3.1 Mercenary Two years ago, when I first tuned in to watch Vikings, I honestly wasn’t expecting much, despite my interest in the period and culture it depicts. After all, the show was ostensibly historical material being produced for The History Channel, a cable outlet that hasn’t done much lately in the way of history. I mean, Swamp People and Pawn Stars may bring in the ratings and thus the advertisers, but I doubt they’ll end up in many chronicles of our times....

The hosts have taken over Westworld and are slaughtering obscenely rich human beings by the dozens. That seems like the kind of thing that might necessitate an extraction protocol from the security team. But on Westworld Season 2, there will be no extraction protocol. At least not until a very important host is recovered. That host’s name? Peter Abernathy. “It’s not just a host,” Charlotte Hale tells Bernard in the premiere “Journey Into Night....

Whedon ultimately departed the Batgirl movie, and on the red carpet for Avengers: Infinity War, he explained why. He added that “there were elements I hadn’t mastered and after a long time felt like I wasn’t going to. So, I told people I didn’t have an idea, which isn’t the exact truth. I had an idea that didn’t fit in the space that was left for it. It was a little heart-breaking because I was so excited about it”....

Blizzard’s decision to skip out on a story campaign for Overwatch—the company’s first big, multiplayer first-person shooter—seemed mind-boggling then. And it still does now. Even after finally getting a chance to sink a few hours into the game during Blizzard’s last beta weekend, I find my opinion hasn’t changed. There’s no denying the game’s overall fun factor or the fact that Blizzard’s doing some great things with Overwatch, but the lack of any type of single-player story mode is a huge loss....

Yet Sense8 begins not with a bang but with the image of Daryl Hannah writhing about on a fusty mattress. It’s the first in a collection of incongruous sequences which, like a mosaic, gradually come together to form a more intelligible image. The show’s high concept sees eight strangers scattered around different parts of the globe, but all united by a paranormal bond. Among them you’ll find sullen London DJ Riley (Tuppence Middleton), Nairobi bus driver Caphaeus (Ami Ameen), buff Chicago cop Will (Brian J Smith), and Mexican actor Lito (Miguel Angel Silvestre)....

It’s too bad then that Winchester is such a misfire, pardon the pun. The film was not screened for critics before release and it’s clear to see why: it’s a turgid, lifeless bore, its first two acts filled with loads of exposition and punctuated by the occasional cheap jump scare, while its final third is an onslaught of visual effects that renders an already pointless story mostly incoherent. With so many interesting horror movies coming out over the past couple of years, from both the mainstream Hollywood studios and the independent system, it’s almost surprising to see something so resolutely mediocre still get released....

Making science sexy is a feat that few presenters have pulled off, but in Cox’s hands even vulcanology takes on an erotic dimension that borders on the pornographic, with loving, lingering shots of alien planets and the infernal activities on Io described, with lip-smacking relish, as ‘hot volcanic action’. Make no mistake, this is science top-shelf style. Elsewhere, we learn that asteroids swarm around our solar system like angry bees, and that the influence of Jupiter’s gravity could fling one of these vast killer rocks into our collective faces at any given moment....

So, first things first. Is it a sequel to giant monster film Cloverfield? Yes and no. It definitely fits into that universe, but we’re not seeing monster attack part two. There’s a couple of easter eggs dropped for those paying attention. I think JJ Abrams’ description of it as a ‘spiritual sequel’ is pretty much on the money here. Imagine it being the two films being the perfect double bill....

“If you do something that really fucks with the past, the past fucks with you,” Warns diner owner Al Templeton, played by Chris Cooper, to his casual friend, the local high school English teacher Jake Epping, played by James Franco. Templeton has a tendency to age in spurts, not the regular acceleration of ageing that comes when the body ages, but in three-year-spurts that happen in about two minutes. Templeton has been taking mini-vacations....

Those of you that have been watching will know what I mean, those new in, basically Tony started as the bad guy, but he was actually undercover with help from Bill and Chloe, and then proceeded to help shut down every attempt made by other bad guys along the way, including getting into fire fights and even making a hero of himself recently by blowing up a silo full of missiles....

