It’s a testament to South Park’s flexibility that, 20 years in, they’ve pulled off one of their best seasons ever by completely reinventing their storytelling method. Season 18 flirted with serialization; the first few episodes had plot threads that carried over from one to the next. Then Season 19 went all out with the concept, following a season-long story in which the town retooled itself, becoming more sophisticated (they got a Whole Foods) in order to better fit into a politically correct world....

“Is it just me, or is this kind of weird?” That’s right, alternate dimensions that are forcing themselves into ours, and while Dandy has certainly explored different universes, time travel, and a wealth of “What If?” like bizarro situations, this is certainly a different take on it all. Basically, another universe shows up, which would be a complication in itself, but it’s also two-dimensional. This flat, two-dimensional universe is beautifully depicted here, almost like something out of Minecraft, but this stuff really starts to shine when you get things like the visuals of missiles being into the 2D universe, only to be rendered into 8-bit like copies....

3.7 Mors Indecepta Indeed, this was a good episode on every level, not just because we saw the rebels get a much-needed and unequivocal win, but because the tension was ratcheted right up. Cold, hungry, trapped between an impassable wall and an undefeatable legion and with a storm incoming, it was no surprise things were getting fraught in the rebel camp. As the tension rose, the emotions became heightened, and subplots spilled over into the main plot making every twist more satisfying as a result....

Being that it’s at least 40 years since I saw these shows presented in the order I’ve now watched them, it was something of a shock to discover that it got all the way to episode 26 before the Klingons first appeared. It should also be noted that, due to cost constraints, these aren’t the cranial-ridged villains of the movies and later TV shows, but slightly more swarthy adversaries. Errand Of Mercy is yet another story from the almost endless science fiction conveyor of Gene L....

A selection of new characters keeps the plot fresher than in “The Disappeared Pt. I.” The city is more convincing than the queen’s palace, and very pretty, from the starry sky to a bushel of plants with tiny flowers like reflected stars. The city is dark but not muddled, and the bright sky and the cultists’ white uniforms are a good way to keep the screen interesting while still providing atmospheric shadows....

Though The Clone Wars has established itself for its mightily impressive visuals and exciting set pieces, this season opener is certainly more low key and, dare I say, thoughtful. Those familiar with The Clone Wars, after finding out who the characters are in the squad, will soon realise that this story is actually a prequel to the excellent season one episode Rookies (reviewed here). Another testament to the complexity of this ever-growing series....

Star Wars Rebels Season 4 Episode 14 The journey is almost over. The penultimate episode of Star Wars Rebels trades the mysticism of “The World Between Worlds” for a breathless action sequence, a triple-cross, and the vicious beauty of the loth-wolves. While the Imperials attack the remote Rebel base, the Rebels have their own secret weapon: Rex’s clone buddies and the pack of wolves that exist not as symbolic Force spirits but as animals that can bite and rend....

Supergirl: Season 3, Episode 9 Tonight’s stunning episode of Supergirl featured the most beautifully shot fight of the series so far, some of that old sense of humor we’ve all been missing, and a ratcheting up of the emotional intensity for almost every story arc. The stakes on Supergirl are personal and emotional, and that serves the tone of the show well. But for the first time in ages, it genuinely feels like Supergirl could lose a physical fight....

Metatron lets us know he’s in control right from the start as he talks straight to the camera, tells us he wants to tell a story, and then full-on hijacks the title sequence. The Supernatural logo with dark angel wings is replaced with Metatron’s name. This will be his show. A joyous, fangirl pleasing moment was when Gabriel, aka The Trickster, appeared to Castiel and they buddied up for a while....

9.23 Do You Believe In Miracles? Well, that was… unsurprising. Do You Believe In Miracles? was not a bad season finale. It’s just that it felt like it was missing those jaw-dropping plot twists, shocking cliffhangers, and high tension that’s been the stuff of most of Supernatural finales. In fact, last week’s episode felt like much more of a season finale, while this episode, though it had some truly moving moments, honestly felt like it wasn’t doing anything much more exciting than setting up next season....

