Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors Review (Spoilers)
Also reviews for the latest episodes of Marvel's Avengers: Black Panther's Quest, Big Hero 6: The Series, DC Super Hero Girls, Ben 10, Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers: Cyberverse, Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel, and the season premieres of The Simpsons, Bob's Burgers, Family Guy, and The Good Place.
Upcoming reviews include Twin Peaks: The Return (Blu-Ray), Doctor Who: Series 9, Doctor Who: Series 10, Doctor Who: Twice Upon A Time, Class: Series 1, The X-Files: Season 10, The X-Files: Season 11, 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), Spider-Man: Homecoming (Blu-Ray), Thor: Ragnorok (Blu-Ray), Black Panther (Blu-Ray), Avengers: Infinity War (Blu-Ray), 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, Deadpool 2, Legion: Season 1, The Gifted: Season 1, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes! Season 1, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes! Season 2, Zootopia, Moana (Blu-Ray), Mickey Mouse: Merry & Scary, Inside Out (Blu-Ray), The Good Dinosaur (Blu-Ray), Finding Dory (Blu-Ray), Cars 3 (Blu-Ray), Coco (Blu-Ray), Once Upon A Time: Season 5, Once Upon A Time: Season 6, The BFG, Tomorrowland, Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Blu-Ray), Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Blu-Ray), Star Wars Rebels: Season 2, Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures: Season 1, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them (Blu-Ray), Static Shock: Season 4, Justice League Action: Superpowers Unite!, Justice League Action: Battles From Beyond!, Teen Titans Go!: Get In Pig Out, Teen Titans Go!: Recess Is Over, Teen Titans Go!: Lo-Tech Heroes, DC Super Hero Girls: Intergalactic Games, LEGO DC Super Hero Girls: Brain Drain, The LEGO Batman Movie, LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash, Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Aquaman: Rage Of Atlantis, Batman Vs. Two-Face, Scooby Doo! & Batman: The Brave And The Bold, Batman: Gotham By Gaslight, Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay, The Death Of Superman, Batman Ninja, Suicide Squad (Blu-Ray), Wonder Woman (Blu-Ray), Justice League (Blu-Ray), Arrow: Season 4, Arrow: Season 5, Arrow: Season 6, The Flash: Season 2, The Flash: Season 3, The Flash: Season 4, DC's Legends Of Tomorrow: Season 1, DC's Legends Of Tomorrow: Season 2, DC's Legends Of Tomorrow: Season 3, Supergirl: Season 1, Supergirl: Season 2, Supergirl: Season 3, Vixen: The Movie, Black Lightning: Season 1, Gotham: Season 2, Gotham: Season 3, Gotham: Season 4, iZombie: Season 1, iZombie: Season 2, iZombie: Season 3, Lucifer: Season 1, Lucifer: Season 2, 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, The Simpsons: Season 18, 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, Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Final Chapters, 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, Stranger Things: Season One, 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, The Ren And Stimpy Show: Seasons 1 & 2, The Ren And Stimpy Show: Seasons 3 and a Half-ish, The Ren And Stimpy Show: Season 5 & Some More Of 4, Haven: Season 5 - Vol. 1, Haven: The Final Season, The Dark Tower, IT, Under The Dome: Season 3, Sleepy Hollow: Season 2, Sleepy Hollow: Season 3, Sleepy Hollow: Season 4, Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 2, Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 3, Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 4, Airplane! / Airplane II: The Sequel: Double Feature, The Jurassic Park Trilogy, Jurassic World (Blu-Ray), 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: Go Team Go!, Peanuts By Schulz: School Days, Bob's Burgers: Season 5, Home Movies: Seasons 1 & 2, Home Movies: Season 3 & 4, Ghostbusters: Answer The Call, Community: Season 6, Danger Mouse: The Complete Series, Game Of Thrones: Season 5, and Game of Thrones: Season 6.
Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors
Every time I see Star Wars: Forces Of Destiny, I always say “My God, this show is eating DC Super Hero Girls’ lunch.” Upon seeing Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors I thought “My God, this show is eating Forces of Destiny’s lunch.”
Forces of Destiny is actually passable. But that’s all it is. It’s only decent compared to DC Super Hero Girls. It doesn’t exactly talk down to the viewer, but it isn’t intelligently written either.
Secret Warriors is fun, actually has cool anime-inspired animation, and the story and characters are compelling. And maybe I shouldn’t bring this up, because it may be considered irrelevant to the people who make the show. But I have a sneaking suspicion this show has the potential to be popular with little boys. I imagine little boys hate DC Super Hero Girls, and find it offensive to their sensibilities. And while I imagine they don’t despise Forces of Destiny so much, I imagine they WILL find it relatively boring, at least compared to the rest of the Star Wars canon. This cartoon designed for girls, is surprisingly gender neutral in tone. I feel like boys could like and watch it without feeling embarrassed. And that’s really cool and unusual thing about a show designed for girls. It was probably also true for Sailor Moon. But Sailor Moon was the last cartoon made that I think that was probably true for. Even if My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic has a lot of male viewers, those are mostly adults. From what I’ve seen, little boys still stay away from that show. I don’t think that will be true for Marvel Rising. I could be wrong. But it has the potential to become an actual sensation ,and double the audience of both boys actions cartoons and girls action cartoons. A series needs to be greenlit. That is a must at this point.
It also deals with topical issues I don’t see other cartoons dealing with. I mean, this is the first cartoon to deal with Kamala’s Muslim upbringing, and America telling her she is not the type of person she could ever trust, tells me Inhuman bigotry is not the only racism she has to deal with. Isn’t it ironic she is told that by a character literally NAMED America? That pushed the right buttons. The show also has America having two moms in the flashback without making a federal case out of it. I also like that Disney Channel allowed them to use the word “kill” when they absolutely needed to. This movie got a lot of welcome leeway. I don’t know if a running series would. But the movie is very special to me for the boundaries it broke.
Let me try to offer opinions on the characters and plot.
I felt the movie was overlong. That’s not a problem, because it was good, but it probably would have went down better as a three part episode, instead of watching it all at once.
I find a large, loud woman in a squirrel costume with a rodent on her shoulder sniffing a stranger’s face / chest to be exactly as creepy and off-putting as Patriot and Captain America do. It’s not just Squirrel Girl’s gimmick and costume that alienates people from her. It’s her bizarre behavior.
I like that the guy who uses fire is named Dante. That’s clever.
My favorite joke was when the bike shop owner tells America she is going to have to pay for the bike she broke with her own salary, America retorts, “Well you pay me next to nothing, and the bike is worth LESS than nothing. So in reality, you actually owe ME.” I’m not sure the logic or the math of that quip holds up, but the burn still shut HIM the heck up.
Captain America continuity speculation: The series is NOT in continuity with any other Marvel series, even if Cap’s voice actor is the same. I will leave it up to the continuity nerds who have watched both this and Initiation multiple times to figure out which came first, and how Quake and Patriot’s meeting of Kamala and Doreen in that webisode series match up to their team-up here.
