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matt_zimmerAlso reviews for the latest episodes of Gotham, Marvel's Cloak & Dagger, The Orville, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Star Trek: Discovery "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2"
The biggest problem with the show is the continuity issues between this and the first five series and ten movies. This didn't fix some of the worst ones like the design and set changes, the Klingon make-up, or aliens besides Spock in Starfleet. But I think it explained the biggest. What's ironic is that I sort of accepted the idea that it would NEVER be explained, which makes the iron-clad explanation more appreciated than any of those other mistakes.
But the reason Spock never mentioned he had a sister, or why Discovery was never mentioned in history in the other shows was a DANG good one, and one that perfectly explained why Spock would never talk about a sister he clearly loved. And it's not like we ever saw a TON of scenes with Spock alone with Sarek and Amanda, so that fits too. But even if Captain Kirk is his best friend, he can't ever tell him and Bones that because the fate of all sentient life would be at stake. As an emotionally immature person, there's a chance Jim would even resent him for telling the truth (although he got over Sybok okay). Whatever happened to Sybok anyways? Like Discovery, I consider him canon. He just refuses to fit in all that well (just like Discovery, while we're on the subject.)
Those were the most amazing spaceship battles in Star Trek history. It helps that they are essentially fighting a single robot. I doubt even Gene Roddenberry could object to that. But for anyone who wishes Star Trek weren't such a big wuss in showing action set-pieces, this episode was for them.
More transparency for Section 31 is tasked for Tyler? Somehow I don't think that is going to work out the way Starfleet wants it to.
"Today Is A Good Day To Die!" Yes!!! Unfortunately it was said in Klingon. Which was dramatically unnecessary. The Universal translator meant I would have accepted it readily in English, and English would have made the scene ten times cooler. And it was already cool as heck.
I'm dismayed Ethan Peck cannot seem to do the Vulcan hand salute all that well, but the end shot of him clean-shaven on the Enterprise bridge tells me why they cast him. It's not just that he has super deep voice (unlike Zachary Quinto) he also looks more the part than Quinto does. It wasn't perfect because of the licensing issues with the sets and uniforms. But it was a bit eerie in a good way anyways.
Just when I'm starting to accept Georgiou as maybe somebody I could stand a series about, she giggles madly at Leland's dying suffering. Granted, Leland is barely Leland at that point, but the pleasure she took in it anyways tells me this is not a chick who should EVER center a Star Trek series. Ever. The producers of the upcoming Section 31 show are out of their minds.
The Admiral's death was great. I'd be inclined to call it the second-best death in Star Trek history after Ariam, but it's not like those two deaths are entirely dissimilar. The fact that it's the second best death is not a compliment to this show or this episode. It's an indictment at how bad Star Trek has been at this for almost 60 years. Any other show, that would be an ordinary death and sacrifice. Here it's the second best ever. Which is appalling on every level you can think of.
Number One's real name is Etta? To quote Johnny Carson, "I did not know that."
That was basically "good enough". It plugged the biggest hole of the show, and would have been an acceptable series finale had the show not been renewed. But I don't think this show or any of CBS's All Access Star Trek shows will ever land right until CBS and Viacom remerge, or they pay the licensing fees for the designs. As long as this is a problem, I have a hard time accepting this as a great Star Trek show. It's a great show. Just not a great Star Trek show. At the end of the day, I sometimes don't even feel like it's Star Trek at all, which is a bummer. ****.
Gotham "They Did What?"
Great episode title.
That episode completely failed the entire premise of the series. That was everything the producers swore up and down wouldn't happen.
And you know what? I couldn't be happier. The premise as described from the producers from the beginning sucked. It was initially supposed to be Gotham getting worse and worse until it ends with Bruce putting on the cowl because things had gotten so irredeemably horrible, violent and desperate. Basically this was the one DC series with a guaranteed unhappy ending. That's an audacious idea, but for a TV series that has lasted five seasons, that would be very unsatisfying to the audience. What the show decided to do instead was end what is clearly the end of the show set in the present on a victory, and show the fall-out of the additional years we do not see lead to Batman in the last episode. The show will have a good resolution of sorts after all if this plays out the way I'm thinking it will. Basically the producers of Gotham came out with the biggest bummer premise in DC television history, and completely chickened out when it came down to the wire. And I'm glad. That would have been a lousy ending for a show that lasted five years. It would feel incomplete. Supposedly next week will a Batman episode, and further along than the producers ever planned. Which is a good thing, whether it betrays the original vision or not. The original vision sucked.