This is short lived, however, as, after an encounter with Roger Lloyd-Pack, who at first seems like a benevolent trader, things go downhill as the team once again run into Samantha Willis and her pseudo government controlled facility. Taking Tom hostage, the rest of the team are invited to join Samantha’s jury to try Tom for his ‘crime’. With the family members (Abby, Greg and Anya) supposedly outnumbered in the jury of Samantha’s kangaroo court, it seems that we will finally get to see what Tom had done in the past and why at the beginning of the first series he was in prison....

1.1 The Blueprint Campus rape is a subject that has been creeping into television at a disappointingly slow pace. Veronica Mars spent a whole half-season on it back in 2007, and last year Switched At Birth tackled it with grace and thoughtfulness (I’m sure there are more examples I’m unaware of). Of course, Netflix’s Jessica Jones was also a breakthrough moment for exploring consent on screen. To reach young people with explorations of these issues, it’s incredibly important to do so in their language....

3.14 More Bad Than Good Certainly, some people have a harder time handling the transition than others. Stiles might have made the leap easily, since Scott’s his best friend, but Jackson went a little mad with the desire for power, while Sheriff Stilinski is still looking for rational explanations for irrational events. Of course, when the deranged father (Todd Stashwick) of suspected missing girl Malia Tate (Shelley Hennig) starts putting hundreds of bear traps in the forest and bringing guns into the high school, looking for the rational behind the irrational makes a little more sense....

It starts a bit strangely with Sarah attending a UFO convention, which is full of those that claim to have been abducted or to have seen extraterrestrials. She’s there following her obsession about the three dots, which she’s seen now presented on markings of UFOs people say they’ve seen. Unfortunately, her cynicism isn’t well obscured and she comes over to some of the participants as just there to admire the freak show....

Such is the approach taken by director Alan (Thor: The Dark World, Game Of Thrones) Taylor and screenwriters Patrick Lussier and Laeta Kalogridis in Terminator Genisys. Six years after Salvation failed to take off, the franchise is now in the hands of the production company Skydance, which has taken a similarly reverential approach to the Terminator as it did with its Star Trek reboot in 2009 – new actors in familiar roles, a fresh twist on a popular story....

Zone of the Enders 2: The Second Runner As with Rez, the first Zone of the Enders was not a huge success, certainly not by Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear Solid)’s standards. Consequently, not too many copies were produced of this sequel. While it’s not the rarest to find, it’s another you’re not likely to find waiting for you on the shelves in Game. Worth it, however, if you’ve ever longed to punch someone so hard they smash backwards through several buildings before exploding in a ball of flame....

2.15 Blood Must Have Blood We begin where we started off, inside Mount Weather. Only, this time, rather than seeing the strange, sterile alternative to the wild, feral ground from Clarke’s perspective, we’re seeing Clarke and her newly-built army through the eyes of Cage, trying to keep things together despite the seemingly insurmountable forces he’s managed to tick off over the course of his week-long reign. With the Arkers and Grounders outside, ready to storm the gates at any moment, Mount Weather is just as much a prison for its inhabitants as it is a safe haven away from the deadly radiation outside....

First thing’s first, those credits. My god they’re good this year. As the tones of Prokofiev’s Dance of the Knights kicks in, Sir Alan tells the Sugar Babes and Boys that he’s the world’s most belligerent boss (not a very positive characteristic) and that he ‘doesn’t give a shit’ (ditto). On to the task then, and as the teams decide on some outlandish flavour choices – Avocado and Chilli take anyone’s fancy?...

Last week, the show was edited, therefore, in such a way so as to make guessing who was going to be fired pretty much impossible. And this week, with the candidates heading off to a bakery, no doubt with the producers chuckling to themselves at the thought of comedy gold, I was determined not to be drawn into the game of it all. Even if it seemed blindingly obvious which way things were going for the last 25 minutes or so....