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matt_zimmerAlso reviews for the latest episodes of The Gifted, Marvel's Avengers: Black Panther's Quest,and Big Hero 6: The Series, the season premiere of Mickey Mouse, the latest episode of Muppet Babies, the series premiere of Star Wars Resistance, the latest episodes of DC Super Hero Girls, The Powerpuff Girls, Ben 10, Unikitty, Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers: Cyberverse, Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel, The Simpsons, Bob's Burgers, Family Guy, and The Good Place, and the season premiere of Van Helsing.
Upcoming reviews include Twin Peaks: The Return (Blu-Ray), Doctor Who: Series 9, Doctor Who: Series 10, Doctor Who: Twice Upon A Time, Class: Series 1, The X-Files: Season 10, The X-Files: Season 11, Avengers: Age Of Ultron (Blu-Ray), Ant-Man (Blu-Ray), Captain America: Civil War (Blu-Ray), Doctor Strange (Blu-Ray), Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (Blu-Ray), Spider-Man: Homecoming (Blu-Ray), Thor: Ragnorok (Blu-Ray), Black Panther (Blu-Ray), Avengers: Infinity War (Blu-Ray), Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Season 2, Marvel's Agent Carter: Season 1, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Blu-Ray), X-Men: Days Of Future Past: The Rogue Cut, Deadpool, X-Men: Apocalypse (Blu-Ray), Logan, Deadpool 2, Legion: Season 1, The Gifted: Season 1, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes! Season 1, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes! Season 2, Zootopia, Moana (Blu-Ray), Mickey Mouse: Merry & Scary, Inside Out (Blu-Ray), The Good Dinosaur (Blu-Ray), Finding Dory (Blu-Ray), Cars 3 (Blu-Ray), Coco (Blu-Ray), Once Upon A Time: Season 5, Once Upon A Time: Season 6, The BFG, Tomorrowland, Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Blu-Ray), Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Blu-Ray), Star Wars Rebels: Season 2, Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures: Season 1, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them (Blu-Ray), Static Shock: Season 4, Justice League Action: Superpowers Unite!, Justice League Action: Battles From Beyond!, Teen Titans Go!: Get In Pig Out, Teen Titans Go!: Recess Is Over, Teen Titans Go!: Lo-Tech Heroes, DC Super Hero Girls: Intergalactic Games, LEGO DC Super Hero Girls: Brain Drain, The LEGO Batman Movie, LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash, Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Aquaman: Rage Of Atlantis, Batman Vs. Two-Face, Scooby Doo! & Batman: The Brave And The Bold, Batman: Gotham By Gaslight, Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay, The Death Of Superman, Batman Ninja, Suicide Squad (Blu-Ray), Wonder Woman (Blu-Ray), Justice League (Blu-Ray), Arrow: Season 4, Arrow: Season 5, Arrow: Season 6, The Flash: Season 2, The Flash: Season 3, The Flash: Season 4, DC's Legends Of Tomorrow: Season 1, DC's Legends Of Tomorrow: Season 2, DC's Legends Of Tomorrow: Season 3, Supergirl: Season 1, Supergirl: Season 2, Supergirl: Season 3, Vixen: The Movie, Black Lightning: Season 1, Gotham: Season 2, Gotham: Season 3, Gotham: Season 4, iZombie: Season 1, iZombie: Season 2, iZombie: Season 3, Lucifer: Season 1, Lucifer: Season 2, Samurai Jack: Season 5, Be Cool Scooby Doo!: Spooky Kooky Fun!, Wabbit: A Looney Tunes Prod.: Hare-Raising Tales, 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, The Simpsons: Season 18, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Beyond The Known Universe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Earth's Last Stand, Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Super Shredder, Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Wanted: Bebop & Rocksteady, Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Final Chapters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows, Power Rangers (2017), 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, Power Rangers: Megaforce: The Complete Season, Power Rangers: Super Megaforce: The Complete Season, Transformers: Robots In Disguise: Season 1, Stranger Things: Season One, Heroes Reborn: The Complete Series, Avatar: The Last Airbender: Book 1: Water, Avatar: The Last Airbender: Book 2: Earth, Avatar: The Last Airbender: Book 3: Fire, The Legend Of Korra: The Complete Series, The Ren And Stimpy Show: Seasons 1 & 2, The Ren And Stimpy Show: Seasons 3 and a Half-ish, The Ren And Stimpy Show: Season 5 & Some More Of 4, Haven: Season 5 - Vol. 1, Haven: The Final Season, The Dark Tower, IT, Under The Dome: Season 3, Sleepy Hollow: Season 2, Sleepy Hollow: Season 3, Sleepy Hollow: Season 4, Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 2, Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 3, Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 4, Airplane! / Airplane II: The Sequel: Double Feature, The Jurassic Park Trilogy, Jurassic World (Blu-Ray), Back To The Future: The Complete Animated Series, Shaun The Sheep Movie (Blu-Ray), Shaun The Sheep: The Farmer's Llamas, 12 Monkeys: Season 1, 12 Monkeys: Season 2, Grimm: Season 4, Grimm: Season 5, Grimm: Season 6, The Wonder Years: Season 4, The Wonder Years: Season 5, The Wonder Years: Season 6, The Peanuts Movie, Peanuts By Schulz: Go Team Go!, Peanuts By Schulz: School Days, Bob's Burgers: Season 5, Home Movies: Seasons 1 & 2, Home Movies: Season 3 & 4, Ghostbusters: Answer The Call, Community: Season 6, Danger Mouse: The Complete Series, Game Of Thrones: Season 5, and Game of Thrones: Season 6.
Doctor Who “The Woman Who Fell To Earth”
I am livid! BCC America cut off the main titles! Seeing the new version of the theme song is the biggest selling point of the new Doctor, and we missed it! Gonna have to go online and look for it. But that’s a bummer.
The big question: How is Thirteen? Honestly, she made a positive first impression on me, which is not true for every modern Doctor. I liked both Nine and Eleven immediately, but it took me half a season to warm up to Ten (who wound up my favorite until his last horrid episode), and I never really warmed up to Twelve. Thirteen reminds me a LOT of Eleven with some added maturity. But it will be nice to have a silly Doctor again. I think Stephen Moffat totally botched the hot Doctor streak we had been having by paying tribute to One with Twelve, when One was the most boring Doctor of them all. Well, Twelve was the most boring Doctor after One. Not the worst. Not by a longshot. But the least amount of fun. By the end of Twelve’s run, everything seemed to have turned into a tragedy, and the show became a chore to watch. A fresh start will do the franchise some good. And hopefully Chris Chibnall will not wind up having the self-destructive streak Moffat, and especially Russell T Davies had. But we had been hoping with Moffat in charge he would veer away from Davies’ ludicrously tragic tendencies, and despite a great Eleventh Doctor, a great 50th Anniversary Special, and two great regenerations that put Ten’s final episode to shame, he fell into those bad habits anyways. He never did anything as bad as Torchwood. But the fact that he produced Class, which was very much LIKE Torchwood, means he learned nothing from Davies’ mistakes. At least he never advocated the virtues of rape or bestiality like Davies did on Torchwood. But that’s a pretty freaking low bar.
It will be interesting to finally have a disabled Companion. Frankly, I wish they had continued letting Twelve be blind until his regeneration last year. It would have made things super interesting, it would have been edgy, and knowing it was Peter Capaldi’s final year, it would have been temporary. If Thirteen uses her Sonic Swiss Army Knife to “cure” Ryan in the next episode, I’ll be disappointed. This should hold my attention.
I felt that Ryan talking about his Nan being the greatest woman he ever met to be completely badly written. It’s the kind of sloppy double-entendre Moffat would do with Eleven and the Ponds for Rory to mistake Amy’s love for him, for the Doctor, due to utterly poorly-written and badly constructed, unrealistic pronouns, and supposed non-actual-sayings. You don’t MEET your grandmother. If you knew your grandmother, you always knew her. It’s just as wrong-sounding a statement as talking about meeting your mother who raised you from birth. And I don’t give the show slack for that kind of writing anymore, and I certainly am not going to give it to Chibnall’s first episode as showrunner. He should know better by now. And the fact that he doesn’t, DOES worry me that he’ll eventually turn into Davies, like Moffat wound up doing. Prove me wrong, Chibnall: Don’t write another false scene like that, and you’ll be fine. But that moment DID worry me.
Is this the first episode of the relaunch where the TARDIS doesn’t actually appear? I think it is.
It’s been a long time since the Doctor wore woman’s clothes? THAT was a great, (and thought-provoking) statement. My guess is that it was Eleven, who totally loved wearing inappropriate clothing (and I do seem to remember him cross-dressing once or twice as a disguise, but I could be wrong). Dark Horse is Three. He was SUCH a dandy, as least as far as he dressed. It might have been a REALLY long time.
Promising opening for Jodie Whittaker, less so for Chris Chibnall. ****.