And you can tell this is the last episode set in the present just based on the amount of callbacks they did to the first season and the first episode. I thought Ed's rant at the end was pretty dumb, even for him, but I love the hug. Him and Penguin BOTH have knives at the other's backs, but ultimately cannot bring themselves to use them. As hardcore and Ed and Oswald's promises of power and ruthlessness are, in the end, they can't stop caring about each other. Which frankly made me forgive the stupid rant. It was a great moment, particularly because I didn't predict either of them holding back the way they did. That's why it worked.
I imagine in the future adult Bruce Wayne might someday wonder what drove that nice girl he used to know to become the villainous and cruel Catwoman. Um, Bruce? That! That! Catwoman is a mess of his own making, and she's probably the only rogue in the continuity I think that about, no matter what Nyssa claims.
A year ago I would have scoffed at Gotham giving us a good ending. If they had stuck to the landing, as they swore up and down they planned to do, we'd never get one. It's not a sure thing, and if any show is capable of evaporating any vestiges of goodwill I feel towards it, it's Gotham. But a good, satisfying ending next week is also not out of the question because of how they chose to end this second to last episode. Gotham ending well would be one of the strangest turns in DC live-action history (and is still not a sure thing). But it MIGHT happen, which blows my mind.
We'll see. As of now the show completely failed the premise. Good. The premise sucked. The episode was great. *****.
Marvel's Cloak & Dagger "Rabbit Hold"
"Don't shoot."
"I won't. You can trust me."
And that's why I watch the show, and why it's the best Marvel show ever. Exactly that.
What a great reunion for Tyrone and his mother. And Conners being released is gonna make next week great.
Good week. ****.
The Orville "Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow"
I did not like that ending at all. I know they were going for a shocking ending the audience doesn't see coming, but it could damage the show. The producers are very lucky I happen to trust them. I do not trust many TV shows. I sincerely hope they don't let me down.
The rest of the episode feels like a Star Trek episode that never got around to being made. It most resembles Next Gen's "Second Chances", which was a pretty revolutionary Star Trek episode at the time, simply for the fact that the Double lived, and went off to have his own adventures at the end. It was the first time ever in sci-fi a Double like that wasn't either killed off or remerged with the original character. As far as I was concerned back in the day, that was the specific episode that blew Star Trek wide open. I don't think the vastly superior Deep Space Nine would have done the daring twists and turns it did if that episode hadn't opened the door.
While this episode isn't as revolutionary, if the next week previews are an indication, it's possible the time travel aspect of it will tie into the mythology of the finale, which Tom Riker did not wind up doing. This also could depend on if the show feels bold enough to do a major Next Gen-style cliffhanger next week, and dare Fox to cancel them with all of those angry fans in tow. That being said, I liked this scenario and episode better. Why?
I felt like Next Gen only did a perfunctory look at what a mess Riker's Double dating Troi would be. It's awkward for Our Riker, but it's not portrayed as psychologically messed up on Troi's end as it actually is. As things get hotter and heavier, Mercer cannot go through with it because he considers past Amanda the runner-up of the woman he is actually in love with. And he's cheating on her. With herself. Which is exactly what Troi was doing to Our Riker. Might I remind you that Troi was supposed to be a psychiatrist? Nex Gen had a very disturbing trend of not just making the psychological needs of the crew be inconsistent with reality to fit into Gene Roddenberry's appallingly detached worldview about mental health, but they actually made the ship's counselor the hottest of hot messes. At least The Orville is able to point out why Mercer sucks for this.
