Category Archives: TV-G[eek]

2022 EMMY Nominations

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Drama Series

“Better Call Saul” (AMC)   

“Euphoria” (HBO)   

“Ozark” (Netflix)   

“Severance” (Apple TV+)   

“Squid Game” (Netflix)   

“Stranger Things” (Netflix)   

“Succession” (HBO)   

“Yellowjackets” (Showtime)  

Comedy Series

“Abbott Elementary” (ABC)   

“Barry” (HBO)

“Curb Your Enthusiasm” (HBO)   

“Hacks” (HBO)   

“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon Prime Video)

“Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)

“Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)

“What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)   

Limited Series

“Dopesick” (Hulu)   

“The Dropout” (Hulu)   

“Inventing Anna” (Netflix)   

“Pam and Tommy” (Hulu)   

“The White Lotus” (HBO)   

Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Jason Bateman (“Ozark”)  

Brian Cox (“Succession”)  

Lee Jung-jae (“Squid Game”)   

Bob Odenkirk (“Better Call Saul”)  

Adam Scott (“Severance”)  

Jeremy Strong (“Succession”)  

Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Jodie Comer (“Killing Eve”)   

Laura Linney (“Ozark”)  

Melanie Lynskey (“Yellowjackets”)  

Sandra Oh (“Killing Eve”)  

Reese Witherspoon (“The Morning Show”)   

Zendaya (“Euphoria”)  

Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Donald Glover (“Atlanta”)   

Bill Hader (“Barry”)  

Nicholas Hoult (“The Great”)

Steve Martin (“Only Murders in the Building”)   

Martin Short (“Only Murders in the Building”)  

Jason Sudeikis (“Ted Lasso”)  

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Rachel Brosnahan (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)  

Quinta Brunson (“Abbott Elementary”)  

Kaley Cuoco (“The Flight Attendant”)  

Elle Fanning (“The Great”)  

Issa Rae (“Insecure”)  

Jean Smart (“Hacks”)  

Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie

Colin Firth (“The Staircase”)  

Andrew Garfield (“Under the Banner of Heaven”)  

Oscar Isaac (“Scenes From a Marriage”)  

Michael Keaton (“Dopesick”)  

Himesh Patel (“Station Eleven”)  

Sebastian Stan (“Pam and Tommy”)   

Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie

Toni Collette (“The Staircase”)  

Julia Garner (“Inventing Anna”)  

Lily James (“Pam and Tommy”)  

Sarah Paulson (“Impeachment: American Crime Story”)

Margaret Qualley (“Maid”)  

Amanda Seyfried (“The Dropout”)  

Variety Talk Series

“The Daily Show With Trevor Noah” (Comedy Central)  

“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC)  

“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” (HBO)  

“Late Night With Seth Meyers” (NBC)  

“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (CBS)  

Competition Program

“The Amazing Race” (CBS)  

“Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls” (Amazon Prime Video)  

“Nailed It!” (Netflix)  

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” (VH1)  

“Top Chef” (Bravo)  

“The Voice” (NBC)  

Television Movie

Chip ‘n’Dale: Rescue Rangers (Disney+)

Ray Donovan: The Movie (Showtime)

Reno 911!: The Hunt For QAnon (Paramount+)

The Survivor (HBO/HBO Max)

Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas (The Roku Channel)

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Patricia Arquette (Severance)

Julia Garner (Ozark)

Jung Ho-yeon (Squid Game)

Christina Ricci (Yellowjackets)

Rhea Seehorn (Better Call Saul)

J. Smith-Cameron (Succession)

Sarah Snook (Succession)

Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria)

Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Nicholas Braun (Succession)

Billy Crudup (The Morning Show)

Kieran Culkin (Succession)

Park Hae-soo (Squid Game)

Matthew Macfadyen (Succession)

John Turturro (Severance)

Christopher Walken (Severance)

Oh Yeong-su (Squid Game)

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Alex Borstein (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)

Hannah Einbinder (Hacks)

Janelle James (Abbott Elementary)

Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live)

Sarah Niles (Ted Lasso)

Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary)

Juno Temple (Ted Lasso)

Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso)

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Anthony Carrigan (Barry)

Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso)

Toheeb Jimoh (Ted Lasso)

Nick Mohammed (Ted Lasso)

Tony Shalhoub (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)

Tyler James Williams (Abbott Elementary)

Henry Winkler (Barry)

Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live)

Source for the list: https://variety.com/2022/tv/awards/emmys-nominations-list-2022-1235313788/

Only Murders in the Building S2 E4

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SPOILERS

“Here’s Looking at You”

What a wonderful episode.

