The X-Files S4 E7

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“Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man”

“Life is like a box of chocolates. A cheap, thoughtless, perfunctory gift that nobody ever asks for. Unreturnable because all you get back is another box of chocolates. So you’re stuck with this undefinable whipped mint crap that you mindlessly wolf down when there’s nothing else left to eat. Sure, once in a while there’s a peanut butter cup or an English toffee. But they’re gone too fast and the taste is… fleeting. So, you end up with nothing but broken bits filled with hardened jelly and teeth-shattering nuts. And if you’re desperate enough to eat those, all you got left is an empty box filled with useless brown paper wrappers“

This monologue came from the season four, episode seven of the X-Files, out of the mouth of the Cigarette Smoking Man, and I loved it. It was not the kind of monologue one expected, taking a famous quote from Forest Gump and warping it into a view of life considerably more negative.

The episode featured a telling of the back story of CSM, played by William B. Davis (and a younger version played by Chris Owens). In the show, CSM is given credit (or blamed depending on how you look at it) for the assassination of JFK and Martin Luthor King Jr, as well as many other historical moments. However, it is implied that the story may or may not be accurate, as Lone Gunman Frohike stated that he found this story in an old magazine of his.

This article is a fictional tale written by CSM himself, though, as he said, the ending had been changed. Exactly what was changed was not included keeping us uncertain about the accuracy of the episode.

I liked the way they leave it uncertain as it felt sort of doubtful that one man could be behind all of the things CSM was given credit for.

The main purpose of the episode is to show just how dangerous Cigarette Smoking Man was and continue to set him up as the big bad for the series, while potentially humanizing the character a touch. Imagine the pain and death that could have been spared had the magazine just published the story he wrote as he had intended it.

The episode also gives the actual cigarettes as a symbol for the evil that CSM does, as he was preparing to resign, he crumpled up the cigarette pack and once he realized that his life was not changing, he purchased a new pack right away.

I had always wanted CSM to be killed by Mulder, multiple times over the series so far. This provides even more context to the villain.

Man from Atlantis S1 E7

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“Hawk of Mu”

This episode was probably my least favorite one so far, certainly of the regular weekly series if you discount the TV movies.

Schubert is back again and, although I love Victor Buono here. I would really like a new villain to step forward. They added a daughter for Schubert who has taken a liking to Mark.

According to IMDB, “Schubert’s tracking of a mysterious power source causes a blackout, at the center of which, Mark discovers an ancient statue of a hawk. When he rescues Schubert’s daughter Juliette from drowning, the villain learns of the hawk and steals it to discover the secret of its power.“

I thought the conclusion of this episode was fairly lacking, though I did like the scene where Mark tricked the local law enforcement to spray him with a hose as he was trapped inside their cell. He had been dehydrating and Mark knew he needed the water.

Other than that, I found this episode to be a step down from the last couple. It is not terrible by any stretch, but just nothing major.

A&E Biography: WWE Legends- Roman Reigns

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It is Wrestlemania week and WWE programming is kicking into high gear.

The weekly A&E Biography documentaries featured the current Universal Champion, the Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns.

Usually I do not watch these A&E docs, not because they are not interesting, but because of time. However, I had seen an interview with Paul Heyman on the Rich Eisen show and Eisen commented about the A&E doc, saying that Paul Heyman was the director and producer of the doc. I have always been a fan of the genius of Heyman and it intrigued me to see him direct this doc about a performer that he had such a connection to.

Hearing about the rise of Joe Anoa’i, aka Roman Reigns, through the years of struggle with fans who did not want him shoved down their throats, to bouts of leukemia to his eventual ability to be himself and go to the top of the profession was excellent.

Again, there are many of Roman Reigns’ contemporaries that speak about our tribal chief during the documentary. Everyone from Seth Rollins, Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, Sami Zayn spoke about Roman.

But even more impressive was when Heyman brought together some of the greatest of all time to speak about Reigns. These legends included John Cena, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, the Undertaker, Hulk Hogan, Triple H and Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Some of the best interviews came from Reigns’ family, clips involving his late brother, who wrestled as Rosey in the WWE, and other family members of the Bloodline.

This was a fascinating look at one of the biggest stars in pro wrestling today.

Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal

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The WWE has always done exceptional documentaries. The new doc about the late great Windham Rotunda, better known to the world as Bray Wyatt, is about as exceptional as it comes.

