The thing about space travel is, it’s not easy. There’s a lot of space, and not a lot of us by comparison, and in order to transport a fleshy, vulnerable, air-breathing human body across millions of miles of void, sacrifices must be made. Often in science fiction, that sacrifice is time, but most narratives find some…

Grab onto your butts: The Expanse is back. When last we saw Holden, Naomi, Amos, Alex, Avasarala, Bobbie, and everyone else, things weren’t great; things don’t really improve for anyone in “Fight Or Flight,” although no one we care about dies, which counts for something. The premiere of the third season picks up more…

And here we find ourselves at the thrilling conclusion to another pretty good if obviously (and frustratingly) flawed season of A Series Of Unfortunate Events. Olaf has built lion pit and plans to throw in a “freak” to draw a crowd; Esme has convinced the “freaks” to sacrifice Madame Lulu so they can all get jobs in…

It seems entirely natural that A Series Of Unfortunate Events would find itself at a carnival. The setting—a once happy place now fallen into disrepair, a ghost of its former self stuck shuffling forward until it finally realizes it’s dead—is a perfect locale for the Baudelaires’ misadventures. The only real surprise…

How did Olaf become Olaf? And how hard would it be for otherwise decent and honorable people to follow in his footsteps? The distinction between the Baudelaires and the mendacious villain pursuing them seems so obvious as to be unworthy of mentioning. Them: innocent orphans just trying to survive. Him: a thieving…

Here’s a welcome change of pace: the first half of a two part episode that’s actually quite good. “The Horrible Hospital, Part One” is funny, creepy, and at several points legitimately suspenseful. It strays even further from formula than the previous two episodes, picking up with the Baudelaires still on the run from…

We’ve talked about stakes, right? Of course we have. It’s one of my favorite go-to boring critical terms. But it’s relevant to A Series Of Unfortunate Events because it’s something the show has been struggling with more and more with in its second season. The introduction of the Quagmires at least allowed a new sort…

So things are a little different now. Not a lot different—in many ways, “The Vile Village: Part One” follows the same meet-and-groan structure as previous part ones—but there’s some variance, and at this point, any variance is worth mentioning. As mentioned, the end of the previous episode had the Baudelaires deciding…

At this point, you may be wondering why I would choose to go on reviewing a show that causes me such routine frustration. And you’d have a point; despite positive grades (which I stand by!), these reviews have thus far been a litany of complaint, critique, and cutting commentary—terribly insightful, of course, but not…

“The Ersatz Elevator: Part One” ends with a song. There’s no real reason for it to end this way. In order to keep Count Olaf (in disguise as the uber-fashionable Gunther) from returning to the hotel where he’s trapped the Quagmire triplets (minus one) in an elevator shaft, Larry and Jacquelyn maneuver the villain into…

So, the Quagmire triplets. Or as the adults call them, the Quagmire twins—poor Quigley died in the fire that killed their parents. (There’s a lot of that going around.) It’s an odd tonal choice for a nominally kid-friendly comedy show to make regular gags about a dead toddler, but that odd tone has been a hallmark of…

Once again, a series of events appears to be happening; and once again, those events are very much unfortunate. ASOUE’s second season picks up where the first season ended with the Baudelaires waiting to enroll in the magnificently dreary Prufrock Preparatory School. Sunny looks a bit older now, but circumstances are…

Give it this much: “My Struggle IV” does its level best to tie off loose ends. Season 10 ended with a wildly ambitious (and utterly absurd) vision of a world tipping over the edge; the season 11 premiere immediately walked that back by explaining that it literally was a vision, and there was still time to stop…

It would be going too far to say that “Nothing Lasts Forever” is The X-Files’ goriest episode. For one thing, the show has roughly half a gazillion entries to its credit, and I can’t be sure I remember them all clearly enough to make such a grand pronouncement; for another, “Home” exists. But the lengths to which a…

The title gives the game away. The name “Familiar” refers to the shape-shifting demon who appears multiple times throughout the hour, a mysterious beast as comfortable in the clothes of (seriously creepy) kid show staples as it is in the skin of an ex-lover. But it’s also an accurate description of the episode as a…

Perhaps the only real novelty left to The Walking Dead is in the show’s increasingly desperate efforts to find new ways of telling the same old story. A few important things happen this week, namely the end of the Scavengers and Simon betraying his boss, but what’s most immediately striking is the episode’s format:…

We’re living in the future now, when things are supposed to be easier. And they are, they are. Most of us carry small computers with us everywhere we go, machines that can play music, games, order a pizza or check on the weather or even occasionally make phone calls, and it’s only getting better. Right? Right. But I…

Be honest: how much do you care about Carl? Do you care about him as a character? As a symbol? Are you invested in his relationship with his father and/or Michonne? Do you sometimes wonder exactly how old he’s supposed to be? “Honor” isn’t entirely focused on Carl; the plus-sized midseason premiere follows two primary…

It almost works. If you squint and you’re kind (or if you’ve been enjoying the ride thus far and see no reason to get off the train just yet), “Will You Take My Hand?” is an acceptable, even inspiring, season finale. The loose plot threads are all tied off; the Klingon War is ended; Burnham gets a chance to be a hero…

“Kitten” opens with a Vietnam War flashback. This isn’t new ground for the show—the war, with its morass of political betrayal and meaningless death is fertile subtextual territory for the mythology—but there’s something almost charming to see it now, a curious nostalgia arising at the vision of a helicopter bearing…