The fourth episode of the second season of Only Murders in the Building was so good, it was over before I realized. It just flew by and I loved everything about it.

Lucy, the daughter of the woman Charles was involved with prior to the show, showed up on his doorstep at the Arconia. It had been eight years and Charles and her mother had a bad breakup and she had told Charles “no contact.” Lucy was the reason he would still wake up and make an omelet every day.

At the end of the last episode, Charles bravely decided to text her and she did respond. Little did he know that she was already involved in the new case.

More evidence showed up in Charles’s apartment, this time the murder weapon. The whole murder weapon bit, with it getting stuck in the ceiling, was hilarious, and Lucy provided an important clue as she showed Charles the secret entrance to a hidden pathway that went within the walls of the Arconia, probably used for Prohibition.

We also learn that Lucy was in the building on the night of Bunny’s murder and that she was in the passageways, hearing the murder and seeing a masked man, who sneezed (that’ll be important), retreat into the passageways. She was able to avoid being seen.

I enjoyed the character of Lucy quite a bit. She was played Zoe Colletti. She had a very easy chemistry with all of the three leads, but especially Steve Martin. I really believed that Colletti was an important person to Charles and that they had a strong relationship.

But some of the doubt within Charles is just funny as can be. He says he does not understand what she is saying because she is too young and uses words like “Manhatty”. Charles drops the quote, “It’s like I’m watching Squid game without the subtitles.” The generation gap plays very well already in the series with Charles and Oliver and Mabel, and now Lucy just adds another level.

There were a couple of other major occurrences in this episode. Nina Lynn was basically scratched off the suspect list as she went into labor, had to be comforted by Charles and told him that she wanted him to find whoever killed Bunny.

And even more intriguing was the return of Nathan Lane’s Teddy, who was back in the Arconia awaiting trial. He had a unbelievably tense and hilarious scene with Oliver in the elevator where Teddy let his purpose be clear… he was going to get Oliver (though that was not quite the word he used). Nathan lane’s return was great and adds even more issues for the threesome this season.

Another excellent week of mystery, comedy and characters that I have grown to love. This series streams on Hulu.

The Boys S3 E8

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“The Instant White-Hot Wild”

Good lord, what a finale. It was amazing because during the huge showdown at Vought Tower, I wasn’t sure who I was rooting for, and that shows just how compelling this group of characters are.

The Boys season 3 has just been amazing from the beginning with Termite crawling into that penis until this final battle with Highlander, Butcher, Soldier Boy, Starlight, Maeve and the Boys.

When Homelander started the finale by going and retrieving his son Ryan, I knew things were heading for a bad end.

Then, apparently Soldier Boy had told the entire crew that he was Homelander’s father. They seemed to think this was still going to be fine.

Hughie was knocked out by Butcher and he gets picked up by Annie. Hughie still only sees the best in Butcher. He is the only one.

We see Maeve being moved out of Vought and she escapes.

The first twenty minutes or so dealt with a lot of interpersonal issues. Way more than I thought it was going to do.

And then Homelander killed Black Noir.

Did not expect that and the arrival of “Irving’s” cartoon friends after was the perfect way to bid adieu to one of my favorite characters among the Seven. Black Noir was always a mystery and, I guess, when he ceased to be mysterious was when he ceased to be valuable.

Antony Starr was brilliant yet again as the emotionally unbalanced Homelander. He killed Black Noir because he kept the truth of Soldier Boy from him, but you could see how it was tearing Homelander up figuratively as he was literally tearing up Black Noir. Antony Starr deserves an Emmy for this season.

Queen Maeve played a big part here, though her own obsession made things a tad uncertain for me as whom I should be cheering for in this battle. I have to say, Homelander was just looking for a family and his emotional moments were making me forget about the constant atrocities that he had committed this season. How he seemed to legitimately love Ryan and how the kid seemed to love him back made me think that Homelander was not a total monster. He reminded me as he was sticking his thumb in Maeve’s eye.

