Matt Zimmer (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
matt_zimmer) wrote2020-03-16 04:47 am
matt_zimmer) wrote2020-03-16 04:47 am
Batwoman "Off With Her Head" and Supergirl "Reality Bytes" Reviews (Spoilers)
Also review for the latest episodes of Teen Titans Go!, and ThunderCats Roar!, the first six episodes of the new season of Transformers: Cyberverse, and the latest episodes of Power Rangers: Beast Morphers, The Simpsons, Bob's Burgers, Family Guy, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Batwoman "Off With Her Head"
Now we know Cartwright's connection to the Scarecrow. Sort of.
Cartwright's mother is worse than he is. Unbelievable but true. What Cartwright refuses to admit is that he had already broken Alice on his own. His mother merely finished her off.
Luke could probably be more helpful if Mary didn't have to pretend she didn't know the secret.
And she called her own sister Batwoman on the phone. Despite the fact that Kate doesn't modulate her voice like Green Arrow does. If Kate weren't dumb that should have raised a big ol' red flag.
I love Kate telling Cartwright she is what he stripped away from Beth. She's what Beth would be if he hadn't gotten to her. My sympathy for Alice's suffering in the episode is a bit limited by the evil things she has done. But it's definitely still there because of Kate pointing that out. And that's true even after Kate kills him.
Here is a controversial opinion that shouldn't be controversial. I don't think less of Kate for that. I think in real-life, if superheroes existed, that sort of thing would be routine. I'm not saying it's good. But it's clear Kate merely lost control and regretted it. That would happen all the time in real-life life or death struggles too. Acting like you can control whether or not you can kill a person in a life-or-death struggle is not realistic. Superhero shows and movies go out of their way (too much so in my opinion) to be realistic. Except about the biggest unrealistic thing about them. Adrenaline is pumping, the person you are fighting is coming on a LITTLE too hard, the only move you have left to you could potentially be lethal to the enemy, there is so much you cannot control in a life-or-death fight. Kate is more culpable than most people would be because the guy was actually helpless and not a threat at the time. But I don't like the idea that superheroes never kill. In reality, even Superheroes who have a code about that sort of thing would have a bunch of accidental deaths to their names. It is not something a person can control. And I'm tired of superhero fiction acting that it would be some kind of moral weakness. Clearly Kate went too far. But she wanted to hurt him, not kill him. I don't approve of those kinds of tactics, but I also realize that the same thing would routinely happen to any hero who repeatedly came up against bad guys. And it's not like Cartwright wasn't dangerous. I disapprove of this aspect of superheroics.
For the record, Cartwright sucks. I think the biggest reason I don't object to Kate choking him to death is that he fished her mother's body out of the river, cut off her head, and put in the freezer. I don't even know WHY she and Alice are bothering to cover that up. Not a jury in the world would actually convict her.
The episode wasn't bad otherwise though. ***1/2.
Supergirl "Reality Bytes"
It's extremely presumptuous of Kara to believe she can call the shots with Nia about how she handles a domestic terrorist targeting her community. She strikes me as entirely tone-deaf. If she really doesn't want Dreamer to kill him, she should find him herself. That's not too much to ask. Dreamer giving her a few hours was more than she deserved.
The guy is a classic terrorist and bully. He doesn't go after the powerful person he hates. He targets people who can't protect themselves to try to get the powerful person to do what he wants. He's a coward. He's a weakling. And he doesn't deserve Kara's protection.
And it turns out the real reason he's doing it is that he got wood from Dreamer and later became embarrassed about it. Classic incel user and abuser.
I like that Yvette describes herself as a transwoman of color. Because Nia spends the episode (rightly) being mad at Kara for not understanding the experiences of her community. Yvette just told Nia that she belongs to an even more marginalized subset of that community, and that gives Nia pause. It's also hard to argue with the idea that Yvette was targeted first because she's black. The dude wouldn't have posed as a black man online if that wasn't a reason he was going after her. That suggests a level of racist intent in that first attack besides transphobia.
Alex brings up the thing about the current Lex status quo that bothers me the most. His goodwill is unearned. He's actually a psychopathic mass-murderer and nobody knows it. Couldn't Oliver Queen have fixed this when he rebooted the Universe? He seemed to take a pretty firm hand with everything else.
Trevor replacing Al's meaningful watch with a Smartwatch says everything about what is wrong with Trevor. Thankfully, that bit of thoughtlessness is a good clue for J'onn.
This show, and all science fiction and genre have a terrible tendency to give a specific message that is unhealthy to society. It effects nearly everything. It's less common in higher end science fiction novels (and weirdly Star Trek) but it's common everywhere else.
Tell me this: Is there any part of this virtual reality technology that seems remotely like a good idea? It seems ripe for abuse, and while that is sort of a good parallel with how toxic something that was supposed to be as benign as Facebook has gotten, it's so far beyond that as an allegory that this show, and many others like it seem to sneer and warn against the progress of science and technology. Politically The Simpsons has been right about almost everything. But the one thing it has gotten consistently wrong, and the same thing this episode gets wrong is that technology is something to be feared. Facebook isn't a technological problem. It's a societal one. The technology of the site itself could be harmless if people chose to use it in the way it was intended to be used. The Simpsons and all genre go to the "Robots are coming to kill us all" well over and over again, and it's still not happening. Progress in science and technology is a good thing. A future vaccine for the Coronavirus will happen because of it. And this show has the scientifically curious characters being the Luthors who abuse the science and use it against innocent people. That's not a progressive message. It's also fear-based, untrue, and undercuts a field that already has unearned skepticism launched at it by political demagogues. I don't think television or pop-culture wants or needs the Luthors in this current climate. It's a bad message, it's an untrue message, and maybe public safety would be easier to assure if people were rational and followed sound scientific advice. We might not have the messes we have now.
