Category Archives: TV-G[eek]

Peacemaker S2 E6

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“Ignorance is Chris”

So the truth of the other world is finally revealed and the answer was just what I thought it was… although they take it another step .

Seeing that swastika on the American flag where the stars were supposed to be was a rough visual. Earth X? Some form of it? James Gunn is a wild man.

Harcourt noticed the fact immediately. As soon as Adebayo, Harcourt, Adrian and Economos arrived in the alternate earth, Harcourt spotted that there were no people of color.

It was a popular theory that had been going around the internet over the last several weeks, but it makes perfect sense. White Dragon, Chris father, a racist scumbag in the DCU, is still racist scumbag, but now… so is everyone.

The reveal of the truth was really well done and I am seriously concerned for Adebayo. Running from a mob of racists chasing her (including Keith) is shocking. It takes a big swing and sets things up for the final couple of episodes.

Economos spilling the beans to Chris’s father was very funny. Seeing Adrian go face to face with himself was also a hoot. I liked how the alternate earth Vigilante is a member of the Sons of Liberty, and now, you’ve got to reexamine everything we had thought about this world before.

Biggest surprise this episode though is easily… Lex Luthor! Rick Flag Sr. going to Luthor to make a deal to help him find the dimensional portal. I was thinking it was going to be Chris’s father, not dead, in the DCU, but when Nicholas Hoult sat down in his orange prison jumpsuit, I literally shouted out loud. I did not expect Superman’s arch enemy to make an appearance on Peacemaker.

There was a great scene between Chris and Harcourt too, as they try to figure out their relationship. Of course, there is only a limited time as this earth’s Emilia showed up demanding that Harcourt was arrested.

This has been great and now that we got this twist, I can’t wait to see where it goes next.

Marvel Zombies E1-4

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I was not excited to see the new animated series from Marvel, Marvel Zombies. I do not hate zombie movies, and the Marvel Zombies in comics is not something that I have seen a lot of. I knew I would be watching eventually, but I was not counting down the days to watch it. In fact, i had forgotten it was on last night.

I can’t tell you how much I loved this four episode series. It felt like one giant movie and the story turned out beautifully.

Kamala Khan, Yelena, Kate Bishop, Ironheart, Shang Chi, Red Guardian, Jimmy Woo and Blade (as an agent of Khonshu) are some of the characters that we spend some time with, but there are a ton of Marvel characters that make appearances here, from Namor to Scarlet Witch to Baron Zemo. It was a fantastic use of the deep roster of characters that Marvel Studios can have.

We do include our What If Zombies cast as Spider-Man, Scott Lang (head with the Dr. Strange cloak) and Black Panther join us as well as we get a resolution of Zombie Thanos which was actually really strong and a great honor to T’Challa.

This is amazingly brutal and violent. There is blood all over the place. There are some epic zombie kills among these Marvel heroes.

I love the twists and the turns. The story is amazing. The ending was supremely awesome… and just as twisted as the story. I love the ambiguity of the end.

Iman Vellani is the lead protagonist and she does an exceptional job as Kamala Khan. She was such a perfect casting for Ms. Marvel.

I loved this. It was well worth the time.

Only Murders in the Building S5 E5

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“Tongue Tied”

Only Murders in the Building continued to build the mystery surrounding the murder of the doorman at the Arconia, and we focused on another aspect this week. Last week it was more about the CEO billionaires, where as we returned to the part including Téa Leoni’s Sofia Caccimelio.

Charles, Oliver and Mabel tried to find info from the employees of the Arconia, which turned out to be just as eccentric as they could be.

Charles is taking testosterone and it is affecting him in hilarious ways. Oliver is considering moving out of the Arconia, and this upset Mabel when she discovered it.

The L.E.S.T.E.R. robot got thrown out of the window, landing in the exact spot where Lester the Doorman was found dead. This came after Oliver tried to bring the staff and the residents together in a building meeting. That was never going to work because… NO SNACKS????

After an encounter with Sofia in her van, Charles lost his cell phone with all of the info on the case. They rushed to follow Sofia, who arrived at the end of the episode at the home of Lorraine, Lester’s widow in a wild twist.

Da’Vine Joy Randolph was back with a little more to do, and I loved her inclusion. It was weird that the twist last week with the billionaires was never mentioned this week, but it was still a fun show.

{Sunday} Friday Morning Sidewalk

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“Jig-A-Bobo”

Yes, I know it is not Sunday. I am going to the SiouxperCon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota this weekend and I will not have access to HBO Max Sunday morning. I did not know what I wanted to do about that. I considered skipping a week and just resuming next Sunday, but instead, I decided to make this one time exception and make it a Friday Morning Sidewalk instead. So this Friday Morning Sidewalk is episode 8 of Lovecraft Country.

