However, the early reactions to 2022’s Saints Row have ranged from “mixed” to “downright hostile.” What should have easily been one of the year’s biggest games is now the subject of widespread fan backlash. As is so often the case with divisive pieces of popular media in the internet age, the discourse surrounding Saints Row spread so quickly that it can be difficult to understand what the whole thing is really about....

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Scarlett Johansson has revealed that she has already resumed her working relationship with Disney. At the red carpet for a 35th annual American Cinematheque event honoring her career, Johansson spoke with the trade about what’s to come. “I have had some of the best times of my career working for both of those studios,” she said. “I feel really excited that I get to continue my work with Disney and with my Marvel family....

So bear with me. I realised quite late on – when the haze of chasing that thrill wore off – that this is one of the most dumb, pointless (and surprisingly expensive) endeavours I’ve committed to and, frankly, the least I can get out of it is an article. UK genre fans may have noticed that in the last year or so, a lot of direct-to-DVD films have been showing up on supermarket shelves with shiny foil sleeves all depicting a sinister house....

Netflix’s Shadow and Bone is a fantasy epic that has it all: A complex heroine, great supporting characters, and a sweeping plot that is based on a magical system that both empowers and isolates those who wield it. The back half of the season builds to a thrilling climax that’s both intensely satisfying and leaves plenty of room for the story to go in new directions in Season 2. (Which we better be getting, is all I’m saying....

Young adult fantasy fiction is one of the most popular literary genres on shelves today, full of a seemingly endless variety of stories about faeries, demons, and the sort of complex magical systems that occasionally need a flow chart to explain. It’s also full of young women, both as central characters and primary readers, all struggling and striving to figure out who they are and how they might find their own magic in the world around them....

Shameless Season 11 Episode 1 “The Gallaghers built Chicago single-handedly…” The final season of Shameless begins with an introduction that’s the most stylized that the show’s ever been and it almost feels out of place for the this series. Frank narrates over austere newsreel footage of Chicago’s history, which gradually devolves into the slovenly nature that is more Shameless’ speed. Frank’s Zelig-like revisionist take on the city illustrates how Gallaghers have been involved with every important event that shaped Chicago, whether it’s the takedown of Capone or the Trial of the Chicago Seven (which would have been the Chicago Eight if Frank were also apprehended, he contends)....

Shrill returns for season 2 with Annie dealing with the aftermath of last season when she took on her troll, got serious with her boyfriend, and spontaneously quit her job. Meanwhile, Amadi (grounding force/dream work husband Ian Owens) is adjusting to being the boss, something he finds surprisingly enjoyable, which frees Gabe up to show us what it look like when he’s actually a good editor for what feels like the first time all season....

Quick back-of-the-napkin math on major headlines since last season’s South Park finale aired on Dec. 11 2019: the impeachment trial of the sitting president, a drone strike on Iran, the tragic death of Kobe Bryant, the Democratic primaries and presidential election cycle, Brexit (well, for real this time), wildfires engulfing the west coast, police brutality protests and rioting across America, continued forgien election interference, and 200,000+ people dead from COVID-19 in the United States, with a curve nowhere near flattened, and over 1 million dead worldwide....

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....