You may bemoan that political rant a little, but I think there was a far bigger political elephant in the room: The off-screen death of Jeremiah. I have to say, it's possible they'll have Dean Cain appear next week in flashbacks, but I personally sincerely doubt it. Like Icheb's death on Star Trek: Picard, that death seemed to be because there was a problem with the real-life actor's online behavior. I mean, Cain and Teri Hatcher's Superman and Lois would have made perfect sense to put in Crisis On Infinite Earths. Except Cain's behavior has gotten so toxic it's clear the show no longer wants to associate with him. If he pops up next week I'll eat crow, but the thing that tells me the Arrowverse has washed its hands of Dean Cain is the fact that Jeremiah died off-screen with no fanfare. If Cain were truly still welcome on the show, they'd either give him a great death, or God forbid keep him around. But while Supergirl is using characters like Alex, Dreamer, and Kelly for inclusivity, it flies entirely against the struggles of those characters and the messages they want to send the audience to reward a has-been like Dean Cain with steady work for a misplaced sense of nostalgia. I almost blame the show for casting him and Kevin Sorbo at all (and I still think Sorbo, who has ALWAYS been that bad, was a huge mistake, and a black mark on the show) but in Cain's case, he hadn't really gotten so horrible until very recently. It's probably because it's gotten so bad which is why they bothered killing the character off at all. If he had stayed the same level of mildly annoying d-bag he had been when the show started, his fate could still be open-ended. This was a shot across the bow to Cain's toxic politics. And as long as the show is trying empower characters like Dreamer and Yvette, I don't blame them for not wanting him on the show anymore.
I actually feel better knowing he won't back. I had my problems with the episode but I cannot deny the ending itself made me happy. ***1/2.
Teen Titans Go! "Magic Man"
The pregnant sock puppet is this show embracing the TV-PG of it all.
That is one weird-lookin' Pegasus.
I like the way the Burrito Wizard walks.
The Book Wizard getting eaten was a dark ending.
Amusing. ***1/2.
Teen Titans Go! "Titans Go Casual"
I didn't much like the episode but I liked the Titans' new business catchphrases.
But everything else was dumb. **.
Teen Titans Go! "Rain On Your Wedding Day"
You know what? I approve of that. "Irony" is one of the most misused words in the English language and it was nice to have a clear refresher course.
For some reason "literally" is misused even more, but we didn't get a lesson about that. Ironic. Literally. ****.
Teen Titans Go! "Teen Titans Roar"
That was not actually about ThunderCats Roar. I don't know how many ThunderCats fans will get that but I heard the message loud and clear.
Yeah, it's nice to have Larry Kenny give the spiritual blessing here, if not on the show, and yeah, nobody cares about 2011, and yes, this is the studio with Bugs Bunny, but this episode is not about the distaste and uproar ThunderCats Roar caused.
It's about the uproar Teen Titans Go! caused and is still causing. Every single complaint the Titans made against Roar could be leveled at their own show.
I think that could have possibly been made more explicit. But while I think the detractors of ThunderCats Roar might have heard that message, I'm not sure detractors of this show would. I will not deny the show sucks a LOT. But haters of this show believe it is far inferior to the original Teen Titans, which is laughable. It's Flash, and somehow it's rare actions scene are better boarded and animated than the anime style. And the dialogue never makes me cringe. I'm not saying this show is a masterpiece. I'm saying the original show never was either. And that goes for ThunderCats too.
I'd feel better about all of the uproar over these reboots if the source material were better. Since it isn't, I've never gotten the big deal either way.
I suspect the moral of that will be lost on many. ***1/2.
ThunderCats Roar! "Panthro Plagiarized!"
Dana Snyder as Vultureman? I'll allow it.
Vultureman is right at the end. Panthro's nuts.
Loved hearing the classic Panthro music cue.
"I can't tell who's winning." Here's something interesting: The action sequences on this show are far superior to the original series. I don't remember the action sequences from 2011 being all that memorable either, so it's probably better than that too. But there were several points where I was with the Thunderkittens in saying "Whoa!"
Pretty good. ****.
ThunderCats Roar! "Warrior Maiden Invasion"
On the plus side 2011 never got to either the Warrior Maidens or the Mole Men and this show got to them both by episode 8. This show will be far more comprehensive to the original canon than 2011 was, which was basically a ThunderCats show in name only.
On the minus side is the fact that this version of the Warrior Maidens suck so hard. I know the original Warrior Maidens weren't great or all that empowering. But I liked Willa because she seemed like a potential love interest to Lion-O he was too young and naive to appreciate. There was something about the fact that she dug him in a way he didn't seem to understand which was endearing.
Maybe I'm overthinking the original series' intentions there. Fans tend to misread ships all the time. But I don't think I'm wrong about that, and this version is so far away from what made them charming to me that I don't like it. A lot of fans feel the same way about this series in general, but I usually recognize enough of the franchise to appreciate whatever nonsense they are spoofing. In that way, it's usually more faithful than the 2011 quest series. But these Warrior Maidens are not characters I recognize (or like) at all. They're supposed to be like the Amazons from DC Comics. Instead they're like the Amazons from Futurama. Excuse me for disappointed.
Didn't care for that. **.
ThunderCats Roar! "Lost Sword"
The logic of that didn't hold up. Maybe that's too much to expect from a comedy, but I do. Let's see.
The base exploding if the Sword isn't plugged in doesn't make sense. I don't feel better about it even when the other Cats poke holes in that idea. It's too dumb to even be saved by a meta critique.
Also why does Cheetara rush to carry Lion-O back to the Lair? Wouldn't it be faster and less hassle if she just brought the sword there herself?
There was one illogical plot hole that worked. When Lion-O admits he's winging it, when Mumm-Ra says "That's unsatisfying" I'm okay with it. Lion-O's enemy pointing it out lands better than one of his friends doing so. Cheetara is asking me to ignore it. Mumm-Ra is telling me it's unacceptable. I support that message more strongly.
