ShippersAreEvil Reviews

Masters of the Air: Part Nine (2024) Season 1, Episode 9

A terrific end to a great series of unrelenting focus

[10/10 · 15 March 2024]

No, of course it isn't Band of Brothers or even The Pacific. Nor should it ever have tried to be. The story is different, the setting is different, the sheer number of both combatants and casualties is unimaginably different. So they didn't try to be.

The prime story choice they made, and maintained right up to the last minute, was an utter devotion to showing the experience as the flyers saw. No dwelling on bereaved lovers, no bogging down in minutiae, just the war, as seen by the men within the most dangerous theatre of operations of the war. So yes, that means we get the POW stories - because there were so damned many of them, how could it not be told?

Pushing TV technology to the limits, making bold choices and, above all, remembering that wars are not won by B17s (or Sherman tanks, or frigates or howitzers) but by *men and women* putting their lives on the line, or making sure the crew knows where to go, or ensuring that (like my mum did) they were properly fed when they returned from missions. This is what story telling is, not "did that image have the right number of rivets?"

And Rosie Rosenthal. What a man, what a man.

Dune: Part Two (2024)

And that is how you do an adaptation

[10/10 · 1 March 2024]

Perfect in almost every detail.

Visually breathtaking; narratively airtight every step of the way; new characters (for the movie, not the source) introduced so seamlessly that you could almost believe they were in Part 1; a scale that fully captures the epic sweep of the story; a score and sound design so enveloping that you could almost believe you were there. Plus Chalamet and Zendaya. What performances, with Zendaya especially bringing to vivid life the character that has dwelt in my mind's eye for nearly 50 years.

And *that* change to a critical character arc, that was so perfectly executed that it takes only a few moments to realise that the problem was in the source's handling of that thread - and that this was part of Herbert's own critique of his work.

Absolutely masterly film making by a director at the peak of his powers.

Roll on Messiah.

Masters of the Air: Part Six (2024) Season 1, Episode 6

A tale of two interrogations

[10/10 · 24 February 2024]

A masterly juxtaposition of two very different interrogations

One, obvious and pointed, as a smarmy German officer uses every trick he can think of to wheedle information out of Egan, who is far too smart and far, far too loyal to fall for it.

The other, not at all obvious, as a charming and confident - yet coy about her job - British officer befriends Crosby in a most unlikely way. To me it is obvious that she has been sent to see if the best navigator in the 8th is one to get drawn into a compromising position that could leave him open to blackmail, should he be captured by the Germans. This isn't made up - the woman is real and from Crosby's own account(1).

And, of course, there is a third with Rosie's crew sent on R'n'R, but also being assessed to see if they are fit to continue.

This is the part of war we don't talk about being spoken out loud. The grief that stays with you, the suspicion that surrounds you, and the pain and horror that will leave scars for a lifetime.

1. I did like the Scotland reference, allowing the playful idea that the mysterious young woman might be a very young Princess (future Queen) Elizabeth. A nice bit of wit in the darkness.

Masters of the Air (2024)

Masters of Point-Of-View (update for finale)

[10/10 · 21 February 2024]

There are few shows (other than its two predecessors) that exhibit such ferocious commitment to maintaining a clear point of view, in this case of the airmen (and occasionally ground crew). Other than a few short establishing shots we are either with the airmen inside the B17s, or following them on the ground and POW camps- there were a lot of aircrew POWs.

We meet them as cocky and confident young bucks (pun intended), not really taking the RAF officers' warnings seriously, not realising that the RAF had already tried daylight bombing and decided it was too dangerous (and didn't have anywhere near accurate enough navigation, until well after this story starts, to bomb with any precision at night).

And by Ep 5 they are all profoundly changed in unimaginable ways, by the end they have earned to right to go home, some still with a contribution to make. Those that remain.

So we catch a glimpse of a young woman's grief as she finds out her beau is not coming back - but only a glimpse, because the point of view remains on the aircrew, and they are already thinking about the next mission.

We see aircraft hit and falling out of formation, but mainly stay with the observers and hear only a parachute count.

And we see German fighters zipping by and closing speeds in the region of 600mph, gone almost as soon as seen, and the gunners trying to track them.