In “Jig-A-Bobo”, Lovecraft Country tackled the grief and loss brought about by the real world murder of Emmet Till, lovingly nicknamed Bobo. The show had revealed that Till was best friends with Diana, and his brutal murder struck her hard.

However, in Lovecraft Country style, the grief takes on a whole different manner, supernaturally speaking.

Diana is pursued by some demons that looked like Topsys, the character from Uncle Tom’s Cabin… and they were spooky as hell. Jada Harris does a remarkable job showing Diana’s grief and her fear, both transgressing through.

Then, the ending sequence where the police get their comeuppance is so awesome. The protection spell Atticus and Montrose cast came into being in a different way than any of them anticipated. That monster that just ripped through the cops was utterly crazy. When that one cop went flying through the air, it was damn satisfying.

I’m not sure what the scene where Christina hires someone to attack her just like Emmet Till was meant to show. It really felt like a major weak spot in an otherwise strong episode.

I do like Ruby’s development through this episode. Her face off with Leti, who has her own little interaction with Christina this episode that made her invulnerable, felt like it was way overdue.

The arrival of Ji-ah seemed to be unimportant too. Not sure why she arrived and I am not sure why that was important. Leti’s anger felt misplaced.

Only two more episodes remaining. I hope everyone has a great Sunday morning on a Friday day!

Peacemaker S2 E5

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“Back to the Suture”

What a great episode of Peacemaker. This was my favorite episode of the season so far.

So much awesomeness happened in this episode. This included:

  • Harcourt takes down Chris to save him from being shot.
  • She had sent a message to Chris (secret word) which meant stay away. He ignored it.
  • Rick Flag Sr. shows exactly what his plans for Peacemaker are.
  • Flag Sr. beats the crap out of Chris in an interrogation room. He would have killed him had Economos not posted that Chris had been arrested.
  • I really thought Eagly was killed by that massive gun.
  • How many times does James Gunn have to kill off Michael Rooker?
  • The death of Rooker’s character, Red St. Wild, was about as brutal as I have ever seen.
  • Plus, Eagly dropping that finger at Chris’s feet… with Chris saying “I’m going to pretend that you found that.” LOL
  • Great performance again from John Cena. His depression is a real thing.
  • With Chris going to the alternate universe, I have a feeling that he’s going to find out things aren’t as rosy as he thinks.
  • Harcourt, Economos, Adebayo and Adrian’s plan on following Chris and bringing him back is destined for trouble.
  • The dialogue between Judomaster and Fleury was fantastic. I have grown to like Tim Meadows much more than I did with his first appearance.
  • The whole Prime Eagle thing was weird. I actually rolled my eyes at that. That reveal was the weakest part of the episode, even with the awesome brutal death of St. Wild.

Such a great episode. Even the weaker Eagly storyline, episode 5 was amazing and completely entertaining.

Only Murders in the Building S5 E4

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“Dirty Birds”

This is a great show. What an awesome episode.

The arrival of the three billionaire into the main story was handled so brilliantly. Oliver, Charles and Mabel dropped a promo for the upcoming podcast season hinting at the billionaires were involved in the crime they were investigating.

They dropped it as an attempt to get the attention of Jay Pflug (Logan Lerman).

They had no idea what was going to happen.

All three of the billionaires, Jay, Sebastian “Bash” Steed and Camila White, showed up at Oliver’s apartment for a 7 PM dinner party (that Oliver, Charles and Mabel were not expecting). They broke apart into three separate conversations (which were all hilarious… especially Christoph Waltz).

The billionaires had the final twist to the OMitB crew as they sign a new podcast deal with a podcast group that… are owned by the billionaires. The contract that they signed says they can not do a podcast that hurts the owners of the company. An example of playing chess while Oliver, Charles and Mabel ae playing identifying the bird sounds game.

I love how the story is starting off this season. I laughed out loud multiple times. I had a smile on my face for the whole episode. Christoph Waltz chopping parsley was absolutely hilarious. And Regis!!!!

Sha Na Na S2 E0, E1, E2

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I was on Twitter/X a few days ago and I came across a Tweet by Jon “Bowzer” Bausman stating that the full episodes of the Sha Na Na TV series was going to be available on YouTube soon. I was excited to hear this as this was a big part of my childhood. I loved Sha Na Na and they turned out to be my first ever concert at Five Flags Center in Dubuque.

