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matt_zimmerAlso reviews for the latest episodes of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Night Court, Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Law & Order Organized Crime, the first issue of Batman: The Adventures Continue: Season Three, and the novella collection Four Past Midnight.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
I knew a couple of things going in.
1. I probably wasn't going to like it.
2. I wouldn't hold that fact against it.
Truth is I liked it slightly more than I thought I would, but I still didn't like it much. Aside from the fact that it's unreasonable to expect a secondary actor like Letitia Wright to carry the franchise in the same way as Chadwick Freaking Boseman, the truth is, it's a movie about grief, and that's no fun. And it's only about grief because of real-world events. I can't fault the producers for being so shellshocked by Boseman's death that they refused to recast T'Challa. But still, this is not the sequel that was planned or that we were due.
Ross was married to the Contessa? Poor dude. Lucky he got out of that marriage alive. Is Everett Ross related to Thaddeus Ross? I forget if that's ever come up before.
I actually like Namor which is a bit of a surprise considering what a turd every other incarnation of that character is portrayed as upon their introduction. Yes, I would describe his plans and motivations as sinister. But the reason Kevin Feige has value is he understands the character can be sinister, and still civil, reasonable, and likable. Every other cartoon I've seen Namor in as an antagonist goes out of its way to say how much he sucks and what a jerk he is. It's unnecessary. Take note: Recent Marvel Cartoons used to portray T'CHALLA as a jerk of all people, but it never occurred to the Marvel Television producers that "complicated" and "a total bunghole" are not actually synonyms. Kids, your antagonists looking to reform someday on your superhero cartoons don't HAVE to be as unlikable as the adults making the cartoons show them as. They are they way because those adult writers are simply bad at their jobs.
I love that Shuri sees Killmonger on the Vision Quest. And nothing really told me later on that that was inappropriate either.
I love M'Baku. He is a full out villain in other incarnations, but I like that the MCU has put him in the role of Wise Counsel instead. He's the one character besides the Williams kid making me smile.
Is that Ironheart? Weird movie for her to debut in, although it seems weird to debut Namor in a Black Panther movie too (or at least one without T'Challa).
I didn't much dig it. But my epic hate rants against Eternals, and the latest Thor and Doctor Strange sequels simply do not apply to this movie. It's a bummer, but really that's actually through no fault of its own. **1/2.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch "Tribe"
A kid Wookiee is a cute enough idea, but he's also a Jedi! Good deal!
And he mistrusts Clones (for good reason).
On the downside I found the Wookiee platitude at the end of the end meaningless and a case of the producers trying to tack on a satisfying ending to a scenario where one isn't actually possible.
But Junior Wookiee Jedi! Too cute! ***.
Night Court "Dan v. Dating"
It didn't work. The episode couldn't decide what it wanted to do with Dan.
Also, not too put too fine a point on it but the series is trying to do too much at once. I kind of want to see a normal episode instead of one focusing on big life-changing events for Dan and Abby.
Not great. *1/2.
Law & Order "Almost Famous"
Pretty good week. Aside from the runner. That always pisses me off.
Price did two really great things. Telling the dude if he didn't take the deal he was going to do everything he could to make him spend the rest of his life in prison. What's great is the jerk believed him. The other great thing he did was saying he was gonna prosecute Max for manslaughter. I don't care how young he is or how dumb his parents are. He made a bad choice and has to live with it. Good for Price for knowing that even after hooking the Big Fish.
I thought the judge was absolutely terrible. She made so many bad calls in both the courtroom and chambers I thought it was going to turn out she was on the take. In reality the show is badly written. No judge in real life would have allowed that awful lawyer to accuse the guy on the stand of being pedophile simply to score points. It was reprehensible and every "I'll allow it" told me that judge deserves to be thrown off the bench. Similarly appalling was her excluding the video because the awful lawyer convinces her the kid is "acting as an agent of the government". Honestly, I think the real problem is bad writing, and the writers simply don't know how to write credible judges. And this has been a big problem on the relaunch so I can't even call this misstep an outlier.
The acting coach at the beginning was a perfect red herring in the sense that everything the viewer saw him do made us think he was abusing that kid. It's a pretty sweet trick the writers had an explanation for everything, even the child porn charge (done as a highschooler from a topless pic from his girlfriend). Even the outcry the officers heard from the hallway and the scenes he was practicing made him sound entirely guilty.
Something bothers me a little, and it's a problem for all television, and not just this show. But I didn't believe the idea that somebody is putting kids under contract to do Jackass stunts and nobody is doing anything about it. It seems like a problem that doesn't exist that fogey writers believe does. The show isn't just old-fashioned because of the quips the detective do bemoaning social media and how they want nothing to do with it. It's because they are making it sound worse than it probably is. These are old people fears. Maybe the showrunners need to shut off Fox News for a hot minute.
Decent week. Outside of the crappy judge (and maybe the actual unbelievable premise) I didn't have too many other complaints. Well, the runner. Always the runner. ***1/2.
Law & Order "Mammon"
The rest of the episode wasn't bad but the ending shows why I believe Rick Eid runs the show entirely without a conscience.
