Matt Zimmer (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
matt_zimmer) wrote2022-03-11 01:36 am
matt_zimmer) wrote2022-03-11 01:36 am
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"Scream" (2022) Review (Major Spoilers)
Also reviews for the latest episodes of Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, Superman & Lois, Naomi, The Flash, and Teen Titans Go!.
Scream (2022)
I was a little disappointed. Maybe I shouldn't have been. But until this point the movies have been solid mysteries. The killers being Richie and Amber felt very random.
Yes, I appreciate Richie was the first person Dewey suspected, and Dewey finally dying means the movie matters in the way the franchise hasn't since Randy died in the second. But the killer has NEVER been a random pair from the group of friends. They've always had a deeply personal motive for revenge against Sidney. Their motive is usually b.s. and not equivalent, but it always exists. The vengeful killer is usually paired with a psycho clown obsessed with these movies, but generally speaking, the main killer has a legit bone to pick.
I think I hated the fact that the killers' motives are just shallow and stupid. I felt that about Billy and Stu too, but Billy had some underlying pathos. I will say this about Sam. If there are more movies she isn't be groomed to be the next "Requel" star. She's gonna wind up the killer at some point. She enjoyed stabbing Richie a little too much.
A shocking amount of characters survived this one (Scream 4 was an utter bloodbath that killed off everybody but Judy and The Staples.) The large amount of survivors suggests eyes are on a new bunch of movies from the producers. At this point, I think each of these films is an ordeal. Simply because I care so much about the core cast. Seeing Dewey die was NOT fun for me. And I don't want to see that happen to Sid and Gale. Every time one of these comes out I kind of have to sigh in resignation before I watch it.
Glad both Randy's niece and nephew actually survived. Again, it's shocking the amount of characters the movie let live. Even the girl stalked in the beginning (Sam's sister) survives the stabbing for the first time in franchise history, and even survives the entire movie which is another record.
Sort of weird there's a Dawson's Creek clip in this since Joshua Jackson had a small role in the second one.
Kevin Williamson didn't write this (if he had, I suspect the jokes would have been funnier) but he executive produced it, and the film was dedicated to Wes Craven. As it should have been.
I didn't like it as much as Scream 4. I didn't like Dewey dying, and I didn't like that the mystery is random and not truly solvable by cunning viewers. But it was all right. ***.
Star Trek: Discovery "Species 10-C"
The cliffhanger was great, and Jett Reno continues to be amazing. But I believe this arc is outright bad and this was a lousy episode. In all honesty, it might be the single worst arc Star Trek has ever done. Maybe that's not SO bad, because the only previous series to explore arcs were Deep Space Nine and Enterprise, but even though Enterprise's third season largely sucked, I felt that mission worked better there. What's ironic is that mission was not TOO far outside of this one. But on Enterprise, there was a lot of action and controversy among the crew, even more so than here. But this specific thing feels all wrong for a multi-episode arc, much less an entire season. Why?
Let me briefly describe the arc of the past few weeks. Discovery finds a deadly, planet-destroying threat to Earth and the rest of the known galaxy. They spend weeks studying the problem and finally realize it was due to a supernaturally powerful sentient alien species no-one's ever heard of or made contact with. So they traverse the galaxy past the galactic barrier where they attempt to meet and communicate with the alien entities in question. Why am I ragging on that idea? That's a total Star Trek concept, after all.
It's because if TNG did that idea it would take a single episode, or a two-parter if they wanted to milk it. We are on episode 12, and things are moving so slow, and the complications feel so padded on, that I once more wonder if the writers of this show have actually SEEN any Star Trek. What kills me, is that generally speaking, Star Trek is the slow, boring, talky sci-fi franchise when in direct comparison to Star Wars. And Star Trek: Discovery, an action-based series, was sort of devised as an antidote to that, and making Star Trek more action-packed and exciting. And this is literally the slowest and most boring Gene Roddenberry sermon ever. I will argue that four of the five of the first Star Trek series (not counting Deep Space Nine) were routinely boring, specifically when they did this specific plot point for the umpteenth time. And suddenly the most fast-paced Star Trek show taking 12 episode to do the same damn thing as a mediocre episode of Voyager ever did for 50 minutes is a bit embarrassing and shameful in my mind. And another example of this entire season being a waste of the single greatest plot turn Star Trek has done in the past 25 years. It's galling actually.
