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matt_zimmerHaven't done this in a couple of weeks so there should be about two weeks worth of reviews here.
Let's see: the latest episodes of The Simpsons, King of the Hill, and American Dad, the latest Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Dollhouse and Battlestar Galactica, the last two episodes each of Heroes, Lost and Wolverine and the X-Men, the series finale of TMNT: Back to the Sewer. I'll put the reviews for Wonder Woman and Futurama last so you won't have to skip over them to read about the other stuff if you haven't seen them.
The Simpsons "How the Test Was Won"
This episode made me realize something I had either forgotten or had never even occurred to me: This show is coasting on fumes and trying to judge it by the Golden Years of it is a waste of time and probably gives more frustration than it's worth. The show will NEVER be great again. Sure, we'll get the occassional good episode but for now we'll just have to deal with what we get, new openings and movies aside. I've just decided to try to enjoy the ride.
This episode, like ALL Al Jean episodes is passable but not memorable. I enjoyed the stuff with Skinner, Bart and the other dumb kids but Lisa's test counterpoint was a giant yawn. The show had a couple of good lines and gags and I'm still getting used to the new opening but other than that this was just a normal episode (albeit in widescreen).
Better than last week's but not by much. ***.
King of the Hill "Master of Puppets"
I had mixed feelings about this one too. While Peggy and Hank have never exactly been the best parents ever here I was annoyed how they wer treated by Bobby when the fact of the matter is they didn't do anything wrong. Any kid who tries to plan his social life around his parents picking them up after a night out is just asking for trouble. EVERYBODY knows this and when the kid gets screwed, that's just the way it is and it's not a huge deal. Parents run late on nights out and it was really foolish of Bobby to expect them to pick him up when he could have planned to go home with his friends.
Bobby's jerkishness rubbed of on Hank and Peggy who were trying to compete for the affections of a completely ungrateful son. Bobby manipulated them both and was pretty much a horrible person throughout.
I didn't hate the episode however. Bobby's comeuppance in the form of Peggy and Hank cramping his style during the third act was QUITE amusing. That said, I was waiting for the King of the Hill twist on the concept that never came. Bobby just confessed and the episode ended.
Look, I've SEEN them pull out clever endings in the later episodes but they didn't eve TRY here. It's like they are coasting on fumes to the series finale which is a HUGE disappointment considering how great last week's episode was. **1/2.
American Dad "Live and Let Fry"
This was hilarious and an EXTREMELY clever way to take a dig at pot laws by pointing out how ridiculous SOME laws are and that EVERYBODY crosses the stupid ones sometimes.
I LOVED Terlington's role here (every time he appears is gold) and I enjoyed Steve as the MSG mule. I enjoyed ths Stan on the toilet bit too with Patrick Stewart as Bullock. Funny stuff.
A good episode. ****.
Batman: The Brave and the Bold "Deep Cover For Batman!"
Best episode yet. I LOVED seeing the Red Hood (and the Joker hinted beneath it) and it was great to get a version of the Crime Syndicate. Here's hoping that JLU World's Collide DTV gets off the ground so we can see Ultraman and Superwoman too. I loved all of the evil versions of the characters especially the doppelgangers for Blue Beetle and Red Tornado. The action was neat and the cliffhanger rocked. Excellent episode. I can't wait for part 2. *****.
Dollhouse "Stage Fright"
In which the series completely and utterly lost me. This was HORRIBLE. Absolutely terrible. Buffy season one had it's share of stinkers too but at least THAT series first couple of episodes were really cool. You CANNOT throw a turkey at us this early on in a series run and expect your audience to stick around just because you are named Joss Whedon. I'll still be rubbernecking the show but I am completely certain that this show is destined a quick death. It won't even run as long as Bionic Woman.
God, I hated this episode. Who exactly were you supposed to sympathize with. Joss is known for grrl power but everyone in this episode was either a victim or a sociopath. How believable is it that the singer Echo was trying to protect was suicidal? Okay, that's plausible. What WASN'T is the fact that NO ONE knew and informed the Dollhouse and it was thrown at us as a major plot twist. NONE of the characters wee behaving in a remotely believable way. You CAN'T use characters to service your story and be taken seriously. It HAS to be done the other way around.
Only one good thing in the episode: the revelation that Ballard's mole was a member of the Dollhouse. And even that was flawed. Aren't the Doll's memories supposed to be completely wiped after each session? How was he able to go back to his character after his treatment?
Seriously, this was bad. And to give us this stinker SO early on does not bode well for the series. 0.
Battlestar Galactica "Someone To Watch Over Me"
Cheif Tyrell wins this week's biggest idiot on television award. You KNEW Boomer betraying him was coming but no matter how loudly you screamed at the TV he still fell for it. And the fall-out to Hera getting snatched looks to be bad. REAL bad. Not only is Helo and Athena's marraige in serious trouble through no fault of either of them but the peace treaty between Galatica and the Cylon rebels could be shattered if it's found out it was the Chief who freed Boomer.
I was lukewarm on Kara's piano playing crush until they tied it directly into The Watchtower song from the end of last season. Brilliant.
Man, this episode was tough to watch in places. But I think what happened needed to happen to propel us to the final arc. This is not an easy or safe show. ****.
Heroes "Chapter Three: Building 26"
You fooled me good, Heroes. Two of the biggest faults I had with this Volume completely melted away when I discovered that Daphne was still alive (still keeping the horrible future in play) and that HRG was a mole working against Nathan (explaining his questionable motivations to a T). In my defense, Villains was so sucky I could hardly be blamed to not expect the writers to know what they were doing. Nicely played.
Great episode. ****1/2.
Heroes "Chapter Four: Cold Wars"
I liked this one too if not as much. Claire's mom is so on-the-ball and this was a romance for Claire done completely right (her trying to convince her mom she was sexually active was priceless). Sylar's story didn't thrill me until he got rid of his annoying groupie (although I wish he had killed him). I still think that kid is his brother. NICE reveal of Sylar's mom's fate too.
Danko is a piece of work and a truly great baddie to hiss at. Nathan is an idiot for trusting him.
Good episode. ****.
Lost "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham"
This episode was incredibly moving in places (who didn't get watery eyes seeing Locke at Helen's grave?) and incredibly shocking too (Ben was the one who killed Locke!). I loved seeing Walt again even though I wish he had gone back to the island with the others. The stand-out scene of the episode was for me the reunion between Jack and Locke and how their diametrically opposed viewpoints put their conflict in complete clear terms. I felt bad for Jack.
I also like Locke's scene with Kate because of how uneasy and defensive Locke seemed. It was as if he was trying to convince himself as well as Kate that he WAS capable of love and having a hard time convincing either of them. Terry O'Quinn played this PERFECTLY.
Hurley thinking Locke was dead when he met him was great too.
I really liked this episode. ****1/2.
Lost "LaFluer"
I'm gonna say it. I don't want to and I may be completely off base. I think this episode asked us to trust the creators TOO much. So much so, in fact, that I feel extremely uncomfortable giving them the benefit of the doubt on this latest doozy of a plot twist.
When I learned some of the castaways got off the island at the end of season three I was pleasantly shocked. Having Locke die was a nice twist as well. But this episode gives us TWO twists that I think may be asking too much for the audience to handle.
The first twist makes sense in a weird kind of way. The survivors on the island were fixed in time at some point in the seventies after Locke stopped the island moving. This was hinted at happening earlier in the season and I could go with it. A bit much, perhaps but not TOO much to handle.
The Three Years Later twist however has me EXTREMELY skeptical. That's the kind of thing you give the audience at a season finale or premiere. I wasn't ready for it and the more I think about it the more annoyed at it I am.
We see three year later Sawyer is some kind of heroic icon among the Dharma Initiative (as well as Juliet being his lover) and Jin is speaking perfect English. It's like the show has moved these characters without warning into a completely different place and asking us to pick up three years later. I don't know if I want to do that. The Flash-Forwards were easy for me to digest because they were always intercut with present goings-on on the island. Now EVERY current storyline left on the show (with the possible exception of Locke's timeline) will seem like a flashback. The show entered a completely different phase and I wasn't ready.
Maybe I should have been (there were clues this would happen) but part of me is comforted by seeing the same characters on TV week by week and any change and growth they experience I experience it with them. The show completely pulled the rug out from under me and I don't know WHAT to think. Will these characters still be recognizable? Will I WANT to take the rest of the journey with them? I hope so, but this is the first time I've felt uncetain about the creators' intentions since Micheal shot Ana Lucia and Libby in season two.
The episode was good, but I have VERY serious misgivings about where the series is ultimately headed. ***.
Wolverine and the X-Men "X-Cablibre"
X-Men: Evolution was nowhere NEAR as bad as many of it's detracters claim but I was always bummed that they never really bothered to explore the X-Men Universe as thoroughly as the old show from the early nineties. This show is only on it's seventh episode and we're already getting Mojo, Psylocke and Genosha. That's really cool.
