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matt_zimmerAlso reviews for the latest episodes of The Flash, Arrow, DC's Legends Of Tomorrow, and Supergirl, the series premiere of Lucifer, the latest episodes of Marvel's Agent Carter, Star Wars Rebels, and Galavant, the series return of The X-Files, the latest episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the premiere of Power Rangers Dino Super Charge, the latest episodes of Grimm, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and the Shannara Chronicles, the season premiere of American Dad, the series premiere of You, Me And The Apocalypse, the first season of Angie Tribeca, and the latest episode of The Blacklist.
Upcoming reviews include Avengers: Age Of Ultron (Blu-Ray), Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Season 2, Marvel's Agent Carter: Season 1, Ant-Man (Blu-Ray), The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Blu-Ray), X-Men: Days Of Future Past: The Rogue Cut, Inside Out (Blu-Ray), Star Wars Rebels: Season 1, Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League: Attack Of The Legion Of Doom, Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem, Teen Titans Go!: House Pests, Arrow: Season 3, The Flash: Season 1, Gotham: Season 1, iZombie: Season 1, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Extended Edition, The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug: Extended Edition, The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies: Extended Edition, Airplane! / Airplane II: The Sequel: Double Feature, Power Rangers: Zeo: Volume 1, Power Rangers: Zeo: Volume 2, Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, Power Rangers Turbo: Volume 1, Power Rangers: Turbo: Volume 2, Power Rangers In Space Volume 1, Power Rangers In Space: Volume 2, Power Rangers Samurai: The Complete Season, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Retreat!, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Return To NYC!, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Revenge!, Avatar: The Last Airbender: Book 1: Water, Avatar: The Last Airbender: Book 2: Earth, Avatar: The Last Airbender: Book 3: Fire, Haven: Season 5 - Vol. 1, Under The Dome: Season 3, Sleepy Hollow: Season 2, Doctor Who: Dark Water / Death In Heaven, Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 2, The Jurassic Park Trilogy, Jurassic World, Back To The Future: The Complete Animated Series, Tremor 5: Bloodlines, Shaun The Sheep Movie (Blu-Ray), 12 Monkeys: Season 1, Grimm: Season 4, The Wonder Years: Season 4, and Mulholland Dr..
The Flash "The Reverse-Flash Returns"
I noticed a major plothole. When Flash is offered a Big Belly Burger he says "I'm good." Flash's entire shtick is that he's always hungry. He shouldn't be turning down mass calories for any reason.
Very clever way for Patty to say goodbye and confirm her suspicions. Although I might not have said "Barry" out loud.
Loved Sisco's "Bye, Felicia." The Vibe visor is just as lame as I feared.
I like that the show was able to cook up a plausible reason as to why Thawne still existed, and actually have it make sense. Time travel IS a trippy concept, and Harry explained it in a way that was crystal clear to me at least.
Look forward to next week. ****.
Arrow "A.W.O.L."
Killing off Amanda Waller? Nervy. Especially because the episode gave no clue it was going to happen. Total shocker.
Oracle is already taken. Interesting.
I like that the episode ended on a quiet moment instead of a big one. It's okay if the show does that occasionally. In fact, I'd argue that it is necessary.
The show seems to be taking the tack that Laurel and Oliver are completely over. Their training scene together contained no sexual tension whatsoever. I'm glad about that.
Oliver saying he was going to make Felicity walk again tells me this is temporary. They wouldn't have had him say that if it was permanent.
I'm able to enjoy this show again now that the knot in my stomach about Felicity is gone. ***1/2.
DC's Legends Of Tomorrow "Pilot, Part 2"
They killed off Carter too soon. WAY too soon. Unless they plan to reincarnate him from the future next week, it was a huge storytelling mistake. If they WERE gonna kill him off, they should have waited a few weeks until I cared about the character. Then it would hurt more. Now it just seems random.
I love how appalled and embarrassed Stein is at his younger version. And I kind of think he is right to be. His college life in the 1970's was such a cliche, and I get why he'd be ashamed to look back on it. He is outright uncool.
Great stuff between Snart and Rory and Ray. I want to see these three team up more.
A let-down from last week (although that fight in the middle of the episode kicked butt). ***1/2.
Supergirl "Strange Visitor From Another Planet"
I don't know what to say. That was not credible at all. And we're actually gonna talk about why. Watch out. The thing that makes the entire episode fall apart is the casting of a black actress for the Senator. That was a mistake.
It didn't necessarily have to be. The black person as bigot towards aliens is a VERY irresistible premise as far as science fiction is concerned. That is, if it's done right. But it s SUCH a tightrope to pull off, that nobody ever really does it with the exception of Star Trek.
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country pretty much created the black guy alien bigot with Admiral Cartwright, who said some truly horrendous things about Klingons. They were SO vile, actor Brock Peters was actually upset to read the lines. Which shows they were effective. The scenario worked because Cartwright was a man who had lived in a society where racism amongst humans had been eradicated generations ago, and did not see the irony in the things he said that the audience did. That was why it worked.
The rhetoric coming out of Crane's mouth was somehow even uglier, which makes it less credible, because it's set in the present, and Crane should know better. First off, Cartwright was pretty much a monster for describing Klingons as "trash". But "vermin" is pretty much busting Godwin's Law wide open. There are nothing but genocidal implications to the term, and if they WERE trying to create a black bigot for irony's sake, they went way too far. A black woman, especially one who was a public figure, would not say those words. I can think of very few white men who would publicly say those words either. Just Donald Trump and Ted Nugent, I suppose. But neither of them are ever going to be elected to any sort of public office. Whatever state Supergirl is set in, is probably a blue one, considering that it probably also contains Metropolis, and states with many Metropolitans areas tend to vote for Democrats. I cannot ever picture a Blue state electing a Senator who calls another person "vermin" under any circumstance, where they ran as a Dem or not. I live in Massachusetts, and the very reason Republican Bill Weld was elected in the 1990's (setting off a string of disastrous Republicans governors that got steadily worse and worse) is because Democrat John Silber was an irredeemable racist in a state with a large black population. There is no way somebody who talks like Crane talks would win a general election. 2016 has taught me they might be able to win a primary. But they ain't getting elected to jack.
What's even weirder is that JUST a few weeks ago James pointed out that black people always had to hold their tempers so as not to scare delicate white people. Which is another reason it is not credible. Barack Obama would not be President if he spoke the same way about white people as Ted Cruz does about black people. Frankly, I can't imagine Obama being elected DOGCATCHER if he did that. That's how different the rules are for politicians of different races. Pretending those rules don't exist is especially perplexing when this was one of the first genre shows in a while that pointed out they still do.
So I'm picking on the episode from a liberal standpoint, and that's probably annoying to any conservative reading. Let me take this moment to pick on the episode from a conservative standpoint.
J'onn J'onnz was under no obligation to let the White Martian live, and the show is crazy to try to get me to think Kara and Alex were right about that. I'm a liberal, but I'm one of the liberals who cheered when Bin Laden was killed. The White Martians all committed a genocide so heinous, they wiped out an entire sentient species. And the culprit was proud of that and so was obviously a part of it. And the alien was SO dangerous, and killed SO many humans, that it seems REALLY risky to lock it up, especially if it turns out White Martians have as long of a lifespan as Green Martians. Killing the alien was not only the safer option, and the right option, it was the only SANE option. Generally speaking, I'm against the death penalty in all cases, and think war should be avoided at all costs. But if you ARE in a war, then killing IS necessary. J'onn wasn't being a cop in that moment, and it was unreasonable for Alex to expect him to be. In that particular scenario, she should have let him be the soldier.
Cat's son: what do I think? I think Kara solves problems a little too perfectly. It's kind of adorable, but what she did would horribly backfire in real life, and Cat would perfectly right to fire her. It's cute it worked out, but it is yet another thing about the episode that was not credible.
There was ONE credible thing: Win avoiding Kara. And then Kara telling Win at the end of the episode that that was all right. Because it was. Sometimes people need space, and they shouldn't have to immediately get over something just because it's driving a friend crazy. That's not reasonable.
All in all, this episode failed to make me believe in the scenarios it concocted. *.
Lucifer "Pilot"
The One Million Moms tried desperately to get me to not watch this show, so that just means I had to.
It's too early to tell if it has promise or not, but I'll discuss the two main things I got from it.
First, the premise is dynamite. The reason the idea of Lucifer / Satan / Damian as hero works for me is that the only people I ever hear talk smack about Satan are fundamentalist preachers. I'm sort of agnostic at the moment, but when I WAS a little more religious, I never considered Satan either evil or a bad guy. God is all knowing and all powerful, correct? Then Satan is part of his design, and a pretty necessary part, all things considered, I'd think. Satan's main goal is to punish the wicked, which I think would kind of be necessary in a universe with an Afterlife in it. I suppose the thing that really gives Satan such a reputation as pure evil is the tempting people and selling souls aspect of the figure. But Satan isn't actually getting people to do what they don't want to do. As far as Heaven and God are concerned, he may be simply weeding out the riffraff. Besides, the idea that Satan is evil because he loves screwing with people means that God is evil too. How else can you interpret his casual bet with Satan in the Book of Job to destroy a faithful man's life to win a coke? God has done plenty of terrible stuff in the Bible too, and we accept that because that sh*t is supposedly a part of his grand design. We don't know what it is, but that's part of faith. You don't know, and believe anyways. That's the test. But that also means that Satan is an equal part of those grand designs, and I don't see his behavior as immeasurably worse than God's in Exodus. Maybe that's only because we spend less actual time with Satan in the Bible, but Old Testament God is kind of a bunghole. But we accept that on faith.
