Star Trek: Discovery "Light And Shadows"
Also reviews for the latest episodes of Teen Titans Go!, DC Super Hero Girls Super Shorts, and Gotham, the season finale of The Gifted, the series finale of Marvel's Avengers: Black Panther's Quest, the first two Marvel Rising Ultimate Comics, the latest episodes of Marvel Super Hero Adventures, 101 Dalmation Street Shorts, Star Wars Resistance, Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Transformers: Rescue Bots Academy, the season premiere of Power Ranger Beast Morphers, and the latest episodes of The Orville, American Dad!, Riverdale, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Star Trek: Discovery "Light And Shadows"
Twisty episode. Unfortunately, I didn't like all of those twists. I feel like the writers of the show feel a wee bit too entitled to mess with the canon. As far as I'm concerned, the Talosians are something I am going to wait and see about. But the Sarek and Amanda stuff made me very unhappy. I think the writers think they have more freedom there than they do. It is true Amanda only appeared in the original timeline twice, so maybe the writers think she has unknown facets we haven't seen. But I think in my mind, two canon appearances means the writers have to be MORE careful, not less. Amanda appeared in one of the most popular Star Trek episodes, and if not the best original crew movie, perhaps the most enjoyed. The defining thing about Amanda to me is that she doesn't understand her son, and she has an amazingly healthy relationship to her husband.
Why are they switching things up here? I always loved the fact that Sarek and Amanda worked so well together. In fact, it always struck as one of the bigger ironies of Spock's struggle with Sarek and his Vulcan half. I always saw it that Sarek was more emotion filled and human than Spock ever was, which is part of the reason Spock seems to reject him. The fact that Sarek is as open and tolerant of humans as he is confuses Spock, especially his notion of smug superiority. And the episode is trying to say the exact opposite. It's out of character. And this would not be a problem if I felt the writers were as familiar with the canon as they should be. I have a feeling the writers had a cursory understanding of Sarek and Amanda, and decided because they made so few appearances, they were wide open for the writers and the show to make a mark on. And that's just not true.
Also I object to the idea that Spock has a learning disability. If he did that should have come up before now.
Airiam worries me. He / she / it has always worried me before tonight, but this episode cinches it. I doubt this android will wind up the proto-Data after all. I'm suspect they'll be the cautionary tale the way Lore was. Keep in mind everyone notes that Data IS the first stable android ever, and they leave little wiggle room for that. I see Airiam going haywire and wiggling all over the canon.
The idea that Section 31 and Leland were responsible for Burham's parents' deaths is great, but I don't like how Section 31 is being portrayed. It's supposed to be a top secret organization. It's not just another Starfleet branch. Most Star Trek captains (including Kirk, Picard, and Janeway) aren't even aware it exists. Another thing they are playing a bit fast and loose with.
Could the Red Angel be a reignition of the Temporal Cold War? Is it Futureguy? I always wanted to find out who that was.
I also am having a hard time trying to figure Georgiou out. They greenlit a series for her so it makes sense they are exploring nuance with her. But until the series was greenlit she didn't actually have any. She was a freaking cannibal. Someone online (correctly) opined that a Section 31 series involving her is like asking the audience to root for the untold adventures of Adolf Hitler after WWII. I don't think it's quite THAT bad, but the allegory itself is freaking sound. I don't know what to make of all this.
I've been giving the show a lot of positive grades this season, just because even if it wasn't exactly great Star Trek, it was great television. Unfortunately even though this was GOOD television (not great) it was actually bad Star Trek. I give this show more slack than most. But I do actually know where the line is. So low score this week. **.
Teen Titans Go! "Tall Titan Tales"
I had a bit of a silly rule early in this show's run in my reviews, that if the episode didn't actually take advantage of the fact that it was a DC Superhero Comics show, and simply did a random comedy episode that you could see on Regular Show, I would give the episode an automatic zero on general principle. I stopped doing that, not only because the random comedy episodes of the later seasons usually wound up better than the nerdy ones with tons of Easter Eggs, but there became so many of them giving every other episode a zero was no longer feasible. But episodes like this are why I had the rule.
To be blunt, the episode may not have taken advantage of the DC Comics premise, but it took advantage of the action cartoon premise. The alien invasion, the transforming train robot, and the squirrel with a potato gun, weren't stuff you'd see on your basic animated sitcom. I can give its creative insanity that much. Plus I pretty much loved all of Cyborg's various crazy exclamations as he hammered a spike.
This would have gotten a zero back in the day. Now it gets an average grade. ***.
DC Super Hero Girls Super Shorts "Plight Of The Bumblebee"
The animation in this was excellent.
I liked the "Flight Of The Bumblebee" soundalike at the beginning. I used to be able to play that song on the piano. That, "In The Hall Of The Mountain King", and "The Saber Dance" were the toughest pieces I knew.
Did they even NEED a soundalike? I thought Flight Of The Bumblebee was so old it was public domain. But I could be wrong about that.
Good episode. ****1/2.
DC Super Hero Girls Super Shorts "Get To Know Zatanna"
I like this Zatanna. ****.
Gotham "Nothing's Shocking"
Scarface! Honestly, how great was that? Except they shouldn't have killed the Ventriloquist off! I can forgive the series for killing off D-listers like Pyg and Magpie, but the Ventriloquist is the one villain Bruce Wayne should be allowed the "Can you believe this guy?" moment. The only saving grace is telling myself the Condiment King is still out there.
I freaking love Oswald and Ed. They have both come so far.
Killer Croc! Unlike Scarface, his first appearance underwhelmed me a bit. At least they tied his mutation to the mythology of the show.
I like the moment where Dix asks if Harvey saying no about getting enough food and medicine would hurt him, Harvey acknowledging that, and then Dix saying no. That was great.
But I hated Jim at the end. I know Jim can't offer forgiveness to Harvey. But does he need to rub his face in it? Isn't he his friend, and basically the only friend Jim has left? Why can't he offer even the slightest bit of moral support while he is hurting, especially since Harvey's regret and contrition is genuine? This is literally the worst interpretation of James Gordon ever put to screen. And even if the show is delivering an above average last season, that's still true. He sucks.