The Gifted “UnMoored”
I can’t tell if that was actually better than last week, or if I’m simply getting back into the show’s groove again.
That being said, the first half was better than the second. The first half also had great character drama without the sappy relationship stuff the episode ended on.
I decided I hate Reva. She decides to kill Andy, and then two minutes later is giving him a hug? She’s a psychopath.
Better than last week. Well, either the episode was, or my reaction was. ****.
Marvel’s Avengers: Black Panther’s Quest “The Panther And The Wolf”
Listening to T’Challa and Hunter discuss their childhoods shows me that the show has come a long way from when it was the show where Hawkeye loudly barges into Hulk’s room and breaks his glass figurines because he ate the last pickle. I’m glad about that, because I hated that specific show.
It’s also the show that is allowed to say “kill”. That might explain the late night timeslot, and why as of yet no episodes have been replayed on Sunday morning.
I like the idea that White Wolf is actually white. I find Black Panther’s name a bit cringe-inducing, simply because the character is, and like Black Lightning, it disturbs me to have a character state their race in their superhero name. It’s cheesy and sounds like a gimmick. But White Wolf actually makes T’Challa’s name on-the-nose instead. Just because White Wolf is white, I’m starting to appreciate the joke.
I love that Shuri, T’Challa, and Hunter just mock the frak out of M’Baku. It’s super effective, and you realize the only reason we’ve never witness T’Challa use this tactic before is because he isn’t actually funny, and only feels comfortable laughing along with other people.
I like the moment where Black Panther claims he beat the Hulk, but when surprise is expressed, he correctly amends the statement to the truth that it wound up a draw. That’s a very cool character facet that T’Challa is secure enough in his own prowess that he doesn’t have to make it sound more than it is. He is ultimately humble and not a braggart. He’s never been a braggart before, but he never struck as humble either. His refreshing honesty in that moment is making me rethink that opinion.
This is only the fourth episode and this is already better than all of the current shows beside Marvel Rising. I suspect they knew this was gonna be the last season, and figured it wouldn’t hurt anything to actually TRY. Delivering a good show based on a comic book is not and should not be as hard as Marvel and DC seem to make it look.
Excellent episode. ****1/2.
Big Hero 6: The Series “Obake Yashiki”
Obake using Tadashi that way was the dirtiest of pool. Honestly, who does he think he is? How dare he? Seriously glad Hiro didn’t fall for it. I suspected robot immediately, but virtual reality hologram worked just as nicely, and didn’t annoyingly piggyback on the previous episode’s twist ending. The idea is less elegant than a robot. But it works because the series decided not to overdo going to that specific well.
Having Noodleburgerboy shoot lasers out of his eyes while screaming, “I’m going to burn your buns!” is precisely as terrifying as you would imagine it would be. Do you know who NBB has turned into? Toyman from Superman: The Animated Series. A completely nonthreatening looking character who is a total creep. They even both wear masks that don’t move. The parallels are uncanny, including building ridiculous robot henchmen like the Little Dumplings. Seriously skeevy pair of dudes. I half expect NBB to knock either Gogo or Honey Lemon out, and undress them, and put them in life-size doll-clothes. Please don’t do that to us, show. Bruce Timm scarred me with that idea enough already. Yeesh.
Honey Lemon being scared of hippos is perfect. Because it sounds silly and ridiculous. But honestly? Them opening their mouths is frightening as frak. Hippos are ridiculous animals. But they are also legitimately scary (not to mention real-world deadly). I like that idea a lot.
Good episode, although it didn’t feel much like a penultimate episode of the season. I’m curious about how they’ll wrap things up next week, or even if they WILL, and just stick us with a giant cliffhanger instead. ***1/2.
Mickey Mouse “Amore Motore”
That little cartoon scooter was so cute! Meep meep! ***.
Muppet Babies “Happy Hallowocka! / The Teeth-Chattering Tale Of The Haunted Pancakes”
Happy Hallowocka!:
Fozzie’s vampire teeth were cute, but I think Eric Bauza laughed a little too much like Bert instead of Fozzie at the end of the song.
Love Gonzo as the Zombie Dentist. That kid has the absolute best ideas when it comes to creativity.
Animal as a ghost seemed a cross between a Pac-Man Ghost and Bloo from Foster’s to me.
Cute cartoon. ***1/2.
The Teeth-Chattering Tale Of The Haunted Pancakes:
Aw, I was hoping we’d get to see the Babies trick or treating. The original series rarely left the nursery, and NEVER left the house the nursery was in. One of the things I was hoping about the reboot was that it wouldn’t be so limited in scope. The playground in the backyard helps a lot, but outside of visiting a museum, we don’t seem to go elsewhere or interact with other people much. The show is not as insular as the original. But it doesn’t have to be to still feel too insular.
On the other hand, the fact that we didn’t see the trick or treating may have been deliberate. Kermit (not for the first time) brings up his mother, who is clearly still in the picture. Maybe the Babies trick or treat with their actual parents when they get home. The grandfather episode also made me realize this, but the original series never once mentioned the Babies’ parents. There were a couple of throwaway jokes that because Kermit was a frog, he had a large family, and his tadpole nephew Robin visited once or twice, (mentioning his sister once) but I always got the sense that the Original Series Babies were orphans, and that Nanny was their legal guardian. The stuff with Robin poked at that a little, because if Kermit’s parents WERE dead, he should be living with his sister, but the new show clearly shows that the nursery is a daytime thing only. Unlike the old show, the Babies clearly don’t sleep there. There isn’t even a crib. It’s interesting that TV standards have changed so greatly that you can talk about the Babies’ parents without seeing them, and nobody raises a fuss. I think the old show never mentioned the parents because Nanny does everything for those kids, and it sounds like all of the parents were absentee if they were still alive. Best not to point that out. But Kermit and Fozzie can have healthy relationships with their moms and uncle, and it’s not a big deal. Simply because the show was smart enough to say that Babies don’t actually live at the nursery. It’s possible the cribs on the old show created more problems than they fixed.
I love that Gonzo wants ranch dressing on his pancakes. Opinion: He doesn’t actually want that. He’s just starved for attention. Well, Miss Nanny laughed, so more power to him.
This time vampire Fozzie laughed more like the Count.
Honestly? Were I the show, I would have picked a different food than ghost blueberry pancakes for Kermit to fuss over. Because he’s probably had blueberries, so he’s not actually eating anything new. Also, the shape of the pancake doesn’t effect the taste at all, and I was a little disappointed Nanny, as a wise adult, didn’t try take this tack and point it out immediately. Oh well. Wouldn’t have been much of an episode if Kermit had been encouraged to try the pancakes using actual logic at the beginning of the episode.
Another cute one. ****.
Star Wars Resistance “The Recruit”
Unfavorable impression. To be clear, I am not a big Star Wars fan. I should say that up-front. The only Star Wars projects I like are the absolutely great ones. I have zero investment in the franchise, so that means I don’t “Oooh!” and “Aaaah!” at the mediocre projects like everybody else does. I want to say this up-front, not only in fairness to my own reaction, and any controversy this review might create, but also in fairness to a show that any other Star Wars fan might have found completely serviceable. I cannot distinguish between pretty good and pretty bad Star Wars. Unless it’s amazing, I just don’t care for it. As far as I know, the series might actually be good and I just can’t appreciate it for what it is. That’s totally possible. I’ll admit that at the outset.
All that being said, there were several problems in the Pilot that really had nothing to do with me being finicky at all. The thing that I think hurt the first episode the most was the race. That was the worst thing in Phantom Menace too, but at least in Phantom Menace, there are stakes attached, and Anakin HAS to win. And yes, I just compared the show unfavorably to Phantom Menace. Take that opinion as the insult it was intended as. When you hear Yeagar say that his only objective is not to die, you get a feel for how low the stakes actually are. Kaz’s melodrama with the very literal Neeku is so unnecessary and besides the point. He doesn’t need to be the greatest Pilot in the world. He is actually a spy for the Resistance. And the show spent the entire first episode on something that didn’t actually have anything to do with anything.
I realize that with action shows, particularly ones with larger episode orders, there is going to have to be some filler in the story arc to make it last all season. But that should not be freaking happening in the GD Pilot. That is unacceptable to me.
The other thing that really bothered is something I bet Star Wars fans actually enjoyed. But supposedly these races are so absolutely deadly to the loser that surviving a good racer IS a major victory and majorly unusual. I imagine that notion will tickle Star Wars fans with the subversiveness behind it. Me? I just find it appalling. How is a race where the loser usually dies even legal in this Universe? How is it the New Republic has not shut it down? And if the New Republic is the kind of place that allows death sports, it is not as free as advertised, and I don’t think the First Order is messing up anything of value. And it would be one thing is this was simply an ambiguous moral that shows that the Light and Dark Sides of the Force are a bit tricky to read at times. I wouldn’t like it, but I’d get. No, the show actually just thinks it’s funny, and wants me to accept that horrorshow at face value, and be as entertained by it as the ghouls on that planet are. No, I actually find the entire idea obscene. And if they are going to play it for laughs in the very first episode, there is another reason I suspect I will wind up very underwhelmed with this project.
