Doctor Who "Resolution" Review (Spoilers)
Jan. 8th, 2019 01:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
matt_zimmerAlso reviews for the latest episode of Star Trek: Short Treks, the season premiere of Gotham, the latest episodes of Ben 10, Marvel's Avengers: Black Panther's Quest, Muppet Babies, Transformers: Rescue Bots Academy, The Simpsons, Bob's Burgers, Family Guy, The Orville, and the first two episodes of the season of The Blacklist.
Doctor Who "Resolution"
Finally! Thirteen vs the Daleks! Well, one. But that was enough.
I love that Aaron seems initially offended by Ryan calling Graham "Gramps" but he learns by the end why he does. I hated the bloodbath this episode was as far as innocent and relatively likable people went. But because so many people bit it, you are amazed and surprised Aaron survives by Ryan telling him he loves him. That's Ryan for you. Saving the big words and moments for when they'll actually matter and do some good.
Aaron saying to Graham he didn't go to the funeral because it would make Grace's death feel real was actually understandable. What wasn't was him not trying to connect with Ryan earlier to tell him that. I like that immediately upon meeting him, the Doctor takes a slam at his parenting skills which just goes to show the Doctor is loyal to her friends.
What is up with UNIT being gone? Did they have a hard time contracting Kate Stewart's actress to be in the episode? Because I don't like the idea of it being permanently disbanded, whether we get Kate back or not.
Not an amazing episode, but nobody important died or left, we saw the Doctor versus her first Dalek, and it didn't end on a cliffhanger. I'll call that a win. ***1/2.
Star Trek: Shorts Treks "The Escape Artist"
That was fantastic. I love that Rainn Wilson directed it.
One of the best things about Harry Mudd has always been that he rips people off creatively. If there is a new untried scam in the Universe, he's probably the first guy who did it.
All of those attempted murders on his record mean a lot to me, because I found the idea of him being so violent and murderous on last season's Discovery absolutely abhorrent. The truth is, he ISN'T murderous. Because he's not good at it, and is the one part of his scam he fails at. And them retconning that whole murder spree at the end of the episode the way they did last year, and showing that Mudd's never managed to off anyone else, are the producers writing the character properly.
I love him sneering at the idea of attempted regicide over a Duke. Begs the question, if someone drops a piano on Sir Patrick Stewart, is that regicide? Because I'm kind of with Mudd in thinking that should only apply to kings and queens and their offspring.
I love the idea of a Federation Resistance. I was like "If there actually isn't one, well heck, there SHOULD be!"
The whole cudgel thing was SO funny, especially the callback at the end, and the reveal of the robots was pure dynamite. Honestly, if this is the kind of thing season 2 of Discovery will be doing routinely, we are in pretty excellent shape.
For the record, Orion dudes are so dumb. And I gotta say, that was pretty much the hottest Orion woman ever. Which is saying something. But there is a canniness and Earthiness to her that makes her far more attractive to me than the pretend slavegirls from the Original Series and Enterprise.
I love the Tellarite asking if that line ever works. It must or he wouldn't keep using it.
I was actually rooting for the Tellarite to win, but I think him ripping off the robot's arm landed better. What a scam. Can he interest you in a slightly used cudgel?
Awesome. *****.
Gotham "Year Zero"
Man, I want to kill Penguin after that too. Seriously. The dude sucks. Giving the meat to the dog because it's overcooked shows he needs to get dead and stay dead.
I was so moved by the stuff between Bruce and a suicidal Selina. In general, this is the worst DC show of all time. But stuff like that is why I still watch it.
I felt like with Bruce's aversion to guns, that he was the wrong one to deliver bullets to the cops in the shoot-out.
I was a bit surprised at the fact that this didn't suck. ****.
Ben 10 "Welcome To Zombozo-Zone"
It is not lost on me that Grandpa almost beat Shockrock in his fight.
The rabid badgers thing made me nervous. That was quite a terrible punishment for Zombozo.
All right. ***.
Ben 10 "Show, Don't Tell"
I laughed at the dude saying "Hindsight's 20/20, babe."
When Ben says "Why would I ever need to lie? I'm awesome," I want to just smack him. He's a sociopath. And a liar.
So-so. **1/2.
Ben 10 "Bridge Out"
Simon is an even bigger psychopath than Ben. How is it his grandmother STILL hasn't taken away his backpack? He's a spoiled brat. *.
Ben 10 "Poles Apart"
"I only have to be faster than you," is an old, but classic, joke.
I loved the visual of the polar bear scowling and then rubbing his nose during the fight.
Not bad. ***1/2.
Ben 10 "Rath Of Con"
Gwen and Max are furries? Ick. I thought it was cute when Gwen was saying "Meow meow meow," when she crossed the beam though.
I love that Ben thought the cat on Gwen's shirt was a beetle. To be honest, I never realized it was a cat before either.
