I don't know about "Boy Kings" - and thanks for making me aware of it! Huge diff. The Circle is a chilling horror fiction that extrapolates a near-here future where, with just a little more technology (propriedtary) at their disposal, companies like Google and FB - any social media platform reaching critical mass -…

Late to the show, literally, but this series addresses major themes with such limited insight that I may only finish this season, and the next, to (mildly) hate watch. And this episode is exemplary of how Gen X navel gazing yields meh. Kickball? Really? In Silver Lake? (of course). Kick the Can? OK. A bunch of…

Also, was humanity ever in danger of mutually-assured destruction? Since time seems to be circular (or, more accurately - all one moment of infinity, which is that description of how "God" experiences "time"), didn't the Heptapods already know the outcome of their intergalactic tease? Sure, they are able to…

Childhood's End, anyone? (The Clarke novel, not the horrible filmed adaptation)

I'm going to view it again tonight, but though foreshadowed by screenwriter and director, by the time I began to see the twist in view, the film was too close to the end for me to claim it.

I like what you said. But I see you wrote this 3 months ago. I wonder what your feelings on "cold war relic" would be this month (week?). With academia under fire, under suspicion, with the very nature of a fact in question as potentially knowable only in a Rashomon sense, hell, I wonder if the Aliens would even…

I'm assuming you're an alien troll and therefore know not much of Earth, nor Trump, nor would you be able to therefore imagine his ego against the unknowable. They would be "fake aliens," "put on notice," who "can't even throw a football…sad"

It takes way too long to watch the critics say what could quickly be said in a review. Welcome to social media!

It takes too long to watch the critics say what could quickly be said in a review. Welcome to social media!

Thanks for noticing. AV Club has gone from essential to smarmy/self-aggrandizing in the past few years. Has become a real drag.

Give it time. 2 weeks isn't enough time to evaluate a miniseries. Let it unfold. The X-Files lasted for years and switched tone nearly every other week.

Exactly. AND, the two exploders were highly intelligent (scientist and chess fanatic), likely individualistic and likely to want to hold onto their humanity. Tony Shaloub's character had little to lose - he operates/-ed on a lower wavelength of congressional autopilot. (Joke - he's not using his brain anyway)

Thank you! My attitude exactly. So many commenters (and reviewers) trying to find depth and truth - which is all good ! - but not at the expense of enjoying the show for what it is. I can't believe it's on CBS as well (the Bazinga network). Hopefully they can sustain the ride, the fun, the occasional actual…

It's also interesting to note that not all of the ant-lien takeovers are successful. We've seen two explosions now, and those were very well-educated, free thinking individuals who fought being taken over. The "successful" invasions seem to be easier in the - less thoughtful (less human?) - more opportunistic…

Good points, but I think that biting satire, in and of itself, ON CBS (!!!) is a big deal. It's great that Brain Dead isn't a "monster of the week" show with the same beats in each episode. Instead, it seems to aim for the better Netflix shows (or even Hulu's 11.22.63) in letting the story unfold. Also, I didn't…

I like his Philly dialect. He's trying to do something fresh here.

Good for you. There's a lot of lukewarm critical reception even on the AV Club for things that are actually good, such as "Bloodline" - who's AV reviewer is nearly a hate-watcher. I try not to deal with the critics until after I've seen the show, and then decide if we agree.

I think the Googling of "exploding heads" is a nod to X-Files and Men In Black — the truth may be out there, but you find it in the tabloids - and Google = tabloid to the n'th degree. Another good review, btw. I'm still amazed this show is on CBS.

Did alien ants get into the heads of the AV Club? This is the first unpretentious, go-with-the-show, don't just synopsize but also have some ideas to add review that I've seen here in a long time. Well done! However, the comments for this show are disturbing. People seem to be captivated by the idea of a weekly…

Think of it more as a limited series with a story willing to be drawn out than the traditional pilot/format/monster (problem/dilemma) of the week show. Look to Netflix for "Bloodline" or "Daredevil" for a different template that, for CBS, is revolutionary. I had to stop watching "Elementary" because each episode had…