Some of the superpowers the Mutants on the ship had made me giggle (like glue hands and butterfly wings) but I was really charmed by Nightcrawler and the rest of the episode. Just a lot of fun and I can't wait to see what happens with Mojo next (who was the ONLY cartoony character on the old show). Really good episode. ****1/2.
Wolverine and the X-Men "Wolverine Vs. Hulk"
I might have to give the DTV movie Hulk Vs Wolverine another shot. At the time I didn't like it but the way this episode ties into it is just SO great and makes Wolverine's evolution from butthole in that movie to the reasonable guy of the series VERY cool. This was also the first REALLY funny episode of the series and the Hulk provided MANY laugh out loud moments (usually at Wolverine's expense). The closing gag of Wolvie getting revenge on Nick Fury was great too. I loved how even though the average viewer who knows only a BIT about these characters can realize that even though Wolverine, Fury, and Hulk are supposed to all be good guys, their agendas and methods can put them in direct conflict with each other. That's something the Marvel Universe does particularly well.
I loved this episode and it was my favorite so far. *****.
TMNT: Back to the Sewer "Wedding Bells and Bytes"
This was just great. I'm pretty sure this is the final season of the 2004 revamp of the Turtles and they couldn't have asked to go out on a nicer last episode. Instead of making it a huge sprawling multi-parter that ties up all of the loose ends (like that hinted future battle with the three Shredders in Tempus Fugit) it basically simply brought Splinter back, and married off Casey and April (but not without the Viral Shredder crashing the wedding). It brought back all of the old faces on the series and it was just great to see everybody again. We haven't seen Leatherhead OR the Fugitoid since the season three finale and I had wondered what they had gotten up to. We also saw cameos at the end of the Rat King, Bishop and Cody Jones and we got to see a smiling Karai in her civvies along with the Justice Force and Usagi. I just enjoyed every moment of this and was on the edge of my seat hoping they wouldn't throw a cliffhanger at us and that everything would work out.
Really, this was just great and the best season finale the show has ever done. Maybe because they didn't TRY to go all-out it didn't feel like a cop-out at all. Instead it was the best episode of the season. *****.
American Dad! Volume One
Well, I picked up the first two seasons of American Dad (on sale in a bundle pack for fifteen dollars) and I am glad I did. The first season IS indeed rocky but it is not without it's charms and set up later shenanagins. The show is basically a darker version of Family Guy with better stories and writing.
The series is not without it's faults however. For a series that the creators claim was created after the crazy political climate of Bush's reelection the series really doesn't do as many political episodes as the premise suggested it should. It really isn't an animated "All In The Family" as it was pitched to Fox but a clone of Family Guy. The fact that it is often quite better than the former series doesn't change that fact.
The first volume set contains the first thirteen episodes of the series. The earlier episodes are hit or miss (they were still finding their way) but kick the butt off of the early episodes of Family Guy. Best episodes on the set are Homeland Insecurity and Bullocks to Stan. Worst episodes are Threat Levels and A Smith in the Hand. Set overall: ***1/2.
American Dad! Pilot: Honestly, even though this is kind of sucky it's about ten times better than Family Guy's first episode. That's not saying much since the early episodes of that series were so horrible but it could have been much worse. The character designs here are so jarring however and Steve's voice sounds completely wrong. It could have been better but it could have been a lot worse. **1/2.
Threat Levels: It's early in the series' run so I can forgive them for trying to see exactly how far they could take Stan's character without him being completely unlikable. But they pushed it too far here. They did that a lot in the first season and this episode's Bum Fights make the character even more despicable than early Peter Griffin. *.
Stan Knows Best: The stuff with Haley in Jeff's van was hilarious but this isn't quite a good episode. Steve and Roger would have MUCH better subplots later in the series' run and the episode isn't all that memorable. None-the-less the episode DOES give a hint at how messed up Stan and Haley's relationship is in the sexual tension department with him " supporting" her at the strip club. I think this was the first hint at how truly twisted the series wound up being. ***.
Francine's Flashback: Patrick Stewart as Bullock! LOVED the forgetting the anniversay gags and Steve and Roger are developing into a couple of cards. But Francine isn't a strong enough character to center an episode around, much less one which has her behaving out of character. ***.
Roger Codger: The gags with the racist old lady were both tasteless and hilarious. Decent episode. ***.
Homeland Insecurity: I loved this episode and it's comments about racism (especially since the Memari's turned out to be racists themselves) but it's the Golden Turd run that makes this the show's first great episode. I love how commited and serious the show is towards the subplot and this puts the Peter/ Chicken fights on Family Guy to shame. They returned to this in another episode but I honestly think this running gag deserves to be brought back every season. I'm still left hanging. ****.
Deacon Stan, Jesus Man: LOVED Steve getting pregnant and Roger's breat milk was hilariously repulsive. Martin Mull is great as Father Donovan too. ***1/2.
Bullocks to Stan: Best episode of the first season because it has Patrick Stewart, one of the world's greatest living actors saying completely inappropriate and sick things. Him singing "I Love Little Girls" while wearing Hayley's bathrobe while Bullock looks like a cartoon version of himself is acting fearlessness on par with Adam West on Family Guy. Also loved Klaus' DVD commentary. ****1/2.
A Smith in the Hand: Kind of a gross episode to be honest. **.
All About Steve: LOVE that Roger is finally getting out of the house (and avoiding the one person who WANTS to talk to him) and the geek Star Trek and Lord of the Rings gags were priceless. ***1/2.
Con Heir: On the one hand this is another episode that makes it extremely hard to sympathize with Stan. On the other it has Steve and Snot making out with a nursing home resident. I especially loved Stan and then Francine's ultra sarcastic bits. Hilarious. ***.
Stan of Arabia: Part 1: Good episode, with a nice cliffhanger but Stan is still a jerk. And yes, he just named his second wife Thundercat. ***1/2.
Stan of Arabia: Part 2: Better than part one, because Stan FINALLY learns a lesson and Roger's 1001 Arabian Nights/ 90201 run is hilarious ("What do I care if Nat can't read?"). Also love that Steve was given multiple chances to prevent his stoning and the Arabian judge was really funny too. And I am constantly amused by Haley's promiscuity. And Francine's musical number was about ten times better than Stan's in the last episode. ****. Two Part Average: ****.
How's Your Aspen?: American Dad Performance At the HBO 2005 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival: VERY fun to see all of the actors do their character's voices. And Rachel MacFarlane is suprisingly hot. Speaking of surprisingly hot I'm a bit surprised that Dee Bradley Baker is a voice over actor (even though he's extremely talented at it). He's handsome enough to be a Hollywood leading man. ****.
American Animatics: These were neat. ***1/2.
Episode 2 "Threat Levels" Table Read/ Animatic Comparison: This was a VERY cool special feature because everyone seemed to be having such a great time. It gave me a new appreciation for an episode I didn't like very much. ****1/2.
Deleted Scenes: Too many to review in depth so I'll do a one word review for each. Scenes overall: ****.
Pee In All Your Plants: Whiztacular. ***1/2.
Penis Head: Penisy. ****.
Airport Security: Gropey. ***.
I Can't Help Myself: Regrettable. **1/2.
Manscaping: Nuderacle. ****.
What About Paul Andrews?: Bombshell. ***.
The Ferris Wheel: Circular. ***1/2.
Unexpected First Menstruation: Periody. ****.
Partying Grandma: Gross. **1/2.
You Look Like A Fish: Piercing. *****.
I'll Tell You What I've Seen: FURRIES?! ****.
What's The Thread Count On These?: Threadbare. ***.
Klaus Washes Panties: Soapy. ****.
I'm AAA, Does That Get Me Anything?: Expensive. ***1/2.
Out Of This World: Saggy. ***1/2.
Class Clown: Saddamy. ****.
Then We'd Call Him The Messiah: Rangeriffic. ****.
Avon Clitoris Walk: Clitoriffic. ***1/2.
Tuttles Ostrich Burgers: Maneuvery. ***1/2.
Tuttle's Hot Sauce: Saucy. ***1/2.
Morris Code: Blinky. *****.
You're Not A Hummingbird: Squirty. ***.
Steve Goes To CPR Class: LIIIIIMMMMBEEEERRRR! ***1/2.
Mexican Doctor Soap Opera: Telenovella. ***1/2.
Pregnant Aerobics: Uncensored. ***.
I'm Taking The Stairs: Bullockuendo. ****1/2.
The World Has Descended Into Utter Chaos: What? **.
Take A Tip From Pee Wee Reese: Baggins. ***.
Stan Swallows The Ointment: Grosser. ***1/2.
Stan Talks To Timmy In The Closet: Disturbing. ***.
The A-- of Evil: Doggy. ***.
Bill Nye Kills Carl Sagan: Priceless. ****1/2.
The Costume Contest: Tron! ****.