Good to see a riff on the ThunderCats Ho sequence and I hope this show comes up with its own regular version. I also laughed at Mumm-Ra confusedly and straightly saying "Hi," upon the other Cats' arrival. But don't poke so many holes that I can't forgive them, show. I don't care if it's a comedy, stupid is stupid, and something not making sense still doesn't make sense. **1/2.
ThunderCats Roar! "The Horror Of Hook Mountain"
2011 never got to the Snowman Of Hook Mountain although they did once have Snowmeow make a nameless cameo.
I thought WilyKit called the monster fugly at first but I think she said Bugly.
Cool poses. Yup.
I love the Thundertank on skis.
Unsatisfying ending but the rest was all right. ***.
ThunderCats Roar! "Thunderslobs"
Honestly? I loved that. I loved Tygra and Mumm-Ra going through the motions and doing everything in their power to not admit they were actually friends. I loved that. SO much.
I also laughed at the idea that the only logical explanation for the Cats for their lair being a mess is that they were mind-controlled into being slobs. The Cats do not shave with Occam's Razor.
That was great. ****1/2.
Transformers: Cyberverse "Battle For Cybertron I"
That settles that. This is no longer a dumb cartoon comedy.
Laserbeak! Didn't see him coming.
Perceptor is super cool. Him blinding himself to free Chromia makes him even cooler.
Dire ending. Excellent episode. *****.
Transformers: Cyberverse "Battle For Cybertron II"
Anyone who thinks Arcee riding a dinosaur isn't awesome is too cynical to be watching cartoons. And he breathes fire. Because of course he does.
Kup! "I'm getting too old for this scrap." I see what he did there.
I'd be more effected by the death of Prowl if the show had bothered giving him a personality or even something to do.
Still, that was a pretty epic battle. ****1/2.
Transformers: Cyberverse "Battle For Cybertron III"
Drift is a Double-Agent? That's new. Also unexpected which is good.
Freakin' Bludgeon. Hate that dude.
Tense. ****.
Transformers: Cyberverse "Battle For Cybertron IV"
Cheetor's death was a shock. But perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised. He isn't in this year's main title.
Is Megatron dead? Doubtful. Because he IS in the main title.
Nice ending. ****1/2.
Transformers: Cyberverse "The Loop"
I'm lost. I feel like we've skipped some episodes. Why is Hot Rod still alive? When did the Quintessans invade?
I like Clobber though. She proves something interesting: Not all Decepticons are actually evil. They are just on a different side than the protagonists.
Confused by that. ***.
Transformers: Cyberverse "The Dead End"
Okay, so we're NOT airing out of order, the show is making a deliberate choice to thrust us into an unknown, unexplained situation to disorient us. You know what? I love that. I love having to come up with my own explanations for the time being now that I know I haven't actually missed an episode. This is going to be a lot of fun.
When Dead End says "Uh, hello," to Perceptor his inflection is identical to Butt-Head's from Beavis and Butt-Head. It's hilarious but it also borders on eerie. It's exact.
I'm going to like this season. A lot. ****1/2.
Power Rangers Beast Morphers "Artist Anonymous"
If it weren't for the thunderingly stupid Betty stuff, that would have actually been a pretty great episode. But the situation is what it is.
What I can control is how I respond to that. So I'll ignore Ben and Betty in this review just this once. I really liked the stuff between Ravi and his mom.
What I like best about it is Ravi's mom's mea culpa at the end. Because honestly, her behavior upon learning the truth was atrocious. I don't know what this show is smoking, but there are far worse things than lying to cover up something you're embarrassed about. Instead of being mad at the lie, a halfway decent parent would be impressed and encouraging of the art itself. I'm glad she got there at the end anyways, but Lord that should not have been the process she was making it.
Demerits for the cheap anti-French humor. It's not just this show, it's all American pop-culture. But I don't have to like it.
So I'll give that three and a half stars. ***1/2.
The Simpsons "Better Off Ned"
That was a bad episode. A real stinker. There were so many things I disliked about it I feel I could write and fine-tune this review for an hour and a half and still not get to everything wrong with it. Because there is so much wrong with it.
Bart Simpson is the biggest problem, and we'll get to him soon enough, but the second-biggest problem is Marge correctly wanting to stay out of the mess because both boys were being helped. It was portrayed as a tough situation. And I did not like that.
I mean I absolutely revile Ned Flanders putting together a parade float for Christian Pride. That is a detestable, outright racist thing to do, and yet in the previous act, he jumps on what he believes is a live grenade to protect innocent gradeschoolers, so the show doesn't even allow me the courtesy of being disgusted with him. Similarly, Homer's using of Nelson is truly appalling, and yet he's a good enough person to put himself in danger to save his son. Similarly, Nelson tries to murder Bart. But after what Homer put him through and what a jackass Bart was being, I would have called it justifiable homicide. These kinds of actions do not deserve to be portrayed with nuance. Say what you will about how unlikable Family Guy makes Peter and Brian, it at least unambiguously allows me to hate them week in and week out. As bad as those characters are, they are the cautionary tale and moral of the episode they mess up. In this episode of The Simpsons, I'm asked to like and sympathize with characters I should be disgusted with. That is wrong and morally indefensible.
Let me be blunt. I don't believe Bart Simpson should have been merely expelled for that stunt. He should have been put in juvie for it until he was 18 and then put on a terrorist watch list for the rest of his life. One of the most alarming things about Bart Simpson over the years is that the writers have had to make his behavior worse and worse over the decades to keep topping his previous "antics". But I would be exactly as horrified if Bart brought a gun loaded with blanks to school, pointed it at the crowd, and started pulling the trigger. How does the show not see that as any different? How in the age of repeated school shootings can the show think something like that, which a sociopathic kid COULD imitate by the way, is remotely acceptable to show on television? The Fox censors need their heads examined for allowing this on television, especially a family show now owned by Disney. If a similar incident occurs in real-life, (but with accidental deadly consequences) I would not object to Disney being sued out of every penny they own. It was outright irresponsible to show that on television on a family show.