Hughie came through, big time. Instead of using the Temp V that could have killed him, he barricaded himself in the control room and brought the stage lights up to full power, juicing Starlight up to maximum power standard. This is the first time we see Starlight fly (which she does in the comics)

The battle at Vought was quite a powerful scene and it switched allegiances several times as many of the characters were conflicted with what they were trying to do. It appeared that both Maeve and Soldier Boy had been killed in one of his explosions after Maeve crashed them both out the window, but both of them survived… Maeve powerless and injured, off to have a relationship on a farm, and Soldier Boy in cryogenic chamber at the hands of the CIA.

The wrap up gave us a ton of things too:

  • Annie joined the Boys, throwing away her Starlight outfit.
  • Butcher found out that he was dying from the Temp V and had 12-18 months to live.
  • Homelander introduced Ryan to his fans. Then he blew the head off of a protester that threw something that hit Ryan. The crowd cheered. Very much like Trump saying he could shoot someone and still get votes.
  • MM explained his baggage to his daughter and she forgave him.
  • Victoria Neuman became the running mate for Robert Singer’s presidential campaign when the VP he wanted was found floating in the pool. We know the drowning victim was not accidental as it was The Deep following Homelander’s orders paying Victoria back for her providing Ryan’s whereabouts to him.

I really thought this was the season where Homelander would be brought down, but it sure seems as if he is only stronger. He has The Deep, A-Train and Ashley totally intimidated and he has the rabble rousers behind him.

The Boys Season 3 has been the best season of this show and I am totally ready for season 4.

Ms. Marvel S1 E5

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SPOILERS

“Time and Again”

Ms. Marvel’s fifth episode was one of the more different Marvel Disney + episodes than we have gotten before, and Marvel Studio took the opportunity to teach us something about history that we did not know.

The episode kicked off with a video that looked like an old time news reel detailing the history of India around the time of its independence from Great Britain. Then, we spent a good chunk of the time of the episode centered around Aisha (Kamala’s mysterious great-grandmother) and how she met Hasan (Kamala’s great grandfather). We saw the baby who would become Kamali’s grandmother Noni and their family’s attempt to flee along with all of the other people during the Partition.

This first 20 minutes or so really punctuated what we would eventually see at the train station, setting up the emotional stakes for this family, and continued to show how long Najma has been trying to return to her dimension and how Aisha had tethered herself to this dimension through her daughter Sana.

Then, the whole recreation of the Khan family story about the disappearance of Aisha at the train station and how Sana was saved from being lost by a “trail of stars” which turned out to be Kamala herself and her noor power.

This section was very emotional and powerful, although, with all time travel stories, it makes it difficult if you try to think about it.

When Kamala returned back to her own time, the episode goes into fast forward, it seemed. The whole veil storyline with Najma wrapped up quickly as the veil was closed, Najma and the other ClanDestines were killed and her powers were sent to Kamran. The thing is that the whole ClanDestine storyline is a background plot. Najma is not the “big bad” of the series. She is an obstacle.

The story of Ms. Marvel is Kamala finding her way to be the hero she is within her family and the interactions of Kamala with her family. In that way, this is unlike other Marvel shows on Disney + because the superhero action is not the primary focus.

Because of this, the best scenes of this episode feature the family. When Muneeba discovered that Kamala was that “Light girl” and the connection between the three generations, it was one of the most beautiful moment of the show.

The end of the episode came really suddenly with Bruno and Kamran and the drones of Damage Control exploding the store. This part of the show could have been expanded a touch. This was the shortest episode of the series so far and could have benefitted overall from another 10 minutes or so.

Next week is the season finale for Ms. Marvel. I can not believe that we won’t see Captain Marvel in a post credit scene. Plus, we should get Kamala’s final costume that she has been building up over the last five episodes.

Only Murders in the Building S2 E3

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SPOILERS

“The Last Day of Bunny Folger”

Episode three of Only Murders in the Building did something this week that I did not expect.

They made Bunny Folger likeable.

The episode followed the character of Bunny Folger, the unlikeable woman at the head of the Arconia board who was found murdered to kick off this new story arc for season two, and the show took this one note character and created something more and I suddenly was upset that she was murdered.

Amazing how a little switch in perspective can do wonders for a character.

Using the newest podcast episode to feature the last day of Bunny was a clever storytelling method for this episode. Having our main characters narrate the story and then discuss the clues we discover and seeing how the three of them interacted with Bunny on that fateful day was fascinating.