I love that ultimately Alfred blames himself, Bruce realizes it, and comforts him, like a sane and normal person. The contrast is startling. Did I mention Jim sucks?
Well, the episode was fine although, they shouldn't have killed off the Ventriloquist. Scarface, I get. He is literally destroyed in every appearance. But they should have saved the Ventriloquist for Batman. ***.
The Gifted "oMens"
That was perfect. This is the precise type of season finale every single show that is on the bubble should do. It doesn't resolve every single thing, but emotionally it leaves us on a good (and sad) place and feeling satisfied. The Blink cliffhanger is genius because while you don't know where she is taking them, and you won't find out unless the series is renewed, Blink appearing at all feels like a resolution. How genius is this show to deliver a satisfying cliffhanger? I have literally never seen that before. It's the antithesis of what a cliffhanger is supposed to do. But if I taught creative writing for genre TV show writers, I'd point them to this episode as exactly what to do in a season finale if you don't know whether or not you are going to be canceled.
But even if I feel like I can look back on this show with complete fondness and no regrets if it gets canceled, I'll still be ticked off. And I'll be ticked off for the reason I am that every Marvel show is canceled. Because it's always to do with company mergers and licensing issues. All of the Marvel shows (except perhaps The Inhumans) get great ratings. And yet they are more prone to cancellation simply due to the instability of Marvel Television and Fox Studios, and the questionable decision of Disney to license out their shows to networks they don't own. Most Marvel live-action shows aren't canceled because they suck or because people don't watch them. It's usually due to funny business in the boardroom. And you don't see that with DC shows. You can complain about the quality of The Arrowverse all you like, but that group of shows is consistently renewed because they air on a WB / DC supported network and the companies aren't always changing hands. And that's pretty much the only thing a relatively big budget show with a good audience needs to survive. And it kills me that Marvel shows are never even allowed THAT much.
If this is it, I think that was a great and underrated series. But it kills me that Fox and Disney can never get their acts together about Marvel live-action TV. A show this enjoyable deserves to run for at least five years and be blessed with a good series finale. But that has yet to happen on ANY live-action Marvel show and I don't expect this show to be the first, just due to the Disney merger. We'll see. I'm not optimistic but that was a great episode to go out on if the worst DOES happen. 5 stars. *****.
Marvel's Avengers: Black Panther's Quest "Atlantis Attacks"
I think the thing that drove me craziest about this show is that the villains are all so stupid and obvious, and until this episode, the good guys were STILL getting stomped by them. God Bast is such an idiot.
I have come down hard on the trial by combat premise in recent weeks and if anything this episode made me hate it even more. I am not sorry T'Challa is off the throne. He was a cr*p king who never cared about the people. What p*sses me off is that when Alanna blames him for destroying Atlantis he says it wasn't his fault, it was Bast, and they could defeat her together.
Bullcr*p. Utter bullcr*p. Because of that stupid trial by combat law, it IS his fault. 100%. He cannot have that stupid law on the books and then proclaim total innocence when the inevitable happens. Take some responsibility for your own actions, T'Challa. Your brother might not needed to have died to have convinced Alanna or your righteousness otherwise. Frankly, were I Alanna, I certainly would not have declared peace. I wouldn't even really blame her for going scorched Earth instead. Burning it all down even if it meant her own death. Really. Wakanda committed genocide against her people and destroyed their homeland. I do not think she needs to learn a lesson about peace and tolerance by the end of the day. It's weird the episode thinks she should.
The one thing in the episode I liked is Klaw's hilarious (and loud) reluctance as an ally. This Klaw is definitely not the sinister Ultimate Evil from the BET Reginald Hudlin show. He's a bit of a punchline instead, which suits me just fine.
What gets me is I think this episode believed I'd be impressed with it by the end. The writers are going to be just as surprised at my negative reaction as Bast is to everyone else not recognizing her tactical genius. But it's actually no surprise at all. That sucked. *1/2.
Marvel's Avengers: Black Panther's Quest "House Of M"
Passable. But considering what a suck-tear the show has been on, I'll take a passable series finale and like it.
But I am very aware that Ultimate Spider-Man gave us an amazing last episode while this show's last episode was merely okay. It also seemed unrelated to everything else which didn't help much either.
It's the last episode ever and Hawkeye still can't stop being a d-word.
Hulk being absent for the last episode feels wrong too. Him being absent for the whole season feels even more wrong.
I love Tony's observation that if the Red Skull likes your plan, you're on the wrong side. It's not an especially clever observation, but it's effective because it's both obvious and true. It's funny that somebody even feels the need to say it. It should be a no-brainer.
Thor in his eyepatch is a wasted bit of Marvel synergy. He doesn't even have it in the movies anymore.
Love the tribute card to Stan Lee at the end.
The episode was a bit dull, and meandering. But it didn't actually suck. Ultimately, I cannot say the same for the rest of the series. I think last season was the point of no return and this season had an obligation to bring things up to snuff for the final season ever so we wouldn't be like "Good riddance" once the show was off the air. If anything, the last season wound up even worse than all of the others. But the last episode worked because it didn't engage in hero fights or misunderstandings between two good guys who refuse to explain themselves properly. What's amazing, amusing, and appalling to me is that Clint is actually allowed to have an uninterrupted conversation with Whitney and say what he needs to say to try and stop her. It's ironic he gets this against the one person who would never listen, whereas T'Challa is brushing off friends and allies who would be on his side if he actually said anything of value other than "You have to listen to me" or "You don't understand". And considering Clint is the worst and stupidest character, it's ironic (in a good way I think) that the series gave the moment to him rather than the season's lead character. To be honest, after all that, T'Challa hadn't earned it. Clint hadn't either, but I have been witnessing T'Challa's disastrous leadership and decisions the entire season, so I don't object giving it to the worst character over him. Which should tell you how bad a job Black Panther did this season.
The episode didn't suck, but it also wasn't amazing or a great send-off for a show that had been on the air for five seasons, and had a record number of episodes for a Marvel show. But the fact that I was able to watch it, and even enjoy it by the end, whereas I was unable to do that for most of the rest of the season tells me I liked more than I didn't. Decent finale to a horrible season and series. ***.