For the record, just getting it out there, Grandpa sucks too. But we already know he's senile and crazy. What's Bart's excuse?
Even worse is that Ned vows to look after Bart, and he's on probation under the understanding that this was his last chance, and he won't get another after a stunt like that. And Bart goes right back at the end to being a bad kid, and we're just supposed accept that the school will forget this happened in future episodes. Unacceptable. Also Bart is such a little creep that he fakes a serious injury to the guy who basically saved his entire future for him, as if it was nothing. When Ned tells next time it will be real, I was like, "Do the world a favor and kill him now before this emo sociopath goes up on a overpass with a rifle at the age of 15. You'll be doing Springfield a favor." I've had enough of Bart Simpson. I cannot stand that little monster.
God, I am angry just thinking about that episode. And the fact that there is nuance to it, and the fact that it isn't entirely bad which is why I'm so angry. Qualitywise, it's definitely not worth zero stars. But it's earned none because it SHOULDN'T have and that's enough. 0.
Bob's Burgers "Flat-Top 'O The Morning To Ya"
You'd figure Bob would be furious at Linda for making a whole batch of meat look completely unappetizing and unsellable to regular customers, but he didn't exactly have a day to be proud of either. Besides it worked out, (as it tends to for Linda). But Linda's so dumb she thinks Irish people have green mouths.
It's technically a bank robbery so now it's awesome. You know what? So is Louise.
I like that Bob is the kind of thoughtless but honest parent who tells Gene and Louise he only likes Tina in that moment. It's the wrong thing to say as a parent, but it's what he feels, and he's not hiding it from any of the kids. And they know him, and it doesn't destroy them, because they know he is just frustrated in the moment. I like a moment that could potentially warp and damage a kid, is instead used as lighthearted comedy. It's perhaps not realistic to how a kid would respond to that, but this show has never contained realistic kids.
That's not his grandmother. It's Pepper. Pepper was his dog. Great joke. It's either spices or dog. Great callback.
And the guy tells them you can't make honey by mashing bees, and Louise's perspective is that is not something anybody halfway smart would have need to be told. Not only is that true, but beekeeping is supposedly this guy's passion and he thought you could milk them, AND he's allergic. Bob has the unfortunately tendency to get pulled into the problems of very stupid adults who make bad decisions. It's his biggest weakness, and it's the thing his kids love to exploit the most about him. It's easy to see why he gets so frustrated with them. They're more like office friends. Well, maybe not.
Not Bob or Linda's finest moments, but the episode was fun. ***1/2.
Family Guy "Baby Stewie"
This show IS getting a little bit long in the tooth, but say what you will about, they are still able to come up with great new high-concept ideas for Stewie. The Simpsons still makes good episodes. But they ran out of actual golden ideas after around Season 8.
For the record, I knew it wouldn't be feasible to cast a baby as his voice. But they still should have cast a little kid. It would have been more jarring. I didn't believe the scenario the way I needed to with the adult voice.
I love Meg solving the mystery of the key, and making her parents think THEY solved it, which sums up Meg's role in the family nicely, and contrasts with Brian doing the opposite with Stewie. Meg's kind of cool. I also like her confirming that Brian routinely calls the family "basic "to Stewie. And they are. She may not understand the baby, or talk as much as the rest of the family, but she's there, and she pays attention.
Is it just me or have the writers been taking extra pains to make Meg look cool recently? If they have been, it's totally working. I used to hate Meg episodes. Now they tend to be the only episodes worth watching.
Quagmire's move to pay for the meal if they took it outside was brilliant. It's passive aggressive, but he's paying for them, so he's not the d-word here. Have people actually been known to do something like this? Because this specific joke seems like it was witnessed or heard of first-hand at some point by the writers. It had a very observational feel. And it's a fabulous idea.
Bozo, the insult is used quite often, but Bozo the Clown himself gets very few actual homages. I was surprised to actually see the clown in the red hair and blue costume because I never, ever see that specific clown actually spoofed. And it's weird this is the first time I've seen that considering how long he's been around. When spoofing clowns people creates clowns similar to the idea of Bozo. This episode actually did Bozo. It was very unusual for that.
That ending with drowning the double was brilliant. Because future Brian allows himself to be drowned on Stewie's say-so. That's insane. It's also inconsistent with previous time travel episodes where the future double merely vanishes. But it was funny. And Stewie still isn't 100% sure he's right about the rules about that.
The Cleveland short sucked (and Cookie died?) but I love the shots they took at Pixar. Nobody takes enough shots at Pixar in my book. Pixar has turned out to be the Emperor with no clothes, and nothing says how worthless the company's shorts usually are than the huge amount of credits they attach to them. And frankly, I think if Bao were better known, it would get a LOT more pop-culture slams than it does. Stewie is right that it's creepy. But it's also confusing, nonsensical, and the subtext borders on incestuous. I cannot believe Pixar made that steaming pile of dung. It's the worst thing the studio has ever done, and yes, I'm aware The Good Dinosaur exists. That's how bad Bao is. And Pixar does a lot of shorts nearly that bad and never gets the proper scorn for them it deserves. Pixar has not been the high standard of 3-D animation for a very, VERY long time and it's about time somebody called them on it. Ironic it's a property now owned by Disney.
A good week. Bob's Burgers was good too but I'll give the night to Family Guy. ****.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine "Ding Dong"
A rare bad episode.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a refreshing show, because with the notable exception of Hitchcock, all of the characters are likable. Not so much here.
Holt is an outright monster in this episode. And while Rosa being amused by his antics is kind of funny, it's also completely horrible. Why should I like and sympathize with a person who watches E.T. and thinks he's the monster who deserves to die? What is this show thinking?
Similarly, the stuff with Jake, Terry, and Charles was outright horrible. The resolution was so frustrating because not only did Boyle and Terry not deserve that good of a resolution after their terrible behavior, but the solution could have been thought up at the beginning and solved everything. It made the pointless conflict seem even more pointless than it already was.