I have spent years watching musical clips from the show on YouTube and the news about the full episodes was great. I figured I could make this one of my rewatches here at EYG.

I went to YouTube and searched for Sha Na Na series and I found a playlist from pattyoc01, who had been one of the prolific posters of the Sha Na Na clips over the years. The playlist had all of the episodes on it.

I have a feeling this may not have been what Jon Bausman meant when he posted his tweet. I have a suspicion that a more clean and professional version may be coming in the future. However, I was excited to start the rewatch so I dove into the pilot (listed as episode 0) and the first two episodes of the series.

Sha Na Na consisted of the following group members on the show: Bowzer, Johnny, Screamin’ Scott, Santini, Denny, Lennie, Donny, Dirty Dan, Chico, and Jocko.

The musical numbers are far and away the best part of these first three episodes. The comedy on the show was, at best, iffy. Some of it was groan-inducing. I saw another tweet from Bausman stating that he knew the humor of the first season was not the beat, but he felt the following seasons got more clever.

I was always focused on whether they were lip synching the music. I know that they had done, at least for the stage songs, live singing with the instrumental and the back up singing being pre-taped. You could usually tell from the powerhouse vocals of Johnny Contardo. Some of the street songs or comedy sketch bits (such as the Monster Mash bit in the pilot) were clearly being lip synched. It was obvious that Bernadette Peters was not singing live in episode two either. It was not a major issue, but I am more impressed when they let their vocals come through.

A great example of this was in the third episode where five of the group’s best singers, Johnny, Bowzer, Donny, Lennie and Santini sang an a cappella doo wop version of “I Wonder Why.” This was an amazing performance with these five really blending their voices into a fantastic harmony.

Other songs performed in this first three episodes included Blue Moon, Teenager in Love, Yakkety Yak, Tell Laura I Love Her, Rama Lama Ding Dong, Personality, Little Darlin’, and Runaway.

Along with Bernadette Peters in episode two, Rita Moreno and Frank Gorshin guest starred in the other two episodes however whatever Gorshin did seemed to be cut from the episode on YouTube. This is another reason why I think this may not be the collection that Bausman was referring to in his tweet.

I have to say that this is a bizarre series as the show constantly tells you as an audience member that Sha Na Na is terrible. The show puts down their music, their intelligence and everything else. You would think that they shouldn’t be downgrading their stars, even if it is nothing more than a running joke. It is clear that these ten men are remarkably talented (although they may not have been the greatest dancers ever to grace the screen).

Seeing this show once again gives me a huge feeling of nostalgia. I forgot this show when compiling my Top 100 TV Shows list that I am currently counting down with the Daily Countdown on EYG. This should have probably had a spot on that list.

For the first three episodes… Goodnight sweetheart, well it’s time to go…

Alien: Earth S1 E6

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“The Fly”

Alien: Earth has been up and down and this episode is a perfect example of that. There were some high moments with the scary creatures, including a weird fly-like creature and some moments I was not a fan of, like everything dealing with Wendy.

Timothy Olyphant was extremely creepy in this episode. I liked what he was doing.

Boy Kavalier was a hoot in his interactions with the debate over who has the right for the crashed ship and its cargo. He was just so obnoxious in the moment that he was so out there.

There were a lot of times in the episode where I was not engaged in the show, but there were some times when I was glued to the screen. It is inconsistent and I am in no rush in a week to watch the show. It came out on Tuesday Sept 9 and I did not watch it until the 15th. I had opportunities to watch it before this, but I was never inspired to do so. I believe there are only two more episodes to go so we will see how it finishes up.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #34

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“I Am”

 “I am Hippolyta.”

This week’s Lovecraft Country focuses on that comment, and we get an episode centered around Hippolyta.

This was a wild, sci-fi romp through alternate dimensions and spiritual encounters. Hippolyta finds herself dancing on a stage with Josephine Baker in Paris, a warrior woman training in what appeared to be Africa (reminded me very much of the movie, The Woman King) and back in bed with George (with Courtney B. Vance returning to the role).

It was a journey of self-discovery for Hippolyta as she is able to work through her grief and anger over the events that she had gone through in the series.

Of course, before she had been pulled into the portal by this strange machine, she had shot and killed a police officer who was going to kill her after catching her in this place. Atticus showed up and helped out, sending another officer through the portal. However, the dead officer’s body was lying on top of Diana’s comic book, leading us to think bad things are coming for the young girl.

We also discover that Atticus had gone through a portal as well. We do not know where he had gone, but he returned with a paperback book entitled Lovecraft Country written by George Freeman.

