"Legend Of The Three Caballeros" Reviews (Spoilers)

[matt_zimmer]

Also reviews for the latest episodes of Elena Of Avalor, Forky Asks A Question, Marvels Spider-Man, Star Wars: The Mandalorian, Star Wars: Resistance, and Titans, the latest DC Showcase short, and the latest episodes of Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers: Cyberverse, Transformers: Rescue Bots Academy, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, The Simpsons, Bob's Burgers, Family Guy, The Good Place, Black Jesus, and The Blacklist.



Legend Of The Three Caballeros "Chapter One: Dope-A Cabana"

I have a good feeling.

Granted, I had a good feeling about DuckTales too, and that turned out to be a disaster, but there were also more trouble signs in that solid Pilot including making Huey, Dewey, and Louie lazy slackers than there were here.

The problems here are superficial, whereas DuckTales' are ingrained into the show. But DuckTales is pretty well-written, as wrong as it does by the Disney Ducks. It's just made by people who obviously hate the Ducks and don't understand why they are great. This won't have that problem because while DuckTales claims to be based on the Donald Duck comics, this show is a tribute to the Donald Duck cartoons, which is a MUCH easier tribute to pull off because the cartoons were always lesser than the comics.

The writing on this show is pretty dumb, especially compared to how clever DuckTales seemed at the outset. And yet, I don't foresee the fundamental objections I had to that reboot happening here. I don't expect the heroes to get into an actual violent fight at the end of the season with the villain. And even if they did, it would hit me less wrong than in a show with Uncle Scrooge and the Nephews who are supposed to out-think their enemies, which is the selling point of the Ducks. I don't expect a violent finale, but I also don't expect this dumb version of Donald to out-think anyone either.

I had a reservation about the first episode that probably won't be a problem going on, but I don't like Donald calling Jose and Panchito "Weirdos". One of the cool things about the Caballeros is that in most things in his life, Donald is friendless. It's basically him against the world. The selling point of the Caballeros is that he has a couple of friends who he thinks are awesome, and they think the same thing about him. It's cliche and understandable to act like they wouldn't get along when they first met, but that isn't why the characters are so cool together. It's because Donald is actually happy when he is with them. Unlike the stuff with the unlikable nephews and the psychotic Glomgold in the first episode of DuckTales, I don't foresee this being a long-term problem. But it was the biggest thing in the Pilot to hit me wrong.

The thing with confusing April, May, and June when we first meet them was a bad idea. Because now I'm confused about which is which too. That's not a solid gag to put in a Pilot episode for a new show featuring identical characters.

I love the animation style and am seriously P.O.ed DuckTales didn't do something this traditional and good-looking. I can't even tell why DuckTales' style is the way it is. Is it supposed to look more like Carl Barks Comics? Because out of all of the Disney comic artists, Barks was arguably the most on-model, and the Ducks on that show look nothing like a classic Disney cartoon or comic. But this is easy on the eyes. This is the kind of animation that I'd wish for DuckTales, if it didn't already have a slew of other problems.

Promising. I've got a good feeling. ****.

Legend Of The Three Caballeros "Chapter Two: Labyrinth And Repeat"

That was a little bit dumb and a little bit dull, and it got dumber as it went on. That said, there wasn't really anything objectionable in it either, other than the fact that it was average. It didn't make me pull out my hair the way I do every other week on DuckTales.

Biggest beef: The nipples on the Minotaur. That's just all kinds of wrong.

It's interesting it looks like every episode will end on a cliffhanger. That's a neat hook.

This show has a great theme song.

So-so. ***.

Legend Of The Three Caballeros "Chapter Three: Pyramid-Life Crisis"

That was cute.

The animation of Xandra unleashing arrows on those robots was pretty sweet.

The less sitcom stuff there is, the better the show is for it. ***1/2.

