Star Trek: Discovery "Vulcan Hello" and "Battle At The Binary Stars" Reviews (Spoilers)
Also reviews for the latest episodes of Teen Titans Go! and DC Super Hero Girls, the season premiere of Gotham, the latest episodes of Ben 10 and Marvel's Spider-Man, the series finale of Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (which was aired out of order, and there are still more episodes left to air), The latest episodes of Transformers: Robots In Disguise: Combiner Force and Power Rangers: Ninja Steel, the season premiere of The Good Place, and the latest episode of The Orville.
Upcoming reviews include Doctor Who: Series 9, Class: Series 1, The X-Files: Season 10, Avengers: Age Of Ultron (Blu-Ray), Ant-Man (Blu-Ray), Captain America: Civil War (Blu-Ray), Doctor Strange (Blu-Ray), Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (Blu-Ray), Jessica Jones: Season 1, Daredevil: Season 2, Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Season 2, Marvel's Agent Carter: Season 1, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Blu-Ray), X-Men: Days Of Future Past: The Rogue Cut, Deadpool, X-Men: Apocalypse (Blu-Ray), Logan, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes! Season 1, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes! Season 2, Zootopia, Moana (Blu-Ray), Tangled: Before Ever After (DVD), Inside Out (Blu-Ray), The Good Dinosaur (Blu-Ray), Finding Dory (Blu-Ray), Once Upon A Time: Season 5, The BFG, Tomorrowland, Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Blu-Ray), Star Wars Rebels: Season 2, Lego Star Wars: Droid Tales, Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures: Season One, Jim Henson's Turkey Hollow (DVD), Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them (Blu-Ray), Teen Titans Go!: Get In Pig Out, DC Super Hero Girls: Intergalactic Games, LEGO DC Super Hero Girls: Brain Drain, The LEGO Batman Movie, Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, Batman And Harley Quinn, Suicide Squad (Blu-Ray), The Flash: Season 2, The Flash: Season 3, Arrow: Season 4, Arrow: Season 5, DC's Legends Of Tomorrow: Season 1, DC's Legends Of Tomorrow: Season 2, Supergirl: Season 1, Supergirl: Season 2 Vixen: The Movie, Gotham: Season 2, Gotham: Season 3, iZombie: Season 1, iZombie: Season 2, Lucifer: Season 1, Samurai Jack: Season 5, Be Cool Scooby Doo!: Spooky Kooky Fun!, Wabbit: A Looney Tunes Prod.: Hare-Raising Tales, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Extended Edition, The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug: Extended Edition, The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies: Extended Edition, Airplane! / Airplane II: The Sequel: Double Feature, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Beyond The Known Universe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Earth's Last Stand, Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Super Shredder, Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Wanted: Bebop & Rocksteady, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Half-Shell Heroes: Blast To The Past, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows, Power Rangers (2017), Power Rangers: Zeo: Volume 2, Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, Power Rangers Turbo: Volume 1, Power Rangers: Turbo: Volume 2, Power Rangers In Space Volume 1, Power Rangers In Space: Volume 2, Power Rangers Samurai: The Complete Season, Power Rangers: Megaforce: The Complete Season, Power Rangers: Super Megaforce: The Complete Season, Transformers: Robots In Disguise: Season 1, Heroes Reborn: The Complete Series, Avatar: The Last Airbender: Book 1: Water, Avatar: The Last Airbender: Book 2: Earth, Avatar: The Last Airbender: Book 3: Fire, The Legend Of Korra: The Complete Series, Haven: Season 5 - Vol. 1, Haven: The Final Season, Under The Dome: Season 3, Sleepy Hollow: Season 2, Sleepy Hollow: Season 3, Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 2, Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 3, The Jurassic Park Trilogy, Jurassic World, Back To The Future: The Complete Animated Series, Shaun The Sheep Movie (Blu-Ray), Shaun The Sheep: The Farmer's Llamas, 12 Monkeys: Season 1, 12 Monkeys: Season 2, Grimm: Season 4, Grimm: Season 5, Grimm: Season 6, The Wonder Years: Season 4, The Wonder Years: Season 5, The Wonder Years: Season 6, The Peanuts Movie, Peanuts By Schulz: Snoopy Tales, Peanuts By Schulz: Go Team Go!, Bob's Burgers: Season 5, Ghostbusters: Answer The Call, Community: Season 6, Danger Mouse: The Complete Series, Prison Break: Season 5, Game Of Thrones: Season 5, and Game of Thrones: Season 6.