I like the reveal that Quake was an Inhuman. I like it because I initially objected to the gauntlets. But no, the series just says Daisy is shy about being an Inhuman. And that’s kind of cool.
Kamala seems to believe she denied she was an Inhuman with the bullies at the beginning. I disagree. The giant fist was as big an affirmative declaration as she ever needed to make.
I have loved Miss Marvel in every project I have seen her in. But she’s usually just the goofball kid who is excited to meet the Avengers. Here, she becomes a hero in the best way a comic book hero should be portrayed. I firmly believe every hero needs a niche strength. Not just a unique power, but the ability to do something no other hero can do. For the Flash it’s empathizing and talking down the villains who don’t actually mean harm. For Captain America, it’s inspiring confidence, and the want and need for goodness in people who know and need him. Hulk I think is the best hero for bridging the understanding of the fact that heroes and villains are often arbitrarily assigned that designation, and if you give someone scary-seeming a chance, they might surprise you in a good way.
Kamala’s role is not quite as big as those notions, but I think it’s equally important. And when I say what it is, I imagine Kamala would be mad at me for suggesting it, because it automatically means she can’t do as much cool stuff as other heroes without her specific skills.
Kamala is mad-good at crowd control.
Despite her bizarre appearance, and the fact that she’s brown, and wears a mask, civilians instinctively trust her. And good God, in major world crises, protecting civilians from both themselves and the fall-out from the actual battles is probably the most valuable skillset a person with superpowers could ever have. And Kamala would be upset at me noting how good she is at this. Because she’d automatically be sidelined on every exciting mission and battle from now on to protect the people in the line of fire. And that’s what I love about this version of Kamala. She is amazing at it.
Kamala is not perfect. I mean her wanting to give Victor another chance at the end rankled me. Not because he didn’t take it. Because I would have been furious if he did. Exile was no innocent duped into his mission. His crime involved Inhuman trafficking. He belongs in prison for the rest of his life. The government should not just forgive that specific type of crime on a pinky swear promise that he’ll be a hero from now on. Not everybody is built for redemption. And I think Kamala offering it to him after all of the horror he was responsible for, says that she contains all of the empathy of Spider-Man and the Flash, with none of the common sense about when it is appropriate.
I mean, the dude sucker-punched her in the stomach when she said no to him. Even if he weren’t an Inhuman trafficker he’s still a male abuser of women on his best day. Just the entire subtext of that made me sick to my stomach. Kamala should never be offering this person a second chance after that, much less after learning he was a slave-trader too.
On the less empowering side, when Dante knocked Squirrel Girl into the air was it wrong that my first reaction was leaning back my head like Cesar Flickerman, and screaming, “Squirrel on fire!”? It was, wasn’t it?
I loved this. I want more. And I want the movie on DVD badly. This was great. *****.
Marvel’s Avengers: Black Panther’s Quest “Into The Deep”
Tiger Shark asking T’Challa “Do you believe in dragons?” was unbearably cool.
I love Shuri trying to make T’Challa thank her for being wonderful. Of course, he declines.
“For a Panther, you sure are impatient.” Is that a thing? Are panthers actually known as patient? I was not aware that particular wild animal had been psychologically deconstructed in that particular manner. Alternatively, it could just be a really badly written line. Alas, I believe it is the latter.
And you know what? Even if that line is badly written, the rest of the episode wasn’t. It’s been hinted by the producers that this season is going to be better written than the others, and supposedly better than the other Marvel shows of this era. And I can see it already. It’s not amazing yet, but Shuri’s scene with Atuma was all kinds of amazing for all kinds of reasons.
Shuri is definitely a better diplomat than T’Challa, which is making me rethink the whole “Black Panthers must fight for their crowns” thing, and makes me find it even more ill-advised than I already did. T’Challa is doing and saying everything wrong. He’s acting like an aristocratic royal, instead of a politician. If it wasn’t for the besting in battle rule, Shuri should and would be queen of Wakanda. She is much better at the personal politics than her brother, and that ultimately turned out to be more important here (and the thing that actually avoided a war.)
She’s canny enough to ask Atuma to dance, and when he disgustedly dismisses the idea because he seems to find the notion frivolous, her face lights up and she says, “Oh! A first-timer!” That was brilliant. She framed it in a way that made the dance sound more enticing and exciting than it probably was. And that’s the value of Shuri. And while T’Challa is telling Atuma about what he “Must do”, he’s forgotten that Atuma doesn’t answer to him. And Shuri knows being nice and using flattery is how you get Atuma to listen. Atuma says Shuri speaks plainly and honestly. No, Shuri just isn’t trying to fill his head with contradictory conspiracy theories that are impossible to sort out in the moment. She simplified the situation by merely using common sense and making common cause with Atlantis. They can hash out the rest when the smoke clears.
For the record, the Wakandan Ambassador might have been able to win and blow up Atlantis if he hadn’t shown his cards when he did. The precise moment to set off the bomb was when T’Challa and Shuri were taken into custody with their insane allegations against Atuma’s old friend, and out of Atuma’s eyesight. But doing it in front of Atuma, and with T’Challa and Shuri still on the gameboard, he just gave them a chance to stop him.
I doubt Tony will be very happy with Cap for the notion of Black Panther as a Secret Avenger. Honestly, I’m a little tired of Black Panther quitting the Avengers every single time there is the slightest bit of friction. Did I mention he was REALLY bad at the politics thing, and that Shuri should be queen? Because if he WAS smart, he wouldn’t be always alienating people who he’ll obviously need help from to take down the Shadow Council.
Tony very notably does NOT call Black Panther “Buddy” here. Not once.
It strikes me that this is less of a fifth season of Avengers Assemble, and more of an actual spin-off, but not one of those tenuous other shows supposedly in the same Marvel Universe canon. This new season strikes me as a legitimately different show, that legitimately follows the rest of the first four seasons of the Avengers show. But it doesn’t actually strike me as an Avengers show itself.
This episode was VERY promising. I am impressed. ****1/2.
The Gifted “eMergence”
It’s been over half a year since the series went on hiatus, so it’s going to take me an episode or two to get reacclimated. I loved the show last year, but I didn’t love this episode. But not because it was bad. Probably simply because I’ve been out of this show’s groove for so long. I expect to love the show again soon enough.
That being said, the fake-out dream sequence angered me. Granted, at least there seemed to be story repercussions for it, but that nonsense is the precise reason I hate genre.
I’m wondering why nobody speculated to Marcus at the end that the tremors stopped because the baby was born, and him and Lorna were actually fine. Not only was it true, but it would have been the proper comforting, scenario to posit, even if it weren’t. Caitlin’s bedside manner could use some work.