It wasn't entirely "Not bad" however. The chase scenes continue to annoy and confound me. Do the producers actually think we find them exciting? This iteration of the show strikes me as a bit pathetic for always going back to them.
But the episode wasn't terrible. ***.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit "Blood Out"
They are NOT kidding about going there. That was the closest Stable and Benson EVER got.
Man, Valasco is slime. Really. But to be honest, Bruno bribing the victim for information is also problematic as hell.
Stabler and Benson COULD be a thing at some point. That actually blows my mind. SO close here. The show has taken over 20 years, but damn. ****.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit "Intersection"
While it is true that when talking to suspects Valasco is a notorious liar, after hearing that recording, that isn't something I'd simply take for granted. It's actually concerning. Considering Valasco gave the dude drugs in the previous episode, it probably means he IS dirty.
Do I want him to be? The show used to walk that stuff back. God knows they did with Rollins enough times. But I think it would be interesting to do that with Velasco especially considering he's trying to play "Good cop" with Muncie at the same time.
And I love the advice to the wife talking to the guy holding the lady hostage: "Lie". Really. Duh. Some lies are all right.
I'm glad the couple from the beginning made it through. They were really cute together.
Bruno spent the episode impressing me. He's still a little rough around the edges, but he had a better first day than either Muncie or Velasco did.
Solid week. ***1/2.
Law & Order: Organized Crime "Partners In Crime"
Not a very strong closing scene.
Jet is very good and I'm worried about her at the same time.
It's sort of fun to see the Task Force teaming up with Teddy Silas. It makes sense because of his deal, but he and his father were the Big Bads at the beginning of the season, and that sort of that petered out.
The good about Murphy: The scene in the confessional was chilling. The bad about him: I don't like the dog. As far as scary gimmicks and affectations go, it's kind of lame.
Decent week. ***1/2.
Law & Order: Organized Crime "Punch Drunk"
I didn't like it too much. That might surprise you. It seemed perfectly acceptable on the surface, didn't it? The reason I suspect most fans WILL accept and have no problems with it is that it is not outside of the way the rest of television treats drama. And regardless of whether viewers have been conditioned to accept the idea that people's careers are essentially ways for them to learned nursery-school level morality lessons about their interpersonal relationships with coworkers, that doesn't make it acceptable. It sucks when The Arrowverse does it. It sucks when THIS show does it.
Yes, it is very common to tie a character's emotional growth into really dumb mistakes on the job. It's also unprofessional. It also makes me think less of Jet. And her ending the episode in the trunk of a dude's car makes me think less of the show.
This is still the best Law & Order. But it's still JUST a TV show and episodes like this on THIS show (and pretty much every other show I watch and review) make me painfully aware of that fact. I never thank my TV for doing a TV thing. Because TV sucks. It always has. The best shows transcend the medium. The ones that fall into the common trappings of the medium really don't wind up impressing me that much. And the sad fact is I don't think there are too many TV shows that DON'T ever fall prey to that. What I won't do is praise episodes like this for it. **.
Batman: The Adventures Continue: Season Three No. 1 "Muscle Out"
It's just not the same.
I don't think Paul Dini, Alan Burnett, or even BRUCE TIMM actually understand why I loved and valued the DCAU. Clearly this issue with its violence and cursing believes fans responded to Batman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited because of its adult themes. For me, it was the opposite. It was its kid-oriented nature that made it a breath of fresh air compared to the grim and unfun superhero comics both of the era and today. If Dini and Burnett heard from fans they wanted the franchise more unpleasant and inappropriate, they were getting bad feedback. But I have a sneaking suspicion no fan of that franchise actually asked for that and they did this on their own.
The comic has its charms for being DCAU adjacent. Just like Batman And Harley Quinn and Justice League Vs. The Fatal Five did. But it's just not the same, just like them.
I appreciated the tribute to Kevin Conroy at the end. But my grief over his loss is also quite frankly due to my anger at Warner Bros and DC wasting his talents by using him rarely, and when they DID use him, rarely using him in great projects. DC believed Kevin should be saved for special projects which is stupid and inane. Every project Kevin did was special for his participation. Newsflash, DC: It is absolutely all right to make as many projects as possible as high quality as possible. And DC sitting on their hands by both not using Kevin, and not creating DCAU projects that fit comfortably into that beloved Universe said they were taking him for granted and not caring that he was a real person with a real lifespan. The tribute is nice. But the better tribute would have been hiring him often and giving him great scripts always.
The continuity with Waller is messed up and Lock-Up was always a terrible character, so there is no geek moment for seeing him. I prefer the version of Black Mask we saw in the brief Batman Adventures run printed around the time JLU was airing. THOSE were some fun Batman Comics in the DCAU spirit.
I'm not happy with this. At all. **.
Four Past Midnight by Stephen King
King's second collection of "Four Novellas" after "Different Seasons", one of my favorite formats of his.
Unlike "Different Seasons" it could be argued ALL of the stories here are horror, and most of then are longer than the novellas from that book. The book is nearly a thousand pages and hella long. It's a good thing I liked three of the stories. Collection Overall: ****.
One Past Midnight: The Langoliers
That is a ripping good yarn. That's the best way to describe it. King does not get enough credit for it. The excellent miniseries was also far too underpraised. This is all great stuff.