Star Trek: Discovery "Vulcan Hello"
This was not as great as the buzz indicated, but it WAS great enough to confirm that I will be temporarily be subscribing to CBS All Access when this is in season. It's the same thing with Showtime and Twin Peaks, so I really shouldn't be resisting it. I've done this before.
I feel if they are going to be using the original timeline, the show should stick closer to what is established. What's alarming is that the show has Bryan Fuller and Joe Menosky as writers, no Star Trek novices themselves. But that was unlike any Klingon funeral I have ever heard of or seen, and it strikes me as odd, because the established lore would have worked just as well for the scene. I also hate the new make-up because one of the few good things about Enterprise, is that they made in-continuity explanations for the different make-up on TOS and Next Gen, and this kind of obliterates that. They hint this is a Lost House, and that there are like 26 in operation, but I'd like to see a few Houses with TNG type Klingons, and some with those suffering from the Augment Virus. Also the new uniforms look ludicrous. They look like what Shinzon wore in Nemesis, which makes them more Romulan than Klingon.
I like Number One, but I sincerely hope they aren't saying this is the same character from "The Cage". It's bad enough accepting a recast for Sarek, but at least James Frain resembles him in the make-up. I like Number One a lot. I hope they do not tie her to Majel Barrett at ALL, because this is not the Kelvin Timeline, and even if it were, I still objected to Star Trek Into Darkness changing Khan's entire race, and for the same reasons.
Still cool to get a black female lead. About time for this franchise. I like her, Discovery. Don't make her Majel Barrett's character, and give me reasons I shouldn't.
The theme song sucks, and I'm a little surprised at how much it does. It's not as bad as Enterprise, (of course) but it's like an instrumental without a driven melody. Every single Star Trek theme before this was hummable. Frankly, if I'm being honest, so was Enterprise. This does not feel like a Star Trek theme at all. On the plus side, the opening title visuals are quite good, which is important too.
This is unlike any other Star Trek in that I felt unsatisfied by where we left things. DS9 rocked the cliffhangers, but this is the first freaking episode, and serialized storytelling done THIS bluntly right out of the gate will take getting used to. As it stands, the episode feel unfinished. That makes a certain kind of sense, because this is a season long story, but even previous Star Trek cliffhangers during the serialized arcs on DS9 and Enterprise, felt like actual good stopping points until the next week. Here the credits simply start to roll when things are starting to get interesting.
I predict the Captain is gonna killed hard and soon. Because this is NOT the Discovery, and Michelle Yeoh is a guest star. My guess is next week, the attack turns out to be a disaster, and the only survivors of whatever mess it's gonna be are Number One and that weird alien looking guy. When the Captain says the Federation never fires first, the first thing that popped into my head was, "When they go low, we go high." These people are so absolutely screwed, because they are treating the situation as normal. Big mistake.
Can't wait to see the rest of the season. Interesting premiere that whet my appetite for more. ****.
Star Trek: Discovery "Battle At The Binary Stars"
Nothing that happened in this episode was too much of a surprise, but the ending felt better and more earned than the last episode. To be honest, I'm much more interested in what comes next.
Decent. ***1/2.
Teen Titans Go! "Ones And Zeroes"
Dear Lord, Robin created Urkelbot! Bad Robin! Naughty Robin! Don't DO that!