Yes, the Xindi arc also took a long time to tell an episode Next Gen could tell in a two-parter. The difference there is we were allowed the perspective of seeing the different Xindi, and how they conflicted with each other, and how their political conflicts wound up helping and hurting the Enterprise and ultimately Earth. And that's interesting stuff to explore. Instead here we're cut off from any context, and forced to watch the characters be inexplicably excited over communicating over lights and math. Damn it, this is the reason people make FUN of Star Trek and Star Trek fans! It's needlessly complicated, and impossible to understand, and they don't even do us the courtesy of using a cheesy Star Trek metaphor to explain the technobabble. Apparently the audience is expected to be Stephen Hawking and understand the underlying elements of math languages and puzzles based upon air molocules. What the hell, man? Star Trek used to make science fun and easy to understand for laymen (and women). This is incomprehensible instead. I not only don't understand the plotline, I don't understand why the producers think it's interesting, or why they WANT to talk over all our heads.
I have noted in earlier reviews of other stuff that I like unanswered questions in my fiction, and being treated like an adult in coming to those answers on my own. That is fine if the story is questionable or ambiguous. Star Trek: Discovery isn't trying to confuse or confound me however. It actually expects me to keep up with and understand it. And that's not fair to someone who enjoyed the franchise previously because it used to be able to explain complex science so that someone like me, who didn't go to college, could understand and appreciate it. This episode is not just part of a bad arc, and the things it expects of the audience are not just unreasonable, I would strongly argue they are outright unfair too. It actually annoys me. I'm the guy who will claim to every single Star Trek hater who's never actually sat down and watched it that the series is far more accessible and enjoyable than they believe it is by its nerdish reputation. But this is completely insular and geared toward really high-end science and math geeks. And there are no adequate "like letting the air out of a balloon" metaphors to help those of us who don't speak the language understand what the characters are doing and going through. I don't think TV necessarily needs to be stupider and cater to the lowest-common denominator. But I believe Star Trek itself needs to be more accessible and easier to grasp than this was.
I would love to report that Star Trek: Discovery has become the best Star Trek series of all time. Last season, I predicted that would wind up happening because of the time jump. I'm not the cynical YouTube critic railing against Social Justice Warriors and gleefully wanting the show to fail. I have been on its side this entire time, and it's at this point I'm saying enough. I used to say Star Trek: Discovery was a bad Star Trek show saved by the fact that it was a great sci-fi show. This season? It's not just bad Star Trek. It's bad sci-fi. And I don't like saying that, especially because I'm one of the show's last defenders. And really, it's become indefensible. And that fact saddens and even angers me.
What I take comfort in is that Star Trek: Picard is firing on all cylinders this season. Good and great Star Trek is still possible in the Kurtzman era. I'm just saddened that after I predicted this show would someday surpass Deep Space Nine in awesomeness, it's not only turned into a boring slog, but it refuses to remember it's a Star Trek show, and what the selling points of that franchise actually are. I'm beyond disgusted and disappointed. Tig Notaro makes me forgive a lot, but not THAT much. *.
Star Trek: Picard "Penance"
Oh, man. That was bananas. And I mean that as the highest compliment.
To be blunt I was really looking forward to the season upon hearing the premise. But as exciting as it is, it has SUCH a high risk of not only ruining this show, but ruining Star Trek TNG and that era of the franchise in hindsight. It's a very gutsy thing to try and pull off.
First episode in this new crisis? Worked like gangbusters. We had references to General Sisko, General Martok, Sarek, Gul Dukat, all gone to different ends than how we knew them. It's all fangasm worthy stuff that Star Trek: Discovery clearly cannot be bothered with.
I both love and hate Agnes Jurati. I love her because I believe she is the first Star Trek character in the 24th/25th Century to talk like a real person that possibly existed somewhere. Yes, Tilly is similar, but Discovery likes to operate outside of the normal Star Trek Universe. For Jurati to be on the same show as Jean-Luc Picard, Seven of Nine, and Q makes a statement that current Trek is trying to give humans in the 25th Century recognizable faults and flaws that we share. And while I've always loved that about Discovery, it feels more official using these characters and this premise.
What I hate about her is how much she sucks at her job. I was screaming at her to get the damn transporter working. Geez, she sucks, in the one instance she couldn't afford to suck.
Q alarms me. One of his most famous lines back in the day, didn't occur on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Q said it to Sisko on Deep Space Nine: "You HIT me! Picard never hit me!" And Q never hit Picard until now. Picard suggests Q is either unwell or dying, and his mental instability is quite clear. Q and the tagline of the season may claim the trial never ends. But I'm guessing Q's role as a judge is nearing its apex, and he's really laying it on thick in his final encounter with Picard. I can't say that Q has turned evil yet. But all of his cons before this were far more small-scale and manageable. I would argue that in most of his encounters with the Enterprise, Q wound up doing humanity a favor in his interference. Picard always brushed that off as Q doing the right thing for the wrong reasons, but I always believed Q knew exactly what he was doing. Does he here? Is this outside of his control on some level? The flashing Q effect when he snaps his finger is gone. Has he been depowered in other ways? These are all excellent questions to ponder, and I look forward to the show answering them once and for all.
