Stranger things in IT: Welcome to Derry

My earliest memory of IT, the supernatural horror franchise from American author Stephen King, is ABC’s award-winning televisual adaptation shown on Sky One in the early nineties. It's available to stream on NOW (formerly NOW TV).

Fast forward to today. Sky Atlantic is showing where IT (see what I did there?) all began in this terrifying prequel series, tracing the origins of the murderous, shape-shifting entity known as Pennywise the Clown (Bill Skarsgård) in 1962 Derry.

King’s IT explores the horrors of childhood trauma, racism behind suburban picket fences and the omnipresent threat of nuclear war, all through the lens of the supernatural. As a coping mechanism, I immersed myself in science fiction following a life-changing injury in primary school and the subsequent fallout.

So, I found myself empathising with the children, relatives of members of the Losers’ Club, who could have been plucked from Stranger Things. The Derry kids are a great bunch of misfits to spend time with.

There are parallels with the Doctor Who episode Lux and DC Comics Easter eggs to find. The showrunners aren’t afraid to subvert expectations, and by the end of the first episode, all bets are off.

Set in the holiday season, Christmas is as much a time for ghost stories as Halloween, with Gremlins and Krampus creating chaos in the shadow of Santa Claus.

Have you watched IT: Welcome to Derry? Let me know in the comments below.

Vecna strikes back in Stranger Things 5

On Thursday, Netflix released an official trailer for the final season of Stranger Things.

“I think what's unique about this season is that it starts a little bit in chaos because our heroes ultimately lost at the end of Season 4,” series co-creator Ross Duffer tells Tudum. “We usually set up their normal life and how they’re going about school, and then we introduce the supernatural element. But in this case, this season is sprinting from the start.”



Read the official synopsis:

"The fall of 1987. Hawkins is scarred by the opening of the Rifts, and our heroes are united by a single goal: find and kill Vecna. But he has vanished — his whereabouts and plans unknown. Complicating their mission, the government has placed the town under military quarantine and intensified its hunt for Eleven, forcing her back into hiding. As the anniversary of Will’s disappearance approaches, so does a heavy, familiar dread. The final battle is looming — and with it, a darkness more powerful and more deadly than anything they’ve faced before. To end this nightmare, they’ll need everyone — the full party — standing together, one last time."

The cast of Stranger Things 5 includes: Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Noah Schnapp (Will Byers), Sadie Sink (Max Mayfield), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Maya Hawke (Robin Buckley), Priah Ferguson (Erica Sinclair), Brett Gelman (Murray), Jamie Campbell Bower (Vecna), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Amybeth McNulty (Vickie), Nell Fisher (Holly Wheeler), Jake Connelly (Derek Turnbow), Alex Breaux (Lt. Akers), and Linda Hamilton (Dr. Kay).

Stranger Things 5 releases with the first four episodes on 26th November, followed by three episodes on Christmas, and the finale episode on New Year’s Eve. It has not yet been confirmed whether the finale will be released in any UK cinemas.

Are you looking forward to the final season of Stranger Things on Netflix? Let me know in the comments below.

Doctor Who spin-off makes waves this Christmas

Doctor Who may not be returning until Christmas 2026, but a spin-off series emerges from the deep this holiday season with The War Between the Land and the Sea.

Russell T Davies, Showrunner, Writer and Executive Producer says: “This is a huge, spectacular Christmas treat, with heroes and monsters and battles and romance, in a world on the edge of disaster. And remember. Watch the seas!”

The five-part series will showcase how the world reacts when a fearsome and ancient species emerges from the ocean, dramatically revealing themselves to humanity and triggering an international crisis. Featuring a star-studded cast including Russell Tovey as Barclay, Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Salt, Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, Ruth Madeley as Shirley Ann Bingham, Alexander Devrient as Colonel Ibrahim, and Colin McFarlane as General Austin Pierce.

Other previously announced cast members include Adrian Lukis, Patrick Baladi, Francesca Corney, Mei Mac, Vincent Franklin, Waleed Hammad, Iestyn Arwel, Hannah Donaldson, Manpreet Bachu, and Ann Akinjirin.

