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matt_zimmerAlso reviews for the latest episode of Star Trek: Prodigy, the season finale of Pennyworth: The Origin Of Batman's Butler, and the latest episode of Titans.
The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special
No words. Should have sent a poet.
I'm only half-joking. It WAS that amazing, and I am having a little trouble verbalizing the fact that the last Marvel Studios project I enjoyed this much was Avengers: Endgame. And it will probably sound weird to point out this was way better than both Guardians movies. I think my problem is I have some things to complain about behind-the-scenes at Marvel Studios, and maybe my anger is that this special's greatness being rare is not a facet it should have. Especially when it makes it feel so effortless.
I thing my biggest behind-the-scenes gripe was seeing the credits roll and how wonderful that all turned out, and realizing James Gunn is ditching all this greatness for a rival studio where he's done substandard work. That actually annoys me a lot, especially considering how badly the new studio is treating its content creators. I suppose SOMEONE needed to be hired for the role Gunn is going to have at DC going forward, but I respect the hell out of every big name who passed on it more than I do Gunn for accepting it.
And the ultimate moral is that Yondu wasn't all bad. That's ALWAYS the moral, isn't it?
Man, Mantis and Drax's stuff on Earth was a riot. The problem with Mantis in the second movie is she didn't really have too much of a personality compared to the other Guardians. This special rectified that and made her one of my favorite characters in the franchise. And Drax's obsession over the "little man" was very endearing too. This is a feel-good project in a way no DC project ever seems to be anymore. It wasn't just feel-good though. I mean Superman & Lois technically qualifies as such. But it was also freaking fun! It didn't wallow in angst. Seeing this makes me feel regret Gunn is leaving Marvel, and angry that Marvel producing stuff this great has become unusual since they started doing stuff for Disney+. It's not just the Disney+ stuff that's substandard though. I'd live with it if that's all it was. But Kevin Feige has been spread so thin even the FILMS have suffered. I just wish this was easier. I just wish this were common. For Marvel projects, it used to be. I miss the good stuff and the good feelings here. And I wish it wasn't such an ordeal getting them.
People will say Thor: Love And Thunder fits what I'm talking about, but I think that movie is so patently ridiculous in places, I don't believe its reality. The strength of this specific silly special is that I believe something like this COULD happen to a version of Kevin Bacon in the Multiverse. As silly as the idea is, Gunn takes the execution seriously, which is more than I can say for Love And Thunder.
This is where sending a poet could have helped. I enjoyed the HELL out of that, and I still seemed to spend most of this review complaining about other things. I just wish stuff this great happened all the time, and that James Gunn never left Marvel. *****.
Star Trek: Prodigy "Masquerade"
I think the narrative and the arc to the show is really starting to come together which is nice. The heel-turn from the Trill Commander being the same species as the Diviner was a great twist, and I honestly would not have predicted either that Dal was an Augment with a connection to Arak Soong, or that that would be revealed in this specific episode.
Do I have any gripes? I do and they aren't pleasant ones. I'm not going to say Okona was wasted, because he's always been a crappy character from one of the worst episodes of the entire franchise. What I will say is that if the series brought him back hoping to redeem his reputation in the audience's mind, it was a complete failure. And I say this knowing he'll be back.
Similarly, I really dug the idea that Star Trek: Lower Decks posited in its second season that Jellico was considered one of the very worst captains in Starfleet, and a cautionary example of how commanders should NOT behave towards their subordinates. The show retconning that and giving him a higher admiral ranking than Janeway? That STINGS, man. You want to cast a stick in the mud Admiral, get back Necheyev. Hell, I'd even accept an Admiral Shelby in a pinch. But Jellico bossing Janeway around feels wrong on every single level. I barely tolerated how he treated Riker and Troi on Next Gen. This is just plain wrong.
Lower Decks loves bringing back fringe Star Trek characters too. But they always bring back the ones the audience either likes, or at least found interesting and would be happy to see again. Neither Jellico or Okona fits either of those definitions. To put it mildly.
