At last, another TV season is in view…

First some news…

• The Crown S03 is now available to stream on Netflix (trailer)
• Vikings S06 started on December 4th on History (trailer)
• The Expense S04 started streaming (this time on Prime Video) on December 13th (trailer) !
• Lost in Space S02 will be back on Netflix on December 24th (trailer) !
• There will be another Call the Midwife Holiday Special on December 25th (trailer)
• Doctor Who S12 will start January 1st (trailer)
• The first half of Father Brown S08 will air between January 6th and January 10th
• Grantchester will come back for another six episodes (S05) on January 10th
• In the same genre, I can say that Endeavour will soon come back for S07 (February or March?), set in 1970. A S08 is also already planned.
• The young Pope will have a sequel titled The New Pope and should start airing January 13th on HBO (trailer)
• Avenue 5, a sci-fi comedy with Hugh Laurie will premiere on January 19th on HBO (trailer)
• Star Trek: Picard will premier on January 23rd (trailer)
• Homeland S08, the final season, will premiere on February 9 (trailer)
• Outlander S05 will start on February 16th 2020 (trailer)
• Westworld will be back for a third season in 2020 on HBO. Sorry no more details… (trailer)
• The Boys S02 should be back on Amazon Prime around mid-2020 (trailer)

And then a few shows worth talking about…

Watchmen S01

I was disappointed by the trailer because the series looked cheaply made as I thought that Rorschach’s mask was not animated but only drawn but, actually, it’s not a Rorschach’s mask at all but an imitation worn by the 7th Cavalry, a group of white supremacist terrorists. The series is actually quite excellent. It is officially a sequel that tells us what happened after the comic book, ties some lose ends and builds a new level of complexity on the original story, but there is so many flashbacks that it could also be considered a prequel as it tells the origin stories of several characters. The story revolves around three generations of mask vigilantes, mostly the Minutemen’s Hooded Justice / Will Reeves (played by Louis Gossett Jr.),  the Crimebusters’ Ozymandias / Adrian Veidt (Jeremy Irons) and Doctor Manhattan / Jon Osterman (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) — we could probably also add Laurie Blake (Jean Smart), formerly Silk Spectre, who is now an agent for an Anti-Vigilante division of the FBI — and, the newest generation, police detective Sister Night / Angela Abar (Regina King) who is the main protagonist. 

In an alternate history where the vigilantes (masked heroes who won the Vietnam war and saved the world from nuclear holocaust through an elaborate hoax) are now outlawed, the social policies of the Redford government are stirring racial unrest and, as the police has become the official masked heroes, the old vigilantes seeks to ties some lose ends in order to save the world again.

The story, about racism and justice, is well written and riveting, the visuals (without any big special effects) are stunning and respects the look and spirit of the original comic book. Despite very mixed ratings on Rotten Tomatoes (critics’s rating of 96% versus an audience score of 49%), I personally think that Watchmen is a superb production and a must see TV series.

[ Google • HBO • IMDb • Wikipedia • Youtube ]

The Expanse S04

The creation of the Ring by the Protomolecule has opened the way to thousands of new worlds. However, Avasarala, the U.N. secretary-general, had ordered a blockade until it is sure that those worlds are safe for colonisation. Unfortunately, some ships were able to pass through the blockade. When crews of both Belters and an Earth Corporation landed on Ilus to claim its natural resources, Holden and the crew of the Rocinante are sent by the U.N. the assess the situation — which quickly degenerate into conflict. On top of that, the protomolecule entity known as “Miller”, with which Holden is in contact, is wreaking havoc with the planetary systems in order to investigate why its civilisation has been obliterated and by whom. Despite the truce, all factions from Earth, Mars and the Belt are on edge…

This series is an example of incredibly well written hard science-fiction, where the complexities of science and politics make for a rich and intriguing plot. It offers breathtaking visuals that make you feel like you are there with the characters. I bingewatched the entire 10-episode season in only a couple of days. It is definitely the best sci-fi TV series of the moment and my favourite show. And I’m not the only one to think that because it received excellent ratings (an overall rating of 8.5 on IMDb although the lowest episode rating for season 4 is 9.1 and on Rotten Tomatoes we find a critics’ rating of 100% and an audience score of 98% !!!). I can’t wait for season five (which has reportedly already began shooting)! It is really a must see.

[ Amazon Prime • Google • IMDb • Wikipedia • Youtube ]

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