Good episode. ****.
Ben 10 "Beach Heads"
I love Ben saying the Beach was spring break for old people.
I also loved the Weatherman saying the flower shirt makes him happy. Uh, I mean I feel nothing!
Cannonbolt being used as a volleyball was fun.
The end of the Weathermen relaxing on the beach was nice too. ****1/2.
Ben 10 "Billy Bajillions"
I really dislike them doing a mini-repentance for Billy Billions only to retcon it at the end. But the rest of the episode was good.
I love that despite all his complaining, Ben is happy to see the Forgetti too.
I loved the butler calling the stunt "sick".
Decent. ***1/2.
Ben 10 "Charm School's Out"
I felt like Gwen should have figured out the problem sooner. She was now taller, with a different voice, wearing different clothes, and she now has boobs. She should have noticed what was wrong immediately.
I felt that Charmcaster's plan was weak. Simply because Ben never kills his enemies and she should have known that. Still Heatblast got a little too close to killing Gwen for comfort. This is why Ben should never attack non-superpowered people in alien form.
Good episode. ***1/2.
Ben 10 "This One Goes To 11"
Kevin 11 was long overdue. Greg Cipes does a good job voicing him.
Gwen's trick to get Ben's tail to disappear when timing out was a good one, but the Omnitrix has never made a beeping warning sound before timing out before. Plothole.
More Kevin, please. ****.
Marvel's Avengers Black Panther's Quest "The Vibranium Curtain: Part One"
"Amazing. Everything you just said is wrong."
--Luke Skywalker. I would amend to the writers of this episode that everything they just WROTE was wrong. I cannot believe I was impressed with the earlier part of the season. This made SO many mistakes, especially regarding how Black Panther treated and was treated by the Avengers.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Black Panther is the leader of a sovereign nation. One with the best military on the Earth. The rules of bringing him in are different than a supervillain. And you'd think since the writers decided to center the entire d*mn season around him, they'd know that. Frankly, the thing that's inexcusable is that if they DID play it that way, that would be infinitely messier, and automatically more interesting. This is just cliched nonsense.
Can you believe Bucky actually has to be convinced that he shouldn't murder T'Challa? And Tony's argument is that it isn't what Cap would have wanted. Seriously? No, the argument is assassinating the King of Wakanda would lead to World War III. And it's never brought up once.
And what, Tony just puts T'Challa in the Vault and says "Have a nice life"? Are they serious? He's the leader of Wakanda. They will not only want to have a trial, but a public trial to assure both nations they have the right man. I was actually annoyed with T'Challa's actions all throughout the episode. Everyone offered him the chance to surrender, and work everything out. And considering his entire Kingdom is in the crossfire of this misunderstanding, it's actually a smart move. Until they go all Patriot Act on his @$$ and do a little unlawful rendition. I was looking forward to T'Challa being captured, because then we could actually sit down and figure out what was wrong with Natasha and Bucky. And it's like the series instead turns this outrageous mistake into a supposed Xanatos Gambit of the way T'Challa figures out how to talk to Klaw. It's stupid. It's badly written. It's garbage.
I think the thing I resented most in the episode was the training session. Everything Shuri said was true, and since it was, it means T'Challa is a cr*p king, and Shuri SHOULD challenge him for the crown. She's all "You haven't spoken to the people yet to reassure them there won't be war, or that if there is, we'll prevail." I was like "He hasn't? After all this time? Seriously?" This dude needs to go. Now. He's literally a worse leader than Trump if that specific thing is true. And since it apparently is, he needs to be deposed immediately. He sucks.
There was one nice touch in the episode that I would be remiss to acknowledge. I loved Natasha telling Thor to let it rain. What's especially provocative is that this insightful moment is given to a character the audience suspects is either an impostor, or being mind-controlled. I like that they gave that to Natasha while we aren't sure. It's a very ambiguous scene because you aren't sure how to feel about it.
But it is literally the only thing I liked. Everything else was hot garbage. 1/2.
Marvel's Avengers Black Panther's Quest "The Vibranium Curtain: Part Two"
There is no denying Spider-Man makes things better. Maybe not his own current cr*ppy show, but this cr*ppy show anyways.
Gee, Tooms, do you know the REAL reason Spider-Man should have known you were lying? He kept subtly changing his innocent story after each misstep he makes. Innocent people don't have to do that. Frankly, I found T'Challa talking to Klaw about their deal within earshot of Spidey quite incriminating, but then T'Challa does what he should have been doing the entire time, and REASONS with Spider-Man, and tries to work it out. And you know what? It was actually successful. I don't get why T'Challa is making this so hard for everyone else. Outside of the saving people thing, he isn't acting like an innocent man at all.
Definitely better than the first part, but that isn't saying much. ***.
Muppet Babies "Summer, The Great / Planet Gonzo"
Summer The Great:
The title card was funny.