And he does suck. When he tells Old Kelly that he'll decline to go on the date if she herself gives him a second chance, I was like, "This dude is a criminal mastermind in manipulating women." He's doing something completely messed up to his ex, and deliberately making it so that it's actually her own fault. It's an incredibly twisted power move. I'm not surprised to actually see it on a Fuzzy Door show, but I would have liked Our Kelly to point out exactly how he was being unfair and why. I know why she didn't though. She's embarrassed to admit she still has ANY sort of feelings like that for him, which is basically what calling him out for being a sucky ex-husband would entail. The second she complains, he immediately gains the high ground. I thought the whole thing was evil genius on Ed's part. But I think the evil thing is FAR more promiment than the genius in this instance. But it was genius. I think Seth MacFarlane and his writers could probably teach a master class on mistreating women and how to get away with it.
One of the things I love that they took from "Second Chances" was the fact that the Original Kelly is trying to caution the double about the various pitfalls that have ensued in the years they missed, and instead of being grateful for the sage advice, the Double says they think the Original's life actually sucks, and they will personally do anything in their power not to let that happen. Which again is probably why the episode ended the way it did, if the memory wipe didn't actually work.
Confirmation that Finn and Isaac DID break up and remain broken up. Least surprising twist ever.
The Kalons were not messing around this episode. They seem to be similar to the Borg in that they cannot be reasoned with, and you either fight them or run and hide. I thought the ice thing seemed a little too unlikely to work in the real world, but then everybody is being super quiet and still on the bridge, despite the fact that sound doesn't travel in space, and I remembered it was television, and that stuff doesn't seem to matter. Realism in my science fiction would involve silent phaser blasts, and ships exploding without any fireworks whatsoever in the vacuum of space. I'll take the good with the bad as far an unreality in my sci-fi goes.
I would give the episode a super high grade but the ending just plain bugs me. ***1/2.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine "The Bimbo"
There is something inherently amusing about Andre Braugher referring to himself as "a hot piece of @$$". I not only loved that Jake was amazed by the bimbo thing, but that Kevin sadly confirmed it. And yes, those guys see Jake as Hitchcock. That's how far down the rung he is.
I love Kevin's weird "kerfuffle" at the end. Those guys are h*lla specific.
Funny episode. ***1/2.
Star Trek: Discovery "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2"
The biggest problem with the show is the continuity issues between this and the first five series and ten movies. This didn't fix some of the worst ones like the design and set changes, the Klingon make-up, or aliens besides Spock in Starfleet. But I think it explained the biggest. What's ironic is that I sort of accepted the idea that it would NEVER be explained, which makes the iron-clad explanation more appreciated than any of those other mistakes.
But the reason Spock never mentioned he had a sister, or why Discovery was never mentioned in history in the other shows was a DANG good one, and one that perfectly explained why Spock would never talk about a sister he clearly loved. And it's not like we ever saw a TON of scenes with Spock alone with Sarek and Amanda, so that fits too. But even if Captain Kirk is his best friend, he can't ever tell him and Bones that because the fate of all sentient life would be at stake. As an emotionally immature person, there's a chance Jim would even resent him for telling the truth (although he got over Sybok okay). Whatever happened to Sybok anyways? Like Discovery, I consider him canon. He just refuses to fit in all that well (just like Discovery, while we're on the subject.)
Those were the most amazing spaceship battles in Star Trek history. It helps that they are essentially fighting a single robot. I doubt even Gene Roddenberry could object to that. But for anyone who wishes Star Trek weren't such a big wuss in showing action set-pieces, this episode was for them.
More transparency for Section 31 is tasked for Tyler? Somehow I don't think that is going to work out the way Starfleet wants it to.
"Today Is A Good Day To Die!" Yes!!! Unfortunately it was said in Klingon. Which was dramatically unnecessary. The Universal translator meant I would have accepted it readily in English, and English would have made the scene ten times cooler. And it was already cool as heck.
I'm dismayed Ethan Peck cannot seem to do the Vulcan hand salute all that well, but the end shot of him clean-shaven on the Enterprise bridge tells me why they cast him. It's not just that he has super deep voice (unlike Zachary Quinto) he also looks more the part than Quinto does. It wasn't perfect because of the licensing issues with the sets and uniforms. But it was a bit eerie in a good way anyways.