Other items from this episode:

  • The show has been implying that Leti is pregnant. I am curious to see how that will play into the narrative.
  • Emmet Till is referenced in this episode as a friend of Diana.
  • Atticus learns the truth that his father Montrose was gay. He did not take it well. In fact, Atticus’s response using the f-slur was one of the most shocking moments of the episode. It is a term that we don’t hear much anymore, but would have been more common during this time frame. It was still very hard to hear coming from our protagonist’s mouth.
  • Ruby and her relationship with Christina is bizarre and could lead to Ruby betraying her sister.

This was a strong episode of Lovecraft Country, which built on the idea of the power of women, much like last week’s episode featuring Ji-ah.

There are just three more episodes of Lovecraft Country remaining. Because next weekend I am going to attend SiouxperCon 2025 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the Sunday Morning Sidewalk will be poster this coming Friday, September 19th.

Peacemaker S2 E4

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“Need I Say Door”

This episode started out with a flashback showing how Chris wound up with the Quantum Unfolding Storage Area. Chris, his brother and father were out hunting (for what is not clear) and they find an alien (not a Xenomorph, that is Tuesdays).

We get more info with the rest of the ensemble as well. Economos is desperately trying to balance his friendship with Chris against his job with ARGUS. He was able to stop St Wild from killing Eagly by hitting him from behind as he was lining up his shot. He told St Wild that another eagle attacked him instead. St Wild decided that because of that, Eagly is the leader of all eagles, the Primal Eagle, and thus became his ultimate prize kill.

Listen…. you better not kill that eagle. Do you hear me, show?

Rick Flag Sr. approached Harcourt with the news she had been blackballed by Waller. However, Flag Sr. wants her to help capture Chris, so he offers to bring her back in. Not the happiest thing as Harcourt texted Chris and they set up a meeting. A meeting where Flag Sr. and his crew would be waiting. This is where the episode left off.

This felt like an insubstantial episode after last week. Sure there were some good moments, such as Chris vs. Judomaster, but it felt lesser. It felt like this was Economos’s episode.

I do like that Chris called Adebayo for help to escape from the ARGUS (which Economos tipped him off was coming). He told her everything and she tried to speak sense to him. Chris is really taken with that alternate universe and he is not thinking clearly. He truly is considering taking himself over to the other universe so he could have his dad and brother, as well as a potential relationship with Harcourt.

The whole Michael Rooker dance around a fire bit was as bizarre of a scene as you could expect. I am not sure this arc works well and Rooker feels like a character that has been thrown in to get Rooker a role.

Harcourt’s betrayal of Chris is going to really be a tough one to swallow, if that indeed is where the show goes. Next week’s episode could be an extremely powerful and difficult episode to watch. While this one was okay, it does provide a ton of excitement for the next episode.

Task S1 E1

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“Crossings”

I was able to watch the new crime mini-series on HBO Max starring Mark Ruffalo. I had been pretty interested in this since I heard about it.

Ruffalo played Tom Brandis, an FBI agent and former priest. Brandis was on leave because of a family tragedy. He was brought in to lead a task force to try and stop a group of violent thieves.

Tom Pelphrey played Robbie Prendergast, who was one of the thieves in the group Brandis is chasing.

The initial part of the episode was a little slow as we are introduced to all the characters. The second half of the episode was much better and was very intense and anxiety-ridden.

I am interested to see the next episode. I do love Mark Ruffalo but this episode was a little slow for my taste. I will be watching on Sunday night for now.

Only Murders in the Building S5 E1, E2, E3

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“Nail in the Coffin”

“After You”

“Rigor”

I am so happy that Only Murders in the Building is back with their fifth season already. Where most streaming shows take 2-3 years in-between seasons, OMitB is back just over a year from season four.

The show n Hulu kicked off by dropping the first three episodes of the new season and I absolutely loved them.

Episode one had a lot of stuff going down as we started laying the breadcrumbs for the fifth season’s mystery. Longtime doorman Lester was found dead in the fountain at the Arconia. However, the police have dubbed it an accidental death, a fact that made Charles, Oliver and Mabel both unhappy and suspicious.

As it turned out, there are some really big questions about what happened to Lester.

  • Was it the mob? We know the wife of the missing mobster Nicky “The Neck” Caccimelio came to try and higher the crew last season to find her missing husband.
  • Nicky ends up dead at the local laundromat which begs the question… why are there never any employees at this laundromat?
  • There are corrupt cops involved as they are reporting Nicky’s death as they are told.
  • A finger showed up in the leftover shrimp from the wedding. We find out whose finger it is at the end of episode three. Jay Pflug, billionaire.
  • The mysterious speak easy room beneath the Arconia is where the three billionaires meet. Very curious for Logan Lerman, Christoph Waltz and Renée Zellweger, who play these billionaires.