I love Gonzo's nose stretches.
Cute cartoon. ****.
Planet Gonzo:
I love the thing with the butterflies and how Gonzo plays his nose.
Gonzo's look of wonder is super cute.
The episode was super cute too. ****1/2.
Episode Overall: ****1/2.
Transformers: Rescue Bots Academy "If At First..."
So basically my biggest complaint is how dumb it is that none of the bots know what the word "Stop button" means. As it's just a dumb joke, that means if that's the worst of my problems, it's actually a decent episode. I will acknowledge that. ***1/2.
Transformers: Rescue Bots Academy "Bad Luck Chuck"
There were two things about that that annoyed me, and one thing that interested me. We'll talk about the interesting thing last, because (fortunately) that's the thing that most resonated with me, and I don't want to seem like I'm piling on regarding the annoying things.
Annoying Thing The First: Hotshot doing a "touchdown dance" because he actually believes Heatwave is about to compliment him for getting the human killed in the situation. I can't tell who is more stupider or loathsome: Hotshot for being dumb enough to think that, or the writers themselves for thinking something that stupid is acceptable for kids in the first place.
Annoying Thing: Part Deux: Hotshot "Learning His Lesson" at the end and promising never to do it again. Did you notice? It's the EXACT same lesson he supposedly "learned" in the Pilot and did it over again as if the initial lesson never happened. You may have considered me way too hard on the Pilot. But that's because I knew this specific thing was going to be coming week in and week out, and it p*ssed me off. I'm not cranky, I'm right. There's a difference.
Interesting Thing: I was wondering how this show, devoted to rescuing humans, could possibly be in the Aligned Continuity, as Bots are a huge undercover secret nobody knows about yet. And that (weirdly in my book) never changed during Robots In Disguise, which is something I had figured would have happened during the decades after Prime. But this episode answered that question, and the one I had about the first Rescue Bots show (which I had never seen). They are supposed to always stay in vehicle mode during rescues. That fascinates me, for reasons good and bad. The bad thing is that it's an unnecessary hindrance at this point in time. The Aligned Continuity is barely hanging on by a thread with Cyverberse going an entirely different way, and this being probably the last show in it, and it has none of the same actors or production crew. They would not be boxing anything in to say Autobots have been made public by the time the series started, and it would make things easier. The good thing is that there can now be dumb jokes about humans wondering why there are no humans in the rescue vehicles, and wondering if perhaps the self-driving car trend has gone a wee bit to far. But I was grateful to get the clarification that this is STILL the continuity with Robots In Disguise.
So-so, honestly. **1/2.
The Simpsons "Mad About The Toy"
Not terrible. But my overall impression was unfavorable. It wasn't very funny (beside the The Last Word thing) or memorable, and I disliked the notion of the Gay Panic Defense being used to cause PTSD. I also resent the photographer coming on to Grandpa at the end. That's not what gay people do in those types of situations. Gender may be fluid, but social graces are not. It was inappropriate.
The episode had a couple of good points. It's nice whenever the show unexpectedly gets a bit topical, and I like the Married With Children runner, a show for which The Simpsons owes the debt Simpsons producers believe Family Guy owes them. And to be honest, I like Grandpa kissing the guy at the end. Because he initiated it as a comfort. And that was okay in my book. But I didn't really like all of the subtext in the rest of the episode about the subject.
That rushed date between Homer and Marge was a thing of beauty. Any time Marge wants to rant that Homer's isn't a perfect husband, it is to Homer's credit he doesn't always throw in her face that he's CONSTANTLY doing stuff like that for her. Marge is the person Homer puts in an actual physical effort for. Homer tries emotionally harder with Lisa. But for a fat and lazy guy, he can really hustle if it will make Marge happy.
Decent, but I can't quite give it a passing grade. **1/2.
Bob's Burgers "Lorenzo's Oil? No, Linda's"
The joke that I loved best and that stuck with me through the entire episode happened at the very beginning. But I adore Gene opining that Linda is hotter than Angie. I love everything about that boy thinking that. I think the thing I love best about Gene (and truthfully there aren't a ton of things that I DO actually like) is that he genuinely likes his own mother, and only sees her good points. And that's refreshing. And the specific reason it's refreshing is because Gene is not a neurotic person. He is not a Mama's boy filled with conflicted Oedipal hang-ups over loving his mother too much. He just thinks she's cool, and leaves it at that. And that is freaking awesome. It's my favorite thing about Gene. Lord knows it isn't the awful music.
Not only do I love the fact that Louise loves dogs, particularly puppies, but the episode is canny enough to show WHY that is for people who don't hang around or own dogs (like me). But a particularly cute puppy will allow you to mash its face back and forth. As far as I'm concerned, that is the entire selling point of the dog. The clean-up and expense is the price you pay, but you get a dog because not only is it cute, it always consents to letting you do ridiculously cute things with it that no other sane creature would. Which is like bananas. Could you picture a cat ever doing that? Of course not. Which is why a lot of people prefer dogs, as messy and as much trouble as they are.