Just when I'm starting to accept Georgiou as maybe somebody I could stand a series about, she giggles madly at Leland's dying suffering. Granted, Leland is barely Leland at that point, but the pleasure she took in it anyways tells me this is not a chick who should EVER center a Star Trek series. Ever. The producers of the upcoming Section 31 show are out of their minds.
The Admiral's death was great. I'd be inclined to call it the second-best death in Star Trek history after Ariam, but it's not like those two deaths are entirely dissimilar. The fact that it's the second best death is not a compliment to this show or this episode. It's an indictment at how bad Star Trek has been at this for almost 60 years. Any other show, that would be an ordinary death and sacrifice. Here it's the second best ever. Which is appalling on every level you can think of.
Number One's real name is Etta? To quote Johnny Carson, "I did not know that."
That was basically "good enough". It plugged the biggest hole of the show, and would have been an acceptable series finale had the show not been renewed. But I don't think this show or any of CBS's All Access Star Trek shows will ever land right until CBS and Viacom remerge, or they pay the licensing fees for the designs. As long as this is a problem, I have a hard time accepting this as a great Star Trek show. It's a great show. Just not a great Star Trek show. At the end of the day, I sometimes don't even feel like it's Star Trek at all, which is a bummer. ****.
Gotham "They Did What?"
Great episode title.
That episode completely failed the entire premise of the series. That was everything the producers swore up and down wouldn't happen.
And you know what? I couldn't be happier. The premise as described from the producers from the beginning sucked. It was initially supposed to be Gotham getting worse and worse until it ends with Bruce putting on the cowl because things had gotten so irredeemably horrible, violent and desperate. Basically this was the one DC series with a guaranteed unhappy ending. That's an audacious idea, but for a TV series that has lasted five seasons, that would be very unsatisfying to the audience. What the show decided to do instead was end what is clearly the end of the show set in the present on a victory, and show the fall-out of the additional years we do not see lead to Batman in the last episode. The show will have a good resolution of sorts after all if this plays out the way I'm thinking it will. Basically the producers of Gotham came out with the biggest bummer premise in DC television history, and completely chickened out when it came down to the wire. And I'm glad. That would have been a lousy ending for a show that lasted five years. It would feel incomplete. Supposedly next week will a Batman episode, and further along than the producers ever planned. Which is a good thing, whether it betrays the original vision or not. The original vision sucked.
And you can tell this is the last episode set in the present just based on the amount of callbacks they did to the first season and the first episode. I thought Ed's rant at the end was pretty dumb, even for him, but I love the hug. Him and Penguin BOTH have knives at the other's backs, but ultimately cannot bring themselves to use them. As hardcore and Ed and Oswald's promises of power and ruthlessness are, in the end, they can't stop caring about each other. Which frankly made me forgive the stupid rant. It was a great moment, particularly because I didn't predict either of them holding back the way they did. That's why it worked.
I imagine in the future adult Bruce Wayne might someday wonder what drove that nice girl he used to know to become the villainous and cruel Catwoman. Um, Bruce? That! That! Catwoman is a mess of his own making, and she's probably the only rogue in the continuity I think that about, no matter what Nyssa claims.
A year ago I would have scoffed at Gotham giving us a good ending. If they had stuck to the landing, as they swore up and down they planned to do, we'd never get one. It's not a sure thing, and if any show is capable of evaporating any vestiges of goodwill I feel towards it, it's Gotham. But a good, satisfying ending next week is also not out of the question because of how they chose to end this second to last episode. Gotham ending well would be one of the strangest turns in DC live-action history (and is still not a sure thing). But it MIGHT happen, which blows my mind.
We'll see. As of now the show completely failed the premise. Good. The premise sucked. The episode was great. *****.
Marvel's Cloak & Dagger "Rabbit Hold"
"Don't shoot."
"I won't. You can trust me."
And that's why I watch the show, and why it's the best Marvel show ever. Exactly that.
What a great reunion for Tyrone and his mother. And Conners being released is gonna make next week great.
Good week. ****.
