Personal Highlights
Moonbase Theta, Out: S4 Episode 5 – A Bear Without a Head
Ashwini and Jaxon are delightful. Ashwini is a rock and much-needed support for Jaxon, and their scene is an exploration of an important theme in this episode – the sacrifices that have been made for Base Theta’s big Plan. These sacrifices and the weight of the work that people on both the moon and on Earth must carry out are balanced by the importance of support and community. Even the dogs, Pol and Cas, have made their own sacrifices, as they are now without both of their humans, and miss Alex. There is no success without the support of others, and this is most clearly displayed through Jaxon’s interactions, as their scenes emphasise the complexities of the plans on the moon. It was very touching hearing from Nessa, through a recorded message that Jaxon plays, as she gives them the reassurance that they very much need.
Hit the Bricks: Intermission: I’m Still Here
I was delighted to return to the magical world and beautiful soundscape of the Wizard of Oz. This episode is presented as a ‘side-story’ which takes place many decades before season one of Hit the Bricks, we’re given a glance behind the curtain at the past of one Oscar Diggs – who prefers to go by Oz. The comparisons with Dorothy’s story are many, as we’re introduced to the rise of the Wizard of Oz, and an intriguing insight into this world before his rise to power.
InCo: Season 3 Episode 71 -Veil.
You know that trope of a small character trying to fight a much taller character, and the taller character holds back the small one back with their hand on their head, while the small one whirls their fists in the air? That is the exact energy here. I mean, to be fair, Zahlia does have every right to be angry with everything that’s been hidden from her, and she understandably has a lot of questions. Nova, unsurprisingly, deflects with her typical sark and sarcasm, while also genuinely confronting Zahlia’s concerns in a calm and collected manner. She’s tired, and I absolutely don’t blame her with everything that she’s gone through since arriving on Eolara – never mind what she went through before that – and her plans to leave the planet just got a little more complicated.
The Tower: IV – Temple of Contemplation
Things are getting really creepy up on the Tower, as the story takes a sharp sinister, and very intriguing, turn. There’s an emphasis on the history of the Tower, which manifests itself in very different ways, again functioning as a kind of bookend to the episode. The claustrophobic ending is wonderfully sound designed, giving answers to some of Kiri’s questions in her opening monologue, while raising so many others. And then, of course, there’s Ike, and the possible significance of his call during this episode and how it could tie in with its ending. This third part of The Tower is digging in much deeper to the history of this incredible structure, and I’m really enjoying how it’s exploring all the potential secrets and ghosts it hides.
Debuts
Spire is a new thriller from the creator of In Transit, which launched this week with an episode titled The Butterfly Dream. We’re introduced to Malachi, and through him, the city of Spire and life within it. Malachi wakes up the following morning and discovers that he has switched bodies with someone very different to him – and it turns out that this isn’t that much of a strange occurrence in Spire. I’m so intrigued by this mysterious society and its rules, and how details about it and its inhabitants’ lives are gradually introduced to us as the episode progresses.
Trailers and Prologues
Leaving Corvat is an upcoming podcast from Lex Noteboom, the creator of The Deca Tapes. In a trailer for the show, we meet Sleeper, who’s lived in Corvat all his life. No one from the town has ever left, until he decides to try. The podcast is due to launch on the 23rd of January.
A Sky Full of Pods 