Marvel Rising Ultimate Comic "Ms Marvel"
I love the art style.
I also love that Kamala points out to Thor that the museum might have a problem with his taking the glove so he assures her he'll leave them something valuable in its place. I'm not sure his signature is as valuable as he thinks it is, but at least he's trying.
I also like him being satisfied that Kamala finally puts him in her top three superheroes by the end.
Never heard of Bruno before but I like him.
Good short. ****.
Marvel Rising Ultimate Comic "Patriot Trains With Hawkeye!"
I had a lot of problems with that. Where to begin?
The working as a team thing is corny and played out. Patriot is out of character from the cartoons. Blur is nice but this show should be focusing mainly on female heroes.
Lame comic. **.
Marvel Super Hero Adventures "Be Like Spidey!"
That was cute. The show obviously doesn't need the more realistic wraparounds. ***1/2.
101 Dalmation Street Shorts "Ransom Pups"
Didn't like that. It's just two minutes of two dogs being unfathomably mean and cruel to each other. *.
Star Wars Resistance "The Disappeared"
Okay, at this point, I've gotten a better feel for what the series is trying to do and whether or not it is doing it correctly.
All things considered, I don't dig it.
The show has to traffic in euphemisms and softhearted plot turns to make fascism and genocide more palatable for a TV-Y7 audience. When the major threat is "being taken off-world" you know the Nazi allegory is a bust. Not just because killing people is the harsher reality. But it's also the easier reality. Transporting people off-world costs money and resources. A blaster to the head is free. One of the defining things about the worst Totalitarian regimes in my book is that for a lot of them, they only killed as many people as they did to avoid paperwork. It was a lot less hassle and simplified things. And that goes to the banality of evil. But the show refuses to even give evil that much.
I cannot stand Tam. Normally a character in her position would be introduced as a counterpoint to Kaz, and gradually go around to his way of thinking. But hearing the things she justified tonight makes me hope she simply joins the Order herself so Kaz can be done with her. She is not a person who would make a good friend of ally. Or at least not of a person with a shred of decency in their bones.
I have believed until very recently that there could never be another Star Wars character I vociferously hated as much as I do Yoda. But Neeku is up there. He's definitely surpassed Jar-Jar for the number two worst character slot.
All hope is not lost for this show. I thought season 1 of Star Wars Rebels sucked too, and that show wound up all right, if not great. But the truth is even the first season of Rebels never sucked as much as this did. I was not actually shocked Rebels improved, because the potential was always there. I don't feel the same way about this show. If this show someday becomes watchable and worthy of the Star Wars legacy, I will honestly be surprised. *1/2.
Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles "Bullhop"
I love Donnie trying his tranquilizer on Raph. I also love the word "anywhizzle".
Well, Bullhop once broke a pillow so I'd say 1% to be overly generous. I also like that Don told him that he could talk to anyone in the world just by holding his finger to his ear.
Funny episode. ****.
Transformers: Rescue Bots Academy "Go, Team, Go!"
Hotshot telling the new girl he'd get her a new bunny is why he sucks.
Laughed at Blades telling them not to read the internet comments.
So-so. **.
Transformers: Rescue Bots Academy "About A Rock"
I love the googly-eyed rock lookin' thing. Heatwave was wrong that it didn't sprout feet and walk off by itself.
I also laughed at Dancing Chuck.
Not bad. **1/2.
Power Rangers: Beast Morphers "Beasts Unleashed"
People who've read my withering Power Rangers reviews are going to be surprised by this one: But Hasbro Studios was the best thing to ever happen to this show. It is only the first episode back, but the first episodes of Mega Force, Dino Charge, and Ninja Steel sucked, so I think the upgrade might stick. But there is clearly a bigger budget, as the sets are larger and more elaborate, as are the stunts. And while the show still engages in goofy slapstick, I don't think the Rangers are actually square for once. Devon is a jerk to both Blaze and his father, and I like that he's not perfect.
Also liked the shout-outs to Rita Repulsa, Galvanax, and Sledge.
I think the change of studios is going to help this show immensely. That was a great first episode back. And readers of my reviews may be shocked that I say so. ****1/2.
The Orville "Identity: Part 2"
That was the best episode of Star Trek I never saw. I am going to declare something now. The Orville is the best current show on television. I realize what a controversial statement that will be, but as far as I go, I fully believe it. I believed that about DS9 while it was on the air too, and the episode and the show give me the exact same vibe. The "gotta know" vibe.
I didn't realize until after Next Gen and DS9 went off the air how rare the "Gotta Know" vibe actually is. I thought I would get it all the time when I watched other shows, but I really haven't, even shows I love like Haven, Farscape, and 12 Monkeys. When Next Gen did "The Best Of Both Worlds" I had to know. When they did "Descent" I had to know. Although in hindsight, I wish I didn't. DS9 seemed to make me have to know with every single multi-parter and cliffhanger. Outside of Star Trek, I have gotten the "Gotta know" vibe about four or five times. First was the cliffhanger to Buffy Season 6. Second was every week of the JLU Cadmus arc, specifically the last five episodes (although the waits for Injustice For All and Twilight were hard too), third was the 6th Harry Potter book, and THAT my friends, was an agonizing wait. And fourth was the first two season finales to Lost. The "Gotta Know" means I am obsessing over the show (or in Harry Potter's case the book) all throughout the week, or the summer, or worse, the years. I gotta know how it turns out. That was last week.
If I'm being honest, I looked forward to both parts of the fourth season finale of Doctor Who and the 50th Anniversary Special a ton too, but maybe not quite at that level.
And I knew last week that this was going to be the make or break episode of the series. I could sense that. I actually am glad my cynicism about Isaac was misplaced, but I knew going in this would redefine the reason I watched the show.
