Tremors: The Series (2003)

Tremors: The Series (2003)

13 episodes, approx 43 minutes each.

The short-lived series takes place after the events of Tremors 3: Back to Perfection (2001), so it's advisable to watch T3 first. I'm going to proceed under the assumption that you already have. If not, then any SPOILERS that you encounter for the first three films from this point onward are encountered at your own discretion.

Were back in Perfection Valley, Nevada, home of gun-loving Burt Gummer (Michael Gross) and his very own Moby Dick, the state protected Graboid known as El Blanco. The small community refuse to move and the indigenous El Blanco is unable to move because of the mountainous regions that are located on either side, so a co-existence between man and beast is the only viable answer.

Luckily, for us viewers but not for the residents, Perfection Valley has other secrets under its sands, so there's more than just El Blanco to keep the watchful eye and trigger-finger of Burt Gummer twitching.

Prey: Series One (2014)

Prey: Series One (2014)

Dir. Nick Murphy | 3 episodes, approx 47 mins each.

It kicks off with an overturned police vehicle on a public road and a subsequent prisoner escape, but that event isn't the start of the story. After the damage is assessed there, it jumps back three days to the life of DC Marcus Farrow (John Simm) of the Manchester Metropolitan Police, characterising him through his job, his friendships, and his relationship with his ex-wife and their two young children.

Of the three things mentioned, the most notable for the viewer seems to be the job, specifically regarding the discovery of a body on the moors. But things thereafter don't go the way that most investigative TV procedural dramas usually do, it takes a left turn into a man-on-the-run conspiracy thriller. The body is important, but the main drive of the series is that of an innocent man (the 'prey' of the title) trying desperately to find the real killer so he can clear his name - all the while unsure of who he can trust.

Solaris (2002)

Solaris (2002)

Dir. Steven Soderbergh

A thought-provoking work based on Stanisław Lem's 1961 novel of the same name, with a sombre tone that even in its most doleful moments somehow shines with an aura that's supportive of the whole. It explores a great many themes, but its broadest focus is arguably on relationships and the multifaceted nature of detachment and emotional engagement.

It's the human story with telltale foibles and failings laid bare, made all the more poignant by an enveloping unknown; i.e. the titular planet, which functions as a catalyst that seems to exist as something both observable and observing. It appears to create a bubble-reality in which certain feelings are able to think for themselves. In a way it makes the unreal real, which is both a blessing and a curse for the crew of the research station that sits in the swirling planet's orbit.