Hawaiian pizza is nasty. There is a reason they serve it in Hell in The Good Place.
The Star Wars ending would have been more appreciated by me, not only if there were more Star Wars themes in the episode, but if that exact scene hadn't been parodied so many times before.
Has a robot actually passed the Turing Test if the person it's fooled is a moron? Because that's a pretty big flaw in the test.
NOBODY says the Titans are cool. That's the biggest tip-off.
Cereal pizza sounds like a good idea on paper, but the specific way they made it on this show. means it would be nasty and a total mess. Way too elaborate to make the crust a bowl. and the cheese milk. It's not longer actually pizza if you do that.
Passable episode. ***.
DC Super Hero Girls "Dog Day After School"
I cannot be the only person more than alarmed at the fact Krypto shows up with no explanation. Supergirl's perspective is "Who cares why you're here, it's just so good to see you!" My perspective is that the fact that he's there raises questions that probably means big trouble in the near future. ***.
Gotham "A Dark Knight: Pax Penguina"
You want to get technical, this episode had some merit (Victor Zsasz's love of pepperoni, Bruce apologizing to Selina on the ledge, Penguin's nightmare vision of Riddler, Penguin saying Bruce had a good heart, Gordon and Frank's bemused reactions to the ridiculous robbery in the coffee shop in broad daylight) but this is mostly as dumb as the show at its worst. Licenses for crime are one of the stupidest ideas the show has ever come up with. I'd probably be madder if I believed that the comic didn't do something like that at some point. But upon hearing that idea, I was basically like "This show doesn't think very much of me."
Ivy and Butch are no longer series regulars. I especially am going to miss seeing Drew Powell on a regular basis. But maybe the Solomon Grundy thing will make up for it.
Prediction: This season of Gotham is going to be just as bad as the previous three. I see no signs of improvement, and with Cannon and Heller still running things, there won't be anytime soon. **1/2.
Ben 10 "Zombozo-Land"
Way more boring than average but I will not deny it is rare to see Ben right about anything. The best thing about the tags are the girl who does Gwen's laugh. It is so much fun. **.
Marvel's Spider-Man "Sandman"
Don't like the idea of turning Flint Marko's daughter into a villain. Little early for the Venom Symbiote too. **.
Marvel's Spider-Man "Symbiotic Relationship"
Peter decided to get rid of the new suit a LOT quicker and easier than he did in previous continuities. Which is good. I wasn't looking forward to several episodes of Emo Spider-Man.
I like that they gradually modulated his voice as the episode went on. First Spidey was talking more forcefully, and then they put some alien reverb in it. Pretty cool.
Good episode. ***1/2.
Marvel's Spider-Man "Stark Expo"
This was more than just the debut of Iron Man. This sets up Green Goblin, Doc Ock, and even Agent Venom. We also learn the Avengers are already a thing in this universe. This episode was a lot of fun for what it set up. ****.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles "Raphael: Mutant Apocalypse"
Wow, what a lousy ending. I am amazed at how much I hated that.
The Mutagen bomb went off and the world was practically destroyed? Casey and April were killed? Who in their right mind thought this was an appropriate ending for five seasons?
I'm actually a bit ticked off to be honest. *.
Transformers: Robots In Disguise: Combiner Force "Prepare For Departure"
The late Len Wein wrote this.
As much as a nuisance as Grimlock seems in this, he is nowhere NEAR as big a menace as Sideswipe and Strongarm always wind up being. At least Grimlock wants and TRIES to do the right thing. More than I can say for Strongswipe.
The writing in this wasn't great, but I miss Len Wein anyways. **1/2.
Power Rangers: Ninja Steel "The Royal Rumble"
The idea that Mick distrust Viera because her family sold him into slavery is an interesting idea. Except, the show refuses to make anyone the bad guy, so it can't actually explore how horrible that idea actually is. Not only is Vierra's contrition not enough, but I wouldn't have forgiven her were I Mick anyways. Getting to talk to his parents again is shown to be a grand gesture on Vierra's part to show she's changed. Me, I think it is the absolute least she can do, and a good start at best. I wouldn't have forgiven her yet were I Mick.
