Category Archives: TV-G[eek]

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #46

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“Screaming Meemies”

I am not sure I was ready for that.

This episode, entitled “Screaming Meemies,” which was a slang term meaning a “heightened sense of panic or anxiety,” showed us the events of the night when Hugh took the kids and left the Hill House in the middle of the night. It was all from the perspective of Olivia, whose entire life had seemingly become a dream that she could not awake from.

I had not expected for the house to have driven her as mad as it did that she would try to awaken the twins (and Luke’s not-so-imaginary friend, Abigail) by having a middle of the night, surprise tea party, with tea laced with rat poison.

Poor little Abigail saved the day, in a sense, by sipping on her poisoned tea before the twins could, and she promptly died.

Much of this had been influenced by the ghost known as Poppy Hill, who showed up at the end of episode 7 to grab adult Luke when he tried to burn the house down. This Poppy was a nasty ghost who was planting the seeds of evil in the mind of the mentally ill Olivia, leading to this act of horror.

With this bit, in the penultimate episode no less, the last thing we need to discover from the past flashbacks, would be what happened when Hugh went back to the Hill House after he dropped his kids off at the motel. I am sure that will be included in the 70+ minute finale in episode 10.

We got to see the truth behind several of the odd things we had seen previously from Olivia, like the screwdriver she held at Hugh’s neck or breaking the mirror on the vanity that Steven had fixed up for her. Everything fit in nicely as we see the descent of Olivia into this house induced madness. We also see her “suicide”, aided by the push of Poppy Hill.

I expect that next week’s big finale will deliver big time, as this show has been truly firing on all cylinders the last four-five episodes.

Sha Na Na S1 E17, E18

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I noticed some differences in these two episodes than I did int he previous ones. First, it seemed as if they got control of the laugh track. It was still there, but it was much more in control. It was not as loud as it was in the previous 16 episodes and I actually did not notice it for awhile. That was a HUGE item for the show.

Then, the comedy, which was always real bad in most of the first 16 episodes, wasn’t that bad here. It was still not the greatest comedy I ever heard, but it was considerably better. I did not cringe as much as I did in the first part of the season.

They had a new set, a diner where they could go for some of the backstage bits. It was much improved. We had way few of the ridiculous bits by some of the other members of the cast. I wonder if they let some of the others go.

These two episodes had the benefit of having guests that could sing. The first one was Johnny Ray, who I am not sure I knew, but who I was incredibly impressed with. He sang a song on the street set that was great. He was also singing it live. I was fascinated with the way he moved his mouth as he sang. No one would move their mouth like that if they were lip synching.

The second episode of the night had Chubby Checker, who sang Let’s Twist Again (Like We Did Last Summer). He was also clearly singing the song. Truthfully, there were some times he was screaming it. It brought a lot of energy to the show. There is no doubt that when the show has singers as guests, things just seem stronger.

They had a couple of comedy songs- first Rip Van Winkel and then My Baby Loves A Western Movie, and I have to say, I thought both were decent and had some funny moments. I really prefer the group on the stage or in the street set, but these comedy bits were fun too.

These episodes had some solid songs including All Shook Up, Poetry in Motion, Yakety Yak, and Earth Angel.

Things are looking up. Some of my biggest complaints from the first part of this season seems to have been addressed, and just turning that damn laugh track down is a major step in the right direction. Next episode looks to have Chuck Berry as a guest star so that means more music from the guest. That is the way to go.

IT: Welcome to Derry S1 E6

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“In the Name of the Father”

This was another fantastic episode of IT: Welcome to Derry.

So much happened here.

  • Leroy slapped Will when Will defied him and said he would never let his friends die.
  • Ingrid is the daughter of Pennywise (The sequence in black and white flashback was as intense as we have had so far).
  • Marge stood up to the popular girls.
  • Marge and Rich had several cool moments.
  • Rich played the drums at the Black Spot.
  • What is up with that bartender serving liquor to Marge and Rich?
  • Dick is having serious problems since coming out of the sewer.
  • Hank and Ronnie are reunited at the Black Spot.
  • Ronnie refuses to be with the others and try to go and kill Pennywise.
  • The sheriff lost his job, but leads a armed group in masks to the Black Spot after Hank.
  • The flashback to Mabel in 1935 was frightening.
  • Charlotte tells Leroy she is taking Will out of Derry tomorrow, after helping Hank.
  • Ingrid was dressed as a clown and was the person photographed and who Will saw outside his window.

