but it’s done well.

And even with just three, we already have one that’s a straight forward exploration, one that’s more of a slow burn, and one that has a sudden sharp escalation.

A lot to fit into a short season.

Onward!

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Onward to Season 4!

We have a lot of interesting technology this time around. Virtual reality. Filtering reality (again). Messing with memories (they really like this one…). Dating. Being hunted.

I’m still quite enjoying this series. Check it out!

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Another solid season. I’m so hit and miss at watching these.

Social media. Virtual reality writ real (they do that a lot this season). Extortion. Life after death (of a sorts). Bugs. Politics.

It has it all.

It’s fascinating to me how Black Mirror at once manages to explore such a wide variety of potential future technology–and at the same time have the same little VR dots on the head in episode after episode. 😄

Onward!

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