Another reason the show is dumb is that Victor is going to be awarded a cheap looking trophy for lifting two tons. A human being lifts two tons, they don't need a tiny trophy. Somebody that strong can pretty much write their own ticket into any job they want. The show values the wrong things.
If the show were better, this could have had resonance. As it stands, it strikes me as a rather gutless moral about a heavy subject matter. *1/2.
The Good Place "Everything Is Great"
I was a bit shocked to read some of the Entertainment Weekly interviews with the creators. Apparently last season's twist was supposed to be like The Sixth Sense and The Usual Suspects and out of nowhere and only be predicted in hindsight. I seem to be the only person not surprised by the twist. I was actually happy with it because it explained my biggest problem with the show: The Good Place actually sucked. If they WERE in Heaven Michael was lousy at his job. It also a bit random and unfair that these clearly flawed people were eligible for The Good Place while clearly superior people all throughout history went to Hell. The notion of The Good Place was completely unfair and the afterlife seemed badly designed. Eleanor was a baddish person. But she did not deserve Hell. She was right that there should have been a Medium Place for people like her. And to learn that people who don't measure up to the ridiculously high standards Michael described in the first episode meant this Good Place wasn't so good after all. The reason I like the Hell twist is because it addressed my biggest problems with the show. But it didn't surprise me at all.
I love the new season so far. Eleanor has turned into Veronica Mars and it is proving once again she is smarter than Michael. Denise is going to be a problem and I'm betting a part of the next screw-up. And the next screw-up will be coming shortly. I don't think Eleanor is a person without a Plan B.
Michael's biggest mistake here was making Jason's hell TOO hellish. He broke character far sooner than he should have just to get out of it. And while Eleanor and Chidi strike me as the type of people who would have gone along with their scenarios had they not sensed something wrong, Michael should have known immediately Tahani would have drawn the line at dressing like a normal person.
Michael turns out to be just as doofusy and out of his element as last season. We just learned that it's now for an entirely different reason.
Great premiere for a great show. *****.
Upcoming reviews include Doctor Who: Series 9, Class: Series 1, The X-Files: Season 10, Avengers: Age Of Ultron (Blu-Ray), Ant-Man (Blu-Ray), Captain America: Civil War (Blu-Ray), Doctor Strange (Blu-Ray), Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (Blu-Ray), Jessica Jones: Season 1, Daredevil: Season 2, Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Season 2, Marvel's Agent Carter: Season 1, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Blu-Ray), X-Men: Days Of Future Past: The Rogue Cut, Deadpool, X-Men: Apocalypse (Blu-Ray), Logan, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes! Season 1, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes! Season 2, Zootopia, Moana (Blu-Ray), Tangled: Before Ever After (DVD), Inside Out (Blu-Ray), The Good Dinosaur (Blu-Ray), Finding Dory (Blu-Ray), Once Upon A Time: Season 5, The BFG, Tomorrowland, Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Blu-Ray), Star Wars Rebels: Season 2, Lego Star Wars: Droid Tales, Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures: Season One, Jim Henson's Turkey Hollow (DVD), Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them (Blu-Ray), Teen Titans Go!: Get In Pig Out, DC Super Hero Girls: Intergalactic Games, LEGO DC Super Hero Girls: Brain Drain, The LEGO Batman Movie, Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, Batman And Harley Quinn, Suicide Squad (Blu-Ray), The Flash: Season 2, The Flash: Season 3, Arrow: Season 4, Arrow: Season 5, DC's Legends Of Tomorrow: Season 1, DC's Legends Of Tomorrow: Season 2, Supergirl: Season 1, Supergirl: Season 2 Vixen: The Movie, Gotham: Season 2, Gotham: Season 3, iZombie: Season 1, iZombie: Season 2, Lucifer: Season 1, Samurai Jack: Season 5, Be Cool Scooby Doo!: Spooky Kooky Fun!, Wabbit: A Looney Tunes Prod.: Hare-Raising Tales, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Extended Edition, The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug: Extended Edition, The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies: Extended Edition, Airplane! / Airplane II: The Sequel: Double Feature, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Beyond The Known Universe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Earth's Last Stand, Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Super Shredder, Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Wanted: Bebop & Rocksteady, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Half-Shell Heroes: Blast To The Past, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows, Power Rangers (2017), Power Rangers: Zeo: Volume 2, Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, Power Rangers Turbo: Volume 1, Power Rangers: Turbo: Volume 2, Power Rangers In Space Volume 1, Power Rangers In Space: Volume 2, Power Rangers Samurai: The Complete Season, Power Rangers: Megaforce: The Complete Season, Power Rangers: Super Megaforce: The Complete Season, Transformers: Robots In Disguise: Season 1, Heroes Reborn: The Complete Series, Avatar: The Last Airbender: Book 1: Water, Avatar: The Last Airbender: Book 2: Earth, Avatar: The Last Airbender: Book 3: Fire, The Legend Of Korra: The Complete Series, Haven: Season 5 - Vol. 1, Haven: The Final Season, Under The Dome: Season 3, Sleepy Hollow: Season 2, Sleepy Hollow: Season 3, Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 2, Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 3, The Jurassic Park Trilogy, Jurassic World, Back To The Future: The Complete Animated Series, Shaun The Sheep Movie (Blu-Ray), Shaun The Sheep: The Farmer's Llamas, 12 Monkeys: Season 1, 12 Monkeys: Season 2, Grimm: Season 4, Grimm: Season 5, Grimm: Season 6, The Wonder Years: Season 4, The Wonder Years: Season 5, The Wonder Years: Season 6, The Peanuts Movie, Peanuts By Schulz: Snoopy Tales, Peanuts By Schulz: Go Team Go!, Bob's Burgers: Season 5, Ghostbusters: Answer The Call, Community: Season 6, Danger Mouse: The Complete Series, Prison Break: Season 5, Game Of Thrones: Season 5, and Game of Thrones: Season 6.
Star Trek: Discovery "Vulcan Hello"
This was not as great as the buzz indicated, but it WAS great enough to confirm that I will be temporarily be subscribing to CBS All Access when this is in season. It's the same thing with Showtime and Twin Peaks, so I really shouldn't be resisting it. I've done this before.
I feel if they are going to be using the original timeline, the show should stick closer to what is established. What's alarming is that the show has Bryan Fuller and Joe Menosky as writers, no Star Trek novices themselves. But that was unlike any Klingon funeral I have ever heard of or seen, and it strikes me as odd, because the established lore would have worked just as well for the scene. I also hate the new make-up because one of the few good things about Enterprise, is that they made in-continuity explanations for the different make-up on TOS and Next Gen, and this kind of obliterates that. They hint this is a Lost House, and that there are like 26 in operation, but I'd like to see a few Houses with TNG type Klingons, and some with those suffering from the Augment Virus. Also the new uniforms look ludicrous. They look like what Shinzon wore in Nemesis, which makes them more Romulan than Klingon.
I like Number One, but I sincerely hope they aren't saying this is the same character from "The Cage". It's bad enough accepting a recast for Sarek, but at least James Frain resembles him in the make-up. I like Number One a lot. I hope they do not tie her to Majel Barrett at ALL, because this is not the Kelvin Timeline, and even if it were, I still objected to Star Trek Into Darkness changing Khan's entire race, and for the same reasons.
Still cool to get a black female lead. About time for this franchise. I like her, Discovery. Don't make her Majel Barrett's character, and give me reasons I shouldn't.
