Entertainment
Sorry ‘The Dark Knight,’ But This Is Still the Best Superhero Ever Made
Superhero movies are so common these days that comic book characters you’ve never heard of still get their moment on the movie theater marquee. But when we think of the best of the genre, we keep coming back to the huge names: the Avengers, Superman, Spider-Man, and Batman. And out of all of those films, popular opinion says that Christopher Nolan‘s The Dark Knight is the greatest superhero film ever made.
What Christian Bale and Heath Ledger pulled off in 2008 was certainly iconic. But sorry to the Caped Crusader: the best superhero movie is still one that came before it. Because in 2004, Sam Raimi changed the direction of superhero movies forever with Spider-Man 2, a film that brought us a stand-out supporting cast, jaw-dropping action sequences, and a deep exploration of its hero’s mind. To say that Spider-Man 2 is better than The Dark Knight is not to argue that the latter doesn’t deserve all the accolades it gets. Instead, calling Spider-Man 2 the greatest superhero movie is to recognize that it takes a very special film to even be compared to Nolan’s masterpiece — and that its breakthroughs are part of what made The Dark Knight possible.
Peter Parker Is a More Compelling Character Than Bruce Wayne
Part of what elevates Spider-Man 2 over The Dark Knight is its main character. As fantastic as Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne is, Tobey Maguire‘s Peter Parker is superior. Some of this is inherent in the character: Bruce Wayne is purposefully limited, holding his emotions in for the most part. He wears the part of a billionaire as his costume. It’s only when he puts on the cape that he becomes his true self.
That’s not so with Peter Parker. Alvin Sargent‘s script for Spider-Man 2 gives us a deeply sympathetic look at the kid behind the mask. By now, Parker has his role as a hero all figured out; in this film, he learns that he must live with the cost. Not only did he lose his Uncle Ben, but people have been hurt and killed because of his powers and how he chose to use them. In the first film, Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe) died. Now, his son, Harry (James Franco), is simultaneously Parker’s best friend while also seething with hatred towards Spider-Man. Peter must carry that weight, along with the knowledge of how often he is putting Mary Jane’s (Kirsten Dunst) life on the line.
Batman is the epitome of dark cool. Spider-Man is relatable precisely because he is not cool; rather, he is an everyman who is either blessed or cursed with a gift. No matter how many good things he does, the weight of responsibility and its repercussions is almost too much to carry.
‘Spider-Man 2’ Is Carried By Its Stellar Supporting Cast
While Tobey Maguire is excellent as Peter Parker, his successes wouldn’t matter if he doesn’t have a great cast of characters to interact with. Rosemary Harris‘ May Parker is the soul of the family, keeping Peter grounded when everything feels like it’s coming undone. And this time around, everything in his relationship with MJ is turned up a notch. Their relationship is now much more than awe, mystery, and upside-down kisses in the rain; in Spider-Man 2, fantasy meets reality. Mary Jane wants to be with Peter, which he wants more than anything. However, his fear of her getting hurt because of who he is leads him to push her away, straight into the arms of John Jameson (Daniel Gillies). We know Peter and MJ will eventually be together, but the film makes our two leads earn it, resulting in the stunning, third act reveal of Peter’s secret identity in front of Mary Jane. Romantic subplots are often afterthoughts in superhero movies but Spider-Man 2 does its love story splendidly well.
And no great superhero can exist without a great villain. Spider-Man 2, like The Dark Knight, has two. No one can compare with the genius of Heath Ledger’s Joker, but Sam Raimi’s well-written baddies were a refreshing one-two punch in a time when villains were often one-note tropes. The audience can understand both their motivations. Of course, Norman Osborn brought his demise on himself, but still, what son wouldn’t defend his father? Seeing only the good in his dad is how Harry Osborn grieves. He’s tormented by a deep pain that brings out the worst in him.
Even better is Alfred Molina as Otto Octavius, a good man and scientist turned tragic villain Dr. Octopus. Whereas there is no curing the Joker, Doc Ock is a bad guy who is intimidating while also being sympathetic, who eventually comes to his senses and tries to help. This all comes together to make Spider-Man 2 a deeply human story where the action is secondary to the emotional performances.
‘Spider-Man 2’ Is the Perfect Blend of Action and Emotion
Despite its emphasis on character development, Spider-Man 2 does not get lazy with its action sequences. In fact, Spider-Man 2 is one jaw-dropping action scene after another. But while they show off inventive set design and gasp-inducing fight choreography, what gives them all their power is the emotion behind them.
Spider-Man 2‘s train scene, which is perhaps its most famous sequence, is a prime example of this. Raimi’s direction and Danny Elfman‘s score blend together in a moment that spotlights exactly how hard Peter Parker will fight to save the innocent — he’ll damn near rip himself in half for the people of New York City. And he does it all unmasked, his identity exposed. Afterward, when he collapses, Spider-Man 2 delivers its most powerful scene, as the citizens carefully move his body to safety, in a show of connection. They don’t want to reveal his identity; they see this superhero as a person and are thankful. Three years after 9/11, the idea of community in the Big Apple was a tearjerker. 22 years later, it still gets the waterworks going.
Spider-Man 2 was a revelation when it was released. Before it, outside of a few examples like Blade and X-Men, comic book movies were looked down on. They were for kids and no one else. In his perfect four-star review, Roger Ebert wrote that Spider-Man 2 is “a superhero movie for people who don’t go to superhero movies, and for those who do, it’s the one they’ve been yearning for.” It’s the starting point for everything that came after. Two decades later, it’s the benchmark, the one that changed everything.