But frankly, I think Satan IS necessary. And I certainly think he has a far greater claim to being a necessary evil than say, genocide in Darfur. Satan is needed in the way the real world crap we've had to face for the past few millennia is not. God may have to answer for Darfur. No explanation is necessary for Satan.
I also love that this version of Lucifer is unfailingly honest. He doesn't lie to any character in the Pilot even once, even to keep up appearance's sake. Part of the reason this Lucifer is so attractive is because he means what he says. He even goes back to have the promised sex with the hot mess therapist. He didn't have to do that, but it doesn't occur to him to break his word. That's interesting.
The second main thing I got from the first episode is that this settled into television way too easily. Constantine had a similar premise, but that still felt pretty off-the-wall and unbalanced by the end of the Pilot. I still didn't know what to make of it, which I think it a good thing for a show with a ton of religious subtext. Here, the show settles entirely too easily into the police procedural, and stops being a satire of good and evil and turns into a comfortable buddy cop show on TNT. And it does so almost immediately. Sleepy Hollow had a similarly unbelievable cop-show dynamic, but that also had Tom Mison as Ichabod Crane. Lucifer does NOT make the same instantly beloved impression Crane did to me. I like him, and want to see more of him, but Crane made me forgive a LOT of nonsense on Sleepy Hollow, including stuff I probably shouldn't have. Lucifer is not the same level of awesome to me. At least not yet.
Finally, I will argue that Lucifer as a figure is more necessary to world order than the One Million Moms are. But you probably already knew that. ****.
Marvel's Agent Carter "Better Angels"
Awesome. Pure awesome. I can't tell what is geekier: Howard Stark saying he wasn't a joiner, or Edwin Jarvis saying he didn't want to spend eternity as a disembodied voice.
Jarvis isn't white enough for the club. He 1/16th Turkish.
Has Peggy's assassin ever actually killed anyone before? Because he REALLY sucks at his job. I cannot claim to have any professional insights into being murderer, but I'd think you'd want to hold off doing the deed against someone while they were training, and their blood was full of adrenaline. He got ONTO the property. Does he think that Peggy doesn't sleep?
Also bad at his job was Whitney's agent. Not only does he try to hit on her, but he tells her she was almost fired. An agent's entire job is to make sure the star is never aware of how much they suck. I don't care if he was trying to get in her good graces, he should have tried to do it a way than didn't make it seem as if he had no idea what being an agent entailed.
SO glad Wilkes isn't dead. I suspected as much by how heavily they used him in the recap, and I'm glad I was right. Recaps tend to spoil big twists, don't they? I ever create a TV show, I won't use them.
I laughed at Peggy waving the drink at Howard as if he were a dog, and was a little bit mortified that he played along. I don't care if he was drunk, somebody that rich should at least possess an ounce of shame.
But seriously, Dominic Cooper was SOOOO funny all throughout the episode. If there is ever a reason to hate the show "Preacher", it's that it will limit Cooper's time on this show. And that's a pretty big reason.
I am alarmed at the amount of charisma Kurtwood Smith apparently possesses. He makes treason sound reasonable in a grandfatherly way. The world could be his if he wanted it. In an alternate universe, there is a scary Cult of Red Forman, whose jack-booted thugs put a foot in the @$$ of anyone who opposes him. Fear him.
Wilkes was surprised Howard let him stay at his house. I'm not. Peggy seems to surround herself with amazing people. Her gravitational pull isn't black matter, it's awesomeness.
I love this show. *****.
Star Wars Rebels "The Protector Of Concord Dawn"
Wow, what an interesting episode. I love the ideas the episode explored, and thought it was REALLY cool that Kanan got his mission of an alliance through an unexpected means: a kidnapping. I never expected that, and never even considered that something like that could possibly work. But it makes sense. Usually bad guys on TV shows don't care about hostages from their side, but that can't be true of every bad guy in existence. It makes sense that this particular hostage would rather play ball than have the Empire dig in its claws deeper.
I really loved this episode. I cannot say enough good things about it. *****.
Galavant "Love And Death"
Mostly dead is not a thing. I love that. I love that in the past ten years, The Princess Bride has been getting its pop-culture due. It is just as iconic a movie as The Godfather, (albeit for different reasons) and it drives me nuts that comedy spoofs have been treating it like a non-entity, when it is one of the defining movies of the 1980's. Good stuff.
Vinnie Jones strikes me as the one member of the cast who doesn't seem to be a professional singer. But do you know what? He's good enough to participate. And that's the best you can hope for in a musical.
I loved this episode. ****.
Galavant "Do The D'dew"
Near perfect. First off, forget Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the REAL horror mash-up I've always wanted to see was Zombie Grease. And now I have and can die happy.
I also love that the show let Richard lose his virginity. I love that because if they had kept him a virgin for the entirety of the show's run, that would be saying there is something wrong with him and that virginity is a character flaw. It's not. It's just that Richard has never had anyone who loved him before. If they had kept the virgin thing up it would stop being endearing and turn insulting. And I think the fact that he lost it this season means that it will forever remain endearing. Which is good.
Is Roberta right that Richard is going to get destroyed in battle? Let's pretend he isn't a lead character on a television show for a minute. Is Richard truly screwed if he goes into battle in a scenario in which his actor's name isn't in the opening credits? My opinion is that even if Roberta is right that there is very little chance he'll survive a battle, he is ALSO right that he can't let Galavant down. If Galavant himself asked him to sit it out for his own safety it would be one thing, (and I think Roberta SHOULD be angered that he hasn't done that) but Richard's entire life since he was dethroned has been about helping Galavant. She can't ask him to give that up during the endgame. As crappy as Galavant treats him, I think Richard is right to love him so much, and to be so loyal to him. He gave him a second chance. He wants to be a better man. And being a loyal friend to Galavant is the thing that was helping him do that. If she asks him to back out, he's no longer the good man she fell in love with. And I think that as in much hypothetical danger as Richard could be in, that means he HAS to join the battle.
But that danger IS merely hypothetical. Because this episode confirmed that Richard IS the King of prophecy to unite the Kingdoms. Maybe his role in all of this isn't to be Galavant's loyal sidekick. Maybe his role will be much larger and involve talking the armies down. Because if there is one thing that the armies all have in common, it's that the leaders are all decent people who could probably work things out by talking about it. Even the villains like Gareth and Madelena are actually big softies if they are genuinely treated decently. Exhibit A: Richard was an outright villain last season, and is now the most noble character on the show. I think most of the villains on the show could become that selfless if they were actually given the chance. Not Wormwood, but Madelena and ESPECIALLY Gareth are not bad people deep down.
I think that things are coming to a head this season in a way they were NOT last season. I really hope they decide NOT to end on a cliffhanger, because the way the arc is building, this final battle strikes me as a good stopping point for the entire series. Maybe take the matter out of ABC's twitchy fingers, and do right by the audience either way.
I look forward to next week. *****.
The X-Files "My Struggle"
I am more than a little bit annoyed that Chris Carter basically just said that all 9 seasons of The X-Files were bogus. This is par for the course for him, but for a series supposedly about seeking out the truth, Chris Carter doesn't use his story to tell much of it.
And really, the episode was otherwise solid. Cancer Man has never looked more sinister (love to hear the explanation as to how he still is alive) and at least the whole "We were lied to" thing makes the fact that Colonization never happened plausible. But Chris Carter is famous for setting up big things and refusing to pay them off. We never got a proper spaceship battle on the series, and I'm betting that goes for this miniseries too.
Good to see Mitch Pileggi still gets an opening title credit, like he did in Season 9. I see no need to demote him.
I feel like O'Malley's supposed conservatism is just a gimmick. He can rail against liberals all he likes, but him standing against Big Business and the Patriot Act just means the writers couldn't be bothered to give us an actual conservative good guy. Anytime there is a virtuous conservative on television, they all have liberal viewpoints and agendas. A U.F.O. conspiracist cannot be conservative by definition. Conservatives are supposed to be the mainstream. U.F.O. nuts are not. That's not what the word means, and never has.
Interesting that Mulder and Scully are still on REALLY good terms even if they are broken up. I like these two characters being adults about the situation. We don't usually get that on television.
All complaints aside, I would just like to compliment the relaunch about something, and it is something that GREATLY improves the series: The pacing on the show is MUCH tighter and moves much quicker than the old show used to. The old show, as great as it was, used to move along at a snail's pace. That is why Mark Snow and his slow, spooky music was such a good fit. This first episode was as fast paced and exciting as a Bad Robot or Mutant Enemy show. But I checked the credits and it's still Ten Thirteen. That's a good sign.