And the fact that Bunny, on the day of her death, had come to Charles’s apartment to give them champagne and she was hoping to wrangle an invite to come in and hang with Charles, Oliver and Mabel because she was feeling so alone. Then, when they did not invite her in, Bunny went back to her apartment and was attacked.

The line near the end of the episode was haunting: “We, at Only Murders, did not kill Bunny Folger, but there is a chance that we could have saved her life with a simple act of kindness.”

“Because she’s an actual witch, that’s how“

A laugh out loud line from Martin Short.

Now we have a mystery to solve that is important…

Only Murders in the Building S2 E1 & 2

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“Persons of Interest” & “Framed”

The first two episodes of the second season of Only Murders in the Building are available on Hulu and episodes of season two will continue to drop late night on Mondays. This series featuring Steve Martin/Martin Short/Selena Gomez was such a great show episode one that I just binged and I was excited to continue watching the new season.

However, I would be lying to say that I did not have a touch of anxiety when it came to a second season. Yes, the show did a great job of setting up the second season with the death of Bunny (hell, in the first scene of the first episode), but the fact that they would be doing a second murder in the same building with the same characters makes it a bit suspect.

Then I watched the first two episodes and all anxiety washed away and the show proved to be able to develop another brilliant mystery that tied to our main players effortlessly. The way this new murder has been linked to Charles’ past and his father has been remarkably compelling and has allowed Steve Martin some seriously strong contemplative acting chances.

The show has set up so many quality questions around this mystery that it can go in any number of ways. Who would have thought that a character that was basically comic relief in Bunny would become such a vital cog in season two?

And, much like season one, the cameos have been major in this show. Shirley MacLaine as Leonora Folger. Amy Schumer as herself (in the Sting apartment no less). Michael Rapaport as Detective Kreps. Season one star Da’Vine Joy Randolph, returning from her run on Peacemaker, as Detective Williams. Cara Delevingne as Alice. Surely more are coming as the season progresses.

I love how there has been dueling podcasts over the same murder with our own heroes taking the boom mic back up trying to clear their name from Tina Fey’s “Only Murderers in the Building” podcast which looks to accuse them. I hope there is more coming with these two podcasts going head to head.

Taking a cue from Twin Peaks, we have a talking bird who may hold a key to the mystery. Hopefully poor Mrs. Gambolini, the parrot, has a better fate than Twin Peaks’ Waldo.

Things are looking great at the Arconia moving into episode three.

Baymax! Season One

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Some may not realize, but Baymax, who appeared in the Oscar-winning animated film Big Hero 6 in 2014 is actually from Marvel Comics. The characters are not from the main Marvel comics continuity (to say Earth 616) and so they also do not appear in the MCU (perhaps in is one one of the multiversal earths). Still, they are a Marvel property and so it fits in the Marvel on Disney + section of EYG.

The Baymax! series on Disney + features six episodes that are shorts (between 10-15 minutes each). The first four episodes had a basic formula to it. Someone in the city of San Fransokyo said something that drew the attention of Baymax (like ‘Ow’) and he would come and try and provide comfort and aid. Then at the end, he would be back at his home and Hiro would come in and ask him about his day, which would result in a humorous joke to tag the episode.

However, the story between the formula was anything but typical. He helped Hiro’s mom with her diner, a woman get over a long held sadness, a girl who had her first period, a man who served fish who developed an allergy to fish and then in episode 5, a cat.

These were all extremely charming and handled with great sensitivity and care. There was also a lot of humor in each episode as it was very funny as Baymax desperately tried to provide the care each character needed, whether they wanted him to do so or not.

I was really impressed with the episode about the young girl who was having her first period and the show spoke about the menstrual cycle in a calm and positive manner while still being able to mine the situation for the humor involved. The humor was just not based on the typical awkwardness of the situation. Baymax was not awkward in the moment because he was just trying to provide aid to the girl. The funniest moment was Baymax trying to buy the proper feminine product at the store and having everyone in the store recommending something different.

Apparently, this episode (along with another one where they guy with the fish allergy , who was gay and built up his confidence to ask another guy out) cause controversy among the conservatives. I had not even noticed it when it first happened, but apparently, in the scene I mentioned about the purchasing of the feminine products, there was a transgender individual there with a recommendation too, wearing a pride flag shirt. I honestly had not even thought about it as I watched it. It was just another person in the scene to me.