That's My Bone: Grossiest. **1/2.
A Perk Of My Position: Perky. ***.
As They Say In My Country: Snappy. ****1/2.
The Nose Knows: Kimmel? **1/2.
All My Cool New Saudi Friends: Brief. ***1/2.
I Miss Francine: Wild. ***.
Eat Flag, Freedom Hater: Chimpbo. ***1/2.
Stan and Francine Try To Kiss: Funny. ****.
Free To Throw: Thundercatty. ***1/2.
The New CIA: Hilarious Short cartoon introducing people to the Smiths. Outstanding. *****.
Superbowl Pre-Game Promo: VERY nice cartoon that makes fun of the Superbowl. ****1/2.
Family Guy "Bored": What was this Family Guy Promo doing on the American Dad box set? ***.
DVD Menus:
Disc 1: Great Bush Joke. ****.
Disc 2: Yes, that's exactly what Karl Rove is like in real life. And more Bullock! ****1/2.
Disc 3: The Weakest of the Menus. ***1/2.
American Dad: Volume Two
The second Volume of American has a lot of solid episodes but I notice rewatching them that I enjoyed most of them much more the first time I saw them. Don't get me wrong, they're still good but they have a worse hit-to-miss ratio than I remembered.
Best episodes on the set are the solid gun control episode (Stannie Get Your Gun), the Evil-Barry episode (With Friends Like Steve's), the debut of Steve's girlfriend Debbie in one of the most unpredictable episodes ever (The American Dad Afterschool Special), and the Dungeons and Dragons animation tour de force (Dungeons and Wagons).
Worst episodes are the so-so Roger 'n Me, and the Christmas Episode The Best Christmas Never. Set overall: ****.
Stannie Get Your Gun: A VERY solid episode with an unusually likable Stan and some great gags (like Klaus' Sideways jab). I also REALLY loved Roger's revenge on Steve plot especially when it turned into an incestuous kiss between Steve and Hayley. SO wrong on SO many levels. ****1/2.
Star Trek: Liked the 40s film noir homages (especially the beautiful opening shot) but the rest of the episode is only so-so. ***.
Not Particularly Desperate Housewives: I loved the resolution to this one a lot but I'm a little bit annoyed at the series for never really exploring the lesbian crush Linda has on Francine. She's one of the few multi-dimensional characters on the show with a ton of layers and that scared the writers off. ***1/2.
Rough Trade: Roger at his new job elicited yawns from me but Stan taking on Roger's persona was money in the bank ("Ssssss. PRETTY sure I asked for Pecan Sandies"). Best bit was Stan's "64,000 Pyramid" riff in front of his mirror. ****.
Finances With Wolves: LOVED Klaus in his new body but Steve's werewolf subplot didn't exactly wow me. Klaus needs a bigger role on this show and the writers kind of painted themselves into a corner by making him a fish. ***1/2.
It's Good To Be The Queen: Stan is at his most unlikable in this episode but Roger and Steve's outing with the Pizza Messiah while not exactly funny was extremely interesting. ***.
Roger 'n Me: REALLY uncomfortable episode (this show does those REALLY well). It was hard to watch in places but I really loved the "Newlywed Game" riff. **1/2.
Helping Handis: This was SO wrong. And hilarious. LOVED Stan getting boob implants at the end and Francine being a Handicap Mafia doctor made me guffaw. A good 'un. ****.
With Friends Like Steve's: A GREAT Barry spotlight which explains why he is so completely stupid (he's medicated to prevent him from being an evil genius). And this episode? Genius. And evil. ****1/2.
Tears Of A Clooney: I like that this show will often take throwaway lines from earlier episodes and build entier stories upon them. That said this wasn't a great idea. Roger's vineyard subplot wasn't funny either. All that said, the third act and ending are fantastic so it makes it feel like the episode is better than it actually is. ***1/2.
Camp Refoogee: Not as funny upon a rewatch as it was when I first saw it. ***.
The American Dad Afterschool Special: Best episode of the season. What sets this show apart from Family Guy are the great stories with neat plot twists and this one was a doozy. I also loved Debbie as Steve's new girlfriend. This episode was just firing on all cylanders. *****.
Failure Is Not A Factory-Installed Option: Oh, lord this was MAJORLY disturbing. This show is like an evil twin version of Family Guy. Yikes. But I gotta give 'em props for the welcome return of The Golden Turd. ***1/2.
Lincoln Lover: Great Stan/ Log Cabin Republican stuff but the episode loses BIG-TIME points for Steve being so out of character. Yes, the character is kind of stupid but I've never seen him follow Stan's prejudices so faithfully before and it seemed more of a plot convienance than anything else. ***1/2.
Dungeons and Wagons: If it weren't for the not-great Stan/ Francine street racing subplot this episode would be perfect. This is the first cartoon I've EVER seen that flawlessly animated scenes in a completely different animation style. GREAT Jeff Fischer stuff and the closing gag is one of the best in the series. ****1/2.
Iced, Iced Babies: This was decent but not one of my faves. Francine was REALLY creept this episode but I guess that was supposed to be the point. And I'm not even going to mention Roger and Hayley's COMPLETELY unnerving college sideplot. ***.
Of Ice And Men: MUCH better than I remembered it. I LOVE the Grandfather Klaus framing structure and would love it even more if they explored it in the future. And Stan beinga secret ice skater was funny. ****.
Irregarding Steve: Dear God, this was disturbing and I feel completely ashamed at myself for laughing at most of the disgusting gags. In my defense the "Quantum Rape" joke probably wouldn't have been as funny as it was were it not for the deadpan delivery of Jon Stewart. And this is your only chance to see a "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" satire using squirrels. ****.
The Best Christmas Story Never: Worst episode on the set and I'm bummed it was also the last one. Outside of the humrous Roger in the seventies plot, the episode defied continuity and logic. *1/2.
Multi-Angle Scene - Stan Attacked By Francine: This was pretty neat. I loved toggling back and forth between the animatic and the finished scene. ****.
Multi-Angle Scene - Fighting Giant Monster in Game: Of all of the scenes I wanted to see an animatic of, it was definitely some of the D&D scenes from Dungeons and Wagons. Outstanding. *****.
Multi-Angle Scene - Klaus Opening Dream Sequence: Spiffy. ****1/2.
Deleted Scenes:
A lot of these were deleted for good reason but some of these are real finds including a lost episode of The Golden Turd (!) and the extended version of Jon Stewart's bit with Steve. Cool. Too many to do individual reviews for so I'll just grade them. Deleted Scenes overall: ****1/2.
Freedom Bridge: ***. / The Golden Turd: *****. /
Breast Are The Destruction to Our Success: ****. Secret Ops: ****. /
Clown Assault: ***1/2. / Remote Control Girl: ***1/2.
Boob Patrol: ***1/2. / Not the Same: *.
Thug Fish: ***. / Dog Fancy: **1/2.
Brooch World: **1/2. / Dogs Can't Read: ***.
Midget Orgasms: *1/2. / Lesbian Fantasy: ***1/2.
Domestic Abuse: **. / Menage a Trois: ****.
Conjugal Visit: ****. / Suck It Up, Stan: **1/2.
Indian Car Sales: **1/2. / Tension Breaker: **.
Tears of a Fish: **1/2. / Wetting All The Beds: **1/2.
A Pot To P-ss In: **1/2. / Werewolf Attack: **1/2.
Two Thousand Dollar Fork: **. / Delivery Boy's Dignity: **.
Virginity's a State of Mind: ***. / The Pizza Delivers You: ****.
3rd Drawer Freaky: ***1/2. / Pleading To Party: **.
Speedo Steve: ***. / The Seeds of Mistrust: ***.
Hush Money: **1/2. / Best Buddiez: ***1/2.
Kickin' A-- On Best Buddiez: *****. / Pulling the Plug: ***.
Spring Salad of Betrayal: **1/2. / Good As New: ***1/2.
Good As New (Part 2): ***1/2. / Tricked: **1/2.
At War With Dirt: ***1/2. / Disabled Strippers: ****.
Dumping Dead Bodies: ***. / My Son's a Slut: ***.
A Waste of a Son: **1/2. / Crazy Man: ***1/2.
What is Pepperoni?: ***. / A Very Safe Environment: ***.
Doogan's Sack: **1/2. / Barry's Apology: ***.
Cell Phone Up The A--: ****1/2. / Run For The Love of God: ***.
Let's Go Dig Up Your Mother: ***. / Dibs on the Pumpkin Pie: ***1/2.
The Urine of the Gods: ***1/2. / Scarecrow & Mrs. King: ***.
A Dustpan of Cake: **1/2. / Fat Fish: ****.
Cut Out My Tongue: **1/2. Beggars: *1/2.
Who's To Blame: ***. / Ozomatli is a Chicken: ***1/2.
25 Hour Fitness: ***1/2. / Long Live TV: ***1/2.
Hunting Squirrels With a Toothbrush: ***. / Seller of Cars: **1/2.