And we catch only the briefest flavour of the two kids not quite grasping that some of their heroes aren't coming back.

If you know your history, you knew what was to come.

Because this is not fiction, but is based on the testimony of real people, who lost real comrades-in-arms, and who wanted them remembered.

When my Dad (RAF Regiment, Burma Star) watched Battle Of Britain he grumbled that a scene near the end, when the Germans didn't turn up, was unrealistic because a real RAF base would have still been a hive of activity. He hadn't quite grasped that the point being made was a storytelling point, rather than a literal representation.

So ignore those wanging on about 'disrespecting the RAF' (it doesn't, and for crying out loud grow up chaps) and it all being 'how America won the war' (it isn't - we are just seeing it through one lens). The small-mindedness beggars belief.

This is storytelling of the highest order, and if you can't choke up about those who died far too young, even after the war, then take a long hard look in the mirror.

Some random notes of interest:

* Every shoot-down you see is historically accurate, with the correct tail number and correct formation position.

* Sam and Billy were real kids with Sam being instrumental in turning Thorpe Abbots into a museum to the 100th.

* "Sandra" was also real, although her real name, role and fate remain unknown to the characters.

* The Dutch really did cut that message into the tulip fields.

The Shepherd (I) (2023)

A lovely modern g**** story

[9/10 · 2 December 2023]

Sticking closely to the source, resisting any urge to 'flesh out' Frederick Forsyth's lovely little Christmas ghost story this film is all the better for it. I'm sure it was done this way because Travolta had his own near death experience thanks to a total electrical failure in 1992, so he felt no need to explain to the hard of learning.

An RAF pilot, having already phoned his mother to say that he won't be able to get home in time, unexpectedly gets the chance to fly home from Germany to England on Christmas Eve in 1957, heading out into the night sky just before the station shuts down for the night.

As he crosses the Dutch coast his compass, and then all of his electrical systems, fail and he has no idea where he is and is unable to raise anyone on his radio. He begins flying a triangular pattern in the hope of being detected, but gradually comes to accept that he is lost and will have to ditch in the North Sea with absolutely no guarantee of being found and with nobody expecting him. He composes a note to his girlfriend and prepares to meet his fate.

And then below him he sees, scudding along the cloud tops, a WWII era RAF Mosquito...

To clear up a couple of misconceptions:

* The Vampire had only been retired from front line fighter service by 1957 - and you can see its successor in the role, a Hawker Hunter, in the background as the Vampire is pushing back. Vampires were still in use as trainers;

* But anyway a Vampire is what Frederick Forsyth flew in the RAF (you did notice that the pilot was called Freddie, yes?);

* It's a ghost story - the wrong call signs are a *clue* that something is abnormal - Freddie was using NATO standard;

* The "bad CGI" is nothing of the kind - all of the flying visuals are references to Chris Foss's illustrations of the original novella, which are beautiful and somewhat impressionistic;

* He couldn't just turn back, he was over the sea and had lost his compass. Night flying over the sea is incredibly dangerous if a pilot loses situational awareness. Also, he would risk flying into East German airspace and being shot down (Cold War, innit?). So he followed established emergency procedure and flew triangles...which is also how his fuel was used up;

* Oh yes, and a backup magnetic compass is no use if you don't know your position.

Blimey, some people don't deserve nice stuff.

Foundation: Creation Myths (2023) Season 2, Episode 10

Something old, something new, something blew my mind

[10/10 · 15 September 2023]

Something old: one of the great works of SF, woven together and reimagined over nearly 50 years and, essentially, unfilmable.

Something new: Film it anyway. Make bold changes where needed to make the story drive on in a modern way, but never forget that the source was about, in the end, what was possible, what was inevitable and what is all-too-mutable. Merge characters when needed (Gaal and Wanda, say), reorder events for pacing (Mallow and Bel, say), but never forget that, by the time he had finished, Asimov had created two of the great characters of SF in entirely different story series and made them into a whole.