I think Craig Toomy is one of King's best villains so far. Because I feel SO much sympathy for him. As big of a jerk as he is, he doesn't WANT to hurt anyone, and he's simply crazy. The empathy the blind girl Dinah (who he stabbed) has for him is something I feel too. And I find her dire warning to Nick not to kill him because they "need him" absolutely chilling in its implications. When Brian believes Dinah used him to save their lives, as ugly as it sounds, I think Brian thinking Toomy probably wouldn't have minded being used in that way in his right mind was probably correct.
King as Narrator describing the fish in the trench to set the scene for the pressure this madman is under is great storytelling. I repeat: A good yarn. Toomy's use of the words "Scampering" and "monkey-business" in his head also give off a sense of deliberate mischief to his actions in his former life. The sci-fi crisis hits him bad because he was about to destroy everything he ever worked for out of spite, and it wouldn't let him. No wonder that fish exploded with the pressure being lessened so dramatically. And it's interesting the thing he notes about the vision of Dinah is that she showed him a look he's never gotten before: Compassion. And their connection and her being able to see from his eyes before she died is incredibly bittersweet knowing the horrible things they have done and ARE doing to each other. It's really interesting.
As far as sci-fi mysteries go, I have to say unlike "The Tommyknockers", and later "Dreamcatcher", this one holds up. It's a mystery that makes little sense as it is happening (and they are very fortunate to have a mystery writer aboard) that actually makes a weird kind of sense as it goes along. To be clear: Bob Jenkins and his teenage sidekick Albert could have been wrong in every deduction of what happened. But they operated under the assumption that they weren't and everyone was okay at the end. It's likelier than not they had the thing down to a science after all.
And you can call it unrealistic that Bob would guess the thing about the matches beforehand because it doesn't actually conform to any known time displacement theories. I prefer to think of it as impressive instead. In practice, it's shoddy as hell writing and an unlikely solve. As it is, I like Bob Jenkins for being there and for being so damn useful.
Speaking of which, one of the characters bemoaned the fact that the situation is already so bad, it's not fair they are stuck with a murderous nut like Toomy. I think it's more than fair. Not just because Dinah is right that they NEED him for Langolier bait, but because the amount of useful people on that plane who just HAPPENED to be asleep when they fell through the time loop is insane. Because Dinah's precognition, Nick's special forces skills, Bob Jenkins' deductive reasoning, and the fact that Brian is a freaking Pilot means they were lucky they were only stuck with ONE Toomy. Karma dictates they should have had four. Or maybe six, because I don't think either Albert or Laurel is entirely useless in a crisis either.
I love that one of the passengers basically sleeps through the entire thing, and the brief times he awakes he sees what's happening and chooses to go back to sleep. The one thing the other passengers have in common every time they look at him is that they envy him. What a great subversive plot-thread for King to weave throughout the story.
As main characters go, I don't much like Brian, simply because he once hit his wife. I understand that Nick Hopewell feels he has a lot to make up for for the 3 kids he accidentally killed on a mission, but I actually think Brian does too knowing that.
King connections of note: Not a ton, but The Shop from "Firestarter" is mentioned.
"The New People" at the end is about as good a description for the survivors as any. King is a cool horror writer because he doesn't usually do the "hand popping out of the grave in the last shot" moment in his stories. He usually allows his survivors actual happy endings. And that might be why his stuff is so popular while the rest of the horror genre is a bit polarizing with much of the public, I don't personally like horror that much myself usually. But I like Stephen King, his optimism, and he characters. The fact that most of his books are supposed to be scary is one of the least appealing things about to them me in general. That fact certainly isn't why I read him. King is just an innately good storyteller.
And yes, I love the ending, because it's a perfect capper and resolution to the mystery and the doubt and dread turning into joy feels completely earned. The Langoliers is one of King better, unsung stories. I'm betting some people who will read this review will never have even heard of it before. And the miniseries was great too. I think Bronson Pinchot was a VERY odd choice for Toomy, but I'm guessing that's why they chose him. Dean Stockwell was absolutely perfect as Bob Jenkins, as long as we are keeping track of that sort of thing.
The dark period in King's career is coming to a close. He still has some disappointments coming up before he fully gets out of the slump, but he's gonna get clean soon, and that's gonna help things immeasurably. In the meantime, this story is solid all the way through. *****.
Two Part Midnight: Secret Window, Secret Garden
When I first read this I did not predict the twist ending. But it's like Leland on Twin Peaks, when you reread it there can be no other answer. You feel dumb for having been surprised the first time. Really, I don't know how and why "Who killed Laura Palmer?" became SUCH a national sensation and burning mystery. Because it's super obvious in hindsight. Just like Mort Rainey essentially being Norman Bates.
And the reason I'm satisfied with this is because I can't stand Mort. He blames everybody else for his own problems and refuses take any responsibility for any bad things that have happened in his life. Ironically Shooter was created by his mind to figure out a way to let him do that and suffer for how much his personality actually sucks, but really, most people don't need to go crazy and murder their cat and two people to have a revelation about themselves. Mort Rainey is unlikable and I find him one of King's famous "bad husbands" on par with Burt from "Children Of The Corn", Jack Torrance from "The Shining", and Louis Creed from "Pet Sematary". And he would have been as crappy a husband as those guys even if he never killed anybody.