Windham Rotunda shockingly passed away in 2023, something that no one expected or saw coming and it left a massive hole in the world of WWE. This documentary gives the story of Windham Rotunda from his early days to his final days inside the squared circle.

Narrated by the Undertaker, Becoming Immortal did not just focus on the positive moments of Windham’s life, but also the challenges that he faced as he worked his way through the world of sports entertainment. Though many said how difficult it was to work with him, everyone admitted what a creative genius Windham Rotunda was.

Comments from so many of Bray Wyatt’s contemporaries spoke throughout the doc, including Triple H, Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, Braun Stroman, Sami Zayn, Big E, LA Knight, John Cena, Hulk Hogan, Alexa Bliss and Erick Rowan.

However, the most emotional moments are provided by Windham’s younger brother, Taylor Rotunda, known to the WWE audience as Bo Dallas, as well as other family members of Windham, including his father Mike Rotunda, uncle Barry Windham, his first wife Samantha and his second wife JoJo. The recollections of this group of people about the final days of Windham’s life were absolutely heart-breaking and brought tears to my eyes.

It was so clear how much Windham Rotunda was loved by everyone around him. Jason Baker, who was one of Windham’s closest friends, was one of the creative forces behind the masks and outfits for the character of Bray Wyatt. His insights into Windham Rotunda were very powerful as well.

Seeing some of the art Windham did during the time when he had been released from the WWE was amazing. It displayed such an amazing truth about how talented and creative Windham Rotunda was.

As a fan of Bray Wyatt, this was tough at times to watch, but I am very pleased that the documentary was shown. It is available on Peacock.

4.6 stars

Twin Peaks S2 E16

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“The Condemned Woman”

The ending of this episode of Twin Peaks was the weirdest I can remember. It was the resolution, kinda, of the storyline of Josie Packard. The one where she just dies before having her ‘spirit’, shall we say, trapped in the bed stand drawer. We see Killer Bob again, taunting Cooper and we see the dancing dwarf from the Red Room dancing on the bed. Did Bob imply that he killed Josie?

What was even stranger was I do not think they mention this Josie story again in the rest of the show. If they do, it is just in passing.

Just not sure how this was intended to play into the overall story of the White Lodge, but it was certainly intended to do so. I wonder if there were contract issues with the actress playing Josie that led to this bizarre twist. (FYI- doing some research, I found that the actress Joan Chen, who played Josie had asked to be written out so she could go film a movie, Turtle Beach, which was a critical and financial flop).

Of course, we learn about Josie’s shooting of Agent Cooper and how the husband she thought she killed, Andrew Packard, was actually alive. It was heavily implied that she had killed Jonathan and we see her kill Eckhardt, who was angry with her over her supposed betrayal since Andrew was alive.

Windham Earle took a bit of a backseat this episode, though he was trolling Donna, Audrey and Shelly as his “three queens” for a gathering of “the angels.” He had sent each an invite to the Roadhouse and part of a poem torn into three. Earle continues to be a big time creeper.

He also continues to taunt and torture Leo, which Leo deserves completely.

James is still a dumbass. He and Donna kind of broke up as James is still out there doing God knows what with the Walsh case. Donna needs to move along. She is way too good for him.

Nadine tells Ed she wants to split up and that she had a night of love with Mike. Ed is surprised, but Nadine said that he and Norma had done it. Ed say, “Well, there’s that.” LOL

Norma stands up to Hank, who is in jail for multiple crimes and parole violations. She will not support his lie of an alibi. Yay! You go girl. I think my memory is that she caves… but I hope I am wrong.

Moonlighting S5 E9

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“Those Lips, Those Lies”

We get one of the best Richie Addison episodes that we have ever had because it was an episode that really focused on the relationship between Richie and David.

According to the web, “David’s brother asks him to help his fiancée, who has had some money stolen from her. David is reluctant but investigates and finds the woman used to run prostitutes – but his brother already knew.“

Charles Rocket returned to resume his role as David Addison’s older brother Richie, a role he has played on and off through the entire run of the series. The chemistry between Rocket and Bruce Willis make them seem like real life brothers. Charles Rocket was brilliantly cast as the older Addison sibling.

There was a solid story told here too. Cybill Shepherd is really great as a supporting character in a show where she is usually the lead.

And the show kicked off with a funny cold open where the show told us they moved to Sunday night and Al Jarreau was not there to sing the theme. Fun.

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live

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“The Last Time”

Quite a powerful end.

Rick and Michonne perhaps can do anything they want.