Something blew my mind: And so we have sacrifices noble and most definitely ignoble, misdirections played out to their full and - even when you were pretty sure a thing might happen - still managing to surprise. We have people still not knowing what is possible, what is inevitable and what is mutable - not sure, that is, if they are free or not. And we have a story of truly epic sweep, not just at a Galactic scale, but - at its heart - about the huge question of what it means to be free: what it means to have choices.

And then You Know Who turns up.

Come on Apple. Make a separate peace with the Writers Union and get on with this.

Foundation: Long Ago, Not Far Away (2023) Season 2, Episode 9

A season of recurring themes

[10/10 · 8 September 2023]

A theme: As with many good stories, there are misdirections and red herrings galore, from simple showy magic tricks to body swapping to mind swapping (sort of);

Another theme: how arrogant those in positions of power can be when they think they have all the insight;

And another: Time. From realising that we are not quite when we thought we were, to showcasing a four dimensional analytical engine;

And another: lies.

All weaving together, reinforcing and tearing at history, in a constant tug of war between what *could* be and what *will* be; between the great sweep of stochastic force and the non-linear importance of inflection points.

Good heaven's this is storytelling of the highest order and, still, we will only know in the next episode if they have 'stuck the landing'.

But that was a quite stupendous amount of fun. Weep, NTBers, weep.

Foundation: The Last Empress (2023) Season 2, Episode 8

Those rings around Trantor...

[10/10 · 1 September 2023]

..such a cool metaphor when you realise they are wheels within wheels.

While I think it was obvious that not all on Ignus was as it seems, I really didn't see that coming. In many ways events on Trantor were more predictable - well, apart from *that* obviously. We have people of all sorts on potentially reckless paths, secrets properly foreshadowed yet still throughly surprising. Empire's arrogance and self-confidence a transgression against the gods by another name (look it up - 'cos Asimov had a novel named for what comes next). And Demerzel is either in for a mighty shock or is setting the stage.

Salvor continues to kick bottom. And also, give me an army of Beckies.

Adaptation is *hard*, man - and it is so good when it is so well done.

Foundation: A Necessary Death (2023) Season 2, Episode 7

The middle game: all the gambits in motion

[9/10 · 25 August 2023]

The Queen's Gambit declined - or at least the wannabe Queens. Sareth learned a lesson about when not to make your move and her lack of experience in the face of Demerzel is exposed. But she still has pieces on the board;

The Knights Gambit rebuffed: Hober tries to tempt the Spacers with freedom and is rebuffed and dobbed into Bel. But I can't help feeling that dangling the non-Spacer jump ships in front of Bel was actually the point;

Meanwhile, the rooks and the prawns ('cos who can resist a good fish gag?) on Ignus is a rather slower game that I suspect has more to do with the next season than this. But I don't think all that we see is as it really is;

The Bishop's Gambit countered? Empire thinks he has out-thought Seldon - but if Hari is right that the maths doesn't lie (absent the odd sterile halfling), then Empire drawn out to face the Foundation is what he expects.

But does it end in fire, or ice cold execution?

Plus, Three laws explicitly called out. Now there's a carrot.

Can't wait for what comes next.

Foundation: Why the Gods Made Wine (2023) Season 2, Episode 6

There's a storm brewing...and not just the NTBers

[10/10 · 18 August 2023]

I mean, the NTBers are never going to be happy are they?

Seldon backstory; dangerous (very dangerous) frenemies; the grim realisation of why Seldon wanted to send Poly and Constant to Trantor (which should have been obvious), a woman talking back to power and the idea that the Second Foundation is going to be forged in fire, even if only metaphorically.

My money is the little boy being You Know Who.

All because the showrunners have the space to set up the things that Asimov could only retcon, making real the things he never showed and ensuring that key threads are put, like Chekhov's Gun, on the wall as soon as possible, to be used later.

All as the souls of a million NTBers whither and shrivel and they - hopefully - release us from their misery and go and do something they enjoy.

'Cos this was an absolute belter.

Foundation: The Sighted and the Seen (2023) Season 2, Episode 5

The fine art of adaptation, or how to enrage NTBers

[9/10 · 11 August 2023]

Well, this one will sort out those who have read to the end of Asimov's story, rather then just the original trilogy long, long ago.

Really didn't see that coming, but a properly bold move to Chekhov Gun *you know where* (and if you don't don't sweat it).

