Netflix’s hit Korean sci-fi drama The Silent Sea has a claustrophobic intensity that makes it addictive watching. The drama takes place in the confined space of a moon base, where murderous inhuman creatures stalk the corridors preying on the heroes. It owes a lot to Alien, without being derivative of the sci-fi horror masterwork, not least how it sustains the tension across its eight episodes.
The show’s protagonist, Doctor Song Ji-an (Bae Doona), is motivated to find her sister, who was amongst the previous crew of the moon base who disappeared. Song Ji-an, and the mix of scientists and soldiers who join her on this mission, probe the secrets of the moon base to uncover the mystery of what happened to the previous crew. The twist – and this is something of a spoiler – is that the secret of the moon base has more to do with Earth than the Moon.
Most of the drama of the series takes place on the moon base, but we get glimpses of the characters’ lives on Earth. These moments answer the question: what motivated these people to risk their lives on such a dangerous mission? The answer lies in the sorry state that this future Earth has found itself in following an environmental catastrophe.
This fortnight, Nick and Alastair take a voyage into the past with Viking vengeance movie The Northman and time travel veteran Doctor Who in Legend of the Sea Devils.
Lastly, it’s the penultimate outing for the Thirteenth Doctor Who in Legend of the Sea Devils (25:18), and as the end becomes increasingly nigh, the possibility begins to loom that Jodie Whittaker might… go out on a moderate high?
This fortnight, it’s a tightly disciplined military exercise as Nick and Alastair cover Peacemaker and Black Crab.
Finally, for more serious army-action, we head over to Sweden for Black Crab (28:11), a dark thriller that finally gives us soldier-survival drama ON ICE.
This fortnight, Nick and Alastair look on the sunny side of life with Pixar’s Turning Red and… the other one with The Boys: Diabolical.
Last of all, Nick and Alastair have seen The Boys: Diabolical (25:04), a new animated anthology from the world of Amazon’s superhero-bashing show. And yes, an animated anthology can only mean one thing: top three countdown time!
This fortnight, Nick and Alastair begin a long dark journey into the depths of the human soul with The Batman and Euphoria season 2.
Lastly, as part of their annual quest for Oscar relevance, Nick and Alastair watch Jane Campion’s acclaimed western The Power of the Dog (25:04) and puzzle over exactly where it fits in the pantheon of past Cumberbatch roles, plus (of course) how it connects to Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
This fortnight, Nick and Alastair armour up and hit the trail with Star Wars: The Book of Boba Feet, then hunker down for the apocalypse with Don’t Look Up.
And then it’s time to embrace oblivion in apocalyptic Netflix comedy-drama Don’t Look Up (29:48), starring… more or less everyone.
Last of all, going forward in time to their GCSE years, Nick and Alastair take a look at The Tragedy of Macbeth (23:03).
Nick and Alastair cover the last month in expansive form, with a packed episode covering Spider-Man: No Way Home (at last!), The Matrix: Resurrections (surprise extra!) and Dexter: New Blood (uh-oh!).
Lastly, Nick and Alastair return to the scene of the crime with Dexter: New Blood (52:05), a show they enjoyed a lot in its heyday. Can this revival mini-series recapture any of the old killer magic? Finding out will require full-on ending spoilers from 63:05.
Happy New Year! It’s the end of 2021 wrap-up episode so, as the ancient traditions demand, Nick and Alastair must check off their top five TV and film releases of the year.
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