The Orville "Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow"
I did not like that ending at all. I know they were going for a shocking ending the audience doesn't see coming, but it could damage the show. The producers are very lucky I happen to trust them. I do not trust many TV shows. I sincerely hope they don't let me down.
The rest of the episode feels like a Star Trek episode that never got around to being made. It most resembles Next Gen's "Second Chances", which was a pretty revolutionary Star Trek episode at the time, simply for the fact that the Double lived, and went off to have his own adventures at the end. It was the first time ever in sci-fi a Double like that wasn't either killed off or remerged with the original character. As far as I was concerned back in the day, that was the specific episode that blew Star Trek wide open. I don't think the vastly superior Deep Space Nine would have done the daring twists and turns it did if that episode hadn't opened the door.
While this episode isn't as revolutionary, if the next week previews are an indication, it's possible the time travel aspect of it will tie into the mythology of the finale, which Tom Riker did not wind up doing. This also could depend on if the show feels bold enough to do a major Next Gen-style cliffhanger next week, and dare Fox to cancel them with all of those angry fans in tow. That being said, I liked this scenario and episode better. Why?
I felt like Next Gen only did a perfunctory look at what a mess Riker's Double dating Troi would be. It's awkward for Our Riker, but it's not portrayed as psychologically messed up on Troi's end as it actually is. As things get hotter and heavier, Mercer cannot go through with it because he considers past Amanda the runner-up of the woman he is actually in love with. And he's cheating on her. With herself. Which is exactly what Troi was doing to Our Riker. Might I remind you that Troi was supposed to be a psychiatrist? Nex Gen had a very disturbing trend of not just making the psychological needs of the crew be inconsistent with reality to fit into Gene Roddenberry's appallingly detached worldview about mental health, but they actually made the ship's counselor the hottest of hot messes. At least The Orville is able to point out why Mercer sucks for this.
And he does suck. When he tells Old Kelly that he'll decline to go on the date if she herself gives him a second chance, I was like, "This dude is a criminal mastermind in manipulating women." He's doing something completely messed up to his ex, and deliberately making it so that it's actually her own fault. It's an incredibly twisted power move. I'm not surprised to actually see it on a Fuzzy Door show, but I would have liked Our Kelly to point out exactly how he was being unfair and why. I know why she didn't though. She's embarrassed to admit she still has ANY sort of feelings like that for him, which is basically what calling him out for being a sucky ex-husband would entail. The second she complains, he immediately gains the high ground. I thought the whole thing was evil genius on Ed's part. But I think the evil thing is FAR more promiment than the genius in this instance. But it was genius. I think Seth MacFarlane and his writers could probably teach a master class on mistreating women and how to get away with it.
One of the things I love that they took from "Second Chances" was the fact that the Original Kelly is trying to caution the double about the various pitfalls that have ensued in the years they missed, and instead of being grateful for the sage advice, the Double says they think the Original's life actually sucks, and they will personally do anything in their power not to let that happen. Which again is probably why the episode ended the way it did, if the memory wipe didn't actually work.
Confirmation that Finn and Isaac DID break up and remain broken up. Least surprising twist ever.
The Kalons were not messing around this episode. They seem to be similar to the Borg in that they cannot be reasoned with, and you either fight them or run and hide. I thought the ice thing seemed a little too unlikely to work in the real world, but then everybody is being super quiet and still on the bridge, despite the fact that sound doesn't travel in space, and I remembered it was television, and that stuff doesn't seem to matter. Realism in my science fiction would involve silent phaser blasts, and ships exploding without any fireworks whatsoever in the vacuum of space. I'll take the good with the bad as far an unreality in my sci-fi goes.
I would give the episode a super high grade but the ending just plain bugs me. ***1/2.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine "The Bimbo"
There is something inherently amusing about Andre Braugher referring to himself as "a hot piece of @$$". I not only loved that Jake was amazed by the bimbo thing, but that Kevin sadly confirmed it. And yes, those guys see Jake as Hitchcock. That's how far down the rung he is.
I love Kevin's weird "kerfuffle" at the end. Those guys are h*lla specific.
Funny episode. ***1/2.