For the record, I like Yeagar’s voice very much. Scott Lawrence is amazing in the role. But that’s the best thing I can say for the show this week.
Yeah, I didn’t much like it otherwise. **.
DC Super Hero Girls “Anti-Hall Monitor”
Ridiculous (but admittedly fun) cliffhanger.
My favorite bit was the Pac-Man mobile game with the Joker’s head chasing a bat.
Decent week. But that’s all it was. ***.
The Powerpuff Girls “Witch’s Crew”
The Girls’ witch designs are adorable. I predict some awesome upcoming fan art.
Love all of the little Mayors going around saying “Happy Halloween!”
I like that Cat Mojo also has brains under his turban.
The toenail thing was gross.
I like that Witch Blossom rides a vacuum cleaner, and Mojo coughs up a hairball at the end.
The girls being evil made for a fun episode. ***1/2.
Ben 10 “Alien Worlds: Cannonbolt”
I liked the animation in this. ***1/2.
Unikitty “Scary Tales”
Love Unikitty dressed up as Drew Barrymore in Scream at the beginning.
I personally think seeing Lego characters with visible nipples is unsettling. Am i alone in that?
All right. ***.
Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles “Minotaur Maze”
I like that the Minotaur is a cranky little old lady. I also liked Leo’s practical portal.
I love the moment of Raph saying he believed in Leo, but that if he died there, he’d come back and haunt him. There was absolute sincerity in his voice when he said that. Donnie tries to poke holes in the logic there, but Donnie is wrong. I totally 100% believe him.
Fun episode. ****.
Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles “The Longest Fight”
SO much fun!
I like Splinter’s observation that an offer to do anything is way more than an offer to do something, and just shy of offering to do everything. Smart joke. I also laughed at Raph saying, “Nice, punch, Hoss.”
I think this version of the Turtles are bad heroes. 2012’s were too, but that was due to stupidity and incompetence, which got grating after awhile. These versions simply being lazy, yet self-aware, is much funnier, and gives me MUCH less excuse to be aggravated. I’ll state for the record here and now, that if they go to this particular well TOO often, I’ll definitely be P.O.ed in the future. But I like the specific reason these Turtles are sometimes ineffective is ultimately because they don’t actually care. That’s a really horrible and cynical idea. But it’s also funny and can lead to great jokes.
“Did you hear that?”
“The sound of a mannequin falling? No.”
That was priceless. This is literally the funniest Turtles show ever.
I love the commercial for the ice cube trays. I am 100% certain they stole that joke from Family Guy’s Ball-In-A-Cup, but to be fair, this was MUCH funnier than that. I mean the woman pouring water into her freezer to make ice pretty much had me rolling. And that was the exact same wonderful thing about Ball-In-A-Cup. Old School commercials always overexplained the products as if the viewer were stupid, and never heard of them before. And that’s the ice cube tray joke, except it actually SHOWS a person failing without the product, rather than just the product itself, like Ball-In-A-Cup.
That was SO funny. ****1/2.
Transformers: Cyberverse “Megatron Is My Hero”
Sigh. We’re doing this. Fair warning before I start this negative review. I knew going in that based on the episode title, I was going to dislike the episode. The only question was by how much. The episode didn’t prove my skepticism wrong, but it could have been a lot worse than it was.
I don’t get Bumblebee admiring Megatron based on the gladiator memory. “Sports” like that, no matter what WWE tells you, are actually free of good or evil. Their morality is neutral. So Megatron beating up a guy in the arena means nothing. And if Bee were smarter, just the fact that already knows Megatron is the bad guy, he wouldn’t take that specific memory at face value. At least he shouldn’t.
The episode had two good scenes, and one frustrating one. The first good scene was Optimus’s final “friendly” meeting with Megatron before war was declared. I liked that scene because it reminded me of the Pensieve flashback in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, where Voldemort went to Hogwarts to ask Dumbledore for a teaching job. This ended much worse, but the subtext is the same. Both leaders know this is their last non-violent confrontation with each other before war is declared. Both Optimus and Voldemort fearlessly trod bald-faced into their enemies’ camp to suss out their intentions. For Optimus it’s worse because Megatron is an ex-friend. But I think the Harry Potter scene has more layers because I think if Dumbledore actually had any real value, he would have killed Voldemort then and there, and spared the world some grief, which makes the Harry Potter scene more interesting, and Dumbledore more flawed. Optimus is less interesting, simply because I understand his reluctance to assassinate a former friend. Dumbledore had NO such personal connection with Moldy Voldy. The scene is more interesting in Harry Potter because Dumbledore frustrates me more.
The second good scene WAS the gladiator scene at the beginning. And even if I’m thinking Bee is dumb for liking Megatron for that, part of me likes the idea simply because that’s how stupid people choose their leaders in the current climate. The evil our country is facing is because a ton of people thought it would be amusing to see the insult comic reality show star in charge. And Megatron being a former gladiator explains why he has the fanbase he does in the first place. It’s totally irrational, which goes for people voting for evil people because they were on TV and famous.
The scene I disliked was Megatron going on about the All-Spark, and Alpha Trion or some other such nonsense. Now, I like an ambiguous scene that explains nothing as much as the next guy. I worship David Lynch for his ability to have characters say strange sounding things, and have me obsess over the possible hidden meanings to those thing. Except I don’t think that’s what this show was doing. It was actually trying (and failing) to explain the mythology to newbs. Well, considering no Transformers project has EVER been consistent on how stuff like the All-Spark or Matrix of Leadership actually works, it’s meaningless, confusing technobabble. And technobabble is annoying, and the worst thing about Star Trek. I don’t like it any more in this franchise, and in fact I like it less here than in Star Trek, if only because I am much less personally invested in Transformers, particularly the Cyberverse iteration.
I am aware that the sphere of memories that surrounds Bee has been getting fuller and fuller as the season goes on. That’s pretty cool and feels like actual momentum and progress.
So yeah, I didn’t much like the episode. But I could have disliked it a lot more than I wound up doing. **.
Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel “Car Trouble”
I thought the teaser ending on Victor and Monty cackling was an ominous sign, but the episode wasn’t terrible.
The monster was so dumb. It was publicly reciting its strengths and weaknesses at the beginning. Lucky the Rangers weren’t there. I can’t for the life of me figure out why a fighter would do that when being televised to thousand of monsters, but I’m not dumb.
Speaking of which, the fight between the robot and the monster at the end was super cheesy. When Chase is like “It’s squeezing us! We can’t move!” I was like “You’re INSIDE the robot. There is nothing actually strangling your body.” There is no reason for the characters to freeze up and go stiff.
I didn’t much care for the Stay In School moral. Not just because I think it’s okay if a teenager quits school to get a good job, but that that specific moral is probably wrong for a show whose target audience is between 5-7 years old. I’d feel similar ambivalence to an anti-drunk driving or Rock The Vote message. It’s not a pressing problem the kids watching the show actually have to deal with in the here and now.
I don’t want to insult mechanics. It’s a good job. But I can’t picture any kid considering it a “Dream job”. That’s about as nuts as Hank Hill’s propane obsession. A dream job has specific connotations. A mechanic isn’t even the coolest job to do with cars. Chase needs a better imagination.
I like the Double-O-Sven being Swedish joke simply because it made me laugh, and nothing on this show ever does. I’ll take it. Now talk me out of nitpicking why a Swedish guy not only has an American accent, but works for the U.S. Government. I know, I know.
The show has done worse. ***.
The Simpsons “Heartbreak Hotel”
Wow, it is amazing how much I disliked that.
One of my annoyingly constant criticisms of recent episodes of the series is that it always puts Marge and Homer’s marriage in jeopardy for a bogus reason. I hate that. That is Al Jean’s worst flaw as showrunner. What amazed me about the episode is that they did that, and it wasn’t actually the worst part of the episode, or the actual reason the episode sucked.
No, the episode sucked because it was just cruel as frak.
I could not get over it. This is something they’d do on Family Guy, and that is NOT a compliment. It disturbs me that Marge’s dream is being on that horrible reality show. If she learned to understand that the show was stupid and pointless at the end, that would be one thing. Instead her dreams for this horrible thing must be stomped, and she MUST be punished for it. It’s hard enough to see the writers abuse the fact Homer easily gets his heart stomped on for immature reasons. It feels completely wrong to see it happen to Marge. And finding out it was due to Homer after the fact, doesn’t make it interesting, or even all right. It makes it even worse. And she must be humiliated at the end a final time. I found nothing satisfying about Homer’s words of enjoying pity. And maybe after all he’s put Marge through I should have. But I didn’t because this stupid crass show meant the world to her, and she was shown publicly botching it twice on national television (three times if you count her dumping Homer on-camera).
