Hawkeye (serial)

A little series that continues the Kingpin lineage (see Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, etc.). Hawkeye gets an unwanted protégé (Kate Bishop) as he tries to clean up some loose ends from a blip-inspired past he would like to forget. The fact that we get to spend time with the Track Suit Gang again (the Washington Generals of crime) makes the whole series worthwhile. 

3 stars (out of 5)

The Eternals

This seems like is was meant to be a big budget, tentpole summer movie. I watched at home on my computer. I enjoyed the character banter (it's what you get after a 5000 year later family reunion) and appreciated that Marvel moves their story forward. Definitely this is a setup movie, and definitely the longer Marvel sticks around, the less important earth (and humans) are in the grand scheme of things. I mean, we're just and incubator?

3 stars (out of 5)

The Book of Boba Fett (serial)

Having been introduced in The Madalorian season 2, we now get a series just for Boba, but not really. It is 1/3 Boba back story, 1/3 Boba where are you now and 1/3 Mandalorian. Still all pretty good. I don't really buy the idea of Boba Fett settling down and being the benevolent overlord on Tatooine, but I am not sure that believable is really the goal here. Mildly entertaining, somewhat of a stop gap until something more interesting comes along.

2 stars (out of 5)

Star Trek: Picard (serial)

Season 1

Having retired from Starfleet, Picard is enjoying growing winegrapes on his farm in Napa. Until he is drawn into a life & death struggle between good and evil. This is a pretty good story, but relies a bit too much on the nostalgia, with cameo appearance by most of the former crew and enemies. In the end, Picard is fighting for his friend Data and all sentient machines (who have been outlawed by the way). I think if you were not a fan of TNG, this will largely be a flat offering. Maybe that audience is large enough.

3 stars (out of 5)

Baptiste (serial)

Season 1

Julien Baptiste is a retired British policeman currently living in Amsterdam. He is old friends with a local police commissioner and is asked to consult on a missing persons case. In the process, nothing is as it originally seems (surprise?) and Baptiste is pulled further into a web of deceit and danger. His original missing person (a missing niece) turns into a sex trafficking and money laundering case for an infamous multinational Romanian organized crime operation. Throughout, Baptiste is a calm and confident, knows no fear and seems to somehow direct the investigation from the perspective of both the police and the criminals. A strong character. Looking forward to season 2. 

4 stars (out of 5)

The Matrix Resurrections

Number 4 in The Matrix trilogy, almost 20 years later (60 years in storyline time). I would describe this as an adequate action thriller. It in no way stands on its own, and in fact is very much like Bill and Ted #3 in terms of reliance on knowledge of the backstory. In fact, probably more so as the Matrix trilogy has reached such meta-status in terms of philosophical pondering that in this episode, the characters are having the same discussions that viewers have likely had about the importance of the trilogy. Unfortunately for me, I'm not an avid fan, and don't remember most of the details, putting me on the outside for much of the motivation and meaning for the characters actions. The story is Tom Anderson is back in the matrix, with a life as a video game designer who designed "the matrix", the most popular immersive video game of all time. Then he is again "set free" and meets up with Trinity to again change the rules of the matrix. 

2 stars (out of 5)

The Wheel of Time (serial)

Season 1

The long awaited production based on Robert Jordan's fantasy series. It has been nearly a decade since I read the novels, so I clearly don't remember many details. Which is probably good since it seems like the plot mixes elements from different timeframes of the novel series in order to tell a coherent story for serial television. The basic story is classic good v evil, where the magical One Power (wielded by women of the Aes Sedai) has been tainted for men. In true epic fantasy style, there are many characters and many concurrent storylines. The main cohort of friends (Rand, Matt, Perrin, Egwene, Nynave) are led on a journey by mysterious Aes Sedai Morraine. By oath, she cannot tell a lie, but we all know that she does not need to tell all of the truth. So the friends (and viewers) are doled out information "as needed" along their travels, with everything pushing toward the goal of defeating the Dark One. I really enjoyed the casting, the storytelling, and the character development. And this season was a great intro to the series while also standing on it's own (it didn't feel like a full season preview, and didn't end with a giant cliff hanger). 

5 stars (out of 5)