There was so much going down and yet it felt like the show flew by. This is a sign of a beautifully paced show.

Pennywise is absolutely terrifying this episode and him eating poor little Mabel was just a horrendous thing.

Will is a real hero. He is so brave and not afraid to stand up to anyone, including his father.

I love, love, love Rich and Marge. Their scenes were so wonderful this episode. The changing of the dressing on her eye, her standing up to the popular girls, them drinking and Marge dancing to Rich’s drumming. Such a cool group of scenes. I hope they survive.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #45

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“Witness Marks”

May have been the scariest jump scare I have ever seen.

I was so engaged with the angry conversation going on between Theo and Shirley that I never once even considered that there would be something scary happen.

And when the ghostly figure of Nell screeched from the back seat, I literally screamed out. That rarely happened. The show got me good.

Prior to that, I was thinking what a group of douchebags these Crain kids were. I would go as far as to say that I really have grown to dislike both Steven and Shirley and their obnoxiousness.

I knew immediately that Luke was heading to the house. I am not sure why no one else thought of that right away, especially considering the weirdness that had been going on around the funeral parlor (last episode).

The whole knocking and doorbell ringing at that funeral parlor was creepy too, and it only served to make me dislike Shirley more. Dismissing this impossibility as kids playing pranks is just so short sighted that she was more embracing her own anger and resentments than able to see what was going on.

Then, the monologue from Theo after the jump scare was heartbreaking. The whole “I felt nothing” stuff was tough to listen to and, seemingly, finally got through the exterior of her sister.

By the way, last week’s episode had Hugh’s flashback heading through the Red Door, but nothing was mentioned or shown about that this week. That did not upset me as what we got was so excellent. Our flashback was Steven fixing up an old vanity for his mom. This was an important memory for Steven because it was proof for him about his mother’s madness, instead of one more haunted item in the Hill House.

Luke at the Hill House failing to light it on fire, only to be confronted by a vision of his mother in a red dress at the top of the stairs and the arrival of Rotten Polly, the owner of the said vanity.

There are two more episodes remaining and this series is absolutely hitting its stride. After this episode ended, which was the shortest run time of the series, I really wanted more.

Pluribus S1 E5

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“Got Milk”

We are up to episode five already of Pluribus on Apple TV +. I have to say that number surprised me. It is moving right along.

Carol finds herself completely alone as the others in her city left, needing time apart from her. I guess even the hive mind grew tired of Carol’s shenanigans.

However, they were still available for things that Carol needed, though she had to leave a message on an answering machine to get any response. Then, she would have service from a drone.

Carol was making videos to send to the other survivors, and she had them delivered (and transcribed in whatever language the other survivors may speak) by the hive mind. I find it funny that she could send videos specifically designed to bring down the hivemind and they would just deliver it, no questions asked. Perhaps the nicest invading force ever.

However, Carol had other troubles, including hungry coyotes. Carol made a discovery of what the Others drink… some substance mixed together and placed in milk cartons like are served in schools. She also broadcast this info out to the other survivors via drone delivery.

This led her to a warehouse where she found something that made her gasp… leaving us with a very epic cliffhanger… one that was extremely annoying because I don’t want to have to wait until next week to know what it was.

This was a fun episode, with a lot of funny moments while Carol showed her capabilities for this investigation.

Stranger Things 5 E4

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“Chapter Four: Sorcerer”

Will Byers

Will has discovered how he is connected to Vecna and the Upside Down.

There was a great final scene of episode four and an unbelievable cliffhanger. It is clear that the Duffers had planned on this being the break between chunks of episodes. That throwdown with Vecna and the demogorgons destroying the military was brutal and intense.

