Movie #33 of 2026: Doctor Who (1996) Objectively, there’s a lot about this TV movie — a continuation of the Classic Doctor Who run of 1963-1989 and failed pilot for further onscreen adventures — that doesn’t really work. The technobabble plot is difficult to follow and crams in unexplained references to things like Daleks that …
Tag Archives: four stars
Book Review: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
Book #108 of 2026: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia #2) [Note: this is an updated version of my review from 2020.] This is the second volume of its series by internal chronology, but I maintain that these stories are best approached in publication order instead. …
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Book Review: Minute Cryptic by Angas Tiernan and Liam Runnalls
Book #105 of 2026: Minute Cryptic by Angas Tiernan and Liam Runnalls Cryptic crosswords are a sort of puzzle, more common in England, in which the answers to clues involve creative wordplay rather than outside trivia. Generally the solution will be a synonym for either the start or the end of the prompt, with the …
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Book Review: Gregor and the Code of Claw by Suzanne Collins
Book #101 of 2026: Gregor and the Code of Claw by Suzanne Collins (The Underland Chronicles #5) This series has had its ups and downs, but it concludes on a high note that ties everything together rather gracefully. Following the cliffhanger from the last volume, the story resumes with the humans and their allies in …
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TV Review: Mad Men, season 1
TV #29 of 2026: Mad Men, season 1 There’s a lot to enjoy in the first season of this stylish period drama, which is already living up to its reputation as one of the better shows of the so-called Peak TV era. It’s an antihero character study supported by a healthy ensemble — nearer to …
Book Review: The Chosen by Chaim Potok
Book #96 of 2026: The Chosen by Chaim Potok First published in 1967 and set in the waning days and aftermath of World War II, this bestseller presents readers with a nuanced impression of American Judaism and some of its internal divisions. Author Chaim Potok at times veers too far in that direction and reduces …
Book Review: Coffin Moon by Keith Rosson
Book #95 of 2026: Coffin Moon by Keith Rosson If S. A. Cosby ever turned his hand to writing Stephen King-style supernatural horror, the result might be something like this: a 70s revenge noir in which a Vietnam veteran bartender and his teenage niece embark on a cross-country journey to track down the vampire who …
Book Review: Jupiter by Ben Bova
Book #93 of 2026: Jupiter by Ben Bova I’m not convinced that this story about an established research station orbiting Jupiter really is the next chronologically in Ben Bova’s Grand Tour sequence after The Precipice, in which humanity was first starting to mine the asteroid belt for resources, but that’s what the late author’s website …
TV Review: Classic Doctor Who, season 26
TV #28 of 2026: Classic Doctor Who, season 26 By certain metrics, what we now call the “Classic” iteration of Doctor Who had already gone on too long when it was eventually cancelled in 1989. Twenty-six seasons is far more than most TV shows get to have, and the program had passed through some dire …
Book Review: Gregor and the Marks of Secret by Suzanne Collins
Book #90 of 2026: Gregor and the Marks of Secret by Suzanne Collins (The Underland Chronicles #4) This penultimate volume is easily the strongest of its series since the debut, largely for dispensing with the tired structure of yet another ancient prophecy sending our returning tween hero on yet another quest. (Granted, those elements both …
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