GregHowley.com

Peripheral

I didn't initially recognize Chloë Grace Moretz as the girl from Kick-Ass - she's all grown up now. Apparently, this Amazon series is adapted from a 2014 story by William Gibson.

The story takes place in a near-future where many science fiction tropes exist. The military uses cybernetic implants, online VR gaming is extremely popular, and of course there are pseudo time travel shenanigans.

While it's not going to land in my top ten tv shows, The Peripheral was an excellent show, and easy to recommend.

The Man Who Fell To Earth

I was pleasantly surprised and quite impressed by this reimagining of the old 1976 David Bowie film. I'd never before really appreciated Chiwetel Ejiofor as an actor, but he kills it in this role. The story is top-notch, and bits of humor are sprinkled in such that they'd occasionally have me laughing out loud. Sadly, Showtime has already cancelled the show, but if you can get access, it's totally worth a watch.

The Last of Us

One of the biggest TV hits of the year, it's likely that you already know about this show. I'd played the video game years prior and was pleased with how closely the show held to the events of the game. In my opinion, Pedro Pascal is getting a bit too ubiquitous on streaming shows nowadays, but did well in the role. Bella Ramsey was an actress I'd not seen since Game of Thrones, and she's excellent. Anna Torv has been a favorite of mine since Fringe, and I'll always enjoy a show which includes her.

Of course the show had a number of standout moments - sneaking through the museum, the powerful flashback to a scientist as she slowly realizes that this is the end of the world, and of course the Nick Offerman episode, which was almost a standalone film in itself.

But what to me stood out most was the music. The first episode ended with Depeche Mode's Never Let Me Down Again, which of course I'd heard a hundred times before, but then it was stuck in my head for the better part of a week. After that, when Nick Offerman sang Long, Long Time, that song then got stuck in my head, despite the fact that I'd never particularly liked it overly much. Somehow, the show has a knack for including songs that stick.

I'm not really sure that I want a second season from

Wheel of Time, Season 2

I've been a huge fan of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series since I first picked up the series in the 90s while I was in college. I'd often thought that the books would best be brought to the screen as a series rather than a film, because two or three hours just isn't enough time to tell the story of a single book in the series. Sadly, the first season felt a bit lacking, but I was pleasantly surprised by the second season, which did better.

I do have a few disappointments, chiefly the look of Loial, who appears far too human in the TV series - I was looking for huge hairy pointy ears on an eighteen inch wide face, and instead just got a large man. I also wasn't a huge fan of how they started Perrin off married and excluded Masten Luhan entirely.

On the other hand, the showrunners brought Trollocs to the screen brilliantly. I can't imagine the Trollocs looking any better. The Myrdraal look perhaps a bit too much like that creepy monster from Pan's Labyrinth with the eyes on his hands, but I'm satisfied. I look forward to seeing Grey Men and Draghkar.

I also loved seeing Daise Congar and the Emonds Fielders taking down a Trolloc with pitchforks in season one. It wonderfully represented those townsfolk who are enemies on a daily basis coming together when it's truly a matter of life and death, and showed that those plucky little villagers of Emonds field really do descend from a line of heroes.

I'd initially been lukewarm on the casting, but I've warmed up to it. Josha Stradowski is very good as Rand, and Johann Meyers makes an excellent Padan Fain. While I'd initially been off-put by the diversity of the cast, upon further thought it makes total sense that a medieval-like society that came about by way of a sort of Dark Age following a cataclysm would be more diverse. Before the Breaking, many cities in this setting were much like modern day cities in their diversity, with magic replacing technology.

In the end, I suppose I have only two casting decisions with which I'm not entirely satisfied: First, Mat Cauthon. I didn't love the actor season one, but they replaced him. So I'm fairly pleased about that, as Mat two is satisfactory. Secondly, Rosamund Pike, who I honestly love as an actress, is quite tall, whereas Moriaine is supposed to be very petite. I also wonder how they might have replicated the "ageless" effect which the books ascribe to Aes Sedai. Perhaps leaving that out entirely was a good choice, because I don't even know how they'd have gone about it.

You

I'd heard the series You highly spoken of, and went in expecting something a lot like Dexter. What I got wasn't quite Dexter, but somehow I still enjoyed the show.

Penn Badgely plays the character Joe Goldberg, who is an obsessive stalker. And while the character is ultimately a psycho who should be behind bars, somehow you come out liking him.

The show is no Dexter, but I binged all four seasons this year, and was satisfied.

I'll also say that I wish they had cast Penn Badgely as Reed Richards in the upcoming Fantastic Four movie rather than Pedro Pascal.

Extrapolations

Extrapolations is an interesting anthology, streaming on Apple TV. It proports mostly to show the effects of climate change, and as its episodes progress, each leaping forward in time between one and twelve years, it tells a number of different stories, exploring the implications of climate disaster in much the same way that Max Brooks explores the implications of a zombie apocalypse in his book World War Z.

The Sopranos

I'd never seen the Sopranos. So at some point this year, I decided to finally dive in, and I binged the whole thing.

Personally, I prefer Breaking Bad, but I did enjoy the show. Not much more to say about it.

Attack on Titan

It's an anime. That's almost the only thing I've got to say. But unlike something like Demon Slayer, which I also did watch this year, Attack on Titan has soldiers which fly around on cables attacking giant mindless man-eaters. When a character in the show finds themselves in the grip of one of these giant's massive hands, their terrified reactions in the five seconds or so before they're bitten in half borders on hard to watch.