King delivers a bummer ending for a change, but since it's for a character he's gotten us to dislike, the reader doesn't object. I certainly don't.
One writing insight I liked was Mort thinking his old writing teacher's books were well-received by the critics and didn't sell for the same reason: They were incomprehensible. This rings true to me about a lot of critically loved stuff that audiences don't give two craps about. Critics love stuff that doesn't make sense because they can pretend they actually understand it and us plebes are simply too dim to. Very insightful observation there about both bad fiction and bad fiction reviewers.
It's an interesting story although far from the best one in the collection. ***1/2.
Three Past Midnight: The Library Policeman
I think this one gets a bad rap. Yes, it's a mess, and I get the sneaking suspicion King had no idea what he was doing when he wrote it (he admits as much in the forward) but King claims the story scares him, and it does me too. And I don't find too many of his stories legit scary. He compares it to Christine in starting out as a comical idea and turning into a horrifying nightmare. A couple of thoughts from me there. Nothing in Christine is as horrifying as this. The main trauma of the story is Sam remembering back when he was raped by a stranger as a little kid. There is nothing approaching that level of horror in Christine. And considering how silly the premise is, maybe some fans found that idea out of place.
But it's a mess and an interesting mess at that.
One of the oddest and most unique things about it is that the scariest sequence doesn't actually have any real tension to it. Dave telling Sam and Naomi his history with Ardelia literally has no stakes and is essentially just a conversation. But it's riveting and horrifying anyways. Similarly, King really makes you understand about the good in Dave by Stan relating the actual story of the baseballs. Cool touches like that are a King mainstay, and why he's a cut above any other horror writer you can think of. He allows the good moments to not just happen, but either be appreciated or enjoyed by the heroes. And for a guy telling creepy stories that specific touch really makes all the difference.
Not a ton of Kingverse references here, but King references himself as a writer (which sort of messes with some of the themes he later developed about Keystone Earth in the final three Dark Tower books). Also should note Sam and Naomi's happy ending is briefly confirmed at the end of the upcoming novel "Needful Things". The town the story takes place in (Junction City) however is due more much more unpleasant times ahead.
Put this down for a widely panned King book I actually liked. Other members of this club include "Insomnia" and "Rose Madder". And while we are stating unpopular opinions, I think all three of those polarizing books are better than "The Body", "Cujo", "IT", and "Pet Sematary". I tend to agree with most King fans about what his GREAT books are ("The Stand", "'Salem's Lot", "The Dark Tower", "Rita Hayworth And The Shawshank Redemption") but when it comes to both other fans, and frankly Uncle Stevie himself, I tend to have very different opinions about which books are his GOOD ones. This is a good one and the second best story in the collection. ****.
Four Past Midnight: The Sun Dog
My least favorite story in the collection. King warns us in the Foreword people looking for explanations will be disappointed. And while I'm not disappointed we didn't get explanations, I dislike King's unexplainable fiction more than stuff he puts in the work to make credible. And it's no contest. The Langoliers is precisely as ludicrous a premise as The Sun Dog. But King put in the legwork to make it believable. The "unexplained horror" in both this story and much of Night Shift and Skeleton Crew feels shoddy as hell.
The story is hardly worthless. That bears admitting because there ARE a few King stinkers I would claim that about. But I think Pop Merrill is an interesting character, and like Kevin, I like the way he talks, and how it's explained he uses "I mean to say," the same way other people use, "like" or "you know", and as a way to pause the conversation to gather his thoughts. My favorite part of the novella (hands down) is the extended chapter where Merrill goes from place to place trying to sell the camera to the "Mad Hatters". The last (Chaffee), I think got to the root of the matter best, at least as far a purchase of a supernatural object goes: As far as they could see, it's a rare example of an unexplained and singularly unique supernatural occurrence that is actually quite boring. I love that chapter, and I love how steamed the Hatters were making Pops for not being stupid enough to want to either buy or believe in a dangerous and worthless object. I enjoyed Pop's misery at the reality check that the people who he routinely "rooked" were actually smarter than him.
Kevin's an all right protagonist but he's a little square. And the fact that he actually believes he IS better than "the summer people" shows he's not really growing up right. Castle Rock is kinda of a sucky town. It's probably why Leland Gaunt sees potential in it later on.
King Connections: Kevin has a weird vision about the time Jack Sawyer visited the town of Oatley in The Talisman, and encountered an incomprehensible wino with a shopper cart accusing him of being a "Fushing Feef". Pops Merrill is the uncle of Ace Merrill from "The Body". Shawshank Prison is mentioned. Polly Chalmers from "Needful Things" is briefly seen, and the Narrator even mysteriously notes that she is a person they will need to discuss at a later date. Cujo's story is mentioned. Sheriff Alan Pangborn from "The Dark Half" appears and it's revealed his wife and son have died in a car crash.
The unresolved ending hinting at a bad end for Kevin and his father is another reason to dislike the story. I have said it before and I will say it again: A good ending can makes a reader / viewer forgive A LOT. So when I'm already not digging this story, it underwhelming me on the last page really hurts it.
