Xena: Warrior Princess Series Review

"In a time of ancient gods, warlords and kings. A land in turmoil cried out for a hero."

Like many I first started watching Xena: Warrior Princess because I loved the light-hearted fun of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. And like so many more I ended up being an even bigger fan of the warrior princess than the son of Zeus. Although both shows possessed the same tongue-in-cheek sense of humour, Xena could often be a much darker, more complex and character driven series. It was also cheesier than the entire dairy section at Sainsbury's due to the writers' willingness to indulge even their loopiest ideas.

All the Sharks

We’re doing something a little different this week. Instead of a shark attack movie, I’m reviewing a shark photography reality competition show from Netflix.

Season One Review: Kaos

"A line appears, the order wanes, the family falls, and Kaos reigns."

We can file Kaos in the "gone too soon category," or even under "What were they thinking?!" Not because the show is bad. (It's amazing.) But because I can't understand why Netflix would cancel a buzzy, interesting, diverse, and fun original show. The Netflix gods must, indeed, be crazy.

Menendez-Palooza

Netflix is currently offering more Menendez than most of us could ever want: Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, a nine episode limited series by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan that tries to shock your socks off, and The Menendez Brothers, a rather good documentary about the infamous brothers today.

Just a warning. If sexual child abuse is a trigger for you, you might want to skip both of them.

Young Sheldon: Series Review

Young Sheldon (2017-2024) is a prequel to The Big Bang Theory (2007-2019). The Big Bang Theory is a sitcom that begins with four male scientists – three of the four male leads are physicists, the fourth is an engineer – and the pretty waitress who moves in across the hall. Young Sheldon focuses on the young version of Sheldon Cooper, the most gifted and most eccentric of the scientists.

The Acolyte

"This isn't about good or bad. This is about power, and who is allowed to use it."

So, The Acolyte has ended. I screamed incoherently about one episode a while back, but that was just one episode. How did the full season fare?

This review contains spoilers for the entire season!

Lessons in Chemistry: Series Review

“Let’s begin.”

I did not expect to like Lessons in Chemistry. After one member of my book club nominated it, we all voted it down. My stepmother told me I should read the book, but she still refers to me as a “career girl” and addresses letters to “Miss Josie Kafka” rather than the more accurate “Dr. Josie Kafka.” I just don’t like twee romantic comedies, and everything I thought I knew—1950s setting, smart female chemist with a cooking show and a difficult love life—made this book, and the adaptation on Apple TV, sound like somebody else’s cup of tea.

But Lessons in Chemistry is nothing like what I was expecting.

All the Light We Cannot See: Series Review

Werner: “I have done bad things. Many of them.”
Étienne: “So have I.”

This intense, four episode series captured me from the moment it started; my husband was also intrigued. However, not all viewers agree.

The Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal

“Oh, what a tangle web we weave…” – Alex Murdaugh, when on trial for the murder of his wife and younger son.

Taking advantage of ubiquitous recording technology, Netflix creates a six-part series that shows the murders – both charged and not – surrounding the Murdaugh family (the photo shows Buster, Maggie, Paul and Alex).

Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones

“Imagine roads that are not just built for cars but are built for humans… where people are putting their purpose to work every day. These are things that blue zones tell us are attainable. We have a new lens on how to generate health and well-being for our country. A legitimate recipe for longevity. But, at the end of the day, the big epiphany is that the same things that help us live a long, healthy life, are the same things that make life worth living.”

In this four-part limited series, Dan Buettner explores several communities where people have been living much longer than the rest of us, and asks if we can apply their lessons and habits to our own lives. This seems especially relevant to those residing in the United States, where life expectancy has been going down, and not just because of Covid, despite boasting (?!) the most expensive health care system in the world.

Series Review: Succession

“No real people involved.”

HBO’s Succession is a heady, puzzling, and possibly unsatisfying exploration of the three (no, four: I almost forgot Connor) adult children of media tycoon Logan Roy (Brian Cox) as they attempt to outmaneuver their father, their acquaintances, and each other.

Series Review: Mrs. Davis

“Now here’s a fun fact.”

If there were an algorithm that could give me exactly what I want, it would give me this series. It has the grail (you know, the holy one, but not with the origin story you’re used to), an evil all-seeing social media app, nuns, magic (the prestidigitation kind), a faux pope and a real pope, a comical men’s rights community, a comical convent, mother/daughter drama, absurdist humor, a cat, a whale, a horse, and a tight plot that spans continents and, in a way, all of time.

What Once Was Old Is New Again: Night Court and That '90s Show

Red: “Ah, teenagers. I feel for you, son. On the other hand, payback’s a bitch.”

It’s official. With no new ideas, TV producers are re-creating successful sitcoms from the far, far past. This week, two reboots landed – Night Court and That '70s Show, now That '90s Show. One should have been left in the past; the other started well then settled into something fun to watch.

She-Hulk, Attorney at Law: Series Review

What happens when gamma-infected blood meets perky lawyer? For this viewer, a whole lot of fun.

Glitch: Series Review

James: “Rocky. You're born, then you nibble on a leg of lamb and then you die. And they chuck you in a hole in the ground and the worms eat you. It's f*cked, basically. But, mate... you were loved.”

Series description: "Six people return from the dead with no memory and attempt to unveil what brought them to the grave in the first place."

The blurb, however, is misleading. It’s not really six, and over the three seasons, with a total of 18 episodes, the number goes up and down.

Obi-Wan Kenobi: Series Review

“Hello there!”

Honestly, at the start of the series I really had no idea what to expect, and by the end I was so glad they took the time to craft the right story.

Meltdown: Three Mile Island

Rick Parks, whistleblower: “We’ll never have a viable nuclear industry in this country until we take the profit motive out of it.”

Netflix’s four-part series takes a look over the years at what really happened at Three Mile Island, the site of the worst nuclear accident in the United States.

Spycraft

M.I.C.E. – the four main reasons people decide to betray their home countries: Money, Ideology, Compromise, and Ego.

Spycraft is a Netflix documentary about spies and how they do what they do. And what they do often goes far beyond a lot of what you find in fiction.

Money Heist: Series Review

Tokyo: “The most important moments are the ones that make you realize there’s no turning back. You’ve crossed a line, and you’re stuck on the other side now.”

Several weeks ago my husband stayed up the entire night, because he was bingeing on a series in Spanish. I soon understood why.

Diagnosis: Series Review

Angel: Every time I walk into a doctor’s office, they say: “We don’t know how to treat you. We don’t know what to do with you.”

If you enjoyed House M.D., but you liked it more for the resolution of the medical mysteries than the dramas between the characters, then this documentary series is for you.