Of course, the cries that this was, “…part of Disney’s plan to re-engineer the discourse around kids and sexuality” tweeted by Christopher Rufo, the conservative academic from the right-leaning think tank, the Manhattan Institute, appeared on Twitter and in a New York Post article.

There is nothing sexual in this episode. It is just a part of life that children who may be watching Disney + will go through. There is no reason why a show with a character such as Baymax shouldn’t show how to treat people who are different with sensitivity and respect. I rewatched the scenes in question and I just do not understand why someone would have trouble with anything this sweet and kindly.

The final two episodes, where Baymax tried to help a cat, end up as a two-parter where Baymax finds himself with a run down battery inside a warehouse scheduled for destruction. Hiro has to unite the people who Baymax helped over the course of the series to assemble and find the robot before it was too late. This was an awesome change of the formula and pulled the whole six episodes together into a finale.

Baymax is a fabulous character and the series does a great job of highlighting how caring the robot is, while also being remarkably entertaining and funny. The six episodes are currently on Disney +.

Stranger Things S4 Vol. 2 E9

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“Chapter Nine: The Piggyback”

Two and a half hours is longer than a lot of movies, but the final episode of Stranger Things in season four is better than a lot of movies. There were so many emotions and anxious moments in this finale that it really put a satisfying period on the best season of Stranger Things we have had. Some of the early episodes had a few storyline that dragged some, but every one of them was fire in this episode.

I was not a huge fan of the Russian arc for most of this season (with the exception of Hopper’s awesome escape) but it felt too dragged out and too separate from the story being told in the season. That changed with the use of the Demogorgon and we got a fantastic struggle with Hopper, Joyce, Murray in the gulag trying to help the kids by killing these monsters. Tying it back to the main story really brought a relevance that had been missing. Then the connection between Hopper and Joyce came through the screen.

Max offering herself up as bait was frightening and I was legitimately crying as she raised from the ground. Lucas was fighting with Jason and when Jason stepped on the Walkman and broke it, I audibly cried out. Jason deserved his fate when the “earthquake” came through the house. Even with Eleven there, I was scared for Max. I couldn’t believe that they would kill her after the drama of episode four, but they did it anyway. Thankfully, Eleven was able to save her, sort of. It seemed as if Max may be alive but is lost in her mind.

The death of Eddie was also painful as he went out a hero. Having Dustin there made the loss all the more painful. Eddie was a major player here, with his metal performance of Metallica and his efforts to give the party more time. His death by the bats was horrible and painful.

We learned that Vecna/Henry/1 was behind everything that was happening with the Upside Down. It is not the Mindflayer. Instead, Vecna survived the finale (according to Will, who said that he could feel him now that he was back in Hawkins). He was hurt, which sure seemed as he should be with the saw-off shotgun and the fire that was consuming him. I was pumping my fist when Eleven arrived and pulled Vecna away from Max the first time. That was an amazing arrival.

Mike’s words of love helped to inspire Eleven in her battle with Vecna. This was another thing I thought might come from Mike’s dying words, but I am grateful that my prediction was off.

The earthquake that ravaged Hawkins was horrific and frightening. It is still amazing that the town is so blinded by their denial. I did enjoy the falling action, catching up with the characters after the “victory” over Vecna. The California crew arriving back in Hawkins reuniting with their friends, Dustin with Eddie’s uncle, Hopper and Joyce making it back from Russia, and Hopper’s emotional reunion with Eleven were all great moments. Jonathan and Nancy’s reunion was awkward as could be as they both have clearly grown apart but are afraid to admit it. Then, the huge cliffhanger with the storm clouds which should lead us into season 5.

This was great. Emotional. Exciting. Painful.

Can’t wait for season 5.

Stranger Things S4 Volume 2 E8

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SPOILERS

“Chapter Eight: Papa”

At first, I was just going to write up both episode 8 & 9 together in one post, but I decided that I wanted to split them apart. I did watch them back to back, which was a commitment of four hours. The 8th episode was an hour and a half. It did not feel like that though. These episodes flew by as the storylines continued to come together.

This has been a great season so far, though there are a few early story bits that did not work well. However, these storylines (basically the Russian gulag and the west coast crew) fired on all cylinders in this volume of the show. Mike and Will became huge pieces for the episode and the Russian tale became so much more than it had been on the build.