I'm a little disappointed, but that was bound to happen to ANY X-Files project that ignored colonization. Perhaps the Monster of the Week episodes will be a little more successful. ****.
The X-Files "Founder's Mutation"
Much better than the premiere.
I find it a little bit hard to believe that Fox Mulder's gaydar is that bad. The dude asked him not to use names, said he didn't know him well enough to go with him in private, and the bar they were in had no women in it. I might be able to rationalize it based on how anti-social Mulder is, but the fact of the matter is, Mulder is a pornography enthusiast. There is no part of him that should mistake someone initiating an encounter for anything other than what it was.
I love that Mulder bonded with that woman over their seeming loathing of cats. Her throwing the apple at the cat made me instantly like her too. Because there was no reason for it, and no reason ever given. Just a lovable character quirk that defies explanation.
I am loving the dynamic of Mulder, Scully, and Skinner at the office. In the seventh season finale, Skinner realizing the truth turned him into the trusted confidant of Mulder and Scully he never was before. But then Duchovny left the show, and we got a new FBI Director. I had always wondered how that dynamic would have worked if Mulder stuck around for the last two seasons, and James Pickens Jr. was never cast. I find the lack of conflict very refreshing, and I pretty much love that Skinner is basically covering for them, and giving them carte blanche to do the investigation their way. We could have gotten this in season 8 if Duchovny wasn't being such a diva.
I'm glad William has not been forgotten. There are many reasons the 9th season of The X-Files was the worst, but Scully inexplicably giving up her and Mulder's son for adoption was one of the most maddening plot turns in a season with nothing but maddening plot turns. Is it too much to hope that they'll find him by the end of this miniseries? Because if Chris Carter undoes THAT, along with the deaths of the Lone Gunmen, I pretty much can easily declare that all is forgiven. We'll see.
Seeing Doug Savant's eyes explode is good television. ****1/2.
Adolescent Alien Warrior Terrapins "The Arena Of Carnage"
Hearing David Tennant say "Booyah-Kasha!" is just as amusing as you might think.
The episode did some things right and some things wrong. I like that they remembered to have the scene of the Turtles going into a deep sleep meditation to combat airlessness, but I think the gladiator games were funnier when they were a satire of boxing matches, including sportscaster Triceratons in the announcer booth. I also miss the hilarious gag of the Emperor accidently being assassinated when the Turtles take him hostage. The gladiator games in the Turtles comic were a black comedy. I kind of miss the subversive aspects of the story.
Still, it was not bad. ***1/2.
Power Rangers Dino Super Charge "When Evil Stirs"
Good. I really like the new main title (8 Rangers!) and I appreciated learning that Koda was frozen in ice for 100,000 years. That actually makes his culture shock believable. Why they didn't reveal this origin ages ago is beyond me. The idea that he lived through history really hurt the character's credibility. Now that we learned he didn't, he's okay now. And I'm steamed it took them this long to do it.
Weird that Nick didn't hype this as the 800th episode. That was quite a milestone.
I like Heckyll. Human Big Bads have always been fun on this show, and one who actually speaks English will be even more enjoyable. This was a pretty weak incarnation, but I think the choices the second half of the season is making will only improve things. ***1/2.
Grimm "Eve Of Destruction"
I don't even know what to think about that. Part of me is fed up, part of me is curious, and part of me is laughing out loud at the fact that the producers were stupid enough to believe that Bitsie Tulloch could play a bad@$$.
The act break of the assassin leering at Xavier was absolutely terrible. Why? Because I don't care if Xavier lives or dies, and his life being in jeopardy offers zero tension for the viewer. One of the worst act breaks I've seen in a long time.
I like that Nick is actually p*ssed at Juliet. He's done trying to sympathize with and help her. She killed his mom. She sucks.
I almost threw my remote at the TV when Nick and Adalind kissed, and then the show completely surprised me by having them be refreshingly adult about it. That's the last thing I expecting from this sucky show. I won't dismiss that.
I was mad at Trubel for booking in the middle of the night, until I learned that she did it to wrangle a meeting with Juliet for Nick. Trubel would do a LOT better by her friends by articulating her plans out loud.
Knew Alexander would survive the Wesen Council slaughter, and he's the one guy I'm glad who did. He's the only Wesen Council dude who struck me as on the ball, and legitimately smart and dangerous, and as long as he is out there, the Council isn't fully dead. I'm cool with that. Speculation: Will a new Wesen Council form with Monroe and Rosalee as the heads? I think that is where the show is headed.
Part of me was disgusted by this, part of me was obsessed with this. This was no part of me that actually liked this. *.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine "The Cruise"
Weakest Pontiac Bandit outing so far, but I really like that Doug Judy is trying to convince Jake they're best friends. Do you know the weird thing? I bet Jake IS his best friend. No lie. As often as Judy screws Peralta over, he seems to genuinely love him. On this show only Charles is a bigger Peralta fan.
Not having Judy interact with Rosa was part of the reason the episode didn't work.
I do not buy Neicy Nash as Andre Braugher's sister for a second. Forget siblings, I don't believe they belong to the same species. To the show's credit they toned down Nash a LOT from most of her roles. But she's still a little much to believably be related to Holt.
Charles and Rosa's thing sucked because it was unresolved. Also it was unfunny, which I guess is the bigger sin.
Not great, and considering that the first two Pontiac Bandit episodes were classics, that's really disappointing. **1/2.
The Shannara Chronicles "Reaper"
The good: The twist ending. Killing off John Rhys-Davies is bad enough, but they make it the Changeling and it freaking replaces him? I don't care if Loki did it first, it's still funny.
The bad: The attempted rape scene. I especially hate it if they were planning to have James Remar join the heroes all along. That is not something I will ever forgive and the producers are crazy to think otherwise.
Good and bad. ***.
American Dad "Roots"
When did Mr. Tuttle lose the weight? I must have missed an episode.
I love that the mild mannered pediatrician turns into Dr. Mengele when Steve mentions Klaus. That sounds about right.
Funniest Stan moment was him pointing out to Hayley never buying or reading books doesn't actually count as saving trees. A RARE conservative slam by Stan that was accurate and insightful at the same time. He never gets those and I lked this one for that reason.
Roger's twin brother turning out to be human was similarly hysterical. I just cannot even imagine the backstory his his characters must go-through off-screen. That dude is a total nut.
Good episode. ***1/2.
You, Me And The Apocalypse "Who Are These People?"
That was an amazing hour of television. Not very many pilots hit the ground running as big as this one did (Lost being an exception that comes to mind) and I am gob-smacked. I am glad NBC misleadingly billed this as a comedy. More people will sample it if they think that and there is no way anybody who sees this isn't hooked. That was fantastic.
I am really surprised that this show is better than The Last Man On Earth. I have noted elsewhere that that show is my biggest obsession. I do not see this show surpassing as far as how much I care about what happens. But I will definitely enjoy watching this show much more. This is bananas and The Last Man On Earth goes between heartwarming and depressing. And it's the depressing weeks that often make it hard to watch. That won't be a problem here.
I am amazed at Rob Lowe's priest. He's essentially introduced as a comical character, but once news of the asteroid hits, his role in the Church comes into laser focus, and he actually cares about the job for once. And that British guy with the long-lost twin who stole his long missing wife is interesting too. And I loved Pam Beasley as the least successful prison inmate of all time. How did all of these people get into that bunker? What happened in the last 34 days? And what happens next?
I cannot overstate what an amazing experience that was. Part of the reason I'm so obsessed with Last Man On Earth is that part of me hates the show, and is waiting to see it crash and burn. That won't happen here, so my interest is crazily less. But it's definitely gonna be the better show. *****.
Angie Tribeca "Pilot"
Not bad. Funniest moment was when Angie tells Gary Cole not to do anything stupid, he sticks a fork in a plugged in toaster.
The Ford product placements were only slightly less annoying than Alias's. And about the same level of subtle.
Lisa Kudrow looks like hell warmed over. I hate that actresses I grew up with are getting so old. It makes me feel old too.
Solid opener although I think the show would be a bit funnier if it was an hour-long. That would be doing the concept justice. ***1/2.
Angie Tribeca "The Wedding Planner Did It"
This episode was much more in line with Police Squad including literal wordplay. There are actually two "Let's say" moments in the episode.
I loved the swinging joke and that the culprit is caught by throwing the bouquet at her. I also laughed hard at the close-up on Angie being so tight that the camera hit her.
Do you know the effed up thing? Even in that messed-up state Rashida Jones DOES look beautiful. Which is why the joke doesn't work. If Jones weren't as naturally gorgeous as she is, it might have.
Funniest joke was Tribeca telling that guy he was disgusting and he says "What do you expect? I'm a warehouse sweeper." Talk about getting the point!
Much funnier than the Pilot, which was trying too hard. ****1/2.