The theme song sucks, and I'm a little surprised at how much it does. It's not as bad as Enterprise, (of course) but it's like an instrumental without a driven melody. Every single Star Trek theme before this was hummable. Frankly, if I'm being honest, so was Enterprise. This does not feel like a Star Trek theme at all. On the plus side, the opening title visuals are quite good, which is important too.
This is unlike any other Star Trek in that I felt unsatisfied by where we left things. DS9 rocked the cliffhangers, but this is the first freaking episode, and serialized storytelling done THIS bluntly right out of the gate will take getting used to. As it stands, the episode feel unfinished. That makes a certain kind of sense, because this is a season long story, but even previous Star Trek cliffhangers during the serialized arcs on DS9 and Enterprise, felt like actual good stopping points until the next week. Here the credits simply start to roll when things are starting to get interesting.
I predict the Captain is gonna killed hard and soon. Because this is NOT the Discovery, and Michelle Yeoh is a guest star. My guess is next week, the attack turns out to be a disaster, and the only survivors of whatever mess it's gonna be are Number One and that weird alien looking guy. When the Captain says the Federation never fires first, the first thing that popped into my head was, "When they go low, we go high." These people are so absolutely screwed, because they are treating the situation as normal. Big mistake.
Can't wait to see the rest of the season. Interesting premiere that whet my appetite for more. ****.
Star Trek: Discovery "Battle At The Binary Stars"
Nothing that happened in this episode was too much of a surprise, but the ending felt better and more earned than the last episode. To be honest, I'm much more interested in what comes next.
Decent. ***1/2.
Teen Titans Go! "Ones And Zeroes"
Dear Lord, Robin created Urkelbot! Bad Robin! Naughty Robin! Don't DO that!
Hawaiian pizza is nasty. There is a reason they serve it in Hell in The Good Place.
The Star Wars ending would have been more appreciated by me, not only if there were more Star Wars themes in the episode, but if that exact scene hadn't been parodied so many times before.
Has a robot actually passed the Turing Test if the person it's fooled is a moron? Because that's a pretty big flaw in the test.
NOBODY says the Titans are cool. That's the biggest tip-off.
Cereal pizza sounds like a good idea on paper, but the specific way they made it on this show. means it would be nasty and a total mess. Way too elaborate to make the crust a bowl. and the cheese milk. It's not longer actually pizza if you do that.
Passable episode. ***.
DC Super Hero Girls "Dog Day After School"
I cannot be the only person more than alarmed at the fact Krypto shows up with no explanation. Supergirl's perspective is "Who cares why you're here, it's just so good to see you!" My perspective is that the fact that he's there raises questions that probably means big trouble in the near future. ***.
Gotham "A Dark Knight: Pax Penguina"
You want to get technical, this episode had some merit (Victor Zsasz's love of pepperoni, Bruce apologizing to Selina on the ledge, Penguin's nightmare vision of Riddler, Penguin saying Bruce had a good heart, Gordon and Frank's bemused reactions to the ridiculous robbery in the coffee shop in broad daylight) but this is mostly as dumb as the show at its worst. Licenses for crime are one of the stupidest ideas the show has ever come up with. I'd probably be madder if I believed that the comic didn't do something like that at some point. But upon hearing that idea, I was basically like "This show doesn't think very much of me."
Ivy and Butch are no longer series regulars. I especially am going to miss seeing Drew Powell on a regular basis. But maybe the Solomon Grundy thing will make up for it.
Prediction: This season of Gotham is going to be just as bad as the previous three. I see no signs of improvement, and with Cannon and Heller still running things, there won't be anytime soon. **1/2.
Ben 10 "Zombozo-Land"
Way more boring than average but I will not deny it is rare to see Ben right about anything. The best thing about the tags are the girl who does Gwen's laugh. It is so much fun. **.
Marvel's Spider-Man "Sandman"
Don't like the idea of turning Flint Marko's daughter into a villain. Little early for the Venom Symbiote too. **.