Was there anything in the episode I liked? Holt throwing a fake funeral just in case is funny if only because it turns out he was right to do it. But that was pretty much the only thing I liked in the episode. *.
Batwoman "Off With Her Head"
Now we know Cartwright's connection to the Scarecrow. Sort of.
Cartwright's mother is worse than he is. Unbelievable but true. What Cartwright refuses to admit is that he had already broken Alice on his own. His mother merely finished her off.
Luke could probably be more helpful if Mary didn't have to pretend she didn't know the secret.
And she called her own sister Batwoman on the phone. Despite the fact that Kate doesn't modulate her voice like Green Arrow does. If Kate weren't dumb that should have raised a big ol' red flag.
I love Kate telling Cartwright she is what he stripped away from Beth. She's what Beth would be if he hadn't gotten to her. My sympathy for Alice's suffering in the episode is a bit limited by the evil things she has done. But it's definitely still there because of Kate pointing that out. And that's true even after Kate kills him.
Here is a controversial opinion that shouldn't be controversial. I don't think less of Kate for that. I think in real-life, if superheroes existed, that sort of thing would be routine. I'm not saying it's good. But it's clear Kate merely lost control and regretted it. That would happen all the time in real-life life or death struggles too. Acting like you can control whether or not you can kill a person in a life-or-death struggle is not realistic. Superhero shows and movies go out of their way (too much so in my opinion) to be realistic. Except about the biggest unrealistic thing about them. Adrenaline is pumping, the person you are fighting is coming on a LITTLE too hard, the only move you have left to you could potentially be lethal to the enemy, there is so much you cannot control in a life-or-death fight. Kate is more culpable than most people would be because the guy was actually helpless and not a threat at the time. But I don't like the idea that superheroes never kill. In reality, even Superheroes who have a code about that sort of thing would have a bunch of accidental deaths to their names. It is not something a person can control. And I'm tired of superhero fiction acting that it would be some kind of moral weakness. Clearly Kate went too far. But she wanted to hurt him, not kill him. I don't approve of those kinds of tactics, but I also realize that the same thing would routinely happen to any hero who repeatedly came up against bad guys. And it's not like Cartwright wasn't dangerous. I disapprove of this aspect of superheroics.
For the record, Cartwright sucks. I think the biggest reason I don't object to Kate choking him to death is that he fished her mother's body out of the river, cut off her head, and put in the freezer. I don't even know WHY she and Alice are bothering to cover that up. Not a jury in the world would actually convict her.
The episode wasn't bad otherwise though. ***1/2.
Supergirl "Reality Bytes"
It's extremely presumptuous of Kara to believe she can call the shots with Nia about how she handles a domestic terrorist targeting her community. She strikes me as entirely tone-deaf. If she really doesn't want Dreamer to kill him, she should find him herself. That's not too much to ask. Dreamer giving her a few hours was more than she deserved.
The guy is a classic terrorist and bully. He doesn't go after the powerful person he hates. He targets people who can't protect themselves to try to get the powerful person to do what he wants. He's a coward. He's a weakling. And he doesn't deserve Kara's protection.
And it turns out the real reason he's doing it is that he got wood from Dreamer and later became embarrassed about it. Classic incel user and abuser.
I like that Yvette describes herself as a transwoman of color. Because Nia spends the episode (rightly) being mad at Kara for not understanding the experiences of her community. Yvette just told Nia that she belongs to an even more marginalized subset of that community, and that gives Nia pause. It's also hard to argue with the idea that Yvette was targeted first because she's black. The dude wouldn't have posed as a black man online if that wasn't a reason he was going after her. That suggests a level of racist intent in that first attack besides transphobia.
Alex brings up the thing about the current Lex status quo that bothers me the most. His goodwill is unearned. He's actually a psychopathic mass-murderer and nobody knows it. Couldn't Oliver Queen have fixed this when he rebooted the Universe? He seemed to take a pretty firm hand with everything else.
Trevor replacing Al's meaningful watch with a Smartwatch says everything about what is wrong with Trevor. Thankfully, that bit of thoughtlessness is a good clue for J'onn.
This show, and all science fiction and genre have a terrible tendency to give a specific message that is unhealthy to society. It effects nearly everything. It's less common in higher end science fiction novels (and weirdly Star Trek) but it's common everywhere else.
Tell me this: Is there any part of this virtual reality technology that seems remotely like a good idea? It seems ripe for abuse, and while that is sort of a good parallel with how toxic something that was supposed to be as benign as Facebook has gotten, it's so far beyond that as an allegory that this show, and many others like it seem to sneer and warn against the progress of science and technology. Politically The Simpsons has been right about almost everything. But the one thing it has gotten consistently wrong, and the same thing this episode gets wrong is that technology is something to be feared. Facebook isn't a technological problem. It's a societal one. The technology of the site itself could be harmless if people chose to use it in the way it was intended to be used. The Simpsons and all genre go to the "Robots are coming to kill us all" well over and over again, and it's still not happening. Progress in science and technology is a good thing. A future vaccine for the Coronavirus will happen because of it. And this show has the scientifically curious characters being the Luthors who abuse the science and use it against innocent people. That's not a progressive message. It's also fear-based, untrue, and undercuts a field that already has unearned skepticism launched at it by political demagogues. I don't think television or pop-culture wants or needs the Luthors in this current climate. It's a bad message, it's an untrue message, and maybe public safety would be easier to assure if people were rational and followed sound scientific advice. We might not have the messes we have now.