And it did everything right, or at least everything Star Trek. And it didn't follow Star Trek completely, which is good. Because the Star Trek tropes The Orville ignores (and it especially ignored them this episode) were Gene Roddenberry's ridiculous notion that there should be no conflict on the ship and no spaceship battles. It's like the dude handicapped the best reasons to watch sci-fi from his own franchise. I imagine how amazing Next Gen could have been with those specific writers and actors if Gene hadn't purposefully worsened the show under an idiotic belief in human superiority. And that's what it boiled down to. We got SOME of that freedom on DS9, which is hated by certain segments of Trekdom for showing a war. They rightly believe it's a message Gene never would have sanctioned or okayed. But that's fine with me. Because it was amazing television which is all that matters.
It also says something about how great that franchise was that even with Gene's stupid rules it was still mostly amazing. Gene had some very effed up notions about the future of humanity including little kids not being allowed to grieve for their dead mothers, and the ship's psychiatrist being a bridge officer. But it was still great television most weeks. I can bad-mouth Gene's ultimate philosophies all I want. The structure of the shows he created was actually sound and worked week in and week out.
So we get to The Orville, which actually SHOWED a sick spaceship battle, and Gordon in the Krill fighter, and then the whole thing started to resemble Star Wars. But the show did one of those things DS9 would do. Have some of the series' Big Bads team up with the heroes to fight the Ultimate Evil, and tentatively find reasons to declare peace and friendship. And that's what happened to the Krill this week.
The other big Star Trek thing the episode (and it's something Seth MacFarlane is going to get cr*p for, guaranteed, but not by me) was having the annoying little kid save the day. And I'll tell you why it worked. Once Isaac says "I won't let them harm you, Ty," that's the entire philosophy of Data and Odo in Star Trek, and other similar characters that have had a similar lapse in judgment. And that's the precise moment you know the Orville will win. What I love about Isaac's betrayal is that it's legit. Lore had practically an emotion induced hold on Data, and Odo's betrayal was a sin of omission he quickly came to regret. Isaac did a very bad thing, and I love that he made himself an outcast with his entire species to make up for it. That is classic Star Trek. DS9 used to rock the alien outcasts too.
How great was it when Yaffet promised to keep Ty safe? That character has come SO far in my book.
I also really loved that Mercer made absolutely sure that Isaac wasn't programmed with an off switch if he continued aboard the Orville. That's also another Star Trek thing that would only occur to the best of captains. But yeah, Mercer recognizes that an off-switch is how this all started.
It's a bit appalling the Kalon are using "Roots" to justify genocide. It's like they don't get that book at all.
It is a bit galling to me that the person to instill the "Gotta Know" vibe again after all these years is Seth MacFarlane, a producer I actively dislike as a person and human being. And I've said it before and I'll say it again about that creep. If he gets taken out by MeToo and ruins their amazing thing we have going right now, I'll personally head to L.A. to knock his lights out. I'm not kidding. This show is amazing and the way science fiction should be told. *****.
American Dad! "Persona Assistant"
This is the Fraggle Rock episode. Ultimately, Fraggle Rock was about ecology, not just of the environment, but societal as well. It said that for the world to function both the studious and the silly had equally important universal functions. And that's the entire idea behind Roger's stupid personas being a little bit off causing the collapse of Langley Falls civilization.
I was looking forward to the episode based on the TV listings description (Francine's delighted and profane reaction over hearing the premise was similar to mine) and yet part of me knew this could spiral out of control. Because I figured they'd have to try and explain some of the logic of the personas and how Roger can fit so many into a single day. There was a little too much of that for my liking here, but I think the show realized that that's what the viewer would want, so instead they overloaded them with ridiculous nonsense twists and claimed they explained everything (like Ricky Spanish being Jeanie Gold's brother, or the idea that Roger's alien body is the thing that confuses people's minds). The last thing is a bit ludicrous is my mind. If Roger being an alien is truly the thing that causes his disguises to work, the Smiths wouldn't always be able to recognize him.
I love the concept of Rogu. I also thought it was smart that they took Roger to the abominable German doctor who doesn't ask questions. You can't really believably take an alien to the hospital to remove a tumor. Unless you are dealing with a borderline war criminal with his own share of appalling secrets. That was smart.
Just like the crayon in Homer Simpson's brain, Principle Lewis's office has always been like that.
Incontinent Jai Alai instructor, huh? There are a few personas I question what Roger could possibly be getting out of. And that strikes me as the least fulfilling outside of Marmalade the cat.
Klaus is hated on Reddit? I cannot picture how that can be true. He's the best of the main characters. The show has better supporting characters than him (like Bullock, Lewis, and even Reggie) but he's the best of the main cast. He's wasn't always, I think, but he certainly is now.
Steve's thing was sort of the weak link of the episode, but considering how strong everything else was, since it wasn't terrible, I'm not going to hold it against the rest of the episode. Bart buying a factory for a buck is not the greatest subplot The Simpsons has ever delivered. But even with it, Homer's Enemy is still the best episode. Same thing here. This episode was golden. *****.
Riverdale "Chapter Forty-Eight: Requiem For A Welterweight"
When Hiram says the truth always outs in the end he doesn't realize he's indicting himself. Not a very self-aware villain is our Hiram.
Jughead calling the Pretty Poisons Cheryl's vanity project is actually pretty apt. It may not be what Tony wants to hear, but it's true.
I love Josie using the frame that Archie is worth more than $5000. I'm not sure I agree, but it's a good frame.
Mrs. Jones has Veronica over a barrel. She's right too. Jughead won't kill her if he learns the truth. The same can't be said for Hiram about Hermione.
If Betty really wants to scare Kevin off the Farm, she doesn't need online testimonials. She just needs to say what that organization did to her, including having her mother send her to the homophobic Sisters of Quiet Mercy. Betty's personal testimony that her mother forged her father's signature for them to steal Betty's college money is damning enough.
During the baptism speech I wondered what Madchen Amick must think about having to be in a show with that bad of dialogue. It's certainly a far cry from Twin Peaks.
For the record, it would have been better for Betty had Alice actually died. Saving her mother's life was not actually in her best interest.
All right week. ***1/2.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine "He Said, She Said"
Pretty heavy subject matter for this show, but it handled it admirably.
