Dadnology Week 42: One Apple box worth buying, and a Slow Horses finale

🧭 The week ahead — one Apple box worth buying, and a full week of evenings

Apple has finally shown a smart-home lineup, and for a family that already lives in its ecosystem the honest answer is short: one thing to buy, one to wait on, two to skip. The thing to buy is the tabletop HomeView, a $299 kitchen screen, and the rest of the lineup is mostly a reason to keep your wallet shut.

On the couch the week is easy. Slow Horses ends its sixth season on Wednesday, VisionQuest and Avatar: Seven Havens are both airing, Tulsa King is back, and The Terminal List returns the same Wednesday with all eight episodes at once. For the evenings in between there is a Pixar film that does half of its job brilliantly, an anime everybody tells you is a masterpiece that is worth the hype only if you are old enough, and two retired LEGO sets that still beat most of what is on shelves right now.

Jump to: 🍿 Watch This Week · 🎮 Play This Week · 🎬 Movies & TV · 🧱 LEGO & Family · 🏠 Smart Home, Camera & Tech

🍿 What to watch this week

Top tip: Slow Horses season 6 finale

Slow Horses season 6 — Apple TV+, the finale on Wednesday October 21. The sixth season is again absolutely fantastic, and the finale is the reason to be caught up by Wednesday.

Also a top tip: VisionQuest and Avatar: Seven Havens

VisionQuest — Disney+, premiered Wednesday. The most anticipated Marvel series in a while has started very promisingly and closes the story of WandaVision and Agatha All Along, so watch those first if you have not. Eight episodes, with the finale on November 11.

Avatar: Seven Havens — Paramount+, premiered October 9, with three new episodes every Friday and a four-episode finale on October 30. It started fantastically and fits the Avatar universe perfectly, a new Avatar and her twin in a world after Korra.

For the whole family: Cowboys & Aliens

Cowboys & Aliens — Netflix. Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford in a western that gets invaded, our pick from Netflix’s 1 October drop and a proper movie night, though aimed at older kids rather than little ones.

Once the kids are in bed: Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 — Netflix, Tuesday October 20. The anime sequel, with mature content, so it waits until the house is quiet.

The classic: Gladiator (5/5)

Gladiator — Netflix, Wednesday October 21. Both films join the catalogue together, and Ridley Scott’s original is a perfect 5 from us. If you wonder whether either suits a younger teenager, Is Gladiator OK for kids? answers it.

Also landing this week

• The Terminal List season 2 — Prime Video, Wednesday October 21. All eight episodes at once, four years after season 1. A grown-up evening, and the 30-day Prime Video trial is the way in if you are not on the service yet.
• Where’s Wanda? season 2 — Apple TV+, Wednesday October 21. The German family comedy-thriller returns.
• Lupin part 4 — Netflix, Friday October 23. Omar Sy’s Assane Diop gets dragged out of a prison sentence he wanted to finish quietly.
• Clayface — in theaters, Friday October 23. Rated R, a body-horror thriller rather than a family superhero film.

Still running

• Tulsa King season 4 — Paramount+, Fridays, started October 16. A must-watch, with Gretchen Mol joining the cast.

Not seen it yet?

• Matchbox (2026) review — Apple TV+. John Cena’s die-cast action comedy, a 4.5/5 from us and worth catching if it slipped past you.

Dates and the full list are in What to watch this week: Slow Horses, VisionQuest, Avatar. The whole month is in New movies & shows coming in October 2026: Our top picks.

🎮 What to play this week

Top tip: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 — PS5, Xbox, PC and Switch 2, Friday October 23. The biggest release of the month by a distance, with a Korean-peninsula invasion campaign, and a shooter for the adults in the house rather than a family game.

With the family: Nintendo Switch Sports Resort

Nintendo Switch Sports Resort — Switch 2, Thursday October 22. Twelve sports on Wuhu Island, and 100-pin bowling is back, the mode where a five-year-old beats a grown-up. It needs a Switch 2 and its Joy-Con 2 motion controls.

From the backlog: Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (5/5)

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 — PS5. A perfect 5 from us, and the better use of the money if Modern Warfare 4 is not your household’s genre.

The full list is in What to play this week: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 and a Wuhu bowling night. The month is in Gears of War goes back to day one, plus October games worth it.

🎬 Movie & TV news this week

Hoppers loses its way after 45 minutes

Hoppers (2026) review: A brilliant nature premise loses its way gives the Pixar film 3.5/5. The first 45 minutes, with human scientists piloting lifelike robotic animals into a real ecosystem, are sharp and funny. Then the second half drops the grounded story for manic cartoon farce. It is rated PG, but we say skip it for kids under nine, and the review explains which scenes catch parents out.

Attack on Titan Season 1 holds up

Attack on Titan Season 1 review: A bizarre premise hides real grit is a 4/5 from a reviewer who is not an anime purist and finally worked through all 25 episodes. The premise sounds unhinged out loud, and the review is about why the tension survives it. It is rated TV-MA, so this is for older teenagers and adults, not a family binge. Read it before you hand a sixteen-year-old the remote.