Brain Tune-Up: ***1/2. / Chief Bomb-Maker's Marital Problems: ***1/2.
Crappy Love Songs: **1/2. / Sleepy Fish: ***.
Missing Out on Life: ***. / Who Needs a Pot Dealer: ***.
Not Enough Slurpees: ****. / Good Punch for a Homo: ****.
Making Out: ***. / Dinnertime Antics: ****.
Frisbee Freak-out: ***1/2. / Let's See What Unprotected Sex Feels Like: ***1/2.
Angry No-Baby Sex: ***. / Baby Gravy: **1/2.
Don't Waste That Sperm: ***/ Go Make Out Next To The Dead Guy: ***.
Don't Give Chickens a Vote: ***1/2. / Grandpa's Story: ***.
White Slave Love: **1/2. / Another Dream Deferred: ***1/2.
Really Competitive: ***. / Russian "Bride" Not "Whore": **1/2.
A Dorito in My Underwear: **1/2. / 2 Sharks and a Monkey: ****.
Unholy Matrimony: ***1/2. / Unholy Matrimony (Part 2): ***.
Russian Sabotage: ***/ Mail Order Mix-Ups: ***.
Festive Shame: **1/2. / Daddy's Turning Gay: **.
Cuervo Cosmotinian: ***. / Dad's Gay: ***1/2.
Penis Isn't For Everyone: **1/2. Don't Be Gay - Hell Is Bad: ****.
Fossil Knowledge: **1/2. / BOOBLESS & Other Calculator Words: **1/2.
New York Lunching: ****. / Quantum Rape: *****.
Pimpin' Out Steve: ***. / Dumb Whore: ***1/2.
99c Christmas: **1/2. / Why Christmas Was Ruined: **.
Totally Nude Nudes: ****.
Disc 1 DVD Menu: I like how all of the gags come from the episodes in order. ****.
Disc 2 DVD Menu: They shouldn't have cut off Klaus's Fish Schtick gag. ***1/2.
Disc 3 DVD Menu: Nice. ***1/2.
Wonder Woman
Not perfect but I actually enjoyed this quite a bit. I was actually expecting this to be better than Gotham Knight and Superman Doomsday and I was right.
One of the things that I liked best about it is that the violence wasn't really all that gut-splattering and didn't go overboard trying to satisfy fanboy bloodlust. Even New Frontier, the best of the DC Universe Movies had a few too many gratuitous ultra-violent moments.
The other thing I liked is that this is the first one of the Warner Premieres that had a sense of humor. Some of the gags fell flat (the "Crap" gag was entirely predictable and unfunny and used in a zillion dumb movies before this one; frankly I'm disappointed the writers probably thought it was original) but a lot of them didn't. Nathan Fillion steals the show as Steve Trevor (even if he has a weird character design) and him resting his foot on the Golden Lasso of Truth was the funniest gag in the movie.
Frankly, the biggest thing that concerned me about the movie was Keri Russell doing the voice of Diana. I may not be the world's biggest comic expert but I'm pretty sure having Felicity voice Wondie is a HUGE step down from the perfectly cast Lucy Lawless from New Frontier. It's like they traded down completely for no reason and seemed like a Dreamworks-style name "get" more than logical casting. However Russell was passable and did a better job than I thought she would. I still wouldn't have cast her but she wasn't the disaster I was afraid she was going to be.
Alfred Molina however WAS miscast as Ares. I dunno, I just felt that voice coming out of that character felt wrong.
Best bit in the movie was Trevor repeatedly trying to kiss Diana and getting a punch in the mouth for his troubles. I also liked the cameo at the end by a famous Wonder Woman villain which makes the movie cry out for a sequel which sadly will never happen thanks to these movies' insistance on always being in completely seperate continuities.
I liked Hades and his character design too. SUCH a departure from the Leading Man version used in Justice League/ Unlimited and his voice was suitably slimy too. I also liked the zombie fight at the end.
The animation was very spiffy and the fight scenes were very nicely done too.
This was a really good movie and I enjoyed it a lot. I felt like the movie LET ME and wasn't trying to test my patience with too much gore and swearing. A good outing I think. ****.
Justice League Bonus Episodes
Paradise Lost Part 1:
Diana is kind of annoying here but Felix Faust is a REALLY cool villian. Superman has some REALLY bad lines here though. **1/2.
Paradise Lost Part 2:
Better than Part One but that isn't saying too much. The final zombie battle was really cool and I liked Lord Hades. Funniest bit in the episode is Superman and J'onn hastily putting away the artifacts they were holding after Batman yells at Flash for it. The ending still cheeses me off though because the entire thing with Hades was pratically all Hippolyta's fault and she banishes Diana. JLU's The Balance made up for this episode greatly though. ***. Two-part average: ***.
Justice League Unlimited Bonus Episodes.
Hawk and Dove: This episode is nowhere NEAR as bad as some people say. Lord it isn't that great but it's surprisingly decent for all of the flack it's gotten. I do have to say that Hawk and Dove's skin-tight costumes cross the line into homo-erotic territory. Not that there's anything wrong with that. ***.
To Another Shore: Good episode. I liked the story of the Viking Prince and the flirty stuff between Diana and King Faraday who SHOULD have been used more this season. The ending voice-over narration was a WEE bit pretensious however but when compared to Teen Titans' Aftershock and X it looks masterful in comparison. ****.
Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder
I loved this. Maybe not as much as Bender's Big Score but I thought it was a wonderful finale that left the door open for more. It ended exactly as it should have and the cliffhanger ending gave me a lot of hope. I can't describe it to someone who hasn't seen it without spoiling everything but this was fabulous.
I love that they made Leo Wong a VERY bad guy in the last movie and I think it was smart that they pitted the entire crew against each other. The resolution to the Dark Ones was a little disappointing and predictable but it had a lot of nice twists and turns along the way.
I'm also happy how the movie dealt with Fry and Leela since the show dropped the ball with them in The Beast With a Billion Backs and Bender's Game.
Bender's Subplot with the Don-Bot's wife didn't go anywhere fruitful and was the one disappointing aspect of the movie. Bender actually acquitted himself nicely in the second half though so I can forgive it.
I loved Fry joining the Secret Society of Madmen and the ecological message the movie sent to the audience. Leela becoming a fugitive was great because it pulled Fry and Leela apart and closer simultaniously. I can't describe it either without giving it away but it was great.
I'm a little bit disappointed Nibbler didn't appear (I HATED where he ended up in Bender's Game) but I think I need to take a breath and realize Bender's Game's suckiness shouldn't have dictated the entire movie clean up after it. The movie was packed with a lot of different plot points and I suppose there was only so much time. I increasingly realize how terrible Bender's Game actually was and how it derailed a lot of the continuity of the show in a different direction than where Into the Wild Green Yonder ultimately went. It was a waste of four episodes and even though I KIND of liked it when I first saw it, I realize now that it sucked.
The final episode was absolutely amazing and it was a cliffhanger ending that I actually enjoyed. If this is the last Futurama project ever I can still say it ended exactly as it should have. ****1/2.
Bender's Movie Theater Etiquette: Cute Bender cartoon similar to Bender's Anti-Piracy Warning except with some new but admittedly choppy animation. Nice. ****.
Zapp Brannigan's Guide to Making Love at a Woman: I didn't care for this just because it was a glorified clip show featuring some of Zapp's most disgusting behavior (included the scene that made me hate the character in The Beast With a Billion Backs). It was alright but not great. **1/2.
Storyboard Animatic: Into the Wild Green Yonder Part 1: This was cool. I especially liked seeing the storyboard for the opening sequence with Seth MacFarlane's musical number. Cool. ****.
Docudramarama: How We Make Futurama So Good: This was hilarious. I especially loved how into the whole thing Lauren Tom. One of the best fake documentaries I've ever seen. *****.
Golden Stinkers: A Treasury of Deleted Scenes:
Dolemite Hill: Yes, this is exactly what the universe needs. More Hard Rock Cafes. ***1/2.
Matcluck: In which we finally learn the Hyper-Chicken's name. Shoulda been in the movie. ****.
Paint?!: The scene between Scruffy and Zoiberh painting the Ship was gross (but funny) enough. This would have been overkill. **1/2.
Morbo Solo: Not only do we get more Morbo, we learn Linda's Last name! ****.
Mind Reading: Early drafts of the mind-reading gags in the climax including Mrs. Wong who WASN'T featured that heavily in the actual finale. ****1/2.
How To Draw Futurama in Ten Very Difficult Steps: They aren't kidding. One of the very worst "How to Draw" special features I have EVER seen due the camera being placed on the right hand side so we can't see what the drawer is doing (with the exception of the left-handed guy). That said, there were a couple of funny scripted gags. *1/2.
3-D Models With Animator Discussion: I appreciated this because the animators were right that a lot of the models were utilized fully in the movie and we missed some of their neatest features. ***1/2.
