Matt Zimmer (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
matt_zimmer) wrote2020-03-09 01:44 am
matt_zimmer) wrote2020-03-09 01:44 am
Batwoman "Grinning From Ear To Ear" and Supergirl "The Bodyguard" Reviews (Spoilers)
Also reviews for the latest episodes of Teen Titans Go!, DC Super Hero Girls, Muppet Babies, Power Rangers: Beast Morphers, The Simpsons, Duncanville, Bob's Burgers, and Family Guy.
Batwoman "Grinning From Ear To Ear"
Creepy teaser.
Do you know why I hate Alice? She actually believes she deserves a bigger obituary than that, and a funeral after all she did. She sucks.
Sophie's mom sucks. Apparently Batman's okay but Batwoman is a criminal because she's gay. When she puts it like that it's no wonder Sophie is in the closet. Values my butt.
And she lives down to her worst expectations at the end. Because she sucks.
Rachel Maddow continues to be saddled with the worst dialogue on the show. She's not an idiot. I have to wonder if she is ever embarrassed about some of the things she is paid to say. I don't see this show actually helping her brand at all, which is bad because I think that's probably the only reason she took the job to begin with.
Alice's mouthy temporary shrink was asking to get himself killed. He's an idiot. In that scenario, he should have been focused on staying alive and not saying anything to upset Alice. Instead his fascination with his subject meant he did his job too well. Which meant he got in her head, which meant he knew too much, and had to die. A smarter person would have been more cautious in his advice to make Alice think there is future use for them, and that she doesn't actually see the person as a threat and a loose end. It struck me that the doctor had a potential award-winning thesis in his head and that got him killed.
Alice's reaction to Mary asking if she knows who Batwoman is tells Mary her hunch is correct.
I thought the slasher woman made some excellent verbal points against her model former friend she tried to kill. But when the model says she scared her back then, I think she won the argument. Because it turns out she was right to be.
Sophie's never heard of the Batcave? Okay.
I love Duella being happy about losing her face. She cray.
Alice smacking Mouse's dad was cathartic. And I freaking HATE Alice!
I like Batwoman correctly pointing out that the only reason Sophie wants the relationship at all is because it's a surefire way to insure that she is allowed to stay in the closet. And whether Batwoman wants it or not, that is a really unhealthy thing to enable.
I like Mary telling Kate she knows without outright saying it.
Strong episode. But they need to do better by Rachel Maddow. ****.
Supergirl "The Bodyguard"
I'd be more impressed with the "What is going on?" opening with the dragon and the warrior woman if it hadn't turned out to be a cheat.
I like Brainy's hologram telling him he likes his haircut. That was funny.
That wimpy guy in prison played by Willie Garson being so torn up by his rage says that Lena isn't actually helping anything.
It amuses me that Lena's idea is how the Reavers were created. This will end badly for all involved.
Lex seems perfectly sincere and reasonable in encouraging Lena. Except I remember that he's a psychopathic, genocidal monster who murdered Brandon Routh's Superman. If he thinks Lena is doing good, she most assuredly is not.
Kara talking the villain down in a heartfelt and sympathetic way says she has the same skill of empathy Barry Allen is gifted with. It's really cool and beats slugfests in my mind. The Trekkie in me loves it when the heroes talk the bad guys out of it.
I love Lex telling Eve she's the chocolate to his peanut-butter. It's funny, charming, and creepy all at once.
Oh, Brainy, what have you gotten yourself into?
A good week. ****.
Teen Titans Go! "Record Book"
Do they even make The Guinness Book Of World Records anymore? I mean, LITERALLY, is it still published in book form? I'm thinking again the show is tackling a topic none of the kids in the audience have any sort of point of reference for.
Starfire telling Robin she doesn't care about his opinion is so cold because she says it without anger and as if she's just statin' a fact. It's 62 degrees outside and Starfire doesn't care about Robin's opinion.
The show is starting to feel less "edgy" and more "dated". ***.
DC Super Hero Girls "Ally Cat: Part 1"
Lex's middle name is Joseph? How... underwhelming.
How is it the girls don't recognize Catwoman is Selina when she's not wearing her mask? Although I could ask the same thing about Selina regarding Jessica, Zee, Diana, and Kara.
Nice twist at the end. ****.
DC Super Hero Girls "Ally Cat: Part 2"
Pretty clever way for Catwoman to trick Lex in a no-win scenario. Although if he had the book, shouldn't he have seen her tearing out the page coming?
Catwoman likes the world. It's where she steals stuff.
Luthearth is a work in progress. Also, Lex's dancing is lame too.