Walking back to the CRM with the purpose of ending them sounds insane, except when Rick and Michonne was doing it.

The confrontation with Biehl, (aka John Locke from LOST.. hey Terry O’Quinn), where Rick makes his decision about what he had to do… and with Biehl sensing it before Rick actually made him move was dramatic.

Michonne’s plan to ruin the CRM once and for all was just brutal. Massive explosion.

I still am not sure that Rick made it out of that swarm of new zombies. Or that hand grenade explosion. Not sure how he lived through that.

But he did. Because Rick and Michonne were together.

I enjoyed the flashbacks that were spursed through the episode. Some I knew, others I did not.

I did not know how much I needed that reunion between Rick Michonne, Judith and R.J. but I did need it. I really thought that Andrew Lincoln was going to die in this episode, but he did not.

This has a great ending and it feels as if the story that has come to an end, a perfect end.

The X-Files S4 E6

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“Sanguinarium”

The opening scene of this episode was so disturbing, it gave me literal chills. It has been a long time since a TV show had done that to me.

Combining plastic surgery with black witchcraft is a bizarre choice, but it makes sense throughout this episode. The story itself is not as strong as some others that we have seen during thee monster-of-the-week episodes, but the horrific visuals made up for that.

Plus, Twin Peaks’ own Benjamin Horne, actor Richard Beymer, appeared as Dr. Jack Franklin, the driving force behind the black magic at the hospital. In fact, Dr. Franklin was able to escape and set up shop in another hospital at the end, showing the failures of our protagonists.

The scene where Ben errrr Dr. Franklin, I mean, started peeling off his face, well, that was extremely disturbing as was most of the surgical scenes involving the patients and the doctors which are mesmerized.

There were some twists that did not make much sense.

Moonlighting S5 E8

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“I See London, I See France, I See Maddie’s Netherworlds”

We are into the final stretch for the Moonlighting series rewatch as we are up to episode 8 out of 13. This one sports one of the longest titles of any of the episodes.

This episode is basically Weekend at Bernie’s meets spy thriller. A man named Harry comes to see Dave and Maddie about hiring them as a bodyguard, but he dies in Maddie’s office before they have a chance to talk to him.

The rest of the episode was filled with comedic bits surrounding the dead body and Dave and Maddie’s attempt to figure out what was going on.

The episode was marked with Dave and Maddie being buried up to their necks in a grave, with their heads sticking out like you sometimes see at the beach. Their banter during this time was meant to be funny, and, for the most part, it was. The best line was when a dog came over and Maddie was afraid the dog was going to mistake her for a fire hydrant. She started barking at the dog, scaring it away. Maddie then delivered the line of the episode, “I guess I can be a scary bitch.”

There was also a fun dream sequence after Maddie gets hit in the head with a gun barrel. She dreams that she had died and that David was the Grim Reaper.

There was a most suggestive scene that takes place in the shower that amazingly made it past the network censors.

Overall, this was a silly episode with some fun moments. It is right with the tone that the fifth season tried to portray to the audience.

Man from Atlantis S1 E6

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“The Mudworm”

The second episode of the series Man from Atlantis continued an early trend of including the same bad guy. Victor Buono returned as Mr. Schubert, the mad genius with delusions of power.

This episode, Schubert had sent one of his machines, the Mudworm, to the ocean floor to mine out an extremely rare element that would give him control over satellites as well as no concern for money ever again.

I liked this episode too, because the ending was unlike most shows of this genre. The show resolved the conflict with Mark going to the Mudworm and talking it into helping out.

I have enjoyed Victor Buono on the show, but I would like to see someone different for a few episodes instead of it always being Schubert.

Admittedly, the plot was a little thin, but I did enjoy the unconventional manner in which it was resolved.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #89

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March 31, 2024

Happy Easter.

I’ve been picking up back issues on eBay and at Comic World quite a bit recently. It makes it easier to pick up back issues when I know what comics I already own. It is why my current process of cataloguing my comics on CLZ has been a great thing.

I had enough back issues available to warrant another EYG Comic Cavalcade, so after finishing and posting #88 yesterday, here comes post #89.