The language and violence here was strictly PG-13. The episode was rated TV-14, and there are some s-bombs, but not f-bombs, and the violence is not especially gory either (at least not by classic Star Trek standards). The show is much easier to take for that reason.
What this episode has told me is that Star Trek: Picard is not the newest Star Trek series launching point for Jean-Luc Picard and that 25th Century era of the franchise. I think it's that era's swan song. Outside of the cartoons Lower Decks and Prodigy, which both probably take place before this does, I feel like this is Star Trek closing the books on this part of the franchise. And I am okay with that. I would love after Section 31 for the shows after that to be set in Discovery's timeframe. Make the rumored Starfleet Academy series be anchored by Mary Wiseman. I think Star Trek: Picard is not just a send-off for Patrick Stewart. It's a send-off for all three sequel series that Roddenberry and Berman each had hands in cocreating and showrunning. It's exciting. It's scary. And it sounds permanent, which means there is a real fear attached to them potentially messing things up. I'm here for it all the way. Until the trial finally ends. *****.
Superman & Lois "Anti-Hero"
Elizabeth Tulloch needs to put tonight on her Emmy reel. Not that I believe she'll get (or even deserves) a nomination for it, but every actor HAS an Emmy Reel, and this should be on hers.
Man, her anger and fury is righteous. And Clark bats clean-up with Jonathan at the end. I think it's scary how good of parents they are. If they called Jonathan names and said untrue things they'd have to apologize for later, he wouldn't have wound up in tears. Their disappointment in him comes from a place of honesty instead which is the unbearable thing.
Weird opinion: Not only would I have given my girlfriend up at the end were I Jonathan, but I wouldn't have bothered taking the rap for her to begin with. Jonathan not a bad-looking dude. Other pretty girls will come along. He could have avoided this mess entirely if he had let her take the fall. It's not like she's owning up to anything to protect HIM. She doesn't deserve that level of loyalty.
I love that Jordan is failing Sarah's friendship, and I like that Sarah doesn't expect him to understand what she's going through, and can't even be mad about it. He's like a helpless, little puppy and she treats him as such. Poor dear thing.
I have been slamming Lana all year for being the Universe's most sucky politician, but what she said to Dean at the rally was 100% the right thing. What gets me is that Dean was dumb enough to give her that opening. It didn't actually take a political genius to say "You're hurting me while I'm in great pain and that's wrong." Dean just handed her a large sympathy vote.
What bothers me most is that Dean could make a similar argument against her without explicitly naming the adultery as the failing. It would be a perfect Republican dogwhistle to talk about her and Kyle building up Morgan Edge all last year and say that her judgment about what's good for the town is suspect... (rolls eye) just like her judgment elsewhere seems to be. He wouldn't need to actually explicitly bring up Kyle cheating on her if he rightly pointed out she already has crappy judgment unbefitting a mayor. A dogwhistle about that thing would have been MUCH more effective and not induced that specific kind of blowback.
Really, when you think about it, ALL of the politicians in The Arrowverse are crappy at politics. Just like all the lawyers there are bad at the law. The Arrowverse has some seriously shady writing about both of those things, and it even infects the good projects like this one.
Anderson is a piece of work. While we are on the subject of questionable judgment, Sam Lane's sucks if he was the one who recommended him for that position. He essentially committed treason at the end, which says that Sam Lane's mistake there might go down as a worse lapse in judgment than Kyle's support for Morgan Edge. Because Kyle is a loudmouthed idiot, and Sam Lane was supposed to be a professional general who knew what he was doing. Him shamefully taking responsibility for that over the end was the right perspective, but a little late. It's probably the worst mistake somebody has done on the series so far.
Superman suggesting Tal could apologize to Jordan in person someday and calling him brother meant something to me. Great moment.
Bizarro is not dead. Superman is either lying or wrong (and dumb).
Solid episode. Few nits here and there, but they didn't ruin my enjoyment. I just enjoy watching Lois, Lana, and Clark being great parents and the elder Kents kicking their kids' asses. ****.
Naomi "I Am Not A Used Car Salesman"
My favorite episode so far. Zumbado's origin story was well worth the wait.
Few thoughts about it.