Legend Of The Three Caballeros "Chapter Four: World Tree Caballeros"

Okay, so I've pinpointed the weakness of the series. It sort of bugged me in the previous episode, but here it is very clear. The writers believe the focal point character should be Xandra, and seem to have tailored the plot and mythology around the character. I find her boring. The characters the show needs to be centered on are Donald, Jose, and Panchito. This is not a DuckTales level of missing the point of the concept, but it feels like the writers believe the concept is so thin they need to add this entire mythological element to keep things interesting. I can't speculate if that's true or not, but if it is, it would have been nice if they had figured out a way to center the mythology on Donald and his friends. All three strikes me as the comic sidekicks on their own freaking series.

Recycled water? Ick.

My favorite gag was "The sign says staff only." / "I'm a staff!" That was an outright great joke. And so far the only good one as of episode 4.

Less Xandra please. Even April, May, and June are more interesting, and they have been shunted to the background. I don't feel like this series knows what it wants to be about. **.

Legend Of The Three Caballeros "Chapter Five: No Man Is An Easter Island"

That was too loud, and there was too much going on, and it seemed unfocused.

Worst of all is that Daisy somehow crazily isn't jealous of Xandra. She's the Goddess looking woman constantly whispering in Donald's ear and dragging him out of their dates in restaurants. Where is Daisy's understandable beef? It's out of character that she doesn't have one.

For the record, I'd be more inclined to listen to the argument that Donald can't tell Daisy about the Caballeros for her own safety, if he weren't simultaneously allowing her grade-school nieces in on the danger. I don't think the quandary lands for that reason.

I liked most of the designs of the lava lizard, although the gross old lady giant at the end made me throw up in my mouth a little.

This was a bit of a racket, with not much actually going on. **.

Legend Of The Three Caballeros "Chapter Six: Stonehenge Your Bets"

Too many booger and fart jokes.

On the plus side, there was much less Xandra than usual. On the minus side, I feel Donald's relationship with Jose and Panchito is too contentious. He's giving them side-eye, and asking why they are singing, and that's not what the Caballeros mean to me. In fairness to the show, this series portrays them meeting Donald for the first time, so it's possible we're merely witnessing the crazy adventures that made them love each other in the first place. It's for that reason, I hope there's a second season.

For the record, Xandra, I'd feel less bad about you blowing up Donald's date with Daisy if you weren't leaning over him in that skimpy outfit and telling him you needed him. If Daisy saw that, she'd go into conniptions. And she'd be right to. Creepiest ship since Howard the Duck and Lea Thompson. Yeah, I just went there.

The monster in the episode was cool though. And he's defeated by the Care Bear Stare.

The jokes on this show aren't funny. If it's an homage to Donald cartoons, that's a problem. Granted Donald cartoons aren't really all that funny either, but they didn't really deal in puns and scatalogical humor either. If the show is asking me to embrace the fact that Donald Duck cartoons aren't funny, they could at least be unfunny in the same way.

Meh. I say. Meh. **1/2.

Legend Of The Three Caballeros "Chapter Seven: Mount Rushmore Or Less"

That was super fun. Outside of the fashion montage, this is what I had hoped the show would be.

For the record, George Washington was obviously NOT a Duck. He was a human looking cartoon character with a suspiciously black nose. Ask Don Rosa. He'll back me up.

They sort of got it right with Lincoln and Jefferson, but Teddy Roosevelt was a dog too. Heck, he was Buck McDuck's best friend back in the day!

Augh! I'm mixing up my continuities!

Is Panchito even allowed to vote for President?

The fashion montage with Xandra and April, May, and June was the absolute worst. I was outright embarrassed to watch it. I thought Daisy's nieces were actually cool! I'm rethinking that.

Love the Humphrey the Bear rug. Dark. And he comes to life because of course he does.

I love Dapper Duck too. Smarmiest rebound guy ever. Don'cha just want to punch his face?

"Look! A distraction!" "Oh!" I love that.

"There's no such thing as the moon!" Um, whut?

Sheldgoose is the worse President of anything ever. When was this show actually made? Because I would care to place a wager with Feldrake over that statement.

That was so much fun. Except for the uncool fashion montage. ****.

Legend Of The Three Caballeros "Chapter Eight: Nazca Racing"

I liked all of the drawing jokes. As an artist, I thought they were clever. I also liked the musical number, and the two security guards chasing April, May, and June complimenting each other. The monkey and the giant also had cool colors at the end. It was an enjoyable episode. ****.