Monster Graphic Novel. Monster was a novel by Walter Dean Myers and it was adapted into the graphic novel format by Guy A. Sims. Art in the graphic novel was done by Dawud Anyabwile. I purchased this GN because of a new curriculum that we are looking at adding to my literacy class. The curriculum is HMH and it included this graphic novel in a unit. I purchased this hardcover version which was an old library copy as well as a soft cover version. I was actually reading this during down times as I was waiting to see if I would be selected for a jury. It is a story of a court case for a young boy who was accused of being the lookout in a robbery that led to a death. As the boy was on trial, he was picturing it as if he were making it into a movie. A very captivating read and very intriguing as I sat in the courthouse waiting to see if I had to do my civic duty (spoilers: I was not selected).

Groo the Wanderer #34-40. Written and drawn by EYG Hall of Famer Sergio Aragones. This was a run of the Marvel/Epic series featuring the classic klutzy barbarian. Yes, Groo can be repetitive. They take the same ten jokes or so and do so much with them. It’s why Sergio is such an amazing talent. When I had inventoried my Groo box, I had realized that I was missing more of that original Epic series than I had thought. This was some of the ones that I was missing. I absolutely love Groo.

Unknown Soldier #1-4. Written by Garth Ennis and art by Kilian Plunkett. Another character I loved when I was younger was DC Comics’ Unknown Soldier. I knew of this short series from DC’s Vertigo by Garth Ennis, but had never owned it. After coming across my Unknown Soldier books in my inventorying, I ordered this on eBay. This was very much different than the Unknown Soldier that I remembered, but every bit as thrilling and compelling. Setting the Soldier as more of a dark, morally-challenged character was smart and really worked in this context. I would recommend this to any fan of war stories/thrillers/mysteries. This would make a fantastic movie too.

Count Crowley: Amateur Midnight Monster Hunter trade paperback and issues #2,3. So this will take a little explanation. In yesterday’s Comic Cavalcade, I laid out the story of the first disappointment I had on eBay. This was actually a different kind of error from the site. I had ordered issue #4 of the original Count Crowley series. I had issues #1-3, and in fact, had included #1 in a previous Comic Cavalcade, but I was waiting to read the whole thing when I got the last missing issue. However, the seller who I had ordered #4 from did not send me #4, but, by accident, the trade paperback of all four combined (to be fair, they do share the same cover). I had contacted him about the error and he just said to keep the trade if I wanted. This was an error in my benefit, since I only paid like $3.99 for the trade paperback (yes, there was some shipping too). I went ahead and read the trade paperback, even though I am still waiting on a copy of issue four to complete my collection. This new horror book was written by David Dastmalchian (which is what attracted me to it in the first place), an actor who just starred in the excellent horror/found footage movie Late Night with the Devil. The art of the book was done by Lukas Ketner.

Count Crowley: Mediocre Midnight Monster Hunter #1-2. The series by David Dastmalchian and Lukas Ketner continued where the original left off. There are werewolves, vampires, zombies (although called by a different name) and a host of a late night monster movie show. This has been a really creative and original concept and I look forward to the Dark Horse comic’s final two issues when they come out.

Marvel Chillers #5. “Cat and Mouse” Written by Tony Isabella and with art by Will Meugnot. Todd asked me if I wanted this book and the next one I’ll talk about. It was weird because both featured Tigra, who I like, but I was not a huge fan. I thought maybe Todd had mixed up Tigra with Hellcat, who I really do love. Truth, Tigra aka Greer Nelson was originally the Cat, the predecessor to Hellcat, so that might be what he was thinking. It looked like a cool addition to a collection so I said I would take it.

Spider-Woman #49. “Runaway.” Written by Ann Nocenti and penciled by Brian Postman. This was the other book Todd got for me that featured Tigra. This was in nice condition. A lot of times, these older back issues have paper inside that has faded from age. This story’s art inside still looked very good. This also had Jack Russell, Werewolf by Night in the book too.

Twin Peaks S2 E15

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“Slaves and Masters”

Pete is a chess master? Surprise.

I do like how they brought Pete into the story with Windham Earle. Another thing I love is Leo getting caught by Windham and made to do what he wanted. There was a feel of Karma for Leo, getting what he done back in spades. I almost feel sorry for ‘Mr. New Shoes.’

The Windham Earle storyline continues to be the best part of this post Laura Palmer story on Twin Peaks. The ending with Cooper and the death mask was really creepy.

They wrapped up the Ben Horne crazy storyline and the James Hurley storyline pretty quickly. I wonder if that was a response to those not being well liked? I did enjoy the Ben Horne crazy bit, but the whole South winning the Civil War/ Confederate flag scenes might be somewhat tone deaf. Certainly plays different today than it did back int he 90s.