Meanwhile we have some properly spiteful palace intrigue (and I fear that power play will not end well for Poly and Constant). The implications of Sareth discovering Demerzel's true nature (which, to be fair, was properly Chekhov gunned in the last episode) are truly fascinating, and I suspect this will be at the root of covering one of Asimov's biggest retcons. And that's as far as I can go without spoiling.

Fascinating and ambitious storytelling, so obviously the NotTheBookers will despise it.

Foundation: Where the Stars Are Scattered Thinly (2023) Season 2, Episode 4

I feel kinda sorry for the not-the-bookers

[10/10 · 4 August 2023]

So hidebound in their own flawed recall of a rich and complex tale (of which Asimov himself said the problem with the original trilogy was that nothing really happened). So unable to grasp the notion of strong and capable women, full of wit and insight and all-to-human needs. So stuck in a fictitious past that they have been stripped of all joy at a rich and complex, character-driven tale in the present, even when Seldon himself is there to spell it out.

Constance and Poly are sent on a potentially lethal mission, to a cruel and capricious Imperial Court, where Sareth is desperate to find the truth.

But that the true fate of the galaxy rests more on Hober and Bel is impossible to escape, surely?

A "passing ghost". Now there's interesting. But where are Salvor and Gaal?

Still, much better to make childish jokes about Michael Burnham, rather than go and watch something they enjoy.

Foundation: King and Commoner (2023) Season 2, Episode 3

So the usual suspects are still watching a show they hate...

[9/10 · 2 August 2023]

Baffling isn't it? The writers do not have the option of retconning things that Asimov did - they have to deal with them has he finished them, not as he started them and also recognise that it is not even the 1980s any more, much less the 1940s, when the original trilogy was created. That's why the podcast is so very useful.

So here we are putting the pieces into place for the second crisis, with the key players on collision course, while Hari, Gaal and Salvor work out how to pick up the pieces wrecked by Raych's impulsiveness.

But still, here come the NTBers, with their oh-so-clever references to Michael Burnham (that really exposes the misogynous tendency, that one) for any strong female character; with their contempt for anything with emotional content and their complete inability to grasp the requirements of adapting a sprawling (and inevitably inconsistent) source material into a single narrative.

Still, it saves thinking, doesn't it?

Ted Lasso: We'll Never Have Paris (2023) Season 3, Episode 8

Aaaw, bless. There's people who think this is a show about football

[10/10 · 6 May 2023]

This series has always been about the character journeys, and for all is idealised and sanitised depiction of football, its delight is how it has use that to shine light on three-dimensional characters. We met them all as stereotypes (even Coach!) and all have grown as the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune have shaped them.

So spare us the drivel about "it's all soooapp oppera now!" and "why so preachy?"

If these are all the insights you have come to, you have not been paying attention.

Keeley, from the outset, has been central to the story; Ted's relationship with his wife and son has been his moral compass; Jamie's growth from self-regarding oaf to thoughtful and kind friend and clubhouse champion has been superbly executed.

Things happen and people are changed by them. That's not soap opera - that's storytelling. Try to keep up.

Silo (2023– )

A palimpsest over a story by EM Forster

[10/10 · 6 May 2023]

A cracking start to a show, with its debt to EM Forster's The Machine Stops obvious, yet worn very lightly (if you have never read this gem, sort that out ASAP).

Two episodes in and a very, very good cast have the skill to sell the very high concept premise without a single moment to break suspension of disbelief. A teasing approach that manages to be playful yet also edgy as to what is real and what is illusion, knowing that there is, in the story, an entire generation that may not know the truth.

I don't know the source novel at all, so am not investing in any nonsense about "being faithful" to the source - if this standard of storytelling is maintained and the cast continue to sell the premise then it should be a fun ride.

Station Eleven (2021–2022)

Wonderful meditation on grief, loss and recovery

[10/10 · 20 February 2023]

This adaptation takes the premise of the source material - of the power of art to heal - and widens it out to a much enriched study of grief, loss and recovery. The very presence of the titular book tells us that all of the events in this tale could easily have happened in somebody's head, somebody who is processing loss.

