John Hansen

The 25 biggest ‘Star Wars’ Expanded Universe unanswered questions (Books and comics commentary)

Before its cancellation in 2014, the “Star Wars” Expanded Universe (now called Legends) was a treasure trove of interconnected stories, creative retcons, and – admittedly – a fair number of unanswered questions and plot holes that were never resolved. Since Disney says it has no plans to produce more Legends books and comics, these are […]

‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘The New Jedi Order: Dark Tide I – Onslaught’ (2000) (Book review)

Good news and bad news: “X-wing” author Michael Stackpole returns to “Star Wars” for the second book of the “New Jedi Order” series, “Dark Tide I: Onslaught” (2000). But it’s not an “X-wing” book on the sly; it’s very much part of the invasion genre as established by R.A. Salvatore in the first entry, “Vector Prime.”

‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime’ (1999) (Book review)

With the possible exception of “Heir to the Empire,” “The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime” (1999) was the most-hyped novel in “Star Wars” history. “Episode I” had come out earlier that year, and Del Rey – having gotten the license back from Bantam – now opened another major new portion of the timeline, following the events of […]

First episode impressions: ‘Quantico’ (TV review)

The pilot episode of “Quantico” (10 p.m. Eastern Sundays on ABC) slathers on the twists and turns until the series’ ultimate premise is set up the final sequence. As such, it’s impossible to review this episode without a SPOILER WARNING for the paragraphs that follow this one. But in a nutshell, as far as big, glossy network […]

One-season wonders: ‘Hellcats’ (2010-11) (TV review)

With the fall TV season off to a rough start, it’s beginning to look like this might be a good time to catch up on older shows. Although I started watching “Hellcats” (2010-11, The CW) on its original airing, I bailed before it completed its 22-episode run, probably because TV was better overall back then and there […]

First episode impressions: ‘Blindspot’ (TV review)

“Blindspot” (10 p.m. Eastern Mondays on NBC) unquestionably has the best opening hook of the fall TV season: An amnesiac, fully tattooed woman wakes up naked in a duffel bag in Times Square. So creator Martin Gero, whose credits include the outstanding Canadian drama “The L.A. Complex,” deserves credit for that winning pitch. Getting people to […]

Murphy, Falchuk take horror shtick to network TV with ‘Scream Queens’

First episode impressions (TV review): The duo’s latest dark horror comedy features a loaded cast.

‘Gotham’ Season 2 starts to show some respect for ‘Batman’ lore

First episode impressions (TV review): The Fox “Batman” prequel is starting to show more respect for the established lore.

Minority Report TV series

PKD goes to network TV in ‘Minority Report’

First episode impressions (TV review): The “Minority Report” TV series continues from the film’s events.

‘Fear the Walking Dead,’ ‘Strain’ villains want power for power’s sake (TV review)

A couple seasons ago on “The Walking Dead,” Rick and the gang agree to march toward Washington, D.C., on Eugene’s promise that there was a governmental structure in place working against the zombie plague. While the characters never spoke in-depth about the question of whether the government – which demonstrably failed to stop the zombie […]