It's a shame it's the Star Trek portion of the episode I'm criticizing. The arc of Admiral Janeway's cat-and-mouse with both the kids and the Romulans is actually progressing quite wonderfully. I could do with that bit of great storytelling in an episode not featuring either Jellico or Okona. ***.
Pennyworth "Highland Wedding"
That was a smashing finale, with excellent uses of both "I Will Survive" and "Morning Is Broken", and is the show ending the season in top form. If this were a normal season finale, I'd be ecstatic.
The thing is, I suspect it's the series finale. HBO Max will certainly cancel it for the thinnest of reasons, and as far as last episodes go, it's not a remotely acceptable one. I feel like television that amazing deserves a five-star grade. But while everything is so up in the air I can't give it that. It's possible the show just broke my damn heart. I went into this week knowing that was a possibility, but if the show is canceled now, I will basically sit down and cry. I really resent the fact that the current business climate of television, especially Warner Discovery television, means that a LOT of great stuff is arbitrarily ended, despite having huge fanbases and being great.
But man, if this show doesn't get another season, I'm gonna lose it. If you ask me this was the WORST year they could have picked to roll the dice with an amazing and crazymaking cliffhanger like that. ****1/2.
Titans "Inside Man"
Last week I gave the show a positive review because it was a rare week that didn't piss me off. This is another week, and two in a row is both unusual and encouraging, but I'm shying away from giving it a positive grade. I'm happy I'm not infuriated, but the truth is my standards need to be a little higher than "That didn't piss me off." Outside of the fun Gar as the virus stuff I found the episode a little boring. Again, I prefer that to the atrocious mess the series routinely is, but really, I do watch a LOT of shows that don't offend me with higher quality than this. I'll consider it a partial victory I'm not steaming this week. But it's not a full one, and I don't think demanding an episode that isn't just decent, but well, GOOD, should be an impossible ask.
You might consider this a bit unfair on my end considering the crap I let slide on other shows. The thing is when other shows I watch deliver an episode like this, I tend to consider it a weak episode. This was only a good week for Titans if I grade it on the curve. And I'm not as willing to do that anymore, at least not week in and week out. Some standards DO need to exist.
But all in all, I AM glad I am not pissed off. Partial credit. **1/2.
The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special
No words. Should have sent a poet.
I'm only half-joking. It WAS that amazing, and I am having a little trouble verbalizing the fact that the last Marvel Studios project I enjoyed this much was Avengers: Endgame. And it will probably sound weird to point out this was way better than both Guardians movies. I think my problem is I have some things to complain about behind-the-scenes at Marvel Studios, and maybe my anger is that this special's greatness being rare is not a facet it should have. Especially when it makes it feel so effortless.
I thing my biggest behind-the-scenes gripe was seeing the credits roll and how wonderful that all turned out, and realizing James Gunn is ditching all this greatness for a rival studio where he's done substandard work. That actually annoys me a lot, especially considering how badly the new studio is treating its content creators. I suppose SOMEONE needed to be hired for the role Gunn is going to have at DC going forward, but I respect the hell out of every big name who passed on it more than I do Gunn for accepting it.
And the ultimate moral is that Yondu wasn't all bad. That's ALWAYS the moral, isn't it?
Man, Mantis and Drax's stuff on Earth was a riot. The problem with Mantis in the second movie is she didn't really have too much of a personality compared to the other Guardians. This special rectified that and made her one of my favorite characters in the franchise. And Drax's obsession over the "little man" was very endearing too. This is a feel-good project in a way no DC project ever seems to be anymore. It wasn't just feel-good though. I mean Superman & Lois technically qualifies as such. But it was also freaking fun! It didn't wallow in angst. Seeing this makes me feel regret Gunn is leaving Marvel, and angry that Marvel producing stuff this great has become unusual since they started doing stuff for Disney+. It's not just the Disney+ stuff that's substandard though. I'd live with it if that's all it was. But Kevin Feige has been spread so thin even the FILMS have suffered. I just wish this was easier. I just wish this were common. For Marvel projects, it used to be. I miss the good stuff and the good feelings here. And I wish it wasn't such an ordeal getting them.