I just dislike James so much. He is such a rotten person. Even after getting framed for murder, he is kissing on Evelyn. Donna really deserves better than him. I don’t know why the show played James up to be some kind of good guy because I found him to be selfish, inconsiderate, and downright dumb. He and Evelyn deserved each other.

One of the funniest scenes in the show was when Nadine caught Ed and Norma in bed, but did not even blink. She hopped in bed with them and talked about how she was disqualified in her wrestling meet because the airplane slam was illegal. Ed and Norma just sat there, shocked. Nadine then told them that she knew about them and said it was okay with her because she was going after Mike.

Post Laura Palmer, Twin Peaks has struggled to find any consistency. It has some good moments, good scenes, but there are as many scenes and storylines that just do not work in any manner either. Windham Earle is an absolute winner though at this point.

Moonlighting S5 E7

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“Take My Wife, For Example”

A powerful divorce lawyer comes to Blue Moon to hire David and Maddie to try and help her fix the marriage of her most recent client.

As Dave and Maddie were following the husband, they had a long conversation about certain aspects of their relationship. Maddie called David a hard kisser while David told Maddie that she had never gotten him a present.

This led to several jokes with a car that Maddie gifted to David that he hated and David practicing kissing with the office staff.

One of my favorite parts of the episode was lawyer Betty Russell, played by four-time Emmy Award winner Colleen Dewhurst. Dewhurst won a couple of those Emmys for her role of Murphy Brown’s mother on the CBS comedy series. She was also very successful on stage in the theater. She was a gripping actor and this supporting performance was a good example.

The episode kicked off with Dave and Maddie trying to discover why there were fewer viewers than before and ways that they could increase viewership. Maddie wanted ‘socially relevant programming, exploring the rich fabric of universal truth in a vibrant human way’ and David wanted hooters. It was a funny intro.

This episode was light and fluffy, with some funny moments. It was a fine watch.

The X-Files S4 E5

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“The Field Where I Died”

My memory of this episode from when I originally saw it was that this was a really good episode. Now, during this rewatch, I have found that I am not a big fan of it.

This episode dealt with past lives, of a character of the episode named Melissa, as well as Mulder. Scully believed that Melissa was suffering from multiple personality disorder. There is also a local cult called the Temple of the Seven Stars with its leader Vernon Ephesian.

Kristen Cloke was the actor playing Melissa and she was a standout of this episode with her ability to play the different personalities. David Duchovny had an extended monologue under hypnosis where he was retreating into a past life, but that scene was not the best scene I have seen. I did not enjoy that section and it really sent the episode off the track.

I also did not love the ending, with the tragic deaths of everyone in the Temple of the Seven Star, including Melissa, having killed themselves by taking poison.

Most of this episode just did not feel like it hit the most effective emotional beats.

Man from Atlantis S1 E5

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“Melt Down”

This is the first episode of the weekly series. Prior to this, Man from Atlantis was a series of TV movies, each around 90 minutes long (give or take). This started season of 13-episode season.

For the first time, we get an opening theme, which I liked quite a bit.

Episode 5, “Melt Down” saw the return of Mr. Schubert, the villain from the first TV movie performed by Victor Buono. Buono makes a fantastic villain.

A couple of big, welcome changes seem to have been made. Mark Harris has gained some superpowers besides being able to just breathe underwater. He had some extra super strength as he showed by kicking the ass of Schubert’s goons and crashing through some doors and a sonar of some kind he used to destroy some technology. The extra powers make a lot of sense and I was very pleased to see Mark crashing through the wooden door.

The show even threw in some A-Team throws, with the goons being thrown by Mark out of the pool he was in and flying across the room.

The characters of Elizabeth and C.W. were still here in episode 5, but Miller Simon was not here. I do not know if he returns as the series progresses, but I’m not sure he was needed.

Mark had more of a personality as well, confident and strong. He always felt so detached and icy, and, though he still had some of that, he seemed more human than he was before.

The sci-fi aspect of the show continued to be good, and the underwater scenes are still just fantastic. I would have loved to know how they filmed these scenes and how much of it was actually Patrick Duffy.

This episode dealt with the villainous Schubert causing water tides to rise across the planet, threatening worldwide flooding. It was like a climate change story on fast forward.

This was a really good episode and I feel like it put together some of the things that the TVV movies had been lacking. We’ll see if it can maintain this level of sci-fi goodness.