sci-fi - page 2

What could be better than the Hello Tomorrow! season finale? A second season. [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★☆

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Billy Crudup and Dagmara Dominczyk in ★★★★☆
Nobody's really going to the moon ... are they?
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewThe first season of Hello Tomorrow!, the Apple TV+ show about men selling lunar dreams and lies, comes to a close this week in high style.

Jack needs to tie up some loose ends, and he has no plan for what happens when his clients finally get to the moon. His son Joey must figure out who to honor, his mother or his father. Eddie has butterfingers and Shirley has to pay for it. And someone is, at long last, awake.

The season finale, entitled “What Could Be Better?,” is a great conclusion to a great season.

Silo trailer delves into a deep mystery coming to Apple TV+

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Explore the deep mystery of the 'Silo'
In Silo, if the lies don't kill you, the truth will.
Photo: Apple TV+

Silo premieres in May, and Apple TV+ just released the full trailer for the upcoming drama series based on a bestselling trilogy of dystopian novels.

In the series, a few thousand people are left on earth hiding in a mile-deep silo. But what if everything they’ve ever been told about the outside world is a lie?

Morpho machine’s tiny cards trigger gigantic changes on The Big Door Prize [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★

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Cocoa Brown, Damon Gupton and Noor Naghmi in ★★★
Change is definitely in the air on The Big Door Prize.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewApple TV+’s high-concept existential comedy The Big Door Prize tackles the big questions this week. A small town has been invaded by something called the Morpho machine, a device that prints out cards based on people’s identities and tells them what they’re meant to be in life.

Some people love the Morpho machine and the big changes it triggers. Others, like our hero Dusty and a local priest, have issues with it. A strong showing from The Big Door Prize cast helps this week’s episode, entitled, “Father Reuben,” go down easy.

Extrapolations trades climate doom for invigorating action this week [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★☆☆

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Adarsh Gourav in ★★★☆☆
A pair of unlikely allies carry a mysterious cargo through some rough spots in India this week.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewApple TV+ climate disaster show Extrapolations takes a road trip this week to the sweltering underbelly of a continent in crisis. Across two long days, unlikely allies will transport a secret package that many other interested parties are gunning for.

Extrapolations is essentially an omnibus series about the future, as seen through the eyes of people affected by climate change. That means every episode bears a distinct identity. In this week’s installment, entitled “2059 Part II: Nightbirds,” the creative team hits upon something partly neo-realist, partly Bourne-inspired action and party speculative fiction. It’s the most consistent and engrossing episode of the very patchy show so far.

In The Big Door Prize, a mystery machine knows your future [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★

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Episode 1. Chris O’Dowd in ★★★
When a mysterious machine appears in a small town, the residents get a disruptive look at their future possibilities.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ Review New Apple TV+ high-concept sci-fi comedy The Big Door Prize stars perennial sad sack Chris O’Dowd as a man whose little world is rocked when a strange machine appears in the general store of his small town. Suddenly, friends and neighbors are changing their lives — and he feels out of step.

Funny, thought-provoking and sad, The Big Door Prize makes an interesting addition to the Apple TV+ lineup.

Extrapolations takes a go at geoengineering terror [Apple TV+ recap] ★★☆☆☆

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Edward Norton and Mia Maestro in ★★☆☆☆
Can Edward Norton save the world from climate change? Can anyone?!?
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewApple TV+ limited series Extrapolations steeps itself in sci-fi wonkery this week as members of a tech billionaire family find themselves on opposing sides of a terrorist action meant to move the needle on climate change.

Novelist Dave Eggers joins the show’s writing team this week, and Edward Norton, Indira Varma and Michael Gandolfini lead the cast.

While this isn’t a bad version of what Extrapolations set out to do, the show’s sprawling mission statement remains blinkered.

Extrapolations is a sprawling cli-fi disaster [Apple TV+ recap] ★☆☆☆☆

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Episode 1. Sienna Miller in ★☆☆☆☆
The world is ablaze in Extrapolations. Quick, somebody get a fire extinguisher!
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ Review Astonishingly overwritten and mega-ambitious sci-fi parable Extrapolations, which premiered today on Apple TV+, has a cast of thousands and more than a few things on its mind. None of what show creator Scott Z. Burns (who wrote Contagion and The Bourne Ultimatum) is saying in this show about the impact of climate change can be argued with. But the messages aren’t easily swallowed, either.