I'm thinking the idea that he's her father has regained a bit of credibility in my mind. He never outright said it, but I felt he was pretty careful using pronouns when describing her parents and his relationship to them. It frankly felt like Obi-Wan level b.s.. Except I expect this show will be smart enough to have Naomi be mad about it later on whereas Luke was such a dope he accepted it as if it wasn't the hugest crock of dren ever spilled, and Ben Kenobi wasn't the single worst person who ever lived in the Star Warsverse (and he would be if Yoda didn't exist).
The second thing is I am positive father or not, Zumbado is a black hat with bad intentions for Naomi, whether he attempted to sacrifice himself for her tonight or not. It's not his origin that damns him, or the convenient gaps in the story that could potentially incriminate him that make me think he's no good. It's the reaffirming of his catchphrase: "Don't believe what you think." Narratively speaking, that would be a DAMN good thing to throw in Naomi's face after she's learned to love and trust him (possibly after learning he's her father) and his true nefarious agenda is revealed. Before this week, I was convinced Zumbado was, if not a good guy, a guy whose interests aligned with the good guys. I no longer believe that. The catchphrase damns him.
Anabelle's scenes with Dee were great. His reactions to her were very cute.
I thought it was very interesting to learn that racism never existed on Earth-29. Thought Zumbado having to get used to that was very thought-provoking.
The best episode yet. *****.
The Flash "Impulsive Excessive Disorder"
This show is such a chore. I like that they kept Jay Garrick alive at the end, and the President Luthor joke was funny, but this show makes things such an ordeal to get there.
Bold opinion: It is very hard to root for characters this stupid. Every mistake Bart makes is actually self-evident, which makes him the most annoying person on the show that he can't even meet the barest standards of competence. Nobody should be making mistakes this dumb.
I'm supposed to say it was good to see Rick Cosnett again (that's what you are supposed to say when an old actor returns, right?). But the truth is Eddie Thawne was kind of a dud of a character, and this specific episode was underwhelming. I did not remotely feel a sense of warm appreciation for seeing him again. If his character were better, I would have. If the episode were better, I actually MIGHT have.
I didn't register what the disappearing thing at the end meant. I think this show thinks I pay closer attention to it than I do, which is weird. They write all of the characters as bratty toddlers, and expect us same frustrated viewers rolling our eyes at their kindergarten morals to be sharp enough to attach the proper meaning there? Man, if I knew I should have been paying attention, I would have been. The entire episode being poorly written and stupid works against me doing that.
Meh. The show has ultimately done much worse, but with Supergirl (fortunately) off the air, this is now unequivocally the single worst Arrowverse show left. And it's not even a contest. **1/2.
Teen Titans Go! "S&P"
In this episode the Teen Titans take on the nonexistent and completely fabricated topic of so-called "Cancel Culture". It's about as subtle and accurate a take on this topic as can be expected from a show with this raging level of insincerity.
That being said, it should be worse than it is. Any episode where Raven says "I know you did NOT just call my butt pronounced!" cannot be entirely worthless. By definition. Also interesting to point out that while kids shows can't say "fart", every euphemism they are allowed to use for that word somehow always sounds worse, more vulgar, and grosser. I don't understand censors either.
But let's not kid ourselves that that still didn't suck. *1/2.
Teen Titans Go! "Belly Math"
I don't care about common core math, therefore the episode was boring.
I liked the Calculator though. I like when the show introduces DC villains the old show never got around to.
Speaking of the old show, "Your number is up, Calculator!" is the precise type of groaner that show's Robin would have done.
But the rest of the episode was the gooking of the gobbledy. **1/2.
Teen Titans Go! "Free Perk"
This is NOT the show to binge four episodes in a week. The stupid filler lesson episodes seem even more pointless by doing that than if you suffered them on a weekly basis.
For the record, the show is not wrong for taking a shot at the idea of health insurance. As far as perks go, it's expensive, and rarely pays off. Ned Flanders didn't believe in insurance because he considered it gambling. I think Flanders was actually right about something for once. Doesn't stop this episode sucking though. **.
Teen Titans Go! "Go!"
Are trademark trolls actually a thing? I suspect so. This show is one of the few shows on television that always informs me about untold depths of human scumbaggery. The other major show that does that is The Blacklist. The difference here, is this show is almost always highlighting scammers that already exist, while the warped writers of The Blacklist are creating and positing dangerous ideas that should never be put into the minds of the general public. So this show tells me a LOT of facets about terrible people I simply did not know, but at least it's not dangerous, and even if it WERE imitable, it's describing behavior that already exists, not putting bad ideas into sick people's heads, so no real harm done.
The titanium number element thing was such a shoddy stretch, the Riddler could have devised it on Batman '66. Neat coinkydink tho'.
