Parallels (TV series)
2022
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Oct 14, 2021 Full Review Tara Bennett IGN Movies It's certainly solid family viewing for niche audiences of 10 to 12 year olds, but teens raised on more mature fare are way beyond what's offered...
- 7. Standing Up for Yourself
The town of Larkinville is tormented by Trevor Larkin, a...
- 8. The Treehouse
Sam retreats to the treehouse he and his father built, but...
- 1. Leave Them Kids Alone
When Veronica Vanderhall is suspended from school, her...
- 4. My Monster
Outwardly, Olivia appears to be handling her parents' recent...
- 7. Standing Up for Yourself
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Is just beyond a good book?
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What is the best 'just beyond' episode?
- R. L. Stine's graphic novel, Just Beyond, gets adapted as an uneven Disney+ anthology.
- What's your favorite movie based on an R.L. Stine book?
- Fall TV 2021 Streaming Preview: Biggest New and Returning Shows
- Verdict
By Tara Bennett
Updated: Oct 13, 2021 8:05 pm
Posted: Oct 13, 2021 8:02 pm
Just Beyond is available exclusively on Disney+ on Oct. 13, 2021.
It’s a blessing that anthology storytelling on television is having a moment right now, but it also means all new entries into the genre need to bring their A-game. In the case of the Disney+ adaptation of R. L. Stine's graphic novel, Just Beyond, the series collects a talented group of young actors and support adults to bring a grab bag of slightly spooky tales to life with mixed results.
Created by Seth Grahame-Smith (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies), the series comprises eight standalone episodes that individually cover a gamut of youth-oriented topics including dealing with anxiety, processing grief, bullying, and the perils of social media. There’s no unifying through line for the stories or recurring characters, but much like The Twilight Zone, there’s often a supernatural or otherworldly thread. However, that classic series, which also appeals to families and still serves as a great entry point for scarier fare, is a lot more potent and clever with its storytelling.
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David Katzenberg directs the other two standout episodes. “Standing Up for Yourself” works because of its folksy vibe that warmly frames how a small town is being terrorized by the oafish bully, Trevor Larkin (Cyrus Arnold). It’s witty and has some strange comedic beats that totally work in its favor. He then makes “My Monster” the only truly scary episode of the bunch, serving up some quality jump scares as it explores the creeping anxieties of a young girl adapting to moving to a new town amidst her parent’s divorce.
These stories could have benefited from trusting their audience a lot more.
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The rest of the stories fall into the “way too on the nose” category, with mostly cautionary tale scenarios playing out very broadly, like in "Parents Are from Mars, Kids Are from Venus" or "Unfiltered." Even with Disney’s conservative storytelling parameters regarding their family fare, that doesn’t mean stories have to be dumbed down to sell their lessons. Tweens and teens are smart enough to catch nuance, and these stories could have benefited from trusting their audience a lot more.
Just Beyond is an uneven collection of young adult-centric morality plays. The concept works best when a script has a strong point of view that is executed with panache by the director and cast. But overall, R. L. Stine's oeuvre is supposed to be about introducing kids into the horror genre, including tempered scares. However, these adaptations are...
Oct 13, 2021 · Stream It Or Skip It: 'Just Beyond' On Disney+, An R.L. Stine-Inspired Anthology Series That Mixes Teens, Scares And Laughs
- 2 min
Oct 13, 2021 · Psychological spookiness that's OK for most tweens. Read Common Sense Media's Just Beyond review, age rating, and parents guide.
- Nasim Pedrad, Mckenna Grace, Gabriel Bateman
- Ashley Moulton
Oct 13, 2021 · Episode 1, “Leave Them Kids Alone” is set in a strict school for “difficult” girls, where a budding activist finds herself at odds with the principal; Episode 3, “Which Witch?” is a high-school drama with a touch of the supernatural; and so on, and so forth.
- Jonathon Wilson
Oct 13, 2021 · Just Beyond: Season 1 Genre: Sci-Fi, Horror; Air Date: Oct 13, 2021; Network: Disney+; Do you think we mischaracterized a critic's review?
Just Beyond: Created by Seth Grahame-Smith. With Mckenna Grace, Izabela Vidovic, Malcolm Barrett, Cyrus Arnold. Genre anthology series based on the graphic novels by R.L. Stine.