Let's see: the latest episodes of The Simpsons, King of the Hill, and American Dad, the latest Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Dollhouse and Battlestar Galactica, the last two episodes each of Heroes, Lost and Wolverine and the X-Men, the series finale of TMNT: Back to the Sewer. I'll put the reviews for Wonder Woman and Futurama last so you won't have to skip over them to read about the other stuff if you haven't seen them.
The Simpsons "How the Test Was Won"
This episode made me realize something I had either forgotten or had never even occurred to me: This show is coasting on fumes and trying to judge it by the Golden Years of it is a waste of time and probably gives more frustration than it's worth. The show will NEVER be great again. Sure, we'll get the occassional good episode but for now we'll just have to deal with what we get, new openings and movies aside. I've just decided to try to enjoy the ride.
This episode, like ALL Al Jean episodes is passable but not memorable. I enjoyed the stuff with Skinner, Bart and the other dumb kids but Lisa's test counterpoint was a giant yawn. The show had a couple of good lines and gags and I'm still getting used to the new opening but other than that this was just a normal episode (albeit in widescreen).
Better than last week's but not by much. ***.
King of the Hill "Master of Puppets"
I had mixed feelings about this one too. While Peggy and Hank have never exactly been the best parents ever here I was annoyed how they wer treated by Bobby when the fact of the matter is they didn't do anything wrong. Any kid who tries to plan his social life around his parents picking them up after a night out is just asking for trouble. EVERYBODY knows this and when the kid gets screwed, that's just the way it is and it's not a huge deal. Parents run late on nights out and it was really foolish of Bobby to expect them to pick him up when he could have planned to go home with his friends.
Bobby's jerkishness rubbed of on Hank and Peggy who were trying to compete for the affections of a completely ungrateful son. Bobby manipulated them both and was pretty much a horrible person throughout.
I didn't hate the episode however. Bobby's comeuppance in the form of Peggy and Hank cramping his style during the third act was QUITE amusing. That said, I was waiting for the King of the Hill twist on the concept that never came. Bobby just confessed and the episode ended.
Look, I've SEEN them pull out clever endings in the later episodes but they didn't eve TRY here. It's like they are coasting on fumes to the series finale which is a HUGE disappointment considering how great last week's episode was. **1/2.
American Dad "Live and Let Fry"
This was hilarious and an EXTREMELY clever way to take a dig at pot laws by pointing out how ridiculous SOME laws are and that EVERYBODY crosses the stupid ones sometimes.
I LOVED Terlington's role here (every time he appears is gold) and I enjoyed Steve as the MSG mule. I enjoyed ths Stan on the toilet bit too with Patrick Stewart as Bullock. Funny stuff.
A good episode. ****.
Batman: The Brave and the Bold "Deep Cover For Batman!"
Best episode yet. I LOVED seeing the Red Hood (and the Joker hinted beneath it) and it was great to get a version of the Crime Syndicate. Here's hoping that JLU World's Collide DTV gets off the ground so we can see Ultraman and Superwoman too. I loved all of the evil versions of the characters especially the doppelgangers for Blue Beetle and Red Tornado. The action was neat and the cliffhanger rocked. Excellent episode. I can't wait for part 2. *****.
Dollhouse "Stage Fright"
In which the series completely and utterly lost me. This was HORRIBLE. Absolutely terrible. Buffy season one had it's share of stinkers too but at least THAT series first couple of episodes were really cool. You CANNOT throw a turkey at us this early on in a series run and expect your audience to stick around just because you are named Joss Whedon. I'll still be rubbernecking the show but I am completely certain that this show is destined a quick death. It won't even run as long as Bionic Woman.
God, I hated this episode. Who exactly were you supposed to sympathize with. Joss is known for grrl power but everyone in this episode was either a victim or a sociopath. How believable is it that the singer Echo was trying to protect was suicidal? Okay, that's plausible. What WASN'T is the fact that NO ONE knew and informed the Dollhouse and it was thrown at us as a major plot twist. NONE of the characters wee behaving in a remotely believable way. You CAN'T use characters to service your story and be taken seriously. It HAS to be done the other way around.
Only one good thing in the episode: the revelation that Ballard's mole was a member of the Dollhouse. And even that was flawed. Aren't the Doll's memories supposed to be completely wiped after each session? How was he able to go back to his character after his treatment?
Seriously, this was bad. And to give us this stinker SO early on does not bode well for the series. 0.
Battlestar Galactica "Someone To Watch Over Me"
Cheif Tyrell wins this week's biggest idiot on television award. You KNEW Boomer betraying him was coming but no matter how loudly you screamed at the TV he still fell for it. And the fall-out to Hera getting snatched looks to be bad. REAL bad. Not only is Helo and Athena's marraige in serious trouble through no fault of either of them but the peace treaty between Galatica and the Cylon rebels could be shattered if it's found out it was the Chief who freed Boomer.
I was lukewarm on Kara's piano playing crush until they tied it directly into The Watchtower song from the end of last season. Brilliant.
Man, this episode was tough to watch in places. But I think what happened needed to happen to propel us to the final arc. This is not an easy or safe show. ****.
Heroes "Chapter Three: Building 26"
You fooled me good, Heroes. Two of the biggest faults I had with this Volume completely melted away when I discovered that Daphne was still alive (still keeping the horrible future in play) and that HRG was a mole working against Nathan (explaining his questionable motivations to a T). In my defense, Villains was so sucky I could hardly be blamed to not expect the writers to know what they were doing. Nicely played.
Great episode. ****1/2.
Heroes "Chapter Four: Cold Wars"
I liked this one too if not as much. Claire's mom is so on-the-ball and this was a romance for Claire done completely right (her trying to convince her mom she was sexually active was priceless). Sylar's story didn't thrill me until he got rid of his annoying groupie (although I wish he had killed him). I still think that kid is his brother. NICE reveal of Sylar's mom's fate too.
Danko is a piece of work and a truly great baddie to hiss at. Nathan is an idiot for trusting him.
Good episode. ****.
Lost "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham"
This episode was incredibly moving in places (who didn't get watery eyes seeing Locke at Helen's grave?) and incredibly shocking too (Ben was the one who killed Locke!). I loved seeing Walt again even though I wish he had gone back to the island with the others. The stand-out scene of the episode was for me the reunion between Jack and Locke and how their diametrically opposed viewpoints put their conflict in complete clear terms. I felt bad for Jack.
I also like Locke's scene with Kate because of how uneasy and defensive Locke seemed. It was as if he was trying to convince himself as well as Kate that he WAS capable of love and having a hard time convincing either of them. Terry O'Quinn played this PERFECTLY.
Hurley thinking Locke was dead when he met him was great too.
I really liked this episode. ****1/2.
Lost "LaFluer"
I'm gonna say it. I don't want to and I may be completely off base. I think this episode asked us to trust the creators TOO much. So much so, in fact, that I feel extremely uncomfortable giving them the benefit of the doubt on this latest doozy of a plot twist.
When I learned some of the castaways got off the island at the end of season three I was pleasantly shocked. Having Locke die was a nice twist as well. But this episode gives us TWO twists that I think may be asking too much for the audience to handle.
The first twist makes sense in a weird kind of way. The survivors on the island were fixed in time at some point in the seventies after Locke stopped the island moving. This was hinted at happening earlier in the season and I could go with it. A bit much, perhaps but not TOO much to handle.
The Three Years Later twist however has me EXTREMELY skeptical. That's the kind of thing you give the audience at a season finale or premiere. I wasn't ready for it and the more I think about it the more annoyed at it I am.
We see three year later Sawyer is some kind of heroic icon among the Dharma Initiative (as well as Juliet being his lover) and Jin is speaking perfect English. It's like the show has moved these characters without warning into a completely different place and asking us to pick up three years later. I don't know if I want to do that. The Flash-Forwards were easy for me to digest because they were always intercut with present goings-on on the island. Now EVERY current storyline left on the show (with the possible exception of Locke's timeline) will seem like a flashback. The show entered a completely different phase and I wasn't ready.
Maybe I should have been (there were clues this would happen) but part of me is comforted by seeing the same characters on TV week by week and any change and growth they experience I experience it with them. The show completely pulled the rug out from under me and I don't know WHAT to think. Will these characters still be recognizable? Will I WANT to take the rest of the journey with them? I hope so, but this is the first time I've felt uncetain about the creators' intentions since Micheal shot Ana Lucia and Libby in season two.
The episode was good, but I have VERY serious misgivings about where the series is ultimately headed. ***.
Wolverine and the X-Men "X-Cablibre"
X-Men: Evolution was nowhere NEAR as bad as many of it's detracters claim but I was always bummed that they never really bothered to explore the X-Men Universe as thoroughly as the old show from the early nineties. This show is only on it's seventh episode and we're already getting Mojo, Psylocke and Genosha. That's really cool.