Legend Of The Three Caballeros "Chapter Nine: Mexico A Go-Go"

The ending was unpredictable, but the rest of the episode felt like filler. As such I'll talk in general about one of the interesting things about the series.

Donald is cute. Donald is funny. This show is superior in many ways to DuckTales. And yet, I feel like this Donald is much lesser than the pathos of the DuckTales Donald. It boils down to that cartoon Donald is worse than comic Donald, which means the show channeling the comics will deliver the better Donald automatically. It's almost unfair. But this is a really cute interpretation. It's just that DuckTales' version is a weird combination of sympathetic, tireless, patient, and surprisingly bad@$$. This show might contain my favorite recent interpretation Donald if DuckTales did not exist. But Donald is the one thing on that show they almost always get right, so I can't help that feel cute just doesn't cut it anymore.

I'm with April, May, and June: I can't believe that worked. Daisy is incredibly thick. And she never put together the Daisy thing until now? It's time to move on, Donald. You can do better.

What a shocking ending to a good episode. ***1/2.

Legend Of The Three Caballeros "Chapter Ten: Mt. Fuji Whiz"

Do you know what's amazing to me? Disney is one of the few kiddies franchises to routinely explore death. It's always been a facet whether Bambi's mother dies, Coco explores the Day of the Dead, or this.

I love Devil Donald. That was amazing.

I also loved learning the family history of Donald's grandfather. The Duck line is obviously very different than Don Rosa's Duck Family Tree, but that's why I liked learning it. Doing things differently isn't automatically bad. It can actually make things more interesting.

That was a good one. ****.

Legend Of The Three Caballeros "Chapter Eleven: Thanks A Camelot"

I like the Lion King Arthur and the Owl Merlin. This show has its Disney straight.

It almost pains me how clever and put together the nieces are. It dumbfounds me how the nephews on DuckTales are always so shallow and worthless, and these girls Get Cr*p Done. In fairness, burning the scroll was actually a dumb idea, and it strikes me as incidental that it actually worked. But the nieces are eating the nephews' lunch.

The Grail of Immortality instead of the Holy Grail. Nothing will beat Don Rosa's take in "A Letter From Home" where Donald accidentally breaks the Holy Grail after Scrooge finds the lost treasure of the Crusader Kings. Nothing will beat that. Nothing.

That was decent, but maybe not great. The nieces have really grown on me though. ***.

Legend Of The Three Caballeros "Chapter Twelve: Shangri-La-Di-Da"

I'm pretty much obsessed with Gary the Yeti.

Scrooge McDuck and Money Bin cameos! I don't like the idea that he's a loser on this show.

Great smackeroo between Donald and Daisy at the end. Disney hardly ever gives them that.

Great cliffhanger too. ****1/2.

Legend Of The Three Caballeros "Chapter Thirteen: Sheldgoose Square Dance"

Because it's cartoon Donald instead of comic book Donald, I don't object to the fight at the end. Especially, because all things considered, it wasn't actually all that violent.

Speaking of cartoon Donald, this brings up that Donald's middle name is Fauntleroy. That's a cartoon thing. Despite it being canon, (I think) neither Barks nor Rosa have ever used his middle name. But it's such a really memorable middle name, that I'm unsure of why Rosa didn't immediately latch onto it. Because it wasn't by Barks? I dunno, I think it's perfect anyways.

I liked the callbacks to all of the monsters and guest cast from the entire season. Everything dovetailed and wrapped up and felt significant in hindsight. That's the proper way to do a finale.

When Sheldgoose asks who that big slab of beef is, it's clear he's gay. He's not a punchline for it, but I can't read that line any other way.

That was a pretty terrific finale. I suspected the show would be good, and possibly better than DuckTales. I was right on both fronts (although the writing is admittedly shaky). Still, this is a great tribute to cartoon Donald. *****.




Elena Of Avalor "The Last Laugh"

This was a pretty good episode so I'm going to talk about the two things that jumped out at me, and then some larger observations I have of the series as whole.