As far as I'm concerned, George Wallace should be getting more voice work than he does. He's not particularly gifted at it, but his voice is distinctive, and doesn't sound like anyone else in the business, which is why I liked hearing it. That was what drew me to JB Smoove as well (although Smoove IS actually gifted at voice-work).
I like that ultimately, there is no malice in Angie. She's a user, but she doesn't mean to be, and isn't even aware that is what she is. They could have simply had her tricking Linda into being her friend to sell her stuff, but it's a little more complicated than that. Angie is simply unaware of her own power. Which is fine.
Louise likes being screamed at and dragged into a car as much as anyone but... I LOVED the first act break of everyone screaming at each other in the car. It was genius. What made it so funny is that every line that was said was funny enough to cut to commercial on, and yet the scene kept going and going anyways. Not TOO long, but pretty much long enough to be an observational comedy goldmine. Loved it.
I'm almost sick of writing positive reviews for this show every week. A sucky episode or two would break up the monotony, but even after all this time, this show isn't doing me that specific favor very often. ****1/2.
Family Guy "Hefty Shades Of Grey"
I don't have a ton to say about this episode (next week seems to be the week this story is building towards) but I do want to address the Bruce Jenner "hindsight" jokes. They bother me. The show is actually PROUD of that. I am no Caitlyn Jenner fan, but the truth is that was something she actually struggled with, and the show wants me to be impressed for supposedly being "right". I don't find the show ahead of its time, or insightful. It's cruel and mean as h*ll instead. And that's not something to brag about. **1/2.
The Orville "Primal Urges"
I will acknowledge that the episode was being off-putting on purpose, but it doesn't stop me from being put off.
You're supposed to be a little weirded and creeped out by same sex alien porn, but I don't know why I should be made to feel that way. It's possibly a good thing the show is making me examine my own biases there. Still, the alien rubbing his nipple with one finger was super gross.
To be honest, I thought Bortus' behavior was appalling during the episode. But when he reveals he's been distant ever since Clyden mutilated their daughter, I'm suddenly and shockingly sympathetic.
I was sure Bortus being stabbed was gonna be a fake-out the way all of genre handles that stuff, but I forgot this was a Star Trek-style show. Trek used to actually do that stuff all the time. It's the future so people were rarely ever actually killed off for it.
I found the holograms putting their fingers erotically around Isaac's head to be quite funny, and I laughed at the fact that Dan seemed to be trying to get in on the intimacy too.
That alien porn dealer's subtitles made me laugh too. Bortus will definitely NOT tell his friends.
I love that Isaac is right about how messed up Bortus' marriage is, but when he starts talking about who to save based on intelligence, Bortus correctly points out why he is glad he's not actually like Isaac. I mean yeah, Isaac can smugly point out how flawed and weak Bortus is. But just the clinical way he approached that says Bortus is actually better than Isaac.
Somehow I don't picture Captain Picard sarcastically saying "Neat!" upon being told they have a problem.
I loved the runner between Ed and Grayson debating how to say the minister's name correctly. Did we mention time was of the essence, guys?
Decent episode but I dislike how squicked out I felt by the end of it. ***1/2.
The Blacklist "Dr. Hans Koehler"
I liked the bank robbery at the beginning a lot. But do you know what? All of the sly double-entendres at the end grated. If Liz WANTED Red to know exactly what she was up to, mission accomplished. Both pronouns and lies exist for a reason, Liz. Use them.
But it wasn't a terrible start to the season by any means. ***1/2.
The Blacklist "The Corsican"
This episode was definitely running short on time. There is no other explanation as to why there was an entire act devoted to defusing a bomb interspersed with Red making a fake jokey speech at the U.N.
For the record, Liz is detestable. Just for the record. I understand her misgivings during the episode for the amount of lives "Red" has saved, but that's too little too late. And as she noted this guy has been Red longer than her father ever was.
Good stuff is coming up in the next few weeks. The genius thing about Liz being the traitor is that she is (along with perhaps Dembe) the only person Red might be inclined to someday forgive. They did NOT just blow up the entire show to do it, and it was a juicy betrayal anyways. Plus they were kind enough to reveal it to the audience in the very first week, instead of jerking us around for months on end. More stuff like that, please. It is really not to much to ask from my TV.
Red got the worst luck with the beat cop he did. Besides the fact that he's honest, and not willing to take cartoonishly expensive bribes, he has no imagination or sense of humor. He is never going to be charmed by Red, which is why he has slipped through the police's fingers for as long as he has. Somehow Red got stuck with a beat cop too stupid to be fooled by him. How ironic is that?