I love Caitlin’s “Please don’t use drugs,” to Wire before she left. What else could she say to that train-wreck of a human being? It was quite endearing.
Speaking of which, I like that Andy is the one guy Lorna actually trusts in that nest of vipers. It makes sense because she’s known him the longest, but it’s probably also because he’s the only decent guy there.
Bryan Singer is still a producer? What is wrong with Fox?
I’ll do better next week. I swear. ***.
Big Hero 6: The Series “The Bot Fighter”
Sigh. I suppose that was decent as far as the drama and all goes, but honestly? The more it went on, the less I liked it. The episode’s biggest problem is the questions it raised for me. Raising questions is often something a good TV show will do. But this isn’t a mystery or a puzzle, it’s just plotholes and oversights. And maybe I would have actually enjoyed the episode more if I wasn’t nitpicking the logic of it to death in my head.
Where to start? Bot fighting is illegal? Whatever for? San Fran Sokyo is no fun. Also why is it that after the cops raided the place, the fighters seem to go back to the exact same stadium? Shouldn’t that be a crime scene? Or are there a ton of different illegal stadiums around the city? Because the set-up of the scoreboard and all of the bells and whistles suggest this place wasn’t hastily put together. So it’s probably the same place. What’s to stop the cops raiding it again if they know where it is?
Also, how does Gogo collect a fingerprint so perfect on a piece of Scotch tape that is can fool a scanner? Answer: It can’t. It’s bad writing. It’s cheating the rules that were set up. I don’t like that at all.
Also why does Fred shriek in pain when the bot grabs his costume’s claw at the beginning? Are we supposed to believe his finger is in there? Aside from the costume’s hands being far too big to have his fingers mobile, the claws are an entirely different shape than a human hand. Fingers cannot fit in that particular design.
And I sort of smiled when Trina called Obake “Father” at the end. And then she turns out to be a robot? Man, that is a FAR less interesting twist, and worth MUCH less pathos than if she were his daughter. What kills me is I don’t see how making her his daughter could possibly hurt the scenario in the slightest. I get producers being gun-shy about that sort of thing regarding heroes and shaking up the status quo. But Obake is a villain and we JUST met Trina this episode. What are they playing that specific twist safe for? Who does that help? I don’t get it.
About the only thing I was able to say afterwards, “Oh, I liked and enjoyed that,” was Fred’s observation that a hero having a criminal past gives them layers. And that is 100% true and always was. And even if the show is being stupider than it has ever been, I like that it still makes observations like that, even when the episode is otherwise sucking.
But really, there were just too many mistakes in the episode for me to do anything but drag on it. **1/2.
DC Super Hero Girls “My New Best Friend”
Didn’t the Batgirl / Badgirl amnesia thing already happen on Gotham Girls?
“I wonder what this button does. I totally knew what that button did,” is not an outright terrible line.
So-so week. **1/2.
Ben 10 “Alien Worlds: Stinkfly”
I like that the Narrator’s dialogue resembles a nature documentary here. ****.
Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles “Mascot Melee”
Now we see why all the Turtles wanted to wear the Hippo mascot costume.
I love that Raph has a Build-A-Bear type store card. Very endearing.
Not bad. ***.
Transformers: Cyberverse “Whiteout”
I liked more than I didn’t. The cute goats for example.
Windblade is such a patronizing piece of dren. She puts Bumblebee in charge of nobody, and expects him to think it is a privilege. It drives me crazy that Bee is so stupid that he actually does.
Do you know what was a great moment? When Slipstream shows up and is all “Well, well, Autobot. It’s time we talked.” And then the scene stupidly wrecks it by having her fire at Windblade! That would have been an amazing scene, two enemies just talking and feeling each other out. And the show goes with the least interesting tack they could have taken.
Speaking of which, it was super sinister and spooky-cool that Slipstream whispers “Shhh,” as she pushes Windblade off the cliff. Except doesn’t she already know she’s a plane? The series is expecting tension from the viewer from a scenario that actually contains none.
Lot of plotholes. But as I stated at the beginning, I liked more than I didn’t. ***1/2.
Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel “Tech Support”
To put it another way, kids: Don’t try this at home. Honestly? I think they should probably do one of these episodes once a season. It strikes me that any kid who would watch this show would probably be a bit thick-witted. Never hurts to state the obvious and know your audience: dumb kids.
Typeface is a good name for a monster. And he is the precise type of coldblooded motherfather who chillingly says the hardest, baddest thing a sinister, sociopathic, supervillain could ever say: “Nyah! Nyah! You can’t catch me!” Like I said, this show knows its audience is stupid kids.
Why does Mick turn into a hammer? Who does that help? Mick has like the coolest superpower ever that has not even once been used in a cool manner. It’s a bit alarming the lack of imagination this shapeshifter has.
So their weapons supposedly don’t work? Umm, they ARE freaking swords, geniuses. You could just, you know, CUT the SOB. Just a thought.
This week was bad. But just good enough that I was able to enjoy how bad it was. ***.
The Simpsons “Bart’s Not Dead”
Wow, that was excellent. And it reminds me again why I want the show to end. I want it to end while it is great again. I don’t want it canceled in the middle of another fifteen year slump. Now if the quality keeps up, there’s no need to end the show until a major cast member dies. But I don’t feel safe tempting that particular fate. This is a show that deserves to go out on top and episodes like this are phenomenal.
I have an unkind opinion about Marge: This was probably her worst example of mothering I have ever seen her do. I can’t even say she was simply being an uncool mom, or a clueless mom like the show wants me to think. But she was being a BAD mom. I mean a boy refusing a reprehensible dare for bully peers is a good thing, and the fact that Homer thinks the opposite means I am right. But a GOOD mom would have made Bart feel cool, and independent, and fearless in not caring what the losers in his class think about him. Instead she’s smothering him, and making him feel like a Mama’s boy, and like a loser himself. Bart already feels bad and confused. She is absolutely not only feeding into the misery, but feeding into the precise reason he was second-guessing himself in the first place. And frankly, after all that, jumping off a cliff is sensible in comparison. And it wouldn’t be had she framed the discussion that Bart is so cool because nobody else at that school matters to him, and that makes him fearless. She did very wrong by her son in this episode. She is not usually so bad a mother, but in the show’s defense, we’ve never seen her in this exact position, and it seemed sadly credible to me, which kind of sucks. I love Marge. I also think she is a character that needs to be written perfectly every single time to work properly. You have a LOT more leeway with how to write Homer, Bart, and Lisa. And the thing that saddened me tonight is that it’s quite possible the episode DID write her perfectly, and I just didn’t like Marge after all. It was convincing enough to me to not think they were actually bad writers, or doing wrong by the character. Which disturbs me a little.
I love Homer raising the hypocrisy of Christian filmmakers never giving their profits back to the Church. Great, great moment.
