The ever-growing rumor (recently boosted by trade TV Line,) implies that Cox’s Matt Murdock, a.k.a. Daredevil, will go from small-screen cancelation by Netflix to big-screen splendor alongside star Tom Holland (and Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange,) as part of the ever-growing Spider-Man 3 cast. The rumor’s renewed momentum noticeably occurs shortly after Netflix’s licensed exclusive rights to Daredevil expired this past November, rendering it open season for Marvel regarding its signature blind lawyer vigilante....

The running theme of Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2 is clearly all about how to be your most authentic self, even when the science fictional nature of the 24th century is trying to tear you apart. In “We’ll Always Have Tom Paris,” the titular Voyager reference is just a microcosm that illuminates this theme, but, hilariously, the funniest thing about the episode has nothing to do with Mr. Paris himself....

Star Trek is a franchise with a massive legacy, one the newer series on Paramount+ are gleeful to explore. The problem that rears its head and stops a lot of fun possibilities can often be encompassed by a single word: canon. What had been previously established in a movie or TV episode, to many, should not be explicitly contradicted. Almost from the very start, Star Trek has had a spotty relationship to its own canon but generally most of the shows have gone out of their way to maintain it....

“Wagon Train to the Stars” As many documentaries and Treksperts will tell you, Gene Roddenberry originally pitched The Original Series as “Wagon Train to the Stars,” a reference to a western TV series called Wagon Train. This anecdote is complicated slightly by the fact that Roddenberry stole that pitch from someone else (Samuel Peeples) and not everyone in the Star Trek production team (Herb Solow) liked the pitch. (There’s more to it than that, and — shameless plug — I cover this a lot in my forthcoming non-fiction book Phasers On Stun!...

In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Bones prods Kirk by saying he knows his friend resents his desk job when he’d rather be “out there hoppin’ galaxies.” Despite the immortal perfection of this line, Kirk, Bones, and pretty much everyone within the Trek canon rarely actually hops galaxies at all. For all the boldly going where no one has gone before, leaving the galaxy is pretty uncommon within the various narratives of Trek....

After weeks of being on the run, after making contact with Rex and having their bio-chips removed, the Bad Batch are finally able to head back to their “base” on Ord Mantell. But the respite doesn’t last very long in “Common Ground.” In fact, it’s only minutes after their arrival that they’re off again, on a new mission for Cid (Rhea Perlman), this time to save a former Separatist senator from the Empire....

The Book of Boba Fett Episode 7 The Book of Boba Fett remains an oddity. Not essential viewing on its own, the show sets up the future of The Mandalorian without ever really taking its own protagonists in an interesting direction. Star Wars, always full of potential as much as actual ideas, goes purely for the expected here. Boba proves his mettle as a hero of Mos Espa, but the episode sacrifices characterization for a disorganized, toothless plot....

When it comes to gaming, though, it’s always been tougher to find proper “so bad, they’re good” titles. Games like Deadly Premonition, Metal Wolf Chaos, and Harvest all arguably belong in that category, but most bad games are just fundamentally unenjoyable experiences that are fun to mock. Games that fall so far into “bad” that they somehow end up landing closer to “good” are rare. That’s what makes Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin so special....

At the center of it all is Ryu: a wandering martial artist who dedicates his life to fighting anyone and everyone interested in going a few rounds with him. You could be out to kill him or out to give him a friendly spar, and Ryu will fight you all the same. Fighting gives him purpose and helps him find meaning. Ryu has friends, and he is a genuinely good person, but his role as protagonist and hero comes less from altruism and more from bad guys going out of their way to antagonize him....

Supergirl Season 6 Episode 10 This episode felt simultaneously packed and like it barely moved along. Suddenly Nia, Nyxly and Orlando’s stories were all off to the races at once, and with Supergirl’s journey using her public platform as the main thread, there’s still so much left to cover. It felt like a possible backlash against Supergirl may have been left on the cutting room floor, and it was never really clear if that veggie promo went viral in a good way or a bad way, because every time someone mentioned it their reactions were cut short....