I love Superman calling Kara a doofus. Precisely because that is such an un-Superman thing to say. The fact that this Superman is a petulant jerk that I hate is a good reason to like him.
That was solid. ****1/2.
DC Super Hero Girls "Retreat"
S-S-S-S-SWAMP MONSTERS! ZOINKS!
Hal asking women to make him a sandwich is why I hate him.
Jessica is not only a pacifist, but she's a vegan, and she eats plants for breakfast.
The GL Light chainsaw reminded me of "Get Out".
Laughed at Garth being swallowed by the plant mid-brag.
Ivy is disappointed everyone's alive? Does that mean she knows who they are?
Fun episode. Somebody let Hal out of the closet. But don't make him a sandwich. ***1/2.
DC Super Hero Girls "Dinner For Five"
Deathstroke! That was quite excellent. Very neat game of cat and mouse with Babs and Slade Wilson.
I love Rose telling Babs how brave she is for telling all this to a complete stranger. And stupid. Don't forget stupid.
I love Rose humming the theme song as she excused herself to the bathroom.
That was probably my favorite episode so far. *****.
Muppet Babies "Meatball Mayhem / Bunsen Honeydew, Showstopper"
Meatball Mayhem:
Chef has four Muppet fingers as a cartoon baby, unlike his adult puppet who has five human fingers.
Dressing the meatballs up like kittens and naming them is a good plan B.
Nice to see Sweetums again.
This is not exactly a good show to watch if you want unpredictability, but 2-year-olds will like it. ***.
Bunsen Honeydew, Showstopper:
The Green Eyed monster doesn't have eyes here, but he's definitely green.
The purple lights in the end musical number freaked me out.
Not as good as the first cartoon. **1/2.
Episode Overall: ***.
Power Rangers: Beast Morphers "Game On!"
I liked Betty dancing with the hologram but the rest was quite trite. And I'm not sure the logic of the girl trying to win the prize money to pay for her little brother's surgery so he can play soccer again actually holds up.
So-so. **1/2.
The Simpsons "Screenless"
That was quite excellent.
Marge Simpson has a problem. And it's not screens and it never was. Marge's problem IS psychological though. Her problem is that she erroneously believes she is better than her family, Homer specifically. Whenever that turns out to be untrue, she either lashes out, or as this episode shows, goes into deep denial. Marge is a great mom able to handle a lot. But she believes she is the "good person" in her marriage. If ever that assumption is challenged, and she realizes there is more nuance to the situation than she thought, she cannot handle it. Which is why I've noticed most recent blow-ups between Homer and Marge have largely been Marge's fault, even when Homer does something scummy. Marge does not ever like thinking there are facets to Homer that are superior to herself. The fact that Homer is definitely more chill and lower maintenance, although true, is something she refuses to believe under any circumstance. SHE'S the sane one. Homer's out of his mind. The End. Or not. Over the years, I have personally started to think it's the other way around. Marge repeatedly gets mad at Homer for classically cliched wife reasons that do not make sense when married to someone with Homer's personality and limited intellect. And Homer never seems to actually get mad at her. Which means every squabble is technically on her. And it's something that has really crystallized in the later seasons as Homer has gotten more and more relaxed and unburdened by the world's problems. It's an interesting evolution and dynamic.
For the record, the baby sign language thing? I think parent guides for cr*p like that are simultaneously damaging for the baby, and probably don't even work. Why can't babies ever be allowed to be babies? Modern parents' expectations of their kids are unreasonable and actually hurt the kid.
Speaking of bad ideas, I'm not sure I agree with the moral that the rest of The Simpsons got MORE addicted to screens in the rehab, but it's a provocative and legitimate question. Maybe for some people, the best way to wean themselves off an addiction is distracting themselves with something else. Maybe focusing exclusively on the addiction and why you have it perhaps strengthens the obsession for certain people. Rehab has done a lot of good for people. But it doesn't work for everyone and this episode perhaps gave an interesting answer for why that is.
Werner Herzog's voice is absolutely frightening. He did great.
Maggie was America's Baby once. I am impressed at the Baby Yoda joke. It's animation. The show is usually about a year behind regular pop culture, and Baby Yoda is still a relatively recent thing. Good for the show.
Sometimes what the bullies really want to do is play.
Dana Gould returns to the show as a voice instead of a writer.
James Lipton died? I did not know that. I have found this show is often a personal obituary section for me.
Lisa is the only one who remembered daylight savings time. Good couch gag.