My least favorite story in the collection. It is not without its good points, however. **1/2.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
I knew a couple of things going in.
1. I probably wasn't going to like it.
2. I wouldn't hold that fact against it.
Truth is I liked it slightly more than I thought I would, but I still didn't like it much. Aside from the fact that it's unreasonable to expect a secondary actor like Letitia Wright to carry the franchise in the same way as Chadwick Freaking Boseman, the truth is, it's a movie about grief, and that's no fun. And it's only about grief because of real-world events. I can't fault the producers for being so shellshocked by Boseman's death that they refused to recast T'Challa. But still, this is not the sequel that was planned or that we were due.
Ross was married to the Contessa? Poor dude. Lucky he got out of that marriage alive. Is Everett Ross related to Thaddeus Ross? I forget if that's ever come up before.
I actually like Namor which is a bit of a surprise considering what a turd every other incarnation of that character is portrayed as upon their introduction. Yes, I would describe his plans and motivations as sinister. But the reason Kevin Feige has value is he understands the character can be sinister, and still civil, reasonable, and likable. Every other cartoon I've seen Namor in as an antagonist goes out of its way to say how much he sucks and what a jerk he is. It's unnecessary. Take note: Recent Marvel Cartoons used to portray T'CHALLA as a jerk of all people, but it never occurred to the Marvel Television producers that "complicated" and "a total bunghole" are not actually synonyms. Kids, your antagonists looking to reform someday on your superhero cartoons don't HAVE to be as unlikable as the adults making the cartoons show them as. They are they way because those adult writers are simply bad at their jobs.
I love that Shuri sees Killmonger on the Vision Quest. And nothing really told me later on that that was inappropriate either.
I love M'Baku. He is a full out villain in other incarnations, but I like that the MCU has put him in the role of Wise Counsel instead. He's the one character besides the Williams kid making me smile.
Is that Ironheart? Weird movie for her to debut in, although it seems weird to debut Namor in a Black Panther movie too (or at least one without T'Challa).
I didn't much dig it. But my epic hate rants against Eternals, and the latest Thor and Doctor Strange sequels simply do not apply to this movie. It's a bummer, but really that's actually through no fault of its own. **1/2.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch "Tribe"
A kid Wookiee is a cute enough idea, but he's also a Jedi! Good deal!
And he mistrusts Clones (for good reason).
On the downside I found the Wookiee platitude at the end of the end meaningless and a case of the producers trying to tack on a satisfying ending to a scenario where one isn't actually possible.
But Junior Wookiee Jedi! Too cute! ***.
Night Court "Dan v. Dating"
It didn't work. The episode couldn't decide what it wanted to do with Dan.
Also, not too put too fine a point on it but the series is trying to do too much at once. I kind of want to see a normal episode instead of one focusing on big life-changing events for Dan and Abby.
Not great. *1/2.
Law & Order "Almost Famous"
Pretty good week. Aside from the runner. That always pisses me off.
Price did two really great things. Telling the dude if he didn't take the deal he was going to do everything he could to make him spend the rest of his life in prison. What's great is the jerk believed him. The other great thing he did was saying he was gonna prosecute Max for manslaughter. I don't care how young he is or how dumb his parents are. He made a bad choice and has to live with it. Good for Price for knowing that even after hooking the Big Fish.
I thought the judge was absolutely terrible. She made so many bad calls in both the courtroom and chambers I thought it was going to turn out she was on the take. In reality the show is badly written. No judge in real life would have allowed that awful lawyer to accuse the guy on the stand of being pedophile simply to score points. It was reprehensible and every "I'll allow it" told me that judge deserves to be thrown off the bench. Similarly appalling was her excluding the video because the awful lawyer convinces her the kid is "acting as an agent of the government". Honestly, I think the real problem is bad writing, and the writers simply don't know how to write credible judges. And this has been a big problem on the relaunch so I can't even call this misstep an outlier.
The acting coach at the beginning was a perfect red herring in the sense that everything the viewer saw him do made us think he was abusing that kid. It's a pretty sweet trick the writers had an explanation for everything, even the child porn charge (done as a highschooler from a topless pic from his girlfriend). Even the outcry the officers heard from the hallway and the scenes he was practicing made him sound entirely guilty.
Something bothers me a little, and it's a problem for all television, and not just this show. But I didn't believe the idea that somebody is putting kids under contract to do Jackass stunts and nobody is doing anything about it. It seems like a problem that doesn't exist that fogey writers believe does. The show isn't just old-fashioned because of the quips the detective do bemoaning social media and how they want nothing to do with it. It's because they are making it sound worse than it probably is. These are old people fears. Maybe the showrunners need to shut off Fox News for a hot minute.
Decent week. Outside of the crappy judge (and maybe the actual unbelievable premise) I didn't have too many other complaints. Well, the runner. Always the runner. ***1/2.
Law & Order "Mammon"
The rest of the episode wasn't bad but the ending shows why I believe Rick Eid runs the show entirely without a conscience.
It wasn't entirely "Not bad" however. The chase scenes continue to annoy and confound me. Do the producers actually think we find them exciting? This iteration of the show strikes me as a bit pathetic for always going back to them.
