David Anderson

Fireheart works when we see the dynamic between father and daughter, and against the backdrop of a beautifully rendered New York City in 1930, one expects some very good things. But then the story gets sabotaged by lame supporting characters, tepid humour, a ridiculous crisis, and gross historical inaccuracy. The movie should have been much more serious in tone, and should have looked more carefully at WHY women weren't allowed to be firefighters back then. Sadly, we come away with the feeling that we've really learned nothing about this particular feminist struggle. There's a wide gap between soft-pedalling a social achievement and yelling woke slogans in our ear; Fireheart needed to find that informative, inspiring middle area but failed to light the proper incendiary spark.

This underrated gem had a lot of unexpected laughs mixed in with just the right amount of social commentary. Sarah Silverman brings some real chutzpah to her lead character of Candy Smalls, an elf who deeply aspires to be the next Santa Claus -- and learns to take no prisoners while ascending the ladder of would-be successors to Seth Rogen's Santa. Be prepared for a LOT of sexual humour and foul language, though; this ain't your pastor's North Pole.

This 10-episode first season starts out with some great sci-fi premises: Earth destroyed by sectarian warfare, a remnant of humanity escaping to exoplanet Kepler 22b (an actual planet that may be able to support life), strange life forms (some extinct, some not so much), and the nature of androids. Some nice twists along the way, and thought-provoking plot developments. That's the first five episodes. The last half of the season devolves into mind-tripping, psychological flim-flammery, unbelievable leaps forward in storyline, and a season finale that has to be seen to be utterly disbelieved. So much that is ridiculous and inexplicable happens in the last 55 minutes that all the hard work that looked to pay off in the early shows goes completely down the toilet -- or one of the many literally bottomless pits that seem to dot the landscape. The biggest waste of time is by the actors, who put so much of themselves into their characters. Watch this show if you must, but only to honour their work. The screenwriters and director(s) can hang their heads in shame.