Personal Highlights
Great & Terrible: All That’s Left. I was definitely Not Okay after this episode. It’s so rare that Penelope lets us see so much fragility, it’s obviously a natural response here, but it makes what she’s dealing with hit us that much harder. It’s been a slow build-up to this breaking point over the last few episodes, and it’s so heart wrenching.
Hubris: 3.2 – #RenWatch. It’s an impressive 40+ minute episode which, like every other Hubris episode, was created over the course of 24 hours. It’s initially a commentary on gentrification and food insecurity, which has a lot of twists that I didn’t expect! An average 20-something who is part of a company which does good but slightly illegal deeds becomes a legend, and the build-up to this revelation comes through an exploration of the effects of social media on people’s mental health – specifically on women and people who are perceived as women, and how social media can be used to inflict harassment and violence on them for simply existing in public.
Moonbase Theta Out: All Your Base – Episode 2: Beta. I love the cleaning Dalek Weeble! After a pretty serious episode from Base Alpha in the miniseries opener, this is a more comedic glimpse into life on Theta. It provides a little insight into some of the things different bases have in common (Science Bros gonna Science Bros by the sounds of it!), and some more details about the communication between them. The focus this time isn’t on the shutdown itself, but it’s a pretty average day for Ursula Francisco (played by Beccy Stirrup of Diary of a Space Archivist), which makes a big change from what we’ve seen on Base Theta in the main series, and I enjoyed this new perspective.
International Podcast Month: Sidequesting & October Jones and Fish With Legs Crossover. I’m a big fan of Sidequesting, but I hadn’t managed to start on October Jones and Fish With Legs in time for this crossover. It’s a very fun episode, with lots of wordplay and goldfish sounds, and I really enjoyed how the two shows meshed together. The October Jones narrator replaces Rion’s usual narration in Sidequesting, giving the story a different and very enjoyable vibe. And I loved the fourth wall breaking!
Someone Dies in This Elevator: S1E11 – Hot Wheels. It’s the season one finale. Written by, and featuring disabled folks, this episode confronts structural ableism. Two wheelchair users are forced to use the elevator to evacuate a building that’s on fire, as no evacuation plan has been put in place for them. It’s such an emotional episode, which really depicts how society in general doesn’t do enough for disabled folks to make sure that these two characters are safe. They’ve been put in a situation where they’re unable to be saved in time, and all we can do is listen, and wait for the inevitable.
InCo: S3 Episode 8 – Drought. Sci-fi show InCo has been a recent discovery for me, and this was the first episode to be released after I’d got caught up on it. There’s an interesting insight to the religious beliefs and culture on Eolara, and the relationship that the royal family has with religion, adding to the picture that’s gradually been created of this mythical planet. It’s also interesting to see how Hatov’s experiences have changed his beliefs and the way he thinks about his home planet. He had a…humbling time in Nova’s ship, to say the least; that experience brought him down to Earth, and his family could definitely benefit from his way of seeing things.
The Pasithea Powder: 20 – Omikrom. It’s a tense episode full of shady schemes, plotting, and strings being pulled in true Pasithea style. It really showcases what the show does best, with these morally grey characters who all have their own agendas and priorities, all trying to do what they think is best for them – while also asking what the price is that they’ll pay for it. The ending – a true Pasithea cliffhanger! – feels inevitable, the rest of the episode a gradual and calculated build-up to the decision.
Starfall: Act 1 scene v. Oh, I really felt for Leona, struggling to feel accepted in the troupe. There’s a really touching speech from Fel, as he talks about his experiences when he first joined, which I really related to. I’m glad to see that things are slowly starting to turn around, and I enjoyed the contrast between the two meals in the episode. As Fel said, it’s going to take time and work for Leona to feel that she belongs, but I’m glad that she seems to be on the right path.
Debuts
Roommates: After a pilot episode, which had been released on the 1st of September, the rest of the series dropped this past Wednesday. Casper and Olly are two queer roommates, who have returned to their college dorms for the first semester since the beginning of the pandemic. They’re pretty much polar opposites of each other, with Casper being the studious one, and Olly being the fraternity bro. Gradually, however, they begin to warm and open up to each other, and they start bonding over checking out people on a dating app.
Trailers and Prologues
Everything is Alive released a preview of their upcoming fourth season, due to launch on the 22nd of September. The show is a series of interviews with inanimate objects, and in some clips from the new season, we’re introduced to a few new characters, such as Mike the bicycle, and Vinny the vending machine.
Returns
Facing Fate is back with a two-episode one-shot, and this time some of the folks from Realms of Peril and Glory are joining the game! Facing Fate plays a new game each season, and the game for this one-shot is Offworlders. We meet the crew of the Resilient Squirrel, a ship floating out in space. They’re contractors, and they’re given a dangerous mission to infiltrate a stronghold and steal the eggs it’s keeping secure.
While Marsfall’s main series is on mid-season hiatus, the show is publicly releasing their previously Patreon-exclusive miniseries, Bunker Down. Set on Earth, Dr Katie Hall is trapped in a stasis pod in an undergound bunker after waking up. As with the main Marsfall series, music seems to have an important role in this story.
A Sky Full of Pods 