I am also really annoyed by the amount of movies and shows that thank Georgia in the end credits. That’s SO stupid. You never see people thanking the people of Vancouver or Hollywood, and on the rare occasions you do, it’s in a tiny font, rather than a huge trademarked logo. It’s outright bizarre to me and Homer alike.
And yes, the selling point of the Golden Globes is having TV and movie people all in one room at the same time. There is nothing else good about them.
I like that Homer never sees DC movies because the logo always makes him fall asleep. And that’s only slightly worse than me falling asleep within five minutes having to watch a Zack Snyder abortion. Gal Gadot was a good sport.
For the record, a Christian movie could NEVER land Gal Gadot. Not simply because they wouldn’t hire her because she’s Jewish, but because those movies all star has-beens and D-listers. Pretty much Kevin Sorbo and Kirk Cameron are their A-Game. Truthfully, a Christian movie probably couldn’t even get Emily Deschannel.
I would find Bart’s inflicting Flanders on Homer to be overly cruel and uncalled for if his father hadn’t earlier essentially convinced him to jump off a cliff.
I not only love Lisa’s weirdly gross trick with her hair and her eyes, but I liked Yeardley Smith’s totally sinister line reading when she told Bart Satan was at the door. Unlike the rest of the cast, Smith does NOT get the chance to modulate her voice very much (if ever), so she was probably ecstatic that get that moment in the script. For now it’s pretty much just that and Grandma Van Houten’s “Hello, Joe.”
Excellent episode. *****.
Bob’s Burgers “Just One Of The Boys 4 Now For Now”
Mostly favorable impression.
That being said, this is another recent episode to not only say that Tina is useless, but a bit trying as well. I don’t disagree with Linda that dressing up as a boy and sneaking into the audition wouldn’t actually hurt anything. It didn’t. But it would certainly never HELP anything either. But I guess parent’s have to pick their battles.
Speaking of which, learning Linda actually dislikes Jimmy Junior makes her a far better mother than I’ve ever given her credit for.
Louise implies she know Brazilian Jujitsu. I totally believe her.
I love that when Teddy says it’s a rat, the first words out of Bob’s mouth are “Get out.” And this isn’t the first time Hugo has seen that scenario? That was a funny joke, but I didn’t buy it for second. Even the idea of 8 other girls attempting the same cross-dressing trick as Tina strikes me as more plausible.
I think this modern era is going to be the death of Bob Belcher. Because Tina dressing up as a boy to perv on another boy is outright weird, but Bob feels wrong using those correct words because of the political implications. Same thing with him having say he loves the fact that Tina is boy crazy. Bob always strikes me as a liberal, and not just any kind of liberal. He’s the fearful kind. And that’s usually the kind white guys like Bob are. I’m kind of that too, to be honest.
Louise asking Linda if they could simply kill Hugo, and Linda saying maybe, was one of the more rational discussions of the episode.
I love that being insane is Bob’s alibi. That and the mistress. It’s like the Belchers aren’t even trying. It’s lucky their enemies are so lackluster.
I also love Bob stating he should try out for the boy band because he’s the same age as Matt. The twisted thing is that’s probably true. Where Bob goes wrong is thinking he would ever have a shot. Forget the fact that he’s ugly, he’s pretty much the lousiest singer on the show, and that is clearly the part of the show H. Jon Benjamin puts the least amount of effort into the performance. He phones in every song because they don’t seem to interest him. Bob’s out of his mind to think he could ever join a boy band, even if he’s the correct age.
Good Gene:
I LOVED the way Gene said he respected Bob, in the moment he did, for the reason he did. I mean, I loved, loved, LOVED it.
Bad Gene:
I find it especially creepy when Gene asks if he’s the only person who finds Dino hot. To be fair, Gene is an especially creepy character anyways, but I still don’t have to pretend to be happy about it.
Tina has pretty much become a parody of herself at this point. The episode was good though. ***1/2.
Family Guy “Married... With Cancer”
Do you know the precise moment I knew next week was gonna suck? When Quagmire actually apologized to Brian. Now we know things are going to get effed up.
Here’s a controversial opinion: Brian is under no obligation to stay in that marriage, no matter what the town thinks. Why? Because he never promised her anything of the sort. The marriage proposal was done under the understanding it was wish fulfillment, and that he was fully committed to the next two weeks, and that’s it. He never once made the marriage sound more than it was, or like he wanted more than a month with her. I don’t care if the rest of the town is Oprah book club-crazy, Brian does NOT have to stay married to that horrible woman.
Which is what I liked about Jess. She’s a scumbag, even when she’s dying. The bucket list was outright gross, and her calling the GRIFFINS that was her being complimentary. And it’s the fact that she’s a scumbag which is why I liked her and Brian together. Because Brian’s a scumbag too. They weirdly fit.
But not past two weeks. That’s an unreasonable expectation, and the worst thing is that I am 100% certain the series will find a way to make Brian completely at fault, and the actual bad guy, which is nuts. But the series is not interested in giving Brian layers anymore. It is now fully invested in saying how much Seth MacFarlane’s surrogate sucks. Brian Griffin has somehow crazily turned into a character all about Seth MacFarlane’s self-loathing. I personally think it’s weird that he’d actually WANT that from the character who used to speak what he was thinking about the given issues of the day. What truly disturbs me about the self-loathing in MacFarlane / Brian is that the other writers help him along with that idea, instead of telling him he’s a crazy person, he’s actually a good liberal, and his opinions are worth listening to. No, instead they seem gleeful to be able to write their boss as a creepy, pervy, hypocritical, know-nothing, know-it-all. I almost admire MacFarlane for allowing his surrogate to be portrayed that way. No, what truly disturbs me is that the fact that the writers happily go along with it, means that the characterization is almost certainly completely accurate. Which should disturb anybody.
Let’s just say the last time I saw a cartoonist put all of his psychological hang-ups into a cartoon this way was John Kricfalusi and Ren and Stimpy. And we all saw how that went. I expect a similar end for MacFarlane, sooner rather than later, and every Brian episode convinces me more and more that I’m right.
Brian was not actually insufferable or unforgivable this week. I am certain they are saving that for next week, and I expect it to be SO bad and self-loathing, there is a knot in my stomach. This show’s perspective about self-examination of liberal values has gotten outright insane to me. The show has started to get indistinguishable to me from Stimpy frantically carrying around Ralph Bakshi’s giant dump. And the subtext is becoming rapidly similar too.
For the record, my surety that MeToo is gonna knock out Seth MacFarlane is made worse by the fact there is a Trump episode coming up. I am filled with dread for that, next week, and whether or not there will be bodies found buried under Seth’s floorboards very soon. Let’s just say I’m not optimistic about all three of those things.
But hey, Brian crying like Snoopy was funny, wasn’t it? ***.
The Good Place “Everything Is Bonzer!”
Eleanor and Simone browbeating Chiti to ask Simone out in the MRI machine was SO cute.
Laughed out loud at Adam Scott as Trevor.
