The Japanese word ‘tsundoku’, beloved by book nerds, refers to the pile of unread books next to your bed or by the sofa, which rises steadily with each new optimistic purchase. There must be an equivalent for the mental stack of TV and film titles we each carry around inside our heads, made longer with
Month: December 2022
Doctor Who was filled with surprises this year. First was the announcement that Russell T. Davies, the man most responsible for bringing Doctor Who back to television in 2005, would be returning as showrunner. Then came the special “The Power of the Doctor,” which saw Jodie Whittaker regenerate not into Ncuti Gatwa, slated to play
The end of the year is the traditional time to take stock, tally up and remember the highlights of what has been, at times, a very strange old run of it. It also happens to be the point of the year when a lot of us manage to down tools for a little bit and
With 2022 well and truly wrapped up we thought we’d take a look back at some of our favourite picks from the last 12 months here at SciFiNow. January TV Show Station Eleven, adapted from the novel of the same name by Emily St. John Mandel landed on Starz Play (now Lionsgate+) to tell a
MAJOR SPOILERS! This is for viewers who have already streamed all episodes of Without Sin on ITVX Full of twists, turns, and Vicky McClure’s seemingly endless wardrobe of excellent knitwear, ITVX’s exclusive new drama Without Sin is a triumph. From its first moments, this thriller left us with questions, and they only multiplied as the
Directed by Ron Howard, classic fantasy movie Willow pretty much immediately hit cult status when it was released back in 1988. Telling the story of aspiring magician Willow (Warwick Davis), whose children discover an infant girl in the river one day and ends up on a magical adventure to ensure her safety, the movie sits
Technically speaking, 2022 was a rough year for the television industry. The previously unshakeable Netflix posted intimidating earnings losses, leading some observers to question whether the streaming bubble had burst. Meanwhile the newly-formed Warner Bros. Discovery hit choppy waters with its own streaming situation, making a mess of HBO Max in the process. And let’s
CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THE TRAITORS As all reality TV connaisseurs know, some of the best drama you can find on TV is not just in police procedurals, heists or Upside Downs; it is with real people living their lives (in front of the cameras) or real people in extraordinary situations (also in front of
Based on the best-selling novel by Neil Gaiman, the National Theatre’s critically acclaimed The Ocean at the End of the Lane, is now open at The Lowry in Salford and tours until 30 September 2023. Adapted by Joel Horwood and directed by Katy Rudd, this thrilling adventure of fantasy, myth and friendship is visiting 29
Warning: contains finale spoilers for His Dark Materials season 3. In the closing moments of Bad Wolf’s majestic adaptation of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, a caption on screen tells us what lies ahead for Lyra and Will. After freeing the ghosts from the Land of the Dead and returning healing Dust to the ailing multiverse, the teenagers
This article contains spoilers for The Witcher: Blood Origin and The Witcher While The Witcher: Blood Origin did what it set out to do – show what caused the Conjunction of the Spheres – this four episode miniseries ultimately left us with more questions than answers. Between Jaskier’s (Joey Batey) involvement in the Elves’ fight,
Author: Adrian Tchaikovsky Publisher: Head of Zeus, an Ad Astra book Price: £20 (hardback) The titular City of Last Chances is the city of Ilmar, a disparate and dangerous place where the local population are occupied by the Pallseen, a nation of serial invaders intent on unifying the world into conformity by insidiously replacing language
This article contains spoilers for The Witcher: Blood Origin. Set 1200 years before the events of The Witcher, The Witcher: Blood Origin tells the story of the Conjunction of the Spheres and how the Continent was changed forever. This four episode miniseries follows a band of warriors on their quest across the Continent as they
Warning: Contains spoilers for the Ghosts Christmas special Be warned: the opening scene of the Ghosts Christmas special might leave you slightly perturbed, wondering where all the Christmas is at, as there’s nary a whiff of festive cheer – just some scouts practising archery (without killing anyone this time) in the grounds of Button House
Not only did the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special delight MCU fans but it brought back the slightly foggy memory of the original inspiration: the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special, a controversial TV oddity most fans of the galaxy far, far away would sooner like to forget. Yet, curiously, while The Star Wars Holiday
