Category Archives: TV-G[eek]

Alien: Earth S1 E6

Posted on by

Spoilers

“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

Posted on by

Spoilers

“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

Posted on by

SPOILERS

“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

Posted on by

Spoilers

“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

Posted on by

SPOILERS

“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

Posted on by

Spoilers

“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

Posted on by

Spoilers

“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

Posted on by

Spoilers

“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.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #33

Posted on by

Spoilers

“Meet Me in Daegu”

Whereas I was a little own after last episode, “Meet Me in Daegu” was one of my favorite episodes of the series so far. We find ourselves in Korea in 1949.

I did not know what the character of Ji-Ah was involved in this story. I knew there was some kind of connection to Atticus, but I had no idea that Ji-Ah was possessed by a spirit known as a kumiho, a nine-tailed fox that can transform into a beautiful woman. To be fair, how could I have guessed?

The one issue I had was the subtitles for the Korean was written in a yellow color and it was difficult to read.

After that, I was enthralled by the relationship between Ji-Ah and Atticus. The complication of Atticus being involved in the torture and death of Ji-Ah’s best friend was an intriguing addition. Yet, I believed that they were able to overcome the hatred and the vengeance.

The idea of a kumiho is fascinating and the execution of the sex scenes and the kumiho was shocking and scary. When those tails go into the men’s eyes, I jumped a little.

I am curious to see how Ji-Ah fits into this story moving forward.

Dexter: Resurrection S1 E10

Posted on by

Spoilers

“And Justice for All”

The first season of Dexter: Resurrection came to a close on Amazon Prime with an exceptional finale that was filled with tension and anxiousness and finished in an extremely satisfying way.

Dexter was trapped inside the serial killer vault at Prater’s home with the dead body of Batista on the floor. Prater trapped him inside and was going to leave him to die from lack of water. Dexter finds Batista’s phone in one of the episode’s contrivances. There were a few.

One that the episode kind of wrapped up was this. Dexter had seen the gun on the floor that Prater had used to kill Batista and he thought to himself that he must not get his fingerprints on the gun. However, it did not seem as if Dexter minded getting his fingerprints everywhere else in the room as he touched…. everything. At the end, it did show Dexter cleaning up after himself, but to think that he could get rid of every print is stretching it a bit. Still, at least he made the effort.

I like the fact that Charlie gets to leave with her ailing mother after basically making a deal with Dexter and Harrison (sort of).

Peter Dinklage is a superior actor and his performance as Leon Prater was top notch. He probably was the second best villain in Dexter history behind John Lithgow’s Trinity Killer. You could feel the desperation from Prater as he was wrapped up on Dexter’s table.

I think that we have finally put to bed the possibility that Blessing is the New York Ripper. That made me extra pleased. In fact, Dexter implied that Blessing is someone whom Dexter himself needs. Dexter took a turn to be more inclusive and less isolated. It sounded as if this was a new arc for everyone’s favorite serial killer.

I enjoyed every episode of the Dexter: Resurrection season and I hope that there will be another season down the road. I liked the tone and the intensity of the show and the budding relationship with Dexter and Harrison worked well.

Peacemaker S2 E3

Posted on by

Spoilers

“Another Rick Up My Sleeve”

Episode three brought us some awesome stuff and a couple of surprises.

Surprise number one kicked off the episode as Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flag, who Peacemaker killed in The Suicide Squad film, made his return in a flashback, showing that he had a relationship with Harcourt before his death, and he appeared in the alternate universe where Chris found himself.

Then, unexpectedly, there was Michael Rooker, dressed like an outdoorsman (that really looked Native American) named Red St Wild. St. Wild is an expert eagle killer and he has been recruited by ARGUS to kill Eagly. I do not know if Red St Wild is a DC character or an original character created by James Gunn. Ihave never heard of him but I am not the expert in DC Comics.

John Cena got a chance to show off his skill set here. Not only does he have some really solid acting scenes, in particular opposite Jennifer Holland’s Harcourt, but he got to go full hardcore as Chris goes into a tense situation to prevent a massive bomb. Without his helmet or his outfit, Chris brutally kills a bunch of the Sons of Liberty terrorists who were setting up this bomb.

And Chris messes them up.

That sequence was awesome and it showed Peacemaker’s strength. While he is sometimes portrayed as a buffoon, there is no doubt that he was a killing machine in this scene and it was a welcomed moment for both the character and the audience.

The rest of the ensemble had some great moments this week too. The show felt as if it may have kicked into high gear with the temptation of the alternate universe calling to Chris. Could he actually go to that universe and take the place of the Chris he killed.

That Chris, by the way, sure looked to be a hot mess. While the Peacemaker identity was beloved and held as a hero, Chris Smith was shown to be a drunk with a drug problem. That universe’s Chris did not seem to be having a positive life outside of his alter ego. It is clearly the path this season’s story is taking.

Finally, what is up with Vigilante? Taking the pants off a drunken Economos with a tender kiss on his forehead was bizarre.