Man, I'm glad this week is over. The show may only be eleven minutes long, but those minutes crawl by when watching a bunch of eps at once. ***.
Scream (2022)
I was a little disappointed. Maybe I shouldn't have been. But until this point the movies have been solid mysteries. The killers being Richie and Amber felt very random.
Yes, I appreciate Richie was the first person Dewey suspected, and Dewey finally dying means the movie matters in the way the franchise hasn't since Randy died in the second. But the killer has NEVER been a random pair from the group of friends. They've always had a deeply personal motive for revenge against Sidney. Their motive is usually b.s. and not equivalent, but it always exists. The vengeful killer is usually paired with a psycho clown obsessed with these movies, but generally speaking, the main killer has a legit bone to pick.
I think I hated the fact that the killers' motives are just shallow and stupid. I felt that about Billy and Stu too, but Billy had some underlying pathos. I will say this about Sam. If there are more movies she isn't be groomed to be the next "Requel" star. She's gonna wind up the killer at some point. She enjoyed stabbing Richie a little too much.
A shocking amount of characters survived this one (Scream 4 was an utter bloodbath that killed off everybody but Judy and The Staples.) The large amount of survivors suggests eyes are on a new bunch of movies from the producers. At this point, I think each of these films is an ordeal. Simply because I care so much about the core cast. Seeing Dewey die was NOT fun for me. And I don't want to see that happen to Sid and Gale. Every time one of these comes out I kind of have to sigh in resignation before I watch it.
Glad both Randy's niece and nephew actually survived. Again, it's shocking the amount of characters the movie let live. Even the girl stalked in the beginning (Sam's sister) survives the stabbing for the first time in franchise history, and even survives the entire movie which is another record.
Sort of weird there's a Dawson's Creek clip in this since Joshua Jackson had a small role in the second one.
Kevin Williamson didn't write this (if he had, I suspect the jokes would have been funnier) but he executive produced it, and the film was dedicated to Wes Craven. As it should have been.
I didn't like it as much as Scream 4. I didn't like Dewey dying, and I didn't like that the mystery is random and not truly solvable by cunning viewers. But it was all right. ***.
Star Trek: Discovery "Species 10-C"
The cliffhanger was great, and Jett Reno continues to be amazing. But I believe this arc is outright bad and this was a lousy episode. In all honesty, it might be the single worst arc Star Trek has ever done. Maybe that's not SO bad, because the only previous series to explore arcs were Deep Space Nine and Enterprise, but even though Enterprise's third season largely sucked, I felt that mission worked better there. What's ironic is that mission was not TOO far outside of this one. But on Enterprise, there was a lot of action and controversy among the crew, even more so than here. But this specific thing feels all wrong for a multi-episode arc, much less an entire season. Why?
Let me briefly describe the arc of the past few weeks. Discovery finds a deadly, planet-destroying threat to Earth and the rest of the known galaxy. They spend weeks studying the problem and finally realize it was due to a supernaturally powerful sentient alien species no-one's ever heard of or made contact with. So they traverse the galaxy past the galactic barrier where they attempt to meet and communicate with the alien entities in question. Why am I ragging on that idea? That's a total Star Trek concept, after all.
It's because if TNG did that idea it would take a single episode, or a two-parter if they wanted to milk it. We are on episode 12, and things are moving so slow, and the complications feel so padded on, that I once more wonder if the writers of this show have actually SEEN any Star Trek. What kills me, is that generally speaking, Star Trek is the slow, boring, talky sci-fi franchise when in direct comparison to Star Wars. And Star Trek: Discovery, an action-based series, was sort of devised as an antidote to that, and making Star Trek more action-packed and exciting. And this is literally the slowest and most boring Gene Roddenberry sermon ever. I will argue that four of the five of the first Star Trek series (not counting Deep Space Nine) were routinely boring, specifically when they did this specific plot point for the umpteenth time. And suddenly the most fast-paced Star Trek show taking 12 episode to do the same damn thing as a mediocre episode of Voyager ever did for 50 minutes is a bit embarrassing and shameful in my mind. And another example of this entire season being a waste of the single greatest plot turn Star Trek has done in the past 25 years. It's galling actually.
