Phineas and Ferb: Season 5 Review (Part Two!)

A Phineas and Ferb-themed spoiler warning.

Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Phineas and Ferb, including Season 5.

Back in the summer, I shared my thoughts on what I mistakenly assumed was the entirety of Phineas and Ferb’s fifth season – the show’s first new episodes in a decade. But it turns out that Disney, for some reason, dumped only *half* of the episodes onto Disney+ back then, and a few more episodes have premiered over the summer and into the autumn. So I thought I’d better update my Phineas and Ferb Season 5 review, as some of what I said back then may no longer be accurate!

It’s also worth noting, before we go any further, that there are still a few more Season 5 episodes to come – but those won’t be landing until January. So I hope you’ll swing back in the new year for Part Three of this review, and to get my final thoughts on Season 5 as a whole! I just wanted to be clear about that, since I got a bit muddled up last time.

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing the Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated building.
Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated!

As always, I’ll give my usual caveat. Everything I’m going to say is the entirely subjective, not objective, opinion of one person only. If you hate my take on Phineas and Ferb, think I’ve gotten it horribly wrong, or we just have different ideas for what makes a fun or successful episode… *that’s okay!* There ought to be enough room in the fan community for differences of opinion and polite discussion, and I share my thoughts with you in that spirit.

What I’d like to do first is talk about the recent batch of episodes in general, then I’ll address a couple of criticisms I made of Season 5 earlier in the year, which I’d now like to change or recind. And finally, after all of that, I’ll go through the newer episodes one by one and share my thoughts on each of them. For the purposes of this review, I’m calling each individual story an “episode,” even though they usually come paired up on TV and streaming. Last time, I covered all of the episodes in Season 5 up to The Ballad of Bubba Doof, meaning this time I’m starting with Attack of the Candace Suit and covering all the episodes up to Dungeons and Dating, which is the most recent story to air at time of writing.

With all of that out of the way, let’s get started!

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Doof, Vanessa, and Norm.
Norm and Vanessa with Doof.

One thing I wanted to mention last time (it was in my notes, but somehow didn’t make it into the final review) has also cropped up in this second batch of episodes. Someone on the animation team *really* loves their new “low light” filter, don’t they? So many dark scenes now have a kind of “hazy” effect over characters and environments, which is something I don’t remember seeing in any of the first four seasons. It doesn’t look bad, exactly, but when it’s used so often in so many different episodes, it becomes noticeable… at least it did for me! And when there really aren’t a lot of other visual effects or filters being applied, the constant re-use of this one sticks out all the more.

I don’t hate the way this looks, just to be clear. It’s a bit of a change from what you might remember from earlier in the show’s run, but on its own, in one-off situations, I’d never say that it looks *bad*. But when there really aren’t any other comparable visual effects, changing the way the animation looks to represent, for instance, twilight, firelight, or other such things, this “low light” effect being recycled in multiple episodes became pretty noticeable for me.

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Vanessa in low light.
The “low-light” filter.

Speaking of new obsessions that the writers seem to have, several episodes this time haven’t *really* ended, with an apparent old-school cliffhanger seeming to tease story continuations that are almost certainly never coming. If it was a one-off gag, I’d be fine with it. In some cases, those kinds of things work well, either as a genuine tease or as a pastiche of the kinds of films and TV shows which do that kind of thing a lot.

But when it’s overdone, and when it’s obvious that these stories are well and truly over, one-and-done things… it gets repetitive. As above with the “low light” effect, it was just something that I started to notice as we got further into the season, and even though it was by no means happening in every episode, I definitely felt it begin to overstay its welcome.

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing a zombie Ducky Momo.
An example from the end of The Nightmare-Inator.

Dr Doofenshmirtz has (arguably) been Phineas and Ferb’s breakout character. But even keeping that in mind, Doof was *all over* this batch of episodes, being featured prominently. Heck, *four* of these episodes have Doof’s name in them, which must be some kind of record! There is still room for other characters, of course, but I think at this point it’s safe to say that Phineas and Ferb’s writing team are acutely aware of Doofenshmirtz’s popularity, meme-ability, and just the general place he’s carved out in pop culture.

I’m not saying it’s a bad thing necessarily, and *most* episodes still manage to feel balanced. But there’s a sense, perhaps, that Doof’s near-omnipresence is beginning to tip the scales just a little, and while the show is still managing to throw him into new situations or give him new experiences, I worry that if this continues, we might actually start to burn out on the character prematurely. There are still, at time of writing, forty-four new stories being produced, and if Doof is front-and-centre in as many of them as he has been in this batch of episodes… it might start to get a bit too much. He’s always been a main character, of course, but I just felt the balance tip a little this time.

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Doof on his hands and knees.
Doof is all over Season 5.

Phineas and Ferb took a break in August and September, before coming back with new episodes in October. I was a little surprised, then, that we didn’t get any kind of Halloween special. Such things are not expected nor demanded, but the show’s previous special episodes have been some of the best, and getting another Halloween or Christmas episode was something I had on my wishlist! Given that we aren’t getting any new episodes now till January, I doubt we’ll see anything festive this year. But I’m still crossing my fingers for 2026 or 2027!

There also aren’t any double-length or two-part episodes in this batch, excluding the second part of the Candace Suit saga. Again, not necessarily a problem, but some of the special feature-length episodes have been among the show’s best. Perhaps we’ll get something like that for the season finale?

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Isabella, Phineas, Ferb, Baljeet, and Buford.
There was no Halloween or Christmas special this time.

On the whole, I think I’d say that this second batch of episodes wasn’t quite at the same level as some of the other episodes we’ve enjoyed in Season 5. There were some standout stories, plenty of callbacks to the show’s original run, and the return of some characters who I felt had gone missing in those first few episodes – all of which I enjoyed and appreciated. But there were also a few duds, a couple of storylines which don’t land as well in the revival as they did in the show’s original run, and the pay-off to a pretty weak joke (that had been running all season) which didn’t really live up to the hype.

So… a mixed bag, then!

In terms of quality, I stand by what I said last time: Season 5 is probably about on par with Season 4, which – prior to the revival – would’ve been what I’d have said was the weakest part of the show. Note that I didn’t say “bad,” because there are some solid and some excellent Season 4 stories – as indeed there are in Season 5, too. But there are perhaps fewer of them, and some of the stories in between are either not especially memorable… or just not as good.

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Candace on her bed.
Candace on the phone with Stacy.

Last time, I said that I was disappointed to see Irving, Norm, Roger, and Jeremy basically go missing – and I’m pleased that each of them got at least *something* to do in the recent batch of episodes. Irving, by the time we reached the end of Season 4, seemed to have climbed out of the secondary character milieu to become an adjacent member of the friend group, so his absence was particularly noteworthy. Though we got a couple of solid roles for Irving further into Season 5, he’s still not as prominent as I might’ve expected, and doesn’t seem to be as close with the core friendship group as he was when the show’s original run was coming to an end. Episodes like Dungeons and Dating could’ve provided a “nerdy” character like Irving with loads to say and do, but he was relegated to a non-speaking cameo.

I’m glad that we got to see a bit more from Norm and Roger. Though neither has been especially prominent in Doof’s stories, they add a lot to his world and to that side of the series, and Norm in particular was great comic relief in some of the recent episodes. I’m glad that both of them had a bit more to say and do this time around.

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Vanessa and Norm.
Vanessa and Norm.

Jeremy is a bit of an odd case. If you didn’t know (and I don’t think I mentioned it last time), Jeremy’s original voice actor didn’t return for Season 5, and I suspect that’s why his role has been reduced this time around. Personally, I think that’s a real shame – after Jeremy and Candace became an official couple, his moments with her really opened up new narrative avenues which the show had begun to take advantage of. Although I think I’m right in saying that we saw more of Jeremy in the second part of Season 5 than we had in the first, he still doesn’t seem to be a particularly major character – not for Candace, nor for the series.

Jeremy works well when his easy-going, laid-back attitude can provide a contrast to Candace’s energetic and chaotic side. Throwing Jeremy into some of the boys’ plans has also worked well in the past, giving Candace either a reason to join in or at least to keep her busting in check for a while. Even in some of Jeremy’s more prominent moments this time, we didn’t get a lot of that. And he still doesn’t seem especially important or prominent on this side of the story. In any individual episode, it’s not something you really notice. But upon reaching the end of this batch of episodes, it’s odd to think that Jeremy – once such a prominent secondary character – has only made seven appearances in thirty-five stories, some of which only gave him a few seconds of screen time and one or two lines.

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Jeremy.
Jeremy’s role feels smaller in Season 5.

Last time, I said it was weird to see Candace achieving one of her biggest accomplishments – getting her driver’s license – only for it to not be mentioned again. We did finally get to see her drive, though, so we can check that one off the list! I still think the driving thing could be brought up a bit more often, even if it’s not directly related to the plot… because otherwise what was the point of License To Bust? But I’m glad that we got something in that vein this time around.

We’ll get into this a bit more when we cover the episode Bread Bowl Hot Tub, but this non-sequitur, which ran for basically all of Season 5, didn’t really get a strong enough payoff for me. I like how random it was, and it was cute to see Buford getting so excited as his request was belatedly granted. But after so much buildup across practically every preceding episode, this was one story which *really* needed to stick the landing. Unfortunately, despite a great guest star in Diane Morgan, it kinda didn’t.

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Buford's bread bowl hot tub.
Buford in his bread bowl hot tub.

Phineas and Ferb continues to be pretty meta and self-referential in Season 5, stretching some one-off gags and jokes into full storylines… even when there isn’t really enough material, or a strong enough foundation, to support something like that. I noted it last time with Buford’s life-size moulds – something which, inexplicably in my view, came up again in this crop of stories – but we can also add things like Perry’s lair entrances and the boys’ plans for croquet into that same category.

I’m all for the show reliving some of its glory days and replaying its greatest hits! That’s why a revival like this exists, at the end of the day – to play on the nostalgia viewers have for its original run. But at the same time, there are ways to tell new stories using these characters and familiar narrative frameworks that don’t *only* rely on things that had been set up years earlier. A nod and a wink to returning viewers can be a ton of fun, and I’m on board with in-jokes and meta humour. But when those things are the sole foundation for a story, or when the writers take a one-off gag or throwaway line and try to build it out into a complete story of its own… I think we’re getting far more misses than hits with that approach. So, for clarity: meta humour and being self-referential works well for jokes and small story beats, but hasn’t worked very well when an entire episode has been constructed around it.

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Monogram, Carl, and Perry in Perry's lair.
All of the entrances to Perry’s secret lair.

Next, let’s look at each of the episodes in turn, and talk about some of the things I enjoyed, disliked, or just found noteworthy about each of them.

For the sake of clarity, I’ve only watched most of these episodes a couple of times, so I’m not going to be delving deeply and nitpicking every element of them! I’ll cover each episode in broadcast order, and I’m not going to be ranking them, nor rating them out of ten or anything like that. Although these episodes are paired up, I’ll be covering each story individually.

Attack of the Candace Suit:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing the titular Candace Suit.
The Candace Suit.

As I said last time, Buford’s “life-size moulds” was a funny one-off gag that worked well in Season 3. But it’s not the kind of thing to build an entire story around, let alone a two-parter. With that being said, I felt Attack of the Candace Suit was the stronger half of this weird little two-part story, being noticeably better and more enjoyable than The Candace Suit had been earlier in Season 5. The now-sentient suit elicited some genuine sympathy, in the same sort of way as Frankenstein’s monster might, as it came to terms with existing as a living creature in this world.

This was also a good episode for Candace and Jeremy – one of the only times in the season where they got to spend much time together. It was also fun to see Candace and the boys on the same team, something that’s not totally uncommon but is still nice to see. The episode also got a happy ending, with the sentient suit being paired up with Klimpaloon, who got a small cameo at the end. I hope this will be the final part of the Candace Suit saga, and that we aren’t gonna get some kind of third episode next time!

Book Flub:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Candace playing with Addyson.
Candace and Addyson on a see-saw.

This one I genuinely liked. We got a Candace-Linda team-up story, with one of Linda’s problems being in focus for a change. It made for a really interesting change of pace, as Linda had to rely on Candace’s unusual skills to resolve her book club issue. The return of Irving, as noted above, was also incredibly welcome, and seeing Irving and Linda working together was odd but cool! It’s nice, after all this time, that Phineas and Ferb can still find new character groupings, and put different spins on its storylines. This kind of originality, quite honestly, is something I wish we’d gotten a bit more of in Season 5.

This is a bit of a rarity insofar as it’s a story without much input from either Perry and Doof or Phineas and Ferb, but I think staying laser-focused on Linda, Candace, and Irving was the right choice. Perry and Doofenshmirtz’s fight on a burrito-plane was fun, and they added a bit of levity to the story as things progressed. All in all, though, this was a great change of pace.

The Bad Old Days:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Doof and Vanessa in the back of a car.
Doof and Vanessa in Drusselstein.

Any chance to visit Drusselstein with Doof is fun, but I especially liked this new take on the old country. Doofenshmirtz is left hurt and confused when he sees how his hometown has been completely redesigned and gentrified, and is no longer the primitive backwater of his tragic backstories! This side of the story also contained some rare moments with Doof and Vanessa, and his excitement at her potentially becoming a citizen showed off his best fatherly tendencies. I wish we got more with these two in Season 5.

The boys’ side of things felt a little… repetitive. The giant drill was similar to something we saw right at the beginning of Season 1, and searching for either a missing ring or one of their mom’s lost possessions was also kind of samey if you remember similar escapades in Seasons 3 and 4. Nothing about it was *bad*, though, and this was really the episode’s secondary story. A great episode for Doof and a fun visit to Drusselstein, even if goings-on back in Danville weren’t quite as strong.

Mantis Fact:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Doof cowering from a giant praying mantis.
Jurassic Park vibes, anyone?

Mantis Fact felt like a classic Phineas and Ferb episode from the show’s original run. Candace wants to bust the boys for their over-the-top creation, while Perry has to investigate what’s going on with Doofenshmirtz’s latest inator. The twist was that Perry and Doof ended up having to work together to shut down his inator, which had created a group of giant, deadly praying mantises. I don’t think the core idea of constantly sharing “mantis facts” added much to the story, though, and the delivery felt a bit grating as the episode wore on.

The camouflaged bird sequence gave me a few good laughs near the end, and I felt Mantis Fact was a solid mid-season offering that harkened back to the show’s earlier seasons. I mean that as a compliment, and it’s an episode I’ll happily return to and re-watch in the future.

The Nightmare-Inator:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Doof and Perry.
Doof and Perry do battle.

This episode felt like it was harkening back to Season 3 or 4, whichever one had that Halloween special! There were some fun sequences, as Doof’s inator seems to malfunction, causing nightmares to become real. Vanessa got a great up-tempo song in a sequence that drew on the likes of Evil Dead and other horror titles for inspiration. We also got a callback to the haunted/evil Ducky Momo, as well as Vanessa’s relationship with Candace’s favourite kids’ show.

This was another story with only one main storyline, and I think keeping Doof and Perry in focus worked pretty well. It allowed for a greater variety of dream and nightmare sequences, including some pretty random and surreal imagery, which is always fun. I like the running joke of Ferb’s mind being a total enigma, and Doof’s apparent phobia of a giant, out-of-control Perry. Not a totally unique idea, perhaps, but solidly executed overall, and with a great song.

Doof in Retrograde:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Baljeet and Irving.
Baljeet and Irving: an unlikely duo!

I had to re-watch this one to remember what happened; nothing about the episode left much of an impression. The whole “solar system” thing felt way too samey after the boys made something comparable back in Season 4, and Doof’s motivation for wanting to be the centre of attention didn’t really ring true for me. There were a couple of fun moments, like Carl moving Perry’s chair when he tried to enter his lair, but a lacklustre song kind of capped off a really uninteresting Doof and Perry story for me.

On the flip side, it was fun to get some interaction between Baljeet and Irving, and I liked how this storyline gave Baljeet more of a main role. The two “nerdy” characters worked well together (surprise, surprise!), and it was just a fun change of pace for Baljeet. Irving got a chance to live out his “being like Phineas and Ferb” fantasy, and we got a pretty classic ending to the story with Doof’s inator destroying the kids’ inventions.

Bend It Like Doof:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Doofenshmirtz and Perry playing football (soccer).
The match of the century?

Bend It Like Doof had a pretty weak setup, and at first I thought it was just going to be a vehicle for a couple of famous guest-stars. In the end, neither Megan Rapinoe nor Cristo Fernández really got all that many lines, so I’m just not sure what the intention was here! I like football (or soccer, if you prefer) as much as the next person, but Phineas and Ferb already did a pretty solid episode themed around that sport back in Season 3’s My Fair Goalie. This episode wasn’t *bad* per se, but it lacked originality, and the central Doof-Monogram conflict has been done better – and more believably – elsewhere.

It was nice to see most of the members of L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N again, albeit that most of them didn’t have major roles, and to spend a bit more time than usual with Major Monogram. It was also weird (and kind of funny) to get some continuity with the episode Tropey McTropeface, through the news reporter-turned-prison escapee Dink Winkerson. Not a great episode, but there are some highlights and funny moments.

Dooflicated:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing a giant Phineas robot.
A giant Phineas robot.

This was a fun idea, and even though it leans a bit too heavily on the “doesn’t Doofenshmirtz have weird mannerisms” trope, I think it was well-executed, too. Seeing the boys take their inventions in an overtly evil direction – albeit in the name of fun – was a blast, and Candace being the protagonist for once, having to stop them when they got out of control, felt like something fun and different.

Dooflicated also gave us one of the rare moments in Season 5 where Doof and Vanessa have a meaningful conversation. I liked Vanessa’s totally blasé attitude to name-dropping a famous relative on her college application; it seems in-keeping for her character while also being a subtle comment on nepotism in the United States. I still miss the idea of Vanessa working for the O.W.C.A. in some capacity, and I think it’s a shame how that idea wasn’t picked up more this time. But a nod to her college applications was a fun way to go, too.

Space Adventure:

I’m a big Star Trek fan (if you couldn’t tell already), so Space Adventure was almost tailor-made for me! The show-within-a-show doesn’t just parody Star Trek, of course, and there were references or hints at other sci-fi properties, too. Although it was undeniably silly, I really liked the end result, and it’s no exaggeration to say that I think I laughed the most at Space Adventure’s parody than I did at any other episode in the season!

Space Adventure was, unsurprisingly, also a solid episode for Buford and Baljeet. I felt it harkened back to stories like Bully Bromance Breakup, while also reminding me a little of Excali-Ferb – at least in terms of its core premise. It was bold to frame this story around *only* Buford and Baljeet, with Phineas, Ferb, Candace, Doof, and Perry all absent. It was arguably even bolder to then have the bulk of the story just be this Star Trek-themed show-within-a-show! But for me at least, Space Adventure is one of the highlights of the season.

Droogenfest:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing the titular Droogenfest.
The Fireside Girls at the festival.

I like some of the ideas present in Droogenfest, but the core drama of Danville somehow being *desperate* for a trade deal with the Drusselstein delegation didn’t really work, even in light of Gimmelstump’s new-look presentation from earlier in the season! Setting that overblown nitpick aside, though, Droogenfest comes across like another classic story. The kids are participating in a big local event, Doof’s attempt to ruin his brother’s reputation gets in the way, and they end up having to work together to put things right.

The callback to Candace Against The Universe – where Doofenshmirtz and Isabella last interacted with each other – was a fun addition, and a way to keep the film somewhat relevant. Little touches like that – when not overwhelming a story – help the world of Phineas and Ferb feel connected, so I appreciated that. And it was neat to get another little addition to Drusselstinian culture and history. All in all, a pretty solid offering.

Doofercise:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Doof's gym advertisement.
Join the Doofnasium!

Doofenshmirtz gets the idea to turn exercise into power for his inators and opens a free gym. I actually weirdly kinda like this premise, and Doof and Norm make for really fun exercise gurus. The episode starts off slow, but quickly builds up to Doof’s gymnasium idea, with even Vanessa getting roped in when he makes one of those dodgy low-budget local TV commercials! That was a particularly fun sequence. Perry’s idea to overload the inator was a bit obvious, perhaps, but it worked well to bring this side of the story to a conclusion.

Candace and Jeremy’s date gets interrupted by the boys’ land-boat. The visual of the boat was pretty neat, and I liked the way it looked. As I said above, we didn’t get a ton of Jeremy and Candace together, so this date – before its interruption – was nice to see. The chase through the city was also pretty exciting. Another episode that could’ve been from an earlier season, really – which I mean as a compliment.

Croquet Y-8:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Phineas explaining his new game.
Oh look, it’s that throwaway line from Season 4… as a full episode. Yay.

Remember in the New Year episode, when Baljeet asked why the boys were going straight from Football X-7 to Hockey Z-9? Yeah. This is another one-liner that, for some reason, has been stretched beyond breaking point to form the core of an entire story. And I’m sorry, but there was just no need. The “we’re saving that for croquet” comment in Season 4 was funny, but it was clearly nothing more than a joke – the humour coming from the fact that croquet is not the kind of sport you could really “soup up”, for want of a better term. The end result even borrowed from the boys’ bowling ball invention back in Season 1, and it just didn’t feel like a particularly strong premise *or* a good execution of the idea.

The dilemma Perry faced, though, added stakes to his and Candace’s side of the story, and it was cute to see Candace and Jeremy following the robotic Perry duplicate around, trying to make the documentary. I didn’t feel Doof’s sheep-related invention was one of his best or most interesting ideas, but the time limit Perry had kept that side of the story largely on the rails.

Dinner Reservations:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Doof and Monogram at a restaurant.
Ah, the old sitcom cliché…

The boys’ drone light-show idea was fine, if a little underwhelming after their more impressive laser light-show in Season 4! But I liked the way it began, with Buford talking about how his family home was, apparently, just covered in Christmas lights. And the visuals at the end, with the drones making different images, worked pretty well.

However… the other side of the story was not my favourite. I can buy Monogram and Doof’s feud, though I think it fell into the fairly common kids’ show cliché of adults not knowing how to act like adults. But what I didn’t really think worked was Monty and Vanessa’s relationship. In Act Your Age, at the end of Season 4, we saw Ferb and Vanessa together as a couple in the future. And that’s a really great direction for both of them, paying off Ferb’s crush from earlier episodes while also giving Vanessa an unexpected new direction. But with that context, I just can’t get invested in Vanessa’s doomed relationship with Monty. It was great to see Monty again, and we got some pretty okay slapstick comedy out of the whole “enemies having dinner” premise. But… I think I’m over Vanessa and Monty now that the show has confirmed Vanessa’s future with Ferb. I don’t want to see her and Ferb together in the show’s present day… eww. But maybe Vanessa’s relationship with Monty should just quietly be sidelined?

Bread Bowl Hot Tub:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Buford on a raft.
Rafting home.

As I said above, I didn’t feel this episode was good enough to be the payoff to a season-long gag. In fact, even if it hadn’t been running all season, I’d still say this was an especially weak story. I’d actually rather that Buford’s bread bowl hot tub had remained un-made; a non-sequitur type of joke that could be brought up sometimes… just another random idea of Buford’s that the kids are clearly never going to make. Because what we got was just… not very good.

Diane Morgan, who guest-starred as the voice of the titular hot tub, is great, and it’s such a shame she was wasted on such a weird and ultimately underwhelming story. There probably was a way to write a story like this, but maybe it needed to be a feature-length story or maybe it needed other characters involved? Something went wrong, anyway, and while it’s great to see Buford getting his wish, and to get a Buford spotlight episode which picked up on various aspects of his characterisation… this wasn’t the way to do it. And the end result was one of the worst episodes of the season for me.

Entrance Exam:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Candace and Stacy trying to speak with the mysterious force.
Communing with the “mysterious force…”

I’m glad that, after Perry’s lair entrances gradually disappeared from Phineas and Ferb as the show’s original run wore on, Season 5 has brought them back. They’re a classic part of the show, and many of them – like couch gags in The Simpsons – have been a ton of fun. But sometimes, when you over-explain or dig too deeply into something like this, it loses much of what makes it fun or impactful. We get it: Perry has lots of ways to access his secret lair. Did we need an entire episode all about that, drawing attention to how much of the Flynn-Fletcher household is taken up by these access points?

Where I will give Entrance Exam its dues is in Candace’s story. Hearing Monogram’s voice from below, she mistakenly believes she’s speaking with the “mysterious force” responsible for making the boys’ inventions disappear – and that typical sitcom mistaken identity cliché actually made for some genuinely funny moments. Particularly when Stacy also got involved, this side of the story was a ton of fun.

Dungeons and Dating:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Evan.
Evan.

The most recent episode at time of writing. Dungeons and Dating was all about live-action roleplaying, as the boys (and their friends) set out to tell their own version of the ending to their favourite franchise when it was prematurely cancelled. I like the premise, I like the references to D&D, and we got some neat backdrops for the kids as their adventure unfolded. I think this could’ve been a good story to include someone like Irving or Albert, but both were only present in the background, which was a bit of a shame. I liked the callback to Buford being a fan of fantasy, though, and the kids had a fun adventure on this side of the story.

Doof’s reality show dating thing was neat, too. It was clearly a reference to the likes of The Bachelor and Love Island, and the character called Evan, who could seemingly only say his own name, was a hilarious send-up of the kinds of pretty-but-empty-headed folks who all too often appear on programmes like that! Norm and Vanessa’s banter as they watched Doof on TV was also laugh-out-loud funny for me.

So those are all the episodes so far!

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing the Flynn-Fletcher house.
The Flynn-Fletcher house.

Closer in quality to Seasons 4 than Seasons 1-3, and perhaps a bit of a dip compared to the first half of the season. But there are still some funny moments in practically every episode, and some novel and interesting story ideas which go a long way to justifying Phineas and Ferb’s resurrection after a decade-long break. I will gladly watch these episodes again (and again), and I’m sure I’ll enjoy them all the more when I’m not taking notes for my review or looking for things to pick on!

There are four episodes left in Season 5, and then we still have Season 6 to come. I’m hoping for some kind of special episode or feature-length outing in January to round out the season – but even if we don’t get that, I’m sure I’ll be satisfied with more adventures in Danville with Phineas, Ferb, Candace, Perry, Doof, and the rest of the gang.

I hope this has been interesting. Please remember that all of this is subjective! And be sure to join me in January or February when I’ll write up my thoughts on those final episodes, as well as perhaps talk a little bit more about the season as a whole. If you missed it earlier in the year, you can check out my review of the first part of Season 5 by clicking or tapping here. That’s all for now, so… Trekking with Dennis is out! Peace!


Phineas and Ferb Season 5 is currently airing on the Disney Channel, with some episodes also streaming on Disney+. Other episodes will join Disney+ in January 2026. Phineas and Ferb is the copyright of Disney Television Animation and The Walt Disney Company. This review contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

Alien: Earth – Season 1 Review

An Alien-themed spoiler warning graphic.

Spoiler Warning: Beware spoilers for Alien: Earth and other films in the Alien series.

The original Alien film (the one from 1979) is one of my absolute favourite sci-fi/horror titles. The claustrophobic atmosphere, the masterful way director Ridley Scott built up the danger and tension, and of course, the titular alien itself, were all absolutely incredible. The film is a classic of cinema – but that’s kind of where my attachment to Alien as a franchise ended… until now.

I liked Aliens, but not as much as the first film. And subsequent entries in the franchise – in my subjective opinion, of course – got progressively less interesting. None of them were out-and-out bad – at least, none that I’ve seen – but I really started to get the sense that Alien should’ve been a one-off; the Xenomorph just felt like a one-trick pony. And I was content to leave Alien there, revisiting the first film for occasional viewings every once in a while, but without really broadening my exploration of this world. I haven’t seen Prometheus or Alien: Covenant, and while I’m pretty sure I watched Alien Versus Predator, I genuinely can’t remember a thing about it.

Promo photo for Alien: Earth (2025) showing Joe holding a torch.
Let’s examine Alien: Earth.

So why Alien: Earth, then? And is my take on a series in this franchise even valid? You’ll have to answer that – no hard feelings if a review from an occasional fan isn’t right for you! But I wanted to be up front about my feelings on the Alien franchise as a whole. Alien: Earth appealed to me, to be blunt about it, because it’s a big-budget sci-fi show in a franchise I’m at least partially familiar with. I’m always on the lookout for new and engaging sci-fi to enjoy, and I thought there was a chance, at least, that Alien: Earth might be worth a watch. Here in the UK it’s on Disney Plus, which is a subscription I dip in and out of, and during one of the months I was paying for it I thought I’d check out the series.

Here’s the headline: I thoroughly enjoyed Alien: Earth, and I’d rank it only slightly behind 1979’s Alien if I were to make a “tier list” of everything I’ve seen in the franchise to date. I binged the entire show over a couple of evenings, because I found once I got started I didn’t want to put it down. Alien: Earth managed to thread the needle: growing the world and lore of its franchise while staying true to the original themes and tone. And if I may be so bold… I think it’s set the stage for an expansion of the Alien franchise in a way no entry before it managed to do.

Behind-the-scenes photo from the set of Alien: Earth showing director Noah Hawley on the Maginot set.
Behind the scenes during production.

A couple of years ago, I took a look at the video game Aliens: Fireteam Elite here on the website. And I wrote then that there was “an odd duality” to the Alien franchise, with some films presenting a single Xenomorph as an unstoppable killing machine… while others depicted whole legions of them as being little more than cannon fodder. I wrote then that Alien really only had one alien… and diminishing it too much would risk making future projects feel less frightening and less intense.

Alien: Earth introduces several new alien species to the franchise – and they’re a genuine breath of fresh air. If there are to be more Alien films or TV shows, the franchise will need to expand beyond just the Xenomorphs and fill out its galaxy with more life-forms to terrorise (and occasionally bond with) our protagonists and antagonists. For me, Alien: Earth took a massive and incredibly important step in that direction, creating brand-new creatures – at least one of which was arguably more frightening than the original Xenomorph. If Alien remains in production, we may come to look back at Alien: Earth as a major turning-point, revitalising the franchise and keeping it fresh.

A trio of promotional posters for Alien: Earth.
A trio of promotional posters for Alien: Earth.

Alien: Earth depicts a future ruled by corporations. This corporate dystopia has been a theme going all the way back to the original film; Weyland-Yutani’s single-minded desire to capture a Xenomorph was revealed to be the driving force behind that story. Given that Alien: Earth (and the rest of the franchise) is now owned by Disney, one of the biggest corporations on the planet… there’s an irony there which wasn’t lost on me. The anti-corporate tone, criticisms of oligarchy, and the general depictions of both Weyland-Yutani and Prodigy as being horribly corrupt… it doesn’t land quite as hard, perhaps, because of the real-world ownership and money behind it!

However, I found the messaging interesting – once I got past all of that. We spent a lot of time with Prodigy, and its founder, and we got to see more than I think we’ve ever seen before of this vision of humanity’s corporatist future. At one point, Joe explains to the kids how democracy “didn’t work,” so it was overthrown and replaced with the corporatocracy that the series depicts, and the whole thing really was fascinating. Sci-fi is usually as much a commentary on the world today as it is on the future, and there are parallels to the rise of real-world corporations and their power that were intentionally unsettling.

Still frame from Alien: Earth (2025) showing Boy Kavalier.
Boy Kavalier, the owner/founder of Prodigy.

In terms of individual episodes, the fifth episode of the season, In Space, No One… was by far my favourite – and a damn good reimagining of the original 1979 Alien, in my opinion. It was the only episode set entirely in space, aboard the doomed USCSS Maginot, and the story unfolded in such a tense and exciting way. I’m so glad that Alien: Earth introduced new alien life-forms, because along with the Xenomorph, these were all fascinating and frightening in their own ways – and I could see the eyeball alien in particular being an incredibly intense antagonist in a future story.

Everything about this episode just worked. The damage to the ship, the slow reveal of the saboteur, and the sense of impending doom as the crew came to realise they were on a collision course and running out of time. Then, the breaches in the containment labs, with facehuggers, blood-sucking parasites, and the octopus-eyeball… it was just a masterful buildup of horror and tension. As in the original Alien, gore wasn’t the primary focus, and the Xenomorph itself spent most of its time off-screen, leaving the situation and the tension to carry the story. For me, as a fan of the original film, In Space, No One… was far and away the best episode of the season – and a riveting watch in its own right.

Still frame from Alien: Earth (2025) showing Morrow and his assistant aboard the Maginot.
Just a fantastic episode.

I’ve recently been looking into the development of artificial intelligence, and I’ve talked about one A.I. research paper here on the website. Themes connected to the fast-moving world of A.I. were present in Alien: Earth, and I found the show’s approach to be genuinely interesting. Alien: Earth doesn’t launch headfirst into the A.I. apocalypse in the way something like Terminator or Battlestar Galactica have done, but the theme of A.I. outsmarting and outmanoeuvring humans was key to the story. And, as in the 1979 original, the idea of incredibly wealthy and powerful humans programming their A.I. systems to act not in the common good, but to sacrifice lives to achieve objectives… that was here, too.

We saw it in the synthetic characters. We saw it in “Mother,” the A.I. system installed aboard the Maginot. And we saw it with the hybrids, too, and how they changed and developed after they were installed into synthetic bodies. Kavalier, in his quest to develop and launch a revolutionary A.I. product, felt like a stand-in for any number of real-world A.I. evangelists and entrepreneurs, talking up the benefits of his new hybrid model… before getting distracted with the alien specimens he’d commandeered!

Still frame from Alien: Earth (2025) showing Wendy's creation.
Creating the first hybrid.

Because A.I. is such a big topic right now, I found this aspect of Alien: Earth to be genuinely interesting. The show takes a nuanced approach, depicting A.I. itself as kind of neutral – at least at first – with its “morality,” or lack thereof, contingent on the whims of its creators and owners. Some synths appear to be completely loyal to their masters, but others, like Kirsh, seem to have a lot more freedom to operate independently, even if that meant doing things like lying, concealing the truth, or even getting into dangerous situations.

At first, I thought Alien: Earth was going to come down on the side of the hybrids being fully human, but as the series progressed, it became clear that the hybrids – human “minds” transferred to synthetic bodies – were no longer fully human. We’re a long way away from “mind uploading” here in the real world (at least, I think we are!) but again, the question of where to draw the line between a machine and a person – and whether there even *is* a line, or if it’s more of a gradient – was absolutely riveting stuff.

Photo of the Alien: Earth cast at the show's premiere.
Most of the main cast at the Alien: Earth premiere.