Marvel’s next live-action series is a spy thriller

Marvel announces Zodiac: New live-action spy thriller for Disney+ covers the NYCC reveal: a grounded Marvel Television series, filming in London in spring 2027 and arriving in 2028. The logo hides a S.H.I.E.L.D. eagle in the letter A, and the brief explains why that points at the Secret Warriors comics rather than another multiverse story. Our take is that a standalone spy series is the right pivot for viewers who got tired of homework. More Marvel lives in the MCU hub.

🧱 LEGO & family round-up

The LEGO Marvel Skyline is a $99.99 shelf set

LEGO 67006 The Marvel Skyline revealed: 1,261 pieces of superhero architecture is the quick read on the new 18+ set. It has eight buildings split between hero sanctuaries and villain strongholds, costs $99.99 and goes on sale January 1, 2027. The reason to click is the shelf argument: it fits under a monitor riser, unlike the big Marvel towers. The rest of the theme lives in the LEGO Marvel hub.

Two retired LEGO sets that still earn a 5/5

LEGO City Fire Rescue Plane (60413) review: Pure play is a 5/5 for a 478-piece airtanker whose water-drop mechanism a child can run in flight. It is retired, so you are buying from leftover retail stock or second-hand, and the review says what to check before you do. Our LEGO City hub collects the rest. The Fire Rescue Plane is the one to put on a birthday list.

LEGO Millennium Falcon (75257) review: The dad’s Falcon is a 5/5 as well, for the 1,351-piece middle ground between a flimsy toy and the 7,541-piece collector monster. It is retired too, and it opens up so kids can actually play inside. The review shows why the 75257 Falcon is the one to find.

A 6-inch Sandtrooper that likes dirt

Star Wars The Black Series Sandtrooper review: Built for beach dunes earns 4.5/5 after a real sand test on a family beach holiday. The figure arrives pre-weathered, so the grime is the point, and the dealbreaker is a backpack that shifts its weight backward. It is the figure to take to the beach rather than keep sealed.

🏠 Smart home, camera & tech round-up

Apple HomeView: buy one, skip the rest

Apple HomeView and $299 Apple TV 4K: What to buy and skip is the verdict before anything ships. Buy the tabletop Apple HomeView at $299, shipping November 13. Skip the wall-mounted model, which needs a separate mount and a power adapter, and skip the new $299 Apple TV 4K if you own the third generation. The $149 HomePod mini 2 ships October 30 and is a wait, because Siri is not ready at launch.

Beach toy photography starts at sand level

Beach toy photography: How to shoot action figures and LEGO in the sand is the field guide that came out of that same holiday. The core rule is to drop the camera to a few centimetres above the sand, so ripples read like dunes and a 15-centimetre figure looks life-size. It also covers golden-hour light and keeping fine sand out of a zoom ring. It follows our LEGO toy photography studio setup guide for anyone who has already built the indoor rig.

The Dadnology Week archive: missed last week? Catch up with Dadnology Week 41.

❓ FAQ

What were the biggest dad-relevant stories in week 42, 2026?

Apple’s new smart-home lineup, where we would buy the tabletop HomeView and skip the $299 Apple TV 4K; Pixar’s Hoppers at 3.5/5; Attack on Titan Season 1 at 4/5; Marvel’s Zodiac spy series for Disney+ in 2028; and the LEGO Marvel Skyline (67006) for January 2027. This week on screen, the Slow Horses finale, The Terminal List season 2 and both Gladiator films land on Wednesday.

Which of Apple's new smart-home products should I buy?

The tabletop Apple HomeView at $299, which ships November 13 and is the best kitchen hub for an Apple household. Skip the wall-mounted version because of the extra mount and adapter costs, skip the new $299 Apple TV 4K if you own the third generation, and wait on the $149 HomePod mini 2.

Is Hoppers OK for kids?

It is rated PG, but we would skip it for children under nine. The scary scenes, robot-double body horror and blunt animal peril are easier to miss in the trailer than in the film.

What should we watch and play this week?

Our top watch tips are the Slow Horses season 6 finale on Wednesday, VisionQuest and Avatar: Seven Havens, and our family play pick is Nintendo Switch Sports Resort on Switch 2 on Thursday. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is the biggest game release on Friday, but it is a shooter for adults.

What did Dadnology publish this week?

Reviews of Hoppers (2026), Attack on Titan Season 1, the LEGO City Fire Rescue Plane (60413), the LEGO Millennium Falcon (75257) and the Star Wars Black Series Sandtrooper; a beach toy photography guide; news on Marvel’s Zodiac series, the LEGO Marvel Skyline (67006) and Apple’s HomeView and Apple TV 4K; and the weekly picks for what to watch and what to play.