Yes, the Xindi arc also took a long time to tell an episode Next Gen could tell in a two-parter. The difference there is we were allowed the perspective of seeing the different Xindi, and how they conflicted with each other, and how their political conflicts wound up helping and hurting the Enterprise and ultimately Earth. And that's interesting stuff to explore. Instead here we're cut off from any context, and forced to watch the characters be inexplicably excited over communicating over lights and math. Damn it, this is the reason people make FUN of Star Trek and Star Trek fans! It's needlessly complicated, and impossible to understand, and they don't even do us the courtesy of using a cheesy Star Trek metaphor to explain the technobabble. Apparently the audience is expected to be Stephen Hawking and understand the underlying elements of math languages and puzzles based upon air molocules. What the hell, man? Star Trek used to make science fun and easy to understand for laymen (and women). This is incomprehensible instead. I not only don't understand the plotline, I don't understand why the producers think it's interesting, or why they WANT to talk over all our heads.
I have noted in earlier reviews of other stuff that I like unanswered questions in my fiction, and being treated like an adult in coming to those answers on my own. That is fine if the story is questionable or ambiguous. Star Trek: Discovery isn't trying to confuse or confound me however. It actually expects me to keep up with and understand it. And that's not fair to someone who enjoyed the franchise previously because it used to be able to explain complex science so that someone like me, who didn't go to college, could understand and appreciate it. This episode is not just part of a bad arc, and the things it expects of the audience are not just unreasonable, I would strongly argue they are outright unfair too. It actually annoys me. I'm the guy who will claim to every single Star Trek hater who's never actually sat down and watched it that the series is far more accessible and enjoyable than they believe it is by its nerdish reputation. But this is completely insular and geared toward really high-end science and math geeks. And there are no adequate "like letting the air out of a balloon" metaphors to help those of us who don't speak the language understand what the characters are doing and going through. I don't think TV necessarily needs to be stupider and cater to the lowest-common denominator. But I believe Star Trek itself needs to be more accessible and easier to grasp than this was.
I would love to report that Star Trek: Discovery has become the best Star Trek series of all time. Last season, I predicted that would wind up happening because of the time jump. I'm not the cynical YouTube critic railing against Social Justice Warriors and gleefully wanting the show to fail. I have been on its side this entire time, and it's at this point I'm saying enough. I used to say Star Trek: Discovery was a bad Star Trek show saved by the fact that it was a great sci-fi show. This season? It's not just bad Star Trek. It's bad sci-fi. And I don't like saying that, especially because I'm one of the show's last defenders. And really, it's become indefensible. And that fact saddens and even angers me.
What I take comfort in is that Star Trek: Picard is firing on all cylinders this season. Good and great Star Trek is still possible in the Kurtzman era. I'm just saddened that after I predicted this show would someday surpass Deep Space Nine in awesomeness, it's not only turned into a boring slog, but it refuses to remember it's a Star Trek show, and what the selling points of that franchise actually are. I'm beyond disgusted and disappointed. Tig Notaro makes me forgive a lot, but not THAT much. *.
Star Trek: Picard "Penance"
Oh, man. That was bananas. And I mean that as the highest compliment.
To be blunt I was really looking forward to the season upon hearing the premise. But as exciting as it is, it has SUCH a high risk of not only ruining this show, but ruining Star Trek TNG and that era of the franchise in hindsight. It's a very gutsy thing to try and pull off.
First episode in this new crisis? Worked like gangbusters. We had references to General Sisko, General Martok, Sarek, Gul Dukat, all gone to different ends than how we knew them. It's all fangasm worthy stuff that Star Trek: Discovery clearly cannot be bothered with.
I both love and hate Agnes Jurati. I love her because I believe she is the first Star Trek character in the 24th/25th Century to talk like a real person that possibly existed somewhere. Yes, Tilly is similar, but Discovery likes to operate outside of the normal Star Trek Universe. For Jurati to be on the same show as Jean-Luc Picard, Seven of Nine, and Q makes a statement that current Trek is trying to give humans in the 25th Century recognizable faults and flaws that we share. And while I've always loved that about Discovery, it feels more official using these characters and this premise.
What I hate about her is how much she sucks at her job. I was screaming at her to get the damn transporter working. Geez, she sucks, in the one instance she couldn't afford to suck.
Q alarms me. One of his most famous lines back in the day, didn't occur on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Q said it to Sisko on Deep Space Nine: "You HIT me! Picard never hit me!" And Q never hit Picard until now. Picard suggests Q is either unwell or dying, and his mental instability is quite clear. Q and the tagline of the season may claim the trial never ends. But I'm guessing Q's role as a judge is nearing its apex, and he's really laying it on thick in his final encounter with Picard. I can't say that Q has turned evil yet. But all of his cons before this were far more small-scale and manageable. I would argue that in most of his encounters with the Enterprise, Q wound up doing humanity a favor in his interference. Picard always brushed that off as Q doing the right thing for the wrong reasons, but I always believed Q knew exactly what he was doing. Does he here? Is this outside of his control on some level? The flashing Q effect when he snaps his finger is gone. Has he been depowered in other ways? These are all excellent questions to ponder, and I look forward to the show answering them once and for all.