And she sincerely dislikes the idea of a six week vacation in a paradise without the kids? It’s like the show didn’t even let her actually enjoy the very real selling points of being kicked off first. The episode is unending cruelty and misery to Marge.
That black and white sequence was horrible too. It was supposed to be a parody of old movies based on Tennessee Williams’and Arthur Miller plays, but there wasn’t actually a single funny thing in the scene. And I’m wondering, “Why on Earth does Al Jean think I’d EVER want to see Homer and Marge in such a scene?” The thing that bothers me most about Jean’s “marriage in turmoil” fetish is that he crazily somehow thinks I’m supposed to enjoy it. Which is the like craziest ask of the viewer ever. It’s not quite as bad as the writers on Family Guy constantly coming up with new girlfriends for Brian to treat horribly, even though nobody likes those episodes. But if it’s not as bad, it’s exactly as misguided and tone-deaf as to what the audience actually wants to see.
Were there ANY good things in the episode? I liked the joke of Bart feeding the dog marshmallows just to see what would happen. And I like that we got to see it too. But that specific joke would have worked equally well in a better episode. It’s not going to raise the grade for this travesty at all. 0.
Bob’s Burgers “The Taking Of Funtime One Two Three”
Oh, that was a GREAT heist episode! What a caper!
Where to begin? There were the proper amount of tricks and doublecrosses here. Louise is usually less smart than she thinks she is, but she was smart in this episode, not only for figuring out Fischoeder’s betrayal ahead of time, but for realizing and accepting the dune buggy was off the table. Louise usually wouldn’t accept that, and would go down in flames because of her own hubris. That’s what happened with the Ambergis. She was smart tonight because she understood the reality that she’d never win the dunebuggy, and decided to make Fischoeder pay for his treachery instead. It was what is known as a moral victory. But it wouldn’t have happened if Louise hadn’t been adult enough to realize that not only were the odds stacked against them, they weren’t actually playing under the rules of odds in the first place. There is no way to win that prize and never was. Best to take the Mammoth instead and make Fischoeder look like a classless chump.
Bob saying that you’d have to spend far more money at the arcade than what any of the prizes are actually worth, was a really smart way to state the problem to the kids in the audience. I was impressed with his logic. It would be less expensive just to BUY a dune buggy.
I love the Mammoth because even though he is the most coveted prize at Wonder Wharf, he was probably very cheaply made and is in fact worthless. Did I mention this was moral victory?
When Bob the Mammoth is blocking the TV, I think Louise’s response that this is what they watch now, was a master class in sardonic sarcasm. She can’t really believe that. But she’ll believe it for a day or so, even if only just for show.
I love Louise describing going to the “Mom and Dad bank”, and Gene saying he thought they went out of business when they were bought by Chase. That joke was a little too clever for a moron like Gene, which is my entire problem with him in the first place. He is much smarter and funnier than a thick-witted kid his age should ever be. He SHOULD be Ralph Wiggum. Instead he’s Veronica Mars. How does that make a LICK of sense? Seriously.
Another complaint: Since when can Bob sing? The entire joke of the musical numbers is that H. Jon Benjamin is a lousy singer, who puts no effort into the performance, and sings atonally. I don’t approve of getting a professional singer to step in when Bob sings to the chicken. Either he sings in that barely singing voice all the time, or he just shouldn’t be singing at all.
But man, I enjoyed me that episode. That was SO much fun! *****.
Family Guy “Dead Dog Walking”
Wow, Family Guy beat The Simpsons tonight. That hasn’t happened in awhile. Admittedly both were destroyed by Bob’s Burgers, but Family Guy should still savor the little moments.
I expected the worst from Brian after last week. It wasn’t. But there is something that bugs me, that probably will not bother Brian haters very much. But when Jess accuses him of letting her die in the restaurant, he admits that he did that. But that’s not what actually happened last week. He did TRY to save her. Not very hard, granted, but it was not an equivalent situation to her sending him to be euthanized at the pound. But they are both right that they are terrible people.
I adore the fact that she’s died during the last commercial break. Did you actually need more than that? Kudos to the show for not pretending that you did.
The kiss was creepy, but I love Stewie’s justification to Chris for telling Peter: He didn’t think he’d be able to understand him. And Peter says he’s gotten pretty good at it so that he can understand him sometimes. Keep in mind, it used to be Chris who could only understand him sometimes, and now he can all the time. Picking up on Stewie language is not an impossible barrier for the rest of the family.
Can I just say how refreshing it was that the show admitted the Pilot was terrible? Truthfully, the entirety of the first two seasons was just as bad (when it wasn’t busy being measurably worse). I am under the impression that Seth MacFarlane dislikes and resents the Family Guy fans who stupidly believe the show is worse now than before it was canceled. But he can’t outright say that those viewers are tasteless morons because they are literally the reason the show is back at all. But, by God, were I MacFarlane I would be absolutely mortified that there are a large contingent of people out there who think Stewie sucking Peter’s nipple is the pinnacle of his career, instead of the tirefire it actually was. Usually when fans moan about a certain show losing its magic over time, the early episodes WERE actually good. I think any Family Guy fans who prefers them to now, as flawed as now can be, is out of their mind. It. SUCKED.
The best joke was about Cherry Chevapravatdumrong being a total mystery. Honestly, even though I have seen her in a couple of interviews, and I know that’s her actual name, I am obsessed with the idea of her. Not her specifically. Just all of the questions a woman possessing that name raises. If you told me she was a lawyer, I’d believe it, because that is the kind of name which means you kind of have to put a little extra effort in your life to make up for it. Being the only woman writer on Family Guy is pretty amazing, but the mystery of her in my mind is that she would have an amazing backstory whether she wrote for Family Guy or not. And for Peter to frame it as a mystery is perfect, because that’s always how I’ve seen her and the jokes the show has done at her expense. You’d expect for someone with this level of mystery attached to be a recluse like Bill Watterson or John Swartzwelder. But she isn’t, and she has my unbridled fascination anyways.
The Al Pacino Machine wasn’t funny, simply because there is no-one anywhere who would actually want that. Family Guy has come up with some really bizarre celebrity-themed inventions in the past, but there is usually a hint of truth about why the machine should exist in the first place. This does nothing and is simply annoying. I think the show failed that joke.
That was not a great episode, but I was surprised at how much I wound up liking it. ****.
The Good Place “The Brainy Bunch”
I am glad Trevor is gone, simply because he would have been a VERY weak Big Bad. Honestly, I was disappointed. He did everything wrong. What was the specific thing that brought the group together? Enduring tortures they didn’t know were tortures at the time. And Trevor feeds into that like a chump, and instead brings them together. It would have been an uneven match and season if Trevor had been a season long thorn using the tactic he was using. I don’t think splitting apart the group is impossible. But using torture is the opposite way to do it.
I mean he expects a hook-up to alienate Jason and Tahani. He never suspected Jason was a gentleman and that would bond them the day after.
I love that Jeff came around. He’s rooting for the frog man. And I don’t blame him. Michael is SO endearing. It’s hard to believe he turned out to be the Big Bad of season one. That seems SO long ago.
What a great episode. I don’t want to spend an entire season on Earth, (although I suspect we will) but the first three episodes of the season speak for themselves. ****1/2.
Van Helsing “Fresh Tendrils”
After last year’s hugely disappointing finale, my expectations of the series are now rock bottom. That being said, this episode was promising, and the truth is Sam is still one of the best villains in all of current television. So even if I don’t have faith in where the show is going anymore, it’s not without merit.
Julius continues to be the most surprisingly lovable character on the show. I loved that huge gun/sword-fight with the bad guy humans the good guys got into. The reason it’s great is because Scarlet showed them no mercy. And maybe killing an actual person needs to be done with more deliberation than that after the Vampire apocalypse. But it’s not like those specific guys weren’t begging for it.
Glad Flesh survived, but Lucky wasn’t so, well, lucky.
Sam trying to teach Mohamed to “play” is precisely why he is such a sick and disturbing villain. And that was true even before he became a vampire!
I like the concept of the Elder forced to answer to Scarlet and Vanessa, even though it annoys me it’s going to take Susan’s shape. When Vanessa and company do the “power walk” at the end after she says, “Let’s kill some vampires,” the Elder strikes me very much as the Spike of the Scooby Gang.
I was very happy the group reunited, even if it was only for this episode. It’s good for everybody to occasionally meet up and get the mission straight. And Scarlet’s decision to give a little bit of Patient Zero’s blood is one of the smartest moves I’ve seen a good guy make on this show. And this is a show where the good guys have a LOT of foresight compared to other shows. It would have been much easier for Axel to kill the Doc when she turned into a vampire a few years ago. But he knew she’d be useful later, so he didn’t. It also might have been prudent to abandon the base long before season one started, but the Doc correctly predicted Vanessa was the key out of this mess. A lot of the good guys make poor decisions in the moment. But most of them are good planners. And that’s cool.