First thing, when SnarkyCat speculates that Estaban is worse than Ash I sincerely hope he is a bad judge of character. Estaban himself gave me no comfort in that regard. Honestly, that was a great move on the writer's part. It's an opinion, and ultimately means nothing, but it worries us, especially since Estaban seems to enjoy that idea. That is what is known as good writing. It's NOT all that hard. Most cartoons make it seem like pulling teeth. But really, stuff like this should be standard, and this show is eating every other kids show but She-Ra's lunch.

The second thing is less complimentary. I felt nothing for Naomi's goodbye because it seems to me there is no way they are making it permanent. Maybe if it occurred in the last few episodes I'd believe it, but the "closure" here was perfunctory, and suggested to me that in two or three episodes Naomi will get over her wanderlust and decide she belonged at Elena's side all along. It was the wrong placement in the season to actually make me believe it's real. And if it's not real, it doesn't matter to me, and doesn't actually land.

The thing I wanted to talk about the series in general is that since this was a pretty standard episode, I sort of took a step back and listened to the dialogue, and how an average episode of this compares to other kids shows, preschool or not. The performances on this show make the dialogue work, but I was interested if the dialogue itself was any good.

I think at first glance, the dialogue is basic, often corny, and a bit obvious in regards to the situations that are happening. Nobody will accuse this show of having realistic conversations or rat-a-tat-tat snappy patter. But listening to it, it strikes me that the dialogue is very unique in that it is completely right for the show. It explains everything for the little kids in the audience, but isn't bad enough for me to turn up my nose at it. The characters say exactly the right things they should in every situation they are put in. I am a firm believer that unpredictability is vastly overrated as far as television goes. There is something to be said for watching a TV show go down the precise way it SHOULD go down. That's how I feel about this show's dialogue. There will be snobs unimpressed with the fact that there isn't a ton of observational humor present in the words themselves, and that none of the characters ever say anything unexpected. I don't actually think either of those things are bad things. It straddles the line between obvious enough to explain what is going on to toddlers, without being obvious enough to get on my nerves. It's in-between, which for a preschool show is downright amazing. It's the only preschool show I watch that is regularly true of.

But that was a standard episode, with some neat foreshadowing with Estaban. The reason it's neat is it could be completely bogus, and if it is, nobody will complain in hindsight. That is the genius of making it a snap judgment, and nothing more than an opinion from a character we don't know. But it worked me up at any rate. ***.




Forky Asks A Question "What Is Art?"

They couldn't spring for Timothy Dalton? Doom Patrol says the dude isn't actually picky. **1/2.




Marvel's Spider-Man "Goblin War: Part Three"

That was pretty swell. I love the tension between the characters. While Harry throwing in Peter's face for the billionth time that he didn't tell him he was Spider-Man is not my favorite thing, I like that Gwen is not willing to give Ock a second chance because she already did once. That's a good reminder.

I think Peter needs to reveal the identity to Gwen and Anya. He could explain Ock to Harry one-on-one, I suppose, but I think it would be easier if he revealed the actual reason he trusted Ock to everyone at once. It's because Ock has all of Peter's memories and wants to be a good guy because of them.

The ironic thing is that even if that fact makes Peter personally trust him, outside of Miles, I think that revelation might spark further outrage because both Gwen and Anya had serious problems with Ock when he was Spider-Man, and I don't think they'll quite appreciate that that was the thing that reformed him. As far as they are concerned, that was a Spider-fail. But I like Anna Maria hanging around because she DOES trust Otto, and she is immediately trustworthy. She endears herself to Miles, Anya, and Gwen instantly, and I suspect her opinion will carry weight next week. I think Harry is going to be a harder sell, simply because Harry almost never admits he's wrong, and that's always a last resort. He's very similar to villain Ock in that way, although Ock now admits his mistakes constantly because he sees no shame in them anymore. If Harry ever took that mindset seriously, things would be easier between him and Peter.

Good television. ****1/2.




Star Wars: The Mandalorian "Chapter 3: The Sin"

That was amazing. If this is the quality of the Disney + Star Wars and Marvel stuff, we are in for a treat.