The language and violence here was strictly PG-13. The episode was rated TV-14, and there are some s-bombs, but not f-bombs, and the violence is not especially gory either (at least not by classic Star Trek standards). The show is much easier to take for that reason.
What this episode has told me is that Star Trek: Picard is not the newest Star Trek series launching point for Jean-Luc Picard and that 25th Century era of the franchise. I think it's that era's swan song. Outside of the cartoons Lower Decks and Prodigy, which both probably take place before this does, I feel like this is Star Trek closing the books on this part of the franchise. And I am okay with that. I would love after Section 31 for the shows after that to be set in Discovery's timeframe. Make the rumored Starfleet Academy series be anchored by Mary Wiseman. I think Star Trek: Picard is not just a send-off for Patrick Stewart. It's a send-off for all three sequel series that Roddenberry and Berman each had hands in cocreating and showrunning. It's exciting. It's scary. And it sounds permanent, which means there is a real fear attached to them potentially messing things up. I'm here for it all the way. Until the trial finally ends. *****.
Superman & Lois "Anti-Hero"
Elizabeth Tulloch needs to put tonight on her Emmy reel. Not that I believe she'll get (or even deserves) a nomination for it, but every actor HAS an Emmy Reel, and this should be on hers.
Man, her anger and fury is righteous. And Clark bats clean-up with Jonathan at the end. I think it's scary how good of parents they are. If they called Jonathan names and said untrue things they'd have to apologize for later, he wouldn't have wound up in tears. Their disappointment in him comes from a place of honesty instead which is the unbearable thing.
Weird opinion: Not only would I have given my girlfriend up at the end were I Jonathan, but I wouldn't have bothered taking the rap for her to begin with. Jonathan not a bad-looking dude. Other pretty girls will come along. He could have avoided this mess entirely if he had let her take the fall. It's not like she's owning up to anything to protect HIM. She doesn't deserve that level of loyalty.
I love that Jordan is failing Sarah's friendship, and I like that Sarah doesn't expect him to understand what she's going through, and can't even be mad about it. He's like a helpless, little puppy and she treats him as such. Poor dear thing.
I have been slamming Lana all year for being the Universe's most sucky politician, but what she said to Dean at the rally was 100% the right thing. What gets me is that Dean was dumb enough to give her that opening. It didn't actually take a political genius to say "You're hurting me while I'm in great pain and that's wrong." Dean just handed her a large sympathy vote.
What bothers me most is that Dean could make a similar argument against her without explicitly naming the adultery as the failing. It would be a perfect Republican dogwhistle to talk about her and Kyle building up Morgan Edge all last year and say that her judgment about what's good for the town is suspect... (rolls eye) just like her judgment elsewhere seems to be. He wouldn't need to actually explicitly bring up Kyle cheating on her if he rightly pointed out she already has crappy judgment unbefitting a mayor. A dogwhistle about that thing would have been MUCH more effective and not induced that specific kind of blowback.
Really, when you think about it, ALL of the politicians in The Arrowverse are crappy at politics. Just like all the lawyers there are bad at the law. The Arrowverse has some seriously shady writing about both of those things, and it even infects the good projects like this one.
Anderson is a piece of work. While we are on the subject of questionable judgment, Sam Lane's sucks if he was the one who recommended him for that position. He essentially committed treason at the end, which says that Sam Lane's mistake there might go down as a worse lapse in judgment than Kyle's support for Morgan Edge. Because Kyle is a loudmouthed idiot, and Sam Lane was supposed to be a professional general who knew what he was doing. Him shamefully taking responsibility for that over the end was the right perspective, but a little late. It's probably the worst mistake somebody has done on the series so far.
Superman suggesting Tal could apologize to Jordan in person someday and calling him brother meant something to me. Great moment.
Bizarro is not dead. Superman is either lying or wrong (and dumb).
Solid episode. Few nits here and there, but they didn't ruin my enjoyment. I just enjoy watching Lois, Lana, and Clark being great parents and the elder Kents kicking their kids' asses. ****.
Naomi "I Am Not A Used Car Salesman"
My favorite episode so far. Zumbado's origin story was well worth the wait.
Few thoughts about it.
I'm thinking the idea that he's her father has regained a bit of credibility in my mind. He never outright said it, but I felt he was pretty careful using pronouns when describing her parents and his relationship to them. It frankly felt like Obi-Wan level b.s.. Except I expect this show will be smart enough to have Naomi be mad about it later on whereas Luke was such a dope he accepted it as if it wasn't the hugest crock of dren ever spilled, and Ben Kenobi wasn't the single worst person who ever lived in the Star Warsverse (and he would be if Yoda didn't exist).