Janet seems a lot more human this season.
I think the character who has actually reformed is Michael. Really enjoying him this year.
Good premiere, although I miss the Heaven and Hell premise. ****.
Upcoming reviews include Twin Peaks: The Return (Blu-Ray), Doctor Who: Series 9, Doctor Who: Series 10, Doctor Who: Twice Upon A Time, Class: Series 1, The X-Files: Season 10, The X-Files: Season 11, 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), Spider-Man: Homecoming (Blu-Ray), Thor: Ragnorok (Blu-Ray), Black Panther (Blu-Ray), Avengers: Infinity War (Blu-Ray), 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, Deadpool 2, Legion: Season 1, The Gifted: Season 1, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes! Season 1, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes! Season 2, Zootopia, Moana (Blu-Ray), Mickey Mouse: Merry & Scary, Inside Out (Blu-Ray), The Good Dinosaur (Blu-Ray), Finding Dory (Blu-Ray), Cars 3 (Blu-Ray), Coco (Blu-Ray), Once Upon A Time: Season 5, Once Upon A Time: Season 6, The BFG, Tomorrowland, Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Blu-Ray), Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Blu-Ray), Star Wars Rebels: Season 2, Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures: Season 1, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them (Blu-Ray), Static Shock: Season 4, Justice League Action: Superpowers Unite!, Justice League Action: Battles From Beyond!, Teen Titans Go!: Get In Pig Out, Teen Titans Go!: Recess Is Over, Teen Titans Go!: Lo-Tech Heroes, DC Super Hero Girls: Intergalactic Games, LEGO DC Super Hero Girls: Brain Drain, The LEGO Batman Movie, LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash, Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Aquaman: Rage Of Atlantis, Batman Vs. Two-Face, Scooby Doo! & Batman: The Brave And The Bold, Batman: Gotham By Gaslight, Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay, The Death Of Superman, Batman Ninja, Suicide Squad (Blu-Ray), Wonder Woman (Blu-Ray), Justice League (Blu-Ray), Arrow: Season 4, Arrow: Season 5, Arrow: Season 6, The Flash: Season 2, The Flash: Season 3, The Flash: Season 4, DC's Legends Of Tomorrow: Season 1, DC's Legends Of Tomorrow: Season 2, DC's Legends Of Tomorrow: Season 3, Supergirl: Season 1, Supergirl: Season 2, Supergirl: Season 3, Vixen: The Movie, Black Lightning: Season 1, Gotham: Season 2, Gotham: Season 3, Gotham: Season 4, iZombie: Season 1, iZombie: Season 2, iZombie: Season 3, Lucifer: Season 1, Lucifer: Season 2, 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, The Simpsons: Season 18, 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, Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Final Chapters, 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, Stranger Things: Season One, 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, The Ren And Stimpy Show: Seasons 1 & 2, The Ren And Stimpy Show: Seasons 3 and a Half-ish, The Ren And Stimpy Show: Season 5 & Some More Of 4, Haven: Season 5 - Vol. 1, Haven: The Final Season, The Dark Tower, IT, Under The Dome: Season 3, Sleepy Hollow: Season 2, Sleepy Hollow: Season 3, Sleepy Hollow: Season 4, Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 2, Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 3, Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 4, Airplane! / Airplane II: The Sequel: Double Feature, The Jurassic Park Trilogy, Jurassic World (Blu-Ray), 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: Go Team Go!, Peanuts By Schulz: School Days, Bob's Burgers: Season 5, Home Movies: Seasons 1 & 2, Home Movies: Season 3 & 4, Ghostbusters: Answer The Call, Community: Season 6, Danger Mouse: The Complete Series, Game Of Thrones: Season 5, and Game of Thrones: Season 6.
Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors
Every time I see Star Wars: Forces Of Destiny, I always say “My God, this show is eating DC Super Hero Girls’ lunch.” Upon seeing Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors I thought “My God, this show is eating Forces of Destiny’s lunch.”
Forces of Destiny is actually passable. But that’s all it is. It’s only decent compared to DC Super Hero Girls. It doesn’t exactly talk down to the viewer, but it isn’t intelligently written either.
Secret Warriors is fun, actually has cool anime-inspired animation, and the story and characters are compelling. And maybe I shouldn’t bring this up, because it may be considered irrelevant to the people who make the show. But I have a sneaking suspicion this show has the potential to be popular with little boys. I imagine little boys hate DC Super Hero Girls, and find it offensive to their sensibilities. And while I imagine they don’t despise Forces of Destiny so much, I imagine they WILL find it relatively boring, at least compared to the rest of the Star Wars canon. This cartoon designed for girls, is surprisingly gender neutral in tone. I feel like boys could like and watch it without feeling embarrassed. And that’s really cool and unusual thing about a show designed for girls. It was probably also true for Sailor Moon. But Sailor Moon was the last cartoon made that I think that was probably true for. Even if My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic has a lot of male viewers, those are mostly adults. From what I’ve seen, little boys still stay away from that show. I don’t think that will be true for Marvel Rising. I could be wrong. But it has the potential to become an actual sensation ,and double the audience of both boys actions cartoons and girls action cartoons. A series needs to be greenlit. That is a must at this point.
It also deals with topical issues I don’t see other cartoons dealing with. I mean, this is the first cartoon to deal with Kamala’s Muslim upbringing, and America telling her she is not the type of person she could ever trust, tells me Inhuman bigotry is not the only racism she has to deal with. Isn’t it ironic she is told that by a character literally NAMED America? That pushed the right buttons. The show also has America having two moms in the flashback without making a federal case out of it. I also like that Disney Channel allowed them to use the word “kill” when they absolutely needed to. This movie got a lot of welcome leeway. I don’t know if a running series would. But the movie is very special to me for the boundaries it broke.
Let me try to offer opinions on the characters and plot.
I felt the movie was overlong. That’s not a problem, because it was good, but it probably would have went down better as a three part episode, instead of watching it all at once.
I find a large, loud woman in a squirrel costume with a rodent on her shoulder sniffing a stranger’s face / chest to be exactly as creepy and off-putting as Patriot and Captain America do. It’s not just Squirrel Girl’s gimmick and costume that alienates people from her. It’s her bizarre behavior.
I like that the guy who uses fire is named Dante. That’s clever.
My favorite joke was when the bike shop owner tells America she is going to have to pay for the bike she broke with her own salary, America retorts, “Well you pay me next to nothing, and the bike is worth LESS than nothing. So in reality, you actually owe ME.” I’m not sure the logic or the math of that quip holds up, but the burn still shut HIM the heck up.
Captain America continuity speculation: The series is NOT in continuity with any other Marvel series, even if Cap’s voice actor is the same. I will leave it up to the continuity nerds who have watched both this and Initiation multiple times to figure out which came first, and how Quake and Patriot’s meeting of Kamala and Doreen in that webisode series match up to their team-up here.