Sadly, illegal immigrant drama, A Better Life, doesn’t tick either of those artistic boxes, and it’s rather curious that it has been internationally distributed at all. It tells the two-pronged story of Carlos (Demián Bichir), a hard working gardener, and Luis (José Julián), his teenage son, as they live the uneasy existence which the American Dream has become for Mexican residents in California. Without citizenship, Carlos toils away at laborious cash-in-hand jobs, dreaming of one day being able to afford the expensive legal procedure that would grant him a visa....

American Dad Season 12 Episode 16 “The simple wonders of nature are quite breathtaking, but I am not the only one enjoying the view.” The lofty, out of place Biblical ruminations of last week’s episode barely even come up this week! Hallelujah! It would seem that a lot of Stan’s existential last episode was just the set-up to arrive at this curious take on digging into the dynamics of the characters....

American Gods Episode 8 As the first season of American Gods progressed, it became more and more apparent that the show had chosen an ambitiously small portion of the book to adapt in its first season. While this allowed for some excellent canon additions to the story — for example, an extension of Laura Moon’s character — it also led to a certain amount of wheel-spinning. In “Come to Jesus,” Laura confronts Wednesday (kind of) by revealing herself to a still love-struck Shadow only moments after Wednesday finally gets Shadow to believe in something other than his love for Laura....

3.10 The Magical Delights Of Stevie Nicks When you’re dealing with a show that uses shock the way most shows use a laugh track, the idea of giving away a big guest star in the title of an episode seems a little counterproductive. Rather than, say, surprising the audience with the presence of Stevie Nicks, the show announces, “Hey, we have Stevie Nicks on our show, pay attention!” Then, while you’re enchanted by the voice of the white witch, a relatively major character gets killed, alliances get forged, voodoo is voodone, and Frances Conroy continues to be the most entertaining person to appear on a Ryan Murphy television show....

4.1 Monsters Among Us Freaks is a film existing in a genre of one. If you’ve seen it, you know there are no other movies quite like it. However, Freak Show is attempting to be a second entry into that genre. Set two decades after Freaks, the freak show experience is dying a prolonged death, killed by television and changing attitudes towards bearded women and lobster boys. However, Elsa Mars (Jessica Lange) is one of the last remaining hold-outs, determined to keep her family of oddities together and profitable by any means necessary....

5.8 The Ten Commandments Killer It’s a predictable turn of events, and one that the show’s been building on for multiple weeks, in particular since the serial killer banquet brought together March and his most famous pupils in the dark arts. It’s a fun scene to revisit, particularly when it’s brought back up in this episode, as all the truth about John Lowe’s evil deeds come crashing back down around him, returning to his memory thanks to Wren’s sacrifice after escaping from the mental institution with her charge, the Ten Commandments Killer....

2.7 Dark Cousin The first thing I would tell any person watching American Horror Story: Asylum for the first time is that if they don’t like a particular character or plot development, then not to worry because it will change well before the season is over. Just look at the arc of Lily Rabe’s Sister Eunice. She’s gone from sweet little virginal nun to possessed by a demon tyrant to supernatural terror who occasionally begs for the sweet release of death, and man, is she incredible....

There’s one question that will derail any found footage movie, television show, or radio programme (if such a thing exists). That question is one that nay-sayers bring up to deflate the fun of those who can suspend disbelief: why are they still filming if they’re running from (insert villain here)? Valiantly, rather than avoid this question, Crystal Liu’s script faces it head on and gives every character motivation to be present back at the scene of the nightmare....

The last few episodes have gradually been building momentum, each storyline shifting slightly so we can gauge where it’s all heading in the end, and it looks like it might all be coming together for Daniel and Nathan’s party. There are still two episodes left and who knows whether they’ll all make it. Still, this episode reveals early on the party has two confirmed guests, Blake and Tim. Blake presumably because he’s trying to get back into his surfing career, and Tim just to piss off his mother....