I’m not back on board this show yet. It lost me with the most recent finale, and it will take a lot to earn any trust from me. But I cannot deny that was a good episode. ****.
Upcoming reviews include Twin Peaks: The Return (Blu-Ray), Doctor Who: Series 9, Doctor Who: Series 10, Doctor Who: Twice Upon A Time, Class: Series 1, The X-Files: Season 10, The X-Files: Season 11, Avengers: Age Of Ultron (Blu-Ray), Ant-Man (Blu-Ray), Captain America: Civil War (Blu-Ray), Doctor Strange (Blu-Ray), Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (Blu-Ray), Spider-Man: Homecoming (Blu-Ray), Thor: Ragnorok (Blu-Ray), Black Panther (Blu-Ray), Avengers: Infinity War (Blu-Ray), Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Season 2, Marvel's Agent Carter: Season 1, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Blu-Ray), X-Men: Days Of Future Past: The Rogue Cut, Deadpool, X-Men: Apocalypse (Blu-Ray), Logan, Deadpool 2, Legion: Season 1, The Gifted: Season 1, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes! Season 1, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes! Season 2, Zootopia, Moana (Blu-Ray), Mickey Mouse: Merry & Scary, Inside Out (Blu-Ray), The Good Dinosaur (Blu-Ray), Finding Dory (Blu-Ray), Cars 3 (Blu-Ray), Coco (Blu-Ray), Once Upon A Time: Season 5, Once Upon A Time: Season 6, The BFG, Tomorrowland, Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Blu-Ray), Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Blu-Ray), Star Wars Rebels: Season 2, Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures: Season 1, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them (Blu-Ray), Static Shock: Season 4, Justice League Action: Superpowers Unite!, Justice League Action: Battles From Beyond!, Teen Titans Go!: Get In Pig Out, Teen Titans Go!: Recess Is Over, Teen Titans Go!: Lo-Tech Heroes, DC Super Hero Girls: Intergalactic Games, LEGO DC Super Hero Girls: Brain Drain, The LEGO Batman Movie, LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash, Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Aquaman: Rage Of Atlantis, Batman Vs. Two-Face, Scooby Doo! & Batman: The Brave And The Bold, Batman: Gotham By Gaslight, Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay, The Death Of Superman, Batman Ninja, Suicide Squad (Blu-Ray), Wonder Woman (Blu-Ray), Justice League (Blu-Ray), Arrow: Season 4, Arrow: Season 5, Arrow: Season 6, The Flash: Season 2, The Flash: Season 3, The Flash: Season 4, DC's Legends Of Tomorrow: Season 1, DC's Legends Of Tomorrow: Season 2, DC's Legends Of Tomorrow: Season 3, Supergirl: Season 1, Supergirl: Season 2, Supergirl: Season 3, Vixen: The Movie, Black Lightning: Season 1, Gotham: Season 2, Gotham: Season 3, Gotham: Season 4, iZombie: Season 1, iZombie: Season 2, iZombie: Season 3, Lucifer: Season 1, Lucifer: Season 2, Samurai Jack: Season 5, Be Cool Scooby Doo!: Spooky Kooky Fun!, Wabbit: A Looney Tunes Prod.: Hare-Raising Tales, 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, The Simpsons: Season 18, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Beyond The Known Universe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Earth's Last Stand, Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Super Shredder, Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Wanted: Bebop & Rocksteady, Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Final Chapters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows, Power Rangers (2017), 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, Power Rangers: Megaforce: The Complete Season, Power Rangers: Super Megaforce: The Complete Season, Transformers: Robots In Disguise: Season 1, Stranger Things: Season One, Heroes Reborn: The Complete Series, Avatar: The Last Airbender: Book 1: Water, Avatar: The Last Airbender: Book 2: Earth, Avatar: The Last Airbender: Book 3: Fire, The Legend Of Korra: The Complete Series, The Ren And Stimpy Show: Seasons 1 & 2, The Ren And Stimpy Show: Seasons 3 and a Half-ish, The Ren And Stimpy Show: Season 5 & Some More Of 4, Haven: Season 5 - Vol. 1, Haven: The Final Season, The Dark Tower, IT, Under The Dome: Season 3, Sleepy Hollow: Season 2, Sleepy Hollow: Season 3, Sleepy Hollow: Season 4, Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 2, Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 3, Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 4, Airplane! / Airplane II: The Sequel: Double Feature, The Jurassic Park Trilogy, Jurassic World (Blu-Ray), Back To The Future: The Complete Animated Series, Shaun The Sheep Movie (Blu-Ray), Shaun The Sheep: The Farmer's Llamas, 12 Monkeys: Season 1, 12 Monkeys: Season 2, Grimm: Season 4, Grimm: Season 5, Grimm: Season 6, The Wonder Years: Season 4, The Wonder Years: Season 5, The Wonder Years: Season 6, The Peanuts Movie, Peanuts By Schulz: Go Team Go!, Peanuts By Schulz: School Days, Bob's Burgers: Season 5, Home Movies: Seasons 1 & 2, Home Movies: Season 3 & 4, Ghostbusters: Answer The Call, Community: Season 6, Danger Mouse: The Complete Series, Game Of Thrones: Season 5, and Game of Thrones: Season 6.
Doctor Who “The Woman Who Fell To Earth”
I am livid! BCC America cut off the main titles! Seeing the new version of the theme song is the biggest selling point of the new Doctor, and we missed it! Gonna have to go online and look for it. But that’s a bummer.
The big question: How is Thirteen? Honestly, she made a positive first impression on me, which is not true for every modern Doctor. I liked both Nine and Eleven immediately, but it took me half a season to warm up to Ten (who wound up my favorite until his last horrid episode), and I never really warmed up to Twelve. Thirteen reminds me a LOT of Eleven with some added maturity. But it will be nice to have a silly Doctor again. I think Stephen Moffat totally botched the hot Doctor streak we had been having by paying tribute to One with Twelve, when One was the most boring Doctor of them all. Well, Twelve was the most boring Doctor after One. Not the worst. Not by a longshot. But the least amount of fun. By the end of Twelve’s run, everything seemed to have turned into a tragedy, and the show became a chore to watch. A fresh start will do the franchise some good. And hopefully Chris Chibnall will not wind up having the self-destructive streak Moffat, and especially Russell T Davies had. But we had been hoping with Moffat in charge he would veer away from Davies’ ludicrously tragic tendencies, and despite a great Eleventh Doctor, a great 50th Anniversary Special, and two great regenerations that put Ten’s final episode to shame, he fell into those bad habits anyways. He never did anything as bad as Torchwood. But the fact that he produced Class, which was very much LIKE Torchwood, means he learned nothing from Davies’ mistakes. At least he never advocated the virtues of rape or bestiality like Davies did on Torchwood. But that’s a pretty freaking low bar.
It will be interesting to finally have a disabled Companion. Frankly, I wish they had continued letting Twelve be blind until his regeneration last year. It would have made things super interesting, it would have been edgy, and knowing it was Peter Capaldi’s final year, it would have been temporary. If Thirteen uses her Sonic Swiss Army Knife to “cure” Ryan in the next episode, I’ll be disappointed. This should hold my attention.
I felt that Ryan talking about his Nan being the greatest woman he ever met to be completely badly written. It’s the kind of sloppy double-entendre Moffat would do with Eleven and the Ponds for Rory to mistake Amy’s love for him, for the Doctor, due to utterly poorly-written and badly constructed, unrealistic pronouns, and supposed non-actual-sayings. You don’t MEET your grandmother. If you knew your grandmother, you always knew her. It’s just as wrong-sounding a statement as talking about meeting your mother who raised you from birth. And I don’t give the show slack for that kind of writing anymore, and I certainly am not going to give it to Chibnall’s first episode as showrunner. He should know better by now. And the fact that he doesn’t, DOES worry me that he’ll eventually turn into Davies, like Moffat wound up doing. Prove me wrong, Chibnall: Don’t write another false scene like that, and you’ll be fine. But that moment DID worry me.
Is this the first episode of the relaunch where the TARDIS doesn’t actually appear? I think it is.
It’s been a long time since the Doctor wore woman’s clothes? THAT was a great, (and thought-provoking) statement. My guess is that it was Eleven, who totally loved wearing inappropriate clothing (and I do seem to remember him cross-dressing once or twice as a disguise, but I could be wrong). Dark Horse is Three. He was SUCH a dandy, as least as far as he dressed. It might have been a REALLY long time.
Promising opening for Jodie Whittaker, less so for Chris Chibnall. ****.
The Gifted “UnMoored”
I can’t tell if that was actually better than last week, or if I’m simply getting back into the show’s groove again.
That being said, the first half was better than the second. The first half also had great character drama without the sappy relationship stuff the episode ended on.