Marvel's Spider-Man "Symbiotic Relationship"
Peter decided to get rid of the new suit a LOT quicker and easier than he did in previous continuities. Which is good. I wasn't looking forward to several episodes of Emo Spider-Man.
I like that they gradually modulated his voice as the episode went on. First Spidey was talking more forcefully, and then they put some alien reverb in it. Pretty cool.
Good episode. ***1/2.
Marvel's Spider-Man "Stark Expo"
This was more than just the debut of Iron Man. This sets up Green Goblin, Doc Ock, and even Agent Venom. We also learn the Avengers are already a thing in this universe. This episode was a lot of fun for what it set up. ****.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles "Raphael: Mutant Apocalypse"
Wow, what a lousy ending. I am amazed at how much I hated that.
The Mutagen bomb went off and the world was practically destroyed? Casey and April were killed? Who in their right mind thought this was an appropriate ending for five seasons?
I'm actually a bit ticked off to be honest. *.
Transformers: Robots In Disguise: Combiner Force "Prepare For Departure"
The late Len Wein wrote this.
As much as a nuisance as Grimlock seems in this, he is nowhere NEAR as big a menace as Sideswipe and Strongarm always wind up being. At least Grimlock wants and TRIES to do the right thing. More than I can say for Strongswipe.
The writing in this wasn't great, but I miss Len Wein anyways. **1/2.
Power Rangers: Ninja Steel "The Royal Rumble"
The idea that Mick distrust Viera because her family sold him into slavery is an interesting idea. Except, the show refuses to make anyone the bad guy, so it can't actually explore how horrible that idea actually is. Not only is Vierra's contrition not enough, but I wouldn't have forgiven her were I Mick anyways. Getting to talk to his parents again is shown to be a grand gesture on Vierra's part to show she's changed. Me, I think it is the absolute least she can do, and a good start at best. I wouldn't have forgiven her yet were I Mick.
Another reason the show is dumb is that Victor is going to be awarded a cheap looking trophy for lifting two tons. A human being lifts two tons, they don't need a tiny trophy. Somebody that strong can pretty much write their own ticket into any job they want. The show values the wrong things.
If the show were better, this could have had resonance. As it stands, it strikes me as a rather gutless moral about a heavy subject matter. *1/2.
The Good Place "Everything Is Great"
I was a bit shocked to read some of the Entertainment Weekly interviews with the creators. Apparently last season's twist was supposed to be like The Sixth Sense and The Usual Suspects and out of nowhere and only be predicted in hindsight. I seem to be the only person not surprised by the twist. I was actually happy with it because it explained my biggest problem with the show: The Good Place actually sucked. If they WERE in Heaven Michael was lousy at his job. It also a bit random and unfair that these clearly flawed people were eligible for The Good Place while clearly superior people all throughout history went to Hell. The notion of The Good Place was completely unfair and the afterlife seemed badly designed. Eleanor was a baddish person. But she did not deserve Hell. She was right that there should have been a Medium Place for people like her. And to learn that people who don't measure up to the ridiculously high standards Michael described in the first episode meant this Good Place wasn't so good after all. The reason I like the Hell twist is because it addressed my biggest problems with the show. But it didn't surprise me at all.
I love the new season so far. Eleanor has turned into Veronica Mars and it is proving once again she is smarter than Michael. Denise is going to be a problem and I'm betting a part of the next screw-up. And the next screw-up will be coming shortly. I don't think Eleanor is a person without a Plan B.
Michael's biggest mistake here was making Jason's hell TOO hellish. He broke character far sooner than he should have just to get out of it. And while Eleanor and Chidi strike me as the type of people who would have gone along with their scenarios had they not sensed something wrong, Michael should have known immediately Tahani would have drawn the line at dressing like a normal person.
Michael turns out to be just as doofusy and out of his element as last season. We just learned that it's now for an entirely different reason.
Great premiere for a great show. *****.