I love the autograph thing. I bet the cop throws it out. He shouldn't. It IS actually worth money. But I think the cop is too honest and stupid for his own good.
Great episode (if a bit meandering in the middle) but I'm much more excited about the weeks to come. ****.
Doctor Who "Resolution"
Finally! Thirteen vs the Daleks! Well, one. But that was enough.
I love that Aaron seems initially offended by Ryan calling Graham "Gramps" but he learns by the end why he does. I hated the bloodbath this episode was as far as innocent and relatively likable people went. But because so many people bit it, you are amazed and surprised Aaron survives by Ryan telling him he loves him. That's Ryan for you. Saving the big words and moments for when they'll actually matter and do some good.
Aaron saying to Graham he didn't go to the funeral because it would make Grace's death feel real was actually understandable. What wasn't was him not trying to connect with Ryan earlier to tell him that. I like that immediately upon meeting him, the Doctor takes a slam at his parenting skills which just goes to show the Doctor is loyal to her friends.
What is up with UNIT being gone? Did they have a hard time contracting Kate Stewart's actress to be in the episode? Because I don't like the idea of it being permanently disbanded, whether we get Kate back or not.
Not an amazing episode, but nobody important died or left, we saw the Doctor versus her first Dalek, and it didn't end on a cliffhanger. I'll call that a win. ***1/2.
Star Trek: Shorts Treks "The Escape Artist"
That was fantastic. I love that Rainn Wilson directed it.
One of the best things about Harry Mudd has always been that he rips people off creatively. If there is a new untried scam in the Universe, he's probably the first guy who did it.
All of those attempted murders on his record mean a lot to me, because I found the idea of him being so violent and murderous on last season's Discovery absolutely abhorrent. The truth is, he ISN'T murderous. Because he's not good at it, and is the one part of his scam he fails at. And them retconning that whole murder spree at the end of the episode the way they did last year, and showing that Mudd's never managed to off anyone else, are the producers writing the character properly.
I love him sneering at the idea of attempted regicide over a Duke. Begs the question, if someone drops a piano on Sir Patrick Stewart, is that regicide? Because I'm kind of with Mudd in thinking that should only apply to kings and queens and their offspring.
I love the idea of a Federation Resistance. I was like "If there actually isn't one, well heck, there SHOULD be!"
The whole cudgel thing was SO funny, especially the callback at the end, and the reveal of the robots was pure dynamite. Honestly, if this is the kind of thing season 2 of Discovery will be doing routinely, we are in pretty excellent shape.
For the record, Orion dudes are so dumb. And I gotta say, that was pretty much the hottest Orion woman ever. Which is saying something. But there is a canniness and Earthiness to her that makes her far more attractive to me than the pretend slavegirls from the Original Series and Enterprise.
I love the Tellarite asking if that line ever works. It must or he wouldn't keep using it.
I was actually rooting for the Tellarite to win, but I think him ripping off the robot's arm landed better. What a scam. Can he interest you in a slightly used cudgel?
Awesome. *****.
Gotham "Year Zero"
Man, I want to kill Penguin after that too. Seriously. The dude sucks. Giving the meat to the dog because it's overcooked shows he needs to get dead and stay dead.
I was so moved by the stuff between Bruce and a suicidal Selina. In general, this is the worst DC show of all time. But stuff like that is why I still watch it.
I felt like with Bruce's aversion to guns, that he was the wrong one to deliver bullets to the cops in the shoot-out.
I was a bit surprised at the fact that this didn't suck. ****.
Ben 10 "Welcome To Zombozo-Zone"
It is not lost on me that Grandpa almost beat Shockrock in his fight.
The rabid badgers thing made me nervous. That was quite a terrible punishment for Zombozo.
All right. ***.
Ben 10 "Show, Don't Tell"
I laughed at the dude saying "Hindsight's 20/20, babe."
When Ben says "Why would I ever need to lie? I'm awesome," I want to just smack him. He's a sociopath. And a liar.
So-so. **1/2.
Ben 10 "Bridge Out"
Simon is an even bigger psychopath than Ben. How is it his grandmother STILL hasn't taken away his backpack? He's a spoiled brat. *.
Ben 10 "Poles Apart"
"I only have to be faster than you," is an old, but classic, joke.
I loved the visual of the polar bear scowling and then rubbing his nose during the fight.
Not bad. ***1/2.
Ben 10 "Rath Of Con"
Gwen and Max are furries? Ick. I thought it was cute when Gwen was saying "Meow meow meow," when she crossed the beam though.
I love that Ben thought the cat on Gwen's shirt was a beetle. To be honest, I never realized it was a cat before either.
Good episode. ****.
Ben 10 "Beach Heads"
I love Ben saying the Beach was spring break for old people.
I also loved the Weatherman saying the flower shirt makes him happy. Uh, I mean I feel nothing!