Angie Tribeca "The Famous Ventriloquist Did It"
That Ventriloquist act at the end between Angie and Geils was beyond creepy. TOO creepy. I'm still a little freaked out to be honest. The board game puns were funny though. *1/2.
Angie Tribeca "The Thumb Affair"
So-so. John Michael Higgins was funny though. I also liked the rookie cop throwing up at the sight of the missing painting. **1/2.
Angie Tribeca "Commissioner Bigfish"
Jere Burns is a really underrated comic actor. It's been years since his talents have been used properly.
The giant baby fetish has always bothered me and this episode pointed out exactly why. Those people are freaks.
What is the Fruit Salad Song and where has it been all my life?
Above average. ****.
Angie Tribeca "Ferret Royale"
Loved the rookie throwing up at the sight of the ferret.
German is SUCH a beautiful language.
Pretty good. ***1/2.
Angie Tribeca "Tribeca's Day Off"
Bill Murray is a GREAT guest star get. I love the idea that a guy who looks like Murray could possibly have a shot with a woman who looks like Rashida Jones. Gives us all hope, you know?
I would listen to Public Domain Radio. I would also watch Bill Murray read a phonebook. *****.
Angie Tribeca "Murder In The First Class"
Longest airplane ever.
My favorite part was Angie saying "I'm good" with the gun in her mouth. What a hilarious visual.
I also liked the joke that the last time the 7-year-old kid played in the dryer, he became a 5-year-old.
The Rookie throwing up at Vivian's syrupy flirtations was for the first time, the correct reaction.
One thing puzzles me: Alfred Molina is in almost every episode. Why does he always go uncreditted? Bill Murray will admit he's done this show. And it's not like Molina is super picky in his roles. I find the idea that a guy who was in Law & Order: L.A. might be embarrassed of this show a bit far-fetched.
Great episode. ****1/2.
Angie Tribeca "Inside Man"
I loved the recap of the episode at the end of the episode. I didn't really understand what was happening until it was over. It was very funny.
Danny Trejo makes everything better. ***1/2.
Angie Tribeca "The One With The Bomb"
Best bit was Geils and the kidnapper bonding:
"I wish this bomb would actually explode."
"You don't mean that."
Classic.
Great episode. ****.
The Blacklist "The Vehm"
I loved Navabi telling Ressler he sucked in bed. You know what? I bet he did. Dude is definitely overcompensating for something.
Love that Cooper's wife is sending him flowers, and that he's having none of it. It is a very interesting dynamic that we don't see on television that often.
Red solves all of the problems on the show, but I kind of think it is Amir who holds everything else together. These past few weeks have got me appreciating him more and more.
Loved Red's apology to Liz at the end. And that a big part of the apology is being gifted a couch. That idea that Liz's mother thought her pregnancy was a curse but her life after she was born a blessing, is a VERY intimate detail only Red would share with her daughter. As moving as it is, the part where she used to think of her as a curse is still appalling, and even if she changed her mind, she still thought that at one point.
"Michael Row The Boat Ashore" is one of my very favorite songs. It's no surprise Red likes it too.
Not as good as the past few weeks but it wasn't a slump either. Average. ***1/2.
Phineas & Ferb: Star Wars
Phineas & Ferb Star Wars:
I think the kindest thing the episode did was at the beginning state that "This isn't canon. So relax." It's not just talking about Star Wars in that moment. This clearly is referring to Phineas & Ferb too.
The episode took the interesting tack that the Phineas and Ferb adventure happened around the edges of A New Hope, much like The Lion King 1 1/2 did with Timon and Pumbaa supposedly being there the whole time. It was cool and all, but since the audience knows how A New Hope turned out, it gave the special very few actual stakes. The special would have done better to go the Muppet Babies / Family Guy route and simply have the cast play the Star Wars characters. The episode isn't canon with the show. What harm could it have done?
Things I learned about Star Wars:
1. The Stormtroopers' armor is useless because it is made of plastic. And that is a VERY big problem in the original trilogy. Lucas didn't even try to give the material texture to hint it was painted armor, it was just clearly plastic. And this is the first time I've seen that pointed out. Star Trek and Doctor Who get cr*p flung at them all the time for their cheap costumes and sets, but I have to say, a Stormtrooper's outfit is no more convincing than a Horta or Original Series Sontaran. And this is literally the first time I've ever heard anyone point that out.
2. The more glowing blades you put on a light saber, the more ridiculous it looks.
3. If you paint a red X on the floor somebody will stand on it. And you know? That is probably true. That would be my first inclination if I saw one on the sidewalk. Human beings seem to be hardwired to be drawn to targets on some level. I can't explain it.
The absolutely funniest moment for me was when the garbage monster is sifting through the trash for Doofenshmirzt, it pulls up Luke Skywalker and Doof says dismissively "That's not trash! That's a guy!". The line delivery was sublime, and the fact that I heard someone refer to Luke Skywalker as "a guy" in a Star Wars related project amuses me.
I think the biggest outrage for me is they didn't get Anthony Daniels to voice C-3PO. That dude NEVER turns down a chance to voice him (remember "Droids"? "Droids"!) and this show's voice talent must be done on the cheap if they can't afford him. True, Threepio only had a couple of lines. But Daniels ALWAYS voices him. ALWAYS. That should not be up for debate.
I am not a regular viewer of Phineas & Ferb, and usually only tune in for the crossovers and specials. But from what I've seen of the show, (which I DO like) this was a decent episode. ***1/2.
The DVD came with 5 bonus episodes. I will now review them:
For Your Ice Only / Happy New Year!:
For Your Ice Only: I like that they came up with a new theme song and title sequence for the winter episodes. Best joke was Doofenshmirtz embarrassingly admitting the wool hat on his invention was due to the fact that he had yarn. ***.
Happy New Year!: I like that Doof was defeated because nobody keeps their resolutions. Him dancing with Perry at the end was nice too because it hints that deep down, he and Perry are good friends. ***1/2.
Episode Overall: ***.
Steampunx / It's No Picnic:
Steampunx: Mostly dull but I laughed at the end of the old timey Doof falling out of the sky. **.
It's No Picnic: I always laugh at the joke that Doofenshmirtz was raised by ocelots. The Grievance film series sounds hilariously familiar too. I don't think that last one's canon. ***.
Episode Overall: **1/2.
Terrifying Tri-State Trilogy Of Terror (Parts 1 & 2):
Superb Halloween special, which Phineas notes is weird because the events take place in the summer. The funniest line of the Duckiemomo bit was Candace saying she should run upstairs from the monster and that it's the only logical solution. Do you know the messed up thing? If I lived in a house and a killer was after me, I'm probably instinctively run upstairs too, because I always feel safer in my room. We always talk smack about how stupid horror movie victims are, but some of them just make poor-split second decisions in life or death situations while fighting human nature. Remember X-Men: The Last Stand and Magneto destroying the bridge? The dad locks the car door. Because that is exactly what would have happened in real life in that moment. Stuff like that is pure instinct. The Doofenshmirtz story was good too. I love that Doof is cunning enough not to waste a wasted wish. The thing that's frustrating about the people who suffer the Monkey's Paw is that they always focus on the bad part of the wish, and never try to make the good part of the wish work for them too. Doof doing that made me respect him in a way I never have before. Plus, he got Perry to fall for the old "Platypus trapped in a closed book" gag. The Gremlins homage was great too, and I love that they wound up running to a grape juice factory. Macabre was a funny one-off character in a way the cowboy was not. I loved Macabre saying he was saving the olives for later and securing a bank loan by adding a cherry on top of his "Pretty please". Those cherries, man. HARD to resist. Great episode. *****.
Doof 101 / Father's Day:
Doof 101: Fun. I loved Doof calling that kid a whiner and saying he got why his daughter dumped him. Also great was telling that kid he called Ropey-face to own it. The bugs in this episode remind me strongly of Bloaty and Squirmy from Rocko's Modern Life. ***1/2.
Father's Day: This show has the best action sequences. The animation to the aerial plane sequence was amazing. I again really love the fact that Doof and Perry are actually good friends. That's really layered and gives his reformation in the last episode of the series actual meaning. I love that Vanessa got him a box of various switches and self-destruct buttons. She knows her father. But, hey! I thought Doof was raised by ocelots! Hmmm. ****1/2.
Episode Overall: ****.
Tales From The Resistance: Back To The 2nd Dimension (Parts 1 & 2):
What a cool and funny opening! I don't actually like this episode (Evil Doof getting away at the end made things feel unresolved) but I love the concept of it. It's sort of the same thing as Deep Space Nine's Mirror Universe episodes. Dealing with the fall-out of meeting Captain Kirk was disastrous for that universe but meeting Phineas and Ferb from our dimension was beneficial for the 2nd. I love the idea of sticking around the universe after the heroes leave and seeing what happens next. I didn't actually see the 2nd Dimension movie but I still got what was going on. I like the "Convoluted Reasons We Pretend To Be Divorced" song a lot. Ultimately, I didn't much care for the episode, but I kind of want to see a whole new Phineas and Ferb cartoon set in this universe. **1/2.