Spider-Man 2
- Release Date
-
June 30, 2004
- Runtime
-
127 minutes
- Director
-
Sam Raimi
- Writers
-
Alvin Sargent, Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, Michael Chabon
Continue Reading
Entertainment
8 Years Later, Prime Video’s Spy Series Is the Best Kind of Cult Show No One Talks About
There’s more content than ever about espionage and covert intelligence, but most shows based on these subjects tend to characterize spycraft as an exciting, action-packed profession. Even if these shows do not universally endorse or sympathize with the characters that they portray, they do offer a depiction of their work that boasts the epic scope and scale of what is inherently compelling. Patriot is a downbeat, darkly funny, and frequently avant-garde spy series that is a bit too disturbing to be a comedy, too strange to be a straightforward drama, and too experimental to be lumped in with other streaming genre shows. There aren’t any broad characteristics that can be used to describe Patriot because of how original it was, and the series deserves more recognition for being one of the early indicators of how inventive streaming shows could be.
Patriot was created by Steven Conrad, the talented showrunner who would go on to make the Emmy-nominated limited series DTF St. Louis and write several hit comedy films. The show tells the story of John Tavner (Michael Dorman), an unusual intelligence agent who performs covert tasks for the Director of Intelligence, who happens to be his father Tom (Terry O’Quinn). Despite John’s desire to be a folk singer and troubled marriage to his wife Alice (Kathleen Munroe), he is assigned to go undercover as “John Lakeman” and gains a job at a Milwaukee industrial company run by the recovering alcoholic Leslie Claret (Kurtwood Smith). Patriot finds a roundabout way to explore the demanding task of assuming different identities while remaining confident in one’s personal ethics. Even though it is John who is professionally lying to make his living, all the characters in Patriot are being dishonest with themselves in one way or another.
‘Patriot’ Puts a Fascinating Spin on the Spy Drama
Patriot is an apt commentary on modern American life because the series explores the mundanity of workplace culture, which is ironically not that different between undercover spy work and blue-collar industrial labor. All the infrastructure in Patriot is built on the maintenance of established values that no one has ever questioned, which makes all the more trouble for John when he starts asking questions. John strays from his father’s teaching and often has to be reined in by his brother, Edward (Michael Chernus), a congressman from Texas. At the same time, his unusual attitude makes him stick out like a sore thumb at McMillan, the processing plant, especially when compared to the more dedicated “company men.” The irony is that John’s inability to fit in causes a shift in his relationship with both of his mentors; Tom begins to talk to him less personally as if he were only an employee, and Leslie begins to take him under his wing, treating him like a son.
Patriot cleverly riffs on the archetypes of spy fiction because its narrative mirrors similar storylines involving nuclear anxiety in other movies and shows, only to go in a completely different direction by focusing on small and seemingly insignificant tasks. The series is also keen to note the type of consequences of John’s work that wouldn’t always be brought up in a spy story, specifically within his relationship with the rival job-seeker Stephen Tchoo (Marcus Toji). In the first episode, John is forced to injure Stephen to ensure that he can get the job at McMillan and serve as an undercover agent. Instead of casting Stephen aside altogether, Patriot shows his continued experiences after dealing with severe brain damage, making him a living reminder of the atrocities that John has committed in the name of a mission that he does not fully comprehend.
‘Patriot’ Has Excellent Characters and Performances
While Conrad’s other work has involved getting great performances out of actors who were cast against type, Patriot boasts a true standout in Dorman, who gives a melancholy, charming, and impressively removed performance as a self-destructive anti-hero. So much is learned about John’s past over the course of the series that the family dynamics begin to feel real; the relationship between John and Edward becomes quite impactful towards the end of Season 2, once Chernus is given much more to do. There’s also an interesting depiction of marriage that shows the costs that Alice faces as she tries to collect any knowledge she can about her husband, whose frequent absences for long-term assignments put a strain upon their relationship.
Although it has a satisfying conclusion that wraps up John’s journey and could have easily been extended into later seasons, Patriot was cancelled prematurely after the end of Season 2. This might be because it aired at a time in which streaming television was more of a novelty, and the notion of an auteur-driven show with stark stylistic tendencies didn’t fit within the reputation that Prime Video has as a brand. Prime Video has now developed a corporate identity as a streamer that produces a high volume of action, military, and espionage shows that embody all the clichés that Patriot subverts and satirizes. There’s nothing about Patriot that feels cynical or predictable, and eight years later, it’s still a breath of fresh air that more people should know about.
Last summer, the ever-suave Brad Pitt returned to the tentpole scene with one of 2025’s most impressive cinematic experiences. Joseph Kosinski‘s racing blockbuster F1, which stars Pitt as Sonny Hayes, was a huge hit both critically and commercially. Not only did the film eventually take home the prize for Best Sound from this year’s 98th Academy Awards ceremony and earn a nod in the coveted Best Picture category, but it also broke box office records, becoming the highest-grossing original movie of the year and Apple Original Film’s highest-grossing theatrical release of all time with a $633 million worldwide haul.
The film is yet another in a long line of huge success stories for Pitt on the big screen, with it remarkably now 35 years since he first broke onto the scene as small-time drifter J.D. in director Ridley Scott‘s Thelma & Louise. Of all his many masterpieces, one that flies too far under the radar is the drama film Babel, which debuted in 2006 and was Pitt’s only acting performance of the year. Directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, who earned his first Best Director nod for the film, Babel was also the recipient of five other Academy Award nominations, sadly only winning one in the Best Original Score category (Gustavo Santaolalla).
At the box office, the film proved even more successful than its underwhelming night at the Oscars, with Babel scoring a global haul of $132 million against a production budget of just $20 million. Mohamed Akhzam, Cate Blanchett, Elle Fanning, Satoshi Nikaido, and more feature in this ambitious multi-narrative drama that tells a selection of interconnected stories across the world in Morocco, Japan, Mexico, and the United States. As of August 1, you can watch Babel on Paramount+ in the U.S., where it joins an impressive collection of arriving titles.
