Nerdcasting

 This fall has seen two fairly prominent fantasy shows and a third less prominent sci-fi show. The fantasy shows - The House of the Dragon and the Rings of Power - are pretty good. I enjoyed watching them. The sci-fi show - Andor - is in my opinion, the best thing to ever come out of the Star Wars cinematic universe. 

Now, I think the competition isn't great. Star Wars is a cultural force, but most of the movies and TV shows are pitched to kids. The godawful prequels seem entirely created to show of Lucas' new F/X and sell merchandise to kids under 15. Baby Yoda is adorable, but...c'mon.

Andor, by contrast, is the first Star Wars project where you can imagine people having sex (it opens in a brothel). Rather than just starting off from the presumption that "Empire Bad/Rebels Good," it demonstrates with emotional force just how cruel the Empire is. They aren't the Bad Guys because they were scary uniforms - they are genuinely evil in a bureaucratic way. Additionally, the main Good Guys are incredibly complex characters. Stellan Skarsgard is great in everything, but he gave a monologue this week that was brilliant all the way from the writing to the delivery. 

Rumor has it that Andor isn't being watched as much as bullshit fan-service like The Book of Boba Fett. That is the loss of everyone who enjoys good sci-fi.