I like the reveal that Quake was an Inhuman. I like it because I initially objected to the gauntlets. But no, the series just says Daisy is shy about being an Inhuman. And that’s kind of cool.
Kamala seems to believe she denied she was an Inhuman with the bullies at the beginning. I disagree. The giant fist was as big an affirmative declaration as she ever needed to make.
I have loved Miss Marvel in every project I have seen her in. But she’s usually just the goofball kid who is excited to meet the Avengers. Here, she becomes a hero in the best way a comic book hero should be portrayed. I firmly believe every hero needs a niche strength. Not just a unique power, but the ability to do something no other hero can do. For the Flash it’s empathizing and talking down the villains who don’t actually mean harm. For Captain America, it’s inspiring confidence, and the want and need for goodness in people who know and need him. Hulk I think is the best hero for bridging the understanding of the fact that heroes and villains are often arbitrarily assigned that designation, and if you give someone scary-seeming a chance, they might surprise you in a good way.
Kamala’s role is not quite as big as those notions, but I think it’s equally important. And when I say what it is, I imagine Kamala would be mad at me for suggesting it, because it automatically means she can’t do as much cool stuff as other heroes without her specific skills.
Kamala is mad-good at crowd control.
Despite her bizarre appearance, and the fact that she’s brown, and wears a mask, civilians instinctively trust her. And good God, in major world crises, protecting civilians from both themselves and the fall-out from the actual battles is probably the most valuable skillset a person with superpowers could ever have. And Kamala would be upset at me noting how good she is at this. Because she’d automatically be sidelined on every exciting mission and battle from now on to protect the people in the line of fire. And that’s what I love about this version of Kamala. She is amazing at it.
Kamala is not perfect. I mean her wanting to give Victor another chance at the end rankled me. Not because he didn’t take it. Because I would have been furious if he did. Exile was no innocent duped into his mission. His crime involved Inhuman trafficking. He belongs in prison for the rest of his life. The government should not just forgive that specific type of crime on a pinky swear promise that he’ll be a hero from now on. Not everybody is built for redemption. And I think Kamala offering it to him after all of the horror he was responsible for, says that she contains all of the empathy of Spider-Man and the Flash, with none of the common sense about when it is appropriate.
I mean, the dude sucker-punched her in the stomach when she said no to him. Even if he weren’t an Inhuman trafficker he’s still a male abuser of women on his best day. Just the entire subtext of that made me sick to my stomach. Kamala should never be offering this person a second chance after that, much less after learning he was a slave-trader too.
On the less empowering side, when Dante knocked Squirrel Girl into the air was it wrong that my first reaction was leaning back my head like Cesar Flickerman, and screaming, “Squirrel on fire!”? It was, wasn’t it?
I loved this. I want more. And I want the movie on DVD badly. This was great. *****.
Marvel’s Avengers: Black Panther’s Quest “Into The Deep”
Tiger Shark asking T’Challa “Do you believe in dragons?” was unbearably cool.
I love Shuri trying to make T’Challa thank her for being wonderful. Of course, he declines.
“For a Panther, you sure are impatient.” Is that a thing? Are panthers actually known as patient? I was not aware that particular wild animal had been psychologically deconstructed in that particular manner. Alternatively, it could just be a really badly written line. Alas, I believe it is the latter.
And you know what? Even if that line is badly written, the rest of the episode wasn’t. It’s been hinted by the producers that this season is going to be better written than the others, and supposedly better than the other Marvel shows of this era. And I can see it already. It’s not amazing yet, but Shuri’s scene with Atuma was all kinds of amazing for all kinds of reasons.
Shuri is definitely a better diplomat than T’Challa, which is making me rethink the whole “Black Panthers must fight for their crowns” thing, and makes me find it even more ill-advised than I already did. T’Challa is doing and saying everything wrong. He’s acting like an aristocratic royal, instead of a politician. If it wasn’t for the besting in battle rule, Shuri should and would be queen of Wakanda. She is much better at the personal politics than her brother, and that ultimately turned out to be more important here (and the thing that actually avoided a war.)
She’s canny enough to ask Atuma to dance, and when he disgustedly dismisses the idea because he seems to find the notion frivolous, her face lights up and she says, “Oh! A first-timer!” That was brilliant. She framed it in a way that made the dance sound more enticing and exciting than it probably was. And that’s the value of Shuri. And while T’Challa is telling Atuma about what he “Must do”, he’s forgotten that Atuma doesn’t answer to him. And Shuri knows being nice and using flattery is how you get Atuma to listen. Atuma says Shuri speaks plainly and honestly. No, Shuri just isn’t trying to fill his head with contradictory conspiracy theories that are impossible to sort out in the moment. She simplified the situation by merely using common sense and making common cause with Atlantis. They can hash out the rest when the smoke clears.
For the record, the Wakandan Ambassador might have been able to win and blow up Atlantis if he hadn’t shown his cards when he did. The precise moment to set off the bomb was when T’Challa and Shuri were taken into custody with their insane allegations against Atuma’s old friend, and out of Atuma’s eyesight. But doing it in front of Atuma, and with T’Challa and Shuri still on the gameboard, he just gave them a chance to stop him.
I doubt Tony will be very happy with Cap for the notion of Black Panther as a Secret Avenger. Honestly, I’m a little tired of Black Panther quitting the Avengers every single time there is the slightest bit of friction. Did I mention he was REALLY bad at the politics thing, and that Shuri should be queen? Because if he WAS smart, he wouldn’t be always alienating people who he’ll obviously need help from to take down the Shadow Council.
Tony very notably does NOT call Black Panther “Buddy” here. Not once.
It strikes me that this is less of a fifth season of Avengers Assemble, and more of an actual spin-off, but not one of those tenuous other shows supposedly in the same Marvel Universe canon. This new season strikes me as a legitimately different show, that legitimately follows the rest of the first four seasons of the Avengers show. But it doesn’t actually strike me as an Avengers show itself.
This episode was VERY promising. I am impressed. ****1/2.
The Gifted “eMergence”
It’s been over half a year since the series went on hiatus, so it’s going to take me an episode or two to get reacclimated. I loved the show last year, but I didn’t love this episode. But not because it was bad. Probably simply because I’ve been out of this show’s groove for so long. I expect to love the show again soon enough.
That being said, the fake-out dream sequence angered me. Granted, at least there seemed to be story repercussions for it, but that nonsense is the precise reason I hate genre.
I’m wondering why nobody speculated to Marcus at the end that the tremors stopped because the baby was born, and him and Lorna were actually fine. Not only was it true, but it would have been the proper comforting, scenario to posit, even if it weren’t. Caitlin’s bedside manner could use some work.
I love Caitlin’s “Please don’t use drugs,” to Wire before she left. What else could she say to that train-wreck of a human being? It was quite endearing.