Brad Pitt’s Next Project Sees One of His Best Characters Return
.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=500&dpr=2)
Back in February 2020, Pitt picked up the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Cliff Booth in Quentin Tarantino‘s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, the 2019 historical drama set in 1969 Los Angeles. Later this year, he will reprise the role in The Adventures of Cliff Booth, which will have a two-week exclusive run in IMAX starting November 25, before moving to Netflix worldwide on December 23. Tarantino has penned the project, with long-time Pitt collaborator David Fincher taking director’s duties.
Babel is streaming on Paramount+. Stay tuned to Collider for more streaming stories.
- Release Date
-
September 8, 2006
- Runtime
-
143 minutes
- Director
-
Alejandro González Iñárritu
The fantasy genre just can’t exist without Dungeons & Dragons, and that’s not an empty hot take. For anyone who somehow missed the epic phenomenon that is Dungeons & Dragons, the game is a shared adventure where a group of players creates heroes, explores strange worlds, fights monsters, and makes questionable decisions before the dice flip the odds. One person guides the story as the Dungeon Master, but the real fun comes from watching completely different characters work together to survive the most unexpected situations.
The game is extremely entertaining, but ultimately, it thrives on a strong sense of camaraderie among the players. Plenty of animated shows capture that same feeling, even when they aren’t directly based on the games. These six animated series are for anyone searching for the same mix of excitement, heart, and unpredictability that Dungeons & Dragons is known for.
1
‘Arcane’ (2021–2024)
Arcane is based on Riot Games’ fan-favorite League of Legends universe and expands the game’s lore into a rich fantasy drama. The story takes place across the divided worlds of Piltover and Zaun and follows sisters Vi and Powder after a failed robbery tears their family apart. Years later, Vi has become a hardened fighter, while Powder has transformed into the unstable and destructive Jinx. Their relationship is the emotional center of the story, but aside from that, Arcane brings together dangerous magic, political conflict, and broken alliances to tie every storyline into one big adventure.
The series never treats its characters as black and white and gives nuance to even the messiest decisions made by Piltover’s leaders and Zaun’s revolutionaries. Even the characters trying to do the right thing keep discovering that every decision leads to consequences they cannot control. This kind of ambitious worldbuilding makes the series’ moral complexity feel even stronger. Safe to say, Dungeons & Dragons fans will feel right at home in Arcane’s world, where the stakes can completely change in the blink of an eye.
2
‘Blue Eye Samurai’ (2023–Present)
Blue Eye Samurai has all the makings of a classic revenge story, until one realizes that the animated action series is so much more than just that. The story takes place in 17th-century Japan and follows mixed-race master swordsman Mizu, who is hunting four white men, one of whom may be her father. Now, the protagonist’s blue eyes and gender will easily make her a target, so she travels in disguise and treats every person she meets as either a means to her end or an enemy. Mizu’s obsession drives the story forward, and her backstory gives the violence real weight, with every battle revealing something new about her.
Her eventual alliances with Ringo, Taigen, and Akemi turn her journey into a much more compelling adventure. Each character is following a different path, but their choices repeatedly pull them into the same conflict. Blue Eye Samurai is a treat for audiences who appreciate group-based fantasy storytelling and how one simple quest keeps growing in unexpected directions. Most importantly, the series understands that a good fantasy story isn’t just about defeating the bad guy, but about the more personal journey its characters embark on.
3
‘The Legend of Vox Machina’ (2022–Present)
The Legend of Vox Machina is based on the first campaign of Critical Role, which began as a private tabletop game before becoming a hugely popular online show. The show follows seven adventurers who care about money and drinks more than anything else. The thing is that all of them are skilled individually, but getting them to work together in the face of a threat is as impossible as it gets. Their first adventure earns them some respect, but the story becomes far more personal when one member of the group, Percy, comes face-to-face with Sylas and Delilah Briarwood, the couple who murdered his family and took control of his home. The group travels to Whitestone to help him reclaim it, only to realize that Percy’s desire for revenge is turning into something much more brutal.
From there, the crew’s journey leads them to forgotten tombs, dangerous cities, and other planes of existence in search of ancient weapons called the Vestiges of Divergence. However, even with a scale so grand, the core focus of the show remains the friendships holding this deeply dysfunctional group together. In fact, that balance is exactly what makes The Legend of Vox Machina so much fun. The heroes argue, make terrible decisions, and occasionally succeed by chance. Along the way, though, they learn that their greatest victories only happen when they stop trying to outshine each other. The Legend of Vox Machina captures the joy of a shared fantasy adventure, and that’s what makes it such a special show.
4
‘Castlevania’ (2017–2021)
Castlevania begins with the iconic Dracula falling in love. However, when his wife, Lisa, is falsely accused of witchcraft and burned alive by the Church, the grief drives him mad. Dracula gives the people of Wallachia one year to make peace before unleashing an army of vampires and night creatures upon them. Now, Trevor Belmont, the drunken and disgraced last member of a legendary monster-hunting family, becomes humanity’s best hope. Naturally, Trevor wants nothing to do with saving a society that drove his family into exile. However, he crosses paths with fearless magician Sypha Belnades and Dracula’s half-human son, Alucard.
Together, the three of them agree to find the villain’s moving castle to stop his war against humanity. Trevor has years of monster-hunting knowledge, Sypha can control the elements, and Alucard has the strength and speed of a vampire, which makes the characters the perfect trio to bring Dracula down. Over the course of four seasons, Castlevania moves beyond this first mission, without ever feeling too disconnected from the initial conflict. The series allows its characters to grow without slowing down the action. Castlevania is gothic and gory, but it has its fair share of heartfelt moments that keep the audience genuinely invested in every plot until the end.