The episode flew by and felt shorter than the first two weeks. I love how the season is setting up characters with their personal relationships. I expect things to get crazy, but the show had better not kill off Eagly!

Dexter: Resurrection S1 E9

Posted on by

“Touched by an Angel”

Man, I love Dexter: Resurrection.

I stopped regularly watching Dexter after the Trinity Killer season and only saw some episodes after. I knew the finale of the show was universally despised and I knew that the show came back to try and get the finale right the second time. It had to be better than the first one. I comment on these as an outside observer having not watched any of these episodes.

I did watch Dexter: First Blood, and the prequel series was, at its best, inconsistent. The tone bounced around too much. It was watchable, but it made me question watching this new Dexter series.

I am so glad that I decided to give it a chance, because this season is fire!

One thing First Blood did do was introduce us to Angel Batista as a young cop. He felt like a great addition to the cast and it gave us even more background with the friendship between Dexter and Angel. A friendship that had been stretched by this season. A friendship that eventually snapped at the end of episode nine.

Seeing Batista’s death scene was tough, as he has been a character on Dexter since episode one, but this felt as if Angel Batista had taken things as far as he could take them. His obsession with proving that Dexter was the Bay Harbour Butcher had overtaken his life and led him to the final trap.

Leon Prater, as played by Peter Dinklage, is an absolutely spectacular villain for this season. His flunky Charlie, played by Uma Thurman, is unexpectedly deeper than she ever needed to be. Both of them are tremendous foils for Dexter and things really took off this last few episodes. Prater discovering that “Red” had a son, Charlie cornering and intimidating Harrison in a hotel room, Dexter responding by finding Charlie’s home and seeing her mother, Dexter’s confrontation with Charlie in the car, Batista’s spilling the beans about the truth behind Dexter Morgan to Prater and Charlie, and then the showdown inside the serial killer vault were all amazing moments moving the story along.

Then, with Batista’s final words to Dexter as he died from gunshot wounds inflicted on him by Prater being “F-you” showed, in no uncertain terms, that Batista knew how to hold a proper grudge. Poor Dexter, continues to lose people close to him. It’s why I really hope Blessing is not the New York Ripper as the rumor indicated.

This has been a great season and there is one more episode remaining in the season which will be released next Friday.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #32

Posted on by

Spoilers

“Strange Case”

I’m not sure how I am feeling about Lovecraft Country after the first five episodes. We are half way through and I am not sure what this show’s overarching story is about.

This episode focused more on Ruby and Montrose than it did on anything else. I have to say that Ruby’s story was gross as it seemed to embrace some body horror (of which I am not a fan) as she gruesomely transforms between her natural self and that of a white woman. Blood and floppy skin everywhere.

Meanwhile, we learn that the hidden issue with Montrose is that he is gay and it is the 1950s where you simply cannot be out of the closet.

I started out confused as Atticus beat the crap out of Montrose at the beginning, because, fact is, I had not remembered the ending to episode four. I had to go back and re-read what I had written about it last week.

Another revelation fell into Ruby’s story this week as we discover William, who had taken Ruby last week for sex on the staircase, is actually Christiana, transformed into William just as Ruby had transformed into a white woman. Bizarre.

How does all this work together to further our story? Unclear at this point. Atticus, between sexual encounters with Leti, was working on a translation for some of the pages, and he deciphered one word at the end of the episode… “DIE.” This caused him to call his former flame, Ji-ah, and ask her how she knew. What does any of that mean?

The show continued to have scenes that were extremely uncomfortable to watch… and I am not just talking about the scenes of body horror or creatures. The scenes with the white people treating the blacks the way they did were just as difficult to watch as anything on the show. I do wish there was at least one white character that was not a total racist piece of garbage.

There are ten total episodes and we are currently half way through the one and only season. I hope things start to come together in the narrative soon. It does feel very disjointed.

Peacemaker S2 E2

Posted on by

Spoilers

“A Man Is Only as Good as His Bird”

Peacemaker dropped its second episode last night on HBO Max. Last week’s premiere left Chris in a terrible state of mind as he accidentally killed an alternate universe version of himself.

This week, we follow up on that cliffhanger last week with Chris getting help from Vigilante to chop of the body with a handsaw. What a horrendous scene with the John Cena head rolling around on the ground.

I thought John Cena did a great job with his acting in this episode. He played Peacemaker in a real depressed state and you could completely understand why. His comment about looking into the eyes of yourself as he dies was really powerful. I thought this might have been Cena’s best performance as Peacemaker yet.

Then Tim Meadows joined the cast as ARGUS agent Langston Fleury. I have to say that I did not like this character even a little bit. Bird blindness? Hated it.

Eagly kicked some serious butt in this episode and it is awesome. Eagly went after some of these ARGUS agents with a gusto not seen by the eagle lately.

The Peacemaker crew party on the roof was amazing. The writing was perfect. The dialogue, especially between Chris and Harcourt was exceptional.

Another good episode and great progression of the story.