Episode 8 gave us some serious kick ass action from Eleven. Her confrontation with Brennen had me screaming at the TV and then her crashing of the helicopter that was trying to shoot her was amazing. Eleven’s reunion with Mike was emotional too.

Speaking of emotions, Will was talking to Mike, trying to convince him that Eleven would always need him because he was the heart of the group and he showed the mysterious painting. That made me happy because I had considered them looking at the painting after Will died. There have been plenty of rumors about which characters might die in this volume and it has made me anxious about all my favorites.

Thankfully, Matthew Modine was the first to go and that made me happy. I’ve wanted this guy to get offed the minute after he walked into the present day section of this show. It is all the better too that it was not Eleven who killed him.

Going back to Will, his monologue to Mike in the back of the pizza van about feeling different and not knowing how people will react was not just about Eleven and Mike. It was clearly about how Will feels different because (as plenty of people have speculated) Will is gay. The show has not said the specific words, but he is obviously implying it. And the words were beautiful and Will’s pain was powerful.

The Hawkins crew went about preparing for their plan to kill Vecna/Henry/1 by going to a gun shop and beefing up their weapons. They ran into Jason and his basketball vigilantes doing the same thing.

Part of the Hawkins crew plan was to offer up Max as bait so they could catch Vecna/Henry/1 in the Upside Down while he is mentally traveling to the regular world.

A great set up for the finale. The Hawkins crew with the A-Team “setting up the trap” section of the show was a great ’80s throwback. The nostalgia of the series has not been as relevant in this season’s episodes as it has been in the past.

Episode 9 is 2 1/2 hours long, which is longer than many movies so the conclusion is certainly going to be epic (since I have already watched it, I can let you know for sure).

Only Murders in the Building Season 1

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One of the shows that I wanted to watch is the Hulu series Only Murders in the Building starring Steve Martin and Martin Short. When season one originally came out, I thought about watching it, but it slipped by the wayside. I’ve always enjoyed Steve Martin and Martin Short and the idea of them in a murder mystery was very intriguing. With the second season starting, this was a great chance to see if I was going to enjoy the show.

I started season one and ended season one on the same day. Breezed right through it. It was so good.

The central mystery of the show is set up in the first episode and it is extremely compelling with a plentiful amount of suspects and twists and turns. It is plotted out well and each episode helped build the story. There were some really cool episodes, including one that had basically no dialogue and was focused on a deaf character and the use of ASL. The story mixes together and it works extremely well.

Steve Martin and Martin Short have great chemistry and are filled with humor. Selina Gomez does an extremely good job and, to be honest, I was not expecting for her to be as excellent as she was. She fit right in with the two lead legends in the film and she absolutely carried her ow

There were some wonderful guest stars here too including Nathan Lane, Jane Lynch, Tina Fey, Sting, and Jimmy Fallon.

The arrival of the bassoonist Jan (Amy Ryan) helped open up the Steve Martin character and they fit together and, when we discovered that Jan was the actual killer, it was a tough reveal. Steve Martin was amazing during the confrontation between them.

And the show did a great job of setting up for season two.

I know a few episodes of season 2 have dropped so I am looking forward to continuing with this every Tuesday on Hulu.

The Boys S3 E7

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“Here Comes a Candle to Light You to Bed”

Ok…now what????

What a shock at the end of the show. My jaw dropped and everything that I thought was going to happen eventually in season three of The Boys went by the way side. The Boys had their very own, “Luke, I am your father” moment as Soldier Boy told Homelander that he had discovered that Vought had Soldier Boy give them a sample of semen that would become Homelander.

Now what???

The thought that Soldier Boy would be able to stop Homelander, perhaps by taking away his powers with his blast, feels as if it is off the table now. In fact, Soldier Boy was calling Homelander to change the deal and that makes me wonder exactly how this could turn out for the heroes.

I still hate Billy Butcher. He went through a horrible mental illusion caused by Mindstorm that flashed through his abusive past leading up to his brother’s suicide. It felt as if Butcher was finally going to have that reflective moment that made him at least a little less of an a-hole. However, when Starlight called to warn Hughie that 3-5 doses of V-23 causes death, she spoke with Butcher who promised to tell Hughie but, of course, he did not. In fact, he wanted them to steal some more so they could take down Homelander at last.