Best joke was the woman telling Jake to ALWAYS take DuckTales seriously. I couldn't tell if she was actually joking or not.
Holt's stuff was all right, but I think the show has lost the grounding nature of the character which made him work in the first place. If he's just as crazy as everyone else he just lost his biggest selling point.
Surprisingly serious episode. ****.
Star Trek: Discovery "Light And Shadows"
Twisty episode. Unfortunately, I didn't like all of those twists. I feel like the writers of the show feel a wee bit too entitled to mess with the canon. As far as I'm concerned, the Talosians are something I am going to wait and see about. But the Sarek and Amanda stuff made me very unhappy. I think the writers think they have more freedom there than they do. It is true Amanda only appeared in the original timeline twice, so maybe the writers think she has unknown facets we haven't seen. But I think in my mind, two canon appearances means the writers have to be MORE careful, not less. Amanda appeared in one of the most popular Star Trek episodes, and if not the best original crew movie, perhaps the most enjoyed. The defining thing about Amanda to me is that she doesn't understand her son, and she has an amazingly healthy relationship to her husband.
Why are they switching things up here? I always loved the fact that Sarek and Amanda worked so well together. In fact, it always struck as one of the bigger ironies of Spock's struggle with Sarek and his Vulcan half. I always saw it that Sarek was more emotion filled and human than Spock ever was, which is part of the reason Spock seems to reject him. The fact that Sarek is as open and tolerant of humans as he is confuses Spock, especially his notion of smug superiority. And the episode is trying to say the exact opposite. It's out of character. And this would not be a problem if I felt the writers were as familiar with the canon as they should be. I have a feeling the writers had a cursory understanding of Sarek and Amanda, and decided because they made so few appearances, they were wide open for the writers and the show to make a mark on. And that's just not true.
Also I object to the idea that Spock has a learning disability. If he did that should have come up before now.
Airiam worries me. He / she / it has always worried me before tonight, but this episode cinches it. I doubt this android will wind up the proto-Data after all. I'm suspect they'll be the cautionary tale the way Lore was. Keep in mind everyone notes that Data IS the first stable android ever, and they leave little wiggle room for that. I see Airiam going haywire and wiggling all over the canon.
The idea that Section 31 and Leland were responsible for Burham's parents' deaths is great, but I don't like how Section 31 is being portrayed. It's supposed to be a top secret organization. It's not just another Starfleet branch. Most Star Trek captains (including Kirk, Picard, and Janeway) aren't even aware it exists. Another thing they are playing a bit fast and loose with.
Could the Red Angel be a reignition of the Temporal Cold War? Is it Futureguy? I always wanted to find out who that was.
I also am having a hard time trying to figure Georgiou out. They greenlit a series for her so it makes sense they are exploring nuance with her. But until the series was greenlit she didn't actually have any. She was a freaking cannibal. Someone online (correctly) opined that a Section 31 series involving her is like asking the audience to root for the untold adventures of Adolf Hitler after WWII. I don't think it's quite THAT bad, but the allegory itself is freaking sound. I don't know what to make of all this.
I've been giving the show a lot of positive grades this season, just because even if it wasn't exactly great Star Trek, it was great television. Unfortunately even though this was GOOD television (not great) it was actually bad Star Trek. I give this show more slack than most. But I do actually know where the line is. So low score this week. **.
Teen Titans Go! "Tall Titan Tales"
I had a bit of a silly rule early in this show's run in my reviews, that if the episode didn't actually take advantage of the fact that it was a DC Superhero Comics show, and simply did a random comedy episode that you could see on Regular Show, I would give the episode an automatic zero on general principle. I stopped doing that, not only because the random comedy episodes of the later seasons usually wound up better than the nerdy ones with tons of Easter Eggs, but there became so many of them giving every other episode a zero was no longer feasible. But episodes like this are why I had the rule.
To be blunt, the episode may not have taken advantage of the DC Comics premise, but it took advantage of the action cartoon premise. The alien invasion, the transforming train robot, and the squirrel with a potato gun, weren't stuff you'd see on your basic animated sitcom. I can give its creative insanity that much. Plus I pretty much loved all of Cyborg's various crazy exclamations as he hammered a spike.
This would have gotten a zero back in the day. Now it gets an average grade. ***.
DC Super Hero Girls Super Shorts "Plight Of The Bumblebee"
The animation in this was excellent.
I liked the "Flight Of The Bumblebee" soundalike at the beginning. I used to be able to play that song on the piano. That, "In The Hall Of The Mountain King", and "The Saber Dance" were the toughest pieces I knew.
Did they even NEED a soundalike? I thought Flight Of The Bumblebee was so old it was public domain. But I could be wrong about that.
Good episode. ****1/2.
DC Super Hero Girls Super Shorts "Get To Know Zatanna"
I like this Zatanna. ****.
Gotham "Nothing's Shocking"
Scarface! Honestly, how great was that? Except they shouldn't have killed the Ventriloquist off! I can forgive the series for killing off D-listers like Pyg and Magpie, but the Ventriloquist is the one villain Bruce Wayne should be allowed the "Can you believe this guy?" moment. The only saving grace is telling myself the Condiment King is still out there.
I freaking love Oswald and Ed. They have both come so far.
Killer Croc! Unlike Scarface, his first appearance underwhelmed me a bit. At least they tied his mutation to the mythology of the show.
I like the moment where Dix asks if Harvey saying no about getting enough food and medicine would hurt him, Harvey acknowledging that, and then Dix saying no. That was great.
But I hated Jim at the end. I know Jim can't offer forgiveness to Harvey. But does he need to rub his face in it? Isn't he his friend, and basically the only friend Jim has left? Why can't he offer even the slightest bit of moral support while he is hurting, especially since Harvey's regret and contrition is genuine? This is literally the worst interpretation of James Gordon ever put to screen. And even if the show is delivering an above average last season, that's still true. He sucks.
I love that ultimately Alfred blames himself, Bruce realizes it, and comforts him, like a sane and normal person. The contrast is startling. Did I mention Jim sucks?