5
‘Blood of Zeus’ (2020–2025)
Blood of Zeus could have done the easy thing and retold Greek myths that most people are already familiar with. Instead, the show created a new hero and placed him directly in the middle of the gods’ famously messy family drama. Heron begins the series as a poor outcast living with his mother in ancient Greece, only to discover that he is one of Zeus’ many illegitimate sons. Unfortunately, this also catches the attention of Hera, who directs her anger at Heron and unleashes a conflict involving gods, mortals, demons, and long-buried Giants. Heron is soon pulled into a much larger fight alongside the warrior Alexia and a small group of unlikely allies. At the same time, he must face Seraphim, a brutal demon leader whose past is closely connected to his own.
Blood of Zeus delivers a grand fantasy epic that is easy to get lost in. The series continues expanding after its first war as Heron is forced to take greater responsibility for Olympus following Zeus’ death. The series works because it shows how its gods are just as flawed as the humans caught in their battles. Their jealousy and old grudges keep creating new problems, while Heron is left to deal with the consequences. The show might borrow from Greek mythology and feature enchanted weapons, dangerous enemies, and trips to the Underworld, but at the end of the day, it is a family drama that almost everyone will relate to.
6
‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ (2005–2008)
Avatar: The Last Airbender is hands-down one of the greatest animated series ever created. The show centers on 12-year-old Aang, the last surviving Air Nomad and the Avatar, a powerful figure expected to master all four elements and restore balance to the world. Not just that, but Aang is also the only person capable of ending the Fire Nation’s century-long war. He is soon joined by siblings Katara and Sokka, and later Toph, as the group travels across the world to help Aang master water, earth, and fire before facing Fire Lord Ozai. For all its childlike playfulness and warmth, Avatar: The Last Airbender also takes the damage caused by war and colonialism very seriously.
The show demonstrates how the Fire Nation occupies people’s land, destroys their culture, and spreads propaganda to teach its own children a false version of history. The audience sees all this damage through Aang’s eyes, but none of it feels too heavy because of the show’s focus on friendship and wonder. The world in Avatar: The Last Airbender feels magical and alive, despite the constant danger the people in this world face. The show offers all of its characters, even Zuko, genuine growth to show how real strength comes from understanding others and choosing compassion over everything else. Very few animated series are as meaningful and memorable as Avatar: The Last Airbender, and the show’s themes only make it feel more relevant with time.
Avatar: The Last Airbender
- Release Date
-
2005 – 2008-00-00
- Network
-
Nickelodeon
- Showrunner
-
Michael Dante DiMartino
- Directors
-
Giancarlo Volpe, Ethan Spaulding, Lauren MacMullan, Dave Filoni, Joaquim Dos Santos, Anthony Lioi
The Real Housewives of Miami alum Stephanie Shojaee’s summer vacation in France took a frightening turn when she was allegedly robbed.
“Cannes and Saint-Tropez are great … until it’s your turn to get robbed,” Shojaee, 41, announced via her Instagram Story on Saturday, August 1.
The reality star took her followers through the timeline of the alleged robbery across several Instagram Story slides, starting with the beginning of her trip as she boarded a private plane.
Showing off her luxe hotel room in France, Shojaee revealed, “Robbery happened day 2!! South of France is just not safe. I wanted to leave. But I made the best of it.”
Three suspects are in custody after The Real Housewives of Miami star Larsa Pippen’s home was burglarized. According to police records viewed by Us Weekly on Monday, March 30, three men were arrested in connection to the break-in at the reality TV star’s home. All three suspects were charged with burglary of an unoccupied dwelling […]
Shojaee then shared shocking security camera footage that seemingly showed two masked robbers lingering outside of her vacation villa at night.
“Come to the South of France, they said. Rent a villa, they said. It was a great idea, they said,” she quipped. “Oh look! There goes my stuff! And they even took half [of] my [real estate company Shoma Group] merch. WTF!!!”
In later posts, Shojaee claimed that the masked men “came into my room and went shopping in my closet.”
“I woke up to this every day but scared … Worth it? Not really,” she stressed.
The RHOM star brought her beloved dog Pebbles along for the vacation — and, luckily, the pet came away completely unharmed.
“She barks at the wind but not at people taking all my stuff,” Shojaee teased in a slide featuring Pebbles.
As of publication, Shojaee has not released any further details about the alleged robbery.
Shojaee joined the cast of The Real Housewives of Miami for season 7 in 2025. Unfortunately, Us confirmed in March that RHOM was put on “pause” by Bravo for the second time following the completion of season 7. (The Miami-based Real Housewives franchise was previously paused by the network from 2013 to 2021.)
The Real Housewives of Miami executive producer and reunion host, Andy Cohen, broke his silence in March about the show being shelved.
Former Real Housewives of Miami star Lisa Hochstein spoke out following the announcement that charges in her and boyfriend Jody Glidden’s eavesdropping case have been dropped. “I’m grateful that this is all behind me,” Hochstein, 43, wrote via her Instagram Story on Monday, June 22. “All charges have been dropped.” The Bravo star went on, […]
“I did wanna say Housewives of Miami, there’s so much [news],” Cohen told SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live at the time. “I get the credit, and I get the blame. And I will say, this was not my decision. And by the way, look, I’m an EP [executive producer] on all these shows. If it was up to me, they would be rolling all the time and on. I mean, better for me.”
Cohen remained hopeful that RHOM may eventually return provided that the fanbase demands it.
“Frankly, I’m happy that people are so passionate about it, and I hope they tell their friends to watch. This is a ratings game after all,” he added.
The Real Housewives of Miami wrapped up its seventh — and possibly final — season in October 2025 with a three-part reunion.