Patty and Selma smoking, in front of Maggie no less. I think Fox at least understands the message of those characters and that that habit is not flattering. Which is why them doing it less never made sense to me. They are so horrible and uncool they make the habit look completely unattractive, which is what parents should want. I don't think censors and parents appreciate nuance, or the idea that showing a harmful behavior is perfectly all right if the actual message is to say the behavior causes harm. I think both groups are so clueless about that that they are hurting their own cause. Patty and Selma are the best anti-smoking PSA a parent could ever want. It makes no sense for the show to have them do it less.
I think The Simpsons won the night handily with that. And I thought that even before I saw the rest of the Fox shows for the night. And I turned out to be right. *****.
Duncanville "Witch Day"
Springfield's Whacking Day has just been surpassed as the worst town holiday ever. This town is filled bad people.
I couldn't believe literally everyone in the town yelled for Duncan to stop when he was about to reveal a name of an unknown adulterer. ALL bad people.
I can't believe Duncan's mom WANTED to do that to him. You know what that was? Unrealistic. Stupid. A cheap joke done at the expense of the rationality of a sane parent. I don't like those types of jokes.
A lot of cartoons have done plots about characters searching for truffles but at least this show DOES point out you can actually pick them up at Whole Foods.
This is turning out to be a tough show to like. Honestly? I'll give it a final shot next week but if I still get nothing out of it, I'm out. That seems fair to me. *1/2.
Bob's Burgers "Yurty Rotten Scoundrels"
Gayle is the worst and her episodes are the worst because she is the worst. I can't put it any plainer than that.
After all of that nonsense, I love Bob demanding a cut of the lost cat reward. 5% sounds about right. Bob is either the worst dad ever, or the best. I'm leaning towards the latter.
Some cats look alike. That catcist. I'm using that and you can't stop me.
God, Gayle sucks. I did not need to see an episode empower a person that awful. **.
Family Guy "The Movement"
Brian thinking the Doc Martin joke is acceptable is the reason the character sucks so much. And I hate that he's the liberal on the show. Because he sucks and makes us all look bad.
For the record, The Orville would be a step up for Meg. Ironically, American Dad is also currently better than Family Guy. And current American Dad is a disaster.
Syndication cuts have butchered old sitcoms. You wouldn't think sitcoms are ALL that dependent on a plot, but shows like Seinfeld WERE, and they become almost incomprehensible with so much stuff removed for commercials. I liked that joke.
I don't watch sports, so have never seen the two announcers in a too small studio before, but the joke made me laugh.
Stewie is going to tell his teacher about the sip of beer, and then it's going to be a problem. Which is why today sucks as much as Brian.
Perfectly acceptable, but The Simpsons won the night with no contest. And I knew it would. ***1/2.
Batwoman "Grinning From Ear To Ear"
Creepy teaser.
Do you know why I hate Alice? She actually believes she deserves a bigger obituary than that, and a funeral after all she did. She sucks.
Sophie's mom sucks. Apparently Batman's okay but Batwoman is a criminal because she's gay. When she puts it like that it's no wonder Sophie is in the closet. Values my butt.
And she lives down to her worst expectations at the end. Because she sucks.
Rachel Maddow continues to be saddled with the worst dialogue on the show. She's not an idiot. I have to wonder if she is ever embarrassed about some of the things she is paid to say. I don't see this show actually helping her brand at all, which is bad because I think that's probably the only reason she took the job to begin with.
Alice's mouthy temporary shrink was asking to get himself killed. He's an idiot. In that scenario, he should have been focused on staying alive and not saying anything to upset Alice. Instead his fascination with his subject meant he did his job too well. Which meant he got in her head, which meant he knew too much, and had to die. A smarter person would have been more cautious in his advice to make Alice think there is future use for them, and that she doesn't actually see the person as a threat and a loose end. It struck me that the doctor had a potential award-winning thesis in his head and that got him killed.
Alice's reaction to Mary asking if she knows who Batwoman is tells Mary her hunch is correct.
I thought the slasher woman made some excellent verbal points against her model former friend she tried to kill. But when the model says she scared her back then, I think she won the argument. Because it turns out she was right to be.
Sophie's never heard of the Batcave? Okay.
I love Duella being happy about losing her face. She cray.
Alice smacking Mouse's dad was cathartic. And I freaking HATE Alice!
I like Batwoman correctly pointing out that the only reason Sophie wants the relationship at all is because it's a surefire way to insure that she is allowed to stay in the closet. And whether Batwoman wants it or not, that is a really unhealthy thing to enable.
I like Mary telling Kate she knows without outright saying it.
Strong episode. But they need to do better by Rachel Maddow. ****.
Supergirl "The Bodyguard"
I'd be more impressed with the "What is going on?" opening with the dragon and the warrior woman if it hadn't turned out to be a cheat.
