Category Archives: TV-G[eek]

The Pitt S1 E11, E12, E13

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“5:00 PM”

“6:00 PM”

“7:00 PM”

Dr. Robby kept saying in episode 11 that there was only two hours left in the shift, but I knew there were still multiple hours of episodes remaining. I did not know what was going to happen.

And then all hell broke loose.

Some of the most unbelievably intense, stressful stretches of television that I have ever seen. The whole active shooter storyline came back around and slammed everyone at the ER in one massive blast.

I get the feeling that David, the boy who had the hit list back at the beginning of the day was not the culprit of this shooting. It may seem a bit contrived, but I believe it is all coincidence. When David strolled back to the hospital to pick up his mom, he did not seem like someone who just shot dozens of people.

Either way, this series of episodes was amazing, in the most difficult and painstakingly horrendous ways possible.

Who would have thought that the high pressure baby delivery in episode 11, with Dr. Collins working it after suffering her own miscarriage, would be the low stress scene of these three episodes. That whole baby thing was just anxiety-filled and I was begging the screen to save the baby.

Then, it went crazy.

Watching the hospital prepare for the mass shooting before the victims arrived was fascinating. I wonder if that is the way most/all hospitals respond to an emergency like that? They knew what had to happen and they turned their ER into a MASH unit. I have never quite seen anything like it.

Then, Robby cracking at the end of episode 13 brought one more scene for Noah Wylie’s Emmy roll, with all the weight of the deaths of the day, compounded by this horrible triage situation, and trying to explain to his step-son (of sorts) how he could not save the girlfriend.

I can’t imagine what would be going through the minds of those doctors and interns who were having their first day on the job before everything went to crap. They all were having their moments during the chaos.

The first season is down to just two episodes remaining, which does not seem to be enough to manage everything that the show has set up. This makes me feel that there will be plenty of things dangling at the end of the season, when this day finally comes to a close.

Fallout S2 E2

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“The Golden Rule”

I got around to episode two of Fallout tonight.

We got back to the Brotherhood of Steel, while Maximus (Aaron Moten) had some major problems, from both inside himself and outside, where he must fight for his life.

Hey, there is Kumail Nanjiani strolling into the Brotherhood at the end, after Maximus killed his opponent. I will be curious to see where he takes us.

The Ghoul and Lucy are distracted on their way to Vegas. They have to fight some kind of scorpion/facehugger type monster. The Ghoul is stung and paralyzed, but Lucy gave her final injection to the human that they found here. She told him she would come back. I’m not sure that is the case since the human that Lucy saved is sketchy as can be.

It was fun seeing Hank blow up mice and then take the next step and start to blow up humans. Science experiments require that old saying, “if you first do not succeed, try, try again.” Truly a creepy sentiment considering the situation.

This episode was kind of slow for me, but there were some high points.

Stranger Things 5 vol. 2 E5, E6, E7

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“Shock Jock”

“Escape from Camazotz”

“The Bridge”

Christmas night saw the second volume of the final season of Strange Things came out with three episodes that will lead directly into the finale, next week on New Year’s Eve.

These three episodes do a tremendous job setting up that finale. We got plenty of answers about what has been going on these last five seasons, and they really fit together nicely. I am impressed with the writing of the Duffer Brothers.

I love the way that they worked the Wormhole into this story, recontextualizing the Upside-Down and what it actually is. The whole moment when Nancy shot the wormhole was so tense and scary with the vacuum outside of it. I loved how Dustin was on the outside of the situation and found the answers in Bremmer’s journal.

Speaking of Dustin, he and Steve went through it in these episodes. They dealt with the way they were treating each other in the first volume and it was extremely dramatic as they handled the deep pain that they were facing.

Jonathan and Nancy dealt with their relationship in a strong manner. The scene where they finally told each other the truth was a really great scene.

I do not like how they are setting up the ending of this with the implication that Eleven is going to need to die for everything to finally be over. I really dislike the sister.

I love how the group is basically back together in the seventh episode, preparing for the big finish. They have not all been back together in a long time, and seeing the team come back together was great.

Vecna truly is terrifying. The use of the redesigned Vecna is really well done and how they use it along with the Henry form. Henry was every bit as scary when dealing with his little cult-like kids. I needed more Dipshit Derek in these episodes.