When it comes to big-budget action shows, few are operating at as high a level as Reacher, the Prime Video original thriller show starring Alan Ritchson. After airing three full seasons of Reacher in the last few years, Prime Video has another season on the way in just a few weeks, and the streamer has also doubled down on the show, renewing it for Season 5 before a single episode of Season 4 hits the air. There’s also the first spin-off, Neagley (starring Maria Sten), set to air in September, almost one month after the premiere of Reacher Season 4. Reacher is inspired by the series of novels by Lee Child, who has confirmed that he drew from many sources when originally writing the action stories.
Reacher author Lee Child has admitted over the years that one of the series of books that inspired his Jack Reacher series was The Day of the Jackal, which was written by Frederick Forsyth. The Day of the Jackal was originally adapted into a feature film starring Edward Fox and Terrance Alexander all the way back in 1973, but younger fans have come to adore Peacock‘s version of the story. At the end of 2024, Peacock unleashed all episodes of The Day of the Jackal, and the show was a smash hit, raiding viewership charts on its way to scoring a Season 2 renewal. Peacock has already confirmed that The Day of the Jackal will not return for Season 2 until 2027, but before the next season, the show is still a consistent performer in the streaming top 10.
What Is ‘The Day of the Jackal’ About?
The Day of the Jackal Season 1 follows an elusive assassin (played by Eddie Redmayne) who makes his living carrying out hits for the highest bidder. He finally meets his match when he comes face-to-face with a tenacious British intelligence officer (played by Lashana Lynch), who quickly draws him into a game of cat-and-mouse across Europe that only ends with one of them at the end of a barrel or a blade. The Day of the Jackal Season 1 earned strong scores of 85% from critics and 77% from audiences on the aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes.
Check out the first season of The Day of the Jackal on Peacock and stay tuned to Collider for more updates and coverage of Season 2.
- Network
-
Sky Atlantic
- Directors
-
Brian Kirk
- Writers
-
Ronan Bennett
There are some science fiction TV shows so delightful, so foundational, so hugely influential, and so brilliantly demonstrative of the genre’s unique charm that pretty much everyone should watch them at least once in their lives. These shows are, after all, such essential pieces of the genre that they should be perfectly capable of entertaining even the most avid sci-fi hater.
Whether it’s a decades-running classic like Doctor Who or a more self-contained modern gem like Battlestar Galactica, these are the kinds of sci-fi series that have served as the genre’s tonal and stylistic basis for years. Many shows that came after owe an awful lot to them, and as such, anyone even slightly intrigued by the history of science fiction should check them out before they die.
10
‘Doctor Who’ (1963–Present)
It has gone through some hiatuses—including the one it’s currently in—but Doctor Who nevertheless holds the Guinness World Record as the longest-running science fiction TV show in history. That’s no small feat. Through the simple narrative device of regeneration, which means that its protagonist is able to transform into a new body after death, Doctor Who has found ways to keep itself fresh and relevant since the early 1960s.
It is, through and through, one of the best sci-fi TV shows of all time, as well as one of the most foundational to modern pop culture and sci-fi geekdom. Watching the whole thing is, of course, a commitment that would take at least several months; but anyone who loves time and space travel ought to watch at least a few seasons of Doctor Who sometime.
9
‘Dark’ (2017–2020)
Those who love time travel and multiverse stories but would prefer something shorter and more serialized ought to watch Netflix’s Dark, quite likely the most internationally mainstream German show in history. It’s also one of the most intellectually challenging sci-fi shows of all time, but those with the patience (and attention span) for its mind-bending story will almost certainly have the time of their lives.
It’s one of the Netflix shows with the most shocking plot twists, perfect for people who love sci-fi series where pretty much every episode packs at least a few surprises. Perfectly directed and with some of the most masterfully complex writing the genre has ever seen, Dark really is a must-see for sci-fi fans who love shows that force them to think deeply.
8
‘Babylon 5’ (1994–1998)
In the history of not just science fiction television, but American broadcast television more broadly, the airing of Babylon 5 marked a “before” and “after” point. Almost unprecedentedly for American cable TV at the time, this cult classic was designed as a sort of novel for television, where every season would serve as a different chapter in a pre-planned five-chapter story arc.
In virtually every way imaginable, Babylon 5 has aged like fine wine, as even its most dated visual elements add an inimitable campy charm to it. But the real strength of this timeless space opera is, of course, its serialized narrative. Profound character arcs, nuanced geopolitical elements, deep philosophical themes, and an unexpectedly mature tone all make Babylon 5 truly special.
7
‘Black Mirror’ (2011–Present)
The anthology format has been one of the most popular ways of making science fiction TV shows since the ’50s, but there’s a certain show that has completely revolutionized the way anthology sci-fi television works in modern times: Black Mirror, one of those modern sci-fi shows that are utter masterpieces. Offering all sorts of thought-provoking reflections on humanity’s relationship to technology, it has become one of the current sci-fi shows most celebrated by contemporary pop culture.
The wonderful thing about Black Mirror is that those not looking to commit to the entire series can watch just a few of its most popular episodes and get a perfect idea of why it’s celebrated as such an essential piece of modern science fiction television. In all honesty, however, there’s no way of watching Black Mirror‘s best episodes and not wanting to check out the rest.
6
‘Cowboy Bebop’ (1998–1999)
Cowboy Bebop is one of those anime classics where every episode’s a masterpiece, a show that helped popularize anime in the Western world in the late ’90s and early 2000s. Part space Western, part neo-noir, and 100% remarkably entertaining, it’s one of the most universally loved anime on the planet for a reason. Even those who aren’t interested in anime but love sci-fi nonetheless ought to add it to their watchlist.
That’s because, far from just being your traditional animated sci-fi series, Cowboy Bebop is a brilliantly genre-bending exploration of existential loneliness and the terrible weight of the past. Philosophically complex and stylistically sharp in equal measure, it’s proof that animated sci-fi deserves just as much love and respect as even the best live-action masterpieces.