You may bemoan that political rant a little, but I think there was a far bigger political elephant in the room: The off-screen death of Jeremiah. I have to say, it's possible they'll have Dean Cain appear next week in flashbacks, but I personally sincerely doubt it. Like Icheb's death on Star Trek: Picard, that death seemed to be because there was a problem with the real-life actor's online behavior. I mean, Cain and Teri Hatcher's Superman and Lois would have made perfect sense to put in Crisis On Infinite Earths. Except Cain's behavior has gotten so toxic it's clear the show no longer wants to associate with him. If he pops up next week I'll eat crow, but the thing that tells me the Arrowverse has washed its hands of Dean Cain is the fact that Jeremiah died off-screen with no fanfare. If Cain were truly still welcome on the show, they'd either give him a great death, or God forbid keep him around. But while Supergirl is using characters like Alex, Dreamer, and Kelly for inclusivity, it flies entirely against the struggles of those characters and the messages they want to send the audience to reward a has-been like Dean Cain with steady work for a misplaced sense of nostalgia. I almost blame the show for casting him and Kevin Sorbo at all (and I still think Sorbo, who has ALWAYS been that bad, was a huge mistake, and a black mark on the show) but in Cain's case, he hadn't really gotten so horrible until very recently. It's probably because it's gotten so bad which is why they bothered killing the character off at all. If he had stayed the same level of mildly annoying d-bag he had been when the show started, his fate could still be open-ended. This was a shot across the bow to Cain's toxic politics. And as long as the show is trying empower characters like Dreamer and Yvette, I don't blame them for not wanting him on the show anymore.
I actually feel better knowing he won't back. I had my problems with the episode but I cannot deny the ending itself made me happy. ***1/2.
Teen Titans Go! "Magic Man"
The pregnant sock puppet is this show embracing the TV-PG of it all.
That is one weird-lookin' Pegasus.
I like the way the Burrito Wizard walks.
The Book Wizard getting eaten was a dark ending.
Amusing. ***1/2.
Teen Titans Go! "Titans Go Casual"
I didn't much like the episode but I liked the Titans' new business catchphrases.
But everything else was dumb. **.
Teen Titans Go! "Rain On Your Wedding Day"
You know what? I approve of that. "Irony" is one of the most misused words in the English language and it was nice to have a clear refresher course.
For some reason "literally" is misused even more, but we didn't get a lesson about that. Ironic. Literally. ****.
Teen Titans Go! "Teen Titans Roar"
That was not actually about ThunderCats Roar. I don't know how many ThunderCats fans will get that but I heard the message loud and clear.
Yeah, it's nice to have Larry Kenny give the spiritual blessing here, if not on the show, and yeah, nobody cares about 2011, and yes, this is the studio with Bugs Bunny, but this episode is not about the distaste and uproar ThunderCats Roar caused.
It's about the uproar Teen Titans Go! caused and is still causing. Every single complaint the Titans made against Roar could be leveled at their own show.
I think that could have possibly been made more explicit. But while I think the detractors of ThunderCats Roar might have heard that message, I'm not sure detractors of this show would. I will not deny the show sucks a LOT. But haters of this show believe it is far inferior to the original Teen Titans, which is laughable. It's Flash, and somehow it's rare actions scene are better boarded and animated than the anime style. And the dialogue never makes me cringe. I'm not saying this show is a masterpiece. I'm saying the original show never was either. And that goes for ThunderCats too.
I'd feel better about all of the uproar over these reboots if the source material were better. Since it isn't, I've never gotten the big deal either way.
I suspect the moral of that will be lost on many. ***1/2.
ThunderCats Roar! "Panthro Plagiarized!"
Dana Snyder as Vultureman? I'll allow it.
Vultureman is right at the end. Panthro's nuts.
Loved hearing the classic Panthro music cue.
"I can't tell who's winning." Here's something interesting: The action sequences on this show are far superior to the original series. I don't remember the action sequences from 2011 being all that memorable either, so it's probably better than that too. But there were several points where I was with the Thunderkittens in saying "Whoa!"
Pretty good. ****.
ThunderCats Roar! "Warrior Maiden Invasion"
On the plus side 2011 never got to either the Warrior Maidens or the Mole Men and this show got to them both by episode 8. This show will be far more comprehensive to the original canon than 2011 was, which was basically a ThunderCats show in name only.
On the minus side is the fact that this version of the Warrior Maidens suck so hard. I know the original Warrior Maidens weren't great or all that empowering. But I liked Willa because she seemed like a potential love interest to Lion-O he was too young and naive to appreciate. There was something about the fact that she dug him in a way he didn't seem to understand which was endearing.
Maybe I'm overthinking the original series' intentions there. Fans tend to misread ships all the time. But I don't think I'm wrong about that, and this version is so far away from what made them charming to me that I don't like it. A lot of fans feel the same way about this series in general, but I usually recognize enough of the franchise to appreciate whatever nonsense they are spoofing. In that way, it's usually more faithful than the 2011 quest series. But these Warrior Maidens are not characters I recognize (or like) at all. They're supposed to be like the Amazons from DC Comics. Instead they're like the Amazons from Futurama. Excuse me for disappointed.
Didn't care for that. **.
ThunderCats Roar! "Lost Sword"
The logic of that didn't hold up. Maybe that's too much to expect from a comedy, but I do. Let's see.
The base exploding if the Sword isn't plugged in doesn't make sense. I don't feel better about it even when the other Cats poke holes in that idea. It's too dumb to even be saved by a meta critique.
Also why does Cheetara rush to carry Lion-O back to the Lair? Wouldn't it be faster and less hassle if she just brought the sword there herself?
There was one illogical plot hole that worked. When Lion-O admits he's winging it, when Mumm-Ra says "That's unsatisfying" I'm okay with it. Lion-O's enemy pointing it out lands better than one of his friends doing so. Cheetara is asking me to ignore it. Mumm-Ra is telling me it's unacceptable. I support that message more strongly.
Good to see a riff on the ThunderCats Ho sequence and I hope this show comes up with its own regular version. I also laughed at Mumm-Ra confusedly and straightly saying "Hi," upon the other Cats' arrival. But don't poke so many holes that I can't forgive them, show. I don't care if it's a comedy, stupid is stupid, and something not making sense still doesn't make sense. **1/2.