But the episode wasn't terrible. ***.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit "Blood Out"
They are NOT kidding about going there. That was the closest Stable and Benson EVER got.
Man, Valasco is slime. Really. But to be honest, Bruno bribing the victim for information is also problematic as hell.
Stabler and Benson COULD be a thing at some point. That actually blows my mind. SO close here. The show has taken over 20 years, but damn. ****.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit "Intersection"
While it is true that when talking to suspects Valasco is a notorious liar, after hearing that recording, that isn't something I'd simply take for granted. It's actually concerning. Considering Valasco gave the dude drugs in the previous episode, it probably means he IS dirty.
Do I want him to be? The show used to walk that stuff back. God knows they did with Rollins enough times. But I think it would be interesting to do that with Velasco especially considering he's trying to play "Good cop" with Muncie at the same time.
And I love the advice to the wife talking to the guy holding the lady hostage: "Lie". Really. Duh. Some lies are all right.
I'm glad the couple from the beginning made it through. They were really cute together.
Bruno spent the episode impressing me. He's still a little rough around the edges, but he had a better first day than either Muncie or Velasco did.
Solid week. ***1/2.
Law & Order: Organized Crime "Partners In Crime"
Not a very strong closing scene.
Jet is very good and I'm worried about her at the same time.
It's sort of fun to see the Task Force teaming up with Teddy Silas. It makes sense because of his deal, but he and his father were the Big Bads at the beginning of the season, and that sort of that petered out.
The good about Murphy: The scene in the confessional was chilling. The bad about him: I don't like the dog. As far as scary gimmicks and affectations go, it's kind of lame.
Decent week. ***1/2.
Law & Order: Organized Crime "Punch Drunk"
I didn't like it too much. That might surprise you. It seemed perfectly acceptable on the surface, didn't it? The reason I suspect most fans WILL accept and have no problems with it is that it is not outside of the way the rest of television treats drama. And regardless of whether viewers have been conditioned to accept the idea that people's careers are essentially ways for them to learned nursery-school level morality lessons about their interpersonal relationships with coworkers, that doesn't make it acceptable. It sucks when The Arrowverse does it. It sucks when THIS show does it.
Yes, it is very common to tie a character's emotional growth into really dumb mistakes on the job. It's also unprofessional. It also makes me think less of Jet. And her ending the episode in the trunk of a dude's car makes me think less of the show.
This is still the best Law & Order. But it's still JUST a TV show and episodes like this on THIS show (and pretty much every other show I watch and review) make me painfully aware of that fact. I never thank my TV for doing a TV thing. Because TV sucks. It always has. The best shows transcend the medium. The ones that fall into the common trappings of the medium really don't wind up impressing me that much. And the sad fact is I don't think there are too many TV shows that DON'T ever fall prey to that. What I won't do is praise episodes like this for it. **.
Batman: The Adventures Continue: Season Three No. 1 "Muscle Out"
It's just not the same.
I don't think Paul Dini, Alan Burnett, or even BRUCE TIMM actually understand why I loved and valued the DCAU. Clearly this issue with its violence and cursing believes fans responded to Batman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited because of its adult themes. For me, it was the opposite. It was its kid-oriented nature that made it a breath of fresh air compared to the grim and unfun superhero comics both of the era and today. If Dini and Burnett heard from fans they wanted the franchise more unpleasant and inappropriate, they were getting bad feedback. But I have a sneaking suspicion no fan of that franchise actually asked for that and they did this on their own.
The comic has its charms for being DCAU adjacent. Just like Batman And Harley Quinn and Justice League Vs. The Fatal Five did. But it's just not the same, just like them.
I appreciated the tribute to Kevin Conroy at the end. But my grief over his loss is also quite frankly due to my anger at Warner Bros and DC wasting his talents by using him rarely, and when they DID use him, rarely using him in great projects. DC believed Kevin should be saved for special projects which is stupid and inane. Every project Kevin did was special for his participation. Newsflash, DC: It is absolutely all right to make as many projects as possible as high quality as possible. And DC sitting on their hands by both not using Kevin, and not creating DCAU projects that fit comfortably into that beloved Universe said they were taking him for granted and not caring that he was a real person with a real lifespan. The tribute is nice. But the better tribute would have been hiring him often and giving him great scripts always.
The continuity with Waller is messed up and Lock-Up was always a terrible character, so there is no geek moment for seeing him. I prefer the version of Black Mask we saw in the brief Batman Adventures run printed around the time JLU was airing. THOSE were some fun Batman Comics in the DCAU spirit.
I'm not happy with this. At all. **.
Four Past Midnight by Stephen King
King's second collection of "Four Novellas" after "Different Seasons", one of my favorite formats of his.
Unlike "Different Seasons" it could be argued ALL of the stories here are horror, and most of then are longer than the novellas from that book. The book is nearly a thousand pages and hella long. It's a good thing I liked three of the stories. Collection Overall: ****.
One Past Midnight: The Langoliers
That is a ripping good yarn. That's the best way to describe it. King does not get enough credit for it. The excellent miniseries was also far too underpraised. This is all great stuff.