And then, Black Noir interacts with animated cartoon characters. I could not believe that Black Noir was suddenly Eddie Valiant from Who Framed Roger Rabbit. We saw the animated version of Soldier Boy being betrayed by Noir and the others in Payback when he was given to the Russians. We could see that all of the animation was in Noir’s head and not in reality and it certainly showed us that he was not quite all there.

A-Train lives! I thought he was a goner last week after he killed Blue Hawk, but he awoke in the hospital with Angela right there, telling him the made up story to cover the death of Blue Hawk and that A-Train had a heart transplant from Blue Hawk himself.

I think that next week is the season finale. I have no idea what is going to happen and that is great!

The Deep continues his foray into his sex life with the mollusks. The Deep’s wife was not quite into the threesome.

Ms. Marvel S1 E4

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“Seeing Red”

One of the items that I have meant to comment on over the last few week of Ms. Marvel on Disney + was how effective this show is for drawing connections with the viewers. I mean, I am not a 16-year old Pakistani Muslim girl, but I can relate with so many other aspects of the series. I have seen plenty of online reactors who have found parts of the story, especially with the family or situations, that brought them back to their own childhoods or their lives in some way.

This works because the show has plenty of overarching themes such as family, relationships, love that are universal. Plus, there is an amazing amount of cultural information and scenes that show us the lives of Muslims in the MCU in a positive light.

This week we head to Karachi, Pakistan (and the show actually recorded there) and see what the city is like, filled with color and foods. I swear Kamala spent half the time eating in this episode.

We are introduced to several characters in this episode including Red Dagger, a Pakistani hero that had been introduced in the comics, and Kamala’s grandmother, who we technically saw on the phone Facetiming with Kamala in previous episodes. Noni is a spark of energy in a little old lady body. She was more like Kamala and you can see why they have such a close relationship and why she and Muneeba may have had some conflict. Muneeba claimed that Noni always was spouting her “crazy theories” which could explain why Muneeba called the bangle junk in episode one.

There was a lot more fighting this episode as Kamala and Red Dagger squared off at first in the typical super hero fight. Then we got the Kamala/Red Dagger fight with the ClanDestines who escaped from DODC custody. This included a chase scene through the streets of Karachi.

It was during that last fight scene where Namja stabbed at the bangle and sent Kamala somewhere else. It is not clear if it was another dimension or time travel, but Kamala wound up at the train station during the Partition.

With only two episodes left, things are picking up with Kamala. Ms. Marvel has been a fantastic series so far and I can’t wait to see where it goes from here.

The Boys S3 E6

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SPOILERS

“Herogasm”

Seventy years ago. Founded by Soldier Boy. Poor Frenchie.

This is what a lot of the fans of the Boys comic book series have been waiting for. This episode of The Boys goes much farther than just a gimmick.

Are there sections in the show that have to be pixeled out by the YouTube watch along groups in order for their videos to be allowed? Absolutely. There is a ton of nudity and some graphic sexual moments. However, there is a ton of character bits and plot going on around the Herogasm.

Soldier Boy, Butcher and Hughie head to Vermont to try and find the Twins from Soldier Boys’ team. Soldier Boy has decided to kill all of his team and Butcher agrees to help if he adds Homelander to the list.

The battle that ends up at the Herogasm site between Soldier Boy, Butcher and Hughie against Homelander is awesome. They almost got Homelander, but he is able to escape, but he does – though clearly shaken.

So much happened here including:

  • Annie posts a streaming video showing the world the havoc that happened when Soldier exploded and she told the truth about everything, including Homelander. She announced that she was quitting the Seven. This was a shocking ending to the amazing episode.
  • The Deep and the Octopus. Come on…
  • Starlight and Hughie have a major fight as Hughie’s insecurities seem to be getting in the way.
  • Kimiko is grabbed by the same Russian thugs that grabbed Frenchie last week. She kicks their asses but thinks that she is a monster. She did stab that guy a few times…
  • A-Train out right murders the Blue Hawk by brutally dragging him at super speed across the road. But… is that the last straw for A-Train’s weak heart? Does he die?
  • Imagine there’s no heaven…
  • GPS, Bluetooth and Internet are made up words according to Soldier Boy.
  • Ashley ripped out her hair as she yelled at A-Train.
  • Black Noir cut out his tracker and he is in the wind after hearing about Soldier Boy going after former team. Is Black Noir scared of Soldier Boy or is there more to this?
  • Homelander stepped and squished Termite.