Max coming back was very satisfying too, as was Will’s admitting about being gay. Both of these moments gave a strength to the ensemble and allowed these characters to show how important they were to each other. It was a lovely way to do this, especially with the Will reveal. Will was still very nervous and awkward during the entire time, hem-and-hawing around the topic. Watching the group embrace him was a beautiful moment.

And we are set up with a crazy plan to save the world and prevent the crashing together of two worlds via the wormhole. A final showdown certainly with Eleven and Vecna (hopefully with Will there too. He deserves to be in the final showdown).

They have actually made me reconsider my New Year’s Eve routine. I usually watch Infinity War and Endgame to midnight, but now, I might have to readjust my tradition.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians S2 E4

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“Clarisse Blows Up Everything”

Into the Sea of Monsters… and what a cliffhanger.

Percy Jackson, Annabeth and Tyson were confronted by Clarisse and her crew of dead sailors from the Underworld. After a tense standoff, they decided to work together, with Clarisse taking the role of captain, since it is her quest.

Things do not go well for the quest as they have to face the choice of either Scylla and Charybdis in order to get past them and continue their search for the Golden Fleece.

Clarisse changes the plan in mid-execution, heading off to fight the monsters using her cool on board laser canons (that looked more like something on the Millennium Falcon).

The end of the episode saw the ship starting to tear apart and getting pulled into the vortex.

There are some good flashbacks to Annabeth’s past with Luke and where they met Grover.

There were some really strong special effects for this too. Very impressive for a Disney + show.

The Pitt S1 E9, E10

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“3:00 PM”

“4:00 PM”

Two more episodes from HBO Max’s The Pitt are in the tank now. This show has been exceptional. I do have to turn my head away a few times, including this episode with the burned man and the boy with the blood behind his eye, but the drama is just so intense it is worth a few wiggly feelings in my tum-tum.

When Dana took the punch to the face from a frustrated Doug Driscoll, I was shocked. I had seen a picture of her with a bloody nose when I was searching for pics on Google, but the cruelness of Driscoll was tough. I understand the frustration that he was feeling with the wait that he was having, but that does not excuse the violent response. I sure hope he gets what is coming to him.

Langdon was discovered for stealing medication. He had been leaning on Santos a lot, but she was noticing the discrepancies in some of his patients’ medication. Robby sent him packing at the end of episode 10. It feels as if this is just one more thing that is weighing down on Robby. Stresses are building on him.

We got back to the storyline with the boy and his “hit list.” McKay reported the boy to the police, who came to talk to his grandma. This arc has been slow, but feels like it is starting to build once again.

We are down to six episodes remaining of season one.

Pluribus S1 E9

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“La Chica o El Mundo”

It really feels as if Pluribus has only just started its season. It’s hard to believe that the show is already up to its first season finale already, but that is the case. Apple TV + dropped the finale a couple of days early (before Christmas).

And what a finale this was. In some ways, it was smaller, quieter than I might have expected. But then again…

There was an A-Bomb!

Carol and Manousos come face to face in this episode and some of the early scenes between these two were truly hilarious. I loved the use of the umbrella to block out the chance of the drones spying on them, reading their lips.

The mistrust between Carol and Manousos was on display as they tried to communicate via cell phone translation programs. There was some high comedy with that translation program as well. When the phone was in the sewer, but still translating, well, that was the height of funny.

Carol seemed to believe that Manousos had taken it too far with his “experimentation” on the Others. Carol’s close relationship with Zosia was coloring her perspective and she joined Zosia on another isolation attempt. This time, however, it seemed clear that Manousos was not going to fold like Carol did. He seemed like a type of guy who does not mind some isolation.

Carol never really understood the relationship she shared with Zosia. Carol looked at it like it was a typical, normal relationship, but that was not the case. Carol looked to be in denial about a lot of what was going down. When Carol learned that The Others had her frozen eggs (that Carol and Helen had decided to harvest years ago) and that they could change that into stem cells, the same stem cells the Others needed to turn Carol into another member of the hivemind, things crashed around her. Carol had Zosia return her to her home and decided to join with Manousos after all.

And the atomic bomb reveal at the end was insane. Maybe it was not literally an A-bomb… though Carol had asked about it earlier in the season…

Pluribus’s first season was sensational. I know the series has been renewed for a second season. I hope we do not have to wait three years to get the next episodes.

The Pitt S1 E8

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“2:00 PM”

I’m not crying… you’re crying!

Okay, I am crying.

This episode hit hard. It was a one-two punch and that did not even take into account Dr. Collins and the miscarriage. That was pushed back by the character and the moment.