Trailers:
Star Wars Rebels: The most amazing trailer I have ever seen for this show. *****.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Lost Missions: Much briefer than the other trailer, it is still insanely cool. ****1/2.
DVD Menu: Animated. ****.
Upcoming reviews include Avengers: Age Of Ultron (Blu-Ray), Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Season 2, Marvel's Agent Carter: Season 1, Ant-Man (Blu-Ray), The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Blu-Ray), X-Men: Days Of Future Past: The Rogue Cut, Inside Out (Blu-Ray), Star Wars Rebels: Season 1, Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League: Attack Of The Legion Of Doom, Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem, Teen Titans Go!: House Pests, Arrow: Season 3, The Flash: Season 1, Gotham: Season 1, iZombie: Season 1, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Extended Edition, The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug: Extended Edition, The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies: Extended Edition, Airplane! / Airplane II: The Sequel: Double Feature, Power Rangers: Zeo: Volume 1, Power Rangers: Zeo: Volume 2, Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, Power Rangers Turbo: Volume 1, Power Rangers: Turbo: Volume 2, Power Rangers In Space Volume 1, Power Rangers In Space: Volume 2, Power Rangers Samurai: The Complete Season, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Retreat!, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Return To NYC!, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Revenge!, Avatar: The Last Airbender: Book 1: Water, Avatar: The Last Airbender: Book 2: Earth, Avatar: The Last Airbender: Book 3: Fire, Haven: Season 5 - Vol. 1, Under The Dome: Season 3, Sleepy Hollow: Season 2, Doctor Who: Dark Water / Death In Heaven, Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 2, The Jurassic Park Trilogy, Jurassic World, Back To The Future: The Complete Animated Series, Tremor 5: Bloodlines, Shaun The Sheep Movie (Blu-Ray), 12 Monkeys: Season 1, Grimm: Season 4, The Wonder Years: Season 4, and Mulholland Dr..
The Flash "The Reverse-Flash Returns"
I noticed a major plothole. When Flash is offered a Big Belly Burger he says "I'm good." Flash's entire shtick is that he's always hungry. He shouldn't be turning down mass calories for any reason.
Very clever way for Patty to say goodbye and confirm her suspicions. Although I might not have said "Barry" out loud.
Loved Sisco's "Bye, Felicia." The Vibe visor is just as lame as I feared.
I like that the show was able to cook up a plausible reason as to why Thawne still existed, and actually have it make sense. Time travel IS a trippy concept, and Harry explained it in a way that was crystal clear to me at least.
Look forward to next week. ****.
Arrow "A.W.O.L."
Killing off Amanda Waller? Nervy. Especially because the episode gave no clue it was going to happen. Total shocker.
Oracle is already taken. Interesting.
I like that the episode ended on a quiet moment instead of a big one. It's okay if the show does that occasionally. In fact, I'd argue that it is necessary.
The show seems to be taking the tack that Laurel and Oliver are completely over. Their training scene together contained no sexual tension whatsoever. I'm glad about that.
Oliver saying he was going to make Felicity walk again tells me this is temporary. They wouldn't have had him say that if it was permanent.
I'm able to enjoy this show again now that the knot in my stomach about Felicity is gone. ***1/2.
DC's Legends Of Tomorrow "Pilot, Part 2"
They killed off Carter too soon. WAY too soon. Unless they plan to reincarnate him from the future next week, it was a huge storytelling mistake. If they WERE gonna kill him off, they should have waited a few weeks until I cared about the character. Then it would hurt more. Now it just seems random.
I love how appalled and embarrassed Stein is at his younger version. And I kind of think he is right to be. His college life in the 1970's was such a cliche, and I get why he'd be ashamed to look back on it. He is outright uncool.
Great stuff between Snart and Rory and Ray. I want to see these three team up more.
A let-down from last week (although that fight in the middle of the episode kicked butt). ***1/2.
Supergirl "Strange Visitor From Another Planet"
I don't know what to say. That was not credible at all. And we're actually gonna talk about why. Watch out. The thing that makes the entire episode fall apart is the casting of a black actress for the Senator. That was a mistake.
It didn't necessarily have to be. The black person as bigot towards aliens is a VERY irresistible premise as far as science fiction is concerned. That is, if it's done right. But it s SUCH a tightrope to pull off, that nobody ever really does it with the exception of Star Trek.
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country pretty much created the black guy alien bigot with Admiral Cartwright, who said some truly horrendous things about Klingons. They were SO vile, actor Brock Peters was actually upset to read the lines. Which shows they were effective. The scenario worked because Cartwright was a man who had lived in a society where racism amongst humans had been eradicated generations ago, and did not see the irony in the things he said that the audience did. That was why it worked.
The rhetoric coming out of Crane's mouth was somehow even uglier, which makes it less credible, because it's set in the present, and Crane should know better. First off, Cartwright was pretty much a monster for describing Klingons as "trash". But "vermin" is pretty much busting Godwin's Law wide open. There are nothing but genocidal implications to the term, and if they WERE trying to create a black bigot for irony's sake, they went way too far. A black woman, especially one who was a public figure, would not say those words. I can think of very few white men who would publicly say those words either. Just Donald Trump and Ted Nugent, I suppose. But neither of them are ever going to be elected to any sort of public office. Whatever state Supergirl is set in, is probably a blue one, considering that it probably also contains Metropolis, and states with many Metropolitans areas tend to vote for Democrats. I cannot ever picture a Blue state electing a Senator who calls another person "vermin" under any circumstance, where they ran as a Dem or not. I live in Massachusetts, and the very reason Republican Bill Weld was elected in the 1990's (setting off a string of disastrous Republicans governors that got steadily worse and worse) is because Democrat John Silber was an irredeemable racist in a state with a large black population. There is no way somebody who talks like Crane talks would win a general election. 2016 has taught me they might be able to win a primary. But they ain't getting elected to jack.
What's even weirder is that JUST a few weeks ago James pointed out that black people always had to hold their tempers so as not to scare delicate white people. Which is another reason it is not credible. Barack Obama would not be President if he spoke the same way about white people as Ted Cruz does about black people. Frankly, I can't imagine Obama being elected DOGCATCHER if he did that. That's how different the rules are for politicians of different races. Pretending those rules don't exist is especially perplexing when this was one of the first genre shows in a while that pointed out they still do.
So I'm picking on the episode from a liberal standpoint, and that's probably annoying to any conservative reading. Let me take this moment to pick on the episode from a conservative standpoint.
J'onn J'onnz was under no obligation to let the White Martian live, and the show is crazy to try to get me to think Kara and Alex were right about that. I'm a liberal, but I'm one of the liberals who cheered when Bin Laden was killed. The White Martians all committed a genocide so heinous, they wiped out an entire sentient species. And the culprit was proud of that and so was obviously a part of it. And the alien was SO dangerous, and killed SO many humans, that it seems REALLY risky to lock it up, especially if it turns out White Martians have as long of a lifespan as Green Martians. Killing the alien was not only the safer option, and the right option, it was the only SANE option. Generally speaking, I'm against the death penalty in all cases, and think war should be avoided at all costs. But if you ARE in a war, then killing IS necessary. J'onn wasn't being a cop in that moment, and it was unreasonable for Alex to expect him to be. In that particular scenario, she should have let him be the soldier.
Cat's son: what do I think? I think Kara solves problems a little too perfectly. It's kind of adorable, but what she did would horribly backfire in real life, and Cat would perfectly right to fire her. It's cute it worked out, but it is yet another thing about the episode that was not credible.
There was ONE credible thing: Win avoiding Kara. And then Kara telling Win at the end of the episode that that was all right. Because it was. Sometimes people need space, and they shouldn't have to immediately get over something just because it's driving a friend crazy. That's not reasonable.
All in all, this episode failed to make me believe in the scenarios it concocted. *.
Lucifer "Pilot"
The One Million Moms tried desperately to get me to not watch this show, so that just means I had to.
It's too early to tell if it has promise or not, but I'll discuss the two main things I got from it.
First, the premise is dynamite. The reason the idea of Lucifer / Satan / Damian as hero works for me is that the only people I ever hear talk smack about Satan are fundamentalist preachers. I'm sort of agnostic at the moment, but when I WAS a little more religious, I never considered Satan either evil or a bad guy. God is all knowing and all powerful, correct? Then Satan is part of his design, and a pretty necessary part, all things considered, I'd think. Satan's main goal is to punish the wicked, which I think would kind of be necessary in a universe with an Afterlife in it. I suppose the thing that really gives Satan such a reputation as pure evil is the tempting people and selling souls aspect of the figure. But Satan isn't actually getting people to do what they don't want to do. As far as Heaven and God are concerned, he may be simply weeding out the riffraff. Besides, the idea that Satan is evil because he loves screwing with people means that God is evil too. How else can you interpret his casual bet with Satan in the Book of Job to destroy a faithful man's life to win a coke? God has done plenty of terrible stuff in the Bible too, and we accept that because that sh*t is supposedly a part of his grand design. We don't know what it is, but that's part of faith. You don't know, and believe anyways. That's the test. But that also means that Satan is an equal part of those grand designs, and I don't see his behavior as immeasurably worse than God's in Exodus. Maybe that's only because we spend less actual time with Satan in the Bible, but Old Testament God is kind of a bunghole. But we accept that on faith.