The upcoming Doctor Who spin-off series is darker in tone, similar to Torchwood, and features a soundtrack composed by Lorne Balfe (His Dark Materials). This is great news, as I was hoping Balfe would work on seasons one and two of Doctor Who on Disney+.

The War Between the Land and the Sea is available for pre-order from Amazon (affiliate link).

Are you looking forward to The War Between the Land and the Sea? Let me know in the comments below.

Spielberg and Williams reunite for UFO movie

Director Steven Spielberg (Jaws) and Hollywood composer John Williams (Star Wars) have a storied history spanning decades.

A lifelong love of movie soundtracks began with Williams' score for Star Wars, and soon I amassed a collection of his works from Close Encounters of the Third Kind to Jaws. To say Williams' soundtracks have played a pivotal role in my life's turbulent journey would be an understatement. His music remains inspirational in the darkest of times.

There’s a profound resonance with Spielberg's and my own childhood (overshadowed by a life-changing trauma) and escaping into a darkened theatre to watch Spielberg’s movies and those of his friend and longtime collaborator, Star Wars creator George Lucas. At the end of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 6-year-old me desperately wanted to board the mothership with Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss).

The creative duo are reuniting for their 30th movie, Spielberg's untitled UFO project starring Josh O'Connor, Emily Blunt, Colin Firth, Colman Domingo, and Eve Hewson.

Spielberg's UFO movie is scheduled for release in the summer of 2026. I'll be standing in line.

Doctor Who returns Christmas 2026

Following months of speculation, the BBC and Disney+ have parted ways after two seasons of Doctor Who.

Lindsay Salt, Director of Drama at the BBC, said: “We’d like to thank Disney+ for being terrific global partners and collaborators over the past two seasons, and for the upcoming The War Between the Land and the Sea. The BBC remains fully committed to Doctor Who, which continues to be one of our most loved dramas, and we are delighted that Russell T Davies has agreed to write us another spectacular Christmas special for 2026. We can assure fans, the Doctor is not going anywhere, and we will be announcing plans for the next series in due course, which will ensure the TARDIS remains at the heart of the BBC.”

With Disney+ no longer involved, will another streamer materialise? See what I did there, fellow Whovians? Rumours continue to surround Prime Video and Netflix. What about Apple TV? The Cupertino-based streamer has established itself as a home to prestige sci-fi, and the $4 trillion tech titan has money.

Before next year’s Christmas special, fans of the beloved series still have much to enjoy with The War Between the Land and the Sea heading to BBC iPlayer and BBC One later this year, as well as a brand-new animation series for CBeebies, which is in development.

The Doctor Who Christmas special will be produced by Bad Wolf with BBC Studios for the BBC.

What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments below.

LEGO Ideas The Goonies

Hey You Guys! On Friday, the LEGO Group, in partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products, announced the long-awaited LEGO Ideas The Goonies set for November.

Ke Huy Quan, the Oscar-winning actor who played Data, comments: “Revisiting Data after all these years - but this time in LEGO form - has been such a joyful experience. The Goonies was all about heart, adventure, and friendship, and this set captures that spirit in fantastic detail. From the booby traps to the treasure room, it’s like stepping back into the tunnels with the gang - only now, I get to share that magic with a whole new generation of fans.”

Additionally, shoppers who purchase the LEGO Ideas The Goonies set (21363) between 1st to 7th November will receive LEGO Ideas The Goonies: The Walshes’ Attic (40773) as a Gift with Purchase, available while supplies last.

LEGO Ideas The Goonies is available from LEGO AU, CA, UK and US (affiliate links).

Will you be adding LEGO Ideas The Goonies to your collection? Let me know in the comments below.

Stranger Things finale coming to cinemas

Netflix has announced that the Stranger Things series finale will be shown in select cinemas in America and Canada.

“We’re beyond excited that fans will have the chance to experience the final episode of Stranger Things in theaters — it’s something we’ve dreamed about for years, and we’re so grateful to Ted, Bela, and everyone at Netflix for making it happen,” series creators Matt and Ross Duffer tell Tudum. “Getting to see it on the big screen, with incredible sound, picture, and a room full of fans, feels like the perfect — dare we say bitchin’ — way to celebrate the end of this adventure.”