I think Craig Toomy is one of King's best villains so far. Because I feel SO much sympathy for him. As big of a jerk as he is, he doesn't WANT to hurt anyone, and he's simply crazy. The empathy the blind girl Dinah (who he stabbed) has for him is something I feel too. And I find her dire warning to Nick not to kill him because they "need him" absolutely chilling in its implications. When Brian believes Dinah used him to save their lives, as ugly as it sounds, I think Brian thinking Toomy probably wouldn't have minded being used in that way in his right mind was probably correct.
King as Narrator describing the fish in the trench to set the scene for the pressure this madman is under is great storytelling. I repeat: A good yarn. Toomy's use of the words "Scampering" and "monkey-business" in his head also give off a sense of deliberate mischief to his actions in his former life. The sci-fi crisis hits him bad because he was about to destroy everything he ever worked for out of spite, and it wouldn't let him. No wonder that fish exploded with the pressure being lessened so dramatically. And it's interesting the thing he notes about the vision of Dinah is that she showed him a look he's never gotten before: Compassion. And their connection and her being able to see from his eyes before she died is incredibly bittersweet knowing the horrible things they have done and ARE doing to each other. It's really interesting.
As far as sci-fi mysteries go, I have to say unlike "The Tommyknockers", and later "Dreamcatcher", this one holds up. It's a mystery that makes little sense as it is happening (and they are very fortunate to have a mystery writer aboard) that actually makes a weird kind of sense as it goes along. To be clear: Bob Jenkins and his teenage sidekick Albert could have been wrong in every deduction of what happened. But they operated under the assumption that they weren't and everyone was okay at the end. It's likelier than not they had the thing down to a science after all.
And you can call it unrealistic that Bob would guess the thing about the matches beforehand because it doesn't actually conform to any known time displacement theories. I prefer to think of it as impressive instead. In practice, it's shoddy as hell writing and an unlikely solve. As it is, I like Bob Jenkins for being there and for being so damn useful.
Speaking of which, one of the characters bemoaned the fact that the situation is already so bad, it's not fair they are stuck with a murderous nut like Toomy. I think it's more than fair. Not just because Dinah is right that they NEED him for Langolier bait, but because the amount of useful people on that plane who just HAPPENED to be asleep when they fell through the time loop is insane. Because Dinah's precognition, Nick's special forces skills, Bob Jenkins' deductive reasoning, and the fact that Brian is a freaking Pilot means they were lucky they were only stuck with ONE Toomy. Karma dictates they should have had four. Or maybe six, because I don't think either Albert or Laurel is entirely useless in a crisis either.
I love that one of the passengers basically sleeps through the entire thing, and the brief times he awakes he sees what's happening and chooses to go back to sleep. The one thing the other passengers have in common every time they look at him is that they envy him. What a great subversive plot-thread for King to weave throughout the story.
As main characters go, I don't much like Brian, simply because he once hit his wife. I understand that Nick Hopewell feels he has a lot to make up for for the 3 kids he accidentally killed on a mission, but I actually think Brian does too knowing that.
King connections of note: Not a ton, but The Shop from "Firestarter" is mentioned.
"The New People" at the end is about as good a description for the survivors as any. King is a cool horror writer because he doesn't usually do the "hand popping out of the grave in the last shot" moment in his stories. He usually allows his survivors actual happy endings. And that might be why his stuff is so popular while the rest of the horror genre is a bit polarizing with much of the public, I don't personally like horror that much myself usually. But I like Stephen King, his optimism, and he characters. The fact that most of his books are supposed to be scary is one of the least appealing things about to them me in general. That fact certainly isn't why I read him. King is just an innately good storyteller.
And yes, I love the ending, because it's a perfect capper and resolution to the mystery and the doubt and dread turning into joy feels completely earned. The Langoliers is one of King better, unsung stories. I'm betting some people who will read this review will never have even heard of it before. And the miniseries was great too. I think Bronson Pinchot was a VERY odd choice for Toomy, but I'm guessing that's why they chose him. Dean Stockwell was absolutely perfect as Bob Jenkins, as long as we are keeping track of that sort of thing.
The dark period in King's career is coming to a close. He still has some disappointments coming up before he fully gets out of the slump, but he's gonna get clean soon, and that's gonna help things immeasurably. In the meantime, this story is solid all the way through. *****.
Two Part Midnight: Secret Window, Secret Garden
When I first read this I did not predict the twist ending. But it's like Leland on Twin Peaks, when you reread it there can be no other answer. You feel dumb for having been surprised the first time. Really, I don't know how and why "Who killed Laura Palmer?" became SUCH a national sensation and burning mystery. Because it's super obvious in hindsight. Just like Mort Rainey essentially being Norman Bates.
And the reason I'm satisfied with this is because I can't stand Mort. He blames everybody else for his own problems and refuses take any responsibility for any bad things that have happened in his life. Ironically Shooter was created by his mind to figure out a way to let him do that and suffer for how much his personality actually sucks, but really, most people don't need to go crazy and murder their cat and two people to have a revelation about themselves. Mort Rainey is unlikable and I find him one of King's famous "bad husbands" on par with Burt from "Children Of The Corn", Jack Torrance from "The Shining", and Louis Creed from "Pet Sematary". And he would have been as crappy a husband as those guys even if he never killed anybody.
