Movie #5 of 2024: Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) A welcome bounce back for the series. Like its two predecessors, there’s a fatalistic darkness to this Apes film, but it’s carried off better here in balance with a certain comic playfulness. The producers wrote themselves into a corner by concluding the prior …
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Movie #4 of 2024: Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) From one of the best movies in the franchise to probably its very worst. This first Planet of the Apes sequel is a real head-scratcher, and it’s a testament to the strength of the original (and the profitability of branded merchandise, one might imagine) …
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Movie #3 of 2024: Planet of the Apes (1968) Over half a century on, this first Apes film holds up remarkably well. It’s that tricky blend of smart and thrilling, the big-budget equivalent of Star Trek: TOS, which was airing on TV at that time. The ape costumes and makeup are believably immersive, while the …
TV #12 of 2024: Classic Doctor Who, season 11 A true end of an era for this show, but unfortunately not one that finds it at its best. The current star Jon Pertwee makes his exit here, of course, but behind the scenes, the influential producer Barry Letts and his script editor Terrance Dicks (who …
TV #6 of 2024: Classic Doctor Who, season 10 Jon Pertwee’s Third Doctor still has another year to go before he regenerates into Tom Baker, but this penultimate run feels like a farewell tour for his era in so many ways. The final story, The Green Death, culminates in the exit of costar Katy Manning …
TV #59 of 2023: Classic Doctor Who, season 9 Narrowly more good than great in my opinion, and certainly less innovative than the Third Doctor’s first two seasons, which radically overhauled the series on several levels and then introduced the delightful recurring villain the Master. The main change this year is just that the Doctor …
TV #46 of 2023: Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, season 1 Three-and-a-half stars, rounded up. There’s a lot of things I enjoy about this unexpected Netflix revival, which aired in 2016 after the original WB/CW program ended in 2007. In a review at the time, I mentioned: “It really feels like ten years …
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TV #45 of 2023: Classic Doctor Who, season 8 The Third Doctor’s sophomore season leans into the strengths of the previous year, which showed how the venerable sci-fi program could adapt its time-traveling and space-hopping premise to an earthbound format, with the hero assisting the UNIT military forces fend off alien invasions. He’s now joined …
TV #41 of 2023: Gilmore Girls, season 7 It’s certainly far from Gilmore Girls at its peak, but I don’t believe this final season deserves quite the low reputation it maintains in certain fan circles. Not-so-behind-the-scenes drama may be to blame — the CW network rather infamously fired showrunner/creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and head writer Daniel …
TV #35 of 2023: Gilmore Girls, season 6 Another season that’s entertaining on the surface, especially with the built-in viewer investment in these characters, but frustrating in terms of underlying logic and plot structure. Certain choices feel like they’re being imposed externally by the writers, rather than arising naturally from the individual personalities on screen, …
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