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The best TV and movie reviews, ranked and explained, with franchise guides
Rough Cut Review is a reference magazine for TV and movie reviews: evergreen TV show reviews and recaps, movie rankings with a stated method, and franchise guides explained season by season. No daily news, and no spoilers without a warning.
The bin: the best long reads worth an evening
Bin A · 5 takes-
Every Star Trek movie, ranked
Thirteen films, one weighted method, and a full rewatch of each before a single place was assigned.All thirteen rewatched. Order holds.
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Herogasm explained: The Boys season 3 episode 6
What the episode adapts, what it changes from the comics, and why the season turns on it.Page and screen, side by side.
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Organ Trail review: a gritty western that earns its scars
A frontier survival story that commits to cold, hunger and consequence, and rarely flinches.Cold, hungry, honest.
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The 100: every season, explained
Seven seasons on The CW, from the drop to the final test, untangled in order.Seven seasons, one map.
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Quantum Leap season 2: how it ended and what it changed
The revival's second finale, its open threads, and what NBC's cancellation left unresolved.Read it after the finale.
Take 1
TV and movie reviews, explained: what Rough Cut Review covers
Rough Cut Review publishes three kinds of pieces, TV show reviews and recaps, movie rankings and franchise guides, and each one is written to stay useful long after release week. The best TV and movie reviews are kept in the bin above; the rest are explained in their guides.
Reviews take a finished film, season or game and judge it on what it attempts and how well it lands. Spoilers sit behind a marked line, so a reader who has not finished a show can stop in time and come back later.
Rankings put a whole franchise in order with the same weighted criteria every time. A list changes only when a new entry arrives or a rewatch moves something, and every change is dated.
Franchise guides are the reference layer: watch order, season summaries, cast changes and the episodes that matter when time is short. Each guide carries a status line that names the latest season or film it covers and says whether the series is complete or still running.
- Spoilers stop at a marked line.
- Same method on every list.
- Every guide shows its status.
Take 4
Franchise guides, kept current
Twenty-nine franchises, each tracked season by season or film by film. Complete means the series has ended and every season is covered; ongoing means the franchise is still producing and the guide is current to October 2026.
| Franchise | Network or studio | Seasons or films | Years | Guide status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The 100 | The CW | 7 seasons | 2014–2020 | Complete |
| Quantum Leap | NBC | 5 seasons, plus 2 in the revival | 1989–1993, 2022–2024 | Complete |
| The Boys | Prime Video | 5 seasons | 2019–2026 | Complete |
| The Last of Us | HBO | 2 seasons | 2023, 2025 | Ongoing |
| Stranger Things | Netflix | 5 seasons | 2016–2025 | Complete |
| Atlanta | FX | 4 seasons | 2016–2022 | Complete |
| Archer | FX, FXX | 14 seasons | 2009–2023 | Complete |
| Resident Alien | Syfy, USA Network | 4 seasons | 2021–2025 | Complete |
| Obi-Wan Kenobi | Disney+ | 1 season, 6 episodes | 2022 | Complete |
| The Imperfects | Netflix | 1 season | 2022 | Complete |
| Shadowhunters | Freeform | 3 seasons | 2016–2019 | Complete |
| Killjoys | Syfy | 5 seasons | 2015–2019 | Complete |
| Mr. Robot | USA Network | 4 seasons | 2015–2019 | Complete |
| Supernatural | The WB, The CW | 15 seasons | 2005–2020 | Complete |
| Game of Thrones | HBO | 8 seasons | 2011–2019 | Complete |
| The Walking Dead | AMC | 11 seasons | 2010–2022 | Complete |
| Futurama | Fox, Comedy Central, Hulu | 11 seasons | 1999–2026 | Ongoing |
| Mystery Science Theater 3000 | KTMA, Comedy Central, Sci Fi, Netflix, Gizmoplex | 14 seasons | 1988–2026 | Ongoing |
| James Bond | Eon Productions | 25 films | 1962–2021 | Ongoing |
| Star Trek | Paramount | 13 films | 1979–2016 | Ongoing |
| Mad Max | Warner Bros. and others | 5 films | 1979–2024 | Ongoing |
| Star Wars | Lucasfilm, Disney+ | 12 films, about 20 series | 1977–2026 | Ongoing |
| Marvel | Marvel Studios, Disney+ and others | 38 MCU films, 30+ series | 2008–2026 | Ongoing |
| DC | Warner Bros., HBO Max and others | Films and series in several families | 2001–2026 | Ongoing |
| Rick and Morty | Adult Swim | 9 seasons | 2013–2026 | Ongoing |
| Doctor Who | BBC | 15 series since 2005 | 2005–2025 | Ongoing |
| The Expanse | Syfy, Prime Video | 6 seasons | 2015–2022 | Complete |
| Westworld | HBO | 4 seasons | 2016–2022 | Complete |
| Pinball | Stern, Jersey Jack and others | Reference guide | 1930s–2026 | Ongoing |
Take 2
Movie rankings on the cutting table, ranked by one method
The three movie rankings readers return to most, each rebuilt from a complete rewatch, each stating its weights in one line, and each ranked from worst to best.
