A writer reflects on HBO's new Harry Potter TV series as creatively redundant, comparing it to Borges' story about Pierre Menard rewriting Don Quixote identically. The piece explores themes of artistic repetition, reimagining, and whether society can move beyond recreating the past.
South Park Season 29 premieres with new episodes airing Wednesdays on Comedy Central and Paramount+, beginning September 30. The Emmy Award-winning animated series continues its legacy with episodes including 'South American Biker Gangs,' featuring the return of characters Cartman, Kenny, Stan, and Kyle.
James Marriott's book 'The New Dark Ages' argues that screens are making society post-literate, causing cognitive decline, cultural degradation, and threatening democracy. The reviewer finds the argument frustratingly unfocused, presenting eight separate claims without adequate evidence—particularly questioning whether cognitive decline is actually caused by screens rather than other environmental factors.
Doctor Who's 1979 episode 'Shada', written by Douglas Adams and set in Cambridge, was left unfinished due to BBC strike action that halted studio recording. The lost story, featuring Tom Baker as the fourth Doctor, eventually had its fragments incorporated into the show's 20th anniversary special in 1983, with the cast finally completing it 36 years later.
After 60 years, the groundbreaking ITV documentary series Seven Up concludes with 70 Up, following the same group of British participants from childhood to old age. Oscar-winning director Asif Kapadia takes over from the late Michael Apted, with producer Claire Lewis securing the contributors for one final installment after participant Nick Hitchon requested a final interview before his death.
LG disputed allegations from security researchers that its TVs engage in surveillance, claiming the devices don't continuously record conversations and that wake-word detection is processed locally. However, the company's statement used precise language like 'continuously' to sidestep concerns about extensive logging of ambient audio documented by Gamers Nexus, and did not address broader data collection and sharing practices.
The 7 Up documentary series, which has followed 14 British children since 1964, concludes with its final installment 70 Up airing on ITV. Directed by Michael Apted, the show became the longest-running documentary series ever made, tracking how class and background shape lives across six decades, though some participants later criticized Apted for typecasting and gendered questioning.
LG faces accusations of invasive data collection practices through its televisions, raising privacy concerns about user information gathered by the company.