Its dogged determination to tell its tale in a fractured and non-linear way sets a bar: 'This is how we are telling our story. You are welcome to come along with us, but we will not change it just to soothe your expectations.' Like grief, it has to be dealt with on its own terms.

And its end message, for all the trauma, is one of hope: that we have a chance if only we can connect.

Mackenzie Davis, Hamish Patel and Daniel Zovatto, and of course young Matilda Lawler, own the screen every moment they are on it, but the entire cast has bought into the premise and deliver with conviction. Highly recommended.

Foundation: Mysteries and Martyrs (2021) Season 1, Episode 7

Building and building as more of Asimov's universe is pulled in

[9/10 · 8 November 2022]

This series is building and building, drawing in from all of the lore of Asimov's combined universes - a lost ship, an attempted attack, and 3D Geopolitics. If only the "This Isn't Asimov Exclamation Mark Exclamation Mark" crew had actually bothered to read the books.

For the first time. I think, we hear the word "First Foundation" and see that Seldon had planned the Second, but his plan has gone somewhat awry. But its key component - the "mental sciences" and the rise of Mentalics are front and centre. Because of the way the source material was written this had to be retconned in the books, but can be introduced organically here

Meanwhile Empire still thinks he is playing poker, and is backed into a corner when he discovers Halima isn't engaged in a game of bluff.

And the Anacreon chess pieces still think they are the player....

Terrific, rich and complex, withholding what we want to know but don't need to just yet. Just fab.

Foundation: The Leap (2021) Season 1, Episode 10

A absolute screamer, so of course....

[10/10 · 19 November 2021]

...the 'not the book' and 'whaaaa they messing up the robots!!!' crowd continue in their inchoate rage, swarming the place, instead of just letting those who actually understood Asimov's corpus just enjoy the show..

The Zeroth Law of Robotics , the most important Law for Giskardian robots, was phrased multiple ways:

'A robot may not harm humanity or, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.'

'Humanity as a whole is placed over the fate of a single human.'

'A robot must act in the long-range interest of humanity as a whole, and may overrule all other laws whenever it seems necessary for that ultimate good.'

That is why Demerzel can kill. Try to keep up.

The First Crisis played out as in the books, but with a lot of fleshing out that Asimov didn't bother with (not a criticism of Asimov - he realised that and worked assiduously to rectify it, something Not The Bookers seem wilfully blind to - seriously, listen to the official podcast and wipe the scales from your eyes: Not The Books is just silly).

And a thoroughly nasty Empire is being destroyed from within. By the Zeroth Law, while decent humans are being left to work out their future - so much so that even the Second Foundation found its own way, rather than Seldon's.

A fantastic, thoughtful and vibrant adaptation that deeply understood the books strengths *and* weaknesses.

More please, Apple.

Foundation: The First Crisis (2021) Season 1, Episode 9

A cracker, but I see the usual suspects are still around...

[10/10 · 13 November 2021]

...watching a show they hate, instead of doing something they like and leaving us in peace. And, apparently, deciding that anyone who likes it is on the pay of Apple. That's new. I though violence was supposed to be the last refuge of the stupid, not paranoid conspiracy theories.

Dear gawd.

Anyway.

I must admit I was wondering how they would get to the first vault opening, with so many threads playing - and of course, they key was focussing on only one side, rather than trying to plot both Anacreon and Thespin, and let us realise that each side was carrying trauma and would end up in the same place. And here we are, exactly where Asimov...sorry Seldon....said we'd be.

An absolute barn burner of an episode. After next week, I am gonna have to binge the lot to see how much I missed.

Dune (2021)

About as perfect as any reasonable person could ask.

[10/10 · 30 October 2021]

That's it really. A bit of re-ordering of the opening for narrative sense, but otherwise a faithful and appropriately epic adaptation that doesn't make the catastrophic error of trying to squeeze the whole book into one film.

If I wanted to pick a quibble is is tiny - literally - in the the fevered conversation with the muad'dib felt a tad out of place.

But against that:

Arrakis: epic;

Ornithopters: brilliantly realised;

Sandworms: huuuuuuge;

Mamoa's Idaho: perfect;

Zendaya's Chani: exactly - and I mean *exactly* as 15-year old me envisioned her all those years ago. Not just the look, but the complete ease in her environment.

