Tag Archives: Watch The Skies

You Should Be Watching

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Lockwood & Co.

This was originally published in Watch The Skies February 2023 edition.

The main characters

Lockwood & Co. was a complete surprise. It was not a show that was on my radar, and I knew nothing about it when I started watching. I sat down with the family and we watched almost the whole season in a single sitting. Yes – the show caught us and we binged it.

Lockwood & Co. is a supernatural detective thriller story set in an alternate world where ghosts have come back to this world and can kill those still living. The only ones able to detect the ghosts are the youthful members of society who have some kind of psychic abilities. These kids are lined up at various agencies that investigate and remove ghosts. Lockwood & Co. are one of the newest of these agencies, and we follow psychic Lucy Carlyle as she joins up with this company.

The show has a great, quick pace. The characters are fun and believable as people. The chemistry among the lead actors is fantastic. You like them and you’re rooting for them right away. Through various ups and downs the first season is tight and clean. Be warned – the end of many episodes are the sort of cliff hangers that demand you watch the next episode right away. This is definitely one you should be watching.

Check out the trailer here:

Hypothetically

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Hypothetically, our science fiction and fantasy group focuses on reading things within those categories. This was not the case this month

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Side note – I hate that Kindle automatically marks things as “read” on here no matter how many times I change the setting. It’s terrible and stupid to boot.

On to the book itself. I don’t know how a romance novel snuck into the line up for the science fiction book club, but it did. I remain skeptical, but the book does contain scientists and it is fiction… so we’ll go with it?

I found the people in this book to be very real, if not entirely relatable or likable. I know we’re supposed to be cheering for the main character, but she just lies to people all the time. She’s very damaged and unlikable (at least to me).

I have seen others that have been down on this book as a whole, but it was light and quick and gave me everything I was expecting from a romance novel.

If this is the sort of story you enjoy, I would suggest going and reading Bellwether by Connie Willis. It’s a bit older (96) and was nominated for a Nebula award. The story revolves around a scientist studying fads and prediction. IF you enjoy that, then go and read more of Willis’s work – you’ll be glad you did.



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The Colony

This was originally published in Watch The Skies January 2023 edition.

The film makers captured ‘bleak’ very, very well.

This month is much more in line with what many people traditionally think of as science fiction. The movie The Colony on Netflix is a far future dystopian film. It’s grey and gritty. The action starts right away.

In the distant future, the elite of earth flee a dying planet, making a new home on a distant planet. This new home proves to have road blocks to humans continuing to create more humans, so a mission is sent back to earth to determine if having the colonists return is viable or not. The previous mission has not communicated back. This is the second mission, and it struggles right from the start.

The movie has a little bit of the Mad Max feeling with marauders and technology scrapped together from the past. It also has a little bit of Water World with everything being effected by a sea level that has risen enough to make everything wet and endangered by the tide. The futuristic space technology gives our hero a little bit of an edge, but she is outnumbered and spends a significant part of the movie struggling just to survive.

I think that struggle is the part that wins me over. This is not a macho, blow things up kind of survival. It’s a thought provoking, yet action packed movie with diverse concepts and problems that require the characters thought and reason, rather than simple actions. This is definitely one you should be watching.

Be sure to check out the trailer here.

Reading and Reviewing

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Last year was a rough year as far as the total number of books I read. This is a very mood based thing for me – but this year seems to be off to a quick start. I’ve managed to polish off 3 books so far – and I’m digging into the 4th already.

Part of this, I’m certain, is the extended time I’ve spent in medical waiting rooms already. I suppose one can put a silver lining in there if you were really working at it.

The first book I finished this year was Planetside… and I just kept forging ahead with the next 2 in the series. Here’s my review of the first one.

Planetside by Michael Mammay

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is going to be a spoilerific review ~ fair warning.

I wasn’t certain what I was getting into when I picked this one up. This was a reading group selection for Watch The Skies. It was touted as something military science fiction fans would like. Having powered through this one very quickly, I agree with that.

Around page 45 (ish?) I figured out what happened to the missing Lieutenant. I made a note in the book specifically because I was hoping I was wrong, but I wanted to place that marker in case I wasn’t. I had figured out what happened right then – just not all the specifics of how or why. The guy isn’t among friendlies on the ground and he never gets back into space on the medical ship… that doesn’t leave a lot of choices.

The main character, Carl, has precisely 0 character growth during this story. He does not learn nor does he change at all. His predictability proves to be a significant factor in duping him into making an extremely harsh choice. Firing the missiles/triggering the bombs is definitely a discussion worthy topic.