Supernatural Season 15, Episode 19 There’s only one. Episode. Left. Nervous? Images of an empty world begin the episode, reinforcing that the Winchesters and Jack are basically all that’s left. An entire world emptied to prove Chuck right is a pretty harsh punishment, something he relishes when the boys call him out and decide to surrender — something they never do. But Chuck wants them to continue suffering. He likes this new twist to the story, and hopes the boys continue to put the blame and shame on themselves....

And it’s something we’re reminded of again with Tamzin Merchant, more than 10 years later, finally breaking her silence about the road not taken when she was briefly cast as Daenerys Targaryen. Prior to the Game of Thrones pilot’s filming in 2009, Merchant was already an up-and-coming television star, breaking out as Katherine Howard, one of the wives of King Henry VIII, on Showtime’s The Tudors. But playing one of the lead roles in HBO’s big gamble in high fantasy had the promise of a major life changer....

Ironically, this also applied to more than just the Terminator’s onscreen antics. In the summer of 1991, Terminator 2: Judgment Day was an indestructible money-sucking machine that conquered the box office four weekends in a row in July, and then miraculously hung on to its boffo target long enough to also become the number one movie in America for a weekend in September. It was an R-rated entertainment that was technically a sequel, yet also a standalone science fiction thriller that captured the imagination of adults as readily as teenagers....

Xena: The Warrior Princess is a spin-off of the television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, but Xena and Gabrielle (Renee O’Connor) are no Laverne and Shirley. Xena was a guest character on three episodes of Hercules in an arc which was supposed to leave her dead. But she was too popular to go without a fight. The first season of Xena established it as a rising cult favorite, and by its second season it reached the top slot for weekly syndicated hour long drama....

The Affair Season 4 Episode 9 “I have lived this entire story before and it doesn’t end well.” Goddamn leaky faucets. Now this is how you do an Affairepisode. I went from absolutely hating this episode to quickly thinking it’s my favorite episode the show has ever done. This is the prototypical, perfect way to incorporate The Affair’s bifurcated perspective structure and it’s all the more bittersweet that it comes as a send off to Alison....

As the director behind Episode 5, “Show Me Who You Are,” and 6, “The Heart is An Arrow,” of Shadow and Bone, Mairzee Almas was behind the camera for some of the major turning points of Season 1. These episodes see Alina and General Kirigan’s romantic interlude, Baghra’s reveal that Aleksander is actually the Black Heretic, and the coming together of the Crows and Alina for the first time. It’s when the season really kicks into a higher gear....

Twelve months later, things obviously didn’t go as smoothly as we all hoped. While multiplex business has rarely been bigger for superheroes and big balls of alien goo, most other kinds of film have taken a hit, at least on the big screen. Even so, it’s been a significant year for movies as a whole, with audiences still being treated to an abundance of excellence be it in theaters or streaming at home....

By episodes, of course! Episodes are one of the last remaining hallmarks of what makes the entity known as television distinct. Though we largely watch all our entertainment on the same kinds of screens nowadays, it’s television that lays claim to distinct episodes and distinct seasons as part of their larger gestalt. The Best TV Shows of 2020 deserve our commendation (and they will receive it very soon), but so too these smaller stories and pieces within them....

Indeed, recent iterations of the character have vanished in a red mist, yet followers of the iconic fiend can never forget the basics. A Carpathian serpent and tragic figure descended from Transylvanian royalty, Dracula has cut a bloody path across pop culture with his fangs, appetites, and image as a Byronic hero in the same bloodless vein as Heathcliff or Lord Rochester. He may be a monster, but he is a lovelorn one who is often seeking the reincarnated soul of his lost love from centuries past....

The Flash Season 5 Episode 18 Well, hello there, Godspeed. This might not have been the way I expected to see perhaps the greatest Flash villain of recent years introduced, but I’m willing to set all my preconceived notions aside in the service of the season. And in this case, “Godspeed” the episode is more important to those than Godspeed the actual villain needs to be at the moment. This was a desperately needed excellent hour of The Flash, and one that I really hope is enough to shake the show completely out of the rather safe rut it has been in for much of the season....