The second episode gives us a whole backstory for Lester the doorman and showed us how he got wrapped up in the mob. This wrapped the history of the Arconia with the entire cast. Lester did the actual narration as well, flashing back eerily to scenes from the first episode.

We got a glimpse into the personal issues of our main trio for this season. Mabel seemed happy with her life, but an old friend moving into the Arconia appeared to challenge her thoughts. Charles is afraid that he is going to die alone and it manifested itself as the dead body of Nicky talking to him. And Oliver has guilt over the way he treated Lester and is beginning to see his own negative traits.

I laughed out loud multiple times in episodes 1 and 3. The show is extremely funny and wonderfully written. Episode two had moments too but it was more of the intriguing backstory.

Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez are amazing together and they carry this show. The writing is so good too. This is one of the best shows around and I am so pleased that it is back.

Wednesday S2 E7, E8

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“Woe Me the Money”

“This Means Woe”

Honestly, the last three of the four episodes of Wednesday season two were fantastic. I loved the final two episodes after one of the best uses of the Freaky Friday twist ever. I was not sure where it was going because it seemed as if the storylines were all ending quickly.

In episode 7, we dealt with the story of Principal Dort, revealing what he was always after. The third act of the episode at the gala was sensational. Particularly the dance routine with Enid and Agnes was amazing and I loved how it worked in to the downfall of Dort.

In episode 8, there was a great finale featuring one of the best reveal of all time with the origin of Thing. I never even thought that was possible even though they spent some time hinting about Thing’s past during the season. Making Thing the actual right hand of Isaac Night was so good.

Once again, the story is rooted in something that Morticia and Gomez did while they were at Nevermore. The secrets of the Addams Family seem to cause all kind of troubles.

The best part of the season was getting Wednesday and Enid back on the same page. The lack of these characters’ interaction in the first half of the season and the negativity between them was a poor choice. This is part of the reason why the last three episodes were so good. They were able to get back to the pair.

Hopefully Pugsley’s inclusion in season three will be considerably less. It looks as if season three will start off with a search for the Alpha Wolfed-Out Enid and eventually will include the mysterious Ophelia, who we see Grand-ma-ma has in a dungeon. They named dropped her all season long so I anticipated seeing her this season, but it’ll be next season.

Finishing strong, I am excited to see where this is heading.

Alien: Earth S1 E5

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“In Space, No One?”

Last week’s episode of Alien: Earth was a bit of a down episode. I was not a fan of it. I mean, it had some moments, but there just was not much that grabbed my attention.

Boy did this week make up for it.

This episode took us back to the Maginot, the ship that crashed in Prodigy territory, filled with aliens, and we discover what events led to Morrow sending the ship into its downward spiral.

This was remarkably creepy and frightening as we get a potpourri of alien creatures, including the Xenomorph that was running around in the first week’s episodes.

There are some horrendous deaths from a couple of the characters, of which we know are all doomed. It was filled with some excellent tension and anxiety.

This was considerably better than last week and it helped recapture the excitement I had for this series after the first week of dual episodes.

Wednesday S2 E4 & E5

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“Hide and Woe Seek”

“Woe Thyself”

I tell you what…. Wednesday burns through plotlines faster than any show I think I have ever seen. I have no idea what the over arching storyline for the season actually is because things get wrapped up in an episode or two.

I was pretty sure that the mysterious patient was going to turn out to be Wednesday’s aunt Ophelia, but instead, she turned out to be Tyler’s mother… and Slurp (aka Isaac Night)’s sister.

Wednesday got a new spirit guide and it turned out to be Principal Larissa Weems. They made her Wednesday’s 13th cousin, twice removed. It is a neat way to include the character in the continued series.

The sixth episode found the series using the old Freaky Friday body switch, which has been done by nearly EVERY series like this. I did like the way that Wednesday and Enid had to learn about the other. The lack of connection between them this season is one of the biggest problems of the series. Thankfully, all that seems to be in the past as episode six wrapped up everything, especially the Enid is going to die plotline.

Enid is shown to be an Alpha and she kind of gained Wednesday’s respect.

It was sad to wish a fond farewell to Christopher Lloyd’s head as Professor Orloff was killed and eaten by Isaac Night.

Two more Wednesday episodes next up.