Foundation: Death and the Maiden (2021) Season 1, Episode 6

Cracking episode but still the phoney book purists come...

[9/10 · 22 October 2021]

Absolutele banger of an episode that clearly shows how the later books - and Asimov's own realisation of the flaws of the original trilogy - are being incorporated. Anyone who is blind to that does not understand the source material, no matter how much they bleat on.

I think we are seeing an outline of how the Second Foundation will be handled (ie not just a deus ex machina problem solver, as in the trilogy - again a problem that Asimov recognised and dealt with). I wonder if The Mule will turn out to be a corruption of that (although I'd prefer him to be as random as in the books - we shall see).

The whole production is showing that you cannot produce a galaxy-spanning story without fleshing out that story. Superb stuff - BBC Radio tried to digest the entire trilogy to 8 hours back in the 70s. You just can't, even on radio, but especially not on TV.

Seriously, if you hate it that much put us out of your misery and go and watch something you enjoy.

Foundation: Upon Awakening (2021) Season 1, Episode 5

Here we go again...

[9/10 · 16 October 2021]

It continues to be so painfully obvious that many of the reviews claiming this is "not like the books" have either never read the books, or do not realise the Asimov wrote a series of continuation books. For those interested: Foundations's Edge, Robots Of Dawn; Robots And Empire and Foundation and Earth, as well as two prequels Prelude to Foundation, and Forward The Foundation; all of which are feeding into this story.

Other than the Genetic Dynasty (a metaphor for refusal to change or adapt) and Gaal's backstory (Seldon's biographer, so pretty important to flesh out) there is nothing so far that isn't entirely consistent with Asimov's Foundation universe. Which, of course, is represented as exec producers by his daughter.

A fun episode, with a wonderful bit of non-violent single combat between Gaal and a recalcitrant AI, and Salvor being set up to have greatness thrust upon her. "Violence is the last refuge of the stupid", indeed.

Foundation (2021– )

More than just the Trilogy

[10/10 · 1 October 2021]

I think people need to get their heads around the fact that this is not just an adaptation of the original trilogy. It is calling on the whole Asimov corpus, exploiting the way he unified the Robot, Empire and Foundation series.

They start is where the trilogies begin, but then we learn who Demerzel is - and that tells we aren't just going to spend the time in Foundation Committee meetings (which is where a lot of the trilogy took place, with huge events happening "off screen", so to speak. TV doesn't have that option).

And it looks *fantastic*.

I grew up on Asimov and I am entirely cool with that approach.

Stowaway (I) (2021)

Ah, the simple joy of the IMDBerati watching a point fly over its collective head

[9/10 · 24 April 2021]

To dispense with the lowest attention span complaint: In space you can't just slam the brakes on and turn around. This was quite clearly explained in dialogue - and by every Nasa and Soviet/ Russian mission you have ever followed in real time. Once you are trans-orbital you cannot simply "abort". Can't be done.

That left what the film was actually about: a test of character.

Not of goodness or evil, not of strength or power, not of intellect or logic, not of gung-ho heroics, but of *character*, about what you might do in an impossible situation.

Like all good science fiction, this was about the *fiction*: the science was simply the stage. And jazz. That wasn't a throwaway, it was a metaphor.

I hope nobody moaning about this ever watches 2001 or Silent Running. Or On The Beach for that matter.

The Challenger Disaster (2013 TV Movie)

Outstanding

[10/10 · 21 September 2020]

Perfect in concept and execution, with a mesmerising central performance from Willian Hurt, as a Richard Feynman on the edge of death but driven to do one last great thing. It also gives proper credit for role of General Donald Kutyna and the great Sally Ride, who really ought to get a space station named after her.

And a special mention of Brian Dennehy as Chairman Rogers, whose performance is much more subtle and nuanced than it might appear on first viewing.

Where the film takes liberties with history it does so wisely and with purpose, where it needs to explain it does it plainly and directly and it never, ever loses sight that this is a human story as it builds towards Feynman's legendary ice water demo.

The only Challenger film you need to watch. Flawless.