John Aspler
lostcadence.bsky.social
John Aspler
@lostcadence.bsky.social
I write about TV for fun. PhD neuroethics. SciCom, media disability studies, FASD, stigma, feminist bioethics, public libraries, open scholarship. Antifascist. Pro-choice. He/him.

https://seriallyengaged.substack.com/
And this follow-up, :chefs-kiss:
February 3, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Okay, dragging this guy is absolutely making my day, so please enjoy the funniest use of Twitter Community Notes I've ever seen.
February 3, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Name a show you're positive no one remembers but you.
November 20, 2024 at 4:25 AM
Is this good, did I Do a Bluesky Right!?
September 17, 2024 at 12:11 AM
Last week's Quantum Leap was aggressively just okay, with too many holograms and a too-hasty return to the Ben/Addison dynamic. I did love the Irish apothecary, but the episodes thematic connections were muddled. Still, looking forward to tonight's midseason finale! open.substack.com/pub/serially...
December 13, 2023 at 10:17 PM
The latest episode of Quantum Leap, One Night in Koreatown, is a powerful exploration of systemic racism and police brutality with occasionally clunky dialogue. Balancing character development against a strong story-of-the-week can be tough: seriallyengaged.substack.com/p/quantum-le...
November 8, 2023 at 4:33 PM
On last week's Quantum Leap, a well earned confrontation between Addison and Ben sets the stage for an exciting new status quo. But that was probably the most interesting part of an otherwise Just Fine episode that could have been more.

open.substack.com/pub/serially...
October 31, 2023 at 8:56 PM
Last week's Quantum Leap was excellent, but I'm less keen on Addison/Ben's new normal. It's fine, I appreciate the focus (including thematic connections with the Leap) as their first chance to chat since losing 3 years, but I'd rather see the cast: seriallyengaged.substack.com/p/quantum-le...
October 23, 2023 at 12:36 PM
Most procedurals shake things up in finales and premieres, only to settle into a new normal that looks a lot like the old normal. While I liked 2x02, I hoped Quantum Leap was about to do something different (flashbacks, flashforwards); oh well, that's ok! seriallyengaged.substack.com/p/quantum-le...
October 16, 2023 at 7:59 PM
The Wheel Of Time S2 was a meditation on isolation, one brought about more by production challenges (like COVID) than narrative necessity. While S2 was better than S1 and ended well, I wish things had been different.

Still, I remain optimistic about S3! seriallyengaged.substack.com/p/the-wheel-...
October 12, 2023 at 6:36 PM
I'm back with a review of the Quantum Leap sequel series season premiere: This Took Too Long! 2x01 hits the reset button on a series of increasingly convoluted developments to keep it simple - Ben putting right what once went wrong! It works really well. seriallyengaged.substack.com/p/quantum-le...
October 9, 2023 at 2:31 PM
So, the Wheel of Time finale has aired, but I'm here to share some thoughts on the penultimate episode (Daes Dae'Mar), which was, unfortunately, my least favourite episode of the season - too much unearned tablesetting. Hoping the finale is more solid! seriallyengaged.substack.com/p/the-wheel-...
October 6, 2023 at 2:05 PM
Finally publishing a Wheel Of Time review ahead of tonight's drop. I struggled with 2x06, and I'm still not sure if this was Great TV depicting horrific cruelty, or exploitative and unnecessary content - that age-old debate of depicting atrocity in art.
seriallyengaged.substack.com/p/the-wheel-...
September 28, 2023 at 6:34 PM