Speaking of which, I like that Andy is the one guy Lorna actually trusts in that nest of vipers. It makes sense because she’s known him the longest, but it’s probably also because he’s the only decent guy there.
Bryan Singer is still a producer? What is wrong with Fox?
I’ll do better next week. I swear. ***.
Big Hero 6: The Series “The Bot Fighter”
Sigh. I suppose that was decent as far as the drama and all goes, but honestly? The more it went on, the less I liked it. The episode’s biggest problem is the questions it raised for me. Raising questions is often something a good TV show will do. But this isn’t a mystery or a puzzle, it’s just plotholes and oversights. And maybe I would have actually enjoyed the episode more if I wasn’t nitpicking the logic of it to death in my head.
Where to start? Bot fighting is illegal? Whatever for? San Fran Sokyo is no fun. Also why is it that after the cops raided the place, the fighters seem to go back to the exact same stadium? Shouldn’t that be a crime scene? Or are there a ton of different illegal stadiums around the city? Because the set-up of the scoreboard and all of the bells and whistles suggest this place wasn’t hastily put together. So it’s probably the same place. What’s to stop the cops raiding it again if they know where it is?
Also, how does Gogo collect a fingerprint so perfect on a piece of Scotch tape that is can fool a scanner? Answer: It can’t. It’s bad writing. It’s cheating the rules that were set up. I don’t like that at all.
Also why does Fred shriek in pain when the bot grabs his costume’s claw at the beginning? Are we supposed to believe his finger is in there? Aside from the costume’s hands being far too big to have his fingers mobile, the claws are an entirely different shape than a human hand. Fingers cannot fit in that particular design.
And I sort of smiled when Trina called Obake “Father” at the end. And then she turns out to be a robot? Man, that is a FAR less interesting twist, and worth MUCH less pathos than if she were his daughter. What kills me is I don’t see how making her his daughter could possibly hurt the scenario in the slightest. I get producers being gun-shy about that sort of thing regarding heroes and shaking up the status quo. But Obake is a villain and we JUST met Trina this episode. What are they playing that specific twist safe for? Who does that help? I don’t get it.
About the only thing I was able to say afterwards, “Oh, I liked and enjoyed that,” was Fred’s observation that a hero having a criminal past gives them layers. And that is 100% true and always was. And even if the show is being stupider than it has ever been, I like that it still makes observations like that, even when the episode is otherwise sucking.
But really, there were just too many mistakes in the episode for me to do anything but drag on it. **1/2.
DC Super Hero Girls “My New Best Friend”
Didn’t the Batgirl / Badgirl amnesia thing already happen on Gotham Girls?
“I wonder what this button does. I totally knew what that button did,” is not an outright terrible line.
So-so week. **1/2.
Ben 10 “Alien Worlds: Stinkfly”
I like that the Narrator’s dialogue resembles a nature documentary here. ****.
Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles “Mascot Melee”
Now we see why all the Turtles wanted to wear the Hippo mascot costume.
I love that Raph has a Build-A-Bear type store card. Very endearing.
Not bad. ***.
Transformers: Cyberverse “Whiteout”
I liked more than I didn’t. The cute goats for example.
Windblade is such a patronizing piece of dren. She puts Bumblebee in charge of nobody, and expects him to think it is a privilege. It drives me crazy that Bee is so stupid that he actually does.
Do you know what was a great moment? When Slipstream shows up and is all “Well, well, Autobot. It’s time we talked.” And then the scene stupidly wrecks it by having her fire at Windblade! That would have been an amazing scene, two enemies just talking and feeling each other out. And the show goes with the least interesting tack they could have taken.
Speaking of which, it was super sinister and spooky-cool that Slipstream whispers “Shhh,” as she pushes Windblade off the cliff. Except doesn’t she already know she’s a plane? The series is expecting tension from the viewer from a scenario that actually contains none.
Lot of plotholes. But as I stated at the beginning, I liked more than I didn’t. ***1/2.
Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel “Tech Support”
To put it another way, kids: Don’t try this at home. Honestly? I think they should probably do one of these episodes once a season. It strikes me that any kid who would watch this show would probably be a bit thick-witted. Never hurts to state the obvious and know your audience: dumb kids.
Typeface is a good name for a monster. And he is the precise type of coldblooded motherfather who chillingly says the hardest, baddest thing a sinister, sociopathic, supervillain could ever say: “Nyah! Nyah! You can’t catch me!” Like I said, this show knows its audience is stupid kids.
Why does Mick turn into a hammer? Who does that help? Mick has like the coolest superpower ever that has not even once been used in a cool manner. It’s a bit alarming the lack of imagination this shapeshifter has.
So their weapons supposedly don’t work? Umm, they ARE freaking swords, geniuses. You could just, you know, CUT the SOB. Just a thought.
This week was bad. But just good enough that I was able to enjoy how bad it was. ***.
The Simpsons “Bart’s Not Dead”
Wow, that was excellent. And it reminds me again why I want the show to end. I want it to end while it is great again. I don’t want it canceled in the middle of another fifteen year slump. Now if the quality keeps up, there’s no need to end the show until a major cast member dies. But I don’t feel safe tempting that particular fate. This is a show that deserves to go out on top and episodes like this are phenomenal.
I have an unkind opinion about Marge: This was probably her worst example of mothering I have ever seen her do. I can’t even say she was simply being an uncool mom, or a clueless mom like the show wants me to think. But she was being a BAD mom. I mean a boy refusing a reprehensible dare for bully peers is a good thing, and the fact that Homer thinks the opposite means I am right. But a GOOD mom would have made Bart feel cool, and independent, and fearless in not caring what the losers in his class think about him. Instead she’s smothering him, and making him feel like a Mama’s boy, and like a loser himself. Bart already feels bad and confused. She is absolutely not only feeding into the misery, but feeding into the precise reason he was second-guessing himself in the first place. And frankly, after all that, jumping off a cliff is sensible in comparison. And it wouldn’t be had she framed the discussion that Bart is so cool because nobody else at that school matters to him, and that makes him fearless. She did very wrong by her son in this episode. She is not usually so bad a mother, but in the show’s defense, we’ve never seen her in this exact position, and it seemed sadly credible to me, which kind of sucks. I love Marge. I also think she is a character that needs to be written perfectly every single time to work properly. You have a LOT more leeway with how to write Homer, Bart, and Lisa. And the thing that saddened me tonight is that it’s quite possible the episode DID write her perfectly, and I just didn’t like Marge after all. It was convincing enough to me to not think they were actually bad writers, or doing wrong by the character. Which disturbs me a little.
I love Homer raising the hypocrisy of Christian filmmakers never giving their profits back to the Church. Great, great moment.
I am also really annoyed by the amount of movies and shows that thank Georgia in the end credits. That’s SO stupid. You never see people thanking the people of Vancouver or Hollywood, and on the rare occasions you do, it’s in a tiny font, rather than a huge trademarked logo. It’s outright bizarre to me and Homer alike.
