In a very "we need to go back" mood but for classic sci-fi/fantasy book covers. (Pictured: Michael Whelan's covers for Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy).
I have zero familiarity with the source material beyond cultural osmosis, but I watched the first episode of Halo and liked it. It does have the mild stench of “based on a video game” but the core hook of “brainwashed super soldier starts to regain his humanity” is compelling.
To give this show the small amount of credit it deserves, there are moments approaching poignancy like the final scenes with Obi-Wan and Vader or Moses Ingram at the end of Reva's arc. McGregor doesn't phone it in even if the material rarely rises to his level.
I’m watching the Obi-Wan Kenobi series and, really, the desert of craft and imagination that is on offer here just makes me sad. It’s pure corporate product rubber stamped with the Star Wars logo, no spark or life to be found.
One cool thing I got into during my Twitter break was Legend of the Galactic Heroes (the Die Neue These version, I haven’t read the books or seen the OVAs). Really smart sci-fi with a fascinating sense of history and worldbuilding.
Watching the first episode of The Orville and it's so heavily "just Star Trek" that it feels like the only reason it has jokes in it is to keep it legally distinct.
There are two widely available cuts of The Shining (the US and European cuts) and the only one I’ve seen is the shorter version. It runs at a tight 2 hours and doesn’t feel like it’s missing anything, so it’d be interesting to see how much difference the extra material makes.