I decided I hate Reva. She decides to kill Andy, and then two minutes later is giving him a hug? She’s a psychopath.
Better than last week. Well, either the episode was, or my reaction was. ****.
Marvel’s Avengers: Black Panther’s Quest “The Panther And The Wolf”
Listening to T’Challa and Hunter discuss their childhoods shows me that the show has come a long way from when it was the show where Hawkeye loudly barges into Hulk’s room and breaks his glass figurines because he ate the last pickle. I’m glad about that, because I hated that specific show.
It’s also the show that is allowed to say “kill”. That might explain the late night timeslot, and why as of yet no episodes have been replayed on Sunday morning.
I like the idea that White Wolf is actually white. I find Black Panther’s name a bit cringe-inducing, simply because the character is, and like Black Lightning, it disturbs me to have a character state their race in their superhero name. It’s cheesy and sounds like a gimmick. But White Wolf actually makes T’Challa’s name on-the-nose instead. Just because White Wolf is white, I’m starting to appreciate the joke.
I love that Shuri, T’Challa, and Hunter just mock the frak out of M’Baku. It’s super effective, and you realize the only reason we’ve never witness T’Challa use this tactic before is because he isn’t actually funny, and only feels comfortable laughing along with other people.
I like the moment where Black Panther claims he beat the Hulk, but when surprise is expressed, he correctly amends the statement to the truth that it wound up a draw. That’s a very cool character facet that T’Challa is secure enough in his own prowess that he doesn’t have to make it sound more than it is. He is ultimately humble and not a braggart. He’s never been a braggart before, but he never struck as humble either. His refreshing honesty in that moment is making me rethink that opinion.
This is only the fourth episode and this is already better than all of the current shows beside Marvel Rising. I suspect they knew this was gonna be the last season, and figured it wouldn’t hurt anything to actually TRY. Delivering a good show based on a comic book is not and should not be as hard as Marvel and DC seem to make it look.
Excellent episode. ****1/2.
Big Hero 6: The Series “Obake Yashiki”
Obake using Tadashi that way was the dirtiest of pool. Honestly, who does he think he is? How dare he? Seriously glad Hiro didn’t fall for it. I suspected robot immediately, but virtual reality hologram worked just as nicely, and didn’t annoyingly piggyback on the previous episode’s twist ending. The idea is less elegant than a robot. But it works because the series decided not to overdo going to that specific well.
Having Noodleburgerboy shoot lasers out of his eyes while screaming, “I’m going to burn your buns!” is precisely as terrifying as you would imagine it would be. Do you know who NBB has turned into? Toyman from Superman: The Animated Series. A completely nonthreatening looking character who is a total creep. They even both wear masks that don’t move. The parallels are uncanny, including building ridiculous robot henchmen like the Little Dumplings. Seriously skeevy pair of dudes. I half expect NBB to knock either Gogo or Honey Lemon out, and undress them, and put them in life-size doll-clothes. Please don’t do that to us, show. Bruce Timm scarred me with that idea enough already. Yeesh.
Honey Lemon being scared of hippos is perfect. Because it sounds silly and ridiculous. But honestly? Them opening their mouths is frightening as frak. Hippos are ridiculous animals. But they are also legitimately scary (not to mention real-world deadly). I like that idea a lot.
Good episode, although it didn’t feel much like a penultimate episode of the season. I’m curious about how they’ll wrap things up next week, or even if they WILL, and just stick us with a giant cliffhanger instead. ***1/2.
Mickey Mouse “Amore Motore”
That little cartoon scooter was so cute! Meep meep! ***.
Muppet Babies “Happy Hallowocka! / The Teeth-Chattering Tale Of The Haunted Pancakes”
Happy Hallowocka!:
Fozzie’s vampire teeth were cute, but I think Eric Bauza laughed a little too much like Bert instead of Fozzie at the end of the song.
Love Gonzo as the Zombie Dentist. That kid has the absolute best ideas when it comes to creativity.
Animal as a ghost seemed a cross between a Pac-Man Ghost and Bloo from Foster’s to me.
Cute cartoon. ***1/2.
The Teeth-Chattering Tale Of The Haunted Pancakes:
Aw, I was hoping we’d get to see the Babies trick or treating. The original series rarely left the nursery, and NEVER left the house the nursery was in. One of the things I was hoping about the reboot was that it wouldn’t be so limited in scope. The playground in the backyard helps a lot, but outside of visiting a museum, we don’t seem to go elsewhere or interact with other people much. The show is not as insular as the original. But it doesn’t have to be to still feel too insular.
On the other hand, the fact that we didn’t see the trick or treating may have been deliberate. Kermit (not for the first time) brings up his mother, who is clearly still in the picture. Maybe the Babies trick or treat with their actual parents when they get home. The grandfather episode also made me realize this, but the original series never once mentioned the Babies’ parents. There were a couple of throwaway jokes that because Kermit was a frog, he had a large family, and his tadpole nephew Robin visited once or twice, (mentioning his sister once) but I always got the sense that the Original Series Babies were orphans, and that Nanny was their legal guardian. The stuff with Robin poked at that a little, because if Kermit’s parents WERE dead, he should be living with his sister, but the new show clearly shows that the nursery is a daytime thing only. Unlike the old show, the Babies clearly don’t sleep there. There isn’t even a crib. It’s interesting that TV standards have changed so greatly that you can talk about the Babies’ parents without seeing them, and nobody raises a fuss. I think the old show never mentioned the parents because Nanny does everything for those kids, and it sounds like all of the parents were absentee if they were still alive. Best not to point that out. But Kermit and Fozzie can have healthy relationships with their moms and uncle, and it’s not a big deal. Simply because the show was smart enough to say that Babies don’t actually live at the nursery. It’s possible the cribs on the old show created more problems than they fixed.
I love that Gonzo wants ranch dressing on his pancakes. Opinion: He doesn’t actually want that. He’s just starved for attention. Well, Miss Nanny laughed, so more power to him.
This time vampire Fozzie laughed more like the Count.
Honestly? Were I the show, I would have picked a different food than ghost blueberry pancakes for Kermit to fuss over. Because he’s probably had blueberries, so he’s not actually eating anything new. Also, the shape of the pancake doesn’t effect the taste at all, and I was a little disappointed Nanny, as a wise adult, didn’t try take this tack and point it out immediately. Oh well. Wouldn’t have been much of an episode if Kermit had been encouraged to try the pancakes using actual logic at the beginning of the episode.
Another cute one. ****.
Star Wars Resistance “The Recruit”
Unfavorable impression. To be clear, I am not a big Star Wars fan. I should say that up-front. The only Star Wars projects I like are the absolutely great ones. I have zero investment in the franchise, so that means I don’t “Oooh!” and “Aaaah!” at the mediocre projects like everybody else does. I want to say this up-front, not only in fairness to my own reaction, and any controversy this review might create, but also in fairness to a show that any other Star Wars fan might have found completely serviceable. I cannot distinguish between pretty good and pretty bad Star Wars. Unless it’s amazing, I just don’t care for it. As far as I know, the series might actually be good and I just can’t appreciate it for what it is. That’s totally possible. I’ll admit that at the outset.
All that being said, there were several problems in the Pilot that really had nothing to do with me being finicky at all. The thing that I think hurt the first episode the most was the race. That was the worst thing in Phantom Menace too, but at least in Phantom Menace, there are stakes attached, and Anakin HAS to win. And yes, I just compared the show unfavorably to Phantom Menace. Take that opinion as the insult it was intended as. When you hear Yeagar say that his only objective is not to die, you get a feel for how low the stakes actually are. Kaz’s melodrama with the very literal Neeku is so unnecessary and besides the point. He doesn’t need to be the greatest Pilot in the world. He is actually a spy for the Resistance. And the show spent the entire first episode on something that didn’t actually have anything to do with anything.
I realize that with action shows, particularly ones with larger episode orders, there is going to have to be some filler in the story arc to make it last all season. But that should not be freaking happening in the GD Pilot. That is unacceptable to me.
The other thing that really bothered is something I bet Star Wars fans actually enjoyed. But supposedly these races are so absolutely deadly to the loser that surviving a good racer IS a major victory and majorly unusual. I imagine that notion will tickle Star Wars fans with the subversiveness behind it. Me? I just find it appalling. How is a race where the loser usually dies even legal in this Universe? How is it the New Republic has not shut it down? And if the New Republic is the kind of place that allows death sports, it is not as free as advertised, and I don’t think the First Order is messing up anything of value. And it would be one thing is this was simply an ambiguous moral that shows that the Light and Dark Sides of the Force are a bit tricky to read at times. I wouldn’t like it, but I’d get. No, the show actually just thinks it’s funny, and wants me to accept that horrorshow at face value, and be as entertained by it as the ghouls on that planet are. No, I actually find the entire idea obscene. And if they are going to play it for laughs in the very first episode, there is another reason I suspect I will wind up very underwhelmed with this project.
