"LEGO Star Wars: Terrifying Tales" Review (Spoilers)
Also reviews for the latest episodes of The Simpsons, The Great North, Bob's Burgers, and Family Guy.
LEGO Star Wars: Terrifying Tales
Main Story:
It was interesting. It explored ideas that probably would have been better off explored in the actual canon itself rather than a Lego project.
But it's clearly not canon. For one thing, they ignored the red color Sith rules for light-sabers set up in Star Wars Visions. Visions was intended to be canon, even if it was the first thing to set that up, and either this project was created before the writers heard about that (it's possible as that was developed in Japan) or they felt free to ignore it simply because the Lego projects aren't beholden to that kind of thing. Although the Lego stuff's obsession with Kyber Crystals and Holocrons suggest they tend to take that kind of thing seriously anyways.
The Jack Torrance moment doesn't work with zombie Roger Droids simply because they have to rattle off a bunch of different numbers and letters. "Here's Johnny!" only works because it's two syllables. Come to think of it, how does anyone in the Star Warsverse even KNOW that reference? Maybe Johnny Carson is even older than we thought and got around a bit back in the day. That must be it. The Shining reference is MUCH hard to justify however, as silly as I think I'm being there.
Grabbala the Hutt is still alive in the sequel trilogy era, at least for the Lego projects.
This isn't a Halloween special but the hand coming up at the end was a horror movie ending anyways.
It was pretty solid. ****.
Now I'll review the stories the Renee tells.
The Lost Boy:
This origin story of Kylo Ren's name is so underwhelming I very glad it is not canon.
Lego Ben Solo has the same leftover birth duke on his face that Adam Driver does. That will go down as Star Wars' worst casting choice ever. Even Family Guy has made fun of it.
Meh. **1/2.
The Dueling Monstrosities:
An origin for General Grievous AND Darth Maul deserved to be told in the canon. Maybe someday it will be. In which case this can be roundly ignored.
Good they got Sam Witwer back though. Frankly at this point I consider him far more crucial to the character than Ray Park, which is weird. Actually Park is weird too (which is probably why he was fired).
Pretty good. ***1/2.
The Wookiee's Paw:
A cautionary tale I am VERY glad never happened. ****.
Special Overall: ****.
The Simpsons "Bart's In Jail"
It's a great premise for a Simpsons episode. And I don't think it quite worked. The culprit turning out to be a room full of phone scammers working for someone else who got away with it was a very interesting and ambiguous twist. But since they did it, there is no moral readily apparent in the episode. The episode isn't even kind enough to give Marge the win of encountering an honest person with the reveal that Grandpa set the encounter up. Also how did he do that? And when?
A lot of my problems with the episode were due to plot oversights and inconsistencies like that. I frankly don't understand WHY Homer is so fussed over ten grand. This is why negative continuity is so bad. The writers expect us to ignore the fact that the character once won a million dollars in the lottery and his life didn't really change at all. I loved that episode for the unusual take on that premise. But because they did that episode, Homer's reaction here is bogus and out of character. He's lost bigger fortunes than this, and that wasn't the only example. Anybody else remember, "This woman cost me a million dollars"? Or the multiple heart attacks when Lisa tore up that million dollar check from Mr. Burns? Homer losing out on big money is something he's dealt with a LOT. It's dumb to pretend a relatively paltry sum like ten grand would make him flip his wig.
I should be liking that episode more than I did, and giving it a higher grade than I will. The problem is I've seen every other episode of the show. I know when something on it doesn't quite pass the smell test. ***.
The Great North "The Great Punkin' Adventure"
I have no notes. Only compliments.
Yeah, I like this show now. It's found its voice. The Tobins are a happy well-adjusted family, which is refreshing.
I like that Wolf and Ham worry that the song will "crush" Beef. That's the concern. Not that he'd be furious. He's such a nice and understanding parent that he actually discusses punishing Ham for disobedience as a question, partly to gauge if that's what Ham actually wanted. I love that.
And I like Ham is not kicked out of the band at the end, because the band leader's mom liked the song, and "she does a lot of stuff for him". That says volumes.
And I knew I was going to compliment the Tobins on being a happy family even before this. Once Honeybee declared all of the Tobins' various silly ideas were "Golden" I was like, "This is a family that actually likes each other." It's kind of silly but it's also refreshing.
I'm fully on-board this show now. *****.
Bob's Burgers "Crystal Mess"
For the record Tammy is not the most annoying character on the show. That's Jimmy Pesto. But Tammy is the only character who is close.
I'm thinking Frond's girlfriend wasn't upset because that wasn't actually a crystal. Something that small that breaks into that many pieces is clearly glass.
I liked the teacher quipping that that was what happened when she didn't vet Tammy and Jocelyn's report.
I groaned at Louise selling crystal time for 50 cents. I haven't been a kid in a long time, but even I know that's nothing in 2021. It's not even worth the time for Tina to stand there and wait around. I think the writers weren't adjusting for inflation. But truthfully, I probably wouldn't have stood around for 50 cents a pop back in the 1980's either. The writers must have grown up in the 50's.
The whole funny shaped vegetable / pickling thing suggests the writers are running out of B stories for the restaurant. That's concerning, especially since the show has already been on the air for over ten years.
It was good. ***1/2.
Family Guy "Rock Hard"
Giving Jerome a story was a nice touch.
I liked the slam that Elton John was the only gay guy with a worse haircut than Pete Rose. It's funny, they started ragging on a photo of present day Elton John at the end, but realize it's much more fun to go back to Sean Hannity. Recently Seth MacFarlane has made no bones about how unhappy he is to work for Fox. I think the Hannity thing is going to be the next long-running gag after Giant Chicken fights and Conway Twitty. What I like is that unlike those two things, it's actually funny.
