The ’90s classic Are You Afraid of the Dark? series has an all-new direct to video release! In Are You Afraid of the Dark? Ghost Island, fans can join Midnight Society members Kayla, Leo, Summer, and Ferris as they go on a summer getaway to a tropical island resort with some terrifying secrets. They will have to band together on this mysterious island to find the truth behind the disappearances taking place in the resort all while trying to enjoy their summer vacation!
Are You Afraid of the Dark? Ghost Island will be available on DVD from Paramount Home Entertainment on August 1, 2023, for the suggested retail price of $10.99.
Although the home video release doesn’t offer any extra featurettes regarding behind-the-scenes production, hopefully a complete Transformers Earthspark release will change that.
Keeping up with Transformers Earthspark can be tough. It can be found on Paramount Plus, the streaming service and Nickelodeon (USA) but when not everyone subscribes to either, tuning in from another country requires patience. I’ve lost track of when YTV would finally offer the remaining episodes; this station didn’t immediately offer them and recently, this network started cycling the first half all over again rather than offer new episodes (to which not even Nick has aired).
What I’ve learned after acquiring the home video release is that it is great at connecting to the G1 series. Those classic moments were reproduced in cel animation, and that’s enough for me to say I love the presentation! Also, this new series evolves the premise that’s defined this franchise for a long time. There are certain episodes which had me wanting to pause and rewind to search for Easter eggs, and the mid-season finale “Age of Evolution” sets up a world where newly formed allegiances are challenged.
After ten episodes, The Really Loud House is showing some semblance of enjoyability. We have tales that don’t always focus on the hijinx Lincoln is up to.
On Nickelodeon and YTV (Please check local listings for showtimes)
Catching up with The Really Loud House during the winter break was tough. This series debuted back in November of 2022 and I had reservations. What I really wanted was a better output of the cartoon series than this live-action version. And although a new season is promised, it won’t be coming soon.
Not everyone will like the fact this adaptation tries too hard to be just like the animated counterpart. All the wigs and turning an otherwise beautiful family to their drawn version doesn’t really work. A handful of performances are even spot on; Out of the entire cast, Brian Stepanek stands out as the least zany. His approach isn’t as over the top emotional as the drawn version, and somehow he channels just the right amount of pathos from his toon persona to real life.
Even though some of that magic is gone in this adaptation, I see the direction is no different from the classic sitcoms, namely Brady Bunch and Saved by the Bell. Somehow, I managed to continue watching past the cringe worthy first four episodes. It’s mostly about Lincoln Loud (Wolfgang Schaeffer) who sometimes break the fourth wall and his best friend, Clyde (Jahzir Bruno). The latter is one of the few voice over talents making the transition to the reality show. The side stories concerning his sisters are just that.
In the debut pair of Transformers Earthspark episodes, the new bots are unlike their kin from planet Cybertron, and have much to learn.
Presented on YTV Nov 11, 2022
The robots in disguise that we all love have gone Terran, and this new series continues from where Generation One ended. Although the events took place many decades ago–the flashback sequences present the original designs–Transformers Earthspark literally evolves the story further. Unlike past sagas set in its own continuity (i.e. universe), this one sees the battle between the Autobots and Deceptions finally over.
But as for the new threat, who we’re dealing with is like M.E.C.H. from Transformers Prime. This was formerly led by Leland (Silas) Bishop. Here, Dr. Meridian wants to merge a man with mecha and his agenda is nothing like Headmasters.
Like every other series, every introduction requires youths discovering these robots. However, for brother and sister Robby Malto (Sydney Mikayla) and Mo (Zion Broadnax), what they discover are creations that may well be Earth’s firstborn techno-biological lifeforms. They did not crash-land on this planet, but rose from its primordial goo that looks suspiciously like a lake of energon. Because they interfaced with it, they too wear a special gauntlet, so they can feel each other’s emotions. Thus, Twitch (Kathreen Khavari) and Thrash (Zeno Robinson) are born, and are probably the same age. They behave like their human counterparts, to which they’ve “bonded” to.
The fact Star Trek Prodigy is developed for younger audiences makes for a better tone and escapism that Discovery lacks.
Streaming on Nickelodeon and Paramount+
Releasing Star Trek Prodigy in small waves is perhaps the next best thing to creating that serialised vibe past series are known for. The first five episodes set up the dynamics in a new crew of misfits who end up finding an experimental Federation starship–presumably abandoned in the Delta quadrant–and figuring out what to do with it. The hologram that helps them out is a simulacrum of Admiral Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) from Voyager. As far as artificial intelligence goes, she’s willing to ignore the fact they’re not cadets.
This series is Paramount’s answer to Star Wars: Rebels. We have Dal (Brett Gray), a 17-year-old renegade without parents. The first episode focuses on him escaping a prisoner’s life and finding the USS Protostar to hide out in. He is joined by Pog (Jason Mantzoukas), Zero (Angus Imrie), Rok-Tahk (Rylee Alazraqui) and Murf (Dee Bradley Baker), but five is not enough if they are to escape from the clutches of Diviner (John Noble). He is Gwyn’s father (Ella Purnell), the reluctant sixth member, and is a tyrant of the imprisonment colony of Tars Lamora. Sources say this character is modelled after Kahn from the movies, but I think there’s more of an Admiral Thrawn type personality behind him. He’s in search for that Federation ship. As for what he wants to do with it, that’s anybody’s guess until the next batch of episodes is out.