Since we’re talking about the hybrids, I thought they were an interesting collection of characters. I’m not sure whether the original intention was for these roles to be taken by actual child actors, which could have been interesting (as well as leaned into the “creepy kids” horror trope), but I found the idea of children in adult bodies to be an interesting one. It was also another commentary on the whole A.I. concept that we were talking about a moment ago. The performances which brought the characters to life were, for me, a bit hit-and-miss – not so much because of the actors, but rather the way some characters were written. Marcy/Wendy, Jane/Curly, and Isaac/Tootles were much less child-like than their peers, at least most of the time, and while that could be okay, it kind of detracted from the idea of these being kids struggling to come to terms with their new minds, bodies, and abilities.

In contrast, Aarush/Slightly, Rose/Nibs, and Christopher/Smee were all very child-like in the way they came across almost all the time – and I think all three performers deserve a ton of credit for bringing that feeling to life. The way they’d stand and sit, swinging their arms, touching leaves or walls, the awkwardness with which they’d move or approach each other… basically the entire range of all three performances really nailed, for me, the feeling that these were still children at heart, even though they were in adult bodies. There was some great directing and acting (and probably some fantastic coaching, too) that brought this feeling to life.

Still frame from Alien: Earth (2025) showing the hybrid kids at the end of the series.
The hybrids.

The others, as mentioned, didn’t lean as much on the child-like side of things, though each of them got some moments of childishness scattered through the story. Jane/Curly had her quest to become Kavalier’s “favourite,” which felt very childish, as did her moment near the end of the season with Dame Sylvia. But then, in between, she’d be a dedicated scientist, as was Isaac/Tootles, and the contrast was kind of obvious. In their cases, the transition from child to adult felt more abrupt, I guess, rather than like a slow burn across the season. That’s not necessarily a criticism, just an observation of the way these characters differed from the other, more child-like hybrids.

As the main protagonist, Marcy/Wendy was in focus much of the time. I think maybe the choice to have her kill an adult Xenomorph came too early in the story; it was at the beginning of the third episode, and showing her raw power and capabilities so early was a risk. However, she was a truly interesting character to get to know, and we saw her coming to terms with her new status as a hybrid in different ways as the story progressed. Her fixation on her brother was observed by the Prodigy team, but they deliberately didn’t interfere, even granting her the wish to chase after him when he was in danger. As a way to communicate that she’d retained her memories and personality after the transfer, I think that worked incredibly well.

Still frame from Alien: Earth (2025) showing Joe and Marcy Hermit.
Joe and Marcy.

Alien: Earth made a concerted effort to lean into the aesthetic of the original film – a visual style that I’d call “very ’70s.” This is still a very late ’70s vision of the future, with plenty of brown and orange tones to the furniture and bold patterns and prints on some shirts and outfits. Whether you like this or not is very much a subjective thing! Where I was less keen was when it came to retro technology – I just have a hard time buying that this is supposed to be “the future” where A.I. exists and there are sentient robots if all computers look like the BBC Micro that I used in my first-ever I.T. lesson back in school!

CRT screens and monitors, black-and-white cameras, handheld camcorders, computer systems with text-only interfaces and green-on-black screens, cassette tapes… none of it feels like the future, and I think it’s indicative of a trend in some sci-fi franchises where the desire to perfectly recreate everything that came before overwhelms common sense.

Still frame from Alien: Earth (2025) showing the Mother A.I. interface.
A CRT monitor with an out-of-date interface.

Think about it: why did the original Alien depict computers with text interfaces, CRT monitors, and tapes? Because, in 1979, that was what the future of technology looked like. There are ways to modernise the way technology is represented in a franchise like Alien without sacrificing everything about it – updated screens, faster computers, graphical and visual interfaces can (and I would argue should) be able to exist in this world. It wouldn’t be immersion-breaking, and for me, I think it would be more interesting and a more realistic depiction of a far future setting where the kinds of fantastical technologies depicted in the series exist. You’re telling me the world of Alien invented artificial gravity for spaceships… but not flat-screen displays or a graphical interface?

There could’ve also been an opportunity to show the passage of time and the contrast between the world Morrow and his crew left behind and the one he returns to. Alien: Earth seems to depict a world where technology is stagnant – 65 years ago, when Morrow left, his ship was presumably on the cutting edge, yet by the time he returns, technology looks and feels basically the same. If the USCSS Maginot had had the old-school retro stuff, but the research facility and other Earth locales had had more modern technology, it could’ve done more to hammer home just how long Morrow had been away and how much had changed in that time.

Still frame from Alien: Earth (2025) showing Morrow.
Morrow on the phone.

Morrow was an interesting character, and not the pure antagonist that I expected based on his actions in the premiere. In fact, you could make that case for most of the characters, really – Alien: Earth gave pretty much everyone some moral complexity. For Morrow, the revelation about his daughter’s death was heart-wrenching, and learning about how he came to have his cybernetic arm – and that it basically constituted a “life-debt” to Weyland-Yutani – also did a lot to soften, or at least explain, his characterisation. I can’t be the only one who heard “paging Mr Morrow, Mr Tom Morrow” when I first heard his name, though… can I? (If you’re a Disney World fan, you’ll get the reference!)

That leads me into a point about some of the characters’ names. Mr Morrow is already a bit of a weird one, but then we have Boy Kavalier. Really? On the nose much? Dame Sylvia’s also a bit of an odd choice of name, if you think about it, as are Joe and Marcy Hermit. Maybe I’m misremembering… but weren’t most character names in Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, and so on a bit less… weirdly literal? I mean, you had names like Ripley, Burke, Clemens, Dillon, Dallas, Kane, and Brett. I’m not sure why these unusual names were chosen. For synthetic and hybrid characters, it made sense – and for the hybrids in particular, names were a big narrative point. But for someone to be named (or name themselves) Boy Kavalier… it just felt a bit odd, I guess.

Behind-the-scenes photo from the set of Alien: Earth showing the Xenomorph being adjusted/touched up.
A glimpse behind the scenes.

There were definitely echoes of Jurassic Park in Alien: Earth’s top-secret research facility on a jungle island! The main facility itself, with its lab full of glass and metal cages, reminded me a lot of the labs seen in the Jurassic Park/World franchise, too. Later in the season, when Joe, Marcy/Wendy, and Rose/Nibs were trying to escape, I really got hit with that Jurassic Park vibe. Being stalked through the vegetation, first by the Xenomorph and then by various factions of soldiers, really contributed to that feeling. It wasn’t intentional, I’m sure, just a coincidence! But having seen Jurassic Park back in the day, I was surprised to be reminded of it in a completely different franchise some thirty-plus years later.

If I were to make one criticism of the jungle scenes, though, it would be this: I don’t think Alien’s titular Xenomorph benefits from being shown off in bright sunlight. The creepy monster works best, for me, when it’s obscured in shadow, when it has places to hide, and while the vegetation definitely provided hiding places… seeing the creature so well-lit and from all angles was, in my opinion, somewhat diminishing. There was some creative cinematography here, and the incredibly fast motion of the Xenomorph still makes it feel threatening. But over-exposure can, in some cases, be detrimental to a villain or a monster, and I think that’s true here.

Still frame from Alien: Earth (2025) showing the Xenomorph outside the facility, surrounded by green vegetation.
The Xenomorph in the jungle.

I also worry, at least a little, about the effect of creating a “friendly” Xenomorph. It was never explained how or why Marcy/Wendy could communicate in the Xenomorphs’ language, which is something I’d have liked to get a bit more information about. We saw other characters talking about “learning” languages simply by having them uploaded to their new hybrid brains… but Wendy didn’t get that, did she? And as far as I know, no one in the Alien franchise has ever known the Xenomorphs’ language. In fact, until Alien: Earth, wouldn’t you have said the Xenomorphs are more akin to non-sentient animals than sentient life-forms capable of language? They’re apex predators, sure, but so are lions or sharks – and we can’t just download their “languages” and chat to them.

But to get back on topic, Marcy’s “pet” Xenomorph… how do we feel about that? I’m worried that, if the Alien franchise does this kind of thing, it’s going to diminish that all-important fear factor the next time a writer wants to make a story like In Space, No One… or 1979’s original film. As I said above with some of the video games turning the Xenomorphs into cannon-fodder, when there aren’t a lot of other antagonists or monsters, you have to treat the ones you have with care. And while I’m hopeful for a second season of Alien: Earth that will provide a narrative payoff to Marcy befriending the Xenomorph, I feel a little concerned that having a Xenomorph ally could detract from how frightening the monster should be.

Behind-the-scenes photo from the set of Alien: Earth showing Sydney and Alex posing with the Xenomorph.
Sydney Chandler (Wendy) and Alex Lawler (Joe) posing with the Xenomorph during filming.

Alien: Earth had some wonderful practical effects as well as some spectacular CGI. If you know me, you’ll know I adore physical props, costumes, and puppets in my sci-fi, and for my money, the show excelled in that department. Obviously we have the Xenomorph, recreated for Alien: Earth using a performer in costume, but there were so many other wonderful props that really brought the world of Alien to life. The obligatory chest-buster scene was less shocking, perhaps, because we knew what was coming, but I can’t deny that it looked fantastic. As did the gore used to depict dead (and half-dead) victims of the Xenomorph and other entities.

CGI was also incredible. Shots of the Maginot in space stand out to me as looking better than anything we’ve seen in modern Star Trek, for example, and I think you can really see Alien: Earth’s animation budget being put to good use. Several of the other alien creatures – the blood-suckers, tadpoles, and eyeball-octopus – were also CGI creations, and they also looked fantastic. Seeing the blood-suckers drain a person of life in moments was especially gruesome.

Still frame from Alien: Earth (2025) showing Zoya hiding from the Xenomorph.
Hiding from the Xenomorph…

The eyeball creature was, for me, the surprise standout monster in Alien: Earth. Its first appearance – in the eye of a poor kitty cat – was shocking and brutal, and the way it tried to attach itself to Nibs was genuinely frightening, really hammering home how dangerous it could be. But then, as the story progressed, we came to realise that this creature is surprisingly intelligent. As I said above, I could absolutely envision a future film or series in which the eyeball creature serves as a major antagonist.

Because Alien: Earth left things open at the end of the season, with the kids seemingly in control of the facility and the eyeball monster having escaped, possessing the corpse of poor Arthur… maybe that’s what’ll happen next time! I’d certainly be interested to learn more about this creature, its connection to the Xenomorphs, and what – if anything – its objectives or goals might be. The Alien franchise has needed a new creature like this for a long time.

Still frame from Alien: Earth (2025) showing the eyeball alien.
The eyeball creature.

So, after all of that, where do we stand with Alien: Earth?

I had a genuinely wonderful time with this series. It felt closer in tone, most of the time, to 1979’s classic Alien than to any of the lesser spin-offs or sequels that I can remember sitting through, most of the main characters felt complex and compelling, and there were new additions to the franchise which I think have a ton of potential to expand Alien beyond the Xenomorphs – which, for reasons discussed above, is going to be important! My favourite episode was In Space, No One… which was set aboard the claustrophobic USCSS Maginot, and really succeeded at recapturing the feel of Alien for me.

But the rest of the season was interesting and exciting, too. It was fun to get a look at Earth in this vision of the future, and while I’d argue some of the anti-corporate message is blunted when you know who funded production, Alien: Earth’s exploration of a future dominated by mega-corporations felt timely and engrossing.

A trio of promotional posters for Alien: Earth.
Three more promo posters.

I’ve recently started playing Alien: Isolation – the survival/horror game from a few years ago. I’m a big old scaredy-cat, though, so I’m not sure how far into the game I’m gonna get before I have to put it down for a while! So far, it’s been a fun way to continue my exploration of the world of Alien. Stay tuned, because a write-up of that game (or part of it, perhaps) is possible in the weeks ahead.

So that was Alien: Earth. A great show, a fun sci-fi adventure, and a much-needed expansion of the Alien franchise. There were genuinely interesting characters, complex themes touching on prescient real-world issues, and more than a few scares for the horror aficionados out there! I’m happy to recommend Alien: Earth to fans of the original film, sci-fi and horror fans, and really just anyone looking for an engaging and high-tempo adventure.


Alien: Earth is available to stream now on Hulu in the United States and on Disney+ around the world. Alien: Earth will also be released on DVD/Blu-ray in the future. The Alien franchise – including Alien: Earth – is the copyright of 20th Century Studios and the Walt Disney Company. Some promo photos courtesy of IMDB. This review contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

Phineas and Ferb: Season 5 Review

A spoiler warning graphic.

Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Phineas and Ferb, including all of Season 5.

Phineas and Ferb’s fifth season was one of my most-anticipated entertainment experiences of 2025. I’m a pretty big fan of the show, having first encountered it shortly after its original premiere in 2007 or 2008, back when I used to have a satellite TV subscription! When Season 5 premiered on Disney+, I didn’t just binge the entire thing right away; I wanted to take things a bit slower and give each episode a chance to settle. That being said, I still finished the whole season in under a week, so maybe my self-control isn’t as good as I thought!

If you just want the tl;dr, here it comes: Phineas and Ferb Season 5 was wonderful. Some episodes were truly outstanding, reaching the bar set by those earlier stories in the 2000s and 2010s. Others weren’t as spectacular, but even in the ones I found less enjoyable, there were still fun moments, creative storytelling, or jokes that managed to win a chuckle. I think I laughed out loud at least once while watching all eighteen/nineteen episodes (the numbering gets a little bit weird; we’ll cover that as we go), which I think says a lot.

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Phineas with a Fireside Girl at school.
Phineas at the beginning of the new season.

I think we should start by getting a handful of negative points out of the way before we talk about all of the good stuff.

First of all, the new season was quite self-referential, calling back to episodes, story beats, jokes, and even internet memes spawned by Phineas and Ferb’s original run. That, in itself, is not a problem, and at least some of these “meta” moments were funny, added something to the story, or just plain worked. But for me, Season 5 came very close to crossing a line that basically no series ever gets right, turning in-jokes and winks to the audience into cringeworthy fan-service. Relying too heavily on the past, even in a revival like this, doesn’t allow new storylines to stand on their own two feet, and while some self-referential “meta” moments in Season 5 were incredibly good fun… others strayed too close to that line for comfort.

Secondly, Season 5 basically ignored Dr Doofenshmirtz’s character arc from the latter part of Phineas and Ferb’s original run. The season premiere saw him – apparently at random – deciding to “turn evil again” after an entire year of being a good guy, and then none of that was ever acknowledged again. Doof was back as we last saw him – which, for me, felt a little hollow. Don’t get me wrong: it was fun to see him back in his element, and to have more wacky adventures with him and Perry. But the way it was handled left something to be desired. I’m not sure how the show could realistically have done a better job here – except, as I mentioned more than once before Season 5 aired, if these new episodes had been set in the same endless summer as before, instead of one year later.

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Doofenshmirtz firing one of his inators.
Doof is evil again.

The one year time jump wasn’t mentioned a lot, and didn’t really do much for most of the characters. Though nominally “older,” the only kid character whose age was even mentioned was Candace, and that was just a throwaway line. Everyone just kind of… reverted to type, if that makes sense. And for a show whose main characters are children, I’m not sure that feels right if you step back and think about it. When you’re a kid, one year is a massive amount of time, and none of us were the same at age ten as we were at nine, or at sixteen as we were at fifteen. While I’m not saying I wanted to see whole character arcs for the kids or big personality changes, what I am saying, again, is that the time jump doesn’t seem to have achieved very much. I’m left wondering why it was included at all.

We saw Candace finally achieve one of her biggest goals – something she’d been pushing for going all the way back to the beginning of Season 1: getting her driver’s license. And the episode was funny – we’ll touch on that in a moment when we look at each episode in turn. But… after getting her driver’s license, Candace literally didn’t use it again for the entire rest of the season. In the very next episode, we even see her riding her bike.

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Candace on her bicycle.
This was literally the episode after Candace passed her driver’s test.

As with Doofenshmirtz above, this kind of speaks to a bigger issue for me. Candace has grown as a character over the course of an entire year, and finally scored one of her biggest accomplishments – something even her brothers don’t have. This happened early in the season, and there were fifteen more stories in which Candace could’ve driven a car, even just in the background of a scene, not necessarily as a major plot point. But it didn’t happen. I love episodic television, and a big part of Phineas and Ferb is that it’s an episodic show where things “reset” from one episode to the next. But for something so important and meaningful for a character to be completely sidelined… it doesn’t feel right, somehow. And it all adds to that same feeling I was talking about with the time-jump: was it really necessary?

There were eighteen individual stories in Season 5 – the opening pair of episodes form a single story, and the Meap episode was also feature-length. Across those episodes, we spent at least some time with most of what I’d consider to be the show’s recurring characters… but by no means all. There were some noteworthy absences, as well as several characters whose roles were very minor. The likes of Jeremy and Norm got very few lines, Roger Doofenshmirtz was seen but didn’t really interact with the plot in a big way, Love Handel only appeared in the background to sing a song, and Irving – who’d climbed the ranks to become an honourary member of the friend group by Season 4 – was entirely absent aside from a couple of background cameos.

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Irving looking sad.
Irving was notably absent in these new episodes.

There were also a few character groups or pairings that didn’t appear in Season 5. The relationship between Dr Doofenshmirtz and Vanessa was barely touched upon, as they hardly spent any time together. The Flynn-Fletcher family didn’t actually do anything all together, either; no family vacation, no road trip, not even sitting down for a meal. With Roger and Norm effectively absent, Doofenshmirtz didn’t have either of them as character foils, and there was no Charlene, either. Major Monogram only had Carl. And Candace spent very little time with Stacy, Jeremy, or any of her other friends.

As above, there wouldn’t have been time for every conceivable duo or group to get an outing, and there’s still Season 6 to come. The first four seasons took time to even introduce some of these characters, let alone build up relationships between them, and I’m not really trying to demand everyone everywhere all at once! But… I felt some of these absences. Doof and Vanessa not getting any time together was particularly noteworthy given how the show’s original run ended and how important Vanessa is to Doof’s arc. Norm’s absence was similarly felt. Then for the kids, Irving disappearing and Jeremy getting basically a single scene all season long kept things focused on the principal characters, sure, but it also limited their potential interactions outside of their core friendship group. None of it is egregiously awful, and if you just watch a single episode, you wouldn’t even notice anything was amiss. But taking the entire season as a whole… it felt odd to reach the end with the absences and lack of interactions we’ve discussed.

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Mayor Roger Doofenshmirtz.
Roger didn’t get much screen time – or any scenes with his brother.

I guess the positive spin I could put on all of that would be that this is a revival, and the writers and producers may have wanted to take their time re-establishing the show’s core formulae and character dynamics before adding in too many secondary characters and side characters. That’s a reasonable argument in some ways, as Phineas and Ferb Season 5 is also intended to bring in new viewers alongside returning fans.

Okay, okay. That’s probably enough negativity for now. Phineas and Ferb doesn’t need to be nitpicked to death. So let’s move on and talk about the things I enjoyed. Thankfully, that’s pretty much everything else.

If you read my pre-season “wishlist,” you might remember me saying that what I wanted out of this revival was, in a word, more Phineas and Ferb. And that’s pretty much what I got: the show has returned to its classic formula, with two-and-a-half storylines that intersect, plenty of wacky inventions, fun musical numbers, and a good-natured sense of humour. Not every episode was perfect, but I’d happily watch all of them again… and again. No season of television is going to be filled with five-star episodes, but there were several in Phineas and Ferb Season 5. Even when the new season was at its worst, there were still laugh-out-loud moments, emotional scenes, enjoyable songs, beautiful animation, and other things to enjoy. No episode this time was irredeemably awful, and I’d say that the new season’s overall quality was about where I expected it to be. Perhaps it’s closer in tone and quality to Season 4 of the original run than to Seasons 1-3 – and if you know me you’ll know I felt Season 4 wasn’t quite reaching the bar of those earlier seasons. But it was still good – and so is Season 5.

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing the Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. building.
You can just hear this image, right?

When I reviewed Candace Against The Universe a few years ago, I said that one of the best things the film did in its opening moments was re-establish the world and characters of Phineas and Ferb, making it feel like nothing had changed and that everyone we remembered was still there, living their lives in the Tri-State Area. And once we got over the new season’s opening sequence, which was set at the kids’ school, I think the rest of Season 5 nailed that feeling again. Most of the main storylines felt like they could’ve been lifted from the show’s original run, and with the exception of the season premiere and its obvious time-jump, narratively the rest of the episodes blend in with the rest of the show. In a few years’ time – and regardless of whether more Phineas and Ferb is produced after Season 6 – it probably won’t even be noticeable to play some of these episodes in a random order, mixed in with others from the show’s original run.

One of the biggest differences – and where Season 5 might actually be noticeably different from Season 1-4 – is in the animation. Some character outlines felt softer and less blocky, colours tended to be flatter, with less differentiation, and there’s something about a lot of the characters’ eyes – particularly background and secondary characters – that just felt a little… off. I don’t know how else to put it. I will say that, despite some pre-season fears, this was something I got used to. And I think the animation lines up with Season 4 and Candace Against The Universe more than it does with Seasons 1-3. It wasn’t bad per se, but maybe there’s been a change in Disney’s animation software or a different animation studio… and I think it’s worth mentioning, at least.

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing minor characters in a crowd scene.
A selection of background and secondary characters.

The songs were all top-class, and I enjoyed all of them. I would note that it was a bit strange how not every episode got its own original song this time around; the episodes More Than An Intern and Agent T (For Teen) got versions of songs from the original run of the show rather than their own compositions. They were fine, though.

My favourite songs of the season would have to be When The Tri-State Aurora Comes Around and No Sleepin’ At A Slumber Party, both of which were great fun. The Tri-State aurora sequence – which we’ll talk about more in a moment – was absolutely stunning, and the music elevated it even more. It really was a great sequence. The rest of the songs were good; Submarine Sandwich Submarine and License to Bust felt the most “classic,” like they’d come from the show’s original run. But all were in keeping with the tone of the series, really.

Next, I’ll run through each episode one by one and talk about what I liked (and didn’t like) about each of them. Then at the end, I’ll share my final thoughts on Season 5 as a whole.

Summer Block Buster/Cloudy With A Chance Of Mom:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing the main kid characters performing a musical number.
The opening musical number – and a cheeky reference to Hamster and Gretel.

This episode had the difficult task of re-establishing Phineas and Ferb’s world five years after we last saw it. And I think it hit all of the right notes. We got to see the last day of school before summer – and I like the implication that the boys’ “What I Did Last Summer” presentation took the entire year. Doofenshmirtz “turning evil again” was skipped over too quickly, but that says more about the decision to set this new season a year later than anything else. The big musical number at the beginning was a ton of fun, and felt in line with some of the epic songs from special episodes like Summer Belongs To You.

As a season premiere, the second half of the story was kinda risky! It didn’t follow the show’s typical formula; mixing things up by involving Linda directly in the story. But that decision gave real stakes and emotional weight to what the kids had to do, and I think it worked exceptionally well. All in all, a wonderful way to kick off the new series. And yes – I’m counting these two episodes as two halves of one story!

Submarine Sandwich Submarine:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing a very large submarine sandwich with several characters.
The sub under construction.

I liked the callback to Candace’s sandcastle-building award from the previous summer – but this was a storyline where I definitely felt the absence of Jeremy. Even if Stacy or one of Candace’s other friends had been there I think her side of the story could’ve worked just a little bit better. The boys’ side of the story was neat, though, and I liked the visual impact the submarine made. The giant fish was kind of random, but weirdly in keeping with other sea monsters the show has introduced!

Doof and Perry had a classic battle in his lair, one that reminded me a little of their famous hot dog/bratwurst duel, thanks to the abundance of food. Doofenshmirtz’s inator did cover up the boys’ invention – literally, covered it with sand – but was also a bit of a twist on what viewers might’ve been expecting. As noted above, this episode also had a very classic song, and the whole thing had the feel of a Season 2 or 3 episode – which I mean as a compliment.

License To Bust:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Candace and her driving instructor.
Candace taking her driver’s test.

The boys’ gecko gear was cool, and reminded me a little of their rubberisation ray from Night of the Living Pharmacists insofar as it allowed the kids to bounce all over town. This invention wasn’t the main focus of the story, though. As mentioned above, I’m a little disappointed that Candace getting her driver’s license – finally, after more than four seasons! – wasn’t so much as mentioned in subsequent stories, and that puts a little bit of a downer on the ending of her storyline here.

That being said, the driving test sequence was a ton of fun, as was the song. And Doofenshmirtz’s inator – while arguably less destructive than some of his creations – interfered in just the right way to bring everything together. If future episodes do more with the idea of Candace being able to drive, I’ll definitely place License To Bust higher in my rankings! For now, it was fine as a one-off story.

Dry Another Day:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing the kids on their luge invention.
Luging through town!

Phineas and Ferb has done the “it’s the hottest day of the year, so let’s do something icy” thing more than once, but the infinitely rolling luge wheel definitely made the concept feel fresh! Candace skiing was a fun visual, and the entire sequence with the song was fantastic, too. The concept reminded me a little of Season 4’s “foam town,” probably because both were big rolling wheels, but the luge idea was definitely original.

We got a glimpse at a Doofenshmirtz backstory! Hooray! Doof told us a little about his childhood as he schemed to store his oil at the swimming pool. That was fun, and the water park was actually a surprisingly detailed and interesting location to visit. The hammerhead shark slide was especially creative. Again, this just felt like a classic, fun Phineas and Ferb episode that I’d happily revisit.

Deconstructing Doof:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Candace and Doofenshmirtz's therapist.
The therapist.

This felt like a pretty “meta” story concept at first, but the way it brought together Doofenshmirtz and Candace – who worked so well together in the Season 4 finale in 2015 – was genuinely fantastic. It makes sense, if you think about it, that someone might be able to piece together the unusual goings-on around Danville, figuring out why these wonderful inventions are always gone by the end of the day. Does that take something away from the “magic” of an animated show? Well… maybe. But I think it worked pretty well.

I wasn’t particularly keen on this episode’s main song; it was fine but just not to my taste, I guess. Not every callback in every episode worked or won a smile, but the therapist’s line about a platypus being a metaphor definitely did! The reference to the Season 2 episode Brain Drain was played deadpan and absolutely perfectly, and it was just a ton of fun. I had to pause the episode for fear of laughing so much I’d miss something good!

Tropey McTropeface:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing the "mother mugger" being caught.
The arrest of the “mother mugger.”

I didn’t expect much from this episode when I saw the title, I’ll be honest. But the story was, surprisingly, much more coherent and fun than I’d been expecting. The story of Michael Bublé’s involvement is actually sweet: his son had been a huge fan of the show, and they’d watched it together when he was suffering from a serious illness, with Phineas and Ferb becoming something positive for them both at a difficult time.

There was quite a lot going on in Tropey McTropeface aside from the titular zoetrope; a mugger loose on the streets of Danville, Perry and Candace’s bath appointment, Doof’s plan to rotate city hall… it was a busy episode, but still connected everything together. I don’t think it was the highlight of the season, but a better episode than I expected based on the title.

Biblio-Blast:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Doofenshmirtz gardening.
Doofen-plants!

Perry’s lair entrances were one of Phineas and Ferb’s original elements, but as the series dragged on, they became less prominent. Biblio-Blast has one of the best, though: that pinball sequence was incredibly detailed and great fun. Though a bookcase might not seem like the wildest idea at first, it was another part of the episode that felt like it was harkening back to earlier episodes where the boys’ inventions were sometimes a bit more child-like and grounded. The sequence of the bookcase being built – set to the show’s Quirky Worky Song – was also in that classic vein.

Doof’s story with the evil plant monsters reminded me a little of Night of the Living Pharmacists, and it’s certainly one of the worst backfires of any of his inventions! The design of the plants was quite unsettling, too, meaning they worked well as antagonists on this side of the story. The main song was definitely one aimed at kids – but hey, if it encourages anyone to read more or stick with reading, that can only be a good thing! Oh and the plant-themed reprieve was genuinely cool. Buford also had some great lines in this episode.

A Chip To The Vet:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Buford and Cadace at Mr Slushy Dawg with Jeremy.
Buford, Candace, and Jeremy.

I think I’m right in saying that A Chip To The Vet is the only episode in which Jeremy speaks – though with a different voice actor in Season 5. As noted above, I think his absence was felt, and even here, really, he didn’t play a huge role or advance Candace’s story in a big way. The main vet-themed portion of the story was neat, though, and seeing Perry and Doofenshmirtz doing battle in a completely new location was fun. You’d think the OWCA would be equipped to deal with something as common as microchipping – but then again, it is just a cartoon!

Okay, the goat jump-scare? It got me – and it was hilarious. As was Doof listing all the things he could chip before figuring out he could use the chipper on Perry. The kids’ pet wash was fun, too, and as with Doof and Perry it was great to see them do their thing somewhere other than the back yard. We also got a rare “platypuses don’t do much” line right at the end, too!

More Than An Intern:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Carl looking dejected.
Carl.

This story has a message that I think will resonate very strongly with Phineas and Ferb’s returning fans. A lot of folks are working multiple jobs in the “gig economy,” just trying to make ends meet. And while I wouldn’t have expected a critique of this phenomenon from what is nominally still a kids’ show… I think it’s actually a powerful story. Carl – OWCA’s unpaid intern – has to work multiple other jobs just to pay the bills, and even while he loves his work with the agency, he’s forced to take on all of these other jobs. Major Monogram’s obliviousness is also a big part of this story – perhaps a comment on the “boomer” generation and their unawareness of how tough things really are.

As with Candace and her driver’s license above, this is a story that I would’ve wanted to see have genuine repercussions. Even if Carl doesn’t immediately get paid by the agency, having Major Monogram show a little more appreciation in subsequent episodes would’ve been nice. The rest of the episode was fun, don’t get me wrong, and I’m aware we’ve really only commented on the messaging this time. But it really is an important message, and one I was pleasantly surprised to see the series tackle. Carl really was the perfect character for this story, too.

The Aurora Perry-Alis:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing the aurora.
The Tri-State Aurora.

This episode was actually pretty mixed for me. I loved the cruise ship setting, the song, and the whole sequence with the aurora. The animation work to bring the aurora to life was genuinely beautiful; among the best parts of a season where environments have all been outstanding. However, I think The Aurora Perry-Alis maybe tried to cram in just one element too many. Between Monogram’s aunt, Vanessa reconnecting with Monty, the kids building their inventions, Candace and Linda at the spa, Perry and Stacy, Doof and Perry getting miniaturised, the disgruntled cruise employee, and Lawrence stuck in a conga line… there wasn’t quite enough time for every character and narrative beat to shine in the way I’d have wanted.

That being said, I really enjoyed the episode when it settled down, particularly near the end. The moment where everyone just stopped to enjoy the aurora was sweet, and it reminded me a little of the calm, relaxed feeling at the end of the New Year’s Eve episode from Season 4. A mixed bag, for sure, but a great song, some stunning animation, and a solid ending manage to hold it together.

Lord of the Firesides:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing the Fireside Girls turning against Isabella.
How could a disagreement about cupcakes get so out of hand?!

I’m glad that we got one episode where Isabella was with her Fireside Girls group and separate from the core characters. The conflict between the two groups of girls was pretty basic, and the twist – that it was all caused by one of Doof’s inators – wasn’t exactly concealed! But it was solid enough, and led to plenty of fun moments as the Fireside Girls’ meeting rapidly descended into chaos. The heavy metal-inspired song and red, firey imagery all worked well on this side of the episode.

Doof and Perry’s story – renewing their business licenses – was neat. Having the pair on roughly the same team works well as an occasional change of pace, and a story about bureaucracy is in line with what we saw of Danville in episodes like Season 4’s Where’s Pinky? which was also set at city hall. Definitely a bit of a change from the characters’ usual shenanigans – but one that worked.

The Candace Suit:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Stacy, Buford, and a pile of Candace suits.
So many Candaces…

You know how some episodic shows have a throwaway line, joke, or scene that works in context but just… doesn’t have the legs to be a standalone thing? Yeah. That’s The Candace Suit for me, at least on the side of the story involving Buford and his life-size moulds. When that was brought up in Season 3’s Doofapus, the idea of a random character like Buford making life-size moulds of people was such a non-sequitur that it was funny. For me, The Candace Suit dragged out that idea way too far, killing the joke… but also taking a strangely dark turn that, while arguably in character for someone like Buford, didn’t sit right.

Perhaps because I found the premise stretched too thin, I wasn’t wild about this episode’s song, either. Doofenshmirtz and Perry didn’t have as much time in the spotlight this time – which is fine in theory, but I wish the main storyline had been stronger. I know this all makes it sound like I detested this episode; I really didn’t. I just think it exhausted its core premise pretty quickly, and over-stretched what should’ve been a throwaway one-liner that, in my view, didn’t really have enough in the tank to be a fully-fledged story on its own.

Agent T (For Teen):

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Stacy on Perry's moped.
Stacy gets a turn in the spotlight!

If The Candace Suit took a narrative beat from the show’s original run and overdid it, Agent T (For Teen) is an example of how to do things right. Taking Stacy’s knowledge of Perry’s secret identity from Season 4’s Happy Birthday, Isabella, Agent T (For Teen) picks up that storyline and expands upon it. Stacy’s role here was a lot of fun, and it’s great that another secondary character got a spotlight episode like this. Stacy’s interactions with OWCA – first through the funny instructional video and later when speaking to Major Monogram – were fantastic.

The earlier part of the episode, which saw Stacy and Candace working together at a fancy event, was also funny, but where Agent T (For Teen) really excelled was in those moments with Stacy, Perry, Doof, and the returning Dr Diminutive. I’d wondered if anyone from L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. might appear in these new episodes; I wouldn’t have chosen Dr Diminutive necessarily, as Rodney is by far the more iconic character, but his role was surprisingly fun. Doof’s evil organisation also seems to have gotten a serious upgrade… will that come into play in a future story, perhaps? Oh, and the reworked “Agent P” song? Cute.

The Haberdasher:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing the OWCA haberdasher.
The titular character.

This is another episode that just… didn’t wow me, to be honest. The callback to the “I’d have x number of nickels” meme was fun, sure, and guest star Alan Cumming gave a genuinely great vocal performance. But something about the deep dive into OWCA’s hat-making and the character of the Haberdasher himself just… didn’t do it for me. I realise that’s horribly subjective, by the way!

Doof’s evolution into a weird mothman-hybrid was truly disturbing, though, and I’ll definitely give the episode its dues for that particular design! And seeing Buford, Baljeet, and Isabella interacting and building things without Phineas and Ferb was a fun idea – one I wish we’d seen a bit more of, to be honest.