Some of the superpowers the Mutants on the ship had made me giggle (like glue hands and butterfly wings) but I was really charmed by Nightcrawler and the rest of the episode. Just a lot of fun and I can't wait to see what happens with Mojo next (who was the ONLY cartoony character on the old show). Really good episode. ****1/2.
Wolverine and the X-Men "Wolverine Vs. Hulk"
I might have to give the DTV movie Hulk Vs Wolverine another shot. At the time I didn't like it but the way this episode ties into it is just SO great and makes Wolverine's evolution from butthole in that movie to the reasonable guy of the series VERY cool. This was also the first REALLY funny episode of the series and the Hulk provided MANY laugh out loud moments (usually at Wolverine's expense). The closing gag of Wolvie getting revenge on Nick Fury was great too. I loved how even though the average viewer who knows only a BIT about these characters can realize that even though Wolverine, Fury, and Hulk are supposed to all be good guys, their agendas and methods can put them in direct conflict with each other. That's something the Marvel Universe does particularly well.
I loved this episode and it was my favorite so far. *****.
TMNT: Back to the Sewer "Wedding Bells and Bytes"
This was just great. I'm pretty sure this is the final season of the 2004 revamp of the Turtles and they couldn't have asked to go out on a nicer last episode. Instead of making it a huge sprawling multi-parter that ties up all of the loose ends (like that hinted future battle with the three Shredders in Tempus Fugit) it basically simply brought Splinter back, and married off Casey and April (but not without the Viral Shredder crashing the wedding). It brought back all of the old faces on the series and it was just great to see everybody again. We haven't seen Leatherhead OR the Fugitoid since the season three finale and I had wondered what they had gotten up to. We also saw cameos at the end of the Rat King, Bishop and Cody Jones and we got to see a smiling Karai in her civvies along with the Justice Force and Usagi. I just enjoyed every moment of this and was on the edge of my seat hoping they wouldn't throw a cliffhanger at us and that everything would work out.
Really, this was just great and the best season finale the show has ever done. Maybe because they didn't TRY to go all-out it didn't feel like a cop-out at all. Instead it was the best episode of the season. *****.
American Dad! Volume One
Well, I picked up the first two seasons of American Dad (on sale in a bundle pack for fifteen dollars) and I am glad I did. The first season IS indeed rocky but it is not without it's charms and set up later shenanagins. The show is basically a darker version of Family Guy with better stories and writing.
The series is not without it's faults however. For a series that the creators claim was created after the crazy political climate of Bush's reelection the series really doesn't do as many political episodes as the premise suggested it should. It really isn't an animated "All In The Family" as it was pitched to Fox but a clone of Family Guy. The fact that it is often quite better than the former series doesn't change that fact.
The first volume set contains the first thirteen episodes of the series. The earlier episodes are hit or miss (they were still finding their way) but kick the butt off of the early episodes of Family Guy. Best episodes on the set are Homeland Insecurity and Bullocks to Stan. Worst episodes are Threat Levels and A Smith in the Hand. Set overall: ***1/2.
American Dad! Pilot: Honestly, even though this is kind of sucky it's about ten times better than Family Guy's first episode. That's not saying much since the early episodes of that series were so horrible but it could have been much worse. The character designs here are so jarring however and Steve's voice sounds completely wrong. It could have been better but it could have been a lot worse. **1/2.
Threat Levels: It's early in the series' run so I can forgive them for trying to see exactly how far they could take Stan's character without him being completely unlikable. But they pushed it too far here. They did that a lot in the first season and this episode's Bum Fights make the character even more despicable than early Peter Griffin. *.
Stan Knows Best: The stuff with Haley in Jeff's van was hilarious but this isn't quite a good episode. Steve and Roger would have MUCH better subplots later in the series' run and the episode isn't all that memorable. None-the-less the episode DOES give a hint at how messed up Stan and Haley's relationship is in the sexual tension department with him " supporting" her at the strip club. I think this was the first hint at how truly twisted the series wound up being. ***.
Francine's Flashback: Patrick Stewart as Bullock! LOVED the forgetting the anniversay gags and Steve and Roger are developing into a couple of cards. But Francine isn't a strong enough character to center an episode around, much less one which has her behaving out of character. ***.
Roger Codger: The gags with the racist old lady were both tasteless and hilarious. Decent episode. ***.
Homeland Insecurity: I loved this episode and it's comments about racism (especially since the Memari's turned out to be racists themselves) but it's the Golden Turd run that makes this the show's first great episode. I love how commited and serious the show is towards the subplot and this puts the Peter/ Chicken fights on Family Guy to shame. They returned to this in another episode but I honestly think this running gag deserves to be brought back every season. I'm still left hanging. ****.
Deacon Stan, Jesus Man: LOVED Steve getting pregnant and Roger's breat milk was hilariously repulsive. Martin Mull is great as Father Donovan too. ***1/2.
Bullocks to Stan: Best episode of the first season because it has Patrick Stewart, one of the world's greatest living actors saying completely inappropriate and sick things. Him singing "I Love Little Girls" while wearing Hayley's bathrobe while Bullock looks like a cartoon version of himself is acting fearlessness on par with Adam West on Family Guy. Also loved Klaus' DVD commentary. ****1/2.
A Smith in the Hand: Kind of a gross episode to be honest. **.
All About Steve: LOVE that Roger is finally getting out of the house (and avoiding the one person who WANTS to talk to him) and the geek Star Trek and Lord of the Rings gags were priceless. ***1/2.
Con Heir: On the one hand this is another episode that makes it extremely hard to sympathize with Stan. On the other it has Steve and Snot making out with a nursing home resident. I especially loved Stan and then Francine's ultra sarcastic bits. Hilarious. ***.
Stan of Arabia: Part 1: Good episode, with a nice cliffhanger but Stan is still a jerk. And yes, he just named his second wife Thundercat. ***1/2.
Stan of Arabia: Part 2: Better than part one, because Stan FINALLY learns a lesson and Roger's 1001 Arabian Nights/ 90201 run is hilarious ("What do I care if Nat can't read?"). Also love that Steve was given multiple chances to prevent his stoning and the Arabian judge was really funny too. And I am constantly amused by Haley's promiscuity. And Francine's musical number was about ten times better than Stan's in the last episode. ****. Two Part Average: ****.
How's Your Aspen?: American Dad Performance At the HBO 2005 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival: VERY fun to see all of the actors do their character's voices. And Rachel MacFarlane is suprisingly hot. Speaking of surprisingly hot I'm a bit surprised that Dee Bradley Baker is a voice over actor (even though he's extremely talented at it). He's handsome enough to be a Hollywood leading man. ****.
American Animatics: These were neat. ***1/2.
Episode 2 "Threat Levels" Table Read/ Animatic Comparison: This was a VERY cool special feature because everyone seemed to be having such a great time. It gave me a new appreciation for an episode I didn't like very much. ****1/2.
Deleted Scenes: Too many to review in depth so I'll do a one word review for each. Scenes overall: ****.
Pee In All Your Plants: Whiztacular. ***1/2.
Penis Head: Penisy. ****.
Airport Security: Gropey. ***.
I Can't Help Myself: Regrettable. **1/2.
Manscaping: Nuderacle. ****.
What About Paul Andrews?: Bombshell. ***.
The Ferris Wheel: Circular. ***1/2.
Unexpected First Menstruation: Periody. ****.
Partying Grandma: Gross. **1/2.
You Look Like A Fish: Piercing. *****.
I'll Tell You What I've Seen: FURRIES?! ****.
What's The Thread Count On These?: Threadbare. ***.
Klaus Washes Panties: Soapy. ****.
I'm AAA, Does That Get Me Anything?: Expensive. ***1/2.
Out Of This World: Saggy. ***1/2.
Class Clown: Saddamy. ****.
Then We'd Call Him The Messiah: Rangeriffic. ****.
Avon Clitoris Walk: Clitoriffic. ***1/2.
Tuttles Ostrich Burgers: Maneuvery. ***1/2.
Tuttle's Hot Sauce: Saucy. ***1/2.
Morris Code: Blinky. *****.
You're Not A Hummingbird: Squirty. ***.
Steve Goes To CPR Class: LIIIIIMMMMBEEEERRRR! ***1/2.
Mexican Doctor Soap Opera: Telenovella. ***1/2.
Pregnant Aerobics: Uncensored. ***.
I'm Taking The Stairs: Bullockuendo. ****1/2.
The World Has Descended Into Utter Chaos: What? **.
Take A Tip From Pee Wee Reese: Baggins. ***.
Stan Swallows The Ointment: Grosser. ***1/2.
Stan Talks To Timmy In The Closet: Disturbing. ***.
The A-- of Evil: Doggy. ***.
Bill Nye Kills Carl Sagan: Priceless. ****1/2.
The Costume Contest: Tron! ****.
That's My Bone: Grossiest. **1/2.
