SciFi TV Rewatch

Episode 312 Dark S02E06 An Endless Cycle

Join Dave and Wayne for genre television show news, a Tip of the Week, commentary and analysis for this week’s episode of the German Netflix production Dark titled  “An Endless Cycle,” and our listener feedback segment. 
This week on SciFi TV Rewatch we journey back to the day before Michael Kahnwald's suicide and watch as Jonas time travels from 1921 to prevent his father from setting the cycle into motion. We discuss the Nielsen's 25th anniversary party and the impact the evening's events have on the four families. 
Dave suggests that in addition to time travel and multiple timeline theories, the story may be dropping hints that a multiverse may also be in play. Wayne points out that the individual reactions to the confrontation between Mikkel and Michael are to be expected given the circumstances of their history.
On this episode's Pick of the Week, Fred from the Netherlands suggests YouTube links to some of the meaningful music that appears on Dark.
Remember to join the Dark (and other genre television and film) discussion on the SciFi TV Rewatch Facebook group and follow us on Twitter @SciFiTVRewatch for the latest genre television show news and podcast releases.
Episode Grade: A

Episode 311 Dark S02E05 Lost and Found

Join Dave and Wayne for genre television show news, a Tip of the Week, commentary and analysis for this week’s episode of the German Netflix production Dark titled  “Lost and Found,” and our listener feedback segment. 
This week on SciFi TV Rewatch we discuss the fact that Charlotte finally learns the identity of her father, and even though it's probably not sitting well with her now, that's one Winden mystery solved. Now that Adam has revealed his true identity to his teenaged self, young Jonas embarks on a mission that he understands will save everyone. But is Adam telling the truth when he says Michael Kahnwald's suicide is the key to preventing the apocalypse? Can Jonas prevent his father from killing himself, and if so, how?
One of the more emotional episodes of Dark, "Lost and Found" forces viewers to evaluate Martha's treatment of her mother who has only just learned that Mikkel time traveled to 1986. Ulrich escapes from the psychiatric facility and reunites with Mikkel in an emotionally charged scene between a time traveling father and son.
Armed with the time machine they procured from Bartosz, Team Magnus returns to the cave to give Noah's underling one more chance to explain himself. He activates the machine, and the kids find themselves in 1987, just in time to watch two police cars drive by. And in one of the episode's most poignant ironies, the restrained Ulrich Nielsen sees Magnus and Martha but is unable to establish conflict.
Wayne recommends the Hulu series Das Boot while Dave suggests checking out Tricia Helfer's addition to the cast of SyFy's vampire apocalypse tale Van Helsing which is set to return for its fourth season this fall.
Remember to join the Dark (and other genre television and film) discussion on the SciFi TV Rewatch Facebook group and follow us on Twitter @SciFiTVRewatch for the latest genre television show news and podcast releases.
Episode Grade: Dave A  Wayne A-

Episode 310 Dark S02E04 The Travelers

Join Dave and Wayne for genre television show news, a Tip of the Week, commentary and analysis for this week’s episode of the German Netflix production Dark titled  “The Travelers,” and our listener feedback segment. 
This week on SciFi TV Rewatch we learn Adam’s true identity, and while it comes as a shock to teenaged Jonas, most of us saw this one coming. Jonas finds himself in 1921, and we discuss his meeting with young Noah and Adam who introduce him to the beginnings of the Sic Mundus movement and the concept of travelers. Once Jonas learns that the tunnels in the cave won't be completed for another thirty-two years, the realization that he's stuck in 1921 begins to sink in.
Katherina finally learns the truth about her son and husband's whereabouts, but the reality is not easy for her to process. We come this close to learning the backstory of Wöller's eye patch, but 1987 Claudia nearly causes an accident when she wanders in the middle of the road carrying a time travel device. However, it's the discovery of Bartosz in the caves that highlights the teenagers' attempt to figure out what's going on in Winden. 
Wayne recommends season three of Stranger Things as his Tip of the Week, and Dave alerts listeners to Battlestar Galactica alum Katee Sackhoff's latest science fiction project Another Life which is set to debut on Netflix.
In Listener Feedback, Fred checks in with an examination of the online articles Claudia retrieves, and we now have to question what impact her return to her own time will have on the power plant. Fred also updates his Winden family tree chart to reflect the newest revelations.
Remember to join the Dark (and other genre television and film) discussion on the SciFi TV Rewatch Facebook group and follow us on Twitter @SciFiTVRewatch for the latest genre television show news and podcast releases.
Episode Grade: A