For the record, I like Yeagar’s voice very much. Scott Lawrence is amazing in the role. But that’s the best thing I can say for the show this week.
Yeah, I didn’t much like it otherwise. **.
DC Super Hero Girls “Anti-Hall Monitor”
Ridiculous (but admittedly fun) cliffhanger.
My favorite bit was the Pac-Man mobile game with the Joker’s head chasing a bat.
Decent week. But that’s all it was. ***.
The Powerpuff Girls “Witch’s Crew”
The Girls’ witch designs are adorable. I predict some awesome upcoming fan art.
Love all of the little Mayors going around saying “Happy Halloween!”
I like that Cat Mojo also has brains under his turban.
The toenail thing was gross.
I like that Witch Blossom rides a vacuum cleaner, and Mojo coughs up a hairball at the end.
The girls being evil made for a fun episode. ***1/2.
Ben 10 “Alien Worlds: Cannonbolt”
I liked the animation in this. ***1/2.
Unikitty “Scary Tales”
Love Unikitty dressed up as Drew Barrymore in Scream at the beginning.
I personally think seeing Lego characters with visible nipples is unsettling. Am i alone in that?
All right. ***.
Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles “Minotaur Maze”
I like that the Minotaur is a cranky little old lady. I also liked Leo’s practical portal.
I love the moment of Raph saying he believed in Leo, but that if he died there, he’d come back and haunt him. There was absolute sincerity in his voice when he said that. Donnie tries to poke holes in the logic there, but Donnie is wrong. I totally 100% believe him.
Fun episode. ****.
Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles “The Longest Fight”
SO much fun!
I like Splinter’s observation that an offer to do anything is way more than an offer to do something, and just shy of offering to do everything. Smart joke. I also laughed at Raph saying, “Nice, punch, Hoss.”
I think this version of the Turtles are bad heroes. 2012’s were too, but that was due to stupidity and incompetence, which got grating after awhile. These versions simply being lazy, yet self-aware, is much funnier, and gives me MUCH less excuse to be aggravated. I’ll state for the record here and now, that if they go to this particular well TOO often, I’ll definitely be P.O.ed in the future. But I like the specific reason these Turtles are sometimes ineffective is ultimately because they don’t actually care. That’s a really horrible and cynical idea. But it’s also funny and can lead to great jokes.
“Did you hear that?”
“The sound of a mannequin falling? No.”
That was priceless. This is literally the funniest Turtles show ever.
I love the commercial for the ice cube trays. I am 100% certain they stole that joke from Family Guy’s Ball-In-A-Cup, but to be fair, this was MUCH funnier than that. I mean the woman pouring water into her freezer to make ice pretty much had me rolling. And that was the exact same wonderful thing about Ball-In-A-Cup. Old School commercials always overexplained the products as if the viewer were stupid, and never heard of them before. And that’s the ice cube tray joke, except it actually SHOWS a person failing without the product, rather than just the product itself, like Ball-In-A-Cup.
That was SO funny. ****1/2.
Transformers: Cyberverse “Megatron Is My Hero”
Sigh. We’re doing this. Fair warning before I start this negative review. I knew going in that based on the episode title, I was going to dislike the episode. The only question was by how much. The episode didn’t prove my skepticism wrong, but it could have been a lot worse than it was.
I don’t get Bumblebee admiring Megatron based on the gladiator memory. “Sports” like that, no matter what WWE tells you, are actually free of good or evil. Their morality is neutral. So Megatron beating up a guy in the arena means nothing. And if Bee were smarter, just the fact that already knows Megatron is the bad guy, he wouldn’t take that specific memory at face value. At least he shouldn’t.
The episode had two good scenes, and one frustrating one. The first good scene was Optimus’s final “friendly” meeting with Megatron before war was declared. I liked that scene because it reminded me of the Pensieve flashback in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, where Voldemort went to Hogwarts to ask Dumbledore for a teaching job. This ended much worse, but the subtext is the same. Both leaders know this is their last non-violent confrontation with each other before war is declared. Both Optimus and Voldemort fearlessly trod bald-faced into their enemies’ camp to suss out their intentions. For Optimus it’s worse because Megatron is an ex-friend. But I think the Harry Potter scene has more layers because I think if Dumbledore actually had any real value, he would have killed Voldemort then and there, and spared the world some grief, which makes the Harry Potter scene more interesting, and Dumbledore more flawed. Optimus is less interesting, simply because I understand his reluctance to assassinate a former friend. Dumbledore had NO such personal connection with Moldy Voldy. The scene is more interesting in Harry Potter because Dumbledore frustrates me more.
The second good scene WAS the gladiator scene at the beginning. And even if I’m thinking Bee is dumb for liking Megatron for that, part of me likes the idea simply because that’s how stupid people choose their leaders in the current climate. The evil our country is facing is because a ton of people thought it would be amusing to see the insult comic reality show star in charge. And Megatron being a former gladiator explains why he has the fanbase he does in the first place. It’s totally irrational, which goes for people voting for evil people because they were on TV and famous.
The scene I disliked was Megatron going on about the All-Spark, and Alpha Trion or some other such nonsense. Now, I like an ambiguous scene that explains nothing as much as the next guy. I worship David Lynch for his ability to have characters say strange sounding things, and have me obsess over the possible hidden meanings to those thing. Except I don’t think that’s what this show was doing. It was actually trying (and failing) to explain the mythology to newbs. Well, considering no Transformers project has EVER been consistent on how stuff like the All-Spark or Matrix of Leadership actually works, it’s meaningless, confusing technobabble. And technobabble is annoying, and the worst thing about Star Trek. I don’t like it any more in this franchise, and in fact I like it less here than in Star Trek, if only because I am much less personally invested in Transformers, particularly the Cyberverse iteration.
I am aware that the sphere of memories that surrounds Bee has been getting fuller and fuller as the season goes on. That’s pretty cool and feels like actual momentum and progress.
So yeah, I didn’t much like the episode. But I could have disliked it a lot more than I wound up doing. **.
Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel “Car Trouble”
I thought the teaser ending on Victor and Monty cackling was an ominous sign, but the episode wasn’t terrible.
The monster was so dumb. It was publicly reciting its strengths and weaknesses at the beginning. Lucky the Rangers weren’t there. I can’t for the life of me figure out why a fighter would do that when being televised to thousand of monsters, but I’m not dumb.
Speaking of which, the fight between the robot and the monster at the end was super cheesy. When Chase is like “It’s squeezing us! We can’t move!” I was like “You’re INSIDE the robot. There is nothing actually strangling your body.” There is no reason for the characters to freeze up and go stiff.
I didn’t much care for the Stay In School moral. Not just because I think it’s okay if a teenager quits school to get a good job, but that that specific moral is probably wrong for a show whose target audience is between 5-7 years old. I’d feel similar ambivalence to an anti-drunk driving or Rock The Vote message. It’s not a pressing problem the kids watching the show actually have to deal with in the here and now.
I don’t want to insult mechanics. It’s a good job. But I can’t picture any kid considering it a “Dream job”. That’s about as nuts as Hank Hill’s propane obsession. A dream job has specific connotations. A mechanic isn’t even the coolest job to do with cars. Chase needs a better imagination.
I like the Double-O-Sven being Swedish joke simply because it made me laugh, and nothing on this show ever does. I’ll take it. Now talk me out of nitpicking why a Swedish guy not only has an American accent, but works for the U.S. Government. I know, I know.
The show has done worse. ***.
The Simpsons “Heartbreak Hotel”
Wow, it is amazing how much I disliked that.
One of my annoyingly constant criticisms of recent episodes of the series is that it always puts Marge and Homer’s marriage in jeopardy for a bogus reason. I hate that. That is Al Jean’s worst flaw as showrunner. What amazed me about the episode is that they did that, and it wasn’t actually the worst part of the episode, or the actual reason the episode sucked.
No, the episode sucked because it was just cruel as frak.
I could not get over it. This is something they’d do on Family Guy, and that is NOT a compliment. It disturbs me that Marge’s dream is being on that horrible reality show. If she learned to understand that the show was stupid and pointless at the end, that would be one thing. Instead her dreams for this horrible thing must be stomped, and she MUST be punished for it. It’s hard enough to see the writers abuse the fact Homer easily gets his heart stomped on for immature reasons. It feels completely wrong to see it happen to Marge. And finding out it was due to Homer after the fact, doesn’t make it interesting, or even all right. It makes it even worse. And she must be humiliated at the end a final time. I found nothing satisfying about Homer’s words of enjoying pity. And maybe after all he’s put Marge through I should have. But I didn’t because this stupid crass show meant the world to her, and she was shown publicly botching it twice on national television (three times if you count her dumping Homer on-camera).
And she sincerely dislikes the idea of a six week vacation in a paradise without the kids? It’s like the show didn’t even let her actually enjoy the very real selling points of being kicked off first. The episode is unending cruelty and misery to Marge.