Obi-wan Kenobi Episode 6

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Spoilers

“Part VI”

I have been up and down on Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Disney + series that dropped its finale for this (possibly) only season of the show. Some episodes were great, some were not good at all, and most had something worthwhile. The biggest issues I had with the series has been the writing, which feels as if they are not going too deeply and are having characters do some stupid stuff.

I felt the same way about the finale. There were parts that I thought were tremendous and other parts that just did not work for me. Overall, this was not as bad as some of the tweets I saw afterwards, but it was not a total win either.

Tremendous parts:

  1. Obi-Wan vs. Vader lightsaber fight. This is easily the best part of the show. Obi-Wan got his groove back and they had a knock down battle. The conclusion of the fight with Obi-Wan slicing open the Vader mask and seeing the scarred face of Hayden Christensen was epic and a beautiful way to leave it.
  2. We get to see the criminally underused Uncle Owen, played by Joel Edgerton.
  3. Did I mention that lightsaber fight?
  4. Should go without saying but Ewan McGregor is fantastic. Hayden Christensen got a chance to redeem his earlier performances.
  5. Qui-Gon Jinn.

Middle Ground:

  1. Leia. The use of the young actress in this episode was fine although I would have liked to have seen the reunion with her father.
  2. Kumail Nanjiani. It is always good to see Kumail, but his character here is reduced to a babysitter. He is the Stranger Things’ Steve here.
  3. Vader orders ship to follow Kenobi. This made no sense since we know Vader could have followed Obi-wan himself; However, I give a break to this since it fits right in with Vader’s anger overwhelming his logical sense.

Poor:

  1. The whole Reva bit going to try and kill Luke. That made no sense to me and it was meant to try and show Reva in a better light, but it was way past time for that to happen. This has been easily the worst written character on the show. Moses Ingram did the best she could with what was here.
  2. Obi-Wan able to get back to Tatooine in such a quick fashion.
  3. Why does Vader start to leave Obi-Wan under the rocks. This was the only weak point for me during their lightsaber duel. After all this, why leave Obi-Wan beneath the rubble. Don’t you want to see him die, Vader.

Overall, I liked this more than The Book of Boba Fett, but it was nowhere close to the Mandalorian.

Ms. Marvel S1 E3

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SPOILERS

“Destined”

Another fantastic week of Ms. Marvel! I love this show. There were some awesome character moments with Kamala and her family as the wedding of Aamir gets underway, some exceptional Bollywood dance routines and some serious action.

We learned of Najma, the identity of the mysterious woman who was the mother of Kamran. She is a member of a group of Jinn called the ClanDestine. The Jinn existed as invisible creatures or demons in early pre-Islamic religion and mythology. We saw a flashback to 1942 British controlled India, where Najma and Kamala’s eventual grandmother Aisha originally found the bangle on a chopped off blue hand buried in a ruin.

So when Najma helped rescue Kamala last episode, we find out that she wants Kamala to help the ClanDestine to get back to their own dimension. She left out the fact that this could be terribly dangerous, a fact that Bruno found out about later (shout out to Dr. Selvig!)

Kamala texted Kamran that she needed some time, but when Najma discovered that Kamala was not immediately wanting to help them, she and her group went to force her to help. This turned into a disruption at the wedding.

I loved the wedding scenes. They were so wonderful and colorful and full of love and life that is was totally charming. The dancing was such a treat. I am glad that they waited until “Brown Jovi” (Ha Ha) started to bring in the ClanDestine.

The fight between Kamala and the ClanDestine was really tense and exciting as Kamala used her hard light to keep them at bay. Both Bruno and Kamran helped in the battle, but it was not until Damage Control arrived that allowed Kamala to sneak out the back. This was also where Nadia saw Kamala use the hard light and realized that she was “Nightlight” the whole time. You could see the hurt in Nadia’s eyes because her best friend did not tell her about this.

This show has just been so great and it only continues to improve every episode. Again, Iman Vellani is unbelievably charming and full of so much energy and life. Knowing that this is her first acting job is mind-blowing and it goes to show that Marvel clearly knew what they had in her.