It's clearly not on the budget of the recent movies. But it's about par with the originally trilogy, and perhaps even better as far as effects go, so there is nothing to complain about.

I was like "Oh, Mando, what have you gotten yourself into?" That probably wouldn't have been such a huge mess if he hadn't taken in the baby Yoda and collected the bounty in the first place. Good for him for changing his mind, but the truth is he shouldn't have brought the kid back at all. There is no purpose an alien could use a baby of a different species who has supernatural powers for that is not sinister. Mando needs to watch a few movies. The good news is that Carl Weathers is in many of them.

I thought the thing with the helmet never being taken off was interesting, but Sabine on Star Wars Rebels took her helmet on all the time. If both projects are considered canon (which is Disney law now, I guess) they might want to get their stories straight.

Frankly I found these Mandalorians far more interesting that the squabbling family dynasties on Rebels. It's just that they are too different for me to reconcile. We can chalk some of it up to the Empire falling, but a lot of this episode seemed to indicate what we see him is ancient and ingrained culture, and not a new thing. If there is an answer for this, I'd like to get it eventually.

I loved the Mandalorian cavalry at the end.

Not only is this show giving us more insights in the Mandalorians than ever before, this episode was the first major Star Wars project to explore fall-out from the Empire being taken out, and very recently, to boot. I have always wanted a Star Wars project in this timeframe and I like the idea that there are still Empire warlords and criminals lurking about, and there will be always scumbags wearing the Stormtrooper masks. I buy that idea completely. It strikes me as totally plausible.

First great episode of the series. We are in for a treat. *****.




Star Wars Resistance "Rendezvous Point"

I like Tora's mom a lot. Although I don't know why everyone is trying to give Tam the second chances they are. She says Yeager should have trusted her. Why? She went and joined the First Order with very little prodding. How is she a person worthy of Yeager's trust? Honestly, I found Mrs. Doza declaring that a mistake far-fetched. I think Yeager's instincts of not trusting Tam were right on the money.

That was pretty cool, but I don't like Tam episodes as a rule because I find the character so loathsome. She doesn't even know why she's there. Which makes her as evil as the rest of them. ****.




Titans "Faux-Hawk"

That was a mess.

There was no set-up whatsoever for Jericho being in Slade's head. Or if there were clues in hindsight they were negligible enough to make it seem ridiculous and like a retcon. I don't like that.

Hank is the worst lay ever. And him sleeping with another woman so soon after Dawn makes me loathe him in a way I never did before. And I freaking hate Hank!

How many people on this show know Bruce Wayne is Batman? That don't sit right.

Jason's reaction to Rose's story is why television is bad, but it would be a lot easier to blame it on this show if it was just this show: But the show does it an extra helping of times, so it's bad on the writers here anyways.

But why can't anyone on television be cool?

Why is the default mode on television from learning an unpleasant truth about someone you care about is to throw a hissy fit and refuse to discuss it further? Jason is definitely not a cool character to begin with, but none of the characters on this show are cool. Most characters on television aren't cool or understanding, or ever believe that after all they have been through with this person they care about, to give them the benefit of the doubt, even if they told the truth knowing it could ruin things. I think the biggest reason Titans rubs me the wrong way, isn't merely because the characters are deplorable. It's because despite the R-rated nudity and language, the show feeds into the absolute worst habits of television in a way few other shows dare. If there are a hundred things wrong with television, an average show will routinely do about 50 of them throughout its entire run. Titans basically is the worst things about the worst of television, and we haven't even entirely made it all the way through season two yet. The problem with Titans is that it has no redeeming virtues, that make me forgive the missteps other shows I like fall into. I never want to give the benefit of the doubt to the show because it gives me nothing in return, and even when I'm charitable enough to do that, it always punches me in the face for it.