Rather than leave room for viewers to draw their own conclusions, Extrapolations sits you down and yells at you for 10 hours of dreary cli-fi drama. It’s certainly distinctive — but that’s not always a good thing.

Bye-bye, Baba Voss! See unleashes an incendiary series finale. [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★☆☆

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See series finale recap Apple TV+: We'll miss you, Baba Voss!★★★☆☆
We'll miss you, Baba Voss!
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewPost-apocalyptic Apple TV+ series See comes to its thrilling conclusion this week, sending off Baba Voss and his family in high bloody fashion.

With the whole of civilization in a tunnel to freedom, Haniwa, Maghra and Kofun must decide whether to let Baba go to his death by himself or stay with their people in their hour of need. Can Baba stop deposed queen Sibeth Kane before she destroys everything, or before he gets caught and killed?

It took three seasons, but See is finally worth seeing. And wouldn’t you know it? It’s over.

See takes its sweet time getting to its ultimate battle [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★☆☆

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See recap Apple TV+ ★★★☆☆
It's hugs all around this week on See.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewThe sky is falling this week on See, Apple TV+’s fantasy epic about a world with no sight. In the penultimate episode of the series, Baba Voss and Maghra have precious few resources left at hand to defend themselves from Sibeth Kane and Tormada’s explosives.

Harlan has one last gift to give Maghra. And Tormada learns what governing next to Sibeth really looks like. Plus, we get flashbacks to Baba and Maghra’s courtship. All in all, it’s a pretty good episode of a very silly show.

See ups the ante with cannibals and an evil power couple [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★☆☆

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See recap: You can't keep a crazy ex-queen down!★★★☆☆
You can't keep a crazy ex-queen down!
Photo: Apple TV+

It’s wedding bells for lovely new couple Sibeth Kane and Tormada on this week’s episode of See, the Apple TV+ show set in the not-too-distant future in a world full of blind people. The deposed queen has consolidated her power and is ready for her next move.

Elsewhere in this dystopian world, Lord Harlan recommends a fateful shortcut, Maghra’s done playing Mr. Nice Guy, Lucien’s luck runs out, and Baba Voss kills lots and lots and lots of people.

It’s an above-average outing for the Nietzschean, not-quite-samurai epic.

See gets back to its murderous best [Apple TV+ recap] ★★☆☆

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See recap: It's massacre time on See, thank goodness.★★☆☆
It's massacre time again on See, thank goodness.
Photo: Apple TV+

It’s close quarters combat on this week’s See, and plenty of it. The Apple TV+ show about a dystopian society run by blind people hits a violent snag as Tormada comes for his bombs — and finds Baba Voss and his sword waiting for him.

Also, Haniwa gets an earful and an eyeful of destructiveness and it just about breaks her. Harlan has to say a messy goodbye to my favorite character, and Sheva brings out the big guns to protect her family.

On See, action always speaks louder than words [Apple TV+ recap] ★★☆☆

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See recap Apple TV+: As always, ★★☆☆
As always, See is at its best when it lets Jason Momoa be Jason Momoa.
Photo: Apple TV+

War seems inevitable on this week’s episode of See, the Apple TV+ show about a world that lost its sight and its mind. Harlan gets closer to divining the nature of the explosive coup being plotted in Trivantes, and deposed queen Sibeth Kane is in the wind and shacking up with a serpent.

Baba Voss and his family go looking for trouble, and there are vendettas aplenty that need settling. All in all, it stands as a decent episode that exhibits few of the show’s worst habits.

Explosive revelations set See on a course for war [Apple TV+ recap] ★★☆☆☆

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See recap Apple TV+: Oh, Kofun, what have you done?★★☆☆☆
Oh, Kofun, what have you done?
Photo: Apple TV+

This week’s See finds everyone taking stock of their miserable situations before the inevitable next course of action. The Apple TV+ dystopian sci-fi epic about a world where most people lost their sight generations ago is getting ready for war.