But frankly, I think Satan IS necessary. And I certainly think he has a far greater claim to being a necessary evil than say, genocide in Darfur. Satan is needed in the way the real world crap we've had to face for the past few millennia is not. God may have to answer for Darfur. No explanation is necessary for Satan.
I also love that this version of Lucifer is unfailingly honest. He doesn't lie to any character in the Pilot even once, even to keep up appearance's sake. Part of the reason this Lucifer is so attractive is because he means what he says. He even goes back to have the promised sex with the hot mess therapist. He didn't have to do that, but it doesn't occur to him to break his word. That's interesting.
The second main thing I got from the first episode is that this settled into television way too easily. Constantine had a similar premise, but that still felt pretty off-the-wall and unbalanced by the end of the Pilot. I still didn't know what to make of it, which I think it a good thing for a show with a ton of religious subtext. Here, the show settles entirely too easily into the police procedural, and stops being a satire of good and evil and turns into a comfortable buddy cop show on TNT. And it does so almost immediately. Sleepy Hollow had a similarly unbelievable cop-show dynamic, but that also had Tom Mison as Ichabod Crane. Lucifer does NOT make the same instantly beloved impression Crane did to me. I like him, and want to see more of him, but Crane made me forgive a LOT of nonsense on Sleepy Hollow, including stuff I probably shouldn't have. Lucifer is not the same level of awesome to me. At least not yet.
Finally, I will argue that Lucifer as a figure is more necessary to world order than the One Million Moms are. But you probably already knew that. ****.
Marvel's Agent Carter "Better Angels"
Awesome. Pure awesome. I can't tell what is geekier: Howard Stark saying he wasn't a joiner, or Edwin Jarvis saying he didn't want to spend eternity as a disembodied voice.
Jarvis isn't white enough for the club. He 1/16th Turkish.
Has Peggy's assassin ever actually killed anyone before? Because he REALLY sucks at his job. I cannot claim to have any professional insights into being murderer, but I'd think you'd want to hold off doing the deed against someone while they were training, and their blood was full of adrenaline. He got ONTO the property. Does he think that Peggy doesn't sleep?
Also bad at his job was Whitney's agent. Not only does he try to hit on her, but he tells her she was almost fired. An agent's entire job is to make sure the star is never aware of how much they suck. I don't care if he was trying to get in her good graces, he should have tried to do it a way than didn't make it seem as if he had no idea what being an agent entailed.
SO glad Wilkes isn't dead. I suspected as much by how heavily they used him in the recap, and I'm glad I was right. Recaps tend to spoil big twists, don't they? I ever create a TV show, I won't use them.
I laughed at Peggy waving the drink at Howard as if he were a dog, and was a little bit mortified that he played along. I don't care if he was drunk, somebody that rich should at least possess an ounce of shame.
But seriously, Dominic Cooper was SOOOO funny all throughout the episode. If there is ever a reason to hate the show "Preacher", it's that it will limit Cooper's time on this show. And that's a pretty big reason.
I am alarmed at the amount of charisma Kurtwood Smith apparently possesses. He makes treason sound reasonable in a grandfatherly way. The world could be his if he wanted it. In an alternate universe, there is a scary Cult of Red Forman, whose jack-booted thugs put a foot in the @$$ of anyone who opposes him. Fear him.
Wilkes was surprised Howard let him stay at his house. I'm not. Peggy seems to surround herself with amazing people. Her gravitational pull isn't black matter, it's awesomeness.
I love this show. *****.
Star Wars Rebels "The Protector Of Concord Dawn"
Wow, what an interesting episode. I love the ideas the episode explored, and thought it was REALLY cool that Kanan got his mission of an alliance through an unexpected means: a kidnapping. I never expected that, and never even considered that something like that could possibly work. But it makes sense. Usually bad guys on TV shows don't care about hostages from their side, but that can't be true of every bad guy in existence. It makes sense that this particular hostage would rather play ball than have the Empire dig in its claws deeper.
I really loved this episode. I cannot say enough good things about it. *****.
Galavant "Love And Death"
Mostly dead is not a thing. I love that. I love that in the past ten years, The Princess Bride has been getting its pop-culture due. It is just as iconic a movie as The Godfather, (albeit for different reasons) and it drives me nuts that comedy spoofs have been treating it like a non-entity, when it is one of the defining movies of the 1980's. Good stuff.
Vinnie Jones strikes me as the one member of the cast who doesn't seem to be a professional singer. But do you know what? He's good enough to participate. And that's the best you can hope for in a musical.
I loved this episode. ****.
Galavant "Do The D'dew"
Near perfect. First off, forget Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the REAL horror mash-up I've always wanted to see was Zombie Grease. And now I have and can die happy.
I also love that the show let Richard lose his virginity. I love that because if they had kept him a virgin for the entirety of the show's run, that would be saying there is something wrong with him and that virginity is a character flaw. It's not. It's just that Richard has never had anyone who loved him before. If they had kept the virgin thing up it would stop being endearing and turn insulting. And I think the fact that he lost it this season means that it will forever remain endearing. Which is good.
Is Roberta right that Richard is going to get destroyed in battle? Let's pretend he isn't a lead character on a television show for a minute. Is Richard truly screwed if he goes into battle in a scenario in which his actor's name isn't in the opening credits? My opinion is that even if Roberta is right that there is very little chance he'll survive a battle, he is ALSO right that he can't let Galavant down. If Galavant himself asked him to sit it out for his own safety it would be one thing, (and I think Roberta SHOULD be angered that he hasn't done that) but Richard's entire life since he was dethroned has been about helping Galavant. She can't ask him to give that up during the endgame. As crappy as Galavant treats him, I think Richard is right to love him so much, and to be so loyal to him. He gave him a second chance. He wants to be a better man. And being a loyal friend to Galavant is the thing that was helping him do that. If she asks him to back out, he's no longer the good man she fell in love with. And I think that as in much hypothetical danger as Richard could be in, that means he HAS to join the battle.
But that danger IS merely hypothetical. Because this episode confirmed that Richard IS the King of prophecy to unite the Kingdoms. Maybe his role in all of this isn't to be Galavant's loyal sidekick. Maybe his role will be much larger and involve talking the armies down. Because if there is one thing that the armies all have in common, it's that the leaders are all decent people who could probably work things out by talking about it. Even the villains like Gareth and Madelena are actually big softies if they are genuinely treated decently. Exhibit A: Richard was an outright villain last season, and is now the most noble character on the show. I think most of the villains on the show could become that selfless if they were actually given the chance. Not Wormwood, but Madelena and ESPECIALLY Gareth are not bad people deep down.
I think that things are coming to a head this season in a way they were NOT last season. I really hope they decide NOT to end on a cliffhanger, because the way the arc is building, this final battle strikes me as a good stopping point for the entire series. Maybe take the matter out of ABC's twitchy fingers, and do right by the audience either way.
I look forward to next week. *****.
The X-Files "My Struggle"
I am more than a little bit annoyed that Chris Carter basically just said that all 9 seasons of The X-Files were bogus. This is par for the course for him, but for a series supposedly about seeking out the truth, Chris Carter doesn't use his story to tell much of it.
And really, the episode was otherwise solid. Cancer Man has never looked more sinister (love to hear the explanation as to how he still is alive) and at least the whole "We were lied to" thing makes the fact that Colonization never happened plausible. But Chris Carter is famous for setting up big things and refusing to pay them off. We never got a proper spaceship battle on the series, and I'm betting that goes for this miniseries too.
Good to see Mitch Pileggi still gets an opening title credit, like he did in Season 9. I see no need to demote him.
I feel like O'Malley's supposed conservatism is just a gimmick. He can rail against liberals all he likes, but him standing against Big Business and the Patriot Act just means the writers couldn't be bothered to give us an actual conservative good guy. Anytime there is a virtuous conservative on television, they all have liberal viewpoints and agendas. A U.F.O. conspiracist cannot be conservative by definition. Conservatives are supposed to be the mainstream. U.F.O. nuts are not. That's not what the word means, and never has.
Interesting that Mulder and Scully are still on REALLY good terms even if they are broken up. I like these two characters being adults about the situation. We don't usually get that on television.
All complaints aside, I would just like to compliment the relaunch about something, and it is something that GREATLY improves the series: The pacing on the show is MUCH tighter and moves much quicker than the old show used to. The old show, as great as it was, used to move along at a snail's pace. That is why Mark Snow and his slow, spooky music was such a good fit. This first episode was as fast paced and exciting as a Bad Robot or Mutant Enemy show. But I checked the credits and it's still Ten Thirteen. That's a good sign.
I'm a little disappointed, but that was bound to happen to ANY X-Files project that ignored colonization. Perhaps the Monster of the Week episodes will be a little more successful. ****.