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List 01 · 13 films · 1979–2016
Every Star Trek movie, ranked
From The Motion Picture to Beyond, three crews on one list.
Method: story 35, performances 25, craft 25, rewatch value 15.
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List 02 · 21 villains · 1962–2012
Bond villains, ranked from worst to best
The 21 principal villains of the first 23 Eon films, from Dr. No to Skyfall, each judged on story, performance, craft and rewatch value.
Method: story 35, performances 25, craft 25, rewatch value 15.
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List 03 · 11 films · 1999–2016
Nicholas Sparks movies, ranked
All eleven film adaptations, from Message in a Bottle to The Choice, scored on the same four criteria.
Method: story 35, performances 25, craft 25, rewatch value 15.
Take 1
The data desk
Two tools for readers who want the record rather than the opinion, maintained alongside the guides.
James Bond film explorer
The full explorer lists all 25 Eon films with year, lead actor, main villain and worldwide box office, sortable on any column. Sort or filter a sample of eight below.
- 1962Dr. NoSean ConneryJulius No
- 1964GoldfingerSean ConneryAuric Goldfinger
- 1969On Her Majesty's Secret ServiceGeorge LazenbyErnst Stavro Blofeld
- 1973Live and Let DieRoger MooreKananga
- 1987The Living DaylightsTimothy DaltonGeorgi Koskov
- 1995GoldenEyePierce BrosnanAlec Trevelyan
- 2012SkyfallDaniel CraigRaoul Silva
- 2021No Time to DieDaniel CraigLyutsifer Safin
8 of 8 films shown
Open the full Bond explorerCancelled TV database
Shows that ended before their story did, with network, seasons and the reported reason.
- Firefly
- Fox · 1 season · 2002 · low ratings
- Freaks and Geeks
- NBC · 1 season · 1999–2000 · low ratings
- The Imperfects
- Netflix · 1 season · 2022 · not renewed
- Quantum Leap (revival)
- NBC · 2 seasons · 2022–2024 · not renewed
Take 3
Latest updates
Newest first; the date marks the last substantive change.
Featured in the bin Pulled from the bin
- Updated 2026-10-23Mad Max: every film in order, from 1979 to FuriosaAll five films in release order, with directors, casts and how they connect.
- Updated 2026-10-23The Last of Us: both HBO seasons, episode by episodeEpisode counts, air dates and directors for both seasons, without spoilers.
- Updated 2026-10-23Atlanta: all four seasons explainedEpisode counts, air years, where season 3 goes and which season to see first.
- Updated 2026-10-23Archer: fourteen seasons, from the first mission to the 2023 finaleEpisode counts, air years, the big reinventions and the key episodes.
- Updated 2026-10-23Obi-Wan Kenobi: all six parts and where they sit in Star WarsRelease dates, director, cast and the timeline position, without spoilers.
- Updated 2026-10-23Resident Alien: all four seasons explainedEpisode counts, air years, the season 2 split and the key episodes.
- Updated 2026-10-23The Boys: all five seasons explainedEpisode counts, air dates, the spin-offs and where to start.
Take 1
How rankings are scored
Every entry in the TV and movie reviews and rankings is scored on four criteria: story and structure (35 percent), performances (25 percent), craft, meaning direction, editing and score (25 percent), and rewatch value (15 percent). The rewatch rule is strict: nothing is placed from memory, so every film or season is watched again in full before a list is published or reordered. Ties break on story. Lists are reviewed every quarter and within 30 days of a new release in the franchise, and each revision is dated at the top of the list.
- 35Story and structure
- 25Performances
- 25Craft
- 15Rewatch value
Take 1
Questions readers ask about the reviews and rankings
Are the TV and movie reviews rated with stars?
No. Every review ends in a written verdict instead of a star count, and every ranked list shows the four-criteria score for each entry so the order can be checked and argued with.
How is a ranked list put together?
Each entry is scored from 0 to 10 on story and structure, performances, craft and rewatch value, weighted 35, 25, 25 and 15 percent, after a full rewatch. The list is then ordered from worst to best and the scoring table sits above the argument.
Do the reviews and recaps contain spoilers?
Reviews stay spoiler-free above a marked line and say so in the headline. Recaps and explainers discuss the full episode or film and are labeled as such, so a reader who has not watched yet can stop at the label.
How current are the franchise guides?
Each guide carries a status line that names the latest season or film it covers and the date of its last substantive change. A guide that has not caught up with a new release says so in that line rather than pretending to be complete.
Which shows and films are covered?
American TV and film with a long shelf life: series such as The 100, The Boys, Atlanta, Quantum Leap and Star Trek, film series such as James Bond and Mad Max, plus games, comics and convention coverage in the Culture section. Reviews of a new release are written to still make sense years later.