I like Brainy's hologram telling him he likes his haircut. That was funny.
That wimpy guy in prison played by Willie Garson being so torn up by his rage says that Lena isn't actually helping anything.
It amuses me that Lena's idea is how the Reavers were created. This will end badly for all involved.
Lex seems perfectly sincere and reasonable in encouraging Lena. Except I remember that he's a psychopathic, genocidal monster who murdered Brandon Routh's Superman. If he thinks Lena is doing good, she most assuredly is not.
Kara talking the villain down in a heartfelt and sympathetic way says she has the same skill of empathy Barry Allen is gifted with. It's really cool and beats slugfests in my mind. The Trekkie in me loves it when the heroes talk the bad guys out of it.
I love Lex telling Eve she's the chocolate to his peanut-butter. It's funny, charming, and creepy all at once.
Oh, Brainy, what have you gotten yourself into?
A good week. ****.
Teen Titans Go! "Record Book"
Do they even make The Guinness Book Of World Records anymore? I mean, LITERALLY, is it still published in book form? I'm thinking again the show is tackling a topic none of the kids in the audience have any sort of point of reference for.
Starfire telling Robin she doesn't care about his opinion is so cold because she says it without anger and as if she's just statin' a fact. It's 62 degrees outside and Starfire doesn't care about Robin's opinion.
The show is starting to feel less "edgy" and more "dated". ***.
DC Super Hero Girls "Ally Cat: Part 1"
Lex's middle name is Joseph? How... underwhelming.
How is it the girls don't recognize Catwoman is Selina when she's not wearing her mask? Although I could ask the same thing about Selina regarding Jessica, Zee, Diana, and Kara.
Nice twist at the end. ****.
DC Super Hero Girls "Ally Cat: Part 2"
Pretty clever way for Catwoman to trick Lex in a no-win scenario. Although if he had the book, shouldn't he have seen her tearing out the page coming?
Catwoman likes the world. It's where she steals stuff.
Luthearth is a work in progress. Also, Lex's dancing is lame too.
I love Superman calling Kara a doofus. Precisely because that is such an un-Superman thing to say. The fact that this Superman is a petulant jerk that I hate is a good reason to like him.
That was solid. ****1/2.
DC Super Hero Girls "Retreat"
S-S-S-S-SWAMP MONSTERS! ZOINKS!
Hal asking women to make him a sandwich is why I hate him.
Jessica is not only a pacifist, but she's a vegan, and she eats plants for breakfast.
The GL Light chainsaw reminded me of "Get Out".
Laughed at Garth being swallowed by the plant mid-brag.
Ivy is disappointed everyone's alive? Does that mean she knows who they are?
Fun episode. Somebody let Hal out of the closet. But don't make him a sandwich. ***1/2.
DC Super Hero Girls "Dinner For Five"
Deathstroke! That was quite excellent. Very neat game of cat and mouse with Babs and Slade Wilson.
I love Rose telling Babs how brave she is for telling all this to a complete stranger. And stupid. Don't forget stupid.
I love Rose humming the theme song as she excused herself to the bathroom.
That was probably my favorite episode so far. *****.
Muppet Babies "Meatball Mayhem / Bunsen Honeydew, Showstopper"
Meatball Mayhem:
Chef has four Muppet fingers as a cartoon baby, unlike his adult puppet who has five human fingers.
Dressing the meatballs up like kittens and naming them is a good plan B.
Nice to see Sweetums again.
This is not exactly a good show to watch if you want unpredictability, but 2-year-olds will like it. ***.
Bunsen Honeydew, Showstopper:
The Green Eyed monster doesn't have eyes here, but he's definitely green.
The purple lights in the end musical number freaked me out.
Not as good as the first cartoon. **1/2.
Episode Overall: ***.
Power Rangers: Beast Morphers "Game On!"
I liked Betty dancing with the hologram but the rest was quite trite. And I'm not sure the logic of the girl trying to win the prize money to pay for her little brother's surgery so he can play soccer again actually holds up.
So-so. **1/2.
The Simpsons "Screenless"
That was quite excellent.
