3rd Rock from the Sun (season 6)

Posted by Dave Switzer under Reviews of TV shows

{4.5/5} “‘Ragamuffin’? Sally, throw him out. Harry, bring me a dictionary.” 3rd Rock from the Sun season 6, aired in 2000-01 When Mary’s sister Renata comes to town Dick pretends to woo her in order to break her heart and get revenge for Mary. When they go to a parallel dimension they find they live […]

Ron’s Gone Wrong

Posted by Dave Switzer under Reviews of movies

{4/5} “A bird has commented on your face.” Ron’s Gone Wrong, released in 2021 All of Barney’s classmates have a B-Bot, whose motto is “best friend out of the box.” He finally gets one for his birthday, which he’s very happy about. But his dad got one that had fallen off a truck, and it […]

The Tomorrow War

Posted by Dave Switzer under Reviews of movies

{4.5/5} “They have no use for prisoners or government, technology, money… nothing. We are food. And they are hungry.” The Tomorrow War, released in 2021 In the middle of a soccer game, soldiers from 30 years in the future appear and ask for everyone’s help. They ask for people to join them and go to […]

Elder Race

Posted by Dave Switzer under Reviews of books

{5/5} “When I appear, everyone abruptly defers to me, and I realize that I, as the putative victim of their crimes, am expected to have some hand in the judicial process. This is, of course, just piling contamination on contamination. I am, frankly, not only the last but the worst anthropologist. I’m lucky nobody is […]

Run the Burbs (season 1)

Posted by Dave Switzer under Reviews of TV shows

{4.5/5} “One trip, babyyy!” Run the Burbs (season 1), aired in 2022 When Barb the bylaw officer stops the block party, the Phams have to think creatively — Camile ends up driving her car in a street race. When new neighbours move into the house with a pool, Andrew and Camile want to be the […]

Activation Degradation

Posted by Dave Switzer under Reviews of books

{4.5/5} “It hadn’t been tasked with reconnaissance. It had been tasked with termination. It was to kill, not study. Why did so many of Unit Four’s instincts contradict its direct orders?” Activation Degradation by Marina J. Lostetter, published in 2021 Unit Four is a robot who is periodically reassembled anew. It works at a mining […]

Project Hail Mary

Posted by Dave Switzer under Reviews of books

{5/5} “They have some of the best supercomputers in the world. I needed their supercomputers and engineers to try all kinds of scenarios and propagation models for how Astrophage could get around in the galaxy. Back to the point: These local stars have been dimming for decades. And the rate of dimming increases exponentially — […]

Last Night in Soho

Posted by Dave Switzer under Reviews of movies

{4.5/5} “London can be a lot.” Last Night in Soho, released in 2021 Eloise gets accepted to college to study fashion design and moves to the big city of London. She’s not a big fan of her roommate and her friends who party all the time. She gets so fed up with them that she […]

Murdoch Mysteries (season 15)

Posted by Dave Switzer under Reviews of TV shows

{5/5} “With you, every day brings the possibility of magic, and I think we’re going to have a marvelous adventure together.” — Effie, to George Murdoch Mysteries season 15, aired in 2021-22 Murdoch is in Montreal searching for Anna Fulford and Harry, who is his son. Crabtree has been kidnapped by the twins Amelia and […]

Big Bug

Posted by Dave Switzer under Reviews of movies

{3.5/5} “Too bad. I’d started knitting you a wool scarf.” Big Bug, released in 2022 A few people have dropped by Alice’s house — her neighbour Françoise, who when her dog dies always clones a new one. And her ex-husband Victor along with their daughter Nina and his new girlfriend  Jennifer. The house AI locks […]