ThunderCats Roar! "The Horror Of Hook Mountain"
2011 never got to the Snowman Of Hook Mountain although they did once have Snowmeow make a nameless cameo.
I thought WilyKit called the monster fugly at first but I think she said Bugly.
Cool poses. Yup.
I love the Thundertank on skis.
Unsatisfying ending but the rest was all right. ***.
ThunderCats Roar! "Thunderslobs"
Honestly? I loved that. I loved Tygra and Mumm-Ra going through the motions and doing everything in their power to not admit they were actually friends. I loved that. SO much.
I also laughed at the idea that the only logical explanation for the Cats for their lair being a mess is that they were mind-controlled into being slobs. The Cats do not shave with Occam's Razor.
That was great. ****1/2.
Transformers: Cyberverse "Battle For Cybertron I"
That settles that. This is no longer a dumb cartoon comedy.
Laserbeak! Didn't see him coming.
Perceptor is super cool. Him blinding himself to free Chromia makes him even cooler.
Dire ending. Excellent episode. *****.
Transformers: Cyberverse "Battle For Cybertron II"
Anyone who thinks Arcee riding a dinosaur isn't awesome is too cynical to be watching cartoons. And he breathes fire. Because of course he does.
Kup! "I'm getting too old for this scrap." I see what he did there.
I'd be more effected by the death of Prowl if the show had bothered giving him a personality or even something to do.
Still, that was a pretty epic battle. ****1/2.
Transformers: Cyberverse "Battle For Cybertron III"
Drift is a Double-Agent? That's new. Also unexpected which is good.
Freakin' Bludgeon. Hate that dude.
Tense. ****.
Transformers: Cyberverse "Battle For Cybertron IV"
Cheetor's death was a shock. But perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised. He isn't in this year's main title.
Is Megatron dead? Doubtful. Because he IS in the main title.
Nice ending. ****1/2.
Transformers: Cyberverse "The Loop"
I'm lost. I feel like we've skipped some episodes. Why is Hot Rod still alive? When did the Quintessans invade?
I like Clobber though. She proves something interesting: Not all Decepticons are actually evil. They are just on a different side than the protagonists.
Confused by that. ***.
Transformers: Cyberverse "The Dead End"
Okay, so we're NOT airing out of order, the show is making a deliberate choice to thrust us into an unknown, unexplained situation to disorient us. You know what? I love that. I love having to come up with my own explanations for the time being now that I know I haven't actually missed an episode. This is going to be a lot of fun.
When Dead End says "Uh, hello," to Perceptor his inflection is identical to Butt-Head's from Beavis and Butt-Head. It's hilarious but it also borders on eerie. It's exact.
I'm going to like this season. A lot. ****1/2.
Power Rangers Beast Morphers "Artist Anonymous"
If it weren't for the thunderingly stupid Betty stuff, that would have actually been a pretty great episode. But the situation is what it is.
What I can control is how I respond to that. So I'll ignore Ben and Betty in this review just this once. I really liked the stuff between Ravi and his mom.
What I like best about it is Ravi's mom's mea culpa at the end. Because honestly, her behavior upon learning the truth was atrocious. I don't know what this show is smoking, but there are far worse things than lying to cover up something you're embarrassed about. Instead of being mad at the lie, a halfway decent parent would be impressed and encouraging of the art itself. I'm glad she got there at the end anyways, but Lord that should not have been the process she was making it.
Demerits for the cheap anti-French humor. It's not just this show, it's all American pop-culture. But I don't have to like it.
So I'll give that three and a half stars. ***1/2.
The Simpsons "Better Off Ned"
That was a bad episode. A real stinker. There were so many things I disliked about it I feel I could write and fine-tune this review for an hour and a half and still not get to everything wrong with it. Because there is so much wrong with it.
Bart Simpson is the biggest problem, and we'll get to him soon enough, but the second-biggest problem is Marge correctly wanting to stay out of the mess because both boys were being helped. It was portrayed as a tough situation. And I did not like that.
I mean I absolutely revile Ned Flanders putting together a parade float for Christian Pride. That is a detestable, outright racist thing to do, and yet in the previous act, he jumps on what he believes is a live grenade to protect innocent gradeschoolers, so the show doesn't even allow me the courtesy of being disgusted with him. Similarly, Homer's using of Nelson is truly appalling, and yet he's a good enough person to put himself in danger to save his son. Similarly, Nelson tries to murder Bart. But after what Homer put him through and what a jackass Bart was being, I would have called it justifiable homicide. These kinds of actions do not deserve to be portrayed with nuance. Say what you will about how unlikable Family Guy makes Peter and Brian, it at least unambiguously allows me to hate them week in and week out. As bad as those characters are, they are the cautionary tale and moral of the episode they mess up. In this episode of The Simpsons, I'm asked to like and sympathize with characters I should be disgusted with. That is wrong and morally indefensible.
Let me be blunt. I don't believe Bart Simpson should have been merely expelled for that stunt. He should have been put in juvie for it until he was 18 and then put on a terrorist watch list for the rest of his life. One of the most alarming things about Bart Simpson over the years is that the writers have had to make his behavior worse and worse over the decades to keep topping his previous "antics". But I would be exactly as horrified if Bart brought a gun loaded with blanks to school, pointed it at the crowd, and started pulling the trigger. How does the show not see that as any different? How in the age of repeated school shootings can the show think something like that, which a sociopathic kid COULD imitate by the way, is remotely acceptable to show on television? The Fox censors need their heads examined for allowing this on television, especially a family show now owned by Disney. If a similar incident occurs in real-life, (but with accidental deadly consequences) I would not object to Disney being sued out of every penny they own. It was outright irresponsible to show that on television on a family show.
For the record, just getting it out there, Grandpa sucks too. But we already know he's senile and crazy. What's Bart's excuse?