King delivers a bummer ending for a change, but since it's for a character he's gotten us to dislike, the reader doesn't object. I certainly don't.
One writing insight I liked was Mort thinking his old writing teacher's books were well-received by the critics and didn't sell for the same reason: They were incomprehensible. This rings true to me about a lot of critically loved stuff that audiences don't give two craps about. Critics love stuff that doesn't make sense because they can pretend they actually understand it and us plebes are simply too dim to. Very insightful observation there about both bad fiction and bad fiction reviewers.
It's an interesting story although far from the best one in the collection. ***1/2.
Three Past Midnight: The Library Policeman
I think this one gets a bad rap. Yes, it's a mess, and I get the sneaking suspicion King had no idea what he was doing when he wrote it (he admits as much in the forward) but King claims the story scares him, and it does me too. And I don't find too many of his stories legit scary. He compares it to Christine in starting out as a comical idea and turning into a horrifying nightmare. A couple of thoughts from me there. Nothing in Christine is as horrifying as this. The main trauma of the story is Sam remembering back when he was raped by a stranger as a little kid. There is nothing approaching that level of horror in Christine. And considering how silly the premise is, maybe some fans found that idea out of place.
But it's a mess and an interesting mess at that.
One of the oddest and most unique things about it is that the scariest sequence doesn't actually have any real tension to it. Dave telling Sam and Naomi his history with Ardelia literally has no stakes and is essentially just a conversation. But it's riveting and horrifying anyways. Similarly, King really makes you understand about the good in Dave by Stan relating the actual story of the baseballs. Cool touches like that are a King mainstay, and why he's a cut above any other horror writer you can think of. He allows the good moments to not just happen, but either be appreciated or enjoyed by the heroes. And for a guy telling creepy stories that specific touch really makes all the difference.
Not a ton of Kingverse references here, but King references himself as a writer (which sort of messes with some of the themes he later developed about Keystone Earth in the final three Dark Tower books). Also should note Sam and Naomi's happy ending is briefly confirmed at the end of the upcoming novel "Needful Things". The town the story takes place in (Junction City) however is due more much more unpleasant times ahead.
Put this down for a widely panned King book I actually liked. Other members of this club include "Insomnia" and "Rose Madder". And while we are stating unpopular opinions, I think all three of those polarizing books are better than "The Body", "Cujo", "IT", and "Pet Sematary". I tend to agree with most King fans about what his GREAT books are ("The Stand", "'Salem's Lot", "The Dark Tower", "Rita Hayworth And The Shawshank Redemption") but when it comes to both other fans, and frankly Uncle Stevie himself, I tend to have very different opinions about which books are his GOOD ones. This is a good one and the second best story in the collection. ****.
Four Past Midnight: The Sun Dog
My least favorite story in the collection. King warns us in the Foreword people looking for explanations will be disappointed. And while I'm not disappointed we didn't get explanations, I dislike King's unexplainable fiction more than stuff he puts in the work to make credible. And it's no contest. The Langoliers is precisely as ludicrous a premise as The Sun Dog. But King put in the legwork to make it believable. The "unexplained horror" in both this story and much of Night Shift and Skeleton Crew feels shoddy as hell.
The story is hardly worthless. That bears admitting because there ARE a few King stinkers I would claim that about. But I think Pop Merrill is an interesting character, and like Kevin, I like the way he talks, and how it's explained he uses "I mean to say," the same way other people use, "like" or "you know", and as a way to pause the conversation to gather his thoughts. My favorite part of the novella (hands down) is the extended chapter where Merrill goes from place to place trying to sell the camera to the "Mad Hatters". The last (Chaffee), I think got to the root of the matter best, at least as far a purchase of a supernatural object goes: As far as they could see, it's a rare example of an unexplained and singularly unique supernatural occurrence that is actually quite boring. I love that chapter, and I love how steamed the Hatters were making Pops for not being stupid enough to want to either buy or believe in a dangerous and worthless object. I enjoyed Pop's misery at the reality check that the people who he routinely "rooked" were actually smarter than him.
Kevin's an all right protagonist but he's a little square. And the fact that he actually believes he IS better than "the summer people" shows he's not really growing up right. Castle Rock is kinda of a sucky town. It's probably why Leland Gaunt sees potential in it later on.
King Connections: Kevin has a weird vision about the time Jack Sawyer visited the town of Oatley in The Talisman, and encountered an incomprehensible wino with a shopper cart accusing him of being a "Fushing Feef". Pops Merrill is the uncle of Ace Merrill from "The Body". Shawshank Prison is mentioned. Polly Chalmers from "Needful Things" is briefly seen, and the Narrator even mysteriously notes that she is a person they will need to discuss at a later date. Cujo's story is mentioned. Sheriff Alan Pangborn from "The Dark Half" appears and it's revealed his wife and son have died in a car crash.
The unresolved ending hinting at a bad end for Kevin and his father is another reason to dislike the story. I have said it before and I will say it again: A good ending can makes a reader / viewer forgive A LOT. So when I'm already not digging this story, it underwhelming me on the last page really hurts it.
My least favorite story in the collection. It is not without its good points, however. **1/2.