People will say Thor: Love And Thunder fits what I'm talking about, but I think that movie is so patently ridiculous in places, I don't believe its reality. The strength of this specific silly special is that I believe something like this COULD happen to a version of Kevin Bacon in the Multiverse. As silly as the idea is, Gunn takes the execution seriously, which is more than I can say for Love And Thunder.
This is where sending a poet could have helped. I enjoyed the HELL out of that, and I still seemed to spend most of this review complaining about other things. I just wish stuff this great happened all the time, and that James Gunn never left Marvel. *****.
Star Trek: Prodigy "Masquerade"
I think the narrative and the arc to the show is really starting to come together which is nice. The heel-turn from the Trill Commander being the same species as the Diviner was a great twist, and I honestly would not have predicted either that Dal was an Augment with a connection to Arak Soong, or that that would be revealed in this specific episode.
Do I have any gripes? I do and they aren't pleasant ones. I'm not going to say Okona was wasted, because he's always been a crappy character from one of the worst episodes of the entire franchise. What I will say is that if the series brought him back hoping to redeem his reputation in the audience's mind, it was a complete failure. And I say this knowing he'll be back.
Similarly, I really dug the idea that Star Trek: Lower Decks posited in its second season that Jellico was considered one of the very worst captains in Starfleet, and a cautionary example of how commanders should NOT behave towards their subordinates. The show retconning that and giving him a higher admiral ranking than Janeway? That STINGS, man. You want to cast a stick in the mud Admiral, get back Necheyev. Hell, I'd even accept an Admiral Shelby in a pinch. But Jellico bossing Janeway around feels wrong on every single level. I barely tolerated how he treated Riker and Troi on Next Gen. This is just plain wrong.
Lower Decks loves bringing back fringe Star Trek characters too. But they always bring back the ones the audience either likes, or at least found interesting and would be happy to see again. Neither Jellico or Okona fits either of those definitions. To put it mildly.
It's a shame it's the Star Trek portion of the episode I'm criticizing. The arc of Admiral Janeway's cat-and-mouse with both the kids and the Romulans is actually progressing quite wonderfully. I could do with that bit of great storytelling in an episode not featuring either Jellico or Okona. ***.
Pennyworth "Highland Wedding"
That was a smashing finale, with excellent uses of both "I Will Survive" and "Morning Is Broken", and is the show ending the season in top form. If this were a normal season finale, I'd be ecstatic.
The thing is, I suspect it's the series finale. HBO Max will certainly cancel it for the thinnest of reasons, and as far as last episodes go, it's not a remotely acceptable one. I feel like television that amazing deserves a five-star grade. But while everything is so up in the air I can't give it that. It's possible the show just broke my damn heart. I went into this week knowing that was a possibility, but if the show is canceled now, I will basically sit down and cry. I really resent the fact that the current business climate of television, especially Warner Discovery television, means that a LOT of great stuff is arbitrarily ended, despite having huge fanbases and being great.
But man, if this show doesn't get another season, I'm gonna lose it. If you ask me this was the WORST year they could have picked to roll the dice with an amazing and crazymaking cliffhanger like that. ****1/2.
Titans "Inside Man"
Last week I gave the show a positive review because it was a rare week that didn't piss me off. This is another week, and two in a row is both unusual and encouraging, but I'm shying away from giving it a positive grade. I'm happy I'm not infuriated, but the truth is my standards need to be a little higher than "That didn't piss me off." Outside of the fun Gar as the virus stuff I found the episode a little boring. Again, I prefer that to the atrocious mess the series routinely is, but really, I do watch a LOT of shows that don't offend me with higher quality than this. I'll consider it a partial victory I'm not steaming this week. But it's not a full one, and I don't think demanding an episode that isn't just decent, but well, GOOD, should be an impossible ask.
You might consider this a bit unfair on my end considering the crap I let slide on other shows. The thing is when other shows I watch deliver an episode like this, I tend to consider it a weak episode. This was only a good week for Titans if I grade it on the curve. And I'm not as willing to do that anymore, at least not week in and week out. Some standards DO need to exist.
But all in all, I AM glad I am not pissed off. Partial credit. **1/2.