This article contains spoilers for Jack Ryan season 3. Through two seasons, Prime Video’s Jack Ryan has covered some well-trodden topics for CIA spy thrillers. Jack Ryan season 1 found Tom Clancy’s titular CIA analyst on the case of an Islamic extremist’s curious bank statements. Season 2 moved the action to South America, where Jack
When Hawkeye debuted in the fall of 2021, all the colorful lights and Christmas trees crowding the sets were regarded as nothing more than that: decorations. The Jeremy Renner- and Hailee Steinfeld-starrer was a Marvel show that just so happened to be set during the holidays. But, in truth, Hawkeye is a Christmas story that
This isn’t about favorites. Favorites are flimsy and can be overdone, like a song or a sandwich filling you tire of after choosing it one too many times. This is about rightness. Of all the Doctors in the TARDIS, of all the Bonds in the Aston Martin, of all the Batmen in the Batsuit, there’s
It’s been a year of epic television: from the return of the Game of Thrones and The Lord of the Rings to the fascinating originalities of Severance, 1899, The Peripheral, and more, as well as trotting along with Slow Horses, The English, The Dropout and Pam & Tommy. Indeed, it has been incredible, but for
Count Magnus, this year’s BBC Christmas ghost story special, blends the holiday spirit of reconnecting with family origins with the terror of reawakening a supernatural being that should have been left alone. Although many may associate the concept with the ghosts that haunt Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, UK TV viewers traditionally welcome the holiday
Warning: this review contains spoilers. There you have it: the perfect Inside No. 9 specimen. Macabre, comedic, cleverly plotted, with a little bit of pathos and a gruesome end that – unlike ‘The Devil of Christmas’ – punishes the right person. If this show were taught in schools, ‘The Bones of St Nicholas’ would be the exemplar
To celebrate the brand new series of The Last of Us, available exclusively on Sky from 16 January, we are offering you the chance to win a pair of tickets to a special screening in Central London on 11 January. <span data-mce-type=”bookmark” style=”display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;” class=”mce_SELRES_start”></span> The Last of Us
Jim Henson’s Muppets mesh so well with Christmas. Crazy and chaotic as they are, the characters are just one big family. They are a collection of personalities that reflect Henson’s optimism. And what is Christmas if not a madcap holiday that promotes optimism and family? It’s no surprise that before and after Henson’s death, his
When it comes to the tradition of telling ghosts stories during Christmas, Charles Dickens still reigns supreme, with medieval scholar M.R. James in a very close second place. But in recent years, actor, writer, and director Mark Gatiss has quickly earned mention alongside those two by reinvigorating the United Kingdom’s heritage of holiday horror. Best
Microsoft has confirmed that High on Life is not only the biggest Game Pass new release of 2022 but the biggest 3rd party Game Pass launch ever (based on the number of hours played in the first five days of release). While that’s obviously an incredible accomplishment, it’s really not as surprising s it may
To celebrate the expansion of The Witcher franchise this month with Blood Origin heading to Netflix on Christmas Day, we had the pleasure of chatting to star Joey Batey (who plays Jaskier) about his unexpected appearance in the spin-off, fans’ reaction to the new show and the old, as well as reactions on the show
Participating in a fantasy franchise as big and beloved as HBO’s Game of Thrones inevitably means adopting a strange relationship with the public. Surely not a day goes by when Emilia Clarke isn’t questioned about the location and health of Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons. And it will be a long time before Kit Harrington stops hearing
Like Batman or Superman, Jack Ryan is a character that has seen several on-screen iterations played by a variety of actors. Unlike these superhero figures though, Jack Ryan isn’t rich and doesn’t have powers of any kind – really he’s just a regular dude. Created by prolific writer Tom Clancy, Jack Ryan is a man
Warning: contains spoilers for His Dark Materials episodes 3.5 and 3.6. It’s unkind to revel in someone else’s failure, but what a gift that this is The Amber Spyglass adaptation we got. It’s hard to imagine New Line Cinema’s defunct film trilogy getting anywhere near so much so right. The Mulefa, the Land of the Dead, Marisa Coulter’s transformation… all of
Let’s fly! Captain Burnham and the crew of Discovery are bound for a whole new set of adventures in Season Four of Star Trek: Discovery, which is out now on Blu-ray, DVD and Limited-Edition Blu-Ray SteelBook. That’s not all, to celebrate the release, we’re giving away a copy on Blu-ray! Season four of Star Trek:
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