We get a bunch of exposition from Max, convincing Holly that they were in a prison. Holly has become a major player in this first part of the final season, and I do like this actor they have playing her.

Speaking of the acting, it is really nice to see some of these actors be provided some solid individual scenes to show off their abilities. In particular, Finn Wolfhard’s Mike, who has not had much to do over the last couple of seasons, feels like he has been rejuvenated in this season so far.

Vecna has the kids that he wanted. The military took some serious damage. Eleven and Hopper confronted Dr. Kay (Linda Hamilton) and the weird tentacle. And what was behind that special door? Eleven’s sister from season two.

Next set of episodes are out at Christmas and it will be awesome.

Stranger Things 5 E2, E3

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“Chapter Two: The Vanishing of…”

“Chapter Three: The Turnbow Trap”

Major pair of episodes. The crew still is attempting to find Vecna. Meanwhile, Vecna has Holly, Mike’s little sister, and is readying a plan to continue to grab other kids.

It seems as if Will has been having some insights on Vecna, but truthfully, I wonder if Vecna is seeing though Will’s eyes just like Will believes that he is seeing what Vecna is seeing.

Hopper and Eleven are trapped in the Upside Down, and they found a giant wall. The army had a weapon that affected Eleven… seemed like a sonic weapon of some sort.

I love how the kids are working together, setting up plans and doing what they can. Their plans have not been incredibly successful, but that is beside the point. The idea is that they are together. In past seasons, the group has been split apart multiple times. I like that they are basically together.

I am not sure if the town has been isolated or not. The town seems to be in denial about what is going on in Hawkins.

Max showing up with Holly is wild. It was great to see Sadie Sink out and about and not just stuck in a hospital bed.

I loved the scene of Eleven inside the mind of the soldier, and the mystery behind the door.

Stranger Things 5 E1

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“Chapter One: The Crawl”

Wow.

We have been waiting for the final season of Stranger Things for what has seemed like forever. Season four was shown in 2022, and we are just now beginning to prepare for the last season of shows for the Netflix hit.

Four episodes dropped on Thanksgiving eve on Netflix. Episode One was 71 minutes.

It was intense.

The town of Hawkins, Indiana is under quarantine by the military because of the events at the end of season four. The gang is using the military (unbeknownst to them) to carry out their own covert searches of the Upside Down in an attempt to find Vecna and finally put an end to it.

Things do not go well.

Holy cow. What a final few scenes.

Plus, Dustin gets the crap kicked out of him by the basketball punks. Dustin was bringing the Hellfire back around in honor of Eddie. Dustin was having some real problems, poking the bear.

The episode started slowly, but man did it kick into gear.

IT: Welcome to Derry S1 E5

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“Neibolt Street“

We have now officially seen Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the sewers of Derry. He is as frightening as ever.

I have to say, that I immediately really wanted that to be Matty… but I knew it wasn’t. Actor Miles Ekhardt looked amazing with his long hair and his white complexion. It was obviously a trap, but, man, I was hoping that Matty somehow defied logic and survived.

Of course, he did not.

When Matty changed into Pennywise, that was just terrifying. For a moment, too, I thought Lilly was a goner. I did not have any idea how she was getting out of that sewer. The magical rod (which was the piece of his cage that Daniel had brought in to the sewers and lost) stopping Pennywise in his place… awesome.

Of course, as soon as I saw Pennywise take the form of Charlotte and confront Leroy, I knew the kids, who were real and in the sewer, were in danger of being shot. I am glad they weren’t and I think Pauly needs more credit than he received for saving those kids lives. He took that bullet to stop Leroy from shooting Will.

We discovered the white woman that Hank was having his affair with… it was Mrs. Kersh. After the prison bus to Shawshank is attacked, Hank escapes and went to Mrs. Kersh for help.

Oh.. and Dick Hallorann … poor Dick Hallorann. He went through it…and he does not seem to be in his right mind yet.

Great episode. Very excited to see Bill Skarsgård in his clown attire.