Well, the episode was fine although, they shouldn't have killed off the Ventriloquist. Scarface, I get. He is literally destroyed in every appearance. But they should have saved the Ventriloquist for Batman. ***.
The Gifted "oMens"
That was perfect. This is the precise type of season finale every single show that is on the bubble should do. It doesn't resolve every single thing, but emotionally it leaves us on a good (and sad) place and feeling satisfied. The Blink cliffhanger is genius because while you don't know where she is taking them, and you won't find out unless the series is renewed, Blink appearing at all feels like a resolution. How genius is this show to deliver a satisfying cliffhanger? I have literally never seen that before. It's the antithesis of what a cliffhanger is supposed to do. But if I taught creative writing for genre TV show writers, I'd point them to this episode as exactly what to do in a season finale if you don't know whether or not you are going to be canceled.
But even if I feel like I can look back on this show with complete fondness and no regrets if it gets canceled, I'll still be ticked off. And I'll be ticked off for the reason I am that every Marvel show is canceled. Because it's always to do with company mergers and licensing issues. All of the Marvel shows (except perhaps The Inhumans) get great ratings. And yet they are more prone to cancellation simply due to the instability of Marvel Television and Fox Studios, and the questionable decision of Disney to license out their shows to networks they don't own. Most Marvel live-action shows aren't canceled because they suck or because people don't watch them. It's usually due to funny business in the boardroom. And you don't see that with DC shows. You can complain about the quality of The Arrowverse all you like, but that group of shows is consistently renewed because they air on a WB / DC supported network and the companies aren't always changing hands. And that's pretty much the only thing a relatively big budget show with a good audience needs to survive. And it kills me that Marvel shows are never even allowed THAT much.
If this is it, I think that was a great and underrated series. But it kills me that Fox and Disney can never get their acts together about Marvel live-action TV. A show this enjoyable deserves to run for at least five years and be blessed with a good series finale. But that has yet to happen on ANY live-action Marvel show and I don't expect this show to be the first, just due to the Disney merger. We'll see. I'm not optimistic but that was a great episode to go out on if the worst DOES happen. 5 stars. *****.
Marvel's Avengers: Black Panther's Quest "Atlantis Attacks"
I think the thing that drove me craziest about this show is that the villains are all so stupid and obvious, and until this episode, the good guys were STILL getting stomped by them. God Bast is such an idiot.
I have come down hard on the trial by combat premise in recent weeks and if anything this episode made me hate it even more. I am not sorry T'Challa is off the throne. He was a cr*p king who never cared about the people. What p*sses me off is that when Alanna blames him for destroying Atlantis he says it wasn't his fault, it was Bast, and they could defeat her together.
Bullcr*p. Utter bullcr*p. Because of that stupid trial by combat law, it IS his fault. 100%. He cannot have that stupid law on the books and then proclaim total innocence when the inevitable happens. Take some responsibility for your own actions, T'Challa. Your brother might not needed to have died to have convinced Alanna or your righteousness otherwise. Frankly, were I Alanna, I certainly would not have declared peace. I wouldn't even really blame her for going scorched Earth instead. Burning it all down even if it meant her own death. Really. Wakanda committed genocide against her people and destroyed their homeland. I do not think she needs to learn a lesson about peace and tolerance by the end of the day. It's weird the episode thinks she should.
The one thing in the episode I liked is Klaw's hilarious (and loud) reluctance as an ally. This Klaw is definitely not the sinister Ultimate Evil from the BET Reginald Hudlin show. He's a bit of a punchline instead, which suits me just fine.
What gets me is I think this episode believed I'd be impressed with it by the end. The writers are going to be just as surprised at my negative reaction as Bast is to everyone else not recognizing her tactical genius. But it's actually no surprise at all. That sucked. *1/2.
Marvel's Avengers: Black Panther's Quest "House Of M"
Passable. But considering what a suck-tear the show has been on, I'll take a passable series finale and like it.
But I am very aware that Ultimate Spider-Man gave us an amazing last episode while this show's last episode was merely okay. It also seemed unrelated to everything else which didn't help much either.
It's the last episode ever and Hawkeye still can't stop being a d-word.
Hulk being absent for the last episode feels wrong too. Him being absent for the whole season feels even more wrong.
I love Tony's observation that if the Red Skull likes your plan, you're on the wrong side. It's not an especially clever observation, but it's effective because it's both obvious and true. It's funny that somebody even feels the need to say it. It should be a no-brainer.
Thor in his eyepatch is a wasted bit of Marvel synergy. He doesn't even have it in the movies anymore.
Love the tribute card to Stan Lee at the end.
The episode was a bit dull, and meandering. But it didn't actually suck. Ultimately, I cannot say the same for the rest of the series. I think last season was the point of no return and this season had an obligation to bring things up to snuff for the final season ever so we wouldn't be like "Good riddance" once the show was off the air. If anything, the last season wound up even worse than all of the others. But the last episode worked because it didn't engage in hero fights or misunderstandings between two good guys who refuse to explain themselves properly. What's amazing, amusing, and appalling to me is that Clint is actually allowed to have an uninterrupted conversation with Whitney and say what he needs to say to try and stop her. It's ironic he gets this against the one person who would never listen, whereas T'Challa is brushing off friends and allies who would be on his side if he actually said anything of value other than "You have to listen to me" or "You don't understand". And considering Clint is the worst and stupidest character, it's ironic (in a good way I think) that the series gave the moment to him rather than the season's lead character. To be honest, after all that, T'Challa hadn't earned it. Clint hadn't either, but I have been witnessing T'Challa's disastrous leadership and decisions the entire season, so I don't object giving it to the worst character over him. Which should tell you how bad a job Black Panther did this season.
The episode didn't suck, but it also wasn't amazing or a great send-off for a show that had been on the air for five seasons, and had a record number of episodes for a Marvel show. But the fact that I was able to watch it, and even enjoy it by the end, whereas I was unable to do that for most of the rest of the season tells me I liked more than I didn't. Decent finale to a horrible season and series. ***.
Marvel Rising Ultimate Comic "Ms Marvel"
I love the art style.