The world-building begins as super-interesting. Three huge concentric walls were built nobody-knows how long ago to protect the last remaining human city from the monstrous titans, but the outer wall has fallen, and all that land has been lost. There's also an odd gap in the culture's history - nobody seems to remember what happened before a certain date.

From there, the world-building begins to grow more and more bizarre. When a new season began with a civil war that didn't much seem to involve titans, I decided not to continue. Perhaps I'll go back to it someday.

Black Mirror, Season 6

I've been a fan of Black Mirror since its first season. Episodes such as White Bear, Metalhead, and Nosedive are some of the best speculative fiction I've seen. And while this season's opener was good, the season overall felt sub-par.

Joan is Awful - This first episode in the season was its best. A woman named Joan watches a streaming show named Joan is Awful, and comes to the realization that it's about her. As the show goes on, it gets more and more meta, and goes to some very unexpected places.

Loch Henry Loch Henry, about a documentarian couple who revisits a childhood home to cover a string of homicides, wasn't that great. Not up to Black Mirror's standards.

Beyond the Sea - The premise is interesting. In an alternate 1969, two astronauts telecommute. While their physical bodies are on a long space trip, they project their consciousness back to Earth to spend time with their families. Then one of the astronauts has his family and his replica body killed by a Manson-like cult, leaving him isolated. Things get more complicated from there.

Mazey Day - A retired paparazi photographer in need of cash returns to work for one photo opportunity. What starts as a fairly boring episode ends up having an excellent twist. I won't ruin it here, but it was nice.

Demon 79 - Going after a 1970s grindhouse feel, Demon 79 sees a British woman visited by a demon who tells her that she must kill three people within three days, or the world will end.

While this latest season of Black Mirror was possibly the least good of them all, I'm hoping that more seasons are produced. I've not yet given up on the show.

Silo

I read Wool years ago, and Shift slightly after that, so I already knew the story, although it had been long enough that I'd forgotten much of it. I wasn't familiar with Rebecca Ferguson, but I like Will Patton a lot, and I know Iain Glen from his time on Game of Thrones. And it's certainly great to see Tim Robbins on screen.

The series kept very close to the book, and it was great to see the silo's huge spiral stair, just as I'd always imagined. I was a bit taken aback when season one ended just about halfway through the book, but I applaud the decision, as it's an excellent breaking point, and much better than cramming too much story into too few episodes.

Sandman

I watched Sandman primarily because I'd heard so much hype about the graphic novel over the years. At first, I watched one episode and then lost interest. Eventually, I went back and watched it all. Right now, months later, I barely remember the plot. It didn't hold my interest nearly as much as I'd have liked.

Twisted Metal

A show based on a video game. I expected complete dog shit. Hmm. It's got Anthony Mackie - that's a good sign, as I generally like him.

I watched the show and was very pleasantly surprised. I'd never played the Playstation game, although I was certainly familiar, as it was a contemporary of games like Kings Field, Tenchu: Stealth Assassins, and Parasite Eve.

While it's not my top recommendation, Twisted Metal not only held my attention, it surpassed my low expectations. The Sweet Tooth character was a standout.

Ahsoka

I've not been as into the Star Wars streaming content as I am into the Marvel streaming content, but Ahsoka was good. Better than the Obi Wan show, at least. From what I understand, Ahsoka was a love letter to those who followed the Star Wars: Rebels cartoon, which I never did.

Scavengers Reign

There's so much animation out nowadays, and it can be really hit or miss. That in mind, I went into Scavengers Reign somewhat uncertain, and ready to bail out if the show was bad.

The show was not bad.

The basic story is that of a huge spaceship, with dozens if not hundreds of hibernating humans on a long trip. The ship encounters an emergency and crashes on an alien planet. So far, very in line with sci-fi tropes. But the worldbuilding and the life on the planet is fascinating. That's what really held my interest.

Squid Game: The Challenge

I don't like reality shows. I really don't. I think the last one I watched was Survivor, back when it was new over 20 years ago. But I did enjoy Squid Game, so I decided to at least check this one out.

It was interesting. And the twists they put on the challenges really did hold my interest. I hear there was some scandal about the treatment of show participants, but I've very intentionally avoided looking that up. I want not to know.

Invincible, Season 2

At the time I'm writing, only four episodes of Invincible's second season have been released. It's gone in an interesting and unexpected direction, but I'm still fairly confused by what I imagine may have been a flash-forward in the first episode. Maybe an alternate timeline? All I know is that it's very confusing.

I'll be on the lookout for more episodes, as I do enjoy Invincible.

For All Mankind, Season 4

For All Mankind remains my favorite currently-airing show. Now in season four, mankind has reached Mars. The season is still airing as I write this, and I haven't even seen all the currently-released episodes, but I get the feeling that they're moving towards Mars becoming its own state/country, independent of the Earth. Only time will tell if my guess is correct.

Four seasons is a decent run for any show, and at this point, I've got to start wondering where they might end the story. Thinking beyond the inner planets is a bit mind-bending when you're going as hard-science as the showwriters on For All Mankind are. Jupiter is much much farther than Mars, and I don't know enough to imagine why we might want to go there. Terraforming Mars seems a more likely next step, but even though the science in this series has far outpaced reality, imagining terraforming might fall outside the hard science feel that's served For All Mankind so well until now.

I really don't know what to expect next from the show, but I'll be watching.

What If...?, Season 2

I binged all of What If's second season in a single day, and loved it. Without reviewing the episodes individually, I will say that Shakespearean Hulk was my favorite, and that Captain Carter's continued relevance is quite excellent.