I don't tend to like Family Guy trilogy episodes but this wasn't the worst example ever. ***.
LEGO Star Wars: Terrifying Tales
Main Story:
It was interesting. It explored ideas that probably would have been better off explored in the actual canon itself rather than a Lego project.
But it's clearly not canon. For one thing, they ignored the red color Sith rules for light-sabers set up in Star Wars Visions. Visions was intended to be canon, even if it was the first thing to set that up, and either this project was created before the writers heard about that (it's possible as that was developed in Japan) or they felt free to ignore it simply because the Lego projects aren't beholden to that kind of thing. Although the Lego stuff's obsession with Kyber Crystals and Holocrons suggest they tend to take that kind of thing seriously anyways.
The Jack Torrance moment doesn't work with zombie Roger Droids simply because they have to rattle off a bunch of different numbers and letters. "Here's Johnny!" only works because it's two syllables. Come to think of it, how does anyone in the Star Warsverse even KNOW that reference? Maybe Johnny Carson is even older than we thought and got around a bit back in the day. That must be it. The Shining reference is MUCH hard to justify however, as silly as I think I'm being there.
Grabbala the Hutt is still alive in the sequel trilogy era, at least for the Lego projects.
This isn't a Halloween special but the hand coming up at the end was a horror movie ending anyways.
It was pretty solid. ****.
Now I'll review the stories the Renee tells.
The Lost Boy:
This origin story of Kylo Ren's name is so underwhelming I very glad it is not canon.
Lego Ben Solo has the same leftover birth duke on his face that Adam Driver does. That will go down as Star Wars' worst casting choice ever. Even Family Guy has made fun of it.
Meh. **1/2.
The Dueling Monstrosities:
An origin for General Grievous AND Darth Maul deserved to be told in the canon. Maybe someday it will be. In which case this can be roundly ignored.
Good they got Sam Witwer back though. Frankly at this point I consider him far more crucial to the character than Ray Park, which is weird. Actually Park is weird too (which is probably why he was fired).
Pretty good. ***1/2.
The Wookiee's Paw:
A cautionary tale I am VERY glad never happened. ****.
Special Overall: ****.
The Simpsons "Bart's In Jail"
It's a great premise for a Simpsons episode. And I don't think it quite worked. The culprit turning out to be a room full of phone scammers working for someone else who got away with it was a very interesting and ambiguous twist. But since they did it, there is no moral readily apparent in the episode. The episode isn't even kind enough to give Marge the win of encountering an honest person with the reveal that Grandpa set the encounter up. Also how did he do that? And when?
A lot of my problems with the episode were due to plot oversights and inconsistencies like that. I frankly don't understand WHY Homer is so fussed over ten grand. This is why negative continuity is so bad. The writers expect us to ignore the fact that the character once won a million dollars in the lottery and his life didn't really change at all. I loved that episode for the unusual take on that premise. But because they did that episode, Homer's reaction here is bogus and out of character. He's lost bigger fortunes than this, and that wasn't the only example. Anybody else remember, "This woman cost me a million dollars"? Or the multiple heart attacks when Lisa tore up that million dollar check from Mr. Burns? Homer losing out on big money is something he's dealt with a LOT. It's dumb to pretend a relatively paltry sum like ten grand would make him flip his wig.
I should be liking that episode more than I did, and giving it a higher grade than I will. The problem is I've seen every other episode of the show. I know when something on it doesn't quite pass the smell test. ***.
The Great North "The Great Punkin' Adventure"
I have no notes. Only compliments.
Yeah, I like this show now. It's found its voice. The Tobins are a happy well-adjusted family, which is refreshing.
I like that Wolf and Ham worry that the song will "crush" Beef. That's the concern. Not that he'd be furious. He's such a nice and understanding parent that he actually discusses punishing Ham for disobedience as a question, partly to gauge if that's what Ham actually wanted. I love that.
And I like Ham is not kicked out of the band at the end, because the band leader's mom liked the song, and "she does a lot of stuff for him". That says volumes.
And I knew I was going to compliment the Tobins on being a happy family even before this. Once Honeybee declared all of the Tobins' various silly ideas were "Golden" I was like, "This is a family that actually likes each other." It's kind of silly but it's also refreshing.
I'm fully on-board this show now. *****.
Bob's Burgers "Crystal Mess"
For the record Tammy is not the most annoying character on the show. That's Jimmy Pesto. But Tammy is the only character who is close.
I'm thinking Frond's girlfriend wasn't upset because that wasn't actually a crystal. Something that small that breaks into that many pieces is clearly glass.
I liked the teacher quipping that that was what happened when she didn't vet Tammy and Jocelyn's report.
I groaned at Louise selling crystal time for 50 cents. I haven't been a kid in a long time, but even I know that's nothing in 2021. It's not even worth the time for Tina to stand there and wait around. I think the writers weren't adjusting for inflation. But truthfully, I probably wouldn't have stood around for 50 cents a pop back in the 1980's either. The writers must have grown up in the 50's.
The whole funny shaped vegetable / pickling thing suggests the writers are running out of B stories for the restaurant. That's concerning, especially since the show has already been on the air for over ten years.
It was good. ***1/2.
Family Guy "Rock Hard"
Giving Jerome a story was a nice touch.
I liked the slam that Elton John was the only gay guy with a worse haircut than Pete Rose. It's funny, they started ragging on a photo of present day Elton John at the end, but realize it's much more fun to go back to Sean Hannity. Recently Seth MacFarlane has made no bones about how unhappy he is to work for Fox. I think the Hannity thing is going to be the next long-running gag after Giant Chicken fights and Conway Twitty. What I like is that unlike those two things, it's actually funny.
I don't tend to like Family Guy trilogy episodes but this wasn't the worst example ever. ***.