We get a young girl who was a drowning victim, who the staff desperately tried to warm up so they could get her heart started. The little girl who, as we find out, saved her little sister from drowning in the pool.

Oh my god, this was heartbreaking. Every minute of this story on screen ripped at the heart. If there ever was a story that demanded a happy ending, it was this one, but that would not be coming.

Then, as the grief over the loss of this little girl was sitting with us, they held an honor walk for Nick Bradley, the young man whose story has been going on for most of the show. His parents finally decided to allow the organ donation to proceed and the wheeled him out of the ER past friends and staff.

The show had to counterbalance the anguish of the episode with a man who arrived with a malfunctioning pacemaker, who was named Willie, and he turned out to be a member of the Freedom House Ambulance Service, which was the very first U.S. emergency service staffed by paramedics with medical training that went beyond basic first aid. 

There was also a nice moment with Dr. Javadi, a patient and a corpse of a black widow spider.

But all of the loss floating around the ER was palatable and just emotionally stunning. This may have been the best episode the series so far.

The Pitt S1 E6, E7

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“12:00 P.M.”

“1:00 PM”

Okay, there were a couple of moments during these two episodes that we rough on me. There was a heart attack scene that was just about more than I could handle.

I do like how the show has been, for the most part, more about the characters than with the illnesses. Whether it be the staff of the ER or the patients, the characters are the driving force behind story.

The abortion arc is really good. There is a father abuse storyline that did not work for me. One comment was made that the doctors and nurses were mandatory reporters but couldn’t report without evidence. As a mandatory reporter, that is patently incorrect. That pulled me out of the scene.

Then, it took a dramatic twist with Trinity Santos, who was a character that I have not been a fan of so far in the series, and a vicious confrontation with the child abuser in question. It was fairly unrealistic, but very kick ass. It helped that storyline.

The end of episode seven was horrific, as Dr. Collins went into the restroom, with tears, seeing blood in her underwear. There had been subtle hints through the last couple of episodes that Collins, who was pregnant, was going to have something terrible happen to the baby. While it is unconfirmed as of yet, this ending scene did not make things look good.

This pair of episodes started to show Doctor Robby was acting unlike he normally would do. I had a bit of a problem with that too because up until here, he seemed like he was great. I had no idea that he was acting differently than normal. The show had told us about his struggles on the anniversary of his mentor’s death, but I still thought he was doing a great job. When Collins called him out on his behavior, I was surprised. Some of these scenes with Robby felt out of place from the rest of the season. Of course, we did not know Robby before this series, and all of the episodes have been the same day, so it is hard to see the changes.

The show brought up the kid with the “hit list” again, but it is a story arc that feels like it will come back hard later in the season.

I was so happy that Whittaker made it through episode 7 without having to change his scrubs!

The Pitt S1 E5

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“11:00 AM”

I have to say that I have really enjoyed the first five episodes of HBO Max’s series, The Pitt. I am in on the characters and the intelligent writing that is going along with them.

Even the medical stuff, which usually bothers me with a medical show, has not been too bad generally speaking.

Noah Wylie has been awesome so far as Doctor Robbie, although I expect there will be some problems coming up with this abortion that he falsified. Especially since the woman who brought the girl was not her mother, but her aunt… and Mommy’s here.

I feel bad for poor Whitaker, who has had to change his scrubs multiple times already. Is this a running joke with him getting blood spat on him this episode after getting peed on last time. He has been splattered with bodily fluids a whole bunch, and I feel for the kid.

Some of the stories that have running through the first four episodes were not seen or just barely mentioned in this episode. The new ones that have jumped into the rotation are engaging too. I do want to know more about the kid with the hit list, as that was one that grabbed my attention.

Good stuff. I sense more problems ahead.

Sha Na Na S1 E19, E20, E21

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Sha Na Na was one of my favorite shows as a kid so I am enjoying the trip down memory lane with the boys. I have to say that I still believe that the show is so much better when you have guest stars on the show with musical abilities.

These three episodes featured: Chuck Berry, Bobby Rydell and Leslie Gore. If I were them, I would have had Chuck Berry do a second song on the actual stage set. They had him do “Roll Over Beethoven” in the road set, which was great, but he could have done another one on the actual stage with the live audience.

They did brink Leslie Gore out to the stage to the audience when she was on episode 21. It just felt more special than the others, even though Chuck Berry knocked the performance out of the