The X-Files "Founder's Mutation"
Much better than the premiere.
I find it a little bit hard to believe that Fox Mulder's gaydar is that bad. The dude asked him not to use names, said he didn't know him well enough to go with him in private, and the bar they were in had no women in it. I might be able to rationalize it based on how anti-social Mulder is, but the fact of the matter is, Mulder is a pornography enthusiast. There is no part of him that should mistake someone initiating an encounter for anything other than what it was.
I love that Mulder bonded with that woman over their seeming loathing of cats. Her throwing the apple at the cat made me instantly like her too. Because there was no reason for it, and no reason ever given. Just a lovable character quirk that defies explanation.
I am loving the dynamic of Mulder, Scully, and Skinner at the office. In the seventh season finale, Skinner realizing the truth turned him into the trusted confidant of Mulder and Scully he never was before. But then Duchovny left the show, and we got a new FBI Director. I had always wondered how that dynamic would have worked if Mulder stuck around for the last two seasons, and James Pickens Jr. was never cast. I find the lack of conflict very refreshing, and I pretty much love that Skinner is basically covering for them, and giving them carte blanche to do the investigation their way. We could have gotten this in season 8 if Duchovny wasn't being such a diva.
I'm glad William has not been forgotten. There are many reasons the 9th season of The X-Files was the worst, but Scully inexplicably giving up her and Mulder's son for adoption was one of the most maddening plot turns in a season with nothing but maddening plot turns. Is it too much to hope that they'll find him by the end of this miniseries? Because if Chris Carter undoes THAT, along with the deaths of the Lone Gunmen, I pretty much can easily declare that all is forgiven. We'll see.
Seeing Doug Savant's eyes explode is good television. ****1/2.
Adolescent Alien Warrior Terrapins "The Arena Of Carnage"
Hearing David Tennant say "Booyah-Kasha!" is just as amusing as you might think.
The episode did some things right and some things wrong. I like that they remembered to have the scene of the Turtles going into a deep sleep meditation to combat airlessness, but I think the gladiator games were funnier when they were a satire of boxing matches, including sportscaster Triceratons in the announcer booth. I also miss the hilarious gag of the Emperor accidently being assassinated when the Turtles take him hostage. The gladiator games in the Turtles comic were a black comedy. I kind of miss the subversive aspects of the story.
Still, it was not bad. ***1/2.
Power Rangers Dino Super Charge "When Evil Stirs"
Good. I really like the new main title (8 Rangers!) and I appreciated learning that Koda was frozen in ice for 100,000 years. That actually makes his culture shock believable. Why they didn't reveal this origin ages ago is beyond me. The idea that he lived through history really hurt the character's credibility. Now that we learned he didn't, he's okay now. And I'm steamed it took them this long to do it.
Weird that Nick didn't hype this as the 800th episode. That was quite a milestone.
I like Heckyll. Human Big Bads have always been fun on this show, and one who actually speaks English will be even more enjoyable. This was a pretty weak incarnation, but I think the choices the second half of the season is making will only improve things. ***1/2.
Grimm "Eve Of Destruction"
I don't even know what to think about that. Part of me is fed up, part of me is curious, and part of me is laughing out loud at the fact that the producers were stupid enough to believe that Bitsie Tulloch could play a bad@$$.
The act break of the assassin leering at Xavier was absolutely terrible. Why? Because I don't care if Xavier lives or dies, and his life being in jeopardy offers zero tension for the viewer. One of the worst act breaks I've seen in a long time.
I like that Nick is actually p*ssed at Juliet. He's done trying to sympathize with and help her. She killed his mom. She sucks.
I almost threw my remote at the TV when Nick and Adalind kissed, and then the show completely surprised me by having them be refreshingly adult about it. That's the last thing I expecting from this sucky show. I won't dismiss that.
I was mad at Trubel for booking in the middle of the night, until I learned that she did it to wrangle a meeting with Juliet for Nick. Trubel would do a LOT better by her friends by articulating her plans out loud.
Knew Alexander would survive the Wesen Council slaughter, and he's the one guy I'm glad who did. He's the only Wesen Council dude who struck me as on the ball, and legitimately smart and dangerous, and as long as he is out there, the Council isn't fully dead. I'm cool with that. Speculation: Will a new Wesen Council form with Monroe and Rosalee as the heads? I think that is where the show is headed.
Part of me was disgusted by this, part of me was obsessed with this. This was no part of me that actually liked this. *.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine "The Cruise"
Weakest Pontiac Bandit outing so far, but I really like that Doug Judy is trying to convince Jake they're best friends. Do you know the weird thing? I bet Jake IS his best friend. No lie. As often as Judy screws Peralta over, he seems to genuinely love him. On this show only Charles is a bigger Peralta fan.
Not having Judy interact with Rosa was part of the reason the episode didn't work.
I do not buy Neicy Nash as Andre Braugher's sister for a second. Forget siblings, I don't believe they belong to the same species. To the show's credit they toned down Nash a LOT from most of her roles. But she's still a little much to believably be related to Holt.
Charles and Rosa's thing sucked because it was unresolved. Also it was unfunny, which I guess is the bigger sin.
Not great, and considering that the first two Pontiac Bandit episodes were classics, that's really disappointing. **1/2.
The Shannara Chronicles "Reaper"
The good: The twist ending. Killing off John Rhys-Davies is bad enough, but they make it the Changeling and it freaking replaces him? I don't care if Loki did it first, it's still funny.
The bad: The attempted rape scene. I especially hate it if they were planning to have James Remar join the heroes all along. That is not something I will ever forgive and the producers are crazy to think otherwise.
Good and bad. ***.
American Dad "Roots"
When did Mr. Tuttle lose the weight? I must have missed an episode.
I love that the mild mannered pediatrician turns into Dr. Mengele when Steve mentions Klaus. That sounds about right.
Funniest Stan moment was him pointing out to Hayley never buying or reading books doesn't actually count as saving trees. A RARE conservative slam by Stan that was accurate and insightful at the same time. He never gets those and I lked this one for that reason.
Roger's twin brother turning out to be human was similarly hysterical. I just cannot even imagine the backstory his his characters must go-through off-screen. That dude is a total nut.
Good episode. ***1/2.
You, Me And The Apocalypse "Who Are These People?"
That was an amazing hour of television. Not very many pilots hit the ground running as big as this one did (Lost being an exception that comes to mind) and I am gob-smacked. I am glad NBC misleadingly billed this as a comedy. More people will sample it if they think that and there is no way anybody who sees this isn't hooked. That was fantastic.
I am really surprised that this show is better than The Last Man On Earth. I have noted elsewhere that that show is my biggest obsession. I do not see this show surpassing as far as how much I care about what happens. But I will definitely enjoy watching this show much more. This is bananas and The Last Man On Earth goes between heartwarming and depressing. And it's the depressing weeks that often make it hard to watch. That won't be a problem here.
I am amazed at Rob Lowe's priest. He's essentially introduced as a comical character, but once news of the asteroid hits, his role in the Church comes into laser focus, and he actually cares about the job for once. And that British guy with the long-lost twin who stole his long missing wife is interesting too. And I loved Pam Beasley as the least successful prison inmate of all time. How did all of these people get into that bunker? What happened in the last 34 days? And what happens next?
I cannot overstate what an amazing experience that was. Part of the reason I'm so obsessed with Last Man On Earth is that part of me hates the show, and is waiting to see it crash and burn. That won't happen here, so my interest is crazily less. But it's definitely gonna be the better show. *****.
Angie Tribeca "Pilot"
Not bad. Funniest moment was when Angie tells Gary Cole not to do anything stupid, he sticks a fork in a plugged in toaster.
The Ford product placements were only slightly less annoying than Alias's. And about the same level of subtle.
Lisa Kudrow looks like hell warmed over. I hate that actresses I grew up with are getting so old. It makes me feel old too.
Solid opener although I think the show would be a bit funnier if it was an hour-long. That would be doing the concept justice. ***1/2.
Angie Tribeca "The Wedding Planner Did It"
This episode was much more in line with Police Squad including literal wordplay. There are actually two "Let's say" moments in the episode.
I loved the swinging joke and that the culprit is caught by throwing the bouquet at her. I also laughed hard at the close-up on Angie being so tight that the camera hit her.
Do you know the effed up thing? Even in that messed-up state Rashida Jones DOES look beautiful. Which is why the joke doesn't work. If Jones weren't as naturally gorgeous as she is, it might have.
Funniest joke was Tribeca telling that guy he was disgusting and he says "What do you expect? I'm a warehouse sweeper." Talk about getting the point!
Much funnier than the Pilot, which was trying too hard. ****1/2.
Angie Tribeca "The Famous Ventriloquist Did It"
That Ventriloquist act at the end between Angie and Geils was beyond creepy. TOO creepy. I'm still a little freaked out to be honest. The board game puns were funny though. *1/2.