The secondary characters were well written and believable, but I struggled with the doctor who went from so very strong willed to shooting herself in what felt like an extremely short number of steps. That felt forced and incongruous with her character as written.

Having said all that, I did still enjoy this book. It’s well written and fast paced. It’s a very solid action/thriller style story in space, complete with aliens. I’d love to see this turned into a film.



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Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities

This was originally published in the Watch The Skies November issue.

I’m doing two things with this recommendation that I wouldn’t normally do. First, I’ve not finished all of the episodes of the show in question. Second, it’s a little bit of genre mixing but there’s enough quasi Lovecraft in what I’ve seen to make me thing readers here might be interested. What am I talking about? Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities on Netflix.

To the first point, having watched the first two of the eight episodes, I feel confident in my recommendation. There is a bit of a Twilight Zone vibe as each story has an introduction at the physical representation of the cabinet. The stories have been well written and paced for a shorter time frame, with episodes averaging around an hour (the shortest being 38 minutes, the longest at 1 hour and 3 minutes). The special effects are well done, in that they don’t detract from the story. I think that says a lot in the day and age where the computer is leaned on so heavily for effects that it can have a negative impact on the story telling. Beyond the actual effects is the aesthetic of it all. This show is appealing on the strictly visual level. The details are not lost in this show.

To the second point, it’s the little details. Giant rats, summoned demons, and statues of great Cthulhu (in a blink and you miss it moment) are among the things that lead me to genre mix here. There is nothing expressly or specifically “science fiction” in this show, but there is a lot of the fantastic and I think that’s worth taking a look at.

I intend to follow through and finish all the episodes. I think you should be watching it too!

You should check out the trailer here

You Should Be Watching

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Everything Everywhere All at Once

Michelle Yeoh is great!

This was originally published in the Watch The Skies July issue.

The multiverse. A certain MCU character has brought this theory to the attention of the public in recent months. Multiple universe theories, quantum physics, philosophy and all the other Schrodinger equations are generally WAY past my understanding. A version of this theory that I understand is that each choice we make during our lives causes some sort of branch to happen. The alternate choice sort of spins off and becomes another world where our other self continues on that other path. It’s more complicated than that, but that basic thought is the core of this film. What if we made that other choice? Where would that other path have taken us? It’s a thought that runs through most peoples’ heads at some point. I recommend this movie to a science fiction / fantasy based group purely on the strength of using this multiverse theory in an absolutely bonkers way.

What if you could access the knowledge, emotions, life experience of those other lives you might have had? In this movie, a middle aged woman who is struggling with many of the same sort of things any of us struggle with is suddenly confronted with this access… and is told she needs to use this knowledge to save the world. She needs to reach out and draw from those lives and the knowledge those other versions of her have gained.

Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu and Ke Huy Quan are absolutely fantastic in their roles. They are all believable, earnest and relatable, even when the entire world around them seems to be going mad. There is a randomness to this film that would be hard to ride if they weren’t just so good. There is action, humor and romance. I don’t know that any single genre or category would do this movie justice. Absurdist fits, but isn’t fair to the beauty of the performances and the depth of the feelings that show through. There is another big name movie star in the film. This big name star is so deeply into the role that I didn’t realize that’s who it was while I was watching.

Do yourself a favor, stay away from spoilers – even the trailer honestly – and just check this movie out. It’s only just leaving theaters and headed to DVD or home streaming, but it’s worth the effort. You should be watching this movie.

You Should Be Watching

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Love, Death & Robots

This was originaly published in the June 2022 edition of Watch The Skies.

I don’t think I can overstate how much I am taken with this art.

I went back through the list of shows that I have recommended in the history of these articles and was stunned to see that I had not brought up Love, Death & Robots. I don’t know how this has escaped previously, but no longer.

Love, Death & Robots is an animated series, but this is very specifically aimed at adults. The creators original intent was to have something similar in nature to the animated film Heavy Metal (from 1981). Do not for a moment think this is a children’s cartoon. It is NOT. It is brutal, sexy and mind rattling in varying degrees throughout. Netflix loaded up the first season of LD&R back in March of 2019. There were 18 episodes for the series, each coming in with a viewing length under 20 minutes. The second season of 8 was released in May of 2021, and the most recent season of 9 episodes launched just last month (May of 2022).

The stories for these animations all come from some of the best writers in modern science fiction, fantasy and horror. Names like, Bacigalupi, Asher, Scalzi and Sterling. There’s even an episode showing a story written by Harlan Ellison. These stories carry weight and have real punch in such a short time frame. The set up to the closure, if there is any, come right at you. The first two seasons each won an Emmy. The story telling is only rivaled by the pictures that accompany the stories.