Out Of Character:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Buford holding a film camera.
Buford Van Stomm: film director.

When an episode takes established character traits, or introduces new ones, as part of a storyline, things can work really well. When an episode – with an ironic name – introduces something that doesn’t seem to fit a character for the sake of artificially manufacturing a storyline… well, you get an episode like Out Of Character. I can’t remember if Baljeet has had to act before, I think he must’ve at least once in an earlier episode, though! But even if he hadn’t, surely someone as smart as he is could grasp the concept of acting. As a result of that, I felt the bulk of the kids’ story was built on a bit of a flimsy premise.

However! That didn’t ruin Out Of Character for me, and I loved the return of the Space Adventure fictional franchise. The retro sci-fi, kind of Star Wars or Star Trek-inspired vibe was beautiful, and seeing the kids getting all invested in their roles was an absolute blast. Doof’s inator – turning people’s faces forgettable – was a creative idea, and led to a fun visual effect, too. I also felt a cute little nod and wink to Act Your Age, with Buford taking on a leading role in the filmmaking process. A fun episode – even if the premise was a bit annoying!

Meap Me In St. Louis:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Meap walking away from an exploding car.
Remember this clip?

I’ll level with you: the two Meap episodes weren’t really my favourites from the original run of Phineas and Ferb. I’m not sure why, exactly; I’m a huge sci-fi fan and both episodes had fun moments, backstory, and character interactions. But they didn’t blow me away, so Meap Me In St. Louis wasn’t exactly at the top of my list when I was looking ahead to Season 5! That being said, there were still plenty of fun moments in this feature-length episode. I felt the “checklist” of moments from the trailer was a bit too on-the-nose, and the core story of Big Mitch seeking out a substance he could use to rule the galaxy was a tad repetitive… but other than that, it was a surprising amount of fun.

Meap Me In St. Louis (which I’m pretty sure is supposed to be pronounced “Saint Lew-iss,” but one battle at a time, eh?) gave most of the main characters plenty to do. Meap teaming up with Candace was fun, Perry and Doof working together again was also cute, and while the song was very silly, I actually kind of liked it. Again, some beautiful animation work to bring the outer space and seasonal changing sequences to life, too.

No Slumber Party:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing the "Friends" parody.
I loved this.

I already highlighted this episode’s song, which was just fantastic, and really the entire premise was a blast. Doof’s desire to spread evil by spoiling a TV show (a hilarious Friends parody) was absolutely pitch-perfect for his level of evil-doing, and his stay awake-inator was on theme, too. I’m surprised Disney okayed a Friends parody, given that the show is owned by a competitor, but I’m glad the higher-ups were good with it because it was genuinely hilarious.

The kids’ competing slumber parties were cute, too, and it was nice to get at least some interaction between Vanessa and Candace before the season ended! The boys’ invention looked really cozy – exactly the kind of thing I’d want to hang out in and watch movies! And Candace’s attempt to get Linda to see it was one of the best in the season as she dragged her downstairs, with the awake-inator missing her multiple times. A really fun episode that took place at night for a bit of a twist, and that had a fun song to boot.

The Ballad Of Bubba Doof:

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Doofenshmirtz and his cousin in a faded photograph.
Dr Doofenshmirtz with his swamp-dwelling cousin.

I can see a universe in which “Doofenshmirtz has a redneck Cajun cousin” works as a premise. However… I wasn’t wild about this character in this version of the story. Firstly, it felt a bit mean-spirited; too many stories across the world of entertainment look down their noses at rural or small-town America, particularly in the Appalachian and southern regions, and some of the stereotyping just leaned into that in an uncomfortable way. And secondly, I just didn’t find Bubba to be particularly fun or engaging as a character.

There are some positives to this episode, though. I liked Bubba’s inventiveness, and his successful trapping of Perry. Monogram and Carl had some fun scenes together, and it was nice to see them outside of the OWCA headquarters in a completely different environment. The kids’ forced perspective town was fun, leaning into the Western genre in a big way. Not entirely original, perhaps, but still good. All in all, though, I wouldn’t say this was the strongest end to this new season.

In Conclusion…

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing most of the main characters at the end of episode 2.
Most of the main characters in the season premiere.

So we’ve talked about all of the individual stories. While researching for this article, it seems as if there might be four more episodes to come later this summer… so maybe this isn’t the full Season 5 review, after all. I wonder why Disney did that and didn’t drop those remaining stories at the same time as the rest of the season?

Anyway, setting that aside, I had a great time with Phineas and Ferb’s revival. There were some fun stories with the kids, Candace, Perry, and Dr Doofenshmirtz, and after such a long time away, it felt incredible to be back in the Tri-State Area all over again. Phineas and Ferb’s fifth season, while imperfect, is still the best animated series I’ve seen in 2025, and will absolutely be a contender for “TV show of the year” when I do my annual end-of-year awards in December. Check back after Christmas to see if it makes the cut!

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Dr Doofenshmirtz sitting in a chair holding a bowl of popcorn.
I watched (most of) Season 5 with a big grin on my face!

I’ve rambled on for long enough, so it’s time to wrap things up. There were some episodes and storylines that weren’t as strong as others, and there were a few weird quirks with the animation, especially for secondary characters. But despite those glorified nitpicks, I had a wonderful time. I felt genuinely sad when I realised I was coming to the end of the season; I just didn’t want it to be over! For anyone with Disney+ and who enjoyed even one Phineas and Ferb episode in the past, Season 5 is an easy recommendation.

If there are four extra episodes to come in July, be sure to check back because I’ll definitely share my thoughts. And when Season 6 is ready, I hope to be able to review those episodes, too. Until then, if you want to check out ten of my favourite episodes from Seasons 1-4, you can find them by clicking or tapping here. And I wrote a longer piece about the Christmas special back in December to mark its fifteenth anniversary, which you can find by clicking or tapping here. Until next time… and have a wonderful summer!


Phineas and Ferb is available to stream now on Disney+. Season 5 is also being broadcast on the Disney Channel in the United States. Phineas and Ferb – including all episodes mentioned above – is the copyright of Disney Television Animation. This review contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

Phineas and Ferb Season 5: Hopes, Fears, and Expectations

A spoiler warning graphic

Spoiler Warning: Beware minor spoilers for Phineas and Ferb, including the Season 5 teasers and trailers.

By the time you read this, the season premiere of Phineas and Ferb’s revival might already have aired! I’m working hard to get this piece out before the full season hits Disney+, though!

I’ve talked about Phineas and Ferb on a few occasions here on the website. The show is unironically one of my all-time favourites, and moreover, it’s something I often turn to when I’m not feeling great or struggling with my mental health. To say Phineas and Ferb is one of my “comfort shows” wouldn’t be wide of the mark.

So I have a few thoughts about its imminent revival!

Two promotional posters for Phineas and Ferb Season 5 (2025).
The revival’s promo posters.

It goes without saying that all of this is the entirely subjective opinion of just one viewer, so if you hate my take, think I’ve missed something important, or I’m excited about something that sounds awful to you… that’s okay! There should be enough room in the fan community for polite and civil discussion. I think it’s also worth noting, in a piece like this, that I don’t have any “insider information,” and I’m not trying to pretend that anything we’re about to discuss can, will, or must be included in Season 5.

Phew! Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about some of my hopes, fears, and expectations for Phineas and Ferb’s revival.

Original concept art for Phineas and Ferb Season 1.
Early character designs from the show’s original pitch.

This first point is a big one, but it can be kind of difficult to quantify. Too many reboots and revivals feel corporate and forced; soulless, money-grubbing “content” created not with any artistic vision or integrity, but to please shareholders and/or pad out the increasingly meagre lineup of a streaming platform in a fractured marketplace. I remember that, in the mid-2010s, the rumour was that Phineas and Ferb’s creators felt they had ideas for a potential fifth season – so that’s good news. But at the same time, I’m acutely aware that Phineas and Ferb is being revived for business reasons; Disney wants to use the revival to sign up and retain as many Disney+ subscribers as possible.

Corporate executives tend to treat existing brands and IP much more favourably than something new. We can see that in the marketing push Phineas and Ferb’s revival has gotten; comparable recent projects, even from the same creative team, like Milo Murphy’s Law or Hamster and Gretel didn’t get the same love and attention from Disney. And that’s to say nothing of shows like Hailey’s On It, which was cancelled after just one season and seemed to get absolutely no marketing budget whatsoever.

Photograph from the Phineas and Ferb S5 premiere showing Olivia Olson with a Perry the Platypus costumed figure.
Olivia Olson (left) with Perry the Platypus at the Season 5 premiere.
Photo Credit: The Walt Disney Company

In short, will Phineas and Ferb feel… hollow? Will it be noticeably more corporate in its tone, and will that impact the enjoyment of the finished product? Anything Disney is and always has been corporate, but in its original form Phineas and Ferb was at least an original idea. Will this version be noticeably worse for being revived a decade after it went off the air?

Another way to think about this point is like this: are there genuinely good ideas left and new stories to tell with these characters? Or will it be obvious from the first episode that everyone involved just came back to earn a stack of money? There are some reboots and revivals that are so nakedly corporate that they’re painfully unwatchable; think Dexter or Sex and the City, for instance, though those shows are far outside of Phineas and Ferb’s animated comedy genre. I guess I’m just worried that there’s nothing left in the tank; that all of the good episode ideas were made during the show’s original run, and that this revival will not only fail to recapture the magic… but might even taint the original series by being obviously soulless and so much weaker.

Photograph from the Phineas and Ferb S5 premiere showing the co-creators.
Co-creators of Phineas and Ferb Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh at the Season 5 premiere.
Photo Credit: The Walt Disney Company

And I think there’s a valid cause for concern in that regard. I don’t believe it’s an especially “hot take” to say that, outside of a few special feature-length episodes, the quality of Phineas and Ferb seemed to dip during its fourth season. It seemed, even then, that some premises had been done and done again, and that certain characters were more or less played out in terms of how far their arcs could take them. There were still some enjoyable episodes in the mix, but they tended to be ones that flipped the script or tried something different.

This ties into my next point. The revived series is going to be set one year later, meaning everyone will be a bit older. What impact will that have on character dynamics? Will Candace be as high-strung at sixteen as she was at fifteen? Will Phineas and the gang still be together on the same terms as before? The character this matters most for is Dr Doofenshmirtz; after an entire year as a “good guy,” and having had multiple adventures in Milo Murphy’s Law, how will he be different and how will that impact his relationships with Vanessa and Perry?

Promotional image for Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Dr Doofenshmirtz at a therapist's office.
How will the time-skip (and character regression) affect Doofenshmirtz and his relationships?

I can’t help but feel it was a mistake to move the timeline along. It risks undermining the powerful and emotional ending that the show’s original run got in 2015, and for an episodic series… would anyone really notice if the new episodes were set in that same endless summer? We can argue that some characters didn’t really change a lot over the course of the show, but Doofenshmirtz definitely did – and having him “become evil again” after going through everything and promising to change for Vanessa’s sake just… it doesn’t sit right, somehow.

The opposite problem might also arise. If we’re saying the kids are all a year older, it’ll seem strange if they look, dress, and behave exactly the same way, won’t it? I think it’s unlikely that the time-skip will do anything narratively; there won’t be some big off-screen adventure that happened during the school year that will be called back to. So if the time-skip doesn’t do anything for the story, and doesn’t seem to have affected most of the characters either, based on what we’ve glimpsed from trailers and teasers… why do it? Why not set the new episodes in that original summer, before the events of the series finale?

Still frame from the Phineas and Ferb Season 5 trailer showing the kids mid-jump.
If all the kids look and behave the exact same way, why not set the new episodes during the original summer?

The combination of Doofenshmirtz’s arc being potentially regressed or overwritten and the apparent lack of change to any of the other characters has me concerned that the time-skip will be seen as a mistake. I can see the reasoning behind it, and the temptation to give the kids another 104 days to plan all-new adventures. But there are drawbacks to it, too, and I can’t help but feel that these outweigh any potential benefits.

I mentioned that Phineas and Ferb was, in its original incarnation anyway, an episodic series. And one of my biggest hopes for the revival is that it stays that way! I don’t need Phineas and Ferb to become some kind of weird serialised cartoon, with each episode setting up the next and ending on a cliffhanger. There’s more than enough serialised storytelling out there; one of the most appealing things about Phineas and Ferb has always been that each episode is a self-contained adventure.

Still frame from the Phineas and Ferb Season 5 trailer showing Candace and Linda.
Linda and Candace as they appear in the Season 5 trailer.

Many episodic shows from the past are being brought back in a new, serialised form. Just look at the Star Trek franchise as an example, but I’m sure you can think of plenty of others. Episodic storytelling was the order of the day a few years ago, but in the aftermath of successful shows like Lost and Game of Thrones, every media executive seems to be demanding season-long narrative arcs nowadays. I hope that Phineas and Ferb won’t fall victim to this, and that Disney’s producers have recognised that the show’s episodic style is a core part of its identity and one of the biggest reasons why it worked so well.

Two-part episodes, feature-length specials, and the like are all okay, of course! But I don’t want to log in to Disney+ to find that each episode leads directly into the next; that Season 5 is one long narrative arc. It just wouldn’t be right for Phineas and Ferb, and it would almost certainly make it feel much more corporate, bland, and unexceptional in the ways we were discussing above.

Photograph from the Phineas and Ferb S5 premiere showing the co-creators on stage.
Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh on stage at the Season 5 premiere.
Photo Credit: The Walt Disney Company

I have one specific casting concern, and I’m not really sure how best to broach this. Richard O’Brien – who voices Lawrence, the boys’ father – is 83 years old at time of writing. And throughout the revival’s marketing campaign, I haven’t so much as glimpsed him. Is O’Brien part of the revival? He’s tentatively credited on IMDB, but only for one episode of Season 5, which feels like a placeholder. I haven’t heard talk of the role of Lawrence being re-cast, but I haven’t seen or heard anything from Richard O’Brien himself or the show’s production team to confirm his involvement.

Phineas and Ferb is no stranger to re-cast roles, of course. Ferb – literally one of the title characters – was re-cast in 2020 for Candace Against the Universe, and I think that passed by inoffensively enough. But it would be a shame to lose Richard O’Brien, or to see the role of Lawrence diminished if he’s not able to voice the character as often or as freely any more. I guess we won’t know for sure until the new season arrives, but O’Brien’s absence and silence have left me a little concerned about a potentially reduced role for one of the core members of the Flynn-Fletcher family. Lawrence may not have always been the centre of attention in the way Linda is with Candace, but he’s often been an important presence in episodes, setting up key storylines or just butting in with a funny one-liner.

Cropped still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 3 showing the boys with their dad.
Lawrence with the boys in Season 3.

I’m not an artist or an animator, so please be aware of that caveat as I make this next point. From the clips and still images I’ve seen so far, something feels “off” about some of the background characters. I’m not sure if it’s something in their eyes, something to do with the colour palette used, or how they’re integrated into scenes, but some of these secondary characters feel floaty and lifeless. It’s like they’re not really there; ghostly, almost transparent presences.

Could that be connected to Disney using a different animation studio, or even just different digital animation software? I’m not sure. I hope it’s not something that’s gonna be too noticeable throughout the revival, though! The main characters – at least from what I’ve seen so far – stay true to their original designs and don’t seem to be impacted by whatever animation changes have been made. That’s positive, for sure, and visual/artistic styles are usually something I can get used to (or get over) given enough time. But from what I’ve seen so far, some of these secondary characters have left me feeling unimpressed.

Still frame from the Phineas and Ferb Season 5 Sneak Peek showing multiple characters during a musical sequence.
I’m not wild about how some of these secondary characters looked in the trailer and sneak peek.

So I think that’s everything I had to say on the negative side of things. Let’s try to be a bit more positive now and look ahead to some of the things I’m most looking forward to!

First of all, to counter some of the negative thoughts I had about the show’s time-skip, I think there’s at least some potential in that idea. It gives the writing team – who are a mix of old hands and newbies – a virgin, unspoiled landscape for telling new stories. There’s no need to worry about how certain character beats or narrative moments might impact stories which are supposedly set further along the show’s timeline, and there’s unlimited room for growth for pretty much all of the characters. In an episodic series – which I’m crossing my fingers and hoping Phineas and Ferb will continue to be – there’s perhaps less of a need for consistent character growth, but the potential is still there.

Behind-the-scenes photo from Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing the production team.
The team during production on Season 5.
Image Credit: Dan Povenmire

With the kids all being one year older, that could potentially open up new storylines, too. The original run of the show saw various characters develop crushes, but only older characters like Candace and Jeremy got to take things further and develop a full-blown relationship. Could someone like Buford or Ferb get a partner this time? That could be an interesting thing to explore.

And on the teen side, with Jeremy potentially leaving for university and Candace old enough to drive, there could be new storytelling potential. How would Candace react to Jeremy leaving, for example? If she’s able to drive, could that mean more adventures for her and her friends, or her and her brothers, without any adult supervision? That could definitely open up new locations further afield for adventures and building projects!

Promo image for Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing Candace driving a car.
Is Candace gonna get her driver’s license?

One of my favourite episodes of Phineas and Ferb is the Christmas special from Season 2, and even though it’s June and the show’s usually set in summer… I wonder if we could see another holiday-themed episode either this season or sometime further along in the revival. There were a couple of Halloween episodes during the show’s original run, too, and that’s always a fun holiday to visit! It would be fun to see at least one episode – even if it’s not feature-length – set outside of the summer during one of the holiday events.

And speaking of special episodes – how about another vacation or travel story? Phineas and Ferb took characters to Hawaii, Africa, France, Japan, and my native UK… but there’s huge potential to visit locations all across the United States and around the world. The boys could visit Australia, the Amazon rainforest, or even Antarctica as part of one of their adventures, or maybe Dr Doofenshmirtz will visit a country like Spain or South Africa while pursuing an evil scheme. There’s a huge amount of storytelling potential when characters step outside of their usual environment, and the show used this to great effect last time around.

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb Season 1 showing a depiction of famous British landmarks and buildings.
Phineas and Ferb visited England in Season 1.

So far, I’ve only heard one song from the revived series: Summer Is Starting Right Now which is from the season premiere. The songs in Phineas and Ferb have always been one of the best parts of the show, and at least the first song from the revival seems to keep that trend going in the best possible way! The song feels like it’s right out of the original series, in tone, in terms of vocal performances, and everything. Given that I want to feel like Phineas and Ferb basically picked up where it left off, the revival’s first song definitely hits the right notes for me.

And I think that last point pretty much encapsulates what I want to see from this revival. Sure, there are going to be new stories to tell and new ways for characters to interact and for the two-and-a-half storylines to intersect. But for me, the point of doing a revival of this type is to give fans new stories which stay true to the original formula. That isn’t to say there’s no room for experimentation, but fundamentally, what I want out of a Phineas and Ferb revival is quite simply… Phineas and Ferb.

Still frame from the Phineas and Ferb Season 5 trailer showing the kids on toboggans.
I hope Season 5 is going to be a blast.

I want to see Phineas and the gang inventing and building impossibly awesome and fun projects. And I want to see Dr Doofenshmirtz work on an evil scheme to conquer the Tri-State Area. Candace should be on top form trying to get the boys in trouble, and Perry needs to be pushing Doof’s self-destruct buttons. These storylines should come together at the climax of the plot, with Doofenshmirtz’s inator somehow causing the boys’ mom not to see what they’d built. That’s Phineas and Ferb in a nutshell, and it’s what made the show so enjoyable to watch during its original run. I really hope the revival won’t stray too far from that wonderful formula.

Despite some concerns, I’m genuinely excited to welcome Phineas and Ferb back to our screens after such a long absence. You might remember me talking about the show’s Christmas special back in December; it’s something I revisit with fondness every holiday season. Phineas and Ferb is one of my favourite shows, and I really hope this revival will succeed at recapturing the magic.

Check back some time soon for a review… I’ll be sure to let you know if it achieves that objective!


Phineas and Ferb Season 5 will premiere on the 5th of June 2025 on the Disney Channel in the United States, with all ten episodes being available on Disney+ on the 6th of June 2025 in the United States and “select markets.” The rest of the world will follow later in the year. Phineas and Ferb is the copyright of Disney Television Animation and/or The Walt Disney Company. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

Doctor Who Is Officially Out Of Ideas…

A Simpsons-themed spoiler warning graphic.

Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Doctor Who, including the finale of Season 15.

Almost five years ago, I wrote a piece here on the website titled Another New Doctor Won’t Fix Doctor Who. In that article, I argued that the revived series had pretty much run its course. The Doctor’s old adversaries were played out and had lost their fear factor, new villains were bland and forgettable, and the quality of the writing – particularly when it came to companions, but also for villains and even the Doctor – seemed to have taken a nose-dive. So… have the most recent seasons and specials changed my mind about that? I bet you’ve already guessed my answer from the title of this piece!

I’ll hold up my hands and openly admit that I’m no longer a regular Doctor Who viewer. I’m approaching this subject as an ex-fan; a viewer who’d be willing to come back if things changed, but not someone who regularly tunes in any more. If that makes my take somehow less valid to you… that’s totally okay. But I wanted to be up front about where I stand before we go any further. As I like to say, all of this is the subjective, not objective, opinion of just one critic!

A promotional image for Doctor Who showing the first eleven Doctors plus the War Doctor.
I haven’t been a regular Doctor Who viewer for a while.

When it was announced a couple of years ago that David Tennant would be reprising his role – not for a crossover with Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor, nor for a special episode set in an earlier era – I rolled my eyes so far back in my head that I thought I’d gone blind. Nothing screams “desperation” quite like trying to bring back a long-dead character… and for all intents and purposes, regeneration in Doctor Who is akin to “death” for that incarnation of the character. Tennant’s return to the role smacked of a desperate attempt to play the nostalgia card by a showrunner and writers who’d run out of ideas.

Disney recently stepped up to partially fund Doctor Who’s production, with the expectation that new episodes would air on Disney+ around the world. That investment gave the show a significantly higher budget, but it will have come with expectations or even demands from Disney to meet certain viewership milestones. Tennant’s return can certainly be seen through that lens; Doctor Who’s writers recognised that something hadn’t been working really since Matt Smith’s departure all the way back in 2013, and tried to course-correct the only way they knew how. It didn’t work, and that’s putting it mildly.

Still frame from Doctor Who Season 15 (2025) showing the Doctor's regeneration.
The Doctor regenerates.

Billie Piper, who played Rose Tyler in the first couple of seasons of the revived Doctor Who, appeared at the end of the most recent season finale – apparently as a new incarnation of the Doctor. As with Tennant’s return above, this smacks of utter desperation and a flailing attempt to use fan-service to bring back the show’s wayward viewers. As one such wayward viewer, I wanted to share my thoughts on this move… and why I don’t expect it’ll work.

The first and most obvious thing to say is this: stories end. Every story has a natural lifespan, and when character arcs are complete, storylines are played out, and there’s nowhere left to go… that’s it. It’s time for the curtain to fall, the credits to roll, and everyone involved to move on. Given the lack of success and dwindling viewership Doctor Who has been finding of late… the show’s at that point. To be blunt, it’s been there for a while. And while there have been creditable attempts to revive its fortunes, these just haven’t worked and the decline has continued.

Still frame from a behind-the-scenes look at Doctor Who Season 15 (2025).
Behind the scenes during production on a recent episode of Doctor Who.

This is not meant to be an attack on any of the actors involved in recent seasons of Doctor Who, nor of casting decisions, either. On the contrary, I think both Jodie Whittaker and Ncuti Gatwa are fine performers, and from what I saw of them in the title role, they gave it their all. But some actors are too late to the party, arriving too late into a show’s run to have an impact. Peter Capaldi will forever be my case study in that regard; he was, in my view, pretty much the perfect actor to play the ancient time-traveller, but he got absolutely awful, boring, and uninspired stories for pretty much his entire time in the Tardis.

Some fans may be happy with Billie Piper’s return and the idea of some kind of Rose-Doctor hybrid. I don’t really engage much with the “Whoniverse” fandom online, so I’m not really in a position to judge. But her return isn’t just about pleasing hard-core fans; it’s much more cynical than that. It’s an attempt to shine a spotlight on Doctor Who and to convince lapsed viewers to give the series a second (or third) look. But it’s also an admission from the showrunner and writers that there are no more original ideas in that writing room; that the only thing they can think of is to recycle actors and characters over and over again. When Billie Piper’s done in the Tardis, who’s coming back next? Matt Smith? Noel Clarke?

Still frame from Doctor Who Season 1 (2005) showing Mickey and the Ninth Doctor.
Doctor Who is running out of actors and characters to bring back…

I stand by what I said almost five years ago: if there’s no one at the BBC (or Disney) with a genuinely good, original idea any more, then the show should take a break. Time has flown by, but it’s been twenty years – two entire decades – since Doctor Who returned to our screens in 2005, and this incarnation of the show just feels like it’s run its course and has had everything possible thrown at it. With ratings in what seem to be a terminal decline, putting the brakes on before any more harm is done to the brand is arguably the least-bad course of action.

Doctor Who has huge spin-off potential, though, so I don’t believe the end of the main series needs to mean the abandonment of the “Whoniverse.” I wouldn’t like to say what the hard-core fandom might be interested in, but speaking for myself, I’d certainly be interested in a miniseries or film set during the Time War, potentially building on the excellent 50th anniversary special from 2013. There are other spin-off ideas, too, like a series following UNIT or even a revival of Torchwood.

Still frame from the Doctor Who special episode The Five Doctors showing the headquarters of UNIT.
There are other things that the BBC could do with the Doctor Who IP without continuing the main series.

But for the main series? This should really be the end. Billie Piper’s return is the clearest indication yet that the writers have completely run out of ideas, and it’s genuinely sad to see one of the sci-fi genre’s oldest institutions reduced to this bland, uninspired, fan-servicey slop. In theory I get it: you’ve tried new things and they haven’t worked, so retreat to familiar ground and give the fans some “red meat;” something you’re sure will attract attention and get people talking. But it’s just so… empty. So hollow and pathetic, and so very far away from the excellence that was on show in 2005.

Nowadays, it seems as if well-established programmes and franchises aren’t allowed a dignified end. They must be strung out at all costs until every last ounce of value has been extracted from them, no matter the implications for fans and viewers. In the age of streaming, big corporations want well-known names and brands to pad out the lineup on their platforms, and it seems to me that Doctor Who has fallen victim to both of these malicious entertainment industry trends. It isn’t Billie Piper’s fault, by the way, any more than it was Ncuti Gatwa’s, Jodie Whittaker’s, Peter Capaldi’s, or David Tennant’s. She just happens to embody the failure of Doctor Who’s writing, ambition, and overall direction in this moment.

Promotional image for Doctor Who showing fourteen of the fifteen Doctors.
Almost all of the Doctors…

I’m not going to watch Doctor Who for the foreseeable future. And I was a bit of a Billie Piper fan back in the day; I bought her album Honey to the B back in 1998! But her return to this series at this moment feels unnecessary, forced, and like a total desperation play by writers who are out of their depth and out of ideas. Maybe there’s a way for Doctor Who to ride out this current slump and come back stronger – but if there is, it’ll take a total overhaul on the production side, not just a particularly egregious example of stunt casting.

This is usually the point where I’d tell you that I’ve been wrong about these things before and I’ll keep my ear to the ground when Doctor Who returns to see what Billie Piper’s role will be and what her take on the Doctor might look like. But the truth is… I don’t think there’s any realistic chance that the next season of the show will be any better than the last few. Whether Billie Piper is going to be present for a one-off special or a whole season, I don’t think it matters. The series has already lost pretty much everything that made it work, and desperately bringing back a long-gone actor in a way that doesn’t make sense or line up with anything in-universe just… isn’t gonna change that.

Still frame from the end of Doctor Who Season 15 (2025) showing Billie Piper as a new incarnation of the Doctor.
This won’t save Doctor Who.

As a Brit, I want to see British entertainment properties and brands succeed. There’s a weird sense of pride in something like Doctor Who; a series that used to be able to hold its own in a genre dominated by American brands with significantly higher budgets. But I’d rather see the money being thrown at the show invested elsewhere, perhaps giving a new sci-fi or fantasy series a chance. Doctor Who did some great things in both its original incarnation and after its 2005 revival. But in both cases… it ran out of steam. And just as happened in the late ’80s, it’s time to recognise that. It’s time to put the show to bed for a while. Maybe in another fifteen or twenty years, a new generation of writers who grew up on the revival will come in with fresh ideas and the Doctor and the Tardis can make a return. But right now? It’s sad to say, but I think it’s over.

If a new Doctor couldn’t turn things around, if reimagining the Doctor in different ways didn’t help, and if revisiting David Tennant’s popular and successful time in the Tardis also made no difference… what hope does Billie Piper have? I fear that, whatever the writers may have in mind for her, she’s walking into a bear pit. Her exit from the show in 2006 was heartbreaking, but it was also impactful, powerful, and part of an engaging storyline. I fear that her return to the show, in whatever form it may take, will be none of those things. It would be such a shame if one of the show’s most memorable companions ends up being tainted by a totally unnecessary and desperate return.


Doctor Who is out now and may be streamed on Disney+ around the world and on BBC iPlayer in the United Kingdom. Most seasons of the revived series are also available on DVD and Blu-ray. Doctor Who is the copyright of the BBC, BBC Studios, and/or Bad Wolf. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

Ten of My Favourite Phineas and Ferb Episodes

A spoiler warning graphic.

Spoiler Warning: Beware of minor spoilers ahead for Phineas and Ferb.

In just a couple of months, Phineas and Ferb will be back on our screens for the first time in a decade. Well, for the first time since Candace Against the Universe premiered as a one-off TV movie! So I thought it could be a bit of fun to take a look at ten episodes from the show’s original run that stand out to me.

I’ve talked about this before, but I encountered Phineas and Ferb when I was already an adult. When I used to have a satellite TV subscription back in the 2000s, I came across an ad for the show either just before or just after its premiere. Although I shouldn’t have been interested in a kids’ cartoon airing on the Disney Channel, something about the show’s writing or art style must’ve leapt out at me – so I gave it a watch. And I’m so glad that I did, because Phineas and Ferb has unironically become one of my favourite TV shows… ever.

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb showing Klimpaloon (an old-timey bathing suit with a face).
It’s Klimpaloon!

The best children’s programmes offer something for adult viewers, too – and no, I don’t just mean that they keep the kids busy so we can get on with other things! There can be jokes that adults will find funny, storytelling that transcends the generational divide, or characters who exhibit traits that kids and adults alike can relate to. This explains the enduring popularity of the shows and films which strike the right balance – and for me at least, Phineas and Ferb is up there with the likes of SpongeBob SquarePants, Tom and Jerry, and the best of Disney’s animated films.

The show’s two-and-a-half storyline structure is really what makes it stand out. The boys and their invention are on one side, with their sister Candace trying to get them in trouble, while secret agent Perry the Platypus is on the other as he battles the self-proclaimed evil scientist Dr Doofenshmirtz. But where Phineas and Ferb really excels is by bringing these two halves of the show together – often, but not always, by ensuring Doofenshmirtz’s scheme will cause the boys’ invention to disappear. Particularly in later episodes, the writers would get creative with these intersecting moments, too, successfully subverting audience expectations!

So that’s a bit of background as we head into the list. But before we go any further, I have a couple of important caveats.

Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh at an event for Phineas and Ferb circa 2014.
Phineas and Ferb co-creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh.

Firstly, I’m not “ranking” these episodes. Nor am I saying these are my “all-time top ten favourites!” These are just ten great episodes from Phineas and Ferb’s original run that I happen to really enjoy. Making some kind of tier list of all the show’s episodes or seasons will have to wait for another occasion. I’m listing the episodes in broadcast order, starting with Season 1 and going through to Season 4, and for the purposes of this list, one “episode” is one story. On Disney+ (and often during the show’s original broadcast run) two episodes would be paired up – but that’s not how I’m arranging my list.

Finally, nothing about this is in any way “objective!” Other fans of the show will have different favourite episodes, so if I pick an episode you hate or ignore one that you think should be obvious for a list like this… that’s okay! There ought to be enough room in the fan community for differences of opinion and polite disagreement.

With all of that out of the way, let’s take a look at ten of my favourite Phineas and Ferb episodes.

Episode #1:
Are You My Mummy?
Season 1

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb showing Phineas, Ferb, and Candace (in a mummy outfit).

Of all the early Season 1 episodes to really nail the core concepts of Phineas and Ferb, Are You My Mummy? has to be one of the best. It’s an adventure story inspired by classic mummy and monster movies, but unlike some later stories which see the boys perform completely out-of-this-world feats, there’s something about the cinema setting that keeps things grounded. The boys go on an adventure, sure… but it’s an adventure in the basement of a cinema filled with “fakey promotional lobby junk,” and a misunderstood “mummy.” This kind of story – in which we see the world through a kind of child’s-eye view – wouldn’t always be present in the series, but I think it’s a big part of what makes Are You My Mummy? so charming.

Perry’s side of the story – in which he has to prevent Doofenshmirtz from flooding the city – is a ton of fun, too. The two halves of the episode come together in the basement of the cinema, with Phineas, Ferb, Candace, and Perry going on a water ride inspired by the likes of Disney’s own Splash Mountain.

Episode #2:
Dude, We’re Getting The Band Back Together
Season 1

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb showing Love Handel's concert.

Phineas and Ferb quickly became known for its songs and musical numbers, and Season 1’s Dude, We’re Getting The Band Back Together has several great tracks. An episode all about music – and the importance of music in the lives of the characters – was bound to have some excellent songs, and we get some outstanding additions to the show’s soundtrack here! It’s hard to pick a favourite, but You Snuck Your Way Right Into My Heart is definitely up there, and I’d be remiss not to also mention Ain’t Got Rhythm, which was nominated for an Emmy award.

The boys team-up with Candace is particularly cute, too, as it shakes up the formula of the show somewhat. It also shows Candace’s willingness to join in with her brothers – at least sometimes! – which is a fun change of pace for her character. Doofenshmirtz’s story of hosting Vanessa’s birthday party also sees him working with Perry for a change – and cements his status as one of the best dads in animation!

Episode #3:
I Was A Middle-Aged Robot
Season 2

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb showing Carl, Perry, and their robot.

This episode puts Candace and Perry in the driving seat, after a “mishap” with a memory erasing machine means Lawrence can’t take her to the father-daughter picnic competition. There are some fantastic moments of humour in this episode; I particularly love the sheer randomness of Perry’s robot being programmed in Dutch, and him having to use two Dutch-to-French and French-to-English dictionaries to operate it. Trying to explain it kills the joke, of course!