Angie Tribeca "The Thumb Affair"
So-so. John Michael Higgins was funny though. I also liked the rookie cop throwing up at the sight of the missing painting. **1/2.
Angie Tribeca "Commissioner Bigfish"
Jere Burns is a really underrated comic actor. It's been years since his talents have been used properly.
The giant baby fetish has always bothered me and this episode pointed out exactly why. Those people are freaks.
What is the Fruit Salad Song and where has it been all my life?
Above average. ****.
Angie Tribeca "Ferret Royale"
Loved the rookie throwing up at the sight of the ferret.
German is SUCH a beautiful language.
Pretty good. ***1/2.
Angie Tribeca "Tribeca's Day Off"
Bill Murray is a GREAT guest star get. I love the idea that a guy who looks like Murray could possibly have a shot with a woman who looks like Rashida Jones. Gives us all hope, you know?
I would listen to Public Domain Radio. I would also watch Bill Murray read a phonebook. *****.
Angie Tribeca "Murder In The First Class"
Longest airplane ever.
My favorite part was Angie saying "I'm good" with the gun in her mouth. What a hilarious visual.
I also liked the joke that the last time the 7-year-old kid played in the dryer, he became a 5-year-old.
The Rookie throwing up at Vivian's syrupy flirtations was for the first time, the correct reaction.
One thing puzzles me: Alfred Molina is in almost every episode. Why does he always go uncreditted? Bill Murray will admit he's done this show. And it's not like Molina is super picky in his roles. I find the idea that a guy who was in Law & Order: L.A. might be embarrassed of this show a bit far-fetched.
Great episode. ****1/2.
Angie Tribeca "Inside Man"
I loved the recap of the episode at the end of the episode. I didn't really understand what was happening until it was over. It was very funny.
Danny Trejo makes everything better. ***1/2.
Angie Tribeca "The One With The Bomb"
Best bit was Geils and the kidnapper bonding:
"I wish this bomb would actually explode."
"You don't mean that."
Classic.
Great episode. ****.
The Blacklist "The Vehm"
I loved Navabi telling Ressler he sucked in bed. You know what? I bet he did. Dude is definitely overcompensating for something.
Love that Cooper's wife is sending him flowers, and that he's having none of it. It is a very interesting dynamic that we don't see on television that often.
Red solves all of the problems on the show, but I kind of think it is Amir who holds everything else together. These past few weeks have got me appreciating him more and more.
Loved Red's apology to Liz at the end. And that a big part of the apology is being gifted a couch. That idea that Liz's mother thought her pregnancy was a curse but her life after she was born a blessing, is a VERY intimate detail only Red would share with her daughter. As moving as it is, the part where she used to think of her as a curse is still appalling, and even if she changed her mind, she still thought that at one point.
"Michael Row The Boat Ashore" is one of my very favorite songs. It's no surprise Red likes it too.
Not as good as the past few weeks but it wasn't a slump either. Average. ***1/2.
Phineas & Ferb: Star Wars
Phineas & Ferb Star Wars:
I think the kindest thing the episode did was at the beginning state that "This isn't canon. So relax." It's not just talking about Star Wars in that moment. This clearly is referring to Phineas & Ferb too.
The episode took the interesting tack that the Phineas and Ferb adventure happened around the edges of A New Hope, much like The Lion King 1 1/2 did with Timon and Pumbaa supposedly being there the whole time. It was cool and all, but since the audience knows how A New Hope turned out, it gave the special very few actual stakes. The special would have done better to go the Muppet Babies / Family Guy route and simply have the cast play the Star Wars characters. The episode isn't canon with the show. What harm could it have done?
Things I learned about Star Wars:
1. The Stormtroopers' armor is useless because it is made of plastic. And that is a VERY big problem in the original trilogy. Lucas didn't even try to give the material texture to hint it was painted armor, it was just clearly plastic. And this is the first time I've seen that pointed out. Star Trek and Doctor Who get cr*p flung at them all the time for their cheap costumes and sets, but I have to say, a Stormtrooper's outfit is no more convincing than a Horta or Original Series Sontaran. And this is literally the first time I've ever heard anyone point that out.
2. The more glowing blades you put on a light saber, the more ridiculous it looks.
3. If you paint a red X on the floor somebody will stand on it. And you know? That is probably true. That would be my first inclination if I saw one on the sidewalk. Human beings seem to be hardwired to be drawn to targets on some level. I can't explain it.
The absolutely funniest moment for me was when the garbage monster is sifting through the trash for Doofenshmirzt, it pulls up Luke Skywalker and Doof says dismissively "That's not trash! That's a guy!". The line delivery was sublime, and the fact that I heard someone refer to Luke Skywalker as "a guy" in a Star Wars related project amuses me.
I think the biggest outrage for me is they didn't get Anthony Daniels to voice C-3PO. That dude NEVER turns down a chance to voice him (remember "Droids"? "Droids"!) and this show's voice talent must be done on the cheap if they can't afford him. True, Threepio only had a couple of lines. But Daniels ALWAYS voices him. ALWAYS. That should not be up for debate.
I am not a regular viewer of Phineas & Ferb, and usually only tune in for the crossovers and specials. But from what I've seen of the show, (which I DO like) this was a decent episode. ***1/2.
The DVD came with 5 bonus episodes. I will now review them:
For Your Ice Only / Happy New Year!:
For Your Ice Only: I like that they came up with a new theme song and title sequence for the winter episodes. Best joke was Doofenshmirtz embarrassingly admitting the wool hat on his invention was due to the fact that he had yarn. ***.
Happy New Year!: I like that Doof was defeated because nobody keeps their resolutions. Him dancing with Perry at the end was nice too because it hints that deep down, he and Perry are good friends. ***1/2.
Episode Overall: ***.
Steampunx / It's No Picnic:
Steampunx: Mostly dull but I laughed at the end of the old timey Doof falling out of the sky. **.
It's No Picnic: I always laugh at the joke that Doofenshmirtz was raised by ocelots. The Grievance film series sounds hilariously familiar too. I don't think that last one's canon. ***.
Episode Overall: **1/2.
Terrifying Tri-State Trilogy Of Terror (Parts 1 & 2):
Superb Halloween special, which Phineas notes is weird because the events take place in the summer. The funniest line of the Duckiemomo bit was Candace saying she should run upstairs from the monster and that it's the only logical solution. Do you know the messed up thing? If I lived in a house and a killer was after me, I'm probably instinctively run upstairs too, because I always feel safer in my room. We always talk smack about how stupid horror movie victims are, but some of them just make poor-split second decisions in life or death situations while fighting human nature. Remember X-Men: The Last Stand and Magneto destroying the bridge? The dad locks the car door. Because that is exactly what would have happened in real life in that moment. Stuff like that is pure instinct. The Doofenshmirtz story was good too. I love that Doof is cunning enough not to waste a wasted wish. The thing that's frustrating about the people who suffer the Monkey's Paw is that they always focus on the bad part of the wish, and never try to make the good part of the wish work for them too. Doof doing that made me respect him in a way I never have before. Plus, he got Perry to fall for the old "Platypus trapped in a closed book" gag. The Gremlins homage was great too, and I love that they wound up running to a grape juice factory. Macabre was a funny one-off character in a way the cowboy was not. I loved Macabre saying he was saving the olives for later and securing a bank loan by adding a cherry on top of his "Pretty please". Those cherries, man. HARD to resist. Great episode. *****.
Doof 101 / Father's Day:
Doof 101: Fun. I loved Doof calling that kid a whiner and saying he got why his daughter dumped him. Also great was telling that kid he called Ropey-face to own it. The bugs in this episode remind me strongly of Bloaty and Squirmy from Rocko's Modern Life. ***1/2.
Father's Day: This show has the best action sequences. The animation to the aerial plane sequence was amazing. I again really love the fact that Doof and Perry are actually good friends. That's really layered and gives his reformation in the last episode of the series actual meaning. I love that Vanessa got him a box of various switches and self-destruct buttons. She knows her father. But, hey! I thought Doof was raised by ocelots! Hmmm. ****1/2.
Episode Overall: ****.
Tales From The Resistance: Back To The 2nd Dimension (Parts 1 & 2):
What a cool and funny opening! I don't actually like this episode (Evil Doof getting away at the end made things feel unresolved) but I love the concept of it. It's sort of the same thing as Deep Space Nine's Mirror Universe episodes. Dealing with the fall-out of meeting Captain Kirk was disastrous for that universe but meeting Phineas and Ferb from our dimension was beneficial for the 2nd. I love the idea of sticking around the universe after the heroes leave and seeing what happens next. I didn't actually see the 2nd Dimension movie but I still got what was going on. I like the "Convoluted Reasons We Pretend To Be Divorced" song a lot. Ultimately, I didn't much care for the episode, but I kind of want to see a whole new Phineas and Ferb cartoon set in this universe. **1/2.
Trailers:
Star Wars Rebels: The most amazing trailer I have ever seen for this show. *****.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Lost Missions: Much briefer than the other trailer, it is still insanely cool. ****1/2.
DVD Menu: Animated. ****.
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