Even worse is that Ned vows to look after Bart, and he's on probation under the understanding that this was his last chance, and he won't get another after a stunt like that. And Bart goes right back at the end to being a bad kid, and we're just supposed accept that the school will forget this happened in future episodes. Unacceptable. Also Bart is such a little creep that he fakes a serious injury to the guy who basically saved his entire future for him, as if it was nothing. When Ned tells next time it will be real, I was like, "Do the world a favor and kill him now before this emo sociopath goes up on a overpass with a rifle at the age of 15. You'll be doing Springfield a favor." I've had enough of Bart Simpson. I cannot stand that little monster.
God, I am angry just thinking about that episode. And the fact that there is nuance to it, and the fact that it isn't entirely bad which is why I'm so angry. Qualitywise, it's definitely not worth zero stars. But it's earned none because it SHOULDN'T have and that's enough. 0.
Bob's Burgers "Flat-Top 'O The Morning To Ya"
You'd figure Bob would be furious at Linda for making a whole batch of meat look completely unappetizing and unsellable to regular customers, but he didn't exactly have a day to be proud of either. Besides it worked out, (as it tends to for Linda). But Linda's so dumb she thinks Irish people have green mouths.
It's technically a bank robbery so now it's awesome. You know what? So is Louise.
I like that Bob is the kind of thoughtless but honest parent who tells Gene and Louise he only likes Tina in that moment. It's the wrong thing to say as a parent, but it's what he feels, and he's not hiding it from any of the kids. And they know him, and it doesn't destroy them, because they know he is just frustrated in the moment. I like a moment that could potentially warp and damage a kid, is instead used as lighthearted comedy. It's perhaps not realistic to how a kid would respond to that, but this show has never contained realistic kids.
That's not his grandmother. It's Pepper. Pepper was his dog. Great joke. It's either spices or dog. Great callback.
And the guy tells them you can't make honey by mashing bees, and Louise's perspective is that is not something anybody halfway smart would have need to be told. Not only is that true, but beekeeping is supposedly this guy's passion and he thought you could milk them, AND he's allergic. Bob has the unfortunately tendency to get pulled into the problems of very stupid adults who make bad decisions. It's his biggest weakness, and it's the thing his kids love to exploit the most about him. It's easy to see why he gets so frustrated with them. They're more like office friends. Well, maybe not.
Not Bob or Linda's finest moments, but the episode was fun. ***1/2.
Family Guy "Baby Stewie"
This show IS getting a little bit long in the tooth, but say what you will about, they are still able to come up with great new high-concept ideas for Stewie. The Simpsons still makes good episodes. But they ran out of actual golden ideas after around Season 8.
For the record, I knew it wouldn't be feasible to cast a baby as his voice. But they still should have cast a little kid. It would have been more jarring. I didn't believe the scenario the way I needed to with the adult voice.
I love Meg solving the mystery of the key, and making her parents think THEY solved it, which sums up Meg's role in the family nicely, and contrasts with Brian doing the opposite with Stewie. Meg's kind of cool. I also like her confirming that Brian routinely calls the family "basic "to Stewie. And they are. She may not understand the baby, or talk as much as the rest of the family, but she's there, and she pays attention.
Is it just me or have the writers been taking extra pains to make Meg look cool recently? If they have been, it's totally working. I used to hate Meg episodes. Now they tend to be the only episodes worth watching.
Quagmire's move to pay for the meal if they took it outside was brilliant. It's passive aggressive, but he's paying for them, so he's not the d-word here. Have people actually been known to do something like this? Because this specific joke seems like it was witnessed or heard of first-hand at some point by the writers. It had a very observational feel. And it's a fabulous idea.
Bozo, the insult is used quite often, but Bozo the Clown himself gets very few actual homages. I was surprised to actually see the clown in the red hair and blue costume because I never, ever see that specific clown actually spoofed. And it's weird this is the first time I've seen that considering how long he's been around. When spoofing clowns people creates clowns similar to the idea of Bozo. This episode actually did Bozo. It was very unusual for that.
That ending with drowning the double was brilliant. Because future Brian allows himself to be drowned on Stewie's say-so. That's insane. It's also inconsistent with previous time travel episodes where the future double merely vanishes. But it was funny. And Stewie still isn't 100% sure he's right about the rules about that.
The Cleveland short sucked (and Cookie died?) but I love the shots they took at Pixar. Nobody takes enough shots at Pixar in my book. Pixar has turned out to be the Emperor with no clothes, and nothing says how worthless the company's shorts usually are than the huge amount of credits they attach to them. And frankly, I think if Bao were better known, it would get a LOT more pop-culture slams than it does. Stewie is right that it's creepy. But it's also confusing, nonsensical, and the subtext borders on incestuous. I cannot believe Pixar made that steaming pile of dung. It's the worst thing the studio has ever done, and yes, I'm aware The Good Dinosaur exists. That's how bad Bao is. And Pixar does a lot of shorts nearly that bad and never gets the proper scorn for them it deserves. Pixar has not been the high standard of 3-D animation for a very, VERY long time and it's about time somebody called them on it. Ironic it's a property now owned by Disney.
A good week. Bob's Burgers was good too but I'll give the night to Family Guy. ****.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine "Ding Dong"
A rare bad episode.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a refreshing show, because with the notable exception of Hitchcock, all of the characters are likable. Not so much here.
Holt is an outright monster in this episode. And while Rosa being amused by his antics is kind of funny, it's also completely horrible. Why should I like and sympathize with a person who watches E.T. and thinks he's the monster who deserves to die? What is this show thinking?
Similarly, the stuff with Jake, Terry, and Charles was outright horrible. The resolution was so frustrating because not only did Boyle and Terry not deserve that good of a resolution after their terrible behavior, but the solution could have been thought up at the beginning and solved everything. It made the pointless conflict seem even more pointless than it already was.
Was there anything in the episode I liked? Holt throwing a fake funeral just in case is funny if only because it turns out he was right to do it. But that was pretty much the only thing I liked in the episode. *.