Cannonbolt being used as a volleyball was fun.
The end of the Weathermen relaxing on the beach was nice too. ****1/2.
Ben 10 "Billy Bajillions"
I really dislike them doing a mini-repentance for Billy Billions only to retcon it at the end. But the rest of the episode was good.
I love that despite all his complaining, Ben is happy to see the Forgetti too.
I loved the butler calling the stunt "sick".
Decent. ***1/2.
Ben 10 "Charm School's Out"
I felt like Gwen should have figured out the problem sooner. She was now taller, with a different voice, wearing different clothes, and she now has boobs. She should have noticed what was wrong immediately.
I felt that Charmcaster's plan was weak. Simply because Ben never kills his enemies and she should have known that. Still Heatblast got a little too close to killing Gwen for comfort. This is why Ben should never attack non-superpowered people in alien form.
Good episode. ***1/2.
Ben 10 "This One Goes To 11"
Kevin 11 was long overdue. Greg Cipes does a good job voicing him.
Gwen's trick to get Ben's tail to disappear when timing out was a good one, but the Omnitrix has never made a beeping warning sound before timing out before. Plothole.
More Kevin, please. ****.
Marvel's Avengers Black Panther's Quest "The Vibranium Curtain: Part One"
"Amazing. Everything you just said is wrong."
--Luke Skywalker. I would amend to the writers of this episode that everything they just WROTE was wrong. I cannot believe I was impressed with the earlier part of the season. This made SO many mistakes, especially regarding how Black Panther treated and was treated by the Avengers.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Black Panther is the leader of a sovereign nation. One with the best military on the Earth. The rules of bringing him in are different than a supervillain. And you'd think since the writers decided to center the entire d*mn season around him, they'd know that. Frankly, the thing that's inexcusable is that if they DID play it that way, that would be infinitely messier, and automatically more interesting. This is just cliched nonsense.
Can you believe Bucky actually has to be convinced that he shouldn't murder T'Challa? And Tony's argument is that it isn't what Cap would have wanted. Seriously? No, the argument is assassinating the King of Wakanda would lead to World War III. And it's never brought up once.
And what, Tony just puts T'Challa in the Vault and says "Have a nice life"? Are they serious? He's the leader of Wakanda. They will not only want to have a trial, but a public trial to assure both nations they have the right man. I was actually annoyed with T'Challa's actions all throughout the episode. Everyone offered him the chance to surrender, and work everything out. And considering his entire Kingdom is in the crossfire of this misunderstanding, it's actually a smart move. Until they go all Patriot Act on his @$$ and do a little unlawful rendition. I was looking forward to T'Challa being captured, because then we could actually sit down and figure out what was wrong with Natasha and Bucky. And it's like the series instead turns this outrageous mistake into a supposed Xanatos Gambit of the way T'Challa figures out how to talk to Klaw. It's stupid. It's badly written. It's garbage.
I think the thing I resented most in the episode was the training session. Everything Shuri said was true, and since it was, it means T'Challa is a cr*p king, and Shuri SHOULD challenge him for the crown. She's all "You haven't spoken to the people yet to reassure them there won't be war, or that if there is, we'll prevail." I was like "He hasn't? After all this time? Seriously?" This dude needs to go. Now. He's literally a worse leader than Trump if that specific thing is true. And since it apparently is, he needs to be deposed immediately. He sucks.
There was one nice touch in the episode that I would be remiss to acknowledge. I loved Natasha telling Thor to let it rain. What's especially provocative is that this insightful moment is given to a character the audience suspects is either an impostor, or being mind-controlled. I like that they gave that to Natasha while we aren't sure. It's a very ambiguous scene because you aren't sure how to feel about it.
But it is literally the only thing I liked. Everything else was hot garbage. 1/2.
Marvel's Avengers Black Panther's Quest "The Vibranium Curtain: Part Two"
There is no denying Spider-Man makes things better. Maybe not his own current cr*ppy show, but this cr*ppy show anyways.
Gee, Tooms, do you know the REAL reason Spider-Man should have known you were lying? He kept subtly changing his innocent story after each misstep he makes. Innocent people don't have to do that. Frankly, I found T'Challa talking to Klaw about their deal within earshot of Spidey quite incriminating, but then T'Challa does what he should have been doing the entire time, and REASONS with Spider-Man, and tries to work it out. And you know what? It was actually successful. I don't get why T'Challa is making this so hard for everyone else. Outside of the saving people thing, he isn't acting like an innocent man at all.
Definitely better than the first part, but that isn't saying much. ***.
Muppet Babies "Summer, The Great / Planet Gonzo"
Summer The Great:
The title card was funny.
I love Gonzo's nose stretches.
Cute cartoon. ****.
Planet Gonzo:
I love the thing with the butterflies and how Gonzo plays his nose.
Gonzo's look of wonder is super cute.