IF you dislike ‘cartoons’ for some reason, I challenge you to watch these and NOT become a fan of animation. The art, the shear beauty of so many of these works will make you question how they were created. Admittedly, they are not all hyper realistic, but even the goofiest stories are well animated. The colors, the smoothness, and the pure vibrancy of even the darkest pieces still amazes me. I have some that I re-watch for the story and many that I re-watch just to see them. Just to experience their beauty again. I don’t believe they needed more marketing, but the third season has actually done something neat to accompany all this art. There were some clues hidden in certain episodes of the third season. If you followed the clues, you’d find your way to some computer art from the show. The hunt, and the clues have continued on various social medial platforms since the third season was released.

I highly recommend this show. You should definitely be watching.

Check out the trailer for season three here:

Amazing work

Which Witch?

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The Witcher of course…

Totally misleading cover too~

The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I picked this up to read it because my fan group Watch The Skies picked it as one of our monthly reads. I don’t know if I would have picked it up if not for that – based on the show based off this material.

People who know me, know that I have a fantasy bent and are frequently trying to point out sword and sorcery type things they think I’ll enjoy. I love and appreciate that.

This is NOT one that I’m going to agree with them on. Is this sword and sorcery (aka ‘traditional fantasy’)? You bet it is. Even given that it falls into my favorite genre it’s just not working for me. It feels dated as I read it some 35 years after the initial publication. It feels slightly ‘man centric’. Misogynistic is too strong a word perhaps, but the stories lack female characters with more than passing agency. The book itself, as I understand it, was an assembly of many short stories and the book didn’t feel smooth or well fitted as a story because of that. The stories themselves were all clearly variations on fairy tales of our world (beauty and the beast, snow white, etc.) and that just didn’t land well with me.

All in all, it gets 3 stars, but barely. I’m glad I read it as it gives me more context for the show, but beyond that I don’t foresee me digging into this series / franchise.



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The Owl House

Fun animation style too!

This was originally published in Watch The Skies May issue.

I’ve noticed a trend lately toward animated shows. While this show is once again aimed at kids, I have found a number of interesting and fun writing choices being made. The show follows a human girl named Luz who stumbles through a portal into another world. The land known as The Boiling Isles is filled with startling, weird and amazing characters living on the remains of some kind of giant or titan. There she becomes friends with a rouge witch named Eda, also known as the Owl Lady. Luz decides to stay and learn magic from this most powerful witch.

While I have not yet finished the first season, I suspect I will consume the entire series. Yes, each episode is relatively short and contains a ‘lesson of the week’ kind of format, but there are much longer story threads being woven through the background. It’s got some really fun and funny moments that are clearly aimed at the adults watching the show. At one point Eda is relaxing and says (fourth wall breaking style), “Ah, a quiet moment of domesticity… I wonder how long that will last” and in moments she is rewarded with a crash and screams. “Ah, there it is…” and she moves into the story. It was such a small moment, but anyone that has dealt with kids of any age knows that moment, deeply, and would just feel that come right through the screen.

In looking up some information about this show I’ve encountered a few spoilers that I will not share here. Anything beyond an abridged third season seems to be in jeopardy as the comedy / horror vibe (along with a couple of other factors) seem to not fit with the current Disney+ vision. I can say with certainty that I am not the only one believing in the writing for this show. It first aired in 2020 and won a Peabody Award in 2021. Weird, whimsical and believable fun – you should be watching this show.

Check out the trailer here:

You Should Be Watching

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Cat Burglar

This was originally published in Watch The Skies April edition.

CAT BURGLAR (L to R) James Adomian as Rowdy and Alan Lee as Peanut in Cat Burglar. Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2021

You need to know right up front that there is cartoon violence involved in what I’m recommending this month. IF that’s not your thing… definitely skip it. IF you’re not put off by the old school Loony Tunes style bashing and blowing up, then this show is for you.

The main characters in this short are /Rowdy (rotten criminal) and Peanut (guard dog). Rowdy is after the most valuable painting in the world and Peanut is trying to keep that painting right where it is in the museum. The catch here is that YOU help decide how it all works out. This animated feature is interactive. There will be a series of questions at various points in the show that require your input via the remote control. Get all the questions right, get one result. Get a question wrong, get something totally different. Run out of chances and you can go back and try again, giving you a completely different result. The run time was listed at something like 12 minutes, but be warned! I ended up going through multiple times to see various options and endings and was watching for far longer than the listed run time.

A creative cartoon from the same group that produced Black Mirror (Bandersnatch anyone?) this will be something folks craving that old school feel will really get into. Here’s a link to give you some in depth info: https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/cat-burglar-netflix-interactive-special/

If you want to check out the trailer – it’s here: