Indiana Jones Trilogy, Return Of The Jedi, & ThunderCats: Season 2, Volume 2 Reviews (Spoilers)
Reviews for the latest episodes of Battlestar Galactica, Doctor Who, The Spectacular Spider-Man, and the season finale of The Sarah Jane Adventures.
The Spectacular Spider-Man "Group Therapy"
I thought this was really good, especially the revelation that Peter slept through the entire final confrontation with the Sinister Six. I actually can't wait for next season of the show, just because this entire season seems to be an original season and I want to see what direction Greg Weisman takes the show. I REALLY hope they aren't as slavish to the comics as the nineties series was and actually decide to give Spidey original adventures like the DCAU did for Batman, Superman and the Justice League. I'm not that huge a fan of super-hero comics so I hope as the series goes on they rely on stories that will really be helped by the medium of animation. I don't know if they'll be THAT successful doing adaptations of comic stories all the time.
That said, this episode was a killer. I love that Peter's betrayel is making Eddie Brock more and more unhinged. Yeah, he's kind of gone crazy out of nowhere but unlike a lot of Superhero stories where a friend of the hero suddenly hates him you know exactly why Brock does. Peter is a LOUSY friend and the worst part is that he doesn't even realize it. Batman Beyond had troubles with relationships but that was because his job interfered in actually being straight with his friends. Here, Peter's motivations are entirely selfish and done to advance HIS needs ahead of the people he supposedly cares about. That's a lot like Season Six and Seven Buffy but the difference there is that Buffy got away with it because her friends KNEW she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. It's interesting that since Peter doesn't confide his secret to ANYBODY he can't get some much needed perspective.
I liked this episode. ****1/2.
Battlestar Galactica "Sine Qua Non"
This was pretty good. Not as good as the last two weeks, but certainly not as awful as the first few episodes of the season.
It was good seeing Lampkin again and the best part of his appearance was when he tried to assassinate Lee. Honestly, that was brilliant and he's the ONLY character on the show who would have done something like that with the realization he had come to. And honestly, on some level I don't blame him. Lee may have convinced him not to pull the trigger but I think Lampkin was dead-on when he surmised that Lee only asked for his help because he wanted to prove that he was the most qualified candidate for the presidency. That is a SERIOUSLY messed up way to use a person and it honestly made Lee come off as a jerk. But you didn't even REALIZE that until Lampkin stated it as fact.
I'm never watching the previews to this show again. Last week when they showed Tigh clocking Adama they made it seem as if it was some sort of Cylon betrayel. VERY smart and misleading. It had me pumped up for the show but did it so the show STILL managed to surprise me (Six is pregnant!). What I want to kkow is HOW is Six pregnant? Can the Final Five reproduce or does Tigh actually love Six? That was SUCH a shocker.
This episode was good. ****.
Doctor Who "The Poison Sky"
This episode seemed to be going through the motions a bit. Yeah, it was great seeing Martha rescued but the episode didn't really do that much for me. I DID love the cliffhanger however and am excited for next week. Was that ROSE on the TV in the Tardis when Donna was trying to reach the Doctor? I hope Rose returns and does it SOON. I can't wait to see what happens next week. That said, THIS week was only so-so. ***1/2.
The Sarah Jane Adventures "The Lost Boy: Part 2"
AWESOME finale. Great idea to have Mr. Smith be the Big Bad of the season especially since they found a way to turn him "good" at the end and hinted that the alien species that created him may cause SERIOUS trouble in the future. I also was THRILLED to see K-9 again since he was one of my favorite characters from the old Doctor Who show. His surprise appearance, saving the day was AWESOME. I had thought there was a K-9 Embargo on the show? Why were they allowed to use him? Has his upcoming cartoon show fallen through?
I loved this episode and am looking forward to seeing a second season. *****.
Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi: Special Edition
This was better than I remembered it but it still can't hold a candle to the original. I much prefer the original's music and find the Special Edition's "Star Wars Rocks" quite jarring. That said, the Ewoks are as cute as ever and the scenes between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader make the movie. But all of that was present in the original. I was upset Sebastian Shaw's appearance as Anakin at the end was replaced with the image of Hayden Christiansen and it still bothers me. The only change in the movie I like was showing all of the celebrations on all of the different worlds in the Star Wars universe including places only visited in the prequels. Ohter than that it's still underwhelming. ***1/2.
Raiders of the Lost Ark:
Believe it or not I've never actually seen this movie the entire way through. So when I picked it up on DVD and got through the entire thing I was wowed and pleased.
The movie is non-stop action and is definitely one of those prototypes of the summer blockbuster. I suppose some could hold that against it and blame it for all of the Micheal Bay/ Brett Ratner type summer movies we have to suffer through but despite the fact that the movie was a non-stop rollercoaster it was also very smart and cool.
I liked the evil monkey. My favorite scenes were when Indiana just up and shot the swordsman and when he and the Nazi in the truck shared a hilarious bonding moment and forgot they were fighting, only to have Indy kick him out of the truck. I can see why this was so popular and it's a shame I was too young to truly be able to enjoy it in the theater. I loved it the entire way through. *****.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom:
Easily the worst of the Indiana Jones films it was outright horrible in places. SO many things wrong with the movie:
--Willie Scott and Short Round are two of the most annoying sidekicks ever. Willie in particular is obnoxious and Short Round is a offensive Asian stererotype. What happened to Brody and Sallah? Those were the coolest sidekicks ever!
--The dinner scene was outright disgusting. How this movie didn't manage an R rating is beyond me. There was absolutely no subtlety to the scene. "Look you can tell these are bad people because they eat gross things!" It added nothing to the movie except to make the audience nauseous.
--Children in jeopardy. Cheap tactic that I've always hated and it is particularly egregious here.
The only really good things I can think about the movie were the mine cart chase and the climax on the bridge. It's fortunate for the movie's sake that those both came near the end or the rest of the movie wouldn't come off as decent as it does. Never-the-less this is the worst of the Indiana Jones movies and outright unpleasant to watch in places. **1/2.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade:
Raiders of the Lost Ark may be a more unconventional and unpredictable movie but this is my favorite of the original trilogy. It seems like everyone is having such a great time. I missed Marion Ravenwood (who luckily will be back in the fourth movie) but it was SO cool seeing Sallah and Brody again especially since they put Brody in the thick of the action for the first time. Sean Connery is HILARIOUS as Henry Jones and the scenes between him and Harrison Ford as Indy make the movie.
I especially like how this movie, while it had creepy scenes like the rats and the disintergrating corpse at the end didn't try to gross you out. All of the little "eeewww!" moments are thoroughly earned and not just put there to shock the audience as Temple of Doom and to a lesser extent Raiders did. This is definitely the easiest of the movies to watch.
I liked the idea of Indy's love interest turning out to be a baddie but making her a Nazi (which I suppose was necessary because of the format of the film) still didn't sit right with me. Indy (and his father) slept with one of Hitler's people. That's kind of disturbing and is the one thing I didn't like about the movie.
I loved the end with all of the heroes riding off into the sunset. I can't wait to see the latest film. *****.
ThunderCats: Season Two: Volume Two:
The final episodes of the ridiculously bad, yet entertaining Weekday Afternoon Eighties cartoon.
I liked SOME of the episodes on this set but I truly believe the show lasted twenty episodes too long. I didn't mind that much that the Lunataks or the Mutants were basically written off the show but not having it set on Third Earth and Tygra not being in many episodes just SCREAMED shark-jump. The Last Day should have been The Last Episode and they ruined a perfectly wonderful ending with the 'Cats moving to new Thundera for twenty extra episodes. Lame. Set Overall: **1/2.
Exile Isle: I love Captain Cracker and it was fun seeing him mix it up with the Lunataks. Lion-O doing his best Hans and Franz impression was funny too. ***1/2.
Key to Thundera: I'll say it. Lion-O shouldn't have saved Mumm-Ra. I understand why he did it but I think it was a REALLY bad move. To his credit Mumm-Ra got the best line of the episode: "You know, Ma-Mutt we really need to do something about your breath. ***1/2.
Return of the ThunderCubs: That Mirror would have come in handy the last time everyone was turned into kittens. No Baby Snarf this episode so it loses points for that. ***.
The Formula: This was decent. I liked the giant rat chasing the Mutants. But seriously, I had REAL problems with the idea of Lynx-O flying the Mutants gliders. I know he has extra sensory perception but dude, the guy IS blind. ***.
Locket of Lies: I liked this one too but it focused a little too much on Eggbert and Oswald. The Sword of Omens was AGAIN another cop-out ending too but at least we got to see Jaga again. He's been absent for most of these recent episodes. ***.
Bracelet of Power: This started off weak but got better as it went along. I had a REAL problem with Snarf's portrayal of getting corrupted by power since it's been established the Snarfs are the only species in the galaxy incapable of evil. This directly contradicted that cool concept. On the other hand Snarf playing pretend slave to Mumm-Ra was extremely funny especially since Mumm-Ra kept getting progressively crankier. I love it when the show takes shots at his expense. **1/2.
The Wild Workout: This was pretty boring and the plot was kind of all over the map. I DID like the revelation that Snarf's Tailwarmer was the thing that saved the day only because it was so lame it was funny. **1/2.
The Thunderscope: I liked this. It almost seems as if the Treasure of Thundera arc is headed to a definite ending. That's pretty cool. ***1/2.
The Jade Dragon: Or Samurai Hachiman: The Hachiman Saves Cats. It was good to get in a win for Hachiman who has been punked WAAAAYYY too often but the episode introduces a BIG continuity error. If Hachiman KNEW Jaga back in the day why didn't he recognize the ThunderCats emblem when he first met Lion-O? Answer: Bad writing. ***1/2.
The Circus Train: I have no problem with the series getting rid of the Mutants and the Lunataks (it IS winding down): I just wish they had been given a stronger send-off. That said, Captain Bragg was funny and I was sad to realize that we will probably NEVER get W.C. Fields and Groucho Marx references in kids cartoons again. Darn kids, with their rock music. Get offa my lawn! ***.
The Last Day: It's almost a shame there was another season. This would have been an excellent series finale. The entire Treasure of Thundera arc is wrapped up and Mumm-Ra is "destroyed" (he came back the next season). If the actual series finale had been this epic I'd have had no problems with yet ANOTHER wrap-up. *****.
Return to Thundera: Part 1: This was a good set-up to the arc (I loved the idea that Snowman, the Berbils, the Warrior Maidens and Mandora are the protectors of Third Earth now that most of the Thundercats have left) but there is no gettting around the fact that this is the weakest of the five-parters from the "second" season. ***.
Return to Thundera: Part 2: REALLY good idea to bring Grune the Destroyer back and even better to have him destroy the Sword of Omens. Char, the four-armed guy was cool and I loved the pain in Lion-O's voice when he thought Snarf was killed. The best of the five parts. ****.
Return to Thundera: Part 3: This part was a little boring but I kind of liked the evil robot Two-Time. I would not have minded getting an action figure of him. ***.
Return the Thundera: Part 4: While I am certainly happy we got some action on Third Earth, saw Captain Bragg and his bird friend again, and that the Mutants returned if only for an episode, this whole sideplot didn't add anything to the on-going arc. Snarfer and the rest of the 'Cats trying to save an injured Snarf's life had much more resonance. ***1/2.
Return to Thundera: Part 5: One of the biggest complaints I have about the Sword of Omens always bringing cop-out endings is that it would be so unnecessary if they didn't always wind up making things WAAAAYYYY too dire and if they actually TRIED to write better endings. I guess I don't mind it saving the day so much in regular episodes but here it just made the entire five-parter seem pointless. ***. Five Part Average: ***.
Leah: The one with the little girl and the evil doll. A decent child-abuse allegory. Cartoons stopped doing these in the eighties and it's actually kind of a bad thing they did. It's not like child abuse stopped. This was easy enough for kids to understand. ***1/2.
Frogman: It's become clear to me that the series has gone on for a "season" too long. I like meeting new characters and villains on this show but without it being set on Third Earth and all of the Big Bads except Mumm-Ra gone it's just not the same. **1/2.
The Heritage: I REALLY liked this episode however. For all of the missteps "Season Two" took the one thing they did that was supersmart was to give the Ancient Spirits of Evil a bigger role. I loved the power struggle between them in Mumm-Ra here and am a little bit shocked that Mumm-Ra was willing to forsake them once he got the sphere (and even more shocked that he did so practically in their presence). I was actually feeling bad for Mumm-Ra by the end of the episode. The stuff between the Thunderkittens and Char sort of petered out by the end but I love it when the Ancient Spirits have to talk Mumm-Ra off the ledge of his own hubris. Only beef was that breaking the Sword of Omens has become too common-place. When it's rarely done it's a big deal but they've gone to that well too often this season. Otherwsie excellent episode. ****1/2.
Screwloose: Screwloose is cute but the entire episode is completely predictable (even for this show). The ONE unpredictable thing the ep did is make Mumm-Ra lose the Sword of Plun-Darr. Unfortunately this cool twist was nullified when he got it back at the end. ***.
Malcar: I enjoyed this episode but it wasn't THAT great. Still, I liked how much Jaga punked Mumm-Ra in this episode. And using the Canyon of Youth again to de-age Malcar was a good idea. ***1/2.
Helpless Laughter. The show has done better. A drought is a GREAT idea for a crisis but it was resolved with a combination of Sword of Omens cop-out and junk science. **1/2.
Cracker's Revenge: This episode features action on Third Earth, Pumyra, the Lunatacs, Mandora, and the return of Cracker. Why don't I like it more? Possibly because it's all over the map and Cronan's betrayal was never paid off. It's alright but I wish it had been better. The animation was particularly colorful though. ***.
The Mossland Monster: The rarest of the rare: an ending that involved NO cop-outs whatsoever. Every tool and weapon the Thundercats used to defeat the monster was set up in previous episodes. It was good to see Tygra again even though he was involved in the most plot-related stupidity. My biggest problem with the episode is that no-one believed Snarf when he first saw the monster. When has Snarf EVER exaggerated or seen things that weren't there? Considering he is one of the oldest members of the group it was downright disrespectful. And exactly WHERE did Snarf learn about the Jolly Green Giant? ****.
Ma-Mutt's Confusion: At first glance the episode seems to be one of those lame eighties throwbacks that says that villains can never change and will always do the wrong thing in the end. But I think that's a serious misreading of the episode. What I personally took from it is that there is some good in EVERYONE. Ma-Mutt befriending the Thundercats didn't prove that. Mumm-Ra's despair when he thought Ma-Mutt had been killed did. Mumm-Ra is the most evil character on the show and the episode gave him a depth he never had before. I'm probably overthinking it and the first reading I described is probably what the writers had in mind but this is the first episode of the series in which the "moral" can be interpreted in several different ways. ****1/2.
The Shadowmaster: Mumm-Ra saves the day! It was good to see Mumm-Ra pull one over on the Ancient Spirits of Evil for once. I love that they have been used more this season but by the same token but making Mumm-Ra their constant lick-spittle he loses quite a bit of his cred. That said, I do not for one second believe the Thundercats wouldn't have been able to defeat the Shadowmaster without his help. They've been in much more dire situations. ***1/2.
Swan Song: The return of Two-Time is okay but not great. This episode seems to be the series version of Captain Planet but since the show has always had junk science it's not as effective. ***.
Touch of Amortus: This was decent because Amortus was a truly repulsive villain. But it's not cool to see Lynx-O so helpless throughout the episode. ***.
The Zaxx Factor: Good to see Vultureman again but Zaxx possessing people never really paid off. They never really addressed HOW Snarf got free from the medallion. ***.
Well of Doubt: I liked this because it showed that not all Thunderians are good people and mixed it up a bit. An insurrection is a good idea to explore. Having all these new Thunderians showing up must mean there are SOME people who don't want the Thundercats in charge. ***1/2.
The Book of Omens: Decent, but in all honesty the last episode is somewhat of a disappointment. The Last Day would have made a MUCH better series finale and I'm sorry that the series went on twenty additional episodes. It was all right, but it felt like a regular episode instead of a finale. ***1/2.
Thundercats Ultimate Adventure: Easily the most complex and fun DVD game I have ever played that gives TOUGH trivia questions and asks the player to search around for codes on other discs. Other DVDs WISH they had games that are this much fun. *****.
The Spectacular Spider-Man "Group Therapy"
I thought this was really good, especially the revelation that Peter slept through the entire final confrontation with the Sinister Six. I actually can't wait for next season of the show, just because this entire season seems to be an original season and I want to see what direction Greg Weisman takes the show. I REALLY hope they aren't as slavish to the comics as the nineties series was and actually decide to give Spidey original adventures like the DCAU did for Batman, Superman and the Justice League. I'm not that huge a fan of super-hero comics so I hope as the series goes on they rely on stories that will really be helped by the medium of animation. I don't know if they'll be THAT successful doing adaptations of comic stories all the time.
That said, this episode was a killer. I love that Peter's betrayel is making Eddie Brock more and more unhinged. Yeah, he's kind of gone crazy out of nowhere but unlike a lot of Superhero stories where a friend of the hero suddenly hates him you know exactly why Brock does. Peter is a LOUSY friend and the worst part is that he doesn't even realize it. Batman Beyond had troubles with relationships but that was because his job interfered in actually being straight with his friends. Here, Peter's motivations are entirely selfish and done to advance HIS needs ahead of the people he supposedly cares about. That's a lot like Season Six and Seven Buffy but the difference there is that Buffy got away with it because her friends KNEW she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. It's interesting that since Peter doesn't confide his secret to ANYBODY he can't get some much needed perspective.
I liked this episode. ****1/2.
Battlestar Galactica "Sine Qua Non"
This was pretty good. Not as good as the last two weeks, but certainly not as awful as the first few episodes of the season.
It was good seeing Lampkin again and the best part of his appearance was when he tried to assassinate Lee. Honestly, that was brilliant and he's the ONLY character on the show who would have done something like that with the realization he had come to. And honestly, on some level I don't blame him. Lee may have convinced him not to pull the trigger but I think Lampkin was dead-on when he surmised that Lee only asked for his help because he wanted to prove that he was the most qualified candidate for the presidency. That is a SERIOUSLY messed up way to use a person and it honestly made Lee come off as a jerk. But you didn't even REALIZE that until Lampkin stated it as fact.
I'm never watching the previews to this show again. Last week when they showed Tigh clocking Adama they made it seem as if it was some sort of Cylon betrayel. VERY smart and misleading. It had me pumped up for the show but did it so the show STILL managed to surprise me (Six is pregnant!). What I want to kkow is HOW is Six pregnant? Can the Final Five reproduce or does Tigh actually love Six? That was SUCH a shocker.
This episode was good. ****.
Doctor Who "The Poison Sky"
This episode seemed to be going through the motions a bit. Yeah, it was great seeing Martha rescued but the episode didn't really do that much for me. I DID love the cliffhanger however and am excited for next week. Was that ROSE on the TV in the Tardis when Donna was trying to reach the Doctor? I hope Rose returns and does it SOON. I can't wait to see what happens next week. That said, THIS week was only so-so. ***1/2.
The Sarah Jane Adventures "The Lost Boy: Part 2"
AWESOME finale. Great idea to have Mr. Smith be the Big Bad of the season especially since they found a way to turn him "good" at the end and hinted that the alien species that created him may cause SERIOUS trouble in the future. I also was THRILLED to see K-9 again since he was one of my favorite characters from the old Doctor Who show. His surprise appearance, saving the day was AWESOME. I had thought there was a K-9 Embargo on the show? Why were they allowed to use him? Has his upcoming cartoon show fallen through?
I loved this episode and am looking forward to seeing a second season. *****.
Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi: Special Edition
This was better than I remembered it but it still can't hold a candle to the original. I much prefer the original's music and find the Special Edition's "Star Wars Rocks" quite jarring. That said, the Ewoks are as cute as ever and the scenes between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader make the movie. But all of that was present in the original. I was upset Sebastian Shaw's appearance as Anakin at the end was replaced with the image of Hayden Christiansen and it still bothers me. The only change in the movie I like was showing all of the celebrations on all of the different worlds in the Star Wars universe including places only visited in the prequels. Ohter than that it's still underwhelming. ***1/2.
Raiders of the Lost Ark:
Believe it or not I've never actually seen this movie the entire way through. So when I picked it up on DVD and got through the entire thing I was wowed and pleased.
The movie is non-stop action and is definitely one of those prototypes of the summer blockbuster. I suppose some could hold that against it and blame it for all of the Micheal Bay/ Brett Ratner type summer movies we have to suffer through but despite the fact that the movie was a non-stop rollercoaster it was also very smart and cool.
I liked the evil monkey. My favorite scenes were when Indiana just up and shot the swordsman and when he and the Nazi in the truck shared a hilarious bonding moment and forgot they were fighting, only to have Indy kick him out of the truck. I can see why this was so popular and it's a shame I was too young to truly be able to enjoy it in the theater. I loved it the entire way through. *****.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom:
Easily the worst of the Indiana Jones films it was outright horrible in places. SO many things wrong with the movie:
--Willie Scott and Short Round are two of the most annoying sidekicks ever. Willie in particular is obnoxious and Short Round is a offensive Asian stererotype. What happened to Brody and Sallah? Those were the coolest sidekicks ever!
--The dinner scene was outright disgusting. How this movie didn't manage an R rating is beyond me. There was absolutely no subtlety to the scene. "Look you can tell these are bad people because they eat gross things!" It added nothing to the movie except to make the audience nauseous.
--Children in jeopardy. Cheap tactic that I've always hated and it is particularly egregious here.
The only really good things I can think about the movie were the mine cart chase and the climax on the bridge. It's fortunate for the movie's sake that those both came near the end or the rest of the movie wouldn't come off as decent as it does. Never-the-less this is the worst of the Indiana Jones movies and outright unpleasant to watch in places. **1/2.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade:
Raiders of the Lost Ark may be a more unconventional and unpredictable movie but this is my favorite of the original trilogy. It seems like everyone is having such a great time. I missed Marion Ravenwood (who luckily will be back in the fourth movie) but it was SO cool seeing Sallah and Brody again especially since they put Brody in the thick of the action for the first time. Sean Connery is HILARIOUS as Henry Jones and the scenes between him and Harrison Ford as Indy make the movie.
I especially like how this movie, while it had creepy scenes like the rats and the disintergrating corpse at the end didn't try to gross you out. All of the little "eeewww!" moments are thoroughly earned and not just put there to shock the audience as Temple of Doom and to a lesser extent Raiders did. This is definitely the easiest of the movies to watch.
I liked the idea of Indy's love interest turning out to be a baddie but making her a Nazi (which I suppose was necessary because of the format of the film) still didn't sit right with me. Indy (and his father) slept with one of Hitler's people. That's kind of disturbing and is the one thing I didn't like about the movie.
I loved the end with all of the heroes riding off into the sunset. I can't wait to see the latest film. *****.
ThunderCats: Season Two: Volume Two:
The final episodes of the ridiculously bad, yet entertaining Weekday Afternoon Eighties cartoon.
I liked SOME of the episodes on this set but I truly believe the show lasted twenty episodes too long. I didn't mind that much that the Lunataks or the Mutants were basically written off the show but not having it set on Third Earth and Tygra not being in many episodes just SCREAMED shark-jump. The Last Day should have been The Last Episode and they ruined a perfectly wonderful ending with the 'Cats moving to new Thundera for twenty extra episodes. Lame. Set Overall: **1/2.
Exile Isle: I love Captain Cracker and it was fun seeing him mix it up with the Lunataks. Lion-O doing his best Hans and Franz impression was funny too. ***1/2.
Key to Thundera: I'll say it. Lion-O shouldn't have saved Mumm-Ra. I understand why he did it but I think it was a REALLY bad move. To his credit Mumm-Ra got the best line of the episode: "You know, Ma-Mutt we really need to do something about your breath. ***1/2.
Return of the ThunderCubs: That Mirror would have come in handy the last time everyone was turned into kittens. No Baby Snarf this episode so it loses points for that. ***.
The Formula: This was decent. I liked the giant rat chasing the Mutants. But seriously, I had REAL problems with the idea of Lynx-O flying the Mutants gliders. I know he has extra sensory perception but dude, the guy IS blind. ***.
Locket of Lies: I liked this one too but it focused a little too much on Eggbert and Oswald. The Sword of Omens was AGAIN another cop-out ending too but at least we got to see Jaga again. He's been absent for most of these recent episodes. ***.
Bracelet of Power: This started off weak but got better as it went along. I had a REAL problem with Snarf's portrayal of getting corrupted by power since it's been established the Snarfs are the only species in the galaxy incapable of evil. This directly contradicted that cool concept. On the other hand Snarf playing pretend slave to Mumm-Ra was extremely funny especially since Mumm-Ra kept getting progressively crankier. I love it when the show takes shots at his expense. **1/2.
The Wild Workout: This was pretty boring and the plot was kind of all over the map. I DID like the revelation that Snarf's Tailwarmer was the thing that saved the day only because it was so lame it was funny. **1/2.
The Thunderscope: I liked this. It almost seems as if the Treasure of Thundera arc is headed to a definite ending. That's pretty cool. ***1/2.
The Jade Dragon: Or Samurai Hachiman: The Hachiman Saves Cats. It was good to get in a win for Hachiman who has been punked WAAAAYYY too often but the episode introduces a BIG continuity error. If Hachiman KNEW Jaga back in the day why didn't he recognize the ThunderCats emblem when he first met Lion-O? Answer: Bad writing. ***1/2.
The Circus Train: I have no problem with the series getting rid of the Mutants and the Lunataks (it IS winding down): I just wish they had been given a stronger send-off. That said, Captain Bragg was funny and I was sad to realize that we will probably NEVER get W.C. Fields and Groucho Marx references in kids cartoons again. Darn kids, with their rock music. Get offa my lawn! ***.
The Last Day: It's almost a shame there was another season. This would have been an excellent series finale. The entire Treasure of Thundera arc is wrapped up and Mumm-Ra is "destroyed" (he came back the next season). If the actual series finale had been this epic I'd have had no problems with yet ANOTHER wrap-up. *****.
Return to Thundera: Part 1: This was a good set-up to the arc (I loved the idea that Snowman, the Berbils, the Warrior Maidens and Mandora are the protectors of Third Earth now that most of the Thundercats have left) but there is no gettting around the fact that this is the weakest of the five-parters from the "second" season. ***.
Return to Thundera: Part 2: REALLY good idea to bring Grune the Destroyer back and even better to have him destroy the Sword of Omens. Char, the four-armed guy was cool and I loved the pain in Lion-O's voice when he thought Snarf was killed. The best of the five parts. ****.
Return to Thundera: Part 3: This part was a little boring but I kind of liked the evil robot Two-Time. I would not have minded getting an action figure of him. ***.
Return the Thundera: Part 4: While I am certainly happy we got some action on Third Earth, saw Captain Bragg and his bird friend again, and that the Mutants returned if only for an episode, this whole sideplot didn't add anything to the on-going arc. Snarfer and the rest of the 'Cats trying to save an injured Snarf's life had much more resonance. ***1/2.
Return to Thundera: Part 5: One of the biggest complaints I have about the Sword of Omens always bringing cop-out endings is that it would be so unnecessary if they didn't always wind up making things WAAAAYYYY too dire and if they actually TRIED to write better endings. I guess I don't mind it saving the day so much in regular episodes but here it just made the entire five-parter seem pointless. ***. Five Part Average: ***.
Leah: The one with the little girl and the evil doll. A decent child-abuse allegory. Cartoons stopped doing these in the eighties and it's actually kind of a bad thing they did. It's not like child abuse stopped. This was easy enough for kids to understand. ***1/2.
Frogman: It's become clear to me that the series has gone on for a "season" too long. I like meeting new characters and villains on this show but without it being set on Third Earth and all of the Big Bads except Mumm-Ra gone it's just not the same. **1/2.
The Heritage: I REALLY liked this episode however. For all of the missteps "Season Two" took the one thing they did that was supersmart was to give the Ancient Spirits of Evil a bigger role. I loved the power struggle between them in Mumm-Ra here and am a little bit shocked that Mumm-Ra was willing to forsake them once he got the sphere (and even more shocked that he did so practically in their presence). I was actually feeling bad for Mumm-Ra by the end of the episode. The stuff between the Thunderkittens and Char sort of petered out by the end but I love it when the Ancient Spirits have to talk Mumm-Ra off the ledge of his own hubris. Only beef was that breaking the Sword of Omens has become too common-place. When it's rarely done it's a big deal but they've gone to that well too often this season. Otherwsie excellent episode. ****1/2.
Screwloose: Screwloose is cute but the entire episode is completely predictable (even for this show). The ONE unpredictable thing the ep did is make Mumm-Ra lose the Sword of Plun-Darr. Unfortunately this cool twist was nullified when he got it back at the end. ***.
Malcar: I enjoyed this episode but it wasn't THAT great. Still, I liked how much Jaga punked Mumm-Ra in this episode. And using the Canyon of Youth again to de-age Malcar was a good idea. ***1/2.
Helpless Laughter. The show has done better. A drought is a GREAT idea for a crisis but it was resolved with a combination of Sword of Omens cop-out and junk science. **1/2.
Cracker's Revenge: This episode features action on Third Earth, Pumyra, the Lunatacs, Mandora, and the return of Cracker. Why don't I like it more? Possibly because it's all over the map and Cronan's betrayal was never paid off. It's alright but I wish it had been better. The animation was particularly colorful though. ***.
The Mossland Monster: The rarest of the rare: an ending that involved NO cop-outs whatsoever. Every tool and weapon the Thundercats used to defeat the monster was set up in previous episodes. It was good to see Tygra again even though he was involved in the most plot-related stupidity. My biggest problem with the episode is that no-one believed Snarf when he first saw the monster. When has Snarf EVER exaggerated or seen things that weren't there? Considering he is one of the oldest members of the group it was downright disrespectful. And exactly WHERE did Snarf learn about the Jolly Green Giant? ****.
Ma-Mutt's Confusion: At first glance the episode seems to be one of those lame eighties throwbacks that says that villains can never change and will always do the wrong thing in the end. But I think that's a serious misreading of the episode. What I personally took from it is that there is some good in EVERYONE. Ma-Mutt befriending the Thundercats didn't prove that. Mumm-Ra's despair when he thought Ma-Mutt had been killed did. Mumm-Ra is the most evil character on the show and the episode gave him a depth he never had before. I'm probably overthinking it and the first reading I described is probably what the writers had in mind but this is the first episode of the series in which the "moral" can be interpreted in several different ways. ****1/2.
The Shadowmaster: Mumm-Ra saves the day! It was good to see Mumm-Ra pull one over on the Ancient Spirits of Evil for once. I love that they have been used more this season but by the same token but making Mumm-Ra their constant lick-spittle he loses quite a bit of his cred. That said, I do not for one second believe the Thundercats wouldn't have been able to defeat the Shadowmaster without his help. They've been in much more dire situations. ***1/2.
Swan Song: The return of Two-Time is okay but not great. This episode seems to be the series version of Captain Planet but since the show has always had junk science it's not as effective. ***.
Touch of Amortus: This was decent because Amortus was a truly repulsive villain. But it's not cool to see Lynx-O so helpless throughout the episode. ***.
The Zaxx Factor: Good to see Vultureman again but Zaxx possessing people never really paid off. They never really addressed HOW Snarf got free from the medallion. ***.
Well of Doubt: I liked this because it showed that not all Thunderians are good people and mixed it up a bit. An insurrection is a good idea to explore. Having all these new Thunderians showing up must mean there are SOME people who don't want the Thundercats in charge. ***1/2.
The Book of Omens: Decent, but in all honesty the last episode is somewhat of a disappointment. The Last Day would have made a MUCH better series finale and I'm sorry that the series went on twenty additional episodes. It was all right, but it felt like a regular episode instead of a finale. ***1/2.
Thundercats Ultimate Adventure: Easily the most complex and fun DVD game I have ever played that gives TOUGH trivia questions and asks the player to search around for codes on other discs. Other DVDs WISH they had games that are this much fun. *****.