A World War II plane crashes in modern day Ohio, the pilot believing he’s still in Burma. How has he got here, and can he get home?

As good looking as this season finale (only five episodes?) of the Amazing Stories is, this old chestnut of a story plays out beat by beat exactly as you imagine it will. The lack of originality is astounding, the plot being a mashup of Forever Young, ET, Starman and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

When pilot Lieutenant Theodore Cole (Austin Stowell) crashes into Mary Ann Whitaker (Kerry Bishé – soon to be in Penny Dreadful: City of Angels) and her stepson, Elijah Whitaker’s (Duncan Joiner) lives, he sets in motion a chain of events that we as an audience are always one step ahead of. Edward Norton is the man from the ministry, trying to mop up this problem, Elijah being Elliott to Cole’s ET.

The biggest ‘wow’ moment is the scene at the end when the scientists all line up with their product placement Apple MacBooks to help the pilot back through the time rift – there’s never any doubt that we’re watching Apple TV+!

Verdict: Compare this with the recent revival of another popular anthology show, The Twilight Zone, and this new season of Amazing Stories is a real disappointment. Recycling tropes and plots that are already well past their sell by dates, this show needs to up its game if it plans to return. 6/10

Nick Joy