A Perk Of My Position: Perky. ***.
As They Say In My Country: Snappy. ****1/2.
The Nose Knows: Kimmel? **1/2.
All My Cool New Saudi Friends: Brief. ***1/2.
I Miss Francine: Wild. ***.
Eat Flag, Freedom Hater: Chimpbo. ***1/2.
Stan and Francine Try To Kiss: Funny. ****.
Free To Throw: Thundercatty. ***1/2.
The New CIA: Hilarious Short cartoon introducing people to the Smiths. Outstanding. *****.
Superbowl Pre-Game Promo: VERY nice cartoon that makes fun of the Superbowl. ****1/2.
Family Guy "Bored": What was this Family Guy Promo doing on the American Dad box set? ***.
DVD Menus:
Disc 1: Great Bush Joke. ****.
Disc 2: Yes, that's exactly what Karl Rove is like in real life. And more Bullock! ****1/2.
Disc 3: The Weakest of the Menus. ***1/2.
American Dad: Volume Two
The second Volume of American has a lot of solid episodes but I notice rewatching them that I enjoyed most of them much more the first time I saw them. Don't get me wrong, they're still good but they have a worse hit-to-miss ratio than I remembered.
Best episodes on the set are the solid gun control episode (Stannie Get Your Gun), the Evil-Barry episode (With Friends Like Steve's), the debut of Steve's girlfriend Debbie in one of the most unpredictable episodes ever (The American Dad Afterschool Special), and the Dungeons and Dragons animation tour de force (Dungeons and Wagons).
Worst episodes are the so-so Roger 'n Me, and the Christmas Episode The Best Christmas Never. Set overall: ****.
Stannie Get Your Gun: A VERY solid episode with an unusually likable Stan and some great gags (like Klaus' Sideways jab). I also REALLY loved Roger's revenge on Steve plot especially when it turned into an incestuous kiss between Steve and Hayley. SO wrong on SO many levels. ****1/2.
Star Trek: Liked the 40s film noir homages (especially the beautiful opening shot) but the rest of the episode is only so-so. ***.
Not Particularly Desperate Housewives: I loved the resolution to this one a lot but I'm a little bit annoyed at the series for never really exploring the lesbian crush Linda has on Francine. She's one of the few multi-dimensional characters on the show with a ton of layers and that scared the writers off. ***1/2.
Rough Trade: Roger at his new job elicited yawns from me but Stan taking on Roger's persona was money in the bank ("Ssssss. PRETTY sure I asked for Pecan Sandies"). Best bit was Stan's "64,000 Pyramid" riff in front of his mirror. ****.
Finances With Wolves: LOVED Klaus in his new body but Steve's werewolf subplot didn't exactly wow me. Klaus needs a bigger role on this show and the writers kind of painted themselves into a corner by making him a fish. ***1/2.
It's Good To Be The Queen: Stan is at his most unlikable in this episode but Roger and Steve's outing with the Pizza Messiah while not exactly funny was extremely interesting. ***.
Roger 'n Me: REALLY uncomfortable episode (this show does those REALLY well). It was hard to watch in places but I really loved the "Newlywed Game" riff. **1/2.
Helping Handis: This was SO wrong. And hilarious. LOVED Stan getting boob implants at the end and Francine being a Handicap Mafia doctor made me guffaw. A good 'un. ****.
With Friends Like Steve's: A GREAT Barry spotlight which explains why he is so completely stupid (he's medicated to prevent him from being an evil genius). And this episode? Genius. And evil. ****1/2.
Tears Of A Clooney: I like that this show will often take throwaway lines from earlier episodes and build entier stories upon them. That said this wasn't a great idea. Roger's vineyard subplot wasn't funny either. All that said, the third act and ending are fantastic so it makes it feel like the episode is better than it actually is. ***1/2.
Camp Refoogee: Not as funny upon a rewatch as it was when I first saw it. ***.
The American Dad Afterschool Special: Best episode of the season. What sets this show apart from Family Guy are the great stories with neat plot twists and this one was a doozy. I also loved Debbie as Steve's new girlfriend. This episode was just firing on all cylanders. *****.
Failure Is Not A Factory-Installed Option: Oh, lord this was MAJORLY disturbing. This show is like an evil twin version of Family Guy. Yikes. But I gotta give 'em props for the welcome return of The Golden Turd. ***1/2.
Lincoln Lover: Great Stan/ Log Cabin Republican stuff but the episode loses BIG-TIME points for Steve being so out of character. Yes, the character is kind of stupid but I've never seen him follow Stan's prejudices so faithfully before and it seemed more of a plot convienance than anything else. ***1/2.
Dungeons and Wagons: If it weren't for the not-great Stan/ Francine street racing subplot this episode would be perfect. This is the first cartoon I've EVER seen that flawlessly animated scenes in a completely different animation style. GREAT Jeff Fischer stuff and the closing gag is one of the best in the series. ****1/2.
Iced, Iced Babies: This was decent but not one of my faves. Francine was REALLY creept this episode but I guess that was supposed to be the point. And I'm not even going to mention Roger and Hayley's COMPLETELY unnerving college sideplot. ***.
Of Ice And Men: MUCH better than I remembered it. I LOVE the Grandfather Klaus framing structure and would love it even more if they explored it in the future. And Stan beinga secret ice skater was funny. ****.
Irregarding Steve: Dear God, this was disturbing and I feel completely ashamed at myself for laughing at most of the disgusting gags. In my defense the "Quantum Rape" joke probably wouldn't have been as funny as it was were it not for the deadpan delivery of Jon Stewart. And this is your only chance to see a "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" satire using squirrels. ****.
The Best Christmas Story Never: Worst episode on the set and I'm bummed it was also the last one. Outside of the humrous Roger in the seventies plot, the episode defied continuity and logic. *1/2.
Multi-Angle Scene - Stan Attacked By Francine: This was pretty neat. I loved toggling back and forth between the animatic and the finished scene. ****.
Multi-Angle Scene - Fighting Giant Monster in Game: Of all of the scenes I wanted to see an animatic of, it was definitely some of the D&D scenes from Dungeons and Wagons. Outstanding. *****.
Multi-Angle Scene - Klaus Opening Dream Sequence: Spiffy. ****1/2.
Deleted Scenes:
A lot of these were deleted for good reason but some of these are real finds including a lost episode of The Golden Turd (!) and the extended version of Jon Stewart's bit with Steve. Cool. Too many to do individual reviews for so I'll just grade them. Deleted Scenes overall: ****1/2.
Freedom Bridge: ***. / The Golden Turd: *****. /
Breast Are The Destruction to Our Success: ****. Secret Ops: ****. /
Clown Assault: ***1/2. / Remote Control Girl: ***1/2.
Boob Patrol: ***1/2. / Not the Same: *.
Thug Fish: ***. / Dog Fancy: **1/2.
Brooch World: **1/2. / Dogs Can't Read: ***.
Midget Orgasms: *1/2. / Lesbian Fantasy: ***1/2.
Domestic Abuse: **. / Menage a Trois: ****.
Conjugal Visit: ****. / Suck It Up, Stan: **1/2.
Indian Car Sales: **1/2. / Tension Breaker: **.
Tears of a Fish: **1/2. / Wetting All The Beds: **1/2.
A Pot To P-ss In: **1/2. / Werewolf Attack: **1/2.
Two Thousand Dollar Fork: **. / Delivery Boy's Dignity: **.
Virginity's a State of Mind: ***. / The Pizza Delivers You: ****.
3rd Drawer Freaky: ***1/2. / Pleading To Party: **.
Speedo Steve: ***. / The Seeds of Mistrust: ***.
Hush Money: **1/2. / Best Buddiez: ***1/2.
Kickin' A-- On Best Buddiez: *****. / Pulling the Plug: ***.
Spring Salad of Betrayal: **1/2. / Good As New: ***1/2.
Good As New (Part 2): ***1/2. / Tricked: **1/2.
At War With Dirt: ***1/2. / Disabled Strippers: ****.
Dumping Dead Bodies: ***. / My Son's a Slut: ***.
A Waste of a Son: **1/2. / Crazy Man: ***1/2.
What is Pepperoni?: ***. / A Very Safe Environment: ***.
Doogan's Sack: **1/2. / Barry's Apology: ***.
Cell Phone Up The A--: ****1/2. / Run For The Love of God: ***.
Let's Go Dig Up Your Mother: ***. / Dibs on the Pumpkin Pie: ***1/2.
The Urine of the Gods: ***1/2. / Scarecrow & Mrs. King: ***.
A Dustpan of Cake: **1/2. / Fat Fish: ****.
Cut Out My Tongue: **1/2. Beggars: *1/2.
Who's To Blame: ***. / Ozomatli is a Chicken: ***1/2.
25 Hour Fitness: ***1/2. / Long Live TV: ***1/2.
Hunting Squirrels With a Toothbrush: ***. / Seller of Cars: **1/2.