Sibeth is missing, Baba is back, Maghra finally sees the light, Tamacti Jun is at his wit’s end, and Kofun steps up.

See can’t find a way to make the murk work [Apple TV+ recap] ★★☆☆☆

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See recap Apple TV: Maghra (played by Hera Hilmar) and Baba Voss (Jason Momoa) come face-to-face again.★★☆☆☆
Maghra (played by Hera Hilmar) and Baba Voss (Jason Momoa) come face-to-face again.
Photo: Apple TV+

Baba Voss returns to civilization after a short-lived exile on this week’s episode of See, the Apple TV+ show about a world in the future where everyone on earth has gone blind.

Our hero Baba Voss (played by Jason Momoa) is trying to raise the alarm about explosives — but no one wants to hear it. Plus, his adopted sun Kofun is still shaky on the needs of fatherhood, and Baba’s wife Queen Maghra is between a rock and a hard place. Maghra’s sister, deposed queen Sibeth Kane, may have run out of ways to stay alive.

It’s a silly episode from start to finish — even if you manage to see what’s happening amid all the murky on-screen action.

See’s biggest problem is a total lack of vision [Apple TV+ recap] ☆☆☆

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☆☆☆
Baba Voss (played by Jason Momoa) is looking for answers in See's final season.
Photo: Apple TV+

Oh, brother, here we go again. See is back for its third and final season with more grim, doomy, portentous, heavily filtered, scowling, medieval dystopian tedium for you.

The Apple TV+ show about a future Earth where most everybody is blind takes one last lap through Joseph Campbell and the big book of heroic cliches.

Jason Momoa’s Baba Voss is on the lam, Kofun’s a father (and hates everything about it), Maghra’s having no fun at all being queen, and Kane is still insane in the membrane. Strap in.

For All Mankind goes out with a bang in season 3 finale [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★☆☆

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For All Mankind season 3 finale recap Apple TV+: Things are getting dicey at NASA.★★★☆☆
Things are getting dicey at NASA because of course they are.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+ space opera/soap opera For All Mankind closes its confounding third season this week by introducing us to a new character and a new geopolitical rival for the beleaguered space crews.

In this week’s season three finale, entitled “Stranger in a Strange Land,” Ed Baldwin learns Danny’s terrible secret. Jimmy Stevens hangs out with the wrong crowd for just a few minutes too long. Margo’s in trouble, Kelly’s giving birth, Karen’s making bold choices, and Dev is up a creek.

None of that’s going to matter by this week’s third act, of course. Just you wait and see.

Mars is getting monotonous on For All Mankind [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★☆☆

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For All Mankind recap: It's always something.★★★☆☆
Whether on Earth or on Mars, it's always something.
Photo: Apple TV+

For All Mankind holds a few cliffhangers up its sleeve in season 3’s penultimate episode, but first it must deal with its soapy dilemmas.

Ellen and Larry are in the hot seat, Kelly Baldwin’s baby is coming along ahead of schedule, Aleida Rosales is all out of heroes, Karen and Dev might switch jobs — and Danny Stevens’ goose might be cooked!

A decent episode of the Apple TV+ alt-history sci-fi hit focuses on plot nitty-gritty and emotional turmoil, until it gives way to a typically frustrating final reveal.

For All Mankind faces Martian disaster in ‘The Sands of Ares’ [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★☆☆

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For All Mankind recap: Danielle Poole (played by Krys Marshall) tries to save lives on Mars this week on For All Mankind.★★★☆☆
Danielle Poole (played by Krys Marshall) tries to save lives on Mars this week on For All Mankind.
Photo: Apple TV+

For All Mankind has a Martian crisis on its hands this week’s episode, “The Sands of Ares.” Ed and Danny are trapped, Danielle has to come get them, and Karen, Jimmy, and Amber wait on tenterhooks for news of the rescue.

It’s all hands on deck at NASA in the meantime, in the Apple TV+ space soap. People start confessing dark things as they face down death. And there may not be enough people left to make any sense of the Mars mission when it’s over.