The episode was super cute too. ****1/2.
Episode Overall: ****1/2.
Transformers: Rescue Bots Academy "If At First..."
So basically my biggest complaint is how dumb it is that none of the bots know what the word "Stop button" means. As it's just a dumb joke, that means if that's the worst of my problems, it's actually a decent episode. I will acknowledge that. ***1/2.
Transformers: Rescue Bots Academy "Bad Luck Chuck"
There were two things about that that annoyed me, and one thing that interested me. We'll talk about the interesting thing last, because (fortunately) that's the thing that most resonated with me, and I don't want to seem like I'm piling on regarding the annoying things.
Annoying Thing The First: Hotshot doing a "touchdown dance" because he actually believes Heatwave is about to compliment him for getting the human killed in the situation. I can't tell who is more stupider or loathsome: Hotshot for being dumb enough to think that, or the writers themselves for thinking something that stupid is acceptable for kids in the first place.
Annoying Thing: Part Deux: Hotshot "Learning His Lesson" at the end and promising never to do it again. Did you notice? It's the EXACT same lesson he supposedly "learned" in the Pilot and did it over again as if the initial lesson never happened. You may have considered me way too hard on the Pilot. But that's because I knew this specific thing was going to be coming week in and week out, and it p*ssed me off. I'm not cranky, I'm right. There's a difference.
Interesting Thing: I was wondering how this show, devoted to rescuing humans, could possibly be in the Aligned Continuity, as Bots are a huge undercover secret nobody knows about yet. And that (weirdly in my book) never changed during Robots In Disguise, which is something I had figured would have happened during the decades after Prime. But this episode answered that question, and the one I had about the first Rescue Bots show (which I had never seen). They are supposed to always stay in vehicle mode during rescues. That fascinates me, for reasons good and bad. The bad thing is that it's an unnecessary hindrance at this point in time. The Aligned Continuity is barely hanging on by a thread with Cyverberse going an entirely different way, and this being probably the last show in it, and it has none of the same actors or production crew. They would not be boxing anything in to say Autobots have been made public by the time the series started, and it would make things easier. The good thing is that there can now be dumb jokes about humans wondering why there are no humans in the rescue vehicles, and wondering if perhaps the self-driving car trend has gone a wee bit to far. But I was grateful to get the clarification that this is STILL the continuity with Robots In Disguise.
So-so, honestly. **1/2.
The Simpsons "Mad About The Toy"
Not terrible. But my overall impression was unfavorable. It wasn't very funny (beside the The Last Word thing) or memorable, and I disliked the notion of the Gay Panic Defense being used to cause PTSD. I also resent the photographer coming on to Grandpa at the end. That's not what gay people do in those types of situations. Gender may be fluid, but social graces are not. It was inappropriate.
The episode had a couple of good points. It's nice whenever the show unexpectedly gets a bit topical, and I like the Married With Children runner, a show for which The Simpsons owes the debt Simpsons producers believe Family Guy owes them. And to be honest, I like Grandpa kissing the guy at the end. Because he initiated it as a comfort. And that was okay in my book. But I didn't really like all of the subtext in the rest of the episode about the subject.
That rushed date between Homer and Marge was a thing of beauty. Any time Marge wants to rant that Homer's isn't a perfect husband, it is to Homer's credit he doesn't always throw in her face that he's CONSTANTLY doing stuff like that for her. Marge is the person Homer puts in an actual physical effort for. Homer tries emotionally harder with Lisa. But for a fat and lazy guy, he can really hustle if it will make Marge happy.
Decent, but I can't quite give it a passing grade. **1/2.
Bob's Burgers "Lorenzo's Oil? No, Linda's"
The joke that I loved best and that stuck with me through the entire episode happened at the very beginning. But I adore Gene opining that Linda is hotter than Angie. I love everything about that boy thinking that. I think the thing I love best about Gene (and truthfully there aren't a ton of things that I DO actually like) is that he genuinely likes his own mother, and only sees her good points. And that's refreshing. And the specific reason it's refreshing is because Gene is not a neurotic person. He is not a Mama's boy filled with conflicted Oedipal hang-ups over loving his mother too much. He just thinks she's cool, and leaves it at that. And that is freaking awesome. It's my favorite thing about Gene. Lord knows it isn't the awful music.
Not only do I love the fact that Louise loves dogs, particularly puppies, but the episode is canny enough to show WHY that is for people who don't hang around or own dogs (like me). But a particularly cute puppy will allow you to mash its face back and forth. As far as I'm concerned, that is the entire selling point of the dog. The clean-up and expense is the price you pay, but you get a dog because not only is it cute, it always consents to letting you do ridiculously cute things with it that no other sane creature would. Which is like bananas. Could you picture a cat ever doing that? Of course not. Which is why a lot of people prefer dogs, as messy and as much trouble as they are.
