A. J. Black
Author of The Cinematic Connery: The Films of Sir Sean Connery + other books • Writer on film/TV • Podcaster/network chief at We Made This • Occasionally go outside.
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in EpisodesAlias S1E3 Revisited: “Parity” Serves as a Key Early Mythology Touchstone
The following contains spoilers for Alias S1E3, “Parity” (written by Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci and directed by Mikael Salomon) If Alias, in its opening two introductory episodes, flirted with the idea that the show is a post-Cold War espionage thriller attempting to understand and resolve the consequences of the 20th century’s longest-running and defining ideological […] More
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Alias S1E2 Revisited: “So It Begins…” Lays Out the Big Picture
The following contains spoilers for Alias S1E2, “So It Begins…” (written by J. J. Abrams & directed by Ken Olin) The big picture. This is something we are going to see our erstwhile heroine Sydney Bristow struggle with a great deal as we work our way through Alias, and right from the beginning of “So It […] More
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Alias S1E1 Revisited: “Truth Be Told” Revives Spy-Fi Storytelling with a Bang
The following contains spoilers for Alias S1E1, “Truth Be Told” (written and directed by J. J. Abrams) It is easy to forget, for all the subsequent success with the Mission Impossible, Star Trek and now Star Wars mega-franchises, that the pilot episode of ABC’s Alias remains one of the best things producing and show-running supremo […] More
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in Series
On the Box: The Final Voyage of Star Trek: Picard is Fun Yet Maddening Nostalgia (Season 3)
In a weekly column called On the Box, author A. J. Black unpacks what we’re all discussing from the world of television. This time, he looks at the new series of Star Trek: Picard (Season 3) and the franchise’s ongoing problem with nostalgia… Roughly 18 months ago, I wrote a piece on the trailer for the […] More
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in Series
Beyond the Screen #7: What If…? The Animated Marvel We Hoped For
In a new weekly column called Beyond the Screen, author A. J. Black unpacks what we’re all discussing from the world of cinema and television. This time, he looks at the imminent arrival of Marvel’s What If…? and how it operates on more than one level… Marvel and animation have a long history going back […] More
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in Series
Beyond the Screen #2: Loki’s Variant is a Crisis for the Establishment
In a new weekly column called Beyond the Screen, author A. J. Black unpacks what we’re all discussing from the world of cinema and television. This time, he consider’s Marvel’s Loki two episodes in and what it might be saying about order and chaos… There was a moment watching Loki’s second episode where he was described […] More
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in Series
Beyond the Screen #1: Star Trek Picard’s Future Tapestry
In a new weekly column called Beyond the Screen, author A. J. Black unpacks what we’re all discussing from the world of cinema and television. This time, he takes a look at the second season of Star Trek: Picard after a brand new trailer… Everything about Star Trek in the modern era, nay the Alex […] More
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in Episodes
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier S1E6: One World, One People, Two Americas
As we experience the end of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier in S1E6, it becomes increasingly apparent that, as audience, we entered the series asking entirely the wrong question. While Steve Rogers, having given up his life as Captain America, bequeathed his shield to his close friend Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) at the end […] More
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The X-Files Season 8 and the Tragedy of the ‘MSR’
For many a fan of the MSR (Mulder-Scully Romance), there exists no eighth and ninth season of The X-Files in conventional terms. While such fans appreciate aspects of the second movie, I Want to Believe, and the subsequent revival seasons, for them the classic era of the series ends with ‘Requiem’. The seventh season finale […] More
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The Falcon and the Winter Soldier S1E5: ‘Truth’ (and Consequences)
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier structures its penultimate episode (S1E5, ‘Truth’) akin to the calm before the storm—the pause for breath to consider and contextualise—as all of our characters attempt to discover their own personal truth. ‘Truth’ is a perfect summation of Malcolm Spellman’s series to date, which has existed in the shadow of […] More
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The X-Files Season 7 and the ‘MSR’ Maturation
If we are to consider the sixth season of The X-Files to be the year the show comes to terms with the Mulder-Scully Romance, the subsequent Season 7 could be seen as the year their relationship grows up. The seventh season of The X-Files is generally considered the series on autopilot. Until the 2016 revival, […] More
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in Episodes
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier S1E4: The Whole World Is Watching
What is supremacy? Is it a Nietzschean object of literal physical superiority or an ideology, a state of mind? The Falcon and the Winter Soldier S1E4 suggests both in the Marvel Cinematic Universe might be part of the same formula. ‘The Whole World Is Watching’ is a title that knows just how provocative it is. […] More
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