For All Mankind suffers from an unbearable lack of imagination [Apple TV+ recap] ★★☆☆

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For All Mankind recap: The jig is almost up for Ellen (played by Jodi Balfour) and Larry (Nate Corddry).★★☆☆
The jig is almost up for Ellen (played by Jodi Balfour) and Larry (Nate Corddry).
Photo: Apple TV+

For All Mankind spins its wheels this week until a catastrophe in the back half of the episode. Danny’s losing it. Ed’s being Ed. Jimmy commits some low-level espionage. Ellen and Larry find themselves under a microscope. Aleida closes in on the truth. And Margo is losing everything.

A surprise cameo from one of history’s greatest monsters reinforces the lack of imagination on the part of a show whose only job is to imagine greater things.

Americans and Russians spar on Mars, this week on For All Mankind [Apple TV+ recap] ★★☆☆

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For All Mankind recap: Looks like we made it to Mars.★★☆☆
Looks like we made it.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+’s For All Mankind finally made it to Mars! Still, it’s pretty much business as usual this week, what with Americans and Russians bickering and making back-alley deals, and men being boorish and short-tempered and proud of nothing.

On Earth, U.S. President Ellen Wilson must deal with gays in the military right on schedule. And on Mars, Danny’s going nuts, Ed and his adopted daughter Kelly meet, and the Russians find water — and vodka!

A perfectly OK episode of the alt-history space show is made all the more frustrating by its flashes of greatness.

For All Mankind finally makes it to Mars, and it’s depressing [Apple TV+ recap] ★★☆☆☆

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For All Mankind recap: Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner in the race to Mars.★★☆☆☆
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner in the race to Mars.
Photo: Apple TV+

In “Seven Minutes of Terror,” Apple TV+ alt-history space race show For All Mankind returns this week to where it left off last season, with America and Russia once more holding hands begrudgingly to fix some space problems.

Ed and Karen have the same trouble with authority. Danny’s cracking up. Margo’s head is in a noose. Kelly’s got a crush. And Sojourner 1 suffers from a serious a problem.

Behind the scenes, WALL-E helmer Andrew Stanton directs this week. His brand of post-classical Hollywood craftsmanship is much appreciated, if also a sad sign of where we are as a country.

For All Mankind relishes its three-way race to Mars [Apple TV+ recap] ★★☆☆

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For All Mankind recap ★★☆☆
Next stop: Mars. (Maybe.)
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+’s lunar headache For All Mankind is headed to Mars for real this time. Three competing spaceships strive to make it to the red planet first to win a huge cash prize.

NASA holds some tricks up its sleeve to beat the wilier competition, but you can’t count out the Russians just yet. They’re always willing to do something stupid to make headlines. A mostly fine episode ends on a nice little cliffhanger to boot.

For All Mankind poses great questions, then refuses to answer them [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★☆☆

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For All Mankind recap ★★★☆☆
This must be a time machine. A completely infuriating time machine.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+ alt-history hit For All Mankind makes all the right moves this week, then immediately blows a 26-point lead in the last inning.

For once, the dramatic arcs thrown at Margo, Karen, Dev, Aleida and Kelly all seem pretty satisfying and not at all cheap or hyperbolic. Then the writers ensure we won’t see how any of that plays out, instantly turning this from one of the show’s best episodes into its most frustrating yet.

But hey, at least we’re going to Mars, I guess.

For All Mankind’s mission to Mars gets a little Musk-y [Apple TV+ recap] ★★☆☆

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For All Mankind recap: Multimillionaire Dev Ayesa (played by Edi Gathegi) wants to get to Mars first.★★☆☆
Self-made multimillionaire Dev Ayesa (played by Edi Gathegi) wants to get to Mars first.
Photo: Apple TV+

For All Mankind heads to Mars a little sooner than expected this week — and with a surprise guest in the cockpit.

Danielle and Ed, then Molly and Margo, fall out. Karen and Ed fall into business together. Aleida worries about her family from the moon. And Danny Stevens is still a little psychopath.

It’s business as usual on Apple TV+’s frustrating space-exploration soap. The highs of last week’s TV movie of the week detour are already forgotten.