I also love that Kamala points out to Thor that the museum might have a problem with his taking the glove so he assures her he'll leave them something valuable in its place. I'm not sure his signature is as valuable as he thinks it is, but at least he's trying.
I also like him being satisfied that Kamala finally puts him in her top three superheroes by the end.
Never heard of Bruno before but I like him.
Good short. ****.
Marvel Rising Ultimate Comic "Patriot Trains With Hawkeye!"
I had a lot of problems with that. Where to begin?
The working as a team thing is corny and played out. Patriot is out of character from the cartoons. Blur is nice but this show should be focusing mainly on female heroes.
Lame comic. **.
Marvel Super Hero Adventures "Be Like Spidey!"
That was cute. The show obviously doesn't need the more realistic wraparounds. ***1/2.
101 Dalmation Street Shorts "Ransom Pups"
Didn't like that. It's just two minutes of two dogs being unfathomably mean and cruel to each other. *.
Star Wars Resistance "The Disappeared"
Okay, at this point, I've gotten a better feel for what the series is trying to do and whether or not it is doing it correctly.
All things considered, I don't dig it.
The show has to traffic in euphemisms and softhearted plot turns to make fascism and genocide more palatable for a TV-Y7 audience. When the major threat is "being taken off-world" you know the Nazi allegory is a bust. Not just because killing people is the harsher reality. But it's also the easier reality. Transporting people off-world costs money and resources. A blaster to the head is free. One of the defining things about the worst Totalitarian regimes in my book is that for a lot of them, they only killed as many people as they did to avoid paperwork. It was a lot less hassle and simplified things. And that goes to the banality of evil. But the show refuses to even give evil that much.
I cannot stand Tam. Normally a character in her position would be introduced as a counterpoint to Kaz, and gradually go around to his way of thinking. But hearing the things she justified tonight makes me hope she simply joins the Order herself so Kaz can be done with her. She is not a person who would make a good friend of ally. Or at least not of a person with a shred of decency in their bones.
I have believed until very recently that there could never be another Star Wars character I vociferously hated as much as I do Yoda. But Neeku is up there. He's definitely surpassed Jar-Jar for the number two worst character slot.
All hope is not lost for this show. I thought season 1 of Star Wars Rebels sucked too, and that show wound up all right, if not great. But the truth is even the first season of Rebels never sucked as much as this did. I was not actually shocked Rebels improved, because the potential was always there. I don't feel the same way about this show. If this show someday becomes watchable and worthy of the Star Wars legacy, I will honestly be surprised. *1/2.
Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles "Bullhop"
I love Donnie trying his tranquilizer on Raph. I also love the word "anywhizzle".
Well, Bullhop once broke a pillow so I'd say 1% to be overly generous. I also like that Don told him that he could talk to anyone in the world just by holding his finger to his ear.
Funny episode. ****.
Transformers: Rescue Bots Academy "Go, Team, Go!"
Hotshot telling the new girl he'd get her a new bunny is why he sucks.
Laughed at Blades telling them not to read the internet comments.
So-so. **.
Transformers: Rescue Bots Academy "About A Rock"
I love the googly-eyed rock lookin' thing. Heatwave was wrong that it didn't sprout feet and walk off by itself.
I also laughed at Dancing Chuck.
Not bad. **1/2.
Power Rangers: Beast Morphers "Beasts Unleashed"
People who've read my withering Power Rangers reviews are going to be surprised by this one: But Hasbro Studios was the best thing to ever happen to this show. It is only the first episode back, but the first episodes of Mega Force, Dino Charge, and Ninja Steel sucked, so I think the upgrade might stick. But there is clearly a bigger budget, as the sets are larger and more elaborate, as are the stunts. And while the show still engages in goofy slapstick, I don't think the Rangers are actually square for once. Devon is a jerk to both Blaze and his father, and I like that he's not perfect.
Also liked the shout-outs to Rita Repulsa, Galvanax, and Sledge.
I think the change of studios is going to help this show immensely. That was a great first episode back. And readers of my reviews may be shocked that I say so. ****1/2.
The Orville "Identity: Part 2"
That was the best episode of Star Trek I never saw. I am going to declare something now. The Orville is the best current show on television. I realize what a controversial statement that will be, but as far as I go, I fully believe it. I believed that about DS9 while it was on the air too, and the episode and the show give me the exact same vibe. The "gotta know" vibe.
I didn't realize until after Next Gen and DS9 went off the air how rare the "Gotta Know" vibe actually is. I thought I would get it all the time when I watched other shows, but I really haven't, even shows I love like Haven, Farscape, and 12 Monkeys. When Next Gen did "The Best Of Both Worlds" I had to know. When they did "Descent" I had to know. Although in hindsight, I wish I didn't. DS9 seemed to make me have to know with every single multi-parter and cliffhanger. Outside of Star Trek, I have gotten the "Gotta know" vibe about four or five times. First was the cliffhanger to Buffy Season 6. Second was every week of the JLU Cadmus arc, specifically the last five episodes (although the waits for Injustice For All and Twilight were hard too), third was the 6th Harry Potter book, and THAT my friends, was an agonizing wait. And fourth was the first two season finales to Lost. The "Gotta Know" means I am obsessing over the show (or in Harry Potter's case the book) all throughout the week, or the summer, or worse, the years. I gotta know how it turns out. That was last week.
If I'm being honest, I looked forward to both parts of the fourth season finale of Doctor Who and the 50th Anniversary Special a ton too, but maybe not quite at that level.
And I knew last week that this was going to be the make or break episode of the series. I could sense that. I actually am glad my cynicism about Isaac was misplaced, but I knew going in this would redefine the reason I watched the show.
And it did everything right, or at least everything Star Trek. And it didn't follow Star Trek completely, which is good. Because the Star Trek tropes The Orville ignores (and it especially ignored them this episode) were Gene Roddenberry's ridiculous notion that there should be no conflict on the ship and no spaceship battles. It's like the dude handicapped the best reasons to watch sci-fi from his own franchise. I imagine how amazing Next Gen could have been with those specific writers and actors if Gene hadn't purposefully worsened the show under an idiotic belief in human superiority. And that's what it boiled down to. We got SOME of that freedom on DS9, which is hated by certain segments of Trekdom for showing a war. They rightly believe it's a message Gene never would have sanctioned or okayed. But that's fine with me. Because it was amazing television which is all that matters.