5
‘Firefly’ (2002–2003)
Nowadays, Firefly is perhaps best-known as the cult classic that was canceled after only one short-lived season, but all those who’ve watched it also know it as the absolute masterpiece that it is. It’s one of the best space Westerns the small screen has ever seen, a show that could have proven to be even more of an audience darling had it been given the chance to run for as long as it deserved to.
It’s one of the most perfect sci-fi shows shorter than 20 episodes, bolstered by one of the most endearing ensemble casts and most compelling set of characters that sci-fi television has ever had to offer. It’s creative, it’s well-written, it’s full of vibrant and gritty world-building, and it has some unforgettable dialogue that fans love to quote on the daily even to this day.
4
‘Battlestar Galactica’ (2004–2009)
The original Battlestar Galactica was practically begging for a remake going into the 21st century, but no one could have expected it to be as superior as it was. Following the 2003 miniseries, one of the best in the history of science fiction, came 2004’s Battlestar Galactica, widely regarded as one of the greatest sci-fi series of the 21st century thus far.
After all, what’s not to love about this brilliant space opera? For one, it’s fascinating how it explores the gritty and paranoid cultural psyche that plagued much of American television after 9/11. Combine that complex thematic core with some striking production values, a legendary cast, and a layered story, and you get one of the best genre shows of the 2000s—science fiction or otherwise.
3
‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ (1987–1994)
Everyone should watch at least one Star Trek show before they die, if only to see what all the sky-high hype is about. And pretty much all fans of the franchise would agree that, if someone were wondering where they could possibly get started with such a gargantuan franchise, The Next Generation would be a pretty solid gateway point.
Almost universally regarded as the best piece of Star Trek media to date (at least as far as the small screen is concerned), The Next Generation is the sort of sci-fi show people wish they had watched sooner. It’s just that good. The production values have aged wonderfully, the cast is still one of the best in the history of network television, and the perfect way the franchise’s uniquely optimistic philosophy blends with the story must be seen to be believed.
2
‘The X-Files’ (1993–2018)
The X-Files isn’t just one of the most beloved sci-fi TV shows of all time, but also one of the most influential. From Supernatural to Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Gravity Falls, all sorts of supernatural conspiracy series have drawn inspiration from The X-Files over the years. From their early days pioneering the fandom space on the Internet until the modern day, the show’s cult following is still going as strong as ever.
There are strong elements of serialization here for those who prefer that sort of sci-fi show, but even those people are virtually guaranteed to inevitably enjoy the revolutionary way in which X-Files approaches more episodic formats. Its “case of the week” approach allows Mulder and Scully to grow on the audience as the seasons pass, making their impeccably written and impeccably directed adventures all the more effective.
1
‘The Twilight Zone’ (1959–1964)
There’s a solid reason why Rod Serling‘s groundbreaking The Twilight Zone is far and away one of the most universally loved TV series of all time. Not only is it every bit as great as the hype still surrounding it would lead one to believe; it also may very well be the single most influential sci-fi TV show in history, which should be more than enough to make it a must-see.
But as if the indelible impact it’s had on both anthology series and sci-fi television as a whole weren’t enough, The Twilight Zone is also incredibly high-quality and undeniably timeless. Like any anthology show, it’s not without its share of episodes that are definitely duds. But as the best and most essential anthology sci-fi series ever made, it’s also so filled to the brim with masterful episodes that it’s hard to envision a sci-fi fan going to the grave without ever having watched Twilight Zone.
The Twilight Zone
- Release Date
-
1959 – 1964-00-00
- Directors
-
John Brahm, Buzz Kulik, Douglas Heyes, Lamont Johnson, Richard L. Bare, James Sheldon, Richard Donner, Don Medford, Montgomery Pittman, Abner Biberman, Alan Crosland, Jr., Alvin Ganzer, Elliot Silverstein, Jack Smight, Joseph M. Newman, Ted Post, William Claxton, Jus Addiss, Mitchell Leisen, Perry Lafferty, Robert Florey, Robert Parrish, Ron Winston, Stuart Rosenberg
Nicki Minaj tore into Dr. Anthony Fauci for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic following his tense appearance before a U.S. Senate committee last week.
“Feeding tubes will be his portion,” Minaj, 43, tweeted on Thursday, July 30. “He will lose the ability to speak & then & only then will he feel the collective pain & long term ramifications he caused to new borns, young children who are still trying to become acclimated into society & schools, traumatized pregnant women who couldn’t even have family in the delivery rooms & visits, the elderly who died alone & afraid, young ppl still struggling w/mental health, suicide, people turned away from hospitals at their most vulnerable moments, the trust that is now gone from innocent people toward their governments forever, billions of stolen money from hard working tax payers via con artists.”
Minaj resurfaced an old news article from 2021 where Fauci, 85, encouraged her to “think twice” about platforming vaccine skepticism. (At the time, Fauci was nearing the end of his decades-long tenure as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.)
The “Starships” rapper mocked Fauci with an AI-generated image of him wearing a pink and purple striped sweater as he wrote in his diary. (The fake photograph was seemingly intended to parody Fauci’s COVID-19 pandemic-era journals, which were recently released by Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul.)
Nicki Minaj made a surprise appearance at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest, arriving hand in hand with new CEO Erika Kirk (née Frantzve). Minaj, 43, walked into Phoenix’s Convention Center on Sunday, December 21, alongside Kirk, 37, with the rapper’s “Super Bass” playing in the background, per social media footage. After arriving at the center of […]
“I’ve been struggling to find the humor in any of this,” Minaj added in her tweet. “God bless everyone who made it to the other side. You’re stronger than you thought. God is in control.”
She shared a video via X where she once again mimicked Fauci writing in his diary.