I Was A Middle-Aged Robot is another great family episode, as we see the boys, their mom, and their friends all get together to cheer on Candace and their dad. The obstacle course means a lot to her, so having everyone get together to support her just… gives me the warm fuzzy feels. Perry abandoning Doofenshmirtz – who seemed to have a whole story of his own lined up and ready to go – was funny, too.

Episode #4:
Christmas Vacation
Season 2

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb showing Santa Claus meeting the kids.

I know it’s the middle of April and we really shouldn’t be thinking about Christmas… but this Christmas special is one of my all-time favourites, and one I return to every single holiday season. I’m a sucker for the whole “Christmas is in danger, someone has to save it!” story cliché, and Christmas Vacation really sells it – with a Phineas and Ferb twist, of course. As you might expect, it’s Doofenshmirtz’s evil scheme that puts Christmas in danger, meaning it’s up to Phineas and the gang to restore Danville’s holiday spirit.

We talked about songs a moment ago, and Christmas Vacation has some truly outstanding musical numbers. Christmas Is Starting Now should be on everyone’s festive playlist, and that’s just one! There are so many good songs, some beautiful animation to bring the winter wonderland to life, and a fun holiday story keeping it all together. I have a longer piece about Christmas Vacation that I wrote last year to mark its fifteenth anniversary, so click or tap here to check it out.

Episode #5:
The Doof Side Of The Moon
Season 2

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb showing Phineas erecting a building.

I’m pretty sure that the skyscraper in The Doof Side Of The Moon is the biggest thing the boys ever built! It’s gotta be one of the biggest, anyway, as it reaches all the way to the moon. The sequence of the skyscraper being constructed really is a ton of fun, with so many wacky and random building methods all thrown in together. Candace, naturally, wants to report on what her brothers are doing, and this time enlists the help of Albert… a character who really gives me the creeps! I think we all knew or at least remember someone like that from our school days – a very cringeworthy individual to say the least.

There isn’t as much going on with Doofenshmirtz and Perry in this episode, and Doof’s plan is silly even by his standards! But I liked his chart comparing his everyday evilness to the other “background evil” in the Tri-State Area. And Doofenshmirtz’s scheme was responsible for the building disappearing from the Flynn-Fletcher back yard!

Episode #6:
The Belly Of The Beast
Season 3

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb showing Candace and Stacy on their boat.

There are multiple references to the classic monster film Jaws in this episode, which is a ton of fun. The boys build a giant mechanical shark for Danville’s Harbour Day celebration, leading Candace and Stacy to hire a ship to chase after them. The ship’s captain is an incredibly funny character (and someone I hope will return in Season 5 or 6!) and there’s just a lot of fun to be had in this nautical setting. It takes most of the characters away from their usual haunts to do something a little different – while also paying homage to the kind of small-town celebrations that are common across the United States. There’s a lot to love on this side of the story.

Doofenshmirtz’s Taffy-Inator isn’t one of his wackiest or worst inventions; it’s basically just a large taffy machine. Why he wants to promote tooth decay, though… I’m still not clear on that! There were plenty of neat moments with Doof and Perry, though, and again it was fun to see them in a different setting for a change.

Episode #7:
Magic Carpet Ride
Season 3

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb showing the gang on their magic carpet.

I’ll be honest: this episode is primarily making the list for its song! Aerial Area Rug is epic and silly in equal measure, perfectly satirising Aladdin’s A Whole New World while retaining the same majestic tone. Songwriter Robert Lopez – who later wrote the songs for Frozen and Frozen II – put it together with help from the show’s writing team, and it’s just one of the absolute best in the series in my opinion.

Song aside, the episode is fun. The boys recreate a flying carpet that their dad saw on TV when he was a kid, and Doofenshmirtz tries to ruin his brother’s day – only to have it blow back on him. I actually feel sorry for Doofenshmirtz in Magic Carpet Ride, and I think it’s a great episode for exploring more of his feud with Roger.

Episode #8:
Delivery Of Destiny
Season 3

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb showing Doof's building from street level.

An episode told mostly from the point-of-view of a random side character? I know it sounds silly, but it really works! Not only that, but it’s a kind of uplifting story of a young man learning to appreciate his job – something I think we can all relate to in some way. There are some fun musical clips thanks to the inclusion of Love Handel, too. Seeing both the boys’ invention and one of Doofenshmirtz’s plots from a totally different perspective was genuinely interesting.

Delivery of Destiny is the kind of episode that wouldn’t have been possible prior to Season 3. It took the series, its characters, its world, and all of its tropes and completely flipped the script, showing us a glimpse of how things look from the perspective of one of the citizens of Danville. It also wrapped everything up in a fun self-contained story, too. Something a bit different – and that’s why I like it!

Episode #9:
My Sweet Ride
Season 4

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb showing Phineas blowing a bugle on top of a car.

This is probably a “hot take” and a bit of a generalisation… but I find that the quality of Phineas and Ferb seemed to dip a bit as Season 4 rolled around. There are some great episodes in the season, but I’d argue there were also a few less-enjoyable offerings, as well. My Sweet Ride is a blast, though! The nostalgic Americana of the Doo-Wop Hop and the classic car festival is a ton of fun, and the episode’s song is a classic retro-inspired number, too.

Phineas and Ferb trick out Candace’s new car – and let their dad take most of the credit! Doofenshmirtz’s crazy contraption is also a lot of fun, and gives us another glimpse of life in Drusselstein, which is neat. Monty and Vanessa continue their relationship and get a cute moment together, and it’s fun to get a story which brings almost all of the main characters from both sides of Phineas and Ferb’s world together in the same place.

Episode #10:
Phineas and Ferb Save Summer
Season 4

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb showing Monty hiding behind a wall.

Season 4 has a bunch of feature-length episodes, and there are several I could’ve chosen to include here! This time, we’re going with Phineas and Ferb Save Summer – an exciting story which sees Doofenshmirtz’s evil scheme succeed, leading to his organisation trying to take over the world by forcing the planet into a new ice age! Although the boys and Doof are kept separate, their stories come together in the best way possible, leading to Phineas and the gang undoing the damage.

I really enjoyed seeing a different side of Doofenshmirtz. After his initial scheme succeeds, he gets swept along by other evil scientists – notably his nemesis, Rodney – and feels increasingly uncomfortable with the things they’re doing. We also see Perry’s animal colleagues at the OWCA captured after Major Monogram gets fired, leaving Carl and Monty in charge. There’s a fun battle sequence between the animal agents and the evil scientists, and Candace gets a sub-plot about achieving her childhood goals and overcoming a phobia. There’s a lot going on – and it’s all great fun!

So that’s it… for now!

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb showing Candace staring at the boys on a TV screen.
Phineas and Ferb will be back on our screens in a couple of months!

There are literally dozens more episodes I wanted to include, so stay tuned – I’d love to revisit this topic in the future and pick out another selection of episodes. If you only have time to watch (or re-watch) a handful of episodes before Season 5 premieres, though, I hope I’ve given you a few ideas for where to start!

I’m cautiously optimistic about Phineas and Ferb’s revival. I really want to see the show succeed, and I hope the writers have found new stories to tell that will really get back to what made Phineas and Ferb so enjoyable during its original run. However… I would be lying if I said I didn’t have some concerns. Setting the new season a year later is good in some ways, as it allows for character growth and could give the characters new experiences and challenges. But it could also undermine the pretty definitive ending that the series got, and I can’t help but feel that setting the new episodes in that original endless summer might’ve been a better call. I’d love to be proven wrong, though!

Behind-the-scenes photo showing the cast and crew of Phineas and Ferb Season 5 standing in front of a projection of the title screen.
The cast and crew of Phineas and Ferb Season 5.
Image Credit: Dan Povenmire on Instagram

Speaking of Season 5: when it premieres later this year I’m planning to review it, so I hope you’ll swing by for that! I’ll talk about all of the episodes and go into detail about what I liked (or didn’t like, if it comes to that). I’m definitely crossing my fingers and hoping for an enjoyable time. Back in 2020, Candace Against The Universe was pretty good, so there are reasons to be hopeful.

Until then, I hope you enjoyed this look at some of my favourite episodes from Phineas and Ferb’s first four seasons. Who knows… if Seasons 5 and 6 are successful, a renewal could be on the cards and there could be many more stories still to tell in the Tri-State Area.


Phineas and Ferb Seasons 1-4 are available to stream now on Disney+. Some episodes and films are also available on DVD and/or Blu-ray. Phineas and Ferb Season 5 is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ and the Disney Channel in the United States in June 2025. Phineas and Ferb is the copyright of Disney Television Animation and The Walt Disney Company. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

Phineas and Ferb: Christmas Vacation – Fifteen Years Later

A spoiler warning graphic (with Doofenshmirtz!)

Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Phineas and Ferb.

There aren’t many Christmas TV specials that I watch, without fail, every single festive season. In fact, the only one I can think of in that category is Phineas and Ferb: Christmas Vacation, which premiered fifteen years ago. 2025 looks set to be the year that a revived Phineas and Ferb will be on our screens, so I thought it could be a bit of fun to look back at the special and talk about why I find it to be so… well, special.

For some context, Phineas and Ferb is a series I first encountered in adulthood. I saw a commercial for it on the Disney Channel back when I used to have a satellite TV package, and even though a cartoon aimed at kids should’ve held absolutely no appeal to me… something convinced me that this was a show I needed to take a look at. And I’m so glad that I did! In the years since I watched those first episodes, Phineas and Ferb has become one of my “comfort shows;” a piece of media that I drift back to on days when I’m feeling low, my mental health isn’t great, or I just need to switch off for a few minutes. It’s with that background that we arrive at the Christmas special.

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb: Christmas Vacation showing Phineas, Ferb, and Isabella by a house at night.
One of the clips from the opening titles.

If you’re unfamiliar with Phineas and Ferb, practically every episode in the show takes place in one seemingly endless summer. Christmas Vacation was the first episode to be set outside of that summer break, and that makes it feel pretty special. The warm sunny days of the rest of the show are replaced with cold and snow, and the city of Danville is transformed into a winter wonderland for the kids’ activities to play out in.

I adore Christmas and the winter – and although it can be a pain to navigate, I love the way snow looks. The animators did a great job, in my opinion, at bringing the wintery world of Danville to life. The snow looks fantastic, and there’s one sequence in particular near the end where the town’s Christmas lights break through the clouds that just looks absolutely stunning. Many kids’ cartoons have moved to fully 3D computer animation, but there’s something special about this older 2D style that I think adds to the sense of magic and wonder that Christmas time brings. We’re not quite at the level of the brilliant pastel-drawn Father Christmas (that I talked about last Christmas; click or tap here if you’re interested to read more) but the animation here is fantastic.

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb: Christmas Vacation showing the town of Danville.
There’s some fantastic animation in Christmas Vacation.

Phineas and Ferb is a very musical series. Almost every episode has its own custom song, and there are jingles and other musical interludes as well. The soundtrack to Christmas Vacation is honestly one of the best parts; there are just so many fantastic songs that it’s hard to know where to start! I’ve talked about two of them already on previous editions of my festive playlist (I put together a list of Christmassy songs every December, in case you’ve missed it), and the fact that so many of the songs from Christmas Vacation are worth listening to in their own rights should tell you all you need to know!

I really don’t know if I could pick a favourite song. Christmas Is Starting Now, which plays at the climax of the story, should be on everyone’s festive playlist, because it’s an absolute cracker. Thank You Santa, from the end credits, is gentle and cute, and even Doofenshmirtz’s I Really Don’t Hate Christmas is a ton of fun. Each song has its own style and fits in with what’s going on for the characters on screen. For a thirty-five-minute special to cram in so many songs basically makes it a musical! And what’s great is how enjoyable all of the tracks are. I bought the CD soundtrack (which came with a few other Phineas and Ferb Christmas songs, too) and I love it.

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb: Christmas Vacation showing Doofenshmirtz and some backing dancers.
There are some great songs in Christmas Vacation… no, really!

There’s not really anything particularly ground-breaking about Christmas Vacation’s plot. You’ve seen the whole “Christmas is in danger and someone needs to step up and save it” story outline before in other productions, but the way in which the special uses Phineas and Ferb characters really makes it stand out. Of course Dr Doofenshmirtz – the self-proclaimed “evil” scientist – would be the one to threaten Christmas with another of his outlandish inventions! And of course it would fall to Phineas, Ferb, and their friends to invent something capable of saving Christmas for everyone! But how the special uses the characters and gets to those moments is what makes the story so fantastic.

Doofenshmirtz is – I would argue – Phineas and Ferb’s real breakout character. And his arc in the Christmas special is a microcosm of why people find this character so fun and even relatable. For all of his proclamations about being “evil” and wanting to rule the Tri-State Area with an iron fist, Doofenshmirtz is actually a complex individual – something we see this time through his relationship with Christmas. He feels he has to hate the holiday, as many of his colleagues do, but without any reason to do so, he struggles. The inner conflict between wanting to be “evil” and his generally alright nature (no, I can’t call him “good!”) comes to the fore, and makes this side of the story far more nuanced and interesting than if he was just a moustache-twirling villain.

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb: Christmas Vacation showing Dr Doofenshmirtz.
Doofenshmirtz is conflicted about Christmas.

I am a total sucker for the whole “Christmas is in danger, someone has to save it!” story trope – and I’ll confess that up front! These kinds of stories are (almost) always a blast for me, and seeing people come together or work hard to ensure that everyone gets to have a merry Christmas is a narrative cliché at this time of year, but it’s one I’ll honestly never get tired of. Throwing some peril or jeopardy into a Christmas story gives characters a reason to work together – and Phineas and Ferb executes it brilliantly.

In Christmas Vacation, we have the double rug-pull of Phineas believing that Christmas being cancelled and Santa deeming the whole town to be “naughty” could be his fault, and that gives him added motivation for stepping up to bring Christmas back to everyone. This misunderstanding would be resolved at the end for Phineas – and of course, we knew all along that he didn’t have anything to do with it – but it’s a surprisingly clever moment of characterisation that adds to the stakes for Phineas in particular.

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb: Christmas Vacation showing Phineas holding a letter.
Phineas comes to believe it’s his fault that Christmas has been cancelled.

Phineas and Ferb has always been a series with engineering and technology at its centre. There are plenty of fantastical elements to go along with it (I mean, two kids building a rollercoaster in an afternoon isn’t exactly “realistic”) but within the world of the show itself, these things are depicted as feats of design, engineering, and construction rather than anything magical. And Christmas Vacation continues that trend, even extending it to this version of Santa Claus and his elves. The way the North Pole receives “naughty or nice” information is by satellite, not by some kind of magic process, and while the elves are still, I suppose, magical creatures, the way they’re depicted with handheld scanners and computer equipment is much more down-to-earth than in many comparable productions.

Though Perry the Platypus gets less to do in Christmas Vacation than he does in some other stories, there are some fun moments with him. I particularly liked the OWCA Christmas party at the beginning of the episode, as it’s cute to see Major Monogram, Carl, and some of the other animal agents in a different setting. We very rarely get to see Monogram or really anyone else from the OWCA outside of work, so seeing them let their hair (and fur) down for Christmas was really sweet.

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb: Christmas Vacation showing Major Monogram and Perry at the OWCA party.
Monogram, Perry, and several animal agents at the OWCA Christmas party.

The relationship between Doofenshmirtz and Perry can feel a little one-sided (only one of them can talk, after all), but the end of the episode shows them exchanging Christmas gifts. Perry bought Doofenshmirtz his favourite candy, showing that he knows him quite well and does have some affection for him, even if he can be difficult and stopping some of his schemes can be an annoyance! As an epilogue to their side of the story, the gift-giving scene was particularly cute.

Candace’s storyline intersects with the boys’ after a while, but it starts out with her obsessing over whether she got Jeremy the right present. All of this is in character for her, and when I reviewed Candace Against The Universe a few years ago I talked a bit more about how Candace’s mental health came into focus. While I would never say I dislike this side of the episode, for me it’s perhaps the weakest individual storyline – especially at first. By the time Candace rejoins her brothers on the mission to save Christmas, things definitely improve for her. Sometimes Candace can just feel a little… stuck? Not sure if that’s exactly the right word. But Christmas Vacation does give her a bit of an expanded role, one less focused on “busting,” which is always nice to see.

Candace on the robo-sleigh with Santa’s elves.

Santa Claus himself, though only present right at the end of the story, is revealed to have known about everything all along – and I think that was a great way to handle it! In order to grant everyone their Christmas wish, Santa orchestrated the entire plot of the episode – from Doofenshmirtz’s Naughty-Inator to Phineas getting a chance to be just like him for one Christmas. Tying everything together through the omniscient Santa Claus was a creative way to link up the different storylines in the special, and it worked really well.

I love the sequence of the townspeople all coming together to decorate for Christmas and to say a big “thank you” to Santa Claus. The song that accompanies it is fantastic, too, and the whole thing just has a really special Christmassy vibe. Again, the idea of people coming together to do something nice for others at this time of year just gives me the warm, cozy feels!

Still frame from Phineas and Ferb: Christmas Vacation showing the Christmas lights at night.
The lights on Christmas Eve.

So I guess that’s all I have to say for now. Phineas and Ferb’s co-creators, Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh, said at the time of its release that they want people to come to see Christmas Vacation as a holiday classic – and I think, fifteen years on, we can see that process happening already. The special aired partway through the show’s excellent second season, becoming its most-viewed episode at the time of its original broadcast, and with interest in Phineas and Ferb growing as the 2010s dawned, its Christmas special definitely picked up even more attention.

Speaking for myself, there’s a lot to enjoy in Christmas Vacation. It’s a great special that puts a uniquely Phineas and Ferb spin on a fairly typical “save Christmas” story outline, and it does it in a really fun and musical way. There are some incredible songs that I enjoy listening to at this time of year, and the entire special is just a ton of fun. If you haven’t seen it yet, fire up Disney+ and give it a whirl. I really don’t think you’ll be disappointed!

The fifteenth anniversary of Christmas Vacation was really just an excuse for me to talk about one of my favourite shows and favourite TV holiday specials. With a fifth season of Phineas and Ferb in the offing for 2025, it seems like an especially good time to revisit the show! Who knows, maybe another Christmas-themed episode is on the cards? Until then, I’ll be content to revisit Christmas Vacation… as I do every year.


Phineas and Ferb: Christmas Vacation is available to stream now on Disney+ and may also be available on DVD. Phineas and Ferb is the copyright of The Walt Disney Company and/or Disney Television Animation. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

Star Wars – The Acolyte: TV Series Review

A spoiler warning graphic.

Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Star Wars – The Acolyte. Minor spoilers are also present for other Star Wars productions.

I recently got around to watching The Acolyte – the latest made-for-streaming series in the Star Wars franchise – so it’s time for a review! Before The Acolyte premiered, I had the show on my radar as one of the more interesting-sounding Star Wars projects. For the first time on the big or small screen, here was a project that promised to step away from the familiar characters and time period that have anchored every other Star Wars project to date. With a focus on the Sith, too, I felt that The Acolyte had a lot of potential.

Because I came late to The Acolyte, I’m aware that the series has proven to be controversial in some quarters of the Star Wars fan community. I always like to review a film or show without having been exposed to other people’s thoughts and opinions, but the volume of criticism that has been flung in the direction of The Acolyte has proven to be inescapable over the last few weeks. To be honest, that’s part of why I decided to watch it and review it for myself; a sense of “surely it can’t be that bad” ended up combining with my earlier interest in the show’s setting and time period!

Cropped promo poster for episode 8 of Star Wars: The Acolyte.
Promo poster for The Acolyte.

As you might expect when the criticism and hatred reaches that kind of fever-pitch: no, The Acolyte was nowhere near as bad as some fans and “influencers” were trying to paint it as being. That’s not to say it was a perfect production by any stretch – there were a couple of pretty in-your-face narrative flaws, some underdeveloped secondary characters, and despite the show’s promise of accessibility to new viewers, a lot of the density of “lore” that can make a franchise like Star Wars offputting to folks who are unfamiliar with its galaxy, factions, and technologies.

I will let you know right off the bat that I am not a stickler for the minutiae of “canon,” nor someone who insists that stories within a franchise must be constrained by every little detail that came before. It’s fine if you feel that way, but this review isn’t going to pick on the very minor appearances of a couple of prequel-era characters and dive into their fictional backstories! Some of the nitpicking I’ve seen online about The Acolyte felt just plain silly to me, and I think the series did a good enough job of avoiding stepping on the toes of the mainline Star Wars films in a big way. The biggest secret to keep in that regard was the existence of the Sith in this time period – and when the series ended with every Jedi who’d seen the Sith assassin dead, and the only survivors believing him to be a “fallen Jedi,” I think we can say that that particular “plot hole” simply isn’t a thing. As the credits rolled on what I assume will be the only season that The Acolyte will get, its story’s loosest ends were tied up.

Still frame from Star Wars: The Acolyte showing a character wielding a lightsaber.
Master Sol confronts the Sith assassin.

At time of writing, Disney and Lucasfilm haven’t confirmed or denied that The Acolyte will be cancelled, but given the fan reaction and the show’s relatively low viewership – according to reports, The Acolyte was doing a lot worse than The Mandalorian, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and even the maligned Book of Boba Fett – it’s hard to see it being renewed as things stand. Although Disney is keen on this High Republic time period in some spin-off media, I’m not sure that alone will save The Acolyte. Disney’s biggest event of the year – the D23 expo – has just come and gone at time of writing, as has the year’s biggest Comic-Con event, and no announcement of a renewal was made. The first season’s story left things deliberately open, but also wrapped up the main events we’d been following – so it’s not like there’s a cliffhanger desperately waiting to be resolved. All things considered, I’d say cancellation feels likely.

So let’s talk about the series itself. On the whole, I had a pretty good time with The Acolyte – and even though that may be a minority position, I’ll do my best to explain what I enjoyed, as well as criticise what I didn’t.

Still frame from Star Wars: The Acolyte showing a group of Jedi in yellow robes.
A couple of main characters and some Jedi redshirts. Should that be “Jedshirts?”

Stepping away from the “Skywalker Saga” is something I’ve argued that the Star Wars franchise has needed to do for a long time, and while some recent productions have taken steps in that direction, The Acolyte is the first time we’ve seen Star Wars move so far away from that story on the small screen. There were a couple of crossover characters – but their appearances were so minor as to barely even count as cameos. Speaking for myself, I was pleased that The Acolyte went down this road, and that after relying on the crutch of nostalgia and familiar characters for such a long time, Disney and Lucasfilm have finally been bold enough to try something a little different.

That being said, there’s still a lot of familiarity in The Acolyte. For brand-new viewers, a group that The Acolyte’s producers claimed to be targeting, I think there was still quite a lot of fairly dense lore and background to wade through in order to fully understand what was going on, which faction was which, and so on. There was an admirable attempt to open up Star Wars to new fans – which is something the franchise was going to have to do sooner or later – but for me, at least some of that seemed not to stick the landing. My impression is that this was a series that new fans could approach a bit more easily than, say, Obi-Wan Kenobi or The Book of Boba Fett, but still not the softest of landings for someone totally unfamiliar with Star Wars. The first couple of episodes in particular throw a lot at the audience with the Jedi Order, droids, hyperspace, and other elements that weren’t really explained.

Still frame from Star Wars: The Acolyte showing the Jedi Temple.
The Jedi Temple on Coruscant.

And this is actually a trend that continued across all eight episodes – and extended to other plot points, too. The Acolyte didn’t always take the time to fully lay out what was going on in an easy-to-follow way, leaving some scenes and sequences feeling cut short. More time was needed in some of these moments to either add context or an explanation of what was going on. Occasionally the series would revisit events through a flashback that added to something we’d seen earlier – but not always.

This is a problem I’ve had with many made-for-streaming shows over the last few years: they’re too short. The Acolyte, for instance, across its eight episodes runs to a scant five hours, and when several plot-crucial scenes and sequences felt curtailed or in need of additional framing and context, I can’t help but feel that Disney and Lucasfilm have repeated a mistake they’ve already made with other Star Wars shows. Streaming isn’t like broadcast television – there’s no need to stick to rigid schedules. Episode runtimes can be expanded, and even whole new episodes can be added to a season if necessary. Sure, there are budgetary constraints – but when we’re talking about moments that can make the difference between a scene being easily understood and just plain confusing… it’s gotta be worth it, right?

Still frame from Star Wars: The Acolyte showing Osha firing a blaster pistol.
Osha firing her blaster pistol.

To give one example from The Acolyte: at one moment in the second episode, Osha draws her blaster pistol to shoot at Mae – her twin – while she’s trying to make her escape. Osha misses, and the way the scene was framed left it totally unclear as to whether she missed on purpose or by accident. The difference that makes to the tone of the rest of the episode – and to how we are meant to perceive Osha as a character as she deals with Master Sol and other Jedi – is massive. Not knowing how to read that moment made subsequent scenes and sequences feel muddled and confused – and it’s all because The Acolyte’s director, editors, and producers failed to add the necessary context to make that moment easy to follow.

While we’re talking about confusing moments, I felt that it wasn’t always easy to tell which twin was Osha and which was Mae during some of the flashback scenes. Identical twins dressed in identical costumes made it difficult to keep track of who was who – something not helped by the editing and camera angles. Perhaps this was deliberate… but if that’s the case, I struggle to see why. Knowing that Mae was the one who wanted to stay with her coven and learn Force magic while Osha was the one who wanted to leave was essential to both of their character journeys.

Still frame from Star Wars: The Acolyte showing young Osha and Mae.
Young Mae and Osha (or Osha and Mae).

Since we’re talking about the twins, I find it odd that The Acolyte’s production team didn’t cast a real set of identical twins in the lead role. The younger versions of Osha and Mae were played by twins, but the adult characters were both played by the same actress. This isn’t to criticise Amandla Stenberg’s performance, by the way, as I felt she did a solid job with both Osha and Mae. But rather that it’s worth pointing out that there are relatively few high-profile roles for twins, and just like how casting an able-bodied person to play someone with a disability (or worse, having someone made up to appear to be from a different race) is something most mainstream productions now try to avoid, it’s a bit of an oddity – and one I haven’t really seen mentioned in the conversations surrounding the show.

The Acolyte’s story portrayed the Jedi Order in arguably the most negative way we’ve ever seen on screen – showing how the organisation and its members easily fell prey to internal politicking, arrogance, and self-righteousness. This is a narrative thread that links up with the prequel trilogy – though the prequels were arguably less extreme and still painted the Jedi as the “good guys” in a relatively black-and-white story. It also connects with something Luke Skywalker said in The Last Jedi about the hubris of the Jedi Order.

Still frame from Star Wars: The Acolyte showing Master Sol in a flashback.
Master Sol in a flashback sequence.

Moreover, there was a distinct creepiness to some of the Jedi – Master Sol in particular. Think about it: he spied on two eight-year-old girls from the bushes, followed them back to their home, formed an instant, one-sided “emotional connection” with one of them, and then insisted on taking her away from her family to be his apprentice. That has undertones that are genuinely uncomfortable, and contributes to the sense of the Jedi Order as being a strange, almost corrupt organisation. I mean, we’ve known for a long time that the Jedi would “recruit” children at a very young age – and we caught a glimpse of how this worked with Anakin Skywalker in The Phantom Menace – but there was something about seeing Sol so… interested in Osha that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

That’s to say nothing of the Jedi’s attack on the Force-witches. Does that organisation/coven have a name in canon, by the way? Perhaps I missed it in The Acolyte, but either way, I felt it was really interesting to see how other Force-sensitive people and groups might behave and how they exist outside of the Jedi/Sith dynamic. These witches clearly used the Force, but they weren’t Jedi or Sith, and that gives us a look at a part of the Star Wars galaxy that we really hadn’t seen much of before. Other Force-sensitive groups have been glimpsed in spin-off media, of course, but this was a deeper dive into an unknown organisation and I appreciated the attempt to expand the Star Wars galaxy beyond what we’ve already seen on screen.

Still frame from Star Wars: The Acolyte showing the Force-witch coven.
The Force-witches are new to Star Wars (at least as far as I’m aware).

During the flashback depicting the Jedi’s attack on the Force-witches’ compound, The Acolyte gave us perhaps its weakest narrative moment. Torbin, the youngest Jedi padawan in the group, fell completely flat for me. His one-note “I hate it here and I wanna go home” was so unbelievable and childish that it seriously put a downer on the entire sequence, as this was such a pathetically weak way to set up his involvement. The concept of individual Jedi making bad decisions when confronted with the witches is a good one, and I think other elements worked as intended. But the series clearly didn’t have enough time to properly develop Torbin or give him a proper reason for his actions. When the actions he and Sol took are key to the entire rest of the plot… that’s an issue.

The idea of a “vergence” in the Force is something that Star Wars has delved into before. Most significantly, The Phantom Menace set up the idea of Anakin as being either a vergence himself or perhaps having been conceived by one. Mae and Osha seem to follow suit in The Acolyte, with the witches’ coven having somehow created them through the Force. While I’m not concerned about matters of “canon” all that much, and I don’t feel The Acolyte really overwrites or invalidates what we know of Anakin from the earlier films, I would’ve liked to see more explanation of both the vergence and the twins’ conception. Both were left pretty open-ended – which could be great if the show gets picked up for more episodes, but as already discussed, I doubt that’s gonna happen. It could be that this part of the story is never resolved, and that would be a bit of a shame because it seemed interesting.

Still frame from Star Wars: The Acolyte showing the Force-witches.
Will we learn more about the vergence and the “creation” of Osha and Mae?

The decision to include cameos from the prequel trilogy has been a source of some controversy. Speaking for myself, I think these cameos were handled quite well – and there’s more than enough wiggle-room for both the minor character of Ki-Adi-Mundi and the more significant character of Yoda to have been present at the Jedi Temple without being too involved in the events we saw unfolding on screen. For me, it doesn’t tread on the toes of what we knew about either character, and what they have to say in the prequel films and beyond doesn’t seem to be contradicted by their very brief appearances in The Acolyte. The same is true of a character many are assuming to be Darth Plageius – glimpsed toward the end of the series at the Sith base.

As fans, I think all of us can fall prey to nitpicking and to prioritising minor things – throwaway lines of dialogue, secondary characters, or non-canon resources like books or comics – over and above everything else. And from what I’ve seen based on my admittedly limited engagement with the discourse around The Acolyte, I think that’s what’s been happening in some cases. Having heard of the drama before watching the series, I seriously expected Ki-Adi-Mundi in particular to have a massive role – but he was on screen in one episode for a matter of seconds, had no noticeable impact on the plot, and as far as I can tell wasn’t necessarily aware of what transpired. The controversy that some fans have tried to stir up (perhaps because their social media income has become increasingly dependent on the “anti-Star Wars” crowd) feels overblown at best. A storm in a teacup!

Still frame from Star Wars: The Acolyte showing Ki-Adi-Mundi and another Jedi character.
Ki-Adi-Mundi – a character first introduced in the prequel trilogy – made a small cameo appearance in The Acolyte.

In terms of production values, I thought that The Acolyte was decent – but there were a couple of missteps. On a couple of occasions the way real actors interacted with fully-CGI environments was sub-par and strayed into the dreaded uncanny valley. Musically, the series was fine – in line with other Star Wars projects, perhaps, but by no means exceptional. My rule of thumb for any film or TV show is that the music shouldn’t be a distraction, and in that sense The Acolyte did okay. But nothing from its soundtrack was particularly original or memorable, and if you played it for me right now, I’d struggle to remember what production it was from or even whether I’d heard it before.

Acting performances were generally pretty good. I particularly enjoyed Lee Jung-Jae’s take on the conflicted Master Sol, and Dafne Keen gave a solid performance as the young Jedi Padawan Jecki Lon. Amandla Stenberg had the challenge of playing two very different characters – but rose to the occasion. The only performance I felt didn’t reach the heights it should’ve was Harry Trevaldwyn’s – he played the role of Mog, a junior Jedi aide-de-camp to Master Vernestra. Playing Jedi roles can be tricky; they have deliberately stifled emotions, making it difficult for some performers to really know what to do. Mog was, thankfully, a minor character who wasn’t on screen all that much. Still, there are far better Jedi performances out there!

Still frame from Star Wars: The Acolyte showing Master Vernestra and Mog.
Master Vernestra and Mog.

Speaking of performers, I felt that Carrie-Ann Moss was almost wasted in the role of Master Indara. Moss’ role in the series played a big part in The Acolyte’s early marketing material, yet she was only present in a big way in a couple of episodes, with her character having been killed off right at the beginning of the story. I could’ve happily spent more time with Master Indara; compared with the broken Torbin, emotional Sol, and politicking Vernestra, she was the closest the series got to having a Jedi Master in the more heroic style we’ve come to expect.

Stepping away from the rise and fall of the Empire to look at a different era in the Star Wars galaxy is something that the franchise has needed to do for a long time. I’m happy that we finally got to see some of this High Republic era on screen, and I liked some of the subtle changes made to things like Jedi robes. Setting the scene in a different – but still familiar enough – way helped The Acolyte stand out, even if its basic Jedi-versus-Sith idea didn’t feel all that fresh.

Still frame from Star Wars: The Acolyte showing two characters engaged in a lightsaber duel.
A lightsabre battle.

There were standout moments in the series, and I feel the criticism it’s received in some quarters has been unnecessarily harsh. Personally, I’d like to see Disney and Lucasfilm greenlight more projects set in different locales and different time periods, and I hope that the backlash to parts of The Acolyte won’t dissuade them from doing so. There’s only so many times I can see Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, or their descendants saving the day – and if Star Wars is to survive long-term, we’ll need to see more projects like this one. That’s not to say The Acolyte was perfect – it wasn’t. But it was a step in the right direction for a franchise that has felt increasingly stale.

Despite claims made in the run-up to its broadcast, I didn’t feel that The Acolyte would be the easiest and smoothest way into Star Wars for someone brand-new to the franchise. It has the advantage of not relying on familiar characters, but it’s still got some deep cuts to parts of the Star Wars franchise that, I would argue, weren’t particularly well-explained within the series itself. That’s nothing new for Star Wars, of course!

Still frame from Star Wars: The Acolyte showing Mae.
Mae at the end of the story.

The Acolyte held my attention and got me invested in its main characters and storyline. Some of the secondary characters and sub-plots felt under-developed, and I think the series as a whole might’ve benefitted from being ten episodes long instead of eight. This would’ve allowed for scenes and sequences to be extended, for some additional character development, and for some of the show’s B-plots to be expanded upon. This isn’t an issue unique to The Acolyte by any means – but some producers and directors are clearly better at making the most out of eight episodes than others!