Jason's reaction is not atypical of television. But the type of television it's typical of is bad television. And that Titans always feed into the worst of TV without ever giving me a reason to forgive it. Riverdale is my current hatewatch, but even I can admit there is something about the concept of the show that is appealing. I don't forgive Riverdale for how terrible it is. But not every single thing about it is terrible. I get why the show has fans. I don't get who this show is supposed to appeal to. People who enjoy characters they hate getting away with bloody murder? Are sociopaths the show's untapped demographic? The show does nothing but make the audience feel bad and ask you to forgive the characters even when they are never sorry for their horrible actions. And if they ARE truly sorry, like Rose here, they will be friendless and the show will hurt them for telling the truth. Who is supposed to enjoy that? What are the writers hoping I, as a non-psychopath, get out of this show? It truly confuses me.

I can safely say at this point that this show has no redeeming qualities. Or at least it won't if it never gives us another Minka Kelly nude scene again. I don't know what's worse. That Geoff Johns and Akiva Goldsman cr*p out these scripts and supervise this mess, or the weird idea that they think is actually good and that people will enjoy it.

Only Jericho seems cool. But he doesn't actually exist.

Honestly, because of this show I am not looking forward to Stargirl. It's Geoff Johns' passion project for his beloved deceased sister, but if this is the kind of thing he thinks is good television, it's probably going to be the most appalling tribute possible. Part of me is rooting for Stargirl because of the bittersweet history behind it. But I'd feel better about it if Geoff Johns weren't such an utterly terrible writer attached to the worst DC projects imaginable.

Do you know the sad thing about Geoff Johns' terrible reputation in this franchise? He probably wouldn't have it if he didn't do so many on-camera interviews extolling the virtues of cr*p. He was basically the face of the Snyderverse, and talking up about how great it was that the movies were depressing, and no fun, and that audiences will hate them, and that's supposedly their selling point. Is he truly shocked that DC would throw him under the bus after that? I don't even think he had anything much to DO with the Extended Universe, but he made quite a glorious patsy for being the guy dumb enough to talk up pure garbage as if it's gold. He made himself the fall-guy without ever having to be asked. And this is the show he chooses to create and often write. I hope I'm wrong about Stargirl. But every episode of this show gives me a sinking feeling. I want Johns to do right by his beloved sister. I just don't think he's capable of it, which bums me out.

I no longer grade shows on a curve so it's very easy to give that episode a zero. 0.

Black Lightning "The Book Of Resistance: Chapter Two: Henderson's Opus"

I'm disappointed at the lack of cute cartoon penguins.

Man, that was frustrating. I think all of the characters are doing it wrong. Except for Henderson. He's got his head on his shoulders. Anissa seems pretty faultless too, at least tonight. But everyone else is blowing it.

I hope Jefferson fully understands whose side he was on upon those soldier executing those civilians like that. I don't care to hear him lecture Anissa or Henderson about the right way to do things while the people he saved from a bomb are executing civilians. There is no "acceptable potential loss" attached to their actions either. They are simply straight-up murderers. I also am getting sick of Jefferson entering Anissa's apartment and immediately and loudly browbeating her over whatever bee in is currently in his bonnet. He realizes her girlfriend has PTSD by now right? And he still can't stop entering their home and yelling. Now it's about how much she knew about the bomb. It's always something, and it's always uncool, and it's always inappropriate to do as a guest in someone's else's home.

Lynn is an idiot for wanting to save Kahlil. Even if she could, do you think he'd thank her for making him live a life where he is aware he murdered his own mother?

On the other hand, Gambi's kind of stupid too. I agree that Kahlil needs to die fully. But does he truly believe the NSA is going to throw away that expensive asset simply because Lynn pulls the plug? If it were ever that easy, he'd have been dead in the middle of season 1.

I agree with Brandon that Jennifer is acting like the stuff with Jace is a game. What infuriates me is that she doesn't apologize for him being 100% right, and her being 100% insensitive, and hits him with a "Whatever" instead. All of the characters in the episode were very hard to root for.

Getting Painkiller to kill Black Lightning was a boneheaded move on the bad guys' part. That is exactly how Odell's house of cards, which he so carefully tried to compartmentalize and keep separate, is going to come crashing down. I don't like Odell, but the new lady is basically destroying every single one of his gambits with that move.