“They say I’m sexier than Tyra Banks. Julia Roberts gasped when she saw how handsome I was. Brad Pitt played me on SNL,” Minaj quipped.
She went on, “Never mind that I sent millions of children back years on their education … The elderly are alone and afraid, dying by themselves. If anyone asks questions, me and my gang ruins their lives.”
Fauci repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment to avoid answering hostile questioning from Republicans when he appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, led by Rep. Paul, 63, on Wednesday, July 29. Republican lawmakers led by Rep. Rich McCormick of Georgia have threatened to enact legislation barring Fauci from ever serving in government again.
Conservative pundit Meghan McCain added to the volatile political tone by calling for Fauci to be put “in jail” during the contentious Senate hearing.
Republicans have been critical of Fauci’s pro-vaccine, social distancing and masking policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fearing that the physician could face retribution from the incoming Donald Trump administration, former president Joe Biden gave Fauci a preemptive pardon in January 2025 to cover all of his federal government work between January 1, 2014, and January 19, 2025.
Fauci continues to have passionate defenders who champion his nearly 40 years of public health policy as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. (Fauci had bipartisan support for much of his tenure in the role from 1984 to 2022. He later briefly served as Biden’s chief medical advisor.)
During Wednesday’s Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, host Andy Cohen praised Fauci for withstanding an angry barrage of questioning during the hearing.
“It is time for my Mazel of the Day,” Cohen, 58, told viewers. “It goes to Dr. Anthony Fauci, who spent over three hours today being grilled, berated, and sworn at by Senate Republicans over the imaginary crimes they want you to believe he committed during his management of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
He went on, “This is the same Dr. Fauci who was a devoted public servant for 54 years and led the federal response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic as the main architect of PEPFAR [a government initiative to battle AIDS]. His courageous work is responsible for saving over 26 million lives around the world.”
“Our country is facing serious problems,” Cohen added. “We’re in a war with no end in sight. Prices are skyrocketing. We can’t even eat lettuce, for God’s sake. And to declare a war on science at a time like this is deeply unserious and dangerous.”
The WWHL host concluded, “Maybe our politicians are just jealous because doctors and scientists do the one thing they can’t ever seem to do: fix something. Thank you, Dr. Fauci.”
Entertainment
Tom Cruise’s Forgotten $286 Million Sci-Fi Epic Is Quietly Becoming a Global Streaming Sensation
Tom Cruise is used to saving the world, we know that by now. Even if he’s not quite able to do so, he always gives it his best shot and we’re thankful for that. Nowadays, Mission: Impossible might be the franchise most closely associated with the star, but it’s easy to forget that Cruise loves a sci-fi movie.
Minority Report is still one of his best, while Edge of Tomorrow fans have been screaming for a sequel for over a decade now, but somewhere between the two sits a movie that never quite received the same level of affection. That movie is Oblivion, and audiences are discovering it all over again on digital.
Oblivion follows Cruise’s Jack Harper, a technician who’s stationed above Earth alongside a communications officer, Victoria Olsen (Andrea Riseborough). With humanity supposedly having abandoned Earth for a new home, Jack’s job in the year 2077 is to maintain the drones protecting enormous machines extracting the planet’s remaining resources. But after Jack rescues a mysterious woman from a spacecraft that crashes onto the planet, everything he thought he knew begins to dramatically unravel. It’s one of the wildest projects Cruise has in his filmography, and it swings from a post-apocalyptic sci-fi into a much weirder movie. The film is one of Joseph Kosinski‘s earliest efforts, before he went on to become a hero of action cinema with Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick and Brad Pitt‘s F1.
Was ‘Oblivion’ a Success?
The film wasn’t exactly a flop when it arrived in 2013, either. Oblivion earned $286 million worldwide against a reported $120 million production budget, although its reception was considerably more divided. It currently holds a 54% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, compared with a much healthier 61% audience score. Kosinski also gave Oblivion a visual identity that has aged remarkably well. Its stark white technology, enormous landscapes and striking Sky Tower still look spectacular, while M83’s thundering electronic score does an awful lot of heavy lifting in making the whole thing feel suitably enormous.
The cast also includes Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace) as Julia Rusakova, Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption) as Malcolm Beech, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones) as Sykes, Melissa Leo (The Fighter) as Sally, Zoë Bell (Death Proof) as Kara, and Abigail Lowe as Julia’s younger self.
Oblivion is available to watch via digital.
- Release Date
-
April 10, 2013
- Runtime
-
124 minutes
- Director
-
Joseph Kosinski
- Writers
-
Michael Arndt, Karl Gajdusek
Few stars are going to add as much to their box office total this year as Tom Holland, who is one of the headlining figures in two of the biggest movies of the year. Holland can be seen starring opposite Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway in The Odyssey, the latest film from acclaimed director Christopher Nolan. Nolan guided Holland to what may well be the strongest performance of his career in the film, and he could even be in line for his first Oscar nomination. Holland can also be seen reprising his role as Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, his first Spider-Man film in five years since No Way Home. Playing Spider-Man for over 10 years now has also allowed Holland to star in some of the biggest non-MCU blockbusters of the last few years, such as Uncharted.
All the way back in 2022, which now seems like a lifetime ago with as many movies that have come out, Holland teamed up with Mark Wahlberg for a feature film adaptation of the popular game from Naughty Dog, who is also the developer of The Last of Us franchise. While most fans agreed that Uncharted was a poor adaptation of the beloved source material, it still served its purpose as an entertaining action movie, and the film even did well enough to gross over $400 million at the global box office. Four years after Uncharted’s successful theatrical run, the film has found a home streaming on both Hulu and Prime Video, where it’s quietly become one of the top 10 most-watched titles in the world in a handful of countries.