Marge Simpson has a problem. And it's not screens and it never was. Marge's problem IS psychological though. Her problem is that she erroneously believes she is better than her family, Homer specifically. Whenever that turns out to be untrue, she either lashes out, or as this episode shows, goes into deep denial. Marge is a great mom able to handle a lot. But she believes she is the "good person" in her marriage. If ever that assumption is challenged, and she realizes there is more nuance to the situation than she thought, she cannot handle it. Which is why I've noticed most recent blow-ups between Homer and Marge have largely been Marge's fault, even when Homer does something scummy. Marge does not ever like thinking there are facets to Homer that are superior to herself. The fact that Homer is definitely more chill and lower maintenance, although true, is something she refuses to believe under any circumstance. SHE'S the sane one. Homer's out of his mind. The End. Or not. Over the years, I have personally started to think it's the other way around. Marge repeatedly gets mad at Homer for classically cliched wife reasons that do not make sense when married to someone with Homer's personality and limited intellect. And Homer never seems to actually get mad at her. Which means every squabble is technically on her. And it's something that has really crystallized in the later seasons as Homer has gotten more and more relaxed and unburdened by the world's problems. It's an interesting evolution and dynamic.
For the record, the baby sign language thing? I think parent guides for cr*p like that are simultaneously damaging for the baby, and probably don't even work. Why can't babies ever be allowed to be babies? Modern parents' expectations of their kids are unreasonable and actually hurt the kid.
Speaking of bad ideas, I'm not sure I agree with the moral that the rest of The Simpsons got MORE addicted to screens in the rehab, but it's a provocative and legitimate question. Maybe for some people, the best way to wean themselves off an addiction is distracting themselves with something else. Maybe focusing exclusively on the addiction and why you have it perhaps strengthens the obsession for certain people. Rehab has done a lot of good for people. But it doesn't work for everyone and this episode perhaps gave an interesting answer for why that is.
Werner Herzog's voice is absolutely frightening. He did great.
Maggie was America's Baby once. I am impressed at the Baby Yoda joke. It's animation. The show is usually about a year behind regular pop culture, and Baby Yoda is still a relatively recent thing. Good for the show.
Sometimes what the bullies really want to do is play.
Dana Gould returns to the show as a voice instead of a writer.
James Lipton died? I did not know that. I have found this show is often a personal obituary section for me.
Lisa is the only one who remembered daylight savings time. Good couch gag.
Patty and Selma smoking, in front of Maggie no less. I think Fox at least understands the message of those characters and that that habit is not flattering. Which is why them doing it less never made sense to me. They are so horrible and uncool they make the habit look completely unattractive, which is what parents should want. I don't think censors and parents appreciate nuance, or the idea that showing a harmful behavior is perfectly all right if the actual message is to say the behavior causes harm. I think both groups are so clueless about that that they are hurting their own cause. Patty and Selma are the best anti-smoking PSA a parent could ever want. It makes no sense for the show to have them do it less.
I think The Simpsons won the night handily with that. And I thought that even before I saw the rest of the Fox shows for the night. And I turned out to be right. *****.
Duncanville "Witch Day"
Springfield's Whacking Day has just been surpassed as the worst town holiday ever. This town is filled bad people.
I couldn't believe literally everyone in the town yelled for Duncan to stop when he was about to reveal a name of an unknown adulterer. ALL bad people.
I can't believe Duncan's mom WANTED to do that to him. You know what that was? Unrealistic. Stupid. A cheap joke done at the expense of the rationality of a sane parent. I don't like those types of jokes.
A lot of cartoons have done plots about characters searching for truffles but at least this show DOES point out you can actually pick them up at Whole Foods.
This is turning out to be a tough show to like. Honestly? I'll give it a final shot next week but if I still get nothing out of it, I'm out. That seems fair to me. *1/2.
Bob's Burgers "Yurty Rotten Scoundrels"
Gayle is the worst and her episodes are the worst because she is the worst. I can't put it any plainer than that.
After all of that nonsense, I love Bob demanding a cut of the lost cat reward. 5% sounds about right. Bob is either the worst dad ever, or the best. I'm leaning towards the latter.
Some cats look alike. That catcist. I'm using that and you can't stop me.
God, Gayle sucks. I did not need to see an episode empower a person that awful. **.
Family Guy "The Movement"
Brian thinking the Doc Martin joke is acceptable is the reason the character sucks so much. And I hate that he's the liberal on the show. Because he sucks and makes us all look bad.
For the record, The Orville would be a step up for Meg. Ironically, American Dad is also currently better than Family Guy. And current American Dad is a disaster.
Syndication cuts have butchered old sitcoms. You wouldn't think sitcoms are ALL that dependent on a plot, but shows like Seinfeld WERE, and they become almost incomprehensible with so much stuff removed for commercials. I liked that joke.
I don't watch sports, so have never seen the two announcers in a too small studio before, but the joke made me laugh.
Stewie is going to tell his teacher about the sip of beer, and then it's going to be a problem. Which is why today sucks as much as Brian.
Perfectly acceptable, but The Simpsons won the night with no contest. And I knew it would. ***1/2.