The second thing is I am positive father or not, Zumbado is a black hat with bad intentions for Naomi, whether he attempted to sacrifice himself for her tonight or not. It's not his origin that damns him, or the convenient gaps in the story that could potentially incriminate him that make me think he's no good. It's the reaffirming of his catchphrase: "Don't believe what you think." Narratively speaking, that would be a DAMN good thing to throw in Naomi's face after she's learned to love and trust him (possibly after learning he's her father) and his true nefarious agenda is revealed. Before this week, I was convinced Zumbado was, if not a good guy, a guy whose interests aligned with the good guys. I no longer believe that. The catchphrase damns him.
Anabelle's scenes with Dee were great. His reactions to her were very cute.
I thought it was very interesting to learn that racism never existed on Earth-29. Thought Zumbado having to get used to that was very thought-provoking.
The best episode yet. *****.
The Flash "Impulsive Excessive Disorder"
This show is such a chore. I like that they kept Jay Garrick alive at the end, and the President Luthor joke was funny, but this show makes things such an ordeal to get there.
Bold opinion: It is very hard to root for characters this stupid. Every mistake Bart makes is actually self-evident, which makes him the most annoying person on the show that he can't even meet the barest standards of competence. Nobody should be making mistakes this dumb.
I'm supposed to say it was good to see Rick Cosnett again (that's what you are supposed to say when an old actor returns, right?). But the truth is Eddie Thawne was kind of a dud of a character, and this specific episode was underwhelming. I did not remotely feel a sense of warm appreciation for seeing him again. If his character were better, I would have. If the episode were better, I actually MIGHT have.
I didn't register what the disappearing thing at the end meant. I think this show thinks I pay closer attention to it than I do, which is weird. They write all of the characters as bratty toddlers, and expect us same frustrated viewers rolling our eyes at their kindergarten morals to be sharp enough to attach the proper meaning there? Man, if I knew I should have been paying attention, I would have been. The entire episode being poorly written and stupid works against me doing that.
Meh. The show has ultimately done much worse, but with Supergirl (fortunately) off the air, this is now unequivocally the single worst Arrowverse show left. And it's not even a contest. **1/2.
Teen Titans Go! "S&P"
In this episode the Teen Titans take on the nonexistent and completely fabricated topic of so-called "Cancel Culture". It's about as subtle and accurate a take on this topic as can be expected from a show with this raging level of insincerity.
That being said, it should be worse than it is. Any episode where Raven says "I know you did NOT just call my butt pronounced!" cannot be entirely worthless. By definition. Also interesting to point out that while kids shows can't say "fart", every euphemism they are allowed to use for that word somehow always sounds worse, more vulgar, and grosser. I don't understand censors either.
But let's not kid ourselves that that still didn't suck. *1/2.
Teen Titans Go! "Belly Math"
I don't care about common core math, therefore the episode was boring.
I liked the Calculator though. I like when the show introduces DC villains the old show never got around to.
Speaking of the old show, "Your number is up, Calculator!" is the precise type of groaner that show's Robin would have done.
But the rest of the episode was the gooking of the gobbledy. **1/2.
Teen Titans Go! "Free Perk"
This is NOT the show to binge four episodes in a week. The stupid filler lesson episodes seem even more pointless by doing that than if you suffered them on a weekly basis.
For the record, the show is not wrong for taking a shot at the idea of health insurance. As far as perks go, it's expensive, and rarely pays off. Ned Flanders didn't believe in insurance because he considered it gambling. I think Flanders was actually right about something for once. Doesn't stop this episode sucking though. **.
Teen Titans Go! "Go!"
Are trademark trolls actually a thing? I suspect so. This show is one of the few shows on television that always informs me about untold depths of human scumbaggery. The other major show that does that is The Blacklist. The difference here, is this show is almost always highlighting scammers that already exist, while the warped writers of The Blacklist are creating and positing dangerous ideas that should never be put into the minds of the general public. So this show tells me a LOT of facets about terrible people I simply did not know, but at least it's not dangerous, and even if it WERE imitable, it's describing behavior that already exists, not putting bad ideas into sick people's heads, so no real harm done.
The titanium number element thing was such a shoddy stretch, the Riddler could have devised it on Batman '66. Neat coinkydink tho'.
Man, I'm glad this week is over. The show may only be eleven minutes long, but those minutes crawl by when watching a bunch of eps at once. ***.
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