I like episodes where the heroes are making good decisions and kicking the correct bad guy butt. While I'm sure this raised a ton of philosophical questions for a subset of comic book fans, that is entirely not my thing. I like liking my heroes. It's not an unreasonable ask. **1/2.




DC Showcase: Sgt. Rock

Forget Bruce Timm, the producer and writer for a minute. This short brings back Bruce Timm the filmmaker. Every wonder what the dude could do with modern animation techniques? Here it is, and it's moody and cinematic. I want to see him direct more stuff, although that's probably a tall order. He is so gifted at it that I think his talents may be wasted just by overseeing everything. When he gets into the thick of it, good things happen.

That's not to say this is my kind of short. The story was too dark, and I found the ending quite gruesome. But my personal hang-ups do not change how well-done that was. I'm impressed. More please, b.t. ****.




Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles "Many Unhappy Returns"

I like that Leonardo is a goof-off and nobody trusts him to take things seriously. Because it's different, and new, and unexpected. Frankly I have never believed the Turtles differing personalities actually matter all that much to the story being told. All of the characters practically look the same, so the personalities seem almost tacked on. But I like that this show does stuff differently even if it might offend Turtle fans. But I don't think the source material is so unimpeachable it can never be changed. And I never thought that.

The scene of the three Turtles chasing the Shredder monster through the fireworks is another reason this show has the best animation of any Turtles project. There is a legit case to be made it's the best animation in a 2-D TV project too. It's bananas.

Solid outing. ****.




Transformers: Cyberverse "I Am The Allspark"

Grimlock Vs. Megatron! Big stuff happening!

That climax was a crazy level of tension! I kept yelling at my screen "Hurry up!"

I love Megatron refusing to beg for forgiveness. In that moment Starscream believes he's scarier than he is.

Why are Starscream's followers surprised they are the first people he'd kill? Where did they think this specific death cult was headed anyways?

I think Bee capturing Starscream is going to bite them in the butt but that's a Next Week Problem.

Amazeballs. *****.

Transformers: Rescue Bots Academy "Milford Goes To The Dogs"

That was cute. But Hotshot's "There's no time for thinking!" sums up that character's problem in a nutshell. ***1/2.

Transformers: Rescue Bots Academy "The Ice Wave"

Hotshot's the worst, but I DID like his solution at the end. **1/2.




Power Rangers Beast Morphers "Rewriting History"

That was pretty good.

For the record, I don't think a plant is a good test run for a pet. Maybe start with a goldfish instead.

Ben and Betty are not good in high-pressure situations.

I didn't like Steel giving the little girl the dog at the end. Not only are pets terrible gifts, but he totally put her mother on the spot just then. Not cool.

The episode was decent though. ***1/2.




The Simpsons "Thanksgiving Of Horror"

I know they already did a tribute card for Russi Taylor, but that was a rerun. They should have also done one for her last episode.

Opening:

Return of Marge on stage and the viewer discretion warning! ****.

First Segment:

This was actually upsetting. I am not entertained by murder sprees, even if they are turkeys. What was the show thinking? 0.

Second Segment:

This was also creepy, but I am amused that the horrific scenario isn't actually all that horrific. Basically, a dinner party was ruined. That is the sci-fi parable they are warning against. That's funny. ***1/2.

Third Segment:

This was a perfect Martin monologue for Russi Taylor to go out on. It wasn't even designed to be that, it just wound up being it. Isn't fate weird? This was the only segment that was legitimately scary. ****1/2.

End Credits:

Scratch that. There is something intrinsically frightening about the Bart Simpson Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon. Probably because those specific designs look all wrong in the third dimension. Which is probably why the movie was 2-D in the first place. *****.

Episode Overall: ***1/2.




Bob's Burgers "Now We're Cooking With Gas"

I'm not going to defend Bob's crazy behavior. I don't need to. That's what the entire episode was about. That was the actual moral.

What I will say is that I sympathize with him.