Brain Tune-Up: ***1/2. / Chief Bomb-Maker's Marital Problems: ***1/2.
Crappy Love Songs: **1/2. / Sleepy Fish: ***.
Missing Out on Life: ***. / Who Needs a Pot Dealer: ***.
Not Enough Slurpees: ****. / Good Punch for a Homo: ****.
Making Out: ***. / Dinnertime Antics: ****.
Frisbee Freak-out: ***1/2. / Let's See What Unprotected Sex Feels Like: ***1/2.
Angry No-Baby Sex: ***. / Baby Gravy: **1/2.
Don't Waste That Sperm: ***/ Go Make Out Next To The Dead Guy: ***.
Don't Give Chickens a Vote: ***1/2. / Grandpa's Story: ***.
White Slave Love: **1/2. / Another Dream Deferred: ***1/2.
Really Competitive: ***. / Russian "Bride" Not "Whore": **1/2.
A Dorito in My Underwear: **1/2. / 2 Sharks and a Monkey: ****.
Unholy Matrimony: ***1/2. / Unholy Matrimony (Part 2): ***.
Russian Sabotage: ***/ Mail Order Mix-Ups: ***.
Festive Shame: **1/2. / Daddy's Turning Gay: **.
Cuervo Cosmotinian: ***. / Dad's Gay: ***1/2.
Penis Isn't For Everyone: **1/2. Don't Be Gay - Hell Is Bad: ****.
Fossil Knowledge: **1/2. / BOOBLESS & Other Calculator Words: **1/2.
New York Lunching: ****. / Quantum Rape: *****.
Pimpin' Out Steve: ***. / Dumb Whore: ***1/2.
99c Christmas: **1/2. / Why Christmas Was Ruined: **.
Totally Nude Nudes: ****.
Disc 1 DVD Menu: I like how all of the gags come from the episodes in order. ****.
Disc 2 DVD Menu: They shouldn't have cut off Klaus's Fish Schtick gag. ***1/2.
Disc 3 DVD Menu: Nice. ***1/2.
Wonder Woman
Not perfect but I actually enjoyed this quite a bit. I was actually expecting this to be better than Gotham Knight and Superman Doomsday and I was right.
One of the things that I liked best about it is that the violence wasn't really all that gut-splattering and didn't go overboard trying to satisfy fanboy bloodlust. Even New Frontier, the best of the DC Universe Movies had a few too many gratuitous ultra-violent moments.
The other thing I liked is that this is the first one of the Warner Premieres that had a sense of humor. Some of the gags fell flat (the "Crap" gag was entirely predictable and unfunny and used in a zillion dumb movies before this one; frankly I'm disappointed the writers probably thought it was original) but a lot of them didn't. Nathan Fillion steals the show as Steve Trevor (even if he has a weird character design) and him resting his foot on the Golden Lasso of Truth was the funniest gag in the movie.
Frankly, the biggest thing that concerned me about the movie was Keri Russell doing the voice of Diana. I may not be the world's biggest comic expert but I'm pretty sure having Felicity voice Wondie is a HUGE step down from the perfectly cast Lucy Lawless from New Frontier. It's like they traded down completely for no reason and seemed like a Dreamworks-style name "get" more than logical casting. However Russell was passable and did a better job than I thought she would. I still wouldn't have cast her but she wasn't the disaster I was afraid she was going to be.
Alfred Molina however WAS miscast as Ares. I dunno, I just felt that voice coming out of that character felt wrong.
Best bit in the movie was Trevor repeatedly trying to kiss Diana and getting a punch in the mouth for his troubles. I also liked the cameo at the end by a famous Wonder Woman villain which makes the movie cry out for a sequel which sadly will never happen thanks to these movies' insistance on always being in completely seperate continuities.
I liked Hades and his character design too. SUCH a departure from the Leading Man version used in Justice League/ Unlimited and his voice was suitably slimy too. I also liked the zombie fight at the end.
The animation was very spiffy and the fight scenes were very nicely done too.
This was a really good movie and I enjoyed it a lot. I felt like the movie LET ME and wasn't trying to test my patience with too much gore and swearing. A good outing I think. ****.
Justice League Bonus Episodes
Paradise Lost Part 1:
Diana is kind of annoying here but Felix Faust is a REALLY cool villian. Superman has some REALLY bad lines here though. **1/2.
Paradise Lost Part 2:
Better than Part One but that isn't saying too much. The final zombie battle was really cool and I liked Lord Hades. Funniest bit in the episode is Superman and J'onn hastily putting away the artifacts they were holding after Batman yells at Flash for it. The ending still cheeses me off though because the entire thing with Hades was pratically all Hippolyta's fault and she banishes Diana. JLU's The Balance made up for this episode greatly though. ***. Two-part average: ***.
Justice League Unlimited Bonus Episodes.
Hawk and Dove: This episode is nowhere NEAR as bad as some people say. Lord it isn't that great but it's surprisingly decent for all of the flack it's gotten. I do have to say that Hawk and Dove's skin-tight costumes cross the line into homo-erotic territory. Not that there's anything wrong with that. ***.
To Another Shore: Good episode. I liked the story of the Viking Prince and the flirty stuff between Diana and King Faraday who SHOULD have been used more this season. The ending voice-over narration was a WEE bit pretensious however but when compared to Teen Titans' Aftershock and X it looks masterful in comparison. ****.
Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder
I loved this. Maybe not as much as Bender's Big Score but I thought it was a wonderful finale that left the door open for more. It ended exactly as it should have and the cliffhanger ending gave me a lot of hope. I can't describe it to someone who hasn't seen it without spoiling everything but this was fabulous.
I love that they made Leo Wong a VERY bad guy in the last movie and I think it was smart that they pitted the entire crew against each other. The resolution to the Dark Ones was a little disappointing and predictable but it had a lot of nice twists and turns along the way.
I'm also happy how the movie dealt with Fry and Leela since the show dropped the ball with them in The Beast With a Billion Backs and Bender's Game.
Bender's Subplot with the Don-Bot's wife didn't go anywhere fruitful and was the one disappointing aspect of the movie. Bender actually acquitted himself nicely in the second half though so I can forgive it.
I loved Fry joining the Secret Society of Madmen and the ecological message the movie sent to the audience. Leela becoming a fugitive was great because it pulled Fry and Leela apart and closer simultaniously. I can't describe it either without giving it away but it was great.
I'm a little bit disappointed Nibbler didn't appear (I HATED where he ended up in Bender's Game) but I think I need to take a breath and realize Bender's Game's suckiness shouldn't have dictated the entire movie clean up after it. The movie was packed with a lot of different plot points and I suppose there was only so much time. I increasingly realize how terrible Bender's Game actually was and how it derailed a lot of the continuity of the show in a different direction than where Into the Wild Green Yonder ultimately went. It was a waste of four episodes and even though I KIND of liked it when I first saw it, I realize now that it sucked.
The final episode was absolutely amazing and it was a cliffhanger ending that I actually enjoyed. If this is the last Futurama project ever I can still say it ended exactly as it should have. ****1/2.
Bender's Movie Theater Etiquette: Cute Bender cartoon similar to Bender's Anti-Piracy Warning except with some new but admittedly choppy animation. Nice. ****.
Zapp Brannigan's Guide to Making Love at a Woman: I didn't care for this just because it was a glorified clip show featuring some of Zapp's most disgusting behavior (included the scene that made me hate the character in The Beast With a Billion Backs). It was alright but not great. **1/2.
Storyboard Animatic: Into the Wild Green Yonder Part 1: This was cool. I especially liked seeing the storyboard for the opening sequence with Seth MacFarlane's musical number. Cool. ****.
Docudramarama: How We Make Futurama So Good: This was hilarious. I especially loved how into the whole thing Lauren Tom. One of the best fake documentaries I've ever seen. *****.
Golden Stinkers: A Treasury of Deleted Scenes:
Dolemite Hill: Yes, this is exactly what the universe needs. More Hard Rock Cafes. ***1/2.
Matcluck: In which we finally learn the Hyper-Chicken's name. Shoulda been in the movie. ****.
Paint?!: The scene between Scruffy and Zoiberh painting the Ship was gross (but funny) enough. This would have been overkill. **1/2.
Morbo Solo: Not only do we get more Morbo, we learn Linda's Last name! ****.
Mind Reading: Early drafts of the mind-reading gags in the climax including Mrs. Wong who WASN'T featured that heavily in the actual finale. ****1/2.
How To Draw Futurama in Ten Very Difficult Steps: They aren't kidding. One of the very worst "How to Draw" special features I have EVER seen due the camera being placed on the right hand side so we can't see what the drawer is doing (with the exception of the left-handed guy). That said, there were a couple of funny scripted gags. *1/2.
3-D Models With Animator Discussion: I appreciated this because the animators were right that a lot of the models were utilized fully in the movie and we missed some of their neatest features. ***1/2.
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