That black and white sequence was horrible too. It was supposed to be a parody of old movies based on Tennessee Williams’and Arthur Miller plays, but there wasn’t actually a single funny thing in the scene. And I’m wondering, “Why on Earth does Al Jean think I’d EVER want to see Homer and Marge in such a scene?” The thing that bothers me most about Jean’s “marriage in turmoil” fetish is that he crazily somehow thinks I’m supposed to enjoy it. Which is the like craziest ask of the viewer ever. It’s not quite as bad as the writers on Family Guy constantly coming up with new girlfriends for Brian to treat horribly, even though nobody likes those episodes. But if it’s not as bad, it’s exactly as misguided and tone-deaf as to what the audience actually wants to see.
Were there ANY good things in the episode? I liked the joke of Bart feeding the dog marshmallows just to see what would happen. And I like that we got to see it too. But that specific joke would have worked equally well in a better episode. It’s not going to raise the grade for this travesty at all. 0.
Bob’s Burgers “The Taking Of Funtime One Two Three”
Oh, that was a GREAT heist episode! What a caper!
Where to begin? There were the proper amount of tricks and doublecrosses here. Louise is usually less smart than she thinks she is, but she was smart in this episode, not only for figuring out Fischoeder’s betrayal ahead of time, but for realizing and accepting the dune buggy was off the table. Louise usually wouldn’t accept that, and would go down in flames because of her own hubris. That’s what happened with the Ambergis. She was smart tonight because she understood the reality that she’d never win the dunebuggy, and decided to make Fischoeder pay for his treachery instead. It was what is known as a moral victory. But it wouldn’t have happened if Louise hadn’t been adult enough to realize that not only were the odds stacked against them, they weren’t actually playing under the rules of odds in the first place. There is no way to win that prize and never was. Best to take the Mammoth instead and make Fischoeder look like a classless chump.
Bob saying that you’d have to spend far more money at the arcade than what any of the prizes are actually worth, was a really smart way to state the problem to the kids in the audience. I was impressed with his logic. It would be less expensive just to BUY a dune buggy.
I love the Mammoth because even though he is the most coveted prize at Wonder Wharf, he was probably very cheaply made and is in fact worthless. Did I mention this was moral victory?
When Bob the Mammoth is blocking the TV, I think Louise’s response that this is what they watch now, was a master class in sardonic sarcasm. She can’t really believe that. But she’ll believe it for a day or so, even if only just for show.
I love Louise describing going to the “Mom and Dad bank”, and Gene saying he thought they went out of business when they were bought by Chase. That joke was a little too clever for a moron like Gene, which is my entire problem with him in the first place. He is much smarter and funnier than a thick-witted kid his age should ever be. He SHOULD be Ralph Wiggum. Instead he’s Veronica Mars. How does that make a LICK of sense? Seriously.
Another complaint: Since when can Bob sing? The entire joke of the musical numbers is that H. Jon Benjamin is a lousy singer, who puts no effort into the performance, and sings atonally. I don’t approve of getting a professional singer to step in when Bob sings to the chicken. Either he sings in that barely singing voice all the time, or he just shouldn’t be singing at all.
But man, I enjoyed me that episode. That was SO much fun! *****.
Family Guy “Dead Dog Walking”
Wow, Family Guy beat The Simpsons tonight. That hasn’t happened in awhile. Admittedly both were destroyed by Bob’s Burgers, but Family Guy should still savor the little moments.
I expected the worst from Brian after last week. It wasn’t. But there is something that bugs me, that probably will not bother Brian haters very much. But when Jess accuses him of letting her die in the restaurant, he admits that he did that. But that’s not what actually happened last week. He did TRY to save her. Not very hard, granted, but it was not an equivalent situation to her sending him to be euthanized at the pound. But they are both right that they are terrible people.
I adore the fact that she’s died during the last commercial break. Did you actually need more than that? Kudos to the show for not pretending that you did.
The kiss was creepy, but I love Stewie’s justification to Chris for telling Peter: He didn’t think he’d be able to understand him. And Peter says he’s gotten pretty good at it so that he can understand him sometimes. Keep in mind, it used to be Chris who could only understand him sometimes, and now he can all the time. Picking up on Stewie language is not an impossible barrier for the rest of the family.
Can I just say how refreshing it was that the show admitted the Pilot was terrible? Truthfully, the entirety of the first two seasons was just as bad (when it wasn’t busy being measurably worse). I am under the impression that Seth MacFarlane dislikes and resents the Family Guy fans who stupidly believe the show is worse now than before it was canceled. But he can’t outright say that those viewers are tasteless morons because they are literally the reason the show is back at all. But, by God, were I MacFarlane I would be absolutely mortified that there are a large contingent of people out there who think Stewie sucking Peter’s nipple is the pinnacle of his career, instead of the tirefire it actually was. Usually when fans moan about a certain show losing its magic over time, the early episodes WERE actually good. I think any Family Guy fans who prefers them to now, as flawed as now can be, is out of their mind. It. SUCKED.
The best joke was about Cherry Chevapravatdumrong being a total mystery. Honestly, even though I have seen her in a couple of interviews, and I know that’s her actual name, I am obsessed with the idea of her. Not her specifically. Just all of the questions a woman possessing that name raises. If you told me she was a lawyer, I’d believe it, because that is the kind of name which means you kind of have to put a little extra effort in your life to make up for it. Being the only woman writer on Family Guy is pretty amazing, but the mystery of her in my mind is that she would have an amazing backstory whether she wrote for Family Guy or not. And for Peter to frame it as a mystery is perfect, because that’s always how I’ve seen her and the jokes the show has done at her expense. You’d expect for someone with this level of mystery attached to be a recluse like Bill Watterson or John Swartzwelder. But she isn’t, and she has my unbridled fascination anyways.
The Al Pacino Machine wasn’t funny, simply because there is no-one anywhere who would actually want that. Family Guy has come up with some really bizarre celebrity-themed inventions in the past, but there is usually a hint of truth about why the machine should exist in the first place. This does nothing and is simply annoying. I think the show failed that joke.
That was not a great episode, but I was surprised at how much I wound up liking it. ****.
The Good Place “The Brainy Bunch”
I am glad Trevor is gone, simply because he would have been a VERY weak Big Bad. Honestly, I was disappointed. He did everything wrong. What was the specific thing that brought the group together? Enduring tortures they didn’t know were tortures at the time. And Trevor feeds into that like a chump, and instead brings them together. It would have been an uneven match and season if Trevor had been a season long thorn using the tactic he was using. I don’t think splitting apart the group is impossible. But using torture is the opposite way to do it.
I mean he expects a hook-up to alienate Jason and Tahani. He never suspected Jason was a gentleman and that would bond them the day after.
I love that Jeff came around. He’s rooting for the frog man. And I don’t blame him. Michael is SO endearing. It’s hard to believe he turned out to be the Big Bad of season one. That seems SO long ago.
What a great episode. I don’t want to spend an entire season on Earth, (although I suspect we will) but the first three episodes of the season speak for themselves. ****1/2.
Van Helsing “Fresh Tendrils”
After last year’s hugely disappointing finale, my expectations of the series are now rock bottom. That being said, this episode was promising, and the truth is Sam is still one of the best villains in all of current television. So even if I don’t have faith in where the show is going anymore, it’s not without merit.
Julius continues to be the most surprisingly lovable character on the show. I loved that huge gun/sword-fight with the bad guy humans the good guys got into. The reason it’s great is because Scarlet showed them no mercy. And maybe killing an actual person needs to be done with more deliberation than that after the Vampire apocalypse. But it’s not like those specific guys weren’t begging for it.
Glad Flesh survived, but Lucky wasn’t so, well, lucky.
Sam trying to teach Mohamed to “play” is precisely why he is such a sick and disturbing villain. And that was true even before he became a vampire!
I like the concept of the Elder forced to answer to Scarlet and Vanessa, even though it annoys me it’s going to take Susan’s shape. When Vanessa and company do the “power walk” at the end after she says, “Let’s kill some vampires,” the Elder strikes me very much as the Spike of the Scooby Gang.
I was very happy the group reunited, even if it was only for this episode. It’s good for everybody to occasionally meet up and get the mission straight. And Scarlet’s decision to give a little bit of Patient Zero’s blood is one of the smartest moves I’ve seen a good guy make on this show. And this is a show where the good guys have a LOT of foresight compared to other shows. It would have been much easier for Axel to kill the Doc when she turned into a vampire a few years ago. But he knew she’d be useful later, so he didn’t. It also might have been prudent to abandon the base long before season one started, but the Doc correctly predicted Vanessa was the key out of this mess. A lot of the good guys make poor decisions in the moment. But most of them are good planners. And that’s cool.
I’m not back on board this show yet. It lost me with the most recent finale, and it will take a lot to earn any trust from me. But I cannot deny that was a good episode. ****.
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