As far as I'm concerned, George Wallace should be getting more voice work than he does. He's not particularly gifted at it, but his voice is distinctive, and doesn't sound like anyone else in the business, which is why I liked hearing it. That was what drew me to JB Smoove as well (although Smoove IS actually gifted at voice-work).
I like that ultimately, there is no malice in Angie. She's a user, but she doesn't mean to be, and isn't even aware that is what she is. They could have simply had her tricking Linda into being her friend to sell her stuff, but it's a little more complicated than that. Angie is simply unaware of her own power. Which is fine.
Louise likes being screamed at and dragged into a car as much as anyone but... I LOVED the first act break of everyone screaming at each other in the car. It was genius. What made it so funny is that every line that was said was funny enough to cut to commercial on, and yet the scene kept going and going anyways. Not TOO long, but pretty much long enough to be an observational comedy goldmine. Loved it.
I'm almost sick of writing positive reviews for this show every week. A sucky episode or two would break up the monotony, but even after all this time, this show isn't doing me that specific favor very often. ****1/2.
Family Guy "Hefty Shades Of Grey"
I don't have a ton to say about this episode (next week seems to be the week this story is building towards) but I do want to address the Bruce Jenner "hindsight" jokes. They bother me. The show is actually PROUD of that. I am no Caitlyn Jenner fan, but the truth is that was something she actually struggled with, and the show wants me to be impressed for supposedly being "right". I don't find the show ahead of its time, or insightful. It's cruel and mean as h*ll instead. And that's not something to brag about. **1/2.
The Orville "Primal Urges"
I will acknowledge that the episode was being off-putting on purpose, but it doesn't stop me from being put off.
You're supposed to be a little weirded and creeped out by same sex alien porn, but I don't know why I should be made to feel that way. It's possibly a good thing the show is making me examine my own biases there. Still, the alien rubbing his nipple with one finger was super gross.
To be honest, I thought Bortus' behavior was appalling during the episode. But when he reveals he's been distant ever since Clyden mutilated their daughter, I'm suddenly and shockingly sympathetic.
I was sure Bortus being stabbed was gonna be a fake-out the way all of genre handles that stuff, but I forgot this was a Star Trek-style show. Trek used to actually do that stuff all the time. It's the future so people were rarely ever actually killed off for it.
I found the holograms putting their fingers erotically around Isaac's head to be quite funny, and I laughed at the fact that Dan seemed to be trying to get in on the intimacy too.
That alien porn dealer's subtitles made me laugh too. Bortus will definitely NOT tell his friends.
I love that Isaac is right about how messed up Bortus' marriage is, but when he starts talking about who to save based on intelligence, Bortus correctly points out why he is glad he's not actually like Isaac. I mean yeah, Isaac can smugly point out how flawed and weak Bortus is. But just the clinical way he approached that says Bortus is actually better than Isaac.
Somehow I don't picture Captain Picard sarcastically saying "Neat!" upon being told they have a problem.
I loved the runner between Ed and Grayson debating how to say the minister's name correctly. Did we mention time was of the essence, guys?
Decent episode but I dislike how squicked out I felt by the end of it. ***1/2.
The Blacklist "Dr. Hans Koehler"
I liked the bank robbery at the beginning a lot. But do you know what? All of the sly double-entendres at the end grated. If Liz WANTED Red to know exactly what she was up to, mission accomplished. Both pronouns and lies exist for a reason, Liz. Use them.
But it wasn't a terrible start to the season by any means. ***1/2.
The Blacklist "The Corsican"
This episode was definitely running short on time. There is no other explanation as to why there was an entire act devoted to defusing a bomb interspersed with Red making a fake jokey speech at the U.N.
For the record, Liz is detestable. Just for the record. I understand her misgivings during the episode for the amount of lives "Red" has saved, but that's too little too late. And as she noted this guy has been Red longer than her father ever was.
Good stuff is coming up in the next few weeks. The genius thing about Liz being the traitor is that she is (along with perhaps Dembe) the only person Red might be inclined to someday forgive. They did NOT just blow up the entire show to do it, and it was a juicy betrayal anyways. Plus they were kind enough to reveal it to the audience in the very first week, instead of jerking us around for months on end. More stuff like that, please. It is really not to much to ask from my TV.
Red got the worst luck with the beat cop he did. Besides the fact that he's honest, and not willing to take cartoonishly expensive bribes, he has no imagination or sense of humor. He is never going to be charmed by Red, which is why he has slipped through the police's fingers for as long as he has. Somehow Red got stuck with a beat cop too stupid to be fooled by him. How ironic is that?
I love the autograph thing. I bet the cop throws it out. He shouldn't. It IS actually worth money. But I think the cop is too honest and stupid for his own good.
Great episode (if a bit meandering in the middle) but I'm much more excited about the weeks to come. ****.