It also says something about how great that franchise was that even with Gene's stupid rules it was still mostly amazing. Gene had some very effed up notions about the future of humanity including little kids not being allowed to grieve for their dead mothers, and the ship's psychiatrist being a bridge officer. But it was still great television most weeks. I can bad-mouth Gene's ultimate philosophies all I want. The structure of the shows he created was actually sound and worked week in and week out.
So we get to The Orville, which actually SHOWED a sick spaceship battle, and Gordon in the Krill fighter, and then the whole thing started to resemble Star Wars. But the show did one of those things DS9 would do. Have some of the series' Big Bads team up with the heroes to fight the Ultimate Evil, and tentatively find reasons to declare peace and friendship. And that's what happened to the Krill this week.
The other big Star Trek thing the episode (and it's something Seth MacFarlane is going to get cr*p for, guaranteed, but not by me) was having the annoying little kid save the day. And I'll tell you why it worked. Once Isaac says "I won't let them harm you, Ty," that's the entire philosophy of Data and Odo in Star Trek, and other similar characters that have had a similar lapse in judgment. And that's the precise moment you know the Orville will win. What I love about Isaac's betrayal is that it's legit. Lore had practically an emotion induced hold on Data, and Odo's betrayal was a sin of omission he quickly came to regret. Isaac did a very bad thing, and I love that he made himself an outcast with his entire species to make up for it. That is classic Star Trek. DS9 used to rock the alien outcasts too.
How great was it when Yaffet promised to keep Ty safe? That character has come SO far in my book.
I also really loved that Mercer made absolutely sure that Isaac wasn't programmed with an off switch if he continued aboard the Orville. That's also another Star Trek thing that would only occur to the best of captains. But yeah, Mercer recognizes that an off-switch is how this all started.
It's a bit appalling the Kalon are using "Roots" to justify genocide. It's like they don't get that book at all.
It is a bit galling to me that the person to instill the "Gotta Know" vibe again after all these years is Seth MacFarlane, a producer I actively dislike as a person and human being. And I've said it before and I'll say it again about that creep. If he gets taken out by MeToo and ruins their amazing thing we have going right now, I'll personally head to L.A. to knock his lights out. I'm not kidding. This show is amazing and the way science fiction should be told. *****.
American Dad! "Persona Assistant"
This is the Fraggle Rock episode. Ultimately, Fraggle Rock was about ecology, not just of the environment, but societal as well. It said that for the world to function both the studious and the silly had equally important universal functions. And that's the entire idea behind Roger's stupid personas being a little bit off causing the collapse of Langley Falls civilization.
I was looking forward to the episode based on the TV listings description (Francine's delighted and profane reaction over hearing the premise was similar to mine) and yet part of me knew this could spiral out of control. Because I figured they'd have to try and explain some of the logic of the personas and how Roger can fit so many into a single day. There was a little too much of that for my liking here, but I think the show realized that that's what the viewer would want, so instead they overloaded them with ridiculous nonsense twists and claimed they explained everything (like Ricky Spanish being Jeanie Gold's brother, or the idea that Roger's alien body is the thing that confuses people's minds). The last thing is a bit ludicrous is my mind. If Roger being an alien is truly the thing that causes his disguises to work, the Smiths wouldn't always be able to recognize him.
I love the concept of Rogu. I also thought it was smart that they took Roger to the abominable German doctor who doesn't ask questions. You can't really believably take an alien to the hospital to remove a tumor. Unless you are dealing with a borderline war criminal with his own share of appalling secrets. That was smart.
Just like the crayon in Homer Simpson's brain, Principle Lewis's office has always been like that.
Incontinent Jai Alai instructor, huh? There are a few personas I question what Roger could possibly be getting out of. And that strikes me as the least fulfilling outside of Marmalade the cat.
Klaus is hated on Reddit? I cannot picture how that can be true. He's the best of the main characters. The show has better supporting characters than him (like Bullock, Lewis, and even Reggie) but he's the best of the main cast. He's wasn't always, I think, but he certainly is now.
Steve's thing was sort of the weak link of the episode, but considering how strong everything else was, since it wasn't terrible, I'm not going to hold it against the rest of the episode. Bart buying a factory for a buck is not the greatest subplot The Simpsons has ever delivered. But even with it, Homer's Enemy is still the best episode. Same thing here. This episode was golden. *****.
Riverdale "Chapter Forty-Eight: Requiem For A Welterweight"
When Hiram says the truth always outs in the end he doesn't realize he's indicting himself. Not a very self-aware villain is our Hiram.
Jughead calling the Pretty Poisons Cheryl's vanity project is actually pretty apt. It may not be what Tony wants to hear, but it's true.
I love Josie using the frame that Archie is worth more than $5000. I'm not sure I agree, but it's a good frame.
Mrs. Jones has Veronica over a barrel. She's right too. Jughead won't kill her if he learns the truth. The same can't be said for Hiram about Hermione.
If Betty really wants to scare Kevin off the Farm, she doesn't need online testimonials. She just needs to say what that organization did to her, including having her mother send her to the homophobic Sisters of Quiet Mercy. Betty's personal testimony that her mother forged her father's signature for them to steal Betty's college money is damning enough.
During the baptism speech I wondered what Madchen Amick must think about having to be in a show with that bad of dialogue. It's certainly a far cry from Twin Peaks.
For the record, it would have been better for Betty had Alice actually died. Saving her mother's life was not actually in her best interest.
All right week. ***1/2.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine "He Said, She Said"
Pretty heavy subject matter for this show, but it handled it admirably.
Best joke was the woman telling Jake to ALWAYS take DuckTales seriously. I couldn't tell if she was actually joking or not.
Holt's stuff was all right, but I think the show has lost the grounding nature of the character which made him work in the first place. If he's just as crazy as everyone else he just lost his biggest selling point.
Surprisingly serious episode. ****.