And yes, the selling point of the Golden Globes is having TV and movie people all in one room at the same time. There is nothing else good about them.
I like that Homer never sees DC movies because the logo always makes him fall asleep. And that’s only slightly worse than me falling asleep within five minutes having to watch a Zack Snyder abortion. Gal Gadot was a good sport.
For the record, a Christian movie could NEVER land Gal Gadot. Not simply because they wouldn’t hire her because she’s Jewish, but because those movies all star has-beens and D-listers. Pretty much Kevin Sorbo and Kirk Cameron are their A-Game. Truthfully, a Christian movie probably couldn’t even get Emily Deschannel.
I would find Bart’s inflicting Flanders on Homer to be overly cruel and uncalled for if his father hadn’t earlier essentially convinced him to jump off a cliff.
I not only love Lisa’s weirdly gross trick with her hair and her eyes, but I liked Yeardley Smith’s totally sinister line reading when she told Bart Satan was at the door. Unlike the rest of the cast, Smith does NOT get the chance to modulate her voice very much (if ever), so she was probably ecstatic that get that moment in the script. For now it’s pretty much just that and Grandma Van Houten’s “Hello, Joe.”
Excellent episode. *****.
Bob’s Burgers “Just One Of The Boys 4 Now For Now”
Mostly favorable impression.
That being said, this is another recent episode to not only say that Tina is useless, but a bit trying as well. I don’t disagree with Linda that dressing up as a boy and sneaking into the audition wouldn’t actually hurt anything. It didn’t. But it would certainly never HELP anything either. But I guess parent’s have to pick their battles.
Speaking of which, learning Linda actually dislikes Jimmy Junior makes her a far better mother than I’ve ever given her credit for.
Louise implies she know Brazilian Jujitsu. I totally believe her.
I love that when Teddy says it’s a rat, the first words out of Bob’s mouth are “Get out.” And this isn’t the first time Hugo has seen that scenario? That was a funny joke, but I didn’t buy it for second. Even the idea of 8 other girls attempting the same cross-dressing trick as Tina strikes me as more plausible.
I think this modern era is going to be the death of Bob Belcher. Because Tina dressing up as a boy to perv on another boy is outright weird, but Bob feels wrong using those correct words because of the political implications. Same thing with him having say he loves the fact that Tina is boy crazy. Bob always strikes me as a liberal, and not just any kind of liberal. He’s the fearful kind. And that’s usually the kind white guys like Bob are. I’m kind of that too, to be honest.
Louise asking Linda if they could simply kill Hugo, and Linda saying maybe, was one of the more rational discussions of the episode.
I love that being insane is Bob’s alibi. That and the mistress. It’s like the Belchers aren’t even trying. It’s lucky their enemies are so lackluster.
I also love Bob stating he should try out for the boy band because he’s the same age as Matt. The twisted thing is that’s probably true. Where Bob goes wrong is thinking he would ever have a shot. Forget the fact that he’s ugly, he’s pretty much the lousiest singer on the show, and that is clearly the part of the show H. Jon Benjamin puts the least amount of effort into the performance. He phones in every song because they don’t seem to interest him. Bob’s out of his mind to think he could ever join a boy band, even if he’s the correct age.
Good Gene:
I LOVED the way Gene said he respected Bob, in the moment he did, for the reason he did. I mean, I loved, loved, LOVED it.
Bad Gene:
I find it especially creepy when Gene asks if he’s the only person who finds Dino hot. To be fair, Gene is an especially creepy character anyways, but I still don’t have to pretend to be happy about it.
Tina has pretty much become a parody of herself at this point. The episode was good though. ***1/2.
Family Guy “Married... With Cancer”
Do you know the precise moment I knew next week was gonna suck? When Quagmire actually apologized to Brian. Now we know things are going to get effed up.
Here’s a controversial opinion: Brian is under no obligation to stay in that marriage, no matter what the town thinks. Why? Because he never promised her anything of the sort. The marriage proposal was done under the understanding it was wish fulfillment, and that he was fully committed to the next two weeks, and that’s it. He never once made the marriage sound more than it was, or like he wanted more than a month with her. I don’t care if the rest of the town is Oprah book club-crazy, Brian does NOT have to stay married to that horrible woman.
Which is what I liked about Jess. She’s a scumbag, even when she’s dying. The bucket list was outright gross, and her calling the GRIFFINS that was her being complimentary. And it’s the fact that she’s a scumbag which is why I liked her and Brian together. Because Brian’s a scumbag too. They weirdly fit.
But not past two weeks. That’s an unreasonable expectation, and the worst thing is that I am 100% certain the series will find a way to make Brian completely at fault, and the actual bad guy, which is nuts. But the series is not interested in giving Brian layers anymore. It is now fully invested in saying how much Seth MacFarlane’s surrogate sucks. Brian Griffin has somehow crazily turned into a character all about Seth MacFarlane’s self-loathing. I personally think it’s weird that he’d actually WANT that from the character who used to speak what he was thinking about the given issues of the day. What truly disturbs me about the self-loathing in MacFarlane / Brian is that the other writers help him along with that idea, instead of telling him he’s a crazy person, he’s actually a good liberal, and his opinions are worth listening to. No, instead they seem gleeful to be able to write their boss as a creepy, pervy, hypocritical, know-nothing, know-it-all. I almost admire MacFarlane for allowing his surrogate to be portrayed that way. No, what truly disturbs me is that the fact that the writers happily go along with it, means that the characterization is almost certainly completely accurate. Which should disturb anybody.
Let’s just say the last time I saw a cartoonist put all of his psychological hang-ups into a cartoon this way was John Kricfalusi and Ren and Stimpy. And we all saw how that went. I expect a similar end for MacFarlane, sooner rather than later, and every Brian episode convinces me more and more that I’m right.
Brian was not actually insufferable or unforgivable this week. I am certain they are saving that for next week, and I expect it to be SO bad and self-loathing, there is a knot in my stomach. This show’s perspective about self-examination of liberal values has gotten outright insane to me. The show has started to get indistinguishable to me from Stimpy frantically carrying around Ralph Bakshi’s giant dump. And the subtext is becoming rapidly similar too.
For the record, my surety that MeToo is gonna knock out Seth MacFarlane is made worse by the fact there is a Trump episode coming up. I am filled with dread for that, next week, and whether or not there will be bodies found buried under Seth’s floorboards very soon. Let’s just say I’m not optimistic about all three of those things.
But hey, Brian crying like Snoopy was funny, wasn’t it? ***.
The Good Place “Everything Is Bonzer!”
Eleanor and Simone browbeating Chiti to ask Simone out in the MRI machine was SO cute.
Laughed out loud at Adam Scott as Trevor.
Janet seems a lot more human this season.
I think the character who has actually reformed is Michael. Really enjoying him this year.
Good premiere, although I miss the Heaven and Hell premise. ****.