HUMANS – series two, episode one
[usr 3.5] In 2015, Humans became a near-unprecedented hit for Channel 4, emerging as its most successful new series since the 1980s. The mix...
WESTWORLD, 1.5 – ‘Contrapasso’
[usr 4.0] It’s always worth reflecting on the big picture when we’re halfway through a season, as this usually represents the ‘point of no...
WESTWORLD, 1.4 – ‘Dissonance Theory’
[usr 4.0] I’ve been impressed with how quickly Westworld is rattling along, as part of me suspected it would spin its wheels—as so many...
BLACK MIRROR, 3.2 – ‘Playtest’
[usr 4.0] Charlie Brooker gets back behind his laptop to write this second episode of Black Mirror‘s third series, “Playtest”, directed by Dan Trachtenberg...
BLACK MIRROR, 3.1 – ‘Nosedive’
[usr 5.0] Audiences have been staring into Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror for five years, incredibly, but the Channel 4 anthology had only produced six...
LUKE CAGE – Season One
[usr 2.5] Marvel’s latest begins promisingly, with a funky ‘70s-flavoured soundtrack and moody shots of nighttime Harlem in glistening yellows and deep blacks. We’ve...
WESTWORLD, 1.3 – ‘The Stray’
[usr 4.0] Backstories are at the heart of Westworld’s third episode, “The Stray”, in the invention of a new narrative for Teddy (James Marsden),...
HALT AND CATCH FIRE, 3.9 & 3.10 – ‘NIM’ & ‘NeXT’
[usr 4.0] There was a surprise four-year time-jump for the penultimate episode, “NIM”. That’s a lifetime in technology circles. It’s 1990 and Donna’s (Kerry Bishé)...
WESTWORLD, 1.2 – ‘Chestnut’
[usr 4.5] Most doubts I had about Westworld last week (of which there were few) were washed away by its second episode, “Chestnut”; a...
HALT AND CATCH FIRE, 3.8 – ‘You Are Not Safe’
[usr 4.0] I wish Ryan (Manish Dayal) had been written with more nuance, as his suicide didn’t land a big enough punch as a...
WESTWORLD, 1.1 – ‘The Original’
[usr 4.0] Updating Westworld (the 1973 movie Michael Crichton wrote and directed) is a great idea because enough time’s passed for a different approach...
HALT AND CATCH FIRE, 3.7 – ‘The Threshold’
[usr 4.5] The firmament really started to shift and shake in “The Threshold”, an episode where characters either literally or figuratively crossed a barrier...