tv shows

The new season of Stranger Things is really like a series of short movies, each running just long enough to get the story told. The shortest episode checks in at 64 minutes, the longest at 98. This trend of editing programming to the “right” length rather than a prescribed advertising outline, may be the greatest benefit of streaming, as it simply allows content creators to tell their stories. With Stranger Things Season 4, those stories are well told.

Despite the sizable content budgets of streaming video on demand (SVOD) services, consumers are growing more frustrated with SVOD content discovery and subscription fees. SVOD services often require consumers to juggle multiple subscriptions at increasing costs. But on social media platforms, content discovers the user, offering free passive and interactive experiences with near-infinite streams of personalized content that are continuously refined.

The growth of foreign media’s popularity poses many interesting questions as to the future shape of media in the U.S. and worldwide. While platforms like Netflix seem content to purchase and serve as a distributor for foreign content, how will American media producers, especially in fields in which they are lagging behind foreigners, try to appeal to domestic audiences? How will questions of media representation be perceived with art created in different nations and different local contexts?

Temuera Morrison plays Boba Fett, and while his voice is instantly recognizable to fans, he isn’t the best choice to play Fett. While Morrison is a good actor and his voice fits the character well, he’s around 20 years older than Fett would have been in the show. Seeing Morrison move slowly and struggle with action scenes pokes holes in the aura Fett had.

The comedy still comes first, and James Gunn seems to have hit a golden ratio when it comes to balancing the laughs and the drama.While this is part of the wider DC universe that has been building up for years now, the writers have done a good job of making this show feel more self-contained. Watching The Suicide Squad is necessary to understand the show’s characters, but beyond that, the viewer doesn’t have to do any background research to fully enjoy this show.

The brilliance in this creative strategy means What If can feel unimportant. In a franchise that has now created infinite universes, focusing on one singular universe that is not taking place on Earth-19999 can feel insignificant. While it is a spectacle to see Captain Carter punch Nazis, witness Hank Pym kill the Avengers, or see all the heroes as zombified versions of themselves, ultimately, they are one-offs.

The editing and story are reminiscent of the movie Jacob’s Ladder in that the main character and viewer are lost in reality and unsure of what’s really going on. It becomes clear early on that some or all of what we see regarding the “president” is a fabricated reality created to protect his mind from some awful truth. As he talks to the other patients to unravel the mystery, he’s subjected to abuse from the doctors and orderlies

Any dramatic series that starts with the hero wielding a gun in his underwear in the middle of the desert already has a lot going for it. When you add an outstanding cast, top-quality writing and a dark strain of humor, it's hard to think of any other television series that comes close to the magnificent achievement of Breaking Bad. That the series sustained this exceptional level of quality for five seasons is little short of a miracle.