Ever since I got my own apartment I noticed something very annoying about reality. If you have an entire day planned out, that you were planning to get a whole bunch of stuff done, and basically own the day with an owning stick, THAT is when the power chooses to go out. That is when you have no heat or no hot water. The rule about utilities outages are that they come at the least convenient time, and for me, they tend to come exclusively on days where I'm trying to get a lot of work done. Bob's Burgers sort of gets the unfairness of life perfectly well, even when it's actually no-one's fault. It's just how life it. And maybe under the burn, the turkey actually tastes pretty good, and you don't get a fine from the fire department because your crying made the fire chief uncomfortable. But it's unfair nonetheless, and always unfair on the days you can't afford it to be. You were planning on getting everything done so you'd have a free weekend? That is when the power goes on the fritz. Every time.

I think Bob is being a bad father. But I understand why he's so upset. ****.




Family Guy "Shanksgiving"

That Kal Penn Pen Pal in Cal Pen bit was genius. As was the Phil Specter headline. Records don't exist anymore. Infant stabbed in mouth.

I felt extremely bad for Ida when she tells Glenn she's so sorry she never gave him siblings. Which isn't true. Glen has a sister that's we've met, and he's mentioned his deaf brother before.

I think the Stewie in prison stuff was creepy and not funny.

The smart white supremacist thing disturbs me because it suggests that many white supremacists in prison are only white supremacists because they don't fit in anywhere else. I don't like feeling pity for that class of person, but the guy being a film buff and insightful about careers, suggests not everyone in that group wants to actually be there, which makes me extremely uncomfortable to think about.

The TV shows ad at the beginning suggests that there is far too much scripted fare on television. Nobody can watch it all, or even a good percentage of it. The streaming bust is right around the corner. This is not a sustainable business model.

It's the leaf that has Peter screaming at the top of his lungs. I love that. Nobody likes leaves, or pulling out their tables, and they are almost bad enough to go to prison for instead.

Wendell. Joseph. It's Joe. I think you knew that. I didn't get that bit with Chris, but I think that was the point. It was random nonsense that didn't make any sense. Maybe it's time I stopped analyzing some of the dumb stuff on this show.

It was okay week. Bob's Burgers won the night. ***.




The Good Place "The Answer"

The reveal of what was on the note was beyond sweet.

I love that Chiti asks if for the past 300 years he's been super annoying. It's a fair question because he totally has been.

Here is an opinion that maybe Chiti didn't consider. But maybe there IS an answer. But that doesn't mean he's automatically entitled to it just because he's died. I think omniscience is an unreasonable expectation from the Afterlife. I predict that if the Afterlife is a thing, many good people are going to be disappointed that God isn't willing to make everyone else there as all-knowing as He is. And that strikes me as common sense.

It used to be when they cast younger actors as the younger character, they didn't bother making the looks or mannerisms remotely similar. TV has gotten much better at this in recent years, and really put in an effort to make similarities in both the performances and the appearances. Not here. I recognized zero of William Jackson Harper in this kid. It's a shame because the show is great in every other respect.

That was still a good episode. Eleanor is the answer. ****.




Black Jesus "God's Team"

This season has been a huge disappointment but this episode is a return to form. This is why I watch the show.

I loved Jesus' speech to Brenda to tell her she was one of a kind and God had a plan for her. And I love him giving both sides pizza and telling the kids they were going to be the generation to end all of this racial nonsense. This is a surprisingly feel-good show when it wants to be.

Coach Whiteman was a pretty good stand-in for the conservative critics of the show. Jesus is black, therefore the show is offensive. It doesn't actually work that way.

I'm relieved to see an episode I loved. ****11/2.




The Blacklist "The Hawaladar"

I am super upset Red apologized to Glenn at the end. Glenn is the worst and does more harm to Red than good. Were I Red I would have killed him a couple of seasons ago. That dressing down was long-coming. I can't believe the show was dumb enough to buy it back.

Park is a terrible character. All she does is point out how horrible the stuff Red does is. But the audience finds it fun. While she's nagging the rest of the agents it's not fun anymore. She's Captain Bringdown. And for what? What does she actually add to the show?

The Elian stuff confuses me. I hope it will be made clearer next week.

I found most of that aggravating. **1/2.