Episode 309 Dark S02E03 Ghosts

The introduction of the Bootstrap Paradox theory into the story raises several questions not the least of which addresses the true creator of the time travel device. From whom did Claudia obtain the original blueprints she gives to H. G. Tannhaus in 1953? Dave and Wayne break down season two’s third episode “Ghosts” which narrows the focus to 1954 and 1987. While the episode centers itself on the activities of Claudia Tiedemann and her father Egon, it’s the side of the policeman we’ve rarely seen that drives one aspect of the narrative. 
Having left Ulrich Nielsen in 1953 after his journey through time, we must now wrestle with the events and the mindset that cause his thirty-four year confinement in a psychiatric facility. Though his meeting with Egon Tiedmann reveals his son Mikkel’s fate after his 2019 disappearance from the Winden woods, Ulrich’s reaction that “you knew and didn’t tell me,” speaks to a disconnect that likely keeps him from being released.
1987 Claudia, now in possession of the portable time machine, decides to travel to 2020, and the scene in which she watches her cancer stricken adult daughter Regina marks one of the series’ most poignant exchanges the mother’s comment to her teenage daughter in 1987 now becomes even more meaningful. Arguably the episode’s biggest reveal occurs when we learn that Noah and Agnes Nielsen are actually brother and sister, and her involvement with Sic Mundus Creatus Est has been an ongoing event. Now, however, she seeks to return to Adam’s good graces, but as always, individual motivations remain murky.
Fred from the Netherlands checks in with pointed feedback and awesome screenshots. He reminds us that the parentage of Charlotte Doppler, Helge Doppler, and Regina Tiedemann are still to be revealed, and also suggests that the hosts refer to the actors by their names rather than “the actor who plays Ulrich.” 
Episode Grade: A

Episode 308 Dark S02E02 Dark Matter

Jonas cracks the God Particle problem in 2053 and looks to return to his time, hoping to prevent the looming apocalypse. Jonas shows his mother the truth about Michael's past, and 1987 Claudia now has one of the time machines in her possession. However, it's the insertions of Adam and Clausen into the mix that adds to an already complex mystery.
Episode Grade: A

Episode 307 Dark S02E01 Beginnings and Endings

The German Netflix production Dark returns for a second season with glimpses of 1921 and the early days of the Winden caves and its time portals. Teenaged Jonas navigates life in 2053 with a band of holocaust survivors, and his adult self returns to his childhood home for a confrontation with his mother. We still don't learn what happened to Winden, but it's clear that Adam, Noah, both Jonas's, and elder Claudia have their own agendas which may or may not operate at cross purposes.
Episode Grade: A
 

Episode 306 The Magicians S01E13 Have You Brought Me Little Cakes?

In the season one finale, Eliot becomes Fillory's High King and crowns Quentin, Alice, and Margo, but Team Brakebills must still find a way to kill The Beast whose identity has finally been revealed. Though Julia temporarily joins the quest to stop Martin Chatwin, the revelation about her encounter with Reynard the Fox sends the story in a new direction. 
Episode Grade: A

Episode 305 The Magicians S01E12 Thirty-Nine Graves

Our Lady Underground meets Julia and Team Beowulf while the Brakebills Five heads to Neitherlands and an eventual trip to Fillory. Quentin gets left behind, re-establishes his relationship with Julia, and the two employ time travel to follow Jane Chatwin to Fillory.
Episode Grade: A-

Episode 304 The Magicians S01E11 Remedial Battle Magic

As the showdown with The Beast draws closer, Team Brakebills hones their battle magic skills with help from some unlikely places. Kady and Julia continue to work together with Richard's group, but Julia's religious experience may change her approach.
Episode Grade: Dave A-  Wayne B+

Bonus Episode 04 Fred from the Netherlands Top 10 List

Patron and frequent feedback contributor Fred from the Netherlands submitted a list of ten films and television series, and we take a look and comment on each. There were some surprises, most notably the 2008 film Doomsday, and in the end, there is something for everybody.