At the end of the day, though, I can’t say I didn’t enjoy The Acolyte. Its focus on a Sith assassin was intriguing, its portrayal of the Jedi Order as out-of-touch and arrogant lined up with both the prequels and sequels, and its core story of human characters making decidedly human mistakes was one that was, in a way, relatable. The Acolyte may have done more than any other Star Wars project to date to really humanise the Jedi Order and make some of its members feel like real people. Whether that’s something every fan wanted to see from Star Wars, or whether they prefer to think of Jedi Knights as flawless paragons of virtue… well, I think the backlash in some parts of the fan community answers that particular question!

Of the Disney+ Star Wars shows I’ve seen so far, I’d put The Acolyte in second place – behind The Book of Boba Fett but ahead of The Mandalorian. And light-years away from the awful Obi-Wan Kenobi series!


Star Wars: The Acolyte is available to stream now on Disney+. The series will also be released on DVD/Blu-ray at a later date. The Star Wars franchise – including The Acolyte and all other properties discussed above – is the copyright of Lucasfilm and The Walt Disney Company. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

Paramount+ versus the cost of living

I’m trying to get my thoughts in order with June just around the corner. Here in the UK we’re just over three weeks away from the (alleged) launch date of Paramount+, and despite my criticisms of Paramount Global and the jokes I’ve made on social media, I truly want to be able to sign up for the platform and give my financial backing to the renewed Star Trek franchise. But I’m not sure that I can, at least not at the moment.

As a disabled person on a fixed income, the current inflation and cost of living crisis is hitting me particularly hard. Since the start of this year I’ve cancelled my plans for an upgrade to my slow internet connection and also let go of my Netflix subscription. I’d originally signed up for Netflix in order to be able to watch Star Trek: Discovery in 2017, and although there are still Netflix projects that interest me, the removal of the Star Trek franchise from the platform was a big factor in choosing to cancel that subscription.

I originally signed up for Netflix to be able to watch Star Trek: Discovery.

Right now I have two subscriptions that I pay for: Xbox Game Pass and Disney+. In order to be able to afford Paramount+, realistically I’d have to cancel one or the other. And the problem there is simple: I regularly use and enjoy both. Subscribing to Game Pass has meant that I’ve only had to buy one game since the start of the year (Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, in case you were wondering). It’s a good service – for now, at least – that offers a decent number of games, and although I don’t spend as much time gaming as I did say a decade ago, Game Pass still has a lot to offer.

Disney+ has a few new shows that I’m interested in, like the current Obi-Wan Kenobi series, but more than that it’s a service that carries a lot of shows that I’ve enjoyed in years past. The likes of Futurama or Scubs make great background viewing; light entertainment that I don’t need to think too deeply about. Kids’ cartoon Phineas and Ferb is one of my comfort shows that I turn to on days when my mental health is poor, and Disney+ even carries shows like Lost and a diverse array of documentaries and films.

I watch quite a lot of things on Disney+ these days.

I feel like the debate I’m currently having internally about streaming kind of encapsulates a broader issue with the oversaturated streaming market, but more significantly for Paramount Global and the Star Trek franchise, it shows how being too late to the party can be incredibly costly. I’m not trying to decide between Paramount+ and Disney+ in a vacuum with both services on an equal footing; I already have Disney+, so in order to be able to afford Paramount+, Paramount needs to convince me to give up what I already have.

Perhaps the cost of living crisis of 2022 has blown the lid off things – it certainly has for me, at least – but these kinds of conflicts were inevitable, and not every streaming service currently on the market can survive. Perhaps current events will accelerate the decline of some of the lesser ones – such as CNN+, which cost parent company Time Warner over $300 million and lasted barely one month – but with the market having become so crowded and so anti-consumer, there simply isn’t room for everyone.

There have been some high-profile streaming failures already.

I’ve argued this point before – in an article that you can find by clicking or tapping here – but I really think it makes a lot of sense for some of the lesser companies to get out of the streaming game and focus instead on making content, not trying to make their own platform. The Star Trek franchise could be a good example of how this could work; Discovery was sold to Netflix, but Picard and Lower Decks were sold to Amazon Prime Video. Other media companies could take a similar approach, selling their shows and films to the highest-bidding streaming platform without making a cast-iron commitment to always work exclusively with a single platform.

That has to be the future, doesn’t it? It isn’t affordable for most households to pay for four, five, or six different streaming subscriptions even at the best of times, so something’s got to give sooner or later. As inflation and the cost of living continue to bite around the world – and with no sign of things improving at least in the short-term – I’d expect similar conversations to be happening in a lot of households. It’s possible that we’ll even start to see the impact of this on the streaming market pretty soon.

It’s increasingly unaffordable for folks to keep adding new streaming subscriptions.

I’ve written about piracy here on the website on more than one occasion. Although it can be hard to explain how I feel in just a few words, I’ll give it a shot: when a series, film, or video game is made available, I’m firmly in the camp that says “pay for it.” If everyone turned to piracy there’d be no future for entertainment; it wouldn’t be possible to keep creating new films, games, or shows if no one was paying for and supporting the creation of those projects. So with Paramount+ slowly stumbling its way towards its UK launch, almost by default I felt sure that I’d be signing up.

As a big Trekkie and someone who loves the Star Trek franchise, I want to be in a position of contributing to its success, even when Paramount Global as a corporation has misbehaved when it comes to international fans. The reason for that is pretty simple: I want Star Trek to be financially successful so that it’ll continue to be produced for many years to come. I don’t want to be a pirate, especially not when it comes to Star Trek. The fact that Paramount forced fans like me into piracy with their decisions over Discovery Season 4, Prodigy, and Strange New Worlds remains a source of disappointment.

I want to see Star Trek succeed.

But now, with the cost of living and inflation biting me in the backside, I’m left wondering whether my best option in the short-term is to rely on my DVDs and Blu-rays for older shows and pirate the final few episodes of Strange New Worlds. By the time Paramount+ lands in the UK there will only be three weeks left in the first season of Strange New Worlds – and even if Prodigy or Lower Decks are going to be hot on its heels, it hardly seems worth signing up for a new subscription to get three episodes of a single series.

Perhaps I’m clutching at straws trying to justify accessing media that I can’t afford. Maybe it’s the curse of those of us on low and fixed incomes that, in a world of dozens of streaming subscriptions, it’s too expensive to be able to afford to watch everything. Do the cost of living crisis and inflation justify piracy? Is piracy, as some like to claim, a form of theft? If I can’t afford Paramount+, shouldn’t I find ways to cut other things out of my budget so that I can – and if I’m unable or unwilling to do that, shouldn’t I then stick to that commitment and stop watching these new Star Trek shows?

Piracy remains a tempting option.

These are some of the questions rolling around in my head at the moment! Maybe I should just shut up, review new episodes of Star Trek and whatever else, and let everyone reading assume that I paid for everything completely legitimately. But this website is my only real outlet for talking about some of these issues, and with the cost of living and inflation being big worries at the moment and weighing on my mind, I wanted to talk about it and not just cover it up and pretend like everything is fine.

This is far from the worst financial crisis I’ve personally had to deal with. Ever been so broke that you had “sleep for dinner?” I’ve been there. I’ve been to the supermarket with only a bunch of coins that I managed to scrounge up from pockets and down the back of the sofa, buying food for a couple of days without knowing when or how I’d be able to afford the next shop. And I’ve been in a position of turning off the heat and wearing a coat, gloves, and three pairs of socks in the living room in order to save money. Compared to that – and compared to what many folks are going through right now, too – having to choose between different streaming services because I can’t afford all of them… well it doesn’t exactly matter, does it?

I’ve been in worse financial positions at other points in my life…

But at the same time, there is a broader point here. Paramount+ is about to launch in an incredibly difficult market, one in which some of the biggest fans of the corporation’s most popular franchises are going to struggle to afford the service. The longer-term prospects of Paramount+, and whether it will ever be able to break into the top tier of streaming platforms alongside Netflix and Disney+, remains very much in question – and with that question comes fears for the longer-term sustainability of Star Trek. As a fan, that concerns me.

Decisions going back a decade or more on the part of big entertainment corporations have led to this point, and while the current jump in inflation and rise in the cost of living may have exposed some of these issues of affordability sooner than expected, it was inevitable that we’d reach this point in such an oversaturated marketplace. As a Star Trek fan I want to support Star Trek and I want the company that owns it and the platform on which it’s available to be financially successful – but I can’t commit to backing Paramount+ with a long-term subscription at the moment. If the cost of living crisis worsens in the months ahead – and with energy bills set to rise significantly in October, just in time for the winter, it very well may – I’ll be needing to cut back even more on the few services I already pay for, and there’ll be absolutely no place for anything new.

It’s a tough market, and Paramount Global’s many mistakes and offensive decisions have not endeared the corporation or its latest venture to the people who should be its biggest supporters. I wish Paramount+ well as a Star Trek fan who wants the franchise to succeed… but I’m unsure whether I’ll be able to make a long-term commitment to it right now.

Paramount+ is available in the United States, Scandinavia, Australia, and parts of Latin America now, with launches in the UK and South Korea in June 2022. Further international launch dates are yet to be announced. Paramount+ and the Star Trek franchise are owned by Paramount Global. Some stock images used above are courtesy of Pixabay. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

The Obi-Wan Kenobi series: hopes, fears, and expectations

Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers ahead for the Star Wars franchise, including Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Book of Boba Fett, and recent films such as The Rise of Skywalker.

I’ve made no secret through my commentary here on the website that I’m not thrilled by many of the decisions and announcements that have come out of Disney and Lucasfilm lately. The Star Wars franchise as a whole feels stuck; bogged down by nostalgia and led by a team whose creativity is being stifled by a corporate board that is unwilling or unable to move on from successes that are now decades in the past. The divisiveness of the sequel trilogy will eventually abate, but for now the Star Wars franchise is intent on looking backwards.

This is why we have projects like Obi-Wan Kenobi in the first place. The very concept of the series is backwards-looking, and all it really offers, at a fundamental level, are more of the same nostalgia plays that tripped up projects like Solo: A Star Wars Story. As I said last time I took a look at the upcoming series – which is now less than a month away – if I were in charge over at Disney and Lucasfilm, a project like this would’ve never been greenlit!

Obi-Wan in a teaser for the upcoming series.

That isn’t all there is to say, of course. Another recent Star Wars project that I had relatively low expectations for was The Book of Boba Fett. Arbitrarily bringing back from the dead a relatively minor character and dedicating an entire spin-off project to him felt like it should’ve been the epitome of everything I’ve come to dislike about modern Star Wars. But as you’ll know if you read my review of the first season, I actually had a good time with The Book of Boba Fett. It was far from perfect, but it hid its imperfections in a story that was, for the most part anyway, just plain fun.

So as I look ahead to Obi-Wan Kenobi, there are reasons for optimism. Ewan McGregor’s performance as the titular Jedi Knight was one of the prequel trilogy’s highlights, and he did well to bring to life a younger version of the character we’d originally met in 1977. Though I’ve never been wild about the prequels – the first two parts in particular – McGregor inhabited the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi and showed us, at least in part through Kenobi’s eyes, the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker, as well as the hubris that led to the demise of the Jedi Order itself.

Hello there!

My biggest concern when it comes to Obi-Wan Kenobi is how it will find a story to tell that fits into the existing saga of Star Wars. The series has to be very carefully-crafted to be able to slot neatly into place like the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle. Unlike The Book of Boba Fett, which could’ve gone in all kinds of different directions as an epilogue to Boba’s story, Obi-Wan Kenobi has to show us a chapter of the Jedi Master’s life that falls in between the parts we already know. It has the very difficult task of being interesting, exciting, and dramatic without overwriting anything we already know, nor robbing any of the other stories of their impact.

Between what we saw in the prequels and the original films, we know the story of Obi-Wan’s life. I’d argue that we’ve seen the most interesting parts already: how he rose from being a padawan apprentice to a master in his own right, the role he played in the Clone Wars, and how the Empire rose around him. We’ve seen him take on Luke Skywalker as his apprentice, and then sacrifice his life in a duel with Darth Vader. What can Obi-Wan Kenobi add to this story that we don’t already know or can’t infer from the parts we’ve already seen? How can it give its protagonist an arc that takes him from where we left him at the end of Revenge of the Sith to where we picked up his story in A New Hope? And how can it make that story something worth watching without feeling either incredibly tacked-on or like a bolt from the blue?

“Old Ben” Kenobi in A New Hope.

Those are just some of the narrative challenges that the new series faces, and they’re by no means small ones! Obi-Wan Kenobi has to thread the needle; it can’t stray too far from what we already know, but it also has to find a way to chart its own path despite that limitation. I guess another of my worries is that the story the new series ultimately tries to tell will ignore some or all of those points and blaze a trail that will take Obi-Wan on an adventure that undermines his arc in either the prequels, original films, or both.

For the show’s writers, it must be sorely tempting to pit Obi-Wan and Darth Vader against one another – but doing so would utterly ruin one of the most powerful sequences in A New Hope. As much fun as it might be for the writers and creative team to stage another duel between the former master and apprentice, these classic characters need to be treated more carefully than that. Star Wars is already in a strange place thanks to things like Palpatine’s survival after Return of the Jedi; to throw Obi-Wan and Vader into a conflict against one another a decade before A New Hope would take away one of the few significant moments that remain unaltered from the original trilogy.

Obi-Wan Kenobi mustn’t undermine the meeting between Obi-Wan and Vader in A New Hope.

In their rush to recapture the magic of Star Wars, the franchise’s current executives and producers have actually erased a good deal of what made the original films as meaningful as they were. The story of Anakin’s redemption and return to the light in Return of the Jedi, for example, is hideously twisted and undermined by the subsequent revelations that Palpatine was able to survive, live for another thirty years, start a new Sith Empire, and even corrupt Anakin’s own grandson. Obi-Wan Kenobi simply can’t repeat this kind of mistake. If it does, Star Wars will have very little left.

Part of what made the duel between Obi-Wan and Vader aboard the Death Star so powerful is that it was their first meeting in many years. Even when watching the original film years before the prequels came out, it was obvious that the hate Vader had for Obi-Wan had been building for a long time. Add into the mix the backstory that the prequels gave us and the moment takes on a different and even greater significance. For Vader, this was his opportunity to get revenge on the man who left him badly injured and dependent on his hated suit. It became one of the most powerful sequences in the film – and in the entire saga.

The iconic lightsaber duel.

A few months ago I took a look at a similar project over in the Star Trek franchise: Ceti Alpha V is a proposed miniseries that would revisit iconic villain Khan. Having already seen the two most interesting parts of Khan’s story – his awakening in the 23rd Century and his battle against Kirk in The Wrath of Khan, I argued that such a project is ultimately not necessary. What would we learn about Khan from that miniseries that hasn’t already been explored either by Space Seed or The Wrath of Khan? It’s almost certainly the least-interesting part of his story, one that would not only be kind of a waste of time, but if given too much leeway, one that could undermine one of the high points of the entire Star Trek franchise.

And it’s hard not to look at Obi-Wan Kenobi with a similar degree of scepticism. Since we clearly aren’t just going to watch Obi-Wan sit around in his desert hut for six episodes, the question of what exactly he’s going to do comes to the fore. What makes this chapter of his life worthy of a six-episode miniseries, and how will it balance the need to be exciting and entertaining with the constraints of a very definite beginning and end point?

An Imperial Inquisitor seen in the teaser.

All that being said, Disney+ has a pretty good track record with its original productions. Obi-Wan Kenobi will likely have a per-episode budget that fans of other franchises could only dream of, so on the technical side of things we can almost certainly look forward to a polished production that looks great and makes creative use of CGI and other visual effects. Recent Star Wars projects have brought back more of the puppets and practical effects that defined the franchise’s look in its original incarnation, and that’s something I’ve enjoyed seeing. And in terms of special effects, things like the de-ageing and digital character creation that we’ve seen employed in The Book of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian are nothing short of technological marvels.

Famed composer John Williams is returning to the Star Wars franchise yet again to compose the show’s theme, which is another neat inclusion. Just like The Mandalorian, Obi-Wan Kenobi will make use of an AR wall (similar to the one used in recent Star Trek productions), which should also look fantastic. In addition to Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen is reprising his role as Darth Vader, and the inclusion of actors like Rupert Friend rounds out what seems to be an excellent cast. Director Deborah Chow has a good track record, too, with directing credits in series as diverse as Turn: Washington’s Spies, Fear the Walking Dead, and The Man in the High Castle. She also directed two episodes of The Mandalorian, so she’s not a newcomer to the franchise.

A company of Stormtroopers in the teaser.

All of those things give me hope! There’s potential in Obi-Wan Kenobi, and there’s no denying that Disney and Lucasfilm have put together a great team, backed them up with a significant budget, and given the project a shot at success. For me, the biggest potential pitfall remains the premise of the series itself, and the limited storytelling directions it could reasonably take.

I’m trying to rein in both my scepticism and excitement on different sides of the project, and I guess I’ll wrap this up by saying I’m cautiously optimistic. The success of The Book of Boba Fett earlier in the year, which was similarly a series I had reservations about, has perhaps led me to feel a little more hopeful than I otherwise might about Obi-Wan Kenobi’s prospects.

One final note: it’s worth saying that Obi-Wan Kenobi exists, like several other recent and upcoming sci-fi and fantasy projects, largely because fans were asking for it. Fans who grew up with the prequel trilogy, viewing those films as “their” Star Wars, have generally reacted very positively to news about Obi-Wan Kenobi, and I’m happy for them that Disney and Lucasfilm have been listening. I hope they get the series they’ve been looking for – and with any luck it’ll be something that I can enjoy too!

Obi-Wan Kenobi is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ on the 27th of May 2022. The Star Wars franchise – including Obi-Wan Kenobi and all other properties mentioned above – is the copyright of Lucasfilm and The Walt Disney Company. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

How Sega and the Dreamcast offer a valuable lesson for streaming platforms

In 2001 I was bitterly disappointed by the failure of the Dreamcast – a console I’d only owned for about a year and had hoped would carry me through to the next generation of home consoles. For a variety of reasons that essentially boil down to mismanagement, worse-than-expected sales, and some pretty tough competition, Sega found itself on the verge of bankruptcy. The company responded not only by ending development on the Dreamcast, but by closing its hardware division altogether.

At the time, Sega seemed to be at the pinnacle of the games industry. For much of the 1990s, the company had been a dominant force in home video game consoles alongside Nintendo, and as the new millennium approached there were few outward signs of that changing. It was a massive shock to see Sega collapse in such spectacular fashion in 2001, not only to me but to millions of players and games industry watchers around the world.

The Sega Dreamcast failed in 2001.

Thinking about what happened from a business perspective, a demise like this was inevitable in the early 2000s. Both Sony and Microsoft were arriving in the home console market with powerful machines offering features like the ability to play DVDs – something that the Dreamcast couldn’t do – but at a fundamental level the market was simply overcrowded. There just wasn’t room for four competing home consoles. At least one was destined for the chopping block – and unfortunately for Sega, it was their machine that wouldn’t survive.

But the rapid demise of the Dreamcast wasn’t the end of Sega – not by a long shot. The company switched its focus from making hardware to simply making games, and over the next few years re-established itself with a new identity as a developer and publisher. In the twenty years since the Dreamcast failed, Sega has published a number of successful titles, snapped up several successful development studios – such as Creative Assembly, Relic Entertainment, and Amplitude Studios – and has even teamed up with old rival Nintendo on a number of occasions!

The end of the Dreamcast was not the end of Sega.

I can’t properly express how profoundly odd it was to first see Super Mario and Sega’s mascot Sonic the Hedgehog together in the same game! The old rivalry from the ’90s would’ve made something like that impossible – yet it became possible because Sega recognised its limitations and changed its way of doing business. The board abandoned a longstanding business model because it was leading the company to ruin, and even though it does feel strange to see fan-favourite Sega characters crop up on the Nintendo Switch or even in PlayStation games, Sega’s willingness to change quite literally saved the company.

From a creative point of view, Sega’s move away from hardware opened up the company to many new possibilities. The company has been able to broaden its horizons, publishing different games on different systems, no longer bound to a single piece of hardware. Strategy games have been published for PC, party games on the Nintendo Wii and Switch, and a whole range of other titles on Xbox, PlayStation, handheld consoles, and even mobile. The company has been involved in the creation of a far broader range of titles than it ever had been before.

Sega’s mascot Sonic now regularly appears alongside old foe Super Mario.

So how does all of this relate to streaming?

We’re very much in the grip of the “streaming wars” right now. Big platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ are battling for subscribers’ cash, but there’s a whole second tier of streaming platforms fighting amongst themselves for a chance to break into the upper echelons of the market. The likes of HBO Max, Paramount+, Apple TV+, Peacock, BritBox, and even YouTube Premium are all engaged in this scrap.

But the streaming market in 2021 is very much like the video game console market was in 2001: overcrowded. Not all of these second-tier platforms will survive – indeed, it’s possible that none of them will. Many of the companies who own and manage these lower-level streaming platforms are unwilling to share too many details about them, but we can make some reasonable estimates based on what data is available, and it isn’t good news. Some of these streaming platforms have simply never been profitable, and their owners are being propped up by other sources of income, pumping money into a loss-making streaming platform in the hopes that it’ll become profitable at some nebulous future date.

There are a lot of streaming platforms in 2021.

To continue the analogy, the likes of Paramount+ are modern-day Dreamcasts in a market where Netflix, Amazon, and Disney+ are already the Nintendo, Xbox, and PlayStation. Breaking into the top tier of the streaming market realistically means one of the big three needs to be dethroned, and while that isn’t impossible, it doesn’t seem likely in the short-to-medium term at least.

Why did streaming appeal to viewers in the first place? That question is fundamental to understanding why launching a new platform is so incredibly difficult, and it’s one that too many corporate executives seem not to have considered. They make the incredibly basic mistake of assuming that streaming is a question of convenience; that folks wanted to watch shows on their own schedule rather than at a set time on a set channel. That isn’t what attracted most people to streaming.

Too many corporate leaders fundamentally misunderstand streaming.

Convenience has been available to viewers since the late 1970s. Betamax and VHS allowed folks to record television programmes and watch them later more than forty years ago, as well as to purchase films and even whole seasons of television shows to watch “on demand.” DVD box sets kicked this into a higher gear in the early-mid 2000s. Speaking for myself, I owned a number of episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation on VHS in the 1990s, and later bought the entire series on DVD. I had more than enough DVDs by the mid-2000s that I’d never need to sign up for any streaming platform ever – I could watch a DVD every day of the year and never run out of different things to watch!

To get back on topic, what attracted people to streaming was the low cost. A cable or satellite subscription is easily four or five times the price of Netflix, so cutting the cord and going digital was a new way for many people to save money in the early 2010s. As more broadcasters and film studios began licensing their content to Netflix, the value of the deal got better and better, and the value of cable or satellite seemed ever worse in comparison.

Streaming isn’t about convenience – that’s been available for decades.
(Pictured: a 1975 Sony Betamax cabinet)

But in 2021, in order to watch even just a handful of the most popular television shows, people are once again being forced to spend cable or satellite-scale money. Just sticking to sci-fi and fantasy, three of the biggest shows in recent years have been The Mandalorian, The Expanse, and The Witcher. To watch all three shows, folks would need to sign up for three different streaming platforms – which would cost a total of £25.97 per month in the UK; approximately $36 in the United States.

The overabundance of streaming platforms is actually eroding the streaming platform model, making it unaffordable for far too many people. We have a great recent example of this: the mess last week which embroiled Star Trek: Discovery. When ViacomCBS cancelled their contract with Netflix, Discovery’s fourth season was to be unavailable outside of North America. Star Trek fans revolted, promising to boycott Paramount+ if and when the streaming platform arrived in their region. The damage done by the Discovery Season 4 debacle pushed many viewers back into the waiting arms of the only real competitor and the biggest danger to all streaming platforms: piracy.

Calls to boycott Paramount+ abounded in the wake of the Star Trek: Discovery Season 4 mess.

The streaming market does not exist in a vacuum, with platforms jostling for position solely against one another. It exists in a much bigger digital environment, one which includes piracy. It’s incredibly easy to either stream or download any television episode or any film, even with incredibly limited technological know-how, and that has always represented a major threat to the viability of streaming platforms. Though there are ethical concerns, such as the need for artists and creators to get paid for their creations, that isn’t the issue. You can shout at me until you’re blue in the face that people shouldn’t pirate a film or television show – and in the vast majority of cases I’ll agree wholeheartedly. The issue isn’t that people should or shouldn’t engage in piracy – the issue is that people are engaged in piracy, and there really isn’t a practical or viable method of stopping them – at least, no such method has been invented thus far.

As more and more streaming platforms try to make a go of it in an already-overcrowded market, more and more viewers are drifting back to piracy. 2020 was a bit of an outlier in some respects due to lockdowns, but it was also the biggest year on record for film and television piracy. 2021 may well eclipse 2020’s stats and prove to have been bigger still.

The overcrowded streaming market makes piracy look ever more appealing to many viewers.

Part of the driving force is that people are simply unwilling to sign up to a streaming platform to watch one or two shows. One of the original appeals of a service like Netflix was that there was a huge range of content all in one place – whether you wanted a documentary, an Oscar-winning film, or an obscure television show from the 1980s, Netflix had you covered. Now, more and more companies are pulling their content and trying to build their own platforms around that content – and many viewers either can’t or won’t pay for it.

Some companies are trying to push streaming platforms that aren’t commercially viable and will never be commercially viable. Those companies need to take a look at Sega and the Dreamcast, and instead of trying to chase the Netflix model ten years too late and with far too little original content, follow the Sega model instead. Drop the hardware and focus on the software – or in this case, drop the platform and focus on making shows.

Some streaming platforms will not survive – and their corporate owners would be well-advised to realise that sooner rather than later.

The Star Trek franchise offers an interesting example of how this can work. Star Trek: Discovery was originally available on Netflix outside of the United States. But Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Lower Decks went to Amazon Prime Video instead – showing how this model of creating a television show and selling it either to the highest bidder or to whichever platform seems like the best fit for the genre can and does work.

Moves like this feel inevitable for several of these second-tier streaming platforms. There’s a hard ceiling on the amount of money folks are willing to spend, so unless streaming platforms can find a way to cut costs and become more competitively priced, the only possible outcome by the end of the “streaming wars” will be the permanent closure of several of these platforms. Companies running these platforms should consider other options, because blindly chasing the streaming model will lead to financial ruin. Sega had the foresight in 2001 to jump out of an overcrowded market and abandon a failing business model. In the two decades since the company has refocused its efforts and found renewed success. This represents a great model for streaming platforms to follow.

All films, television series, and video games mentioned above are the copyright of their respective owner, studio, developer, broadcaster, publisher, distributor, etc. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

Lego Star Wars Terrifying Tales – a review

Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Lego Star Wars Terrifying Tales. Spoilers are also present for other iterations of the Star Wars franchise, including the following films and shows: The Mandalorian Season 2, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and The Rise of Skywalker.

It’s Spooktober – the spookiest month of the year! To celebrate Halloween at the end of the month, Disney and Lucasfilm released Lego Star Wars Terrifying Tales on Disney+, a Star Wars-themed kid-friendly Halloween special. Last year’s The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special – which I didn’t get around to reviewing in time for Christmas – was a ton of fun, so I had high hopes going into Terrifying Tales. Stay tuned for a review of The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special in late November or December, by the way, as I’m adamant that I’ll finally review it this year!

Terrifying Tales was incredibly funny, at least equalling last year’s Lego Star Wars offering. It was the kind of silly, irreverent style of humour that Lego Star Wars is known for, and also drew on a number of different classic horror tropes. I had a wonderful time with the forty-five minute special, and if I had one criticism it would be that I wish we got these Lego Star Wars special episodes more often!

Poe Dameron and BB-8 with new character Dean.

I’m not the world’s biggest fan of horror. Some horror stories can be a mental health trigger for me, so I tend to avoid the genre as a whole unless I’m really sure that I’m in the right frame of mind. But Terrifying Tales was exactly the kind of child-friendly light horror that appeals to me. The animated special made use of a horror-themed aesthetic and horror-based stories, and played up some familiar tropes, but it did so without being frightening. If you’re concerned about younger kids or anyone of an especially sensitive disposition, I didn’t see anything in Terrifying Tales that I feel would be particularly scary or upsetting.

Lego Star Wars has been something I’ve adored since the release of the first video games in the mid/late 2000s; 2007’s Lego Star Wars The Complete Saga is undoubtedly one of the best video games I played during the Xbox 360 era. I’ve also been eagerly awaiting the newest Lego Star Wars video game which is due for release in the spring. Watch this space again, because I hope to review the game when it’s released!

I’m already looking forward to the next Lego Star Wars project!

Last year’s Lego Star Wars Holiday Special managed to get a great balance of prequel era, original era, and sequel era references and stories, and I was incredibly pleased to see Terrifying Tales managed to do the same. At first I was worried that the special was going to lean very heavily on the sequels, with Poe Dameron as its primary character. However, while the frame narrative focused on Poe, there were plenty of references and callbacks even then to past iterations of Star Wars. Overall, Terrifying Tales managed to get the right mix of characters and storylines from the cinematic franchise’s three main eras.

The frame narrative was typical Lego Star Wars silliness, with a Hutt having taken over Darth Vader’s abandoned Mustafar castle. Planning to turn the Sith fortress into a Las Vegas-style hotel, the setting was a great mix of creepy and silly – there was more than enough light-heartedness in the modifications made to the intimidating castle to tone it down and take the edge off the spookiness. At the same time, the castle was a great setting. It had a fairly typical “haunted castle” vibe, complete with darkened hallways and imposing architecture. Even in the lobby, which was brimming with Vegas-inspired (or perhaps Disneyland-inspired) kitsch and souvenir shops, there was still a creepy background note, as though the place wasn’t entirely safe.

Darth Vader’s castle – now with gift shop!

As the characters ventured further into Vader’s castle, however, the setting took on a different feel. It became less of a haunted castle and more akin to an ancient temple – or a pyramid from a classic mummy film. Deep within the bowels of Vader’s abandoned fortress, hidden rooms with unclaimed – yet cursed – treasures and cleverly-operated switches and traps awaited Poe, BB-8, and the rest of the cast. The castle thus served a dual purpose, and to cram both settings into one locale in a way that felt natural and that didn’t feel rushed shows some pretty great writing.

The only thing that the frame narrative perhaps lacked were more recognisable characters. I’ve argued on a number of occasions that the Star Wars franchise is overly-reliant on characters from its past and that I wanted to see more original creations – but Terrifying Tales isn’t really where I expected to meet a whole bunch of newbies! To see Poe without Rey or Finn was just odd, and as much fun as characters like Vaneé and Graballa the Hutt were, the frame narrative could’ve found a way to include more familiar characters. Lego Star Wars is the one place where bringing back classic characters makes sense – and it’s also where logic and internal consistency matter far less, so there’s plenty of ways to do so! It wasn’t a fatal flaw by any means, and I enjoyed Poe’s mentoring of young Dean in particular. But it was certainly noteworthy that this part of the story really only had Poe and BB-8 in terms of familiar faces.

Poe was the main character in Terrifying Tales.

Graballa the Hutt gave me almost a Ferengi vibe with his unchecked capitalistic greed, and though we didn’t get much time for any of these characters to be truly fleshed-out, there was enough of a moral shadiness to him that left me in no doubt the kind of character this was. Graballa’s the kind of money-driven dodgy boss who’ll cut any corner to save a buck and would’ve sold out Poe and Dean and everyone else for his own safety. He made a fun addition to the group as comic relief, but at the same time he was a constant cause for concern – he’d trade everyone’s lives for a shot at his own survival, and in horror stories those kinds of characters can cause a lot of trouble!

Vaneé is a character who first appeared in Rogue One, and whose role was expanded upon in the novelisation of the film. He’s also made appearances in a number of Star Wars comics – none of which I’m familiar with. For all intents and purposes, though, the character we met in Terrifying Tales was a blank slate upon which the animated special could craft a suitably over-the-top villain!

This character from Rogue One, seen bowing to Darth Vader and informing him of Krennic’s arrival, is Vaneé.

Vaneé definitely had a creepiness to him during the story. He set up the three vignettes in a suitably spooky manner, and the voice performance from Tony Hale was an exquisite parody of these kinds of characters from classic horror films and shows like The Twilight Zone. The downtrodden, overlooked butler or apprentice with an evil streak is an archetype of the genre, and Vaneé slotted into that role perfectly in Terrifying Tales.

At the climax of the story, after we’d been treated to the three vignettes, Vaneé made his grab for power via a Sith artefact that looked an awful lot like the wayfinder from The Rise of Skywalker. From that moment on he was no longer a creepy character but a completely over-the-top pantomime villain – and I loved that transformation! In a story like Terrifying Tales, with all of the silliness and light-heartedness of the Lego Star Wars brand, a villain who goes completely hell-for-leather into wanting to rule the galaxy was pitch-perfect.

The villainous Vaneé!

But we’re racing ahead of ourselves! Before we get to Vaneé’s endgame and thus the end of Terrifying Tales we first have to look at… well, the titular terrifying tales themselves!

The first of the three was titled The Lost Boy, and focused on Ben Solo and the Knights of Ren some time prior to The Force Awakens. And it was surprisingly fun! The Knights of Ren were presented as basically a motorcycle gang, wreaking havoc on a village or community somewhere in the vicinity of Luke’s new Jedi Temple. The idea that the Knights of Ren already existed before Ben Solo became Kylo Ren is actually an interesting one, and the cameo from Christian Slater as the leader of the gang was neat as well.

The Lost Boy lasted six minutes, yet managed to contain more backstory for Kylo Ren than the entire sequel trilogy! And no, this isn’t going to turn into another rant about The Rise of Skywalker, but I really felt that the way we saw Ben Solo presented in this short story was far better and more sympathetic than we ever saw in the live-action films. We saw his bad attitude as a student, his arrogance and desire to learn the Force more quickly, and these things informed his fall as the story ran on. Feeling constrained and restricted by his uncle, he was tempted by the Knights of Ren and their charismatic leader, and that set him on a dark path.

The Lost Boy gave us Kylo Ren’s backstory that was missing from the sequel trilogy!

Sadly that isn’t canon! But it was surprisingly cathartic, especially after the way The Rise of Skywalker ended, to get some kind of origin story for Ben Solo that we could see for ourselves and not hear second-hand from other characters.