Originally, the 2-hour finale, entitled "The Right Side Up," was only going to be streamed on Netflix, but fans (myself included) took to social media to express their enthusiasm for finale fan screenings.

Read the official synopsis:

"The fall of 1987. Hawkins is scarred by the opening of the Rifts, and our heroes are united by a single goal: find and kill Vecna. But he has vanished — his whereabouts and plans unknown. Complicating their mission, the government has placed the town under military quarantine and intensified its hunt for Eleven, forcing her back into hiding. As the anniversary of Will’s disappearance approaches, so does a heavy, familiar dread. The final battle is looming — and with it, a darkness more powerful and more deadly than anything they’ve faced before. To end this nightmare, they’ll need everyone — the full party — standing together, one last time."

Stranger Things 5 releases with the first four episodes on 26th November, followed by three episodes on Christmas, and the finale episode on New Year’s Eve. It has not yet been confirmed whether the finale will be released in any UK cinemas.

Are you looking forward to the final season of Stranger Things on Netflix? Let me know in the comments below.

Fallout Day

It's Fallout Day.

23rd October 2077 marks the most significant event in Fallout’s alternate history – the day of the Great War that destroyed the world of old and from its ashes birthed the franchise’s take on the post-apocalypse.

Bethesda has announced Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition. The update will be released on 10th November and is coming to the Nintendo Switch 2 in 2026.



Fallout season two premieres on Prime Video on 17th December, and Ella Purnell, who plays Lucy MacLean, a sheltered Vault Dweller, teased the following to Empire magazine: “At times, it’s like [they] are on this buddy road trip. And then other times, they’re so much at arms. They’re trying to influence each other and see who’s going to rub off on whom. Is the Ghoul going to become good? Is Lucy going to become bad? Or are they going to be somewhere in the middle?”

The dynamic between Lucy and the Ghoul (Walton Goggins) was the beating heart of season one, and I can't wait to follow their road trip to New Vegas this holiday season.

Fallout is streaming exclusively on Prime Video (affiliate link).

How are you celebrating Fallout Day? Let me know in the comments below.

Adam Driver on The Hunt for Ben Solo

After his debut in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Kylo Ren/Ben Solo, played by Adam Driver, quickly became a fan-favourite as he grappled with the light and the dark side of the Force before sacrificing himself to save Rey (Daisy Ridley) in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Driver recently spoke to AP about his idea for a standalone Star Wars movie. "I had been talking about doing another one since 2021. Kathleen (Kennedy) had reached out. I always said: With a great director and a great story, I’d be there in a second. I loved that character and loved playing him."

Whilst Lucasfilm loved the idea developed by Oscar-winning director Stephen Soderbergh and Rebecca Blunt, the project fell apart after they took it to Disney, who had forgotten that no one's ever really gone in Star Wars.

"We took it to Bob Iger and Alan Bergman, and they said no. They didn’t see how Ben Solo was alive. And that was that," Driver told AP. "It was called ‘The Hunt for Ben Solo’ and it was really cool. But it is no more, so I can finally talk about it."

Soderbergh, in a statement, said: “I really enjoyed making the movie in my head. I’m just sorry the fans won’t get to see it.”

What do you think? Was it a missed opportunity? Let me know in the comments below.

The Force Awakens trailer 10 years on

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Lucasfilm remains relatively quiet on the matter, instead choosing to focus on Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu and Star Wars: Starfighter. The latter movie is not due in cinemas until 2027 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of George Lucas' space opera franchise.

Yesterday marked 10 years since the official trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released during Monday Night Football. At the time, I wrote how it evoked all the nostalgia for the original trilogy.



Much has changed in the past decade with the House of Mouse pivoting to Star Wars spin-off series on Disney+, but I'll never forget the anticipation and booking tickets at midnight to see the first instalment in the sequel trilogy on the day of release in December 2015.

Forbes revealed that with costs of $638.9 million (£452 million), Star Wars: The Force Awakens is Disney’s most expensive Star Wars movie and one of the most expensive films in Hollywood history. Remarkably, it is also one of the most profitable.

What are your memories of watching the official trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens? Let me know in the comments below.