Is ‘Uncharted 2’ Still Happening?
Sony has officially confirmed that a sequel to Uncharted is in the works, but it’s unclear at this time when the film will be released, if it ever makes it through development. Mark Wahlberg confirmed back in 2024 that he’d read a script for Uncharted 2, but there have been no concrete updates since — even Holland, who has been busy with other projects like Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey, hasn’t been asked about the film in a while. It’s possible that an Uncharted sequel could do as well as the original, but Sony may decide to take the win and move on without worrying about the stress of another film.
Check out Uncharted on Prime Video or Hulu in America,and stay tuned to Collider for more updates and coverage of Tom Holland’s future projects.
- Release Date
-
February 10, 2022
- Runtime
-
116 minutes
- Director
-
Ruben Fleischer
- Writers
-
Matt Holloway, Art Marcum
- Producers
-
Alex Gartner, Avi Arad, Carter Swan, Charles Roven, Bob Dohrmann, David Bernad, Neil Druckmann, Tom Holland, Ari Arad, Evan Wells
Entertainment
‘John Wick’ Meets ‘The Equalizer’ in Jon Bernthal’s 10/10 Action Sleeper Hit Officially on Prime Video
2026 has been a huge year for Jon Bernthal, who plays a key role in one of the biggest movies of the year, The Odyssey. After already grossing over $650 million at the box office in less than two weeks, The Odyssey is expected to finish its run with north of $1.3 billion globally, making it the biggest Christopher Nolan movie of all time. Bernthal co-stars in the historical epic with Tom Holland, but it’s not the only big movie of the summer the two star in together. The duo can be seen headlining Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which opened in theaters this weekend and is eyeing a historic box office opening. Bernthal recently starred in the first solo MCU Punisher project of his career, The Punisher: One Last Kill, the Disney Plus special now streaming around the world.
Bernthal has become one of the biggest action stars in the world in the last 10 years, largely due to his role as Braxton opposite Ben Affleck in The Accountant movies. The first Accountant movie released all the way back in 2016, and while it took some time, the franchise finally came back with a sequel last year, which earned widespread acclaim from both critics and audiences. The Accountant is streaming on HBO Max overseas, where it’s one of the top 10 most-watched titles in more than 15 countries. It’s currently absent from streaming in America. It’s the perfect mash-up of John Wick and The Equalizer for fans of high-octane action that’s also methodical.
What Is the First ‘Accountant’ Movie About?
The official synopsis for The Accountant reads as follows: “Ben Affleck stars as Christian Wolff, a math-savant CPA who secretly launders books for the world’s most dangerous criminal organizations. When he takes on a legitimate robotics firm and its accountant (Anna Kendrick) uncovers a massive discrepancy, his cover unravels—and a Treasury agent (J.K. Simmons) closes in. As the truth surfaces, the body count rises fast.” The Accountant earned scores of 53% from critics and 77% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. Amazon has confirmed that a third Accountant movie is in the works, but it’s unclear at this time how it fits into the busy schedules of both Affleck and Bernthal.
Check out The Accountant on HBO Max overseas and on VOD platforms like Prime Video in America, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates and coverage of Bernthal’s future projects.
- Release Date
-
October 13, 2016
- Runtime
-
128 minutes
- Director
-
Gavin O’Connor
- Writers
-
Bill Dubuque
- Producers
-
Marty P. Ewing, Jamie Patricof, Lynette Howell Taylor, Steven Mnuchin
Tech9 seconds ago
Securities firm Rosenblatt raises its AAPL price target following earnings call
News Videos1 minute ago
#famousshorts #motivation #money #bank #facts #youtubeshorts #video #3stooges #life #finance
NewsBeat2 minutes ago
Jeremy Clarkson reveals he ‘won’t get paid’ for farm produce despite 15-hour working day
-
Sports7 days agoCommonwealth Games boxing: Jadumani Singh seals dominant 5-0 win over Pakistan’s Sumama Rehman to enter quarter-finals | Commonwealth Games News
-
Business4 days agoWhy Trees Belong on the Risk Register
-
Fashion2 days agoWeekend Open Thread: Wit & Wisdom
-
Tech6 days agoIntel is reversing course and bringing hyper-threading back to its server chips
-
Politics2 days agoMeta enters AI-training agreement with far-right ‘propaganda rag’ Newsmax
-
Politics6 days agoLuke Littler dismantles Gerwyn Price to retain title in Blackpool
-
Crypto World20 hours agoMicroStrategy Post-Earnings CLARITY Act Push Could Add New Catalyst for Its Stock
-
Politics5 days agoThe Part of the Electric Transition Nobody Wants to Discuss
-
Entertainment5 days ago‘Stargate’ Creator’s New Sci-Fi Series Returns for Season 3 Tomorrow
-
News Videos7 days agoBITCOIN JUST ENTERED THIS CRITICAL ZONE…
-
Business4 days agoMajor shareholder moves on Canyon
-
Politics7 days agoSpain sweeps the board at 2026 World Cup with individual awards
-
News Videos3 days agoBitcoin Enters the 3rd Stage of the Bear Market
-
Crypto World1 day agoXRP Ledger v3.3.0 brings five institutional features
-
Crypto World4 days agoKraken Enables Retail Access to Jersey Mike’s IPO via Tokenized Shares
-
Tech5 days agoNew macOS Sequoia & Sonoma security updates for older Macs
-
News Videos5 days agoClaude: Build Financial Dashboards in Minutes (2026)
-
Politics3 days agoLuke Littler’s dominance sparks GOAT debate
-
Sports2 days agoSeema Kaliramna Wins Discus Throw Bronze, Takes India’s CWG Medals Tally To 17
-
Business5 days agoJohnson & Johnson agrees to $5.5B settlement over talc cancer claims
You must be logged in to post a comment Login