The dream sequence during this short story was fantastic. It was incredibly well-animated, and had a very trippy presentation that really did feel like we were following Ben Solo into a nightmare. The way Ben was haunted by a face seeming to come out of the ceiling, then was transported into a creepy dream-world was incredibly well-done, and by far the highlight of this part of the story. As the leader of the Knights of Ren appeared to Ben in his dreams I got a Nightmare on Elm Street vibe – as if something deadly was about to happen.

The leader of the Knights of Ren.

Though this was an “alternative” take on Kylo Ren’s creation and Ben Solo’s fall, I really liked it. There were some great moments of humour, particularly Ben commenting on Luke training for “like twenty minutes” on Dagobah – a reference to The Empire Strikes Back and how Jedi training seems to progress very differently for Luke compared to other characters! But it was also a story of teen angst, rebellion, and the fall of a character to the Dark Side. Because we didn’t get to see Ben’s fall in canon, I found it particularly interesting.

The second vignette brought us a battle between General Grievous and Darth Maul. Terrifying Tales called out how patently ridiculous it was for Darth Maul to have been revived – finally! The Star Wars franchise apparently loves to bring back characters who were clearly and unequivocally dead: Palpatine in The Rise of Skywalker, Boba Fett in The Mandalorian, and of course Darth Maul in The Clone Wars television series and Solo. But the fact that such “back from the dead” moments are ridiculous needed to be called out, and it was done so here in incredibly fun fashion!

Darth Maul’s return from being dead was always ridiculous… and Terrifying Tales pointed that out!

Maybe you’ve always wondered who would win in a fight between Grievous and Maul. I hadn’t, but their duel was still action-packed and fun to watch. This was perhaps the least “terrifying” of the three stories, by which I mean it had the least focus on any horror trope or element. The cursed lightsaber was an interesting macguffin, but I didn’t really feel that it had much of an impact on either mechanical monstrosity as they fought over it. If anything, it had a similar effect to the Ring in The Lord of the Rings, giving both characters a Gollum-like craving.

The real standout star of The Duelling Monstrosities, though, was Palpatine. This version of Palpatine as a nonchalant, almost casual manager of his Empire is never not funny! If you’re familiar with the way Palpatine was parodied in the likes of Robot Chicken and the Family Guy Star Wars specials, this depiction is comparable. If not, go and watch the Robot Chicken Star Wars specials at the very least, because they’re hilarious!

Palpatine was hilarious in this vignette.

Palpatine carried this segment and provided much of its comedy. He was hilarious as he pitted Maul and Grievous against one another – accidentally, of course! And then betrayed the victor to claim his prize of the broken cursed lightsaber. We never did find out why he wanted it, but it didn’t matter!

The third vignette was inspired by the 1902 short story The Monkey’s Paw, and there were elements of the 1960 Twilight Zone episode Man in the Bottle too – itself a loose adaptation of that short story. It was by far the creepiest short story in terms of its setup and premise, and Vaneé gave his best Twilight Zone-inspired speech to tee up the tale.

The Twilight Zone-inspired title card for The Wookie’s Paw.

Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader were the stars this time around, with Luke wishing upon a Wookie’s paw to grant wishes for himself. In this alternate version of A New Hope, Luke becomes an Imperial pilot and Darth Vader’s Dark Side protégé. If you’ve ever wondered what might’ve happened had Luke been trained by Vader, The Wookie’s Paw gives us a glimpse into that alternate reality!

In true Monkey’s Paw fashion, though, everything is not what it seems. Luke’s wishes come with a price – and after using the cursed Wookie’s paw to rise through the ranks and become a pilot and Sith apprentice, Luke goes too far. By wishing for fame he actually gets notoriety, accidentally blowing up the Death Star while trying to defend it from a Rebel attack. It was actually pretty funny to see him make such a catastrophic mistake!

Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.

The interplay between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader was surprisingly cute in The Wookie’s Paw. Though both remained blissfully unaware of their familial connection, Vader took on a similar mentor/fatherly role to Luke as Obi-Wan had in A New Hope, and seeing Luke go through a Dark Side version of some classic training scenes – from the training droid to carrying Vader on his back – was both sweet and funny at the same time.

If you’ll forgive a short detour, what I liked about this story was that the cursed Wookie’s paw didn’t actually change the outcome of A New Hope. Princess Leia stepped up to lead the assault on the Death Star in Luke’s absence, aided by Obi-Wan Kenobi, who survived in this alternate timeline. Luke still fired the torpedoes that destroyed the battlestation, even if he didn’t mean to. The message, aside from “be careful what you wish for,” is one of fate and destiny. Even if Luke Skywalker were removed from the equation – or fighting for the other side – the Rebellion still prevailed.

Be careful what you wish for, Luke!

So we come to the finale! Once the three vignettes were over and Poe had been led deep into the heart of Darth Vader’s fortress, Vaneé revealed his ultimate plan. Using Dean to open the Sith holocron, he used it to seize the power of the Dark Side. Cloaking himself in armour he resembled a Sith monster, and he used his newfound power to turn an army of zombified battle droids on Poe, Dean, and Graballa.

This was perhaps the most intimidating battle droids have ever felt in Star Wars! From their first appearance in The Phantom Menace all the way through the prequels battle droids were presented as cheap cannon fodder and even comic relief to be laughed at. Turning them into zombies with glowing red eyes, and pitting a small band of heroes against them and their master, was an interesting and surprisingly fun turn. One of the battle droids even got a moment inspired by classic film The Shining, which was absolutely hilarious!

Zombified battle droids!

After a conversation between Poe and the charming Dean about how fear is natural and something everyone experiences, the duo were able to save the day and defeat Vaneé. There was a neat battle between Poe and Vaneé that showed off Lego versions of the AT-ST and AT-AT walkers, before Vaneé was finally thrown into Mustafar’s lava just like his master before him! It was a tense yet fun battle, and giving Dean the opportunity to save the day was perfectly in line with the kind of story that Terrifying Tales aimed to be.

I had fun with Terrifying Tales. It was a cute Lego Star Wars parody that delivered everything I wanted and expected, and even managed to throw in a few neat surprises and things I didn’t even know I needed to see! The animation work was fantastic, a perfect blend between computer-animated Star Wars locales and a distinctive Lego aesthetic for the characters and vehicles. A project like this could’ve come across as an extra-long toy commercial, but I didn’t get that sense at all. It was a fun Star Wars-themed Halloween romp.

Terrifying Tales was a great way to kick off the spookiest season of the year for me! There’s only a little over three weeks left until Halloween, and I have a few more spooky ideas up my sleeve before the month is over, so I hope you’ll come back for some of those! Happy Spooktober!

Lego Star Wars Terrifying Tales is available to stream now on Disney+. The Star Wars franchise – including Lego Star Wars Terrifying Tales and all other properties mentioned above – is the copyright of Lucasfilm and The Walt Disney Company. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

Jungle Cruise – film review

Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Jungle Cruise.

Any review of Jungle Cruise on Disney+ needs to take into account the film’s price tag. Right now Jungle Cruise costs £20 in the UK or $30 in the United States to “unlock,” and thus the film’s value will vary from viewer to viewer. For my two cents, unless you’re a huge fan of the original Jungle Cruise ride at the Disney theme parks or a particular fan of either Dwayne Johnson or Emily Blunt, this is probably a film to wait for. In a matter of months, and certainly by Christmas, the film will be added to the regular Disney+ lineup, and though I had a decent enough time with Jungle Cruise, I’m not sure that I necessarily got £20 worth of enjoyment from it. If you’re on the fence, trying to decide whether to pay up or wait, I think this is one you can safely wait for.

That being said, Jungle Cruise was enjoyable. I’ve said this before, but in 2002-03 when Disney was talking about adapting Pirates of the Caribbean into a film, I thought it sounded like an atrocious idea! How could a theme park ride possibly translate to the screen, I wondered? I was wrong about Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl then, and if I had similar doubts about Jungle Cruise eighteen years later then I was wrong again! The film was decent, and paid homage to a classic ride which has been part of Disneyland since the very beginning.

Jungle Cruise poster.

If you’re fortunate enough to have ridden Jungle Cruise, you’ll recall that there is a “story” of sorts to the ride itself. Obviously the film takes liberties with this, chopping and changing things to make the story more suited to the screen rather than a semi-interactive theme park attraction. But I was surprised at just how well Jungle Cruise captured the feel of the original ride, with Dwayne Johnson’s character of Frank taking the role of the Disneyland boat captain from the attraction.

There were nods to other aspects of the ride as well, particularly in the film’s opening act with Frank’s literal jungle cruise entertaining the tourists with the same mixture of dad jokes and props as the ride itself. As the story went on, the film naturally stepped away from being true to the ride to focus on a story that was not dissimilar to the aforementioned Pirates of the Caribbean film, complete with cursed undead sailors, a magical macguffin, and lashings of aquatic adventure.

Quila hits the rapids!

There were several surprisingly poignant and emotional moments in Jungle Cruise which I wasn’t expecting. Aside from the typical Disney happily ever after ending (complete with a fake-out sad ending which preceded it) the tastefully handled moment where Jack Whitehall’s character of MacGregor came out to Frank was a very sweet inclusion. Not only did it add personality and dimension to both characters – MacGregor gained a backstory of rejection and further reason to follow Lily, and Frank came across as accepting and kind – but it was a huge step for representation and inclusion. Seeing MacGregor experience rejection yet find acceptance in the most unlikely of places is a powerful message, and the mere act of LGBT+ representation in a blockbuster film is always fantastic to see. Such a message is especially important for younger viewers.

While we’re discussing some of Jungle Cruise’s deeper themes, the film took a dim view of wealth, aristocracy, and closed societies – despite practically all of its main characters being drawn from the upper classes of their day. MacGregor’s unease at having to experience life away from his home comforts was initially played for laughs – though he did become more comfortable with it as the film reached its end. The villain of the piece being a German aristocrat was also a continuation of this theme, as was the initial depiction of Frank as the last independent river boat captain – and the poorest.

Dwayne Johnson as Frank, the riverboat captain.

Having seen a number of films with British villains over the last few years, the decision to make the German Prince Joachim the main adversary to Frank and Lily was actually a bit of a change. There was a time a few years ago where villains in cinema were often German – or of German extraction. But enough time has passed and enough other villains have come and gone that the return to a German villain didn’t feel like stereotyping or a trope in the way it might’ve done had Jungle Cruise been made in the recent past.

The story itself took a couple of unexpected twists. The revelation that Frank wasn’t who he seemed to be definitely came as a shock – but in a good way! Sometimes twists of this nature can feel rushed or like they jolt the story in an unwanted direction, but learning Frank’s true origin managed to avoid that pitfall. It made his character feel more rounded and gave him motivation. We learn why he wanted to take Lily upriver – and why he was so convinced she wouldn’t succeed in her quest to find the Tears of the Moon.

Lily was seeking the Tears of the Moon.

Frank’s “betrayal” of Lily and MacGregor – which he apparently set up off-screen with Trader Sam and her tribe – was perhaps the weakest moment in the story. It did nothing to endear us to Frank, and while it was arguably in character for him it robbed what was initially set up as a tense moment of practically all of its drama. Though the threat and peril were restored after a brief respite, the way the film handled this moment was poor overall.

Representation of native peoples and their relationship to colonists has come a long way in recent years, and when looking back at past Disney depictions of indigenous peoples – such as in Peter Pan or even the original incarnation of the Jungle Cruise attraction – the way the “headhunter” tribe was presented was an improvement. Considering the tribe played a relatively minor role in the film, what we saw worked well. The depiction retained some of the mystery that westerners have of indigenous peoples – something that the original ride drew on for part of its threat – yet at the same time made at least one key character relatable.

The tribal chief.

Jungle Cruise also didn’t shy away from depicting the brutality of colonisation, showing Conquistadors savagely attacking a tribe of native people even after being offered shelter, food, and medicine. However, the film then immediately strayed into once again mystifying the tribespeople by giving them magical powers seemingly connected to the Tree of Life. Overall, the way Jungle Cruise handled its characters’ interactions with indigenous people was better than in some Disney titles, particularly older ones, but arguably imperfect and verging into some of the tropes commonly associated with such tribes in fiction.

Aside from the opening act, which was set in London, and a few other scenes near the beginning of the piece, Jungle Cruise broadly stayed true to its premise as a film about a voyage on a riverboat. The boat itself had character, being old and beaten-up, and was memorable for the way it looked while again retaining some of the charm of the original Disneyland attraction. Quila (Frank’s boat) was not only the characters’ home and method of transportation, but also played a key role toward the end of the story by blocking the river water and saving Lily and MacGregor. Giving the boat more to do in the story than simply be an ever-present stage for the characters made a huge difference to the film, and made its setting feel meaningful.

Quila – the boat – was almost like an extra character in the film.

Though the Conquistadors wanted to kill Frank – and later Prince Joachim – they seem to have had similar objectives when it comes to acquiring and using the Tears of the Moon, and as a result some of the moments toward the film’s climax felt rather forced. Obviously Lily and MacGregor had an incentive to stop the Prince and his gang of German submariners, as they clearly had nefarious intentions for the magical macguffin. But the Conquistadors had basically the same objective as Frank – to lift their curse – and it felt like there could have been a moment near the end of the film where they had all realised that they didn’t need to fight. In fact I initially wondered if Prince Joachim’s betrayal of the Conquistadors was going to set up precisely that kind of storyline. It feels like a miss that it didn’t, as the film basically ended with the heroes defeating two parties of villains.

There’s always room in fiction for that kind of narrative; not every story has to depict an emotional coming together and teaming up to defeat a worse villain. But the disturbing implication to the way Frank’s story ended is that he simply left the Conquistadors to endure endless torture; they’re unable to die and it didn’t seem as though he took action to lift their curse. Perhaps this is Disney leaving the door open to a sequel?

Did Frank and Lily condemn the Conquistadors to eternal torture?

Speaking of the way the film ended, with Frank and Lily only able to pluck a single petal from the tree, all Lily really got to do was write up her adventure and land herself a job. In the male-dominated world that the film depicted that is unquestionably a victory for her – but her original ambition had been to use the Tears of the Moon to “revolutionise medicine” and save countless lives, not least in the ongoing First World War. It seems as though this ambition was thwarted, yet the film skips over this point.

Jack Whitehall is not someone I would have expected to see in a film like Jungle Cruise, but he put in a creditable performance as MacGregor. His stand-up act often draws on his self-styled “posh” image, and his character felt like an exaggerated version of that in some respects. Emily Blunt was outstanding in the role of Lily, bringing real personality to the character and crafting a heroine that we as the audience wanted to get behind. Dwayne Johnson seemed at first to be playing a fairly typical “Dwayne Johnson” role, but the addition of an unexpected backstory for his character of Frank took the character to a different place and forced him to step out of his comfort zone and play things differently as the film passed the two-thirds mark. Though perhaps it wasn’t an Oscar-worthy performance, I found Frank to be a believable protagonist and someone I wanted to see succeed.

MacGregor and Frank shared a genuinely touching moment in Jungle Cruise that I wasn’t expecting.

Jungle Cruise relied heavily on CGI almost throughout, and not all of the animation work was as realistic as it could’ve been. Recent productions, even on television, have seen some truly outstanding CGI work, and while nothing in Jungle Cruise was awful or even immersion-breaking, there were quite a few elements that didn’t look quite right. At a number of points I felt that some of the CGI had that “too shiny,” plastic look that plagued CGI a few years ago, and I really thought that animation – especially cinematic animation – had begun to move past that particular issue.

I would’ve liked to have seen more physical props and practical effects, and the fact that a large portion of Jungle Cruise was filmed with green screens and other modern tricks wasn’t as well-concealed as it might’ve been. And perhaps this final point on visuals is a bit of a nitpick, but the fact that a number of the so-called “jungle” sequences were filmed not in South America but in Hawai’i was apparent to anyone who knows their flora! Different biomes do look different from one another, and a few scenes in particular which supposedly took place on the banks of the Amazon were very clearly filmed elsewhere. I know that’s a minor point that won’t have bugged many people, but I found it worth noting.

Happily ever after for the main characters!

So that’s about all I have to say, I think. Jungle Cruise certainly compares to the likes of Pirates of the Caribbean and other fantasy-adventure titles. It was fun, emotional at points, and set up its trio of main characters for a story that was easy enough to follow for kids while still having plenty to offer for adults as well. It stands up well against many adventure films, including classics of the genre like Indiana Jones – which Jungle Cruise was clearly channelling at points!

I had an enjoyable time with Jungle Cruise, and it was a fun way to spend a couple of hours. Whether it will be worth the cost of admission on Disney+ is something everyone will have to decide for themselves, but I think it’ll still be an enjoyable watch in a couple of months’ time. Jungle Cruise presented a fun story that drew inspiration from the likes of Pirates of the Caribbean, yet stayed true to its origins as a theme park attraction. It was a fun ride down the river with Frank, Lily, and MacGregor, and I’m sure I’ll have fun watching the film for a second and third time in the future; it’s definitely one to return to when I’m in the mood for adventure!

Jungle Cruise is available to stream now on Disney+ Premier Access (for a fee). Jungle Cruise is the copyright of Walt Disney Pictures and The Walt Disney Company. Some promotional images courtesy of The Walt Disney Company. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

Star Wars Biomes is a cute and clever way to spend twenty minutes

Released to mark Star Wars day, Star Wars Biomes is a short film that’s simultaneously something different yet very nostalgic. A silent tour over several locations from the original trilogy, prequel era, sequels, and even The Mandalorian, Star Wars Biomes was not the sort of thing I was expecting from the franchise. It’s “slow TV” – something to watch for relaxation or to have on in the background while doing something else, and it’s unusual for a major franchise to produce something like that.

In other ways – and you probably know what I’m going to say if you’ve read some of my recent critiques of the overall direction of the Star Wars franchise – this was Star Wars once again retreating to largely safe, well-trodden ground. The short film only visited planets we’ve previously seen in other iterations of the franchise, and made no attempt to branch out and look at anywhere new. But you know what? On this occasion, with this unusual short film, I think that’s okay.

The Millennium Falcon departs Ahch-To in Star Wars Biomes.

A work like this is 100% about the visuals. And on that front, Star Wars Biomes largely delivered. The animation and CGI work was streets ahead of many high-budget television shows of recent times, and far beyond anything the prequel trilogy or special edition edits of the original trilogy were capable of. For example, I would say that Star Wars Biomes showed off the single best representation of Tatooine’s twin suns that has ever been put to screen.

There were a couple of moments in the eighteen-minute broadcast where I felt the CGI strayed into looking a little unrealistic and video-gamey, but generally speaking the animators did a good job. The vistas – or I suppose we should really be calling them “biomes!” – looked fantastic, even stunning in places, and that’s exactly what a short film of this nature aimed to deliver.

I don’t think Tatooine’s twin suns have ever looked this good!

When I first heard the name “Star Wars Biomes,” I wondered if we were going to get something akin to a nature documentary, looking at some of the wildlife or flora of the visited locations. But it was clear from the start that that’s not what the objective was! That’s fine, and it’s not the purpose of a review to say “well I wish it had been a totally different kind of film,” so I’m happy with what was put to screen. That being said, a pseudo-documentary looking at galactic flora and fauna would be an interesting project – as I said when I proposed something similar for Star Trek a little while ago!

Of the locations visited in Star Wars Biomes, I would suggest that the salt-crusted surface of Crait was perhaps the boldest choice. There were only six planets that Star Wars Biomes took us to, and considering the incredibly controversial nature of The Last Jedi, picking one that was featured prominently in that film was very daring on the part of whoever was making that decision! I think we even saw the crashed ski-speeders of Finn and Rose, which was a plot point that was not popular with many fans. Perhaps that’s Star Wars sticking up a cheeky middle finger as if to say “The Last Jedi is still canon!” But perhaps I’m reading too much into it. I still think it was a bold choice, regardless of the behind-the-scenes reasoning!

The crashed ski-speeders on Crait.

Hoth looked beautiful in all of its snow-capped glory. I do love wintery, snowy scenes, and Star Wars Biomes rendered the snow on Hoth perfectly. Moving like a helicopter (or drone, I suppose) the camera panned across the snowy landscape, and spotted a probe droid – which made the familiar, slightly menacing whirring noise it made in The Empire Strikes Back. We also saw AT-AT walkers, and I think it was the first time seeing them from so high up or at such an angle. Both the droid and walkers contributed to a sense of nostalgia, but at the same time it felt new.

As Star Wars Biomes wrapped up its time on Hoth, we got the first of several typical Star Wars “wipes” – the transitions from one scene to another that the Star Wars franchise has always done with a particular flair! This was new in the ’70s, but modern films have largely left this style of wipe behind, with the result being that it feels unique to Star Wars – even though you can find similar transitions in other films of the original trilogy era.

AT-AT walkers seen on Hoth.

Tatooine is up next, and as already mentioned, its twin suns look amazing. Rendered to look similar to our own sun, the shot at the end as the camera panned up was really stunning. Sand, like snow, is more or less a single colour and texture, so perhaps the Tatooine section of Star Wars Biomes relies more on other visual elements – droids, skeletons, Jawas, and a landspeeder – in order to retain visual interest. It was a well-done segment, though.

After Tatooine, Star Wars Biomes heads to Sorgan – a planet whose name I had to Google! This is the planet with the rustic village that was visited in The Mandalorian, and we saw the Razor Crest flying in as the camera panned overhead. Sorgan was the first point in Star Wars Biomes where I felt the CGI – in this case used for some of the huts in the village – strayed from being 100% realistic into video game territory, at least toward the end as the camera zoomed in and got closer. It wasn’t bad by any means, but as we got closer to the village it was possible to tell it was CGI.

The village on Sorgan.

Crait, as mentioned, was the boldest choice in my opinion. The camera angle used here was odd, looking down at a 90-degree angle the entire time. I kept waiting for the camera to pan, showing us more of the surface of Crait, but it never did. The way the vehicles depicted left red trails in the salty surface of Crait was neat, though, and very well done – even if a couple of the large walkers depicted looked a tad video gamey!

Mustafar came next, and was probably my favourite segment. The lava fields were rendered beautifully, and Darth Vader’s castle looked suitably menacing, dominating the scene. Mustafar is, of course, the planet from Revenge of the Sith where Vader was badly injured. A shuttle and a couple of TIE fighters were seen during this segment, too, and they were done well.

Darth Vader’s castle on Mustafar.

Finally we came to Ahch-To, the planet Luke travelled to to hide away, as seen in all three sequel films. We saw a couple of porgs in flight – but not up close – and at Luke’s island, the Millennium Falcon taking off which was neat to see. The island looked like it might’ve been a real shot taken from the Ahch-To filming location off the coast of Ireland, but it could just be very well-made CGI – at this point it isn’t always easy to tell! One CGI misfire during this segment came with a sea monster – the way it breached the surface then sank back beneath the waves didn’t make the right movements on the surface of the water. I know that’s a nitpick!

So that was Star Wars Biomes. Whether you sit and watch it intently – as I did – or put it on in the background as a screensaver, I think it’s worth a look. It’s a bit of fun, and a cute and clever way to celebrate Star Wars without going all-out on a movie marathon! Generally I think it was well-made, with just a couple of moments where the CGI was imperfect. It’s the kind of short film you can put on while you relax and unwind, and its short runtime means it doesn’t feel like a huge commitment.

I had fun with Star Wars Biomes, and I daresay I’ll come back to it again at some point to take another look and see if I can spot anything I missed! It’s the kind of thing I can see myself putting on in the background on a loop while I’m doing something, or even if I have people over (once coronavirus is over and done with). If you decide to check it out, I hope you enjoy Star Wars Biomes as much as I did.

Star Wars Biomes is available to stream now on Disney+. The Star Wars franchise – including all properties and titles mentioned above – is the copyright of Lucasfilm and The Walt Disney Company. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

Will the Avatar sequels improve the franchise’s standing?

Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Avatar.

James Cameron’s 2009 sci-fi film Avatar never really managed to break into pop culture in quite the way he hoped. It was a huge financial success – in part because folks were curious to see what this new project was all about – but it never really became a top-tier entertainment brand in the way Star Wars or Harry Potter did. In 1977, Star Wars became a phenomenon, and in the years afterwards the film was constantly on fans’ minds. The Empire Strikes Back cemented its place at the pinnacle of the sci-fi genre… even if Return of the Jedi perhaps tarnished its halo a little!

Avatar just isn’t on that level. There was a lot of hype leading up to its release, with a decent (if rather boastful) marketing campaign spearheading 20th Century Fox’s efforts to push Avatar as the “next big thing.” But for a lot of moviegoers, the film was just okay. It wasn’t bad; it was a solid, enjoyable summer blockbuster that went toe-to-toe with the best pictures of 2009 – including the rebooted Star Trek! But after leaving the cinema, I never really got the sense that fans were clamouring for more in the way Trekkies, Potter-heads, and Star Wars fans are for their respective franchises.

Avatar was a successful film – but can it become a successful franchise?

The creation of Pandora – The World of Avatar at Walt Disney World in Florida is a great demonstration of this. The new land attracted attention when it was built, and for months after it opened its rides were queuing out the door! But that happens for almost any new Disney attraction, and when compared to the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in 2019, it pales in comparison. There was huge excitement to be transported to a galaxy far, far away. There was curious interest in Pandora… but that was all.

None of this is to say Avatar was bad. It wasn’t at all, and I thoroughly enjoyed it when I first saw it. But I was never desperate to re-watch it, and my latest revisit to the 2009 film – which may be the third or fourth time I’ve seen it – was prompted by nothing more than boredom. But it also led to this article, so at least I got something out of it!

Pandora – The World of Avatar at Walt Disney World.

This is a much broader point that ties into another piece I’ve been writing, but the difference between a good one-off story and a good story that becomes a larger franchise is world-building. Any film, television show, book, or even video game that hopes to be “the next Star Wars” needs to put time and effort into creating a world that fans want to explore. Star Wars and Star Trek did so, and they did so by showing fans a relatively small piece of what felt like a huge picture. The galaxies depicted in Star Wars and Star Trek are so much bigger than the few characters we met in their original incarnations; it feels like there’s much more to see beyond what was depicted on screen.

Avatar – and a lot of other wannabe-franchises too – doesn’t have that, at least not yet. Partly that’s because the film doesn’t hint at anything more than what we see – Earth, Pandora… and that’s it. And on Pandora there’s one major human outpost. There are starships flying back and forth, and the glimpses we got of Earth had a futuristic vibe, but the world Avatar created doesn’t feel as though it extends beyond the places we see. There’s no other planets that we could imagine humans or Na’vi colonising one day. There’s no fleets of starships on missions of exploration or fighting battles; the few ships we see just fly between Earth and Pandora.

A starship seen in Avatar.

Pandora itself is absolutely beautiful; a location painstakingly created. And the Na’vi are more than just a simple analogue for Native Americans or other indigenous peoples; Cameron and his team went to great lengths to craft Na’vi culture, even going so far as to write a fully-formed Na’vi language. Those efforts may yet pay off, but they don’t seem to have thus far. Because as interesting as the Na’vi are – and they are undeniably interesting – they’re all there is. One tribe of Na’vi and one human settlement on Pandora, and… what? Nothing else, as far as the film showed us.

There’s a sense of scale missing from Avatar, and its world-building, while wonderfully done, is small. There’s nothing wrong with focusing on one aspect of a story and a few characters – in the first film in a series that kind of needs to happen! But if the aim is to create a series with franchise potential, something to hook fans in and get our imaginations running, that sense of scale and the idea of a greater world beyond what we see on screen is essential. It’s the single most important element in building a larger story – and Avatar didn’t get it right.

So on to the question I posed at in the title of this article: can the planned sequels – of which there are four – improve the franchise’s standing? Can they spin out what was a decent one-off sci-fi blockbuster into something more? Can Avatar make the jump and become “the next Star Wars?”

Two Na’vi seen in concept art for the Avatar sequel series.

The length of time between Avatar and its sequels may be an issue. By the time Avatar 2 hits cinemas in December 2022 – assuming it meets its planned release date – thirteen years will have passed since the first title. Given the general apathy and lack of interest in Avatar this long after its premiere, the first part of this sequel series will have to spend at least some of its runtime refreshing audiences on what happened in the first film and what the setting is. When I sat down to re-watch Avatar earlier, I had only a vague recollection of the film, and I daresay a lot of folks will be in the same position.

When The Empire Strikes Back came out, it had been only three years since Star Wars had been in cinemas. And while Star Trek: The Motion Picture was released a decade after The Original Series ended, the only reason the film was made was because there was a growing fanbase who had watched the show when it was rebroadcast and those fans were clamouring for more. Is anyone clamouring for Avatar 2?

A scene on Pandora from concept art.

Avatar was a welcome addition to the sci-fi genre. Especially as the last decade has been dominated by reboots, adaptations, remakes, and sequels, it was a welcome breath of fresh air, and despite what I’ve said about its world feeling small, there is potential for it to be expanded upon. To say that the Avatar series can never be more than it already is would be ridiculous – there’s only been one film so far, and it was decent. It didn’t blow up the genre or redefine what a film could be in the way its pre-release marketing seemed to suggest, but it was good. I don’t dislike Avatar.

The sequels do have a pretty big job to do, though. The storyline of Avatar was exciting, but it was hardly original. Comparisons have been made to Dances with Wolves and even Disney’s Pocahontas, and while I don’t think it’s fair to call it derivative, it wasn’t a unique narrative by any means. That point of criticism will have to be addressed, and the sequels will have to try harder to be different from a story perspective if they’re to achieve the heights the films are aiming for.

Na’vi fly atop their banshees in more concept art.

The beautiful world-building that worked so well for Pandora and the Na’vi needs to be expanded upon. Perhaps we could see different Na’vi tribes and civilisations on Pandora, or better yet, expand the scope of the setting out into space. Are there other moons or planets in the Pandora system, perhaps? Or is there another human settlement on some nearby world? These are just a couple of ideas for how the Avatar series can build on the successes of the first film to be bigger – to achieve that sense of scale which the best and most successful franchises have.

Avatar was also a film which had contemporary real-world analogies. I noted influences of at least two of America’s recent wars in the depiction of the Marines, scientists, and Na’vi – Vietnam and Iraq. The dense rainforests of Pandora, and the way Jake and others had trouble navigating them, were the film’s answer to the jungles of Vietnam. And references to winning “the hearts and minds” of the locals was a phrase we heard often in relation to the Iraq war during the 2000s – which is when Avatar was in development. The latter of those themes is arguably less relevant in 2021 than it was in 2009, and Avatar 2 will need to adapt to changing times.

Night time on Pandora in this final piece of concept art.

One improvement we’re sure to see is in CGI and digital animation. Avatar was released at a time when CGI was improving – and was far better than it had been even five or ten years earlier – but there are still some aspects of its visual style that haven’t aged especially well. Some textures have that “too shiny” look that plagued cinematic CGI in the 2000s, and while viewing the film on a cinema or IMAX projector screen dulled the impact of some of that, on a television set in 2021 it’s something you notice. I wouldn’t say Avatar looks dated – but it’s right on the cusp. A film that relies so heavily on computer animation – many of Avatar’s sequences are basically fully-animated – is always going to run that risk, and while it has aged more gracefully than, for example, the Star Wars prequel trilogy, there are still noticeable places where the animation isn’t up to code.

There have been improvements in computer animation since 2009, which should mean Avatar 2 and the rest of the sequel series will be far more visually interesting. Pandora was already beautiful, but if that beauty could be expanded upon I think the sequels could really be something special. Some fans tend to turn up their noses at visuals, but if you think about it, a distinct visual style is another absolutely crucial element to a franchise. Star Trek has combadges, ships with saucer sections, Klingons, and the transporter. Star Wars has white-armoured Stormtroopers, lightsabers, Jabba the Hutt, and X-wings. Avatar introduced us to the blue-skinned Na’vi, but none of its technology, characters, costumes, or locations have become iconic in the same way as the other franchises we’ve mentioned. Part of that is down to the quality of the CGI, but partly it’s the film’s own art style. Avatar 2 could introduce a new design for a starship, character, or even just a costume that will go on to be emblematic of the series – in the way that Boba Fett became a symbol of Star Wars after his debut in The Empire Strikes Back, for example.

So yes, there’s work to do to expand on Pandora and the world Avatar created in 2009. But I’m really interested to see where Avatar 2 will take the story after the conclusion of the first film, and what the other films in the planned sequel series have in store. James Cameron is an amazing director, and having put so much work and effort into the Avatar series, I really hope it will see the kind of success he’s looking for. There’s always room for more sci-fi franchises!

Avatar is out now on Blu-ray and DVD, and may be streamed on Disney+ in the United States, United Kingdom, and other countries and territories. Avatar is the copyright of 20th Century Fox and the Walt Disney Company. Avatar 2 is due for release in December 2022. Logo and official promotional artwork courtesy of avatar.com. Stock photos courtesy of Unsplash. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

End-of-Year Awards 2020

Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers ahead for some of the films, games, and television shows listed below.

Welcome to my first annual End-of-Year Awards! These are the best (and worst) entertainment events of the year – in my subjective opinion! Rather than writing a top ten list (like I did last year to mark the end of the decade) I’m instead choosing a few categories and awarding my picks for the best entertainment experiences of the year.

I’m including a few titles from the tail end of 2019 on this list simply because many people will have only got around to watching or playing them this year. These decisions are always difficult and I often feel that – because people put these lists together weeks or months before the end of the year – titles released in December tend to miss out. As such you’ll find a few titles from the final few weeks of 2019 being given an award – and perhaps next year there may be a title or two from the end of 2020 featured!

Most categories will have a runner-up and a winner; a few only have one, and in those cases that title wins by default.

A note about exclusions: if I haven’t seen or played a title for myself, for reasons that I hope are obvious it can’t be included. I’m only one person, and I don’t have every moment of the day to dedicate to entertainment. As such, some titles others may consider to be “massive releases” for 2020 aren’t going to be given an award. In the gaming realm, this also applies to titles that I haven’t completed. The exclusion from these awards of titles like Ghost of Tsushima and Tenet isn’t to say they aren’t good; they may be – but I have no experience with them so I’m unable to comment at this time.

With all of that out of the way let’s jump into the awards! If you like, you can try to imagine a fancy stage and some celebrity presenter handing out statuettes. That may or may not be what I’m doing as I write!

Web Series:

Nowadays many of us get at least a portion of our entertainment away from big-budget productions on websites and apps like YouTube. There are a number of top-tier YouTube shows that may have started off as typical amateur productions, but have since become far more professional. As better cameras and microphones become readily available, even low-budget YouTube productions can offer impressive audio and visuals.

Personally I watch a video or two on YouTube most days, and there are a number of channels which have produced top-quality entertainment this year. When the pandemic hit, many YouTube shows were able to keep going despite the chaos engulfing the wider entertainment industry. They had the means and the technology to do so, and that’s fantastic.

🥈Runner-up🥈
Linus Tech Tips

Linus Tech Tips is one of the first YouTube channels I began watching regularly, having stumbled upon it when looking for PC building tips a few years ago. Though some of what they do is complete overkill (what YouTube channel needs $20,000 cameras?) they have a lot of fun while doing it. Linus Tech Tips explores the high-end and cutting-edge of computers, cameras, and other technologies, and the presenters manage to make it entertaining.

The channel has continued its steady growth and now boasts a number of regular presenters in addition to the titular Linus, most of whom specialise in particular topics. There are also several other channels produced by the same team, including TechQuickie, Short Circuit, and TechLinked. The combined output of the main channel plus its subsidiaries means there’s at least one new video per day, which is great. Even less-interesting topics can be made fun when presented well, and the team at Linus Tech Tips manage to be interesting and entertaining every time.

🏆Winner🏆
SORTEDfood

I love a good cooking show. Not only can they be entertaining but also very relaxing. SORTEDfood has a usual output of two videos per week, and while in recent years they’ve stepped away from purely doing recipes and into things like kitchen gadget reviews, everything is food-themed and the enthusiasm that the five presenters have is infectious. During the coronavirus pandemic, London (where the show is recorded) was in lockdown. Despite that, the team found creative ways to get around it, and even incorporated it into their videos. In addition to recipes there were helpful things like reviews of food delivery services, which at the height of lockdown here in the UK was actually really useful. I was able to use a couple of the services they recommended to send gifts to people I couldn’t see in person; gift ideas I would never have had were it not for SORTEDfood.

Their pandemic programming was good, but when lockdown was lifted it was nice for the team to come back together and get back to their regular output. I’m a huge fan of their “ultimate battles” in particular, which pit the presenters head-to-head to create the best dish. The “pass it on” series, where all five take turns to create a single dish, is also fantastic – and often very funny. SORTEDfood manages to be both informative and entertaining, and their output during lockdown was phenomenal and undoubtedly helped many viewers during a difficult time. For all of those reaons, I’m crowing SORTEDfood the best web series of the year.

Documentaries:

I’m setting aside a whole category for documentaries because I’m a big fan. There have been some great ones in 2020, both standalone films and series. Netflix has surprised me over the last few years by growing to become a huge player in the documentary genre, funding many productions – including some Academy Award nominees. Disney+ joined the streaming wars late last year – or in March this year if you’re in the UK – and has also brought some fascinating pieces of documentary content to the small screen. It’s a great time for documentaries at the moment!

🥈Runner-up🥈
We Need To Talk About A.I.

This documentary was fascinating, if perhaps somewhat alarmist. Looking at the possible creation of general artificial intelligence, and the potential for such an AI to surpass humanity, it was a truly interesting peek behind the curtain at what researchers are doing on the cutting-edge of AI research. The documentary was presented by Keir Dullea, famous for his role as Dave in 2001: A Space Odyssey. That film saw his character go up against an out-of-control AI, and Dullea brings a gravitas to the role of narrator as a result.

The film made reference to a number of sci-fi films which look at rogue AI, most significantly Terminator 2: Judgement Day, whose director James Cameron was interviewed. From my perspective as a Trekkie, having just seen Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 and Star Trek: Picard Season 1, which both look at the potential for out-of-control AIs, the documentary brought the world of fiction uncomfortably close to the world we inhabit today. While most of the interviewees offered a fairly bleak look at future AI, particularly in the military realm, others did paint a more positive picture. The biggest thing I took away from it, though, it how little consensus there is among researchers and scientists not only on whether AI is a good idea, but whether it’s even truly possible, or how long it will take.

The film is a fascinating, slightly unnerving watch.

🏆Winner🏆
The Imagineering Story

Though it isn’t a subject I’ve talked about often here on the website, I have a great fondness for Disney’s theme parks. It’s doubtful given my health that I’ll be able to go any time soon, but I have fond memories of visits to several parks with both family and groups of friends. Combine that love of Disney with my aforementioned love of documentaries and I got what was one of the most underrated yet fascinating entertainment experiences of the year!

Prior to the launch of Disney+ in the UK in March, there was already a Disney-branded streaming platform here. I wasn’t sure what kind of an upgrade to expect when the new service arrived – except for The Mandalorian there didn’t seem to be much new. The Imagineering Story was one of the few documentaries on Disney+ at launch, but it’s absolutely fascinating, detailing the behind-the-scenes work that went into building Disney’s various parks and themed lands.

The addition of some National Geographic documentaries to Disney+ over the last year or so has made the platform into a good home for the format, though I would like to see more films and series either added from Disney’s extensive back catalogue or better yet, commissioned exclusively for Disney+.

But we’re off-topic! The Imagineering Story was beautifully narrated by Angela Bassett, and as a series made by Disney itself was able to get the perspectives of many senior people who worked at the parks and on many of the projects it covered.

Video Games:

Despite the all the chaos and pandemonium in the world in 2020, many new games – and two new consoles – managed to make it to release. While it’s true that some titles have suffered delays, by far the majority of planned and scheduled releases made it, and that’s no small accomplishment!

As a new console generation gets ready for its centre-stage moment, it’s often been the case that we get a quieter-than-average year as companies shift their focus. Despite that, though, we’ve seen some pretty big titles in 2020, including a couple that will likely be heralded as “game of the generation” or even “game of the decade!” If I’m still alive and kicking in 2029, by the way, check back as I may have a thing or two to say about that!

Though it’s far too early to say which of the two newly-launched consoles will do best in the years to come, 2020 has given all of us some great gaming experiences… and some crap ones.

Worst Game:

Let’s start by getting the worst games out of the way. 2020 has seen some stinkers, including big-budget titles from successful developers and publishers. They really ought to know better.

🥈Runner-up🥈
Marvel’s Avengers

Marvel’s Avengers is the Anthem of 2020. Or the Fallout 76 of 2020. Or the Destiny 1 of 2020. Or the The Culling II of 2020. Pick any of those live service, broken-at-launch disasters, and that’s what Marvel’s Avengers is. The “release now, fix later” business model has condemned what could have been a popular and successful title to failure. But Marvel’s Avengers hasn’t even failed spectacularly enough to be forever etched in the annals of gaming history alongside titles like 1982’s E.T. Instead it’s slowly fading away, and in six months or a year’s time, nobody will even remember it existed.

Disney and Square Enix looked at a long list of crappy video game business ideas, including paid battle-passes, console-exclusive characters, corporate tie-ins with unrelated brands like phone providers and chewing gum makers, in-game currencies, and microtransactions for each of the six main characters individually. They then decided to put all of these into the game, robbing it of any soul or heart it could have had and turning it into a bland corporate cash-grab. As soon as I heard the company planned the game as a “multi-year experience,” the writing was on the wall. If, underneath all of the corporate nonsense, there had been a halfway decent game with fun gameplay, perhaps more players would have stuck it out. But, as usual with these types of games, there wasn’t. I’m not the world’s biggest Marvel fan. So I’m not horribly offended by this game in the way some folks undoubtedly are. But I can sympathise with them, because fans deserve better than this steaming pile of crap to which Disney and Square Enix have attempted to affix the Marvel logo.

🏆Winner🏆
The Last of Us Part II

The Last Of Us Part II’s cover-based stealth/action gameplay is fine. Though better than the first game, I didn’t feel there was a colossal improvement in terms of gameplay – but that could be said about countless sequels over the last couple of console generations. Where The Last Of Us Part II fell down was its story. This was a game I was sceptical of from the beginning; the first title felt like lightning in a bottle, something that neither wanted nor required a follow-up. In 2020, though, practically every successful title ends up being spun out into a franchise.

With a theme of breaking the cycle of violence, The Last Of Us Part II considers itself “artistic” and clever. Unfortunately that theme led to a horribly unsatisfying narrative, with players not only forced to take on the role of the person who murdered Joel – the protagonist/anti-hero from the first title – but ends with Ellie letting her escape and refusing to take revenge. Had the same concept been part of a new game with new characters, it could have worked better. But crammed into this title it fell flat. I stuck with it out of stubbornness as a fan of the first title, but it was a profoundly unenjoyable ride, and that’s why The Last Of Us Part II is the worst game of 2020.

Best Casual Game:

How do we define a “casual” game? It’s a difficult one, and it’s one of those contentious topics where fans of a title who may have spent hundreds of hours in the game world will get upset at hearing their favourite game referred to as “casual.” When it came to choosing titles for this category, I looked at games that could be easily picked up for a short burst, then put down. Games that can be played for a few minutes and that have gameplay suited to that was one of the main criteria. Games in this category also had to be pick-up-and-play. Some casual games can indeed be hard to truly master, but for my money, any game to which we assign the “casual” title has to be accessible and easy to get started with.

So that was how I came to my shortlist. Now let’s look at the runner-up and winner… though if you’ve been a reader all year I doubt you’ll be too surprised!

🥈Runner-up🥈
Fall Guys

Fall Guys seemingly came out of nowhere in August. It wasn’t a title I’d heard of, let alone one I was looking forward to, but it turned out to be a lot of fun. Taking a format inspired by television game-shows like Gladiators or Total Wipeout, the basic gameplay consists of running a series of obstacle courses, looking to be the last one standing at the end to win a crown.

I’m not usually interested in online multiplayer titles, but Fall Guys was something so genuinely different that I was prepared to give it a go. And what I found was a game that was shockingly fun. Each round lasts barely a couple of minutes, meaning even if you don’t qualify it’s not a big deal. Just jump into the next game. Though there are microtransactions, at time of writing they aren’t intrusive and the game is quite generous with the in-game currency given out simply for playing. There are fun cosmetic items to dress up your adorable little jelly bean character in, and the whole game is cute and lots of fun. Though it did have a cheating problem for a while, the addition of anti-cheat software appears to have fixed things. I’m probably about done with Fall Guys as I move on to find new things to watch and play, but I had a wonderful time with it this summer and autumn.

🏆Winner🏆
Animal Crossing: New Horizons

With over 120 hours played, I’ve spent more time this year with Animal Crossing: New Horizons than with the next two games on my list put together. That’s no small accomplishment – even if my 120 hours seems paltry compared to the amount of time some players have put into this title. Time alone doesn’t make a title worthy of winning an award, though. Why Animal Crossing: New Horizons deserves the title is because practically all of those hours were enjoyable.

It’s true that the base game at launch was missing features from past entries in the series, notably 2013’s Animal Crossing: New Leaf. And I find that disappointing, even if updates have since improved the game. But despite the missing content, what the game did have was fantastic, and there really isn’t anything like New Horizons on the market. It’s cute wholesome fun, and the kind of game that can be played for even just a few minutes at a time. It doesn’t demand a huge commitment in the way some titles do – but if you get stuck into it, you’ll find yourself wanting to spend more and more time on your island.

Best Racing Game:

There’s only one game in this category this year, simply because the other racing games I’ve played in 2020 were released in previous years. I had a lot of fun with Forza Horizon 4 in particular, but as a 2018 title it can’t be included here for obvious reasons.

🏆Winner🏆
Hotshot Racing

Congratulations to Hotshot Racing for winning by default! Jokes aside, this game is a lot of fun. An unashamed arcade racer that makes no attempt at realism, it’s fast-paced, exciting, and ridiculous in equal measure! What attracted me to the game when it was released in September was its deliberately mid-90s aesthetic; a beautifully simple art style inspired by racing games of the Sega Saturn and PlayStation 1 era.

At a time when many games feel overpriced, the £15 I paid for Hotshot Racing actually feels cheap! For how much fun the game is, even when simply playing against the AI, it could arguably ask for a lot more money! Speaking of playing against the AI, that’s something Hotshot Racing encourages, and considering how many titles that supposedly offer a single-player mode still try to force players to go online, I appreciated that. In the mid-90s, some games could do four-player split-screen, but many titles were limited to just two players at the most, so racing against the AI was something all gamers had to do; that was just how those games were meant to be played!

As a visual throwback to games past, Hotshot Racing caught my eye. But there’s more to it than just the way it looks, and what’s under that cute retro skin is a genuinely fun arcade racer.

Best Star Wars Game:

It’s unusual for two games in a single franchise to release within a year of each other, but that’s what happened! There was even supposed to be a third Star Wars title this year – Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga – but it was delayed until 2021.

🥈 Runner-up 🥈
Star Wars: Squadrons

Though Squadrons is less arcadey than classic starfighter titles like Rogue Squadron, it’s a remarkably fun game. If you’ve ever dreamed of being a pilot in a galaxy far, far away, this is about as close as you can get! Though I don’t play in VR, the option to use a VR headset – as well as to set up a proper HOTAS or other flight controller on PC – surely makes this the most immersive Star Wars experience out there. Even just with a control pad, though, Squadrons truly transports you to the cockpit of an X-Wing, TIE Fighter, or one of the game’s other starfighters.

The single-player campaign was fun, giving players the opportunity to fight on both sides of the war as the New Republic seeks to defeat the rump Empire – the game is set in the aftermath of Return of the Jedi. I’m not much of a multiplayer gamer, so the fact that there is an AI mode, allowing me to continue to have fun just playing against the computer, is fantastic. I had a truly enjoyable time with Star Wars: Squadrons, and I keep going back for more.

🏆Winner🏆
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Jedi: Fallen Order was released in November 2019, so including it on this list is a bit of a stretch, I admit. But I got to play it this year, and it was the first game where I fully documented my playthrough. Jedi: Fallen Order managed to feel like a cross between Knights of the Old Republic and the Uncharted series, with protagonist Cal taking on a quest to visit several ancient worlds in search of a Jedi Holocron.

There were twists and turns along the way, but the whole time I felt like I was taking part in a Star Was adventure all my own. After the disappointment of The Rise of Skywalker, playing through Jedi: Fallen Order convinced me that the Star Wars franchise was going to be okay, and that there were still new and original stories worth telling in this universe.

The gameplay was great too, with lots of exciting action and lightsabre-swinging as Cal took on the forces of the Empire. I won’t spoil the ending if you haven’t played it for yourself, but Jedi: Fallen Order was a wild and incredible ride, and one I heartily recommend.

Best Action or Adventure Game:

This category ended up with two first-person shooters, but I’m keeping the name the same! There were many great action, adventure, and first-person shooter titles released this year, and I didn’t have time to play all of them. Here are the two I enjoyed most.

🥈 Runner-up 🥈
Doom Eternal

The sequel to the wonderful 2016 reboot of Doom is just fantastic. Gone is the horror vibe that Doom 3 mistakenly introduced, and instead what you get is action and excitement – with some interesting platforming sections thrown in for good measure. There is a story, of course, but unlike many games I’m not really all that interested in it. I come to games like Doom Eternal to feel like a demon-killing badass, and that’s precisely what the game offers.

There was a lot of fun to be had in the days leading up to Doom Eternal’s launch, as it coincided with the launch of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I greatly enjoyed the memes and artwork created by folks on the internet, depicting Doom Guy and characters from the Animal Crossing series together! All in all, this is just a fast-paced, fun shooter that doesn’t try to be anything more. It isn’t a jack-of-all-trades; it does one thing and does it to perfection.

🏆Winner🏆
Halo: The Master Chief Collection

Throughout 2020, developers 343 Industries have brought the Halo series to PC. Halo: Reach arrived late last year, and in the months since we’ve gotten every other title in the series – except for Halo 5! It had been a long time since I played Halo: Combat Evolved on the original Xbox, and I had a lot of fun rediscovering the series and enjoying it all over again. The updated graphics improved the experience in a lot of ways, but it was also fun (and innovative) to be able to switch between visual styles on the fly.

I hadn’t played either Halo 3: ODST or Halo 4, so I not only got to recreate my Halo experience from years past, but expand on it too. The setting the series uses is as unique and interesting as any sci-fi video game I’ve played, and I’m very curious to see what Halo Infinite can bring to the series when it’s eventually ready.

Television Shows:

There have been some wonderful television shows this year. While the pandemic led to the shutdown of cinemas and a delay in many films being released, a lot of television shows were able to press ahead – at least, those that had completed filming before the worst effects were felt. I hoped to include more categories, such as best miniseries, but time got away from me and I have a number of shows still on my list of things to watch!

Worst Television Series:

Luckily there’s only one in this category! If I’m not enjoying a television series I tend to just stop watching – unless there seems to be a real prospect of improvement. Likewise, if I feel something won’t be to my taste I’ll just skip it; life is too short, after all, for bad entertainment. That said, there are exceptions, and I found one in 2020.

🏆Winner🏆
Supernatural

Supernatural is the king of running too long – a crown it inherited from The Big Bang Theory! Fifteen years ago, when it debuted, there was a great premise as brothers Sam and Dean Winchester set out to hunt ghosts and monsters, all the while keeping an eye out for the demon that killed their mother and Sam’s girlfriend.

But by the time the show reached its third season, many of its ongoing storylines had concluded. The writers began reaching for new and different demons and creatures for Sam and Dean to tackle, and the quality dipped. By the time the show crossed over into the self-congratulatory fan-servicey mess it has been in recent seasons it had just become ridiculous; a parody of itself.

As the seasons dragged on, writers began pumping more and more Biblical themes into Supernatural, transforming its protagonists into invincible prophets anointed by God. An episode a few seasons back saw Sam and Dean cross over into a world where their adventures are a television show in what has to be one of the worst examples of fan-service I’ve ever seen.

Thankfully Supernatural has now wrapped up its final season. I tuned back in – against my better judgement – to see if the impending end of the series would make a difference to its quality. But it didn’t, and I stand by something I’ve been saying for years: many television shows have a natural lifespan. Supernatural had maybe three decent seasons, and should certainly have ended a long time ago.

Best Animated Series:

🥈 Runner-up 🥈
Rick & Morty

We got five episodes of Rick & Morty in 2020; the back half of Season 4, which had premiered last year. The show’s entire premise is wacky, sometimes over-the-top humour, and that doesn’t always stick the landing, especially when the creative team have been working on it for seven years already. So with that in mind, I consider four episodes out of five being decent to be a pretty good run.

When the show stopped flying under the radar and really hit the mainstream in 2017, there was a fear perhaps that the newfound popularity would lead to changes. But I don’t really think that’s happened, and I wouldn’t say that this year’s episodes were substantially different to those in past seasons. They weren’t necessarily any better, but certainly no worse.

There were some great jokes, some hilarious moments, and some weird and wonderful aliens as Rick and Morty (along with Summer, Jerry, and Beth) took off on their interdimensional adventures.

🏆Winner🏆
Star Trek: Lower Decks

It could hardly be anything else, right? Building on the success of both the Star Trek franchise and animated comedies like Rick and Morty, Star Trek: Lower Decks represented the franchise’s biggest attempt to try something new – and arguably its biggest risk – in a very long time. Despite the controversy surrounding Lower Decks’ lack of an international broadcast, judging the series on merit it was a very enjoyable ride.

There were plenty of laugh-out-loud moments in Lower Decks, but more than that, the show paid homage to my personal favourite era of Star Trek – the 24th Century. There were so many callbacks and references to events in The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager and the series managed to feel like Star Trek while at the same time having an overtly comedic style.

While its sense of humour won’t be to everyone’s taste, there’s no denying that Lower Decks was made by fans for fans, and I’m really excited to see its second season whenever that may come – especially now that the show’s international broadcast has been settled meaning that fans everywhere can enjoy it together.

Best Live-Action Television Series:

🥈 Runner-up 🥈
Cobra

Right at the beginning of the year I watched Cobra, a British thriller about a government dealing with the aftermath of a disaster. Such an interesting fictional concept, I thought. How innocent we were back then, eh?

Cobra wasn’t what I expected. Having read the pre-release marketing I was expecting a disaster series, something dealing with an apocalyptic event. Instead it’s much more of a thriller with elements of political drama. Even though that was completely not what I expected, I had an enjoyable time with the series.

Robert Carlyle – who plays the role of a British Prime Minister clearly inspired by Tony Blair – is an actor I’ve always felt was underrated. I saw him a few years ago in a miniseries called Hitler: The Rise of Evil, and ever since I’ve found him to be a decent actor who can take on a variety of roles. He was the star of Cobra – but didn’t overwhelm the series. It was an entertaining ride with some truly tense moments.

🏆Winner🏆
Star Trek: Picard

This should come as no surprise to anyone who’s followed my articles and columns this year! Star Trek: Picard did something I’d been desperately wanting the franchise to do for basically twenty years: move forward. Since Enterprise premiered shortly after the turn of the millennium, Star Trek has looked backwards, with all of its attention focused on prequels and reboots. Many of those stories were great, don’t get me wrong, but I wanted to know what came next, and Picard scratched that itch.

But its premise alone would not make it the best television series of the year! Star Trek: Picard told an engaging, mysterious story as the retired Admiral Picard set out on a new adventure. The story touched on contemporary themes of artificial intelligence, isolationism, and mental health, and was an enthralling watch. Though it stumbled as the first season drew to a close, the first eight episodes were outstanding, and have hopefully laid the groundwork not only for future seasons and more adventures with Picard and his new crew, but also for further Star Trek stories set at the dawn of the 25th Century.

It’s difficult to pick out one individual episode and say it was the best the season had to offer, because Star Trek: Picard is designed to be watched from beginning to end as one continuous story. But that doesn’t mean I won’t try!

Star Trek Episodes:

2020 was the first year since 1998 with three Star Trek productions, so there’s a lot of episodes to choose from! As Trekkies we’re spoilt for choice at the moment – long may that continue! This year I reviewed every single Star Trek episode that was broadcast. The year began with Picard in late January, then Lower Decks came along in August, and finally Discovery premiered in mid-October.

Worst Episode:

There weren’t a lot of options here, because the quality of modern Star Trek has been high. That said, every Star Trek show has misfires and duds from time to time, and this year was no exception.

🥈 Runner-up 🥈
Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1 (Star Trek: Picard)

After an incredibly strong start, Star Trek: Picard stumbled as its first season drew to a close. My primary complaint about Et in Arcadia Ego as a whole (aside from that godawful gold makeup they used for the synths) was that it introduced too many new characters and storylines, most of which didn’t get enough screen time to properly develop. The first part of a finale needs to bring together everything that’s already happened, not dump an awful lot of new things onto the audience, but that’s what Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1 did.

The episode was also very poorly-paced, which is down to a combination of scripting and editing. The story jumped from point to point without sufficient time for the audience to digest what was going on. It also skipped over what should’ve been massive emotional moments, like Picard and Soji learning Hugh’s fate, or Elnor learning of Picard’s illness. Dr Soong and Sutra in particular needed more development and more screen time – though Isa Briones’ terrible, one-dimensional performance means that’s something I’m half-glad we didn’t get!

Overall, this was Picard’s worst episode by far. The aesthetic, editing, and pacing were all wrong, and if the story of Season 1 wanted to include all of these new characters, factions, and settings, we needed not only more episodes, but to have brought them in much earlier.

🏆 Winner 🏆
Envoys (Star Trek: Lower Decks)

Envoys’ opening sequence, in which Ensign Mariner kidnaps a sentient energy lifeform “for a laugh,” was the closest I came to switching off Star Trek’s second animated series and not going back. Where Lower Decks succeeded was in making the regular goings-on in Starfleet comical. Where it failed was in attempting to set up Ensign Mariner as Star Trek’s answer to Rick Sanchez (from Rick & Morty). This sequence encapsulated all of Mariner’s worst qualities, and was about as un-Star Trek as it’s possible to get.

It’s a shame, because the episode’s B-plot starred Ensign Rutherford in what was one of his better stories as he hopped from role to role aboard the ship, trying out different postings in different departments. The main story stuck with Mariner and Boimler, and derived much of its attempted humour from her mean-spirited selfishness. The ending of the episode did go some way to humanising Mariner, and arguably set the stage for her becoming a much more likeable character across the remainder of the season. But that opening sequence in particular is awful, and is the main reason why I’m crowing Envoys as the worst Star Trek episode of the year.

Best Episode:

This is a much more fun category than the one above! And there are plenty of candidates. All three shows managed to have some real gems, and picking just two was not an easy task.

🥈 Runner-up 🥈
Far From Home (Star Trek: Discovery)

After Michael Burnham arrived in the 32nd Century in the season premiere, Far From Home saw Discovery and the rest of the crew arrive too. We were treated to an excellent crash landing sequence that was reminiscent of Voyager’s fourth season episode Timeless, and we got an interesting storyline which saw Saru and the crew forced to adapt to a very different and difficult future.

Saru and Tilly both stepped up, and the dynamic between these two characters has been continued through the rest of the season. As two main characters who hadn’t spent a huge amount of time together before this episode, their relationship was somewhat new and very interesting. Saru stepped up to become the captain we all hoped he could be in Far From Home, and Tilly showed us that there’s more to her than mere comic relief.

As the second half of the series premiere, Far From Home does a lot of world-building, establishing the violent, chaotic nature of the 32nd Century. It was also rare in that it was a Star Trek: Discovery episode with practically no input from Burnham – something which allowed many other crew members to shine in unexpected ways.

🏆Winner🏆
Remembrance (Star Trek: Picard)

I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited for a Star Trek episode than I was for Remembrance. This was the moment Star Trek returned to the 24th Century for the first time since 2002’s Nemesis – and it was the first time the overall story of the Star Trek galaxy had moved forward since we heard about the destruction of Romulus in 2009’s Star Trek.

Children of Mars – the Short Treks episode that served as a prologue to Picard – had been somewhat of a let-down, so there was a lot riding on Remembrance as far as I was concerned! And I’m so happy to report that it delivered. It was mysterious and exciting, with moments of tension and action, and although the now-retired Admiral Picard was not exactly the same as he was the last time we saw him, flickers of the man we knew were still there.

Remembrance set the stage beautifully for Season 1 of Star Trek: Picard. It took things slow and didn’t overwhelm us with storylines and heavy plot all at once. By the end of the episode we’d only really met two of the season’s principal characters. Perhaps seen in the light of the rushed finale this could be argued to be a mistake, and that we needed to get a quicker start. But I don’t think I agree with that assessment; Remembrance is perfect the way it is, and probably the best single episode of television I saw all year.

Films:

Let’s be blunt for a moment: 2020 has been a catastrophic year for the film industry. So many titles that should have been released simply didn’t come out due to the pandemic, and as a result it’s been slim pickings. A few bigger titles managed to premiere in January or February before the worst effects hit, but since the end of February very few titles have come out. We’ve missed out on films like No Time To Die, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and Dune, all of which have been delayed to 2021. And there will be ramifications for years to come, as titles planned for 2021 are being pushed to 2022, and so on.

There have been some titles that managed to come out this year, and from my selfish point-of-view, I’m happy that more have come straight to streaming! My health is poor, and one thing that I sadly can’t do any more is get to the cinema (I haven’t been able to for several years). So in that sense I don’t feel that I personally have missed out in quite the same way! However, the massively-curtailed release schedule has had an effect, and as a result I don’t really have a lot of titles to choose from for this section of the awards. In another year I might’ve split up the films into several genres, but instead we just have three categories.

Worst Film:

Luckily there’s only one film in this category this year. If you recall my review of it from the spring, it perhaps won’t be a surprise!

🏆Winner🏆
Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker

The Rise of Skywalker is saved from being the worst Star Wars film solely by the existence of The Phantom Menace – and it’s not always clear which is worse. The clumsy insertion of Palpatine into a story that was clearly not supposed to have anything to do with him is perhaps the worst example of corporate-mandated fan service I’ve ever seen. Not only does Palpatine ruin The Rise of Skywalker, but the revelation that he’s been manipulating the entire story of Star Wars from behind the scenes undermines every other story that the cinematic franchise has tried to tell. It was a monumentally bad decision; the worst kind of deus ex machina. And his presence wasn’t even explained.

But while Palpatine stank up the plot, he wasn’t the only problem in The Rise of Skywalker. The ridiculously choppy editing meant no scene lasted more than a few seconds, leaving the audience no time to digest what was happening. There was some truly awful dialogue. General Hux’s story makes no sense at all and was totally out of character. Rose Tico was sidelined, despite her character being a huge part of the previous film. Palpatine’s plan – and his decision to announce it to the galaxy before enacting it – makes no sense. The stupid limitation to his fleet also makes no sense. Rey’s character arc across the trilogy was ruined by the decision to listen to bad fan theories. Poe and Finn basically did nothing of consequence. And the scenes with Leia – I’m sorry to say given Carrie Fisher’s untimely demise – were so obviously lifted from another film that it was painful.

JJ Abrams ran around undoing so many storylines from The Last Jedi that The Rise of Skywalker felt like two films haphazardly smashed together, but cut down to the runtime of a single picture. There was an occasional moment where either something funny happened or perhaps the nostalgia hit hard, but otherwise it was a total failure, and by far the worst film I’ve seen all year.

Best Animated Film:

🥈Runner-up🥈
Frozen II

Disney does not have a good track record when it comes to sequels. Most of the time their big animated features are one-offs, with any sequels being relegated to direct-to-video offerings. But Frozen had been such a cultural landmark after its 2013 release that a sequel was, perhaps, inevitable. And far from being an afterthought, Frozen II was a film that equalled – and occasionally surpassed – its illustrious predecessor.

There was some fantastic animation work in Frozen II, such as the effects used for the fog. There was less snow than in the first film, and the snow in Frozen was beautiful, so that’s a shame in a way! The soundtrack was fantastic too, with several catchy songs that are well worth listening to.

Frozen II’s story was engrossing and genuinely interesting, and unlike some Disney sequels managed to avoid feeling tacked-on. The parents of the two sisters at the heart of the story had been killed early in the first film – and Frozen II saw them learn more about what happened to them, as well as discovering the source of Elsa’s powers.

🏆Winner🏆
Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe

Phineas and Ferb went off the air in 2015, and as Disney Channel shows are usually one-and-done affairs I didn’t expect to see it return. But Candace Against the Universe premiered in August on Disney+ and was absolutely amazing.

After a five-year break the film brought back practically everything that made Phineas and Ferb great. There was a wacky but fun plot that brought together the kids and Dr Doofenshmirtz, there were some great musical numbers, and above all a deep story that had heart. Candace – the sister of the titular Phineas and Ferb – took centre-stage in a story that made depression accessible to even the film’s young target audience. It ended by telling a story that showed kids that they don’t have to be the centre of the universe to matter, and I think that’s an incredibly powerful message.

I’m a big advocate of sensitive depictions of mental health in entertainment. Not every story has to touch on the subject, of course, but Candace Against the Universe did – and it did so in a way that was relatable and understandable. But beyond that, it was a fun return to a series I thought was over. It’s possible the film could be the springboard for more Phineas and Ferb, but even if it isn’t I’m still glad we got to see it.

Best Live-Action Film:

Ordinarily I’d try to split up films by genre, and at least have sections for comedy, sci-fi, and maybe one or two others. But so few films have staggered out the door this year that there’s not really a lot of choice. As I’ve seen so few new films I just picked my top two. It wasn’t even all that difficult.

🥈Runner-up🥈
Sonic the Hedgehog

In any other year, Sonic the Hedgehog wouldn’t have got a look-in as one of the best releases. But this is 2020, and as we’ve already discussed, there aren’t a lot of options. After receiving backlash for its visual effects when the first trailer was released in 2019, the creative team behind Sonic the Hedgehog went back to the drawing board and redesigned the titular Sega mascot, bringing him closer to his video game appearance. The willingness of the studio to delay the project in response to fan criticism is appreciated, especially when many other studios have chosen to double-down in the face of such backlash.

The film itself is surprisingly fun, though as with 1993’s Super Mario Bros., features a storyline quite far-removed from the video game franchise it’s inspired by. Jim Carrey hasn’t exactly disappeared in recent years, but has been nowhere near as ubiquitous as he was in his late-90s heyday, so his performance here feels like a return to form. And that’s all I have to say, really. It was a fun film, and an enjoyable way to kill a couple of hours. Is Sonic the Hedgehog going to be hailed as a classic of modern cinema alongside Lincoln and Bohemian Rhapsody? Of course not. But out of the available titles this year, it’s one of the best.

🏆Winner🏆
1917

Now for a complete change of tone! 1917 was released in December last year, and is a truly epic war film that missed out on winning any of the top Academy Awards. However, despite the snub by the Oscars, it’s an outstanding piece of historical cinema, and though its novel “one-take” style of editing was perhaps less impressive than I expected it to be, it was nevertheless interesting.

I fully expect 1917 to be considered a classic of the war genre in decades to come, such is its quality. At its core is an emotional story of two young men thrown into a gut-wrenching situation. The First World War was one of the worst and bloodiest in history, yet few films have depicted that horror with such brutal accuracy as 1917.

Though it isn’t the kind of popcorn flick you’ll want to watch a dozen times in a row, 1917 is artistic and inspired in all the ways that matter. From the performances to the costuming to the camera work, every tiny detail has been honed and perfected. Director Sam Mendes deserves a lot of credit for putting together this masterpiece.

Announcements:

In this final section I’ll briefly cover a handful of announcements for upcoming productions that got me excited in 2020. There are so many interesting projects in the works, and while some of these may not see the light of day until 2022 or even later, they’re still genuinely appealing and I’m keeping my ear to the ground listening for news!

Video Games:

🏆Winner🏆
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition

I’d been hoping for an announcement of the remastered Mass Effect trilogy ever since rumours of its existence began to swirl earlier in the year. Though EA and Bioware kept us waiting, the remaster was finally announced a short time ago and is due for release in 2021. Whether it will really tick all the boxes, and whether enough time has passed for a remaster to feel like a substantial improvement are both open questions… but I’m very interested to find out!

Television Shows:

🥈Runner-up🥈
Alien

There’s a television show based on the 1979 classic Alien in development! Practically everything is being turned into a streaming television series right now, so perhaps that shouldn’t come as a surprise, but I’m truly interested to see what the Alien franchise can do with more than a couple of hours. Television as a medium allows for longer and more complex stories than can fit in a two-hour film, so there’s a lot of potential here.

🏆Winner🏆
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Almost since the moment he beamed aboard Discovery at the beginning of the second season, fans had been clamouring for a Captain Pike series, and Alex Kurtzman and ViacomCBS listened! Strange New Worlds was announced in May, along with a short video from its three principal cast members. The show has already begun production, and while I doubt it’ll see the light of day before 2022, it’s one of the things keeping me going right now!

Films:

🥈Runner-up🥈
The Matrix 4

Though I have no idea where the story of The Matrix 4 could possibly take the series, I’m cautiously interested. Filming has already begun, but was disrupted by – what else – the pandemic. The two sequels to 1999’s The Matrix didn’t quite live up to the first part of the saga, but nevertheless were solid action-sci fi titles. I’m hoping that, after the series has taken a long break and with access to better CGI than was available in the early 2000s, The Matrix 4 will be just as good as the first. Could this be the beginning of a greatly expanded franchise?

🏆Winner🏆
Dune

The first part of this new Dune duology should have been released this month, but because most cinemas remain closed it’s been pushed all the way back to December next year. Dune has previously been difficult to adapt, with at least one attempted film version never making it to screen, but this adaptation has clearly been a labour of love. It seems to feature a great cast, and based on the trailer will have some stunning visual effects. Here’s hoping that it can get the cinematic release that the director and studio hope for.

So that’s it!

Those are my picks for the entertainment highlights of 2020. It’s been a very unusual year in terms of what all of us have been able to watch and listen to. A number of big titles weren’t able to make it to release, especially in the realm of cinema. We’re also going to be feeling the knock-on effects of this disruption well into 2021 and 2022, even if things get back to normal relatively quickly – which hopefully will be the case!

2020 brought Star Trek back to the small screen in a huge way. There literally has not been this much Star Trek to get stuck into for decades, and as a big fan of the franchise I think that’s just fantastic. It’s also been a year which has accelerated the move toward streaming as a main way of accessing content. I wouldn’t like to guess how many cable or satellite subscriptions have been cancelled in favour of Netflix, Disney+, CBS All Access, and the like!

I hope that you managed to find some fun things to watch and play this year – even as the outside world seemed to be falling apart. Entertainment is great escapism, and we all needed some of that in 2020. This may be my last post of the year, so all that remains to be said is this: see you in 2021!

All titles listed above are the copyright of their respective company, studio, broadcaster, publisher, distributor, etc. Some promotional images and artwork courtesy of IGDB. Stock photos courtesy of Unsplash. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

Star Wars doubles down HARD

Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers ahead for the Star Wars franchise, including The Rise of Skywalker, The Mandalorian, and announcements for upcoming productions.

A few months ago I wrote an article titled “Star Wars needs to move on.” In that piece I looked at how the Star Wars franchise has only ever told one real story since it debuted in 1977. Prequels, sequels, and spin-offs all played into or expanded the only real story the franchise has ever told – that of Palpatine and minor characters like Anakin, Luke, and Rey who apparently don’t get to act of their own volition. I argued that, just like Star Trek had done with The Next Generation in 1987, Star Wars needed to put the Skywalker Saga behind it and genuinely move on, telling new stories with new characters.

The Mandalorian should have done this, but hasn’t. The inclusion of Baby Yoda, the Force, Boba Fett, and so many elements copied from the Original Trilogy overwhelmed that series and left me disappointed. I was desperately hoping that, after the reaction to The Rise of Skywalker, the team at Disney and Lucasfilm would think hard about what to do next.

The inclusion of Palpatine ruined The Rise of Skywalker.

Instead they’ve once again retreated back to the Original Trilogy, its spin-offs, and familiar characters. I would have hoped that the failure of Palpatine’s ham-fisted insertion into The Rise of Skywalker would have served as a warning, and that with the only story the franchise has ever told now at a seemingly-final end, the franchise could genuinely move on.

The Star Wars galaxy is up there with Tolkien’s Middle-earth as one of the finest fantasy worlds ever brought to life, yet the creative team at Disney and Lucasfilm seem intent on never exploring the wonderful sandbox they paid $4 billion for. They’re instead going to show us the same tiny sliver over and over again, bringing to life ever more ridiculous spin-offs looking at characters of decreasing importance. What a disappointment.

Star Wars: Andor is a spin-off from a spin-off and a prequel to a prequel.

Let’s look at these disappointing announcements. A Droid Story will focus on R2-D2 and C-3PO. The Bad Batch is a spin-off to The Clone Wars, which was itself a spin-off to Attack of the Clones. Andor is the previously-announced series based around Rogue One’s Cassian Andor. Lando is bringing back Donald Glover, who took on the role of the smuggler in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Rangers of the New Republic is a spin-off from The Mandalorian. Ahsoka is another spin-off from The Mandalorian. And in the previously-announced Obi-Wan Kenobi series, we have the return of Darth Vader.

The only announcements which seem to have any potential to tell new stories are 2023’s Rogue Squadron, a project called Acolyte about which no information was revealed, and an as-yet-untitled film helmed by Taika Waititi. Everything else falls into the same trap that the franchise has fallen into repeatedly since the prequel era: overtreading the same ground, forcing fans to look back, and overplaying the nostalgia card. There’s nothing bold or innovative in any of these announcements. They represent a backwards-looking cowardly corporation, desperate to rekindle the magic of the Original Trilogy but without any clue of how to do so.

Do we really need a Star Wars film about these two droids?

Spin-offs to spin-offs and the increasingly minor characters given starring roles is indicative of a franchise out of ideas. There’s absolutely no creativity in any of these projects that I can see. At a fundamental level they’re all trying to do the same thing – use nostalgia as a hook to bring fans back. If the Star Wars galaxy looked bland and uninteresting, perhaps that would be a necessity. But it’s always been presented as such a vast, interesting setting that it’s positively criminal to only ever look at a tiny portion of it. There are tens of thousands of years of galactic history to dive into, as well as an uncertain future in the years after the war against the First Order. Could we see some of that, maybe?

And how about new characters? The idea of a show based on the two droids is patently ridiculous, as are those focusing on minor characters from spin-off projects. Donald Glover’s portrayal of Lando was certainly one of the better elements of Solo, but does that mean he needs an entire project of his own? What will Disney and Lucasfilm do when these projects run their course? Are we going to see Star Wars: Snowtrooper #7 and Star Wars: That Two-Headed Podrace Announcer? At this rate that’s what’ll happen.

Is this guy getting his own spin-off too?

The sequel trilogy got two things wrong when considering the fundamentals of its storytelling. Firstly was the inexplicable decision to split up the writing, leaving it with no direction and no overarching story. But secondly, and perhaps most importantly, was the decision to re-tell the Original Trilogy, drag Star Wars full-circle back to where it started, and spend too much time looking backwards. The sequel trilogy was an opportunity for Star Wars to lay the groundwork for future success, but instead it’s dragged the franchise backwards.

The Original Trilogy is a weight around Star Wars’ neck. The popularity of those three films compared to any others means that cowards in a corporate boardroom can’t see beyond it. Instead of looking at ways to take Star Wars forward to new adventures, all they know how to do is look backwards at the only successful films the entire franchise has ever produced.

Star Wars is being run by a corporate boardroom that clearly has no idea what to do with the franchise.

The end of the Skywalker Saga saw Luke, Han, and Leia killed off. It saw the final demise of Palpatine. And despite the story of Star Wars having been dragged through the mud, there was an opportunity that hasn’t really existed before – an opportunity to move on to greener pastures. With the only story Star Wars has ever told brought to a conclusion, it was hardly an unrealistic expectation to think we might get something new.

I’m disappointed, as you can tell. The lack of vision and the lack of boldness on the part of Disney and Lucasfilm means that we’re once again looking at the same miniscule fraction of the Star Wars galaxy that we’ve always been shown. There’s nothing interesting about that, and even though I have no doubt that, on an individual level, many of these projects will be at least decent and watchable, I just feel Star Wars could do better. These shows and films are a franchise aiming for a grade C. They’re middle-of-the-road attempts to scrape by, coasting on past success.

If the franchise ever wants to do more than get a basic pass, they’ll have to be bold and aim higher. Do something genuinely different. Step out of the ever-growing shadow of the Original Trilogy and do what Star Trek has been doing for thirty years – tell new stories.

The Star Wars franchise, including all films, series, and upcoming projects listed above, is the copyright of Disney and Lucasfilm. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

Ten of my favourite Disney films

Spoiler Warning: There will be spoilers for the Disney films on this list.

Disney+ finally reached the UK in March, several months after its US release. I was actually already a subscriber to a different Disney streaming service, Disney Life, and had been for a while, but Disney+ is better-organised, sharper, and does offer more content. Given that you may find yourself with some time on your hands at the moment, it could be a good moment to check out this streaming platform – and I believe it’s free to try for seven days.

I don’t intend for this to be a review of Disney+, but just to discuss it in a little more detail, the service delivers what it promises. Disney’s library of films – including from brands now under the Disney umbrella like Marvel and Star Wars – and Disney Channel original television shows. There’s also a limited amount of content from National Geographic, including some documentaries made specifically for Disney+. I hope to see them add more to this in future, as I love a good documentary. There are also a couple of original shows, including the first live-action Star Wars show, The Mandalorian. But save yourself time on that one because I’ve honestly not seen such a boring series in a long time.

As a childless adult fast approaching middle-age, I admit I still feel a certain embarrassment at admitting I’m a huge Disney fan. Perhaps that’s a product of the time and place I grew up, as nowadays it seems far more acceptable! Disney has created some of the best animated feature films of all time, and even today, almost a century on from when Walt and Roy founded the company, Disney sets the bar that other animation studios wish they could reach. In the last couple of decades, the company has greatly expanded both its content and the brands it owns, growing to become one of the biggest and most powerful entertainment companies in the world.

For this list, I’ll be picking ten of my favourite Disney animated films. This isn’t a “Top Ten” ranked list; instead these are just ten films I really enjoy and I’ll be listing them in order of release. All of them are available to watch on Disney+ if you’re lucky enough to live in a part of the world where the service is already live. If not, I daresay you can find copies on DVD, Blu-ray, or by, shall we say, other means… matey.

So without further ado, let’s jump into the list. Please be aware that spoilers may be present, and that a couple of the entries on this list may have scenes that are outdated and/or insensitive.

Number 1: Peter Pan (1953)

The titular Peter Pan.

There’s a ride at Disney World – and I believe at other Disney parks too – based on 1953’s Peter Pan called Peter Pan’s Flight. If you ever find yourself at the Magic Kingdom I highly recommend it; it’s one of my favourite rides there.

By 1953 Disney was already well-established as the best studio in town for animation. Peter Pan retells – faithfully, at least by Disney standards – the JM Barrie story, which had been a play in 1904 and a novel in 1911. You know the story, of course: Peter Pan lives in Neverland, a place where children never grow up, and has adventures with the Lost Boys while trying to stay one step ahead of his pirate nemesis, Captain Hook. It’s a story which has become a classic, in fact it already was a classic when it was given the Disney treatment. Disney films have been incredibly successful using this formula – taking a classic story and presenting it in a child-friendly manner. In 1953 that explanation described a good portion of Disney’s back catalogue, as indeed it still does today.

Peter Pan introduces a number of characters who would become Disney favourites, including Captain Hook, who is, in some respects, the archetypal film pirate even today (though the “pirate accent” is based on another film of the 1950s, Treasure Island). Tinker Bell, Peter’s fairy friend whose magical dust allows him and the children to fly, also debuts here. Tinker Bell has become a legend in her own right in the wider Disney universe, and is the subject of numerous spin-offs including her own film series.

One thing that always surprises me about older Disney films is how good the animation is – even rendered in full HD on a big-screen television. I was downright shocked to learn, in my youth, that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was as old as it was; it still holds up today. As does Peter Pan – the animation, which was all hand-drawn and hand-painted, looks amazing and hasn’t aged a day. Unlike some computer-animated titles, Peter Pan and other hand-drawn films are timeless.

The story is a pure-hearted swashbuckling adventure, as Peter and Wendy lead the Lost Boys to victory against the nefarious Captain Hook. Some of the scenes and references are undeniably dated by today’s standards – I’m thinking in particular of the way Wendy’s leadership is only seen as something maternal, and of course the now-infamous portrayal of Tiger Lily and the Native American tribe. I don’t believe, however, that either of those things are reason to hide Peter Pan or try to pretend it doesn’t exist.

Number 2: The Aristocats (1970)

Abraham de Lacey Giuseppe Casey Thomas O’Malley… O’Malley the Alley Cat!

Often overlooked, as it came out only three years after the incredibly-successful The Jungle Book, The Aristocats is nevertheless a brilliant and fun film with some great musical numbers. Production began shortly before Walt’s death in 1966, and thus The Aristocats is the last film he actively worked on and approved before passing away.

1961’s 101 Dalmations had proven a great success as an adventure story with animal protagonists and human villains, and that basic formula was reused for The Aristocats too. When a rich older lady decides to leave her fortune to her cats – instead of to her butler – he schemes to get rid of them to get his hands on her money. Taking the cats far away from their home, they meet a fun and eclectic cast of characters on their journey home.

As someone with several cats of my own, I do enjoy a good cat-themed story! And while The Aristocats doesn’t do anything radically different or new in terms of its animation style or story – both of which are comparable to Disney’s earlier output – it’s a sweet film that’s greatly enjoyable. Its music celebrates the jazz era of its 1910s-20s setting, and there’s a distinctly old-fashioned feel throughout – but not in a negative way.

There are some great musical numbers, all of which fit into that jazz/swing theme, as the cats make their way home. Marie, one of the kittens, has become a permanent fixture on Disney merchandise, though many of the younger people picking up those items haven’t seen The Aristocats in full! If that applies to you or your little ones, I definitely recommend sitting down to watch the film.

Number 3: Robin Hood (1973)

The Lion King! Oh wait, wrong film.

I mentioned at the beginning that this list doesn’t rank the films in order of how much I like them, but if it did, Robin Hood would be the undisputed number one. It’s my all-time favourite Disney film. Purely from a subjective point of view, of course!

Disney’s output between the “classic” era of the 1930s-50s and the “Renaissance” of the late 1980s-90s that we’ll look at in a moment is often ignored by fans today, and I think that’s a great shame. Perhaps it’s because I grew up on titles like Robin Hood, but I think that it has a lot to offer.

The hand-drawn animation retains much of the Disney charm of years gone by, and though it doesn’t necessarily bring anything new to the table compared to earlier titles, it still looks fantastic today – and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! There was some recycling present in the film’s animation – most notably in the character of Little John, which is a copy of Baloo, the bear from 1967’s The Jungle Book. In fact, both characters are actually voiced by the same actor – Phil Harris, who also voiced Thomas O’Malley in The Aristocats – which further drives home the point. Even this recycling was actually Disney being cutting-edge; the process used to make exact copies of drawings was an early precursor to photocopying.

Robin Hood is a classic story, an old-world legend of a bandit who steals only to turn around and give away his money to the poor people in the community. In Disney’s adaptation, all of the characters are anthropomorphic animals, but otherwise the story doesn’t really stray too far from the confines of its source material. The inept Prince John – represented by a cowardly thumb-sucking lion, which as a kid I found to be absolutely hilarious – and his evil cohort are outsmarted by Robin and his brave Merry Men. Disney has always been great at using animals perfectly – portraying the Prince’s adviser as a sneaky snake, and the Sheriff’s men as wolves and vultures is definitely a great example of that!

The opening of Robin Hood introduces one of my favourite Disney songs, too – the beautiful Oo-De-Lally.

Number 4: Beauty and the Beast (1991)

The Beast!

After The Little Mermaid revived both the fortunes and reputation of Disney animation in 1989, a period known as the “Disney Renaissance” kicked off, in which the studio churned out a series of films which were both critical and commercial hits. Beauty and the Beast is the second of these films, and it’s amazing.

One of the first animated feature films to use CGI, Beauty and the Beast is groundbreaking in that regard, and the lessons Disney learned about computer animation would bear fruit later in the decade with releases like Toy Story. In that sense, Beauty and the Beast is a very important moment in the history not just of Disney, but of animated films and indeed all of cinema – as CGI has gone on to be massively important in all kinds of titles.

Beauty and the Beast managed to tell an engrossing story that was tense and dramatic, as a cursed prince learns to love for the first time. After a spell was put on him, a prince and his household staff (which seems a tad unfair to them!) were cursed to live as non-human objects, with the prince himself turned into a monster. Belle, a social outcast in her village, falls for him while in captivity.

By making Belle the protagonist, Disney has changed up its traditional princess formula. Belle is a “commoner”; a girl from the village as opposed to aristocratic or royal by birth. She’s disliked and gossiped about for enjoying reading and being intelligent, and with these points Beauty and the Beast says that it’s okay to be smart, and that any girl can be a princess – being a princess is less about where you come from than about being a good person, a theme which has carried through other Disney titles in some ways.

Number 5: Aladdin (1992)

Aladdin and Abu.

Aladdin marked Disney’s first real attempt to make a major film based on a non-European or American legend. It’s a title which marked a change in the way Disney operated, and a risk which could have backfired. It’s a title which is now famous for the Genie – voiced by Robin Williams close to the peak of his career – who has gone on to be a major character in Disney’s merchandise empire.

The story of Aladdin was perhaps uniquely suited to get the Disney treatment as a non-European legend, as it was quite well-known even in Europe and North America, and had been for many years. I remember, as a child, seeing a pantomime version of Aladdin before the film came out. It was probably one of the very few stories from “elsewhere” that Disney could have readily adapted, at least at the time. Nowadays, with the exception of those people who want to screech “cultural appropriation!” at everything, making stories from all across the world into Disney films is something we’ve come to expect and would be fine with; in 1992 it was something different and its success was less than certain. In that sense, Aladdin paved the way for future titles – like Mulan and Moana.

Following The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin kept the “Renaissance” going, winning critical and commercial acclaim for its fun characters, great musical numbers, and exciting storyline. The Genie was, of course, the breakout star – though apparently Williams and Disney didn’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of things during the film’s production and marketing. It would also win two Oscars, and became the highest-earning film of 1992.

There would be two direct-to-video sequels to Aladdin – the first of which, The Return of Jafar, is a rare example of one of these Disney sequels being a success (at least in my opinion!) The film would be remade in 2019 in a live-action format, and while it lacks much of the character of the original, it remains probably the most watchable of the live-action remakes.

Number 6: The Lion King (1994)

Simba and Mufasa in The Lion King.

For many people, The Lion King’s 1994 release was the high-water mark of the Disney Renaissance, and while there will always be a debate on that front, what shouldn’t be contentious is that this film is fantastic. A star-studded cast, including James Earl Jones, bring the characters to life, and Elton John provided an incredible soundtrack, resulting in The Lion King being spun-off to create a long-running West End and Broadway musical.

There was, at the time, some degree of controversy regarding how similar The Lion King was to a Japanese series called Kimba the White Lion, with some fans of the manga/anime franchise going so far as to accuse Disney of ripping off a significant amount of material. Whether you believe this was intentional or not, it’s worth noting that there are similarities in terms of plot and certain characters – I’ll leave the final judgement on that up to you.

The Lion King billed itself as the first ever Disney film to be a wholly original story. Setting aside the Kimba controversy, this marked a change in the way Disney would approach writing stories for its major motion pictures, and while the studio would return many times to legends, history, and existing works of fiction, The Lion King laid the groundwork for future original stories.

The cast included Jeremy Irons, Rowan Atkinson, and Whoopi Goldberg among other stars, and while The Lion King is Simba’s story, the whole main cast gets a turn in the spotlight, including being able to sing. Many of the film’s songs have become well-known classics, often heard on playlists and CDs representing the best of Disney music.

Number 7: Pocahontas (1995)

Colors of the Wind is the best-remembered song from Pocahontas.

Pocahontas remains an outlier in the Disney canon. Other films are based on folklore, legends, and other published works, but the characters in Pocahontas were all real people – people whose lives are surprisingly well-documented. As you may know if you’re a regular, I’m somewhat of a history buff, and the early 1600s – the period in which Pocahontas is set – is really when record-keeping in England had begun to vastly improve in quality. Records of England’s first colony in mainland North America were meticulous, and while some information has been lost over time, for the most part we know a lot about John Smith, Pocahontas, and others who lived at the time.

The film takes a lot of liberties with the real-life story, which is always a contentious topic in historical fiction. But if we can set that argument aside, what Disney created is a film that tries very hard to celebrate Native American culture, recognising that they were the victims in Europe’s rush to colonise North America.

Compared to earlier depictions of Native Americans – like the one we talked about in Peter Pan a moment ago – Pocahontas represents them in a much fairer and less stereotypical manner. There is definitely a case of the “noble savage” – the presentation of Native Americans (and other indigenous peoples in other works) as being “better off” without contact, living peaceful, natural lives that were disrupted. Stereotypes like this aren’t always true, and while the song Savages in particular has sometimes been criticised for portraying the conflict between English settlers and Native Americans as if both were equally in the wrong, it’s worth recognising that Native American tribes, like all groups of people everywhere for all of history, could be violent. I feel like I have to justify some of these aspects of Pocahontas, as the film has recently come in for criticism, so I apologise for going off on a tangent.

Following up The Lion King was always going to be tough, and I think for that reason some of the things Pocahontas did very well, in terms of its animation and music to name but two examples, were overshadowed, especially at the time it was released.

Number 8: Lilo and Stitch (2002)

The titular characters.

After seeing Lilo and Stitch in 2002, it was one of the first films I ever bought on DVD. I was so keen to be able to rewatch it that I even bought a DVD-player kit for my Xbox (it was cheaper than buying an actual DVD player at the time) to be able to watch it! I would go on to collect many other DVDs – before the rise of HD and streaming made the whole collection redundant.

The widely-accepted definition of the Disney Renaissance I mentioned earlier puts 1999’s Tarzan as the final film, but I’d absolutely include Lilo and Stitch alongside titles of that era. Unlike the other films of the Renaissance, Lilo and Stitch tells a wholly original story and introduces new characters to the Disney canon. Release of the film was delayed due to the 11th of September attacks in the United States in 2001, with one section of the film’s climax being reworked to avoid comparisons to that atrocity.

Lilo and Stitch steers away from the often-sanitised world of prior Disney titles, showing Lilo and her sister Nani as a dysfunctional family, with Lilo on the cusp of being taken into care by the state. By Disney standards, this was something radical and different, taking a look at the “real” world in a way no prior film really had. This is complemented by the film’s present-day setting. Lilo herself is a misfit – but someone who refuses to change or conform to fit in. The message she sends is that it’s okay for kids to be themselves, and even that it’s okay to be weird – something I wholly embrace!

Stitch is adorable, but also naughty in a way that undoubtedly appeals to kids. As the film progresses, he has a chance to show his good nature and big heart, in a story that tells the audience that genetics and how you’re born doesn’t matter – what matters is being a good person and making the choice to do the right thing. Stitch overcomes his innate badness – the desire to misbehave instilled in him by his creator – thanks to the time he spends with Lilo and her family, choosing at the end to remain with her on Earth.

The film’s soundtrack definitely deserves a mention. While there are a couple of great original songs inspired by the music of Hawaii (where Lilo and Stitch is set), the soundtrack also features several of Elvis Presley’s greatest hits, including greats like Devil in Disguise and Burning Love. As an Elvis fan, I couldn’t be happier about this, and introducing more than one new generation of kids to the music of the King is definitely something great that Lilo and Stitch has done.

Number 9: Frozen (2013)

Anna and her friends meet Olaf for the first time.

When Frozen was released in 2013 I was living overseas for work. While browsing local cinema listings for English-language titles, I spotted Frozen, and it was the first I’d heard of it! Having missed all of the marketing I had no idea what to expect – and I was absolutely blown away.

I’m a big Christmas fan, and being released a few weeks before Christmas and with such a wintry setting, Frozen was absolutely perfect for that time of year. It was the first Disney film I’d seen in years that I felt was on par with some of the studio’s offerings in the 1990s – the height of the “Renaisannce” we’ve already mentioned.

Focusing on two sisters instead of the traditional prince and princess, Frozen shakes up the traditional Disney fairytale formula while keeping things royal for the sake of its Disney Princess brand. It was a change that absolutely worked, and the film’s “one true act of love” being sisterly love instead of romantic love was beautiful.

The big twist that Anna’s beloved Hans is in fact a villain and not the heroic prince charming she thought he was was shocking – and I can still remember the audible gasp from the audience at the cinema at that moment! By Disney standards, this was absolutely stunning, and tied in perfectly to the level-headed reasoning Elsa had shown earlier in the film when she forbade Anna to marry him. Indeed in many ways, Frozen is a film of its time, just as earlier titles were films of theirs. Acutely aware of the fact that its princesses are often seen as role models by young girls, the need to be socially responsible within the story definitely led to some of these decisions.

Frozen also has the best soundtrack of any modern Disney title – with several memorable songs like Do You Want to Build a Snowman, Love is an Open Door, Fixer Upper, and of course Let It Go, which remains an amazing song despite how frequently it was heard for at least a year afterwards… but perhaps parents of young girls would disagree on that point!

I picked Frozen for one of my top ten films of the 2010s when I made a list back in December – you can find the full list by clicking or tapping here.

Number 10: Moana (2016)

Moana aboard her canoe.

In 2016, when it was released, at least some of the hype surrounding Moana was lost due to the release six months earlier of Zootopia – which was retitled, for some stupid and inexplicable reason, Zootropolis in the UK. We’d been used to only seeing one Disney film a year, at most, so this meant that some of the pre-release marketing surrounding Moana didn’t get as much attention as it otherwise might’ve. Zootopia was a big hit, but of the two films released in 2016, Moana was by far the more enjoyable title.

Disney had begun to diversify away from Old-World European fairytales and folklore for its inspiration as far back as Aladdin and Mulan, and had brought in other non-European protagonists and princesses in films like The Princess and the Frog and even Pocahontas, but Moana was the first foray into a lesser-known culture – lesser-known, that is, from the point of view of Disney’s western audience.

The history of Polynesian peoples is long, diverse, and fascinating, with a blurred line between history and legend due to stories being passed down orally. It’s also something most people in the west have never encountered; scattered across small and remote Pacific islands, most Polynesian legends stayed within their own communities or were recorded by academics and anthropologists and never made it into the cultural mainstream. Moana looks at one of these legends and spins it into a Disney tale for the modern age.

Moana is adamant that she isn’t a princess, even reacting angrily when Māui says she is. Where Frozen had finally told a Disney Princess story in which the princesses are the heroines and have genuine agency as characters, Moana amplifies that trend by having just a single protagonist. Her bravery and determination to overcome the obstacles in front of her drives the story forward, and eventually her courage leads her to stand up in the face of a terrifying foe. Moana had help, but ultimately she had to make those decisions and fight those battles – thus out of all the princesses in Disney’s canon, Moana is the bravest and most determined, which is a great message for the film to have.

The film also has a great soundtrack, with several hit tunes such as You’re Welcome going on to be played time and again.

So that’s it. The list doesn’t include live-action Disney films like the Pirates of the Caribbean series, so perhaps we’ll have to come to live-action Disney films on another occasion. However, several of the titles on this list have had live-action remakes – and in my opinion at least, not one of them has managed to live up to the original work. A couple of them are well worth a watch – Aladdin, in particular, was at least a decent film – but none of them come close to recapturing the Disney animation magic, at least not for me.

There are more films on the horizon, with Raya and the Last Dragon being the only one with a title so far, scheduled for release in 2021. Disney+ has, in some respects, changed the way Disney approaches its films and back catalogue. Gone are the days of the “Disney vault”, with titles given only limited home video releases. Instead, the company plans to leave all of its films available all the time, and in some cases will even be experimenting with simultaneous releases in cinemas and on streaming. That has the potential to really shake up the way films are released. From a selfish point of view, as someone who can’t go to the cinema in person any more, I think it’s a positive change. But whether it will work as intended is anyone’s guess.

Several generations of people have now grown up with Disney films – even my parents’ generation, people born in the 1940s and who are now well into their 70s, remember with fondness the Disney films of their childhoods. Which titles someone may prefer is probably, at least in part, dependent on when they grew up and which ones they saw at that time. But each “era” of titles, whether we’re talking about those made before Walt Disney’s death, the “Renaissance” of the 1990s, or the modern films like Frozen all have merit, and while the way they’re made may have changed through the years, the effort and attention to detail has not. Disney remains the market leader in animation because each film is meticulously created. There may be some flops and failures, but broadly speaking, the studio’s output has been phenomenal. The fact that they’re still around and still making films after such a long time is testament to that.

It was great fun making this list, and if it helped you decide what to watch on Disney+, then as Māui said… you’re welcome!

What can I say except “you’re welcome!”

I really hope the Boba Fett rumour isn’t true…

Spoiler Warning: There will be spoilers ahead for Season 1 of The Mandalorian, as well as minor spoilers for other iterations of the Star Wars franchise.

The Disney+ series The Mandalorian was the first subject I wrote about here on the website after I founded it last year. Suffice to say I found the show disappointing and boring, and a lot of that disappointment stemmed from the fact that the show seemingly promised a new and different look at the Star Wars galaxy, but ended up bringing back overused tropes and sending the characters over already-trodden ground. I wanted something new, a look at the Star Wars galaxy away from the Force and familiar characters, but The Mandalorian’s producers at Disney didn’t have the confidence to make a series that stood on its own.

I spotted a rumour earlier today, which has apparently been doing the rounds over the last 24 hours or so, that Boba Fett will be included in The Mandalorian’s second season. And when I saw that I sighed with disappointment and said “really?”

Boba Fett, mere moments before his death in Return of the Jedi.

While it is unconfirmed at this stage and should be taken with a pinch of salt, this rumour has been picked up by a number of reputable news outlets and is at least credible. While I generally avoid rumours here, this is one that I wanted to tackle. The Mandalorian was disappointing to me personally, for the reasons I’ve already laid out. I also found Pedro Pascal’s protagonist impossible to get behind, as he was a blank slate – a helmet-wearing, seldom-speaking, monotone bag of nothing. With no personality came no motivation – why did he do any of the things he did, like turn on his client to save the child? The answer seemed to be “because a room full of TV show writers decided that’s what he was going to do.” There was also The Mandalorian’s runtime – for a flagship series, thirty-minute episodes is pretty pathetic. And when practically all of those episodes would have benefited greatly from a few extra scenes providing background, explanation, or even just to show the passage of time from one moment to the next, the show felt poorly-edited or that corners had been cut.

But the worst part was the introduction of the child – nicknamed “baby Yoda” by the internet. The revelation that the Mandalorian’s target was a child is not in itself an issue. In fact it’s a major driving force for the rest of the season’s plot. Nor is my issue with the idea that the child is a member of Yoda’s species. That’s a little unoriginal, but there were always going to be little callbacks to other aspects of the franchise present in The Mandalorian. What bugged me was that, inside of two episodes, the Force comes back into play. The Force. In a show that promised to take a look at the Star Wars galaxy away from the Jedi and Sith. The Mandalorian told us it was a show about a lone gunslinger far beyond the reach of the Republic, and that premise sounded amazing. The Jedi and Sith are a tiny minority of the denizens of the Star Wars galaxy, and seeing how the 99% live, far away from the Force, is something that appealed to me. That concept still does – but it isn’t what The Mandalorian delivered.

Recent Star Wars projects – practically all of them, in fact – have overplayed the nostalgia card. The Force Awakens and of course The Rise of Skywalker may seem the most egregious, but there’s also Solo: A Star Wars Story and the Darth Vader sequences in Rogue One. I named the latter my favourite film of the last decade, but those sequences detracted from it, at least for me.

I would have preferred to see Rogue One stand on its own without Darth Vader – the story was good enough.

The Mandalorian has the same issue. At a number of points in its short runtime it strayed across that invisible line which divides a nod and a wink to returning fans from boring unoriginality. The overuse of nostalgia, such as in the sequences with the Jawas and their sandcrawler and epitomised by the child being a Force-user, went a long way to spoiling the series for me. The return of Boba Fett would just be another example of how the show’s producers don’t trust any Star Wars story to succeed without the crutch of nostalgia.

I really do find that to be disappointing – and it’s apparent, too, that Disney has learnt nothing from the overwhelmingly negative response fans had to the overuse of nostalgia in The Rise of Skywalker if it really is their intention to bring Boba Fett into this series. The only reason why The Mandalorian Season 2 was something I was even considering watching was because I hoped that we might finally get to see some character development and to see Pedro Pascal shine, finally bringing the nameless, bland protagonist to life and giving him some colour. But the Mandalorian is, at best, a pale clone of Boba Fett – even down to the identical armour design – and standing him up alongside the original would not make for a good comparison.

The Mandalorian’s unnamed and boring protagonist.

Boba Fett was himself an uninteresting character in Star Wars – his expanded role, such as his cameo in the prequels, was due simply to the popularity of action figures and merchandise. But despite that, he’s an established character now, someone we’ve seen as a child and as an adult, and while fortunately his role in the franchise’s awful Expanded Universe has been erased, he will still stand up next to the nameless protagonist of The Mandalorian and draw positive comparisons.

The Star Wars franchise has never been able to successfully move on from its first three films. The prequels told the backstory of some of the characters in the originals. The sequels (two of them, anyway) just remade those same films. And of the two spin-offs, one was a prequel focusing solely on one of the main characters, and the other was also a prequel which led directly to the plot of the first film. There is scope within Star Wars to move away from A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. But so far, no one has tried. Every major Star Wars project has relied excessively on its first three films. The characters, themes, and storylines have been rehashed so many times that at this point they really are flogging a dead horse. I long for some genuine originality in the Star Wars universe, and to see a project which finally steps out of the shadow of those three films. As wonderful as the original trilogy is, Star Wars should be able to be more than that.

The Knights of the Old Republic video games told a story that didn’t rely on the original Star Was films.

Knights of the Old Republic was a duology of Star Wars video games from 2003-04. These games are among my favourites, and are also among my favourite stories told in the Star Wars galaxy. Why? Because they’re original. They take an original premise and an original setting, ignoring the first three films entirely, and tell an exciting and engaging pair of related stories. Knights of the Old Republic is basically the only property from the old Expanded Universe worth reviving, largely because of its uniqueness and originality.

Why can’t The Mandalorian be as bold as that? Why do they feel the need to rely so heavily on what we’ve already seen, bringing the Force and Boba Fett into the show? The premise sounded so interesting and genuinely different, yet what we got was bland and dripping in cheap nostalgia. The return of Boba Fett – setting aside the dumb story point of reviving yet another dead character, which is a whole issue in itself – just stinks. It’s yet another example of the higher-ups at Disney not understanding Star Wars. There’s a whole galaxy to explore with trillions of inhabitants and perhaps thousands of years of history to dig into. Yet time and again, they drag the franchise back to the same handful of characters and the same overtrodden ground. I really hope this Boba Fett rumour turns out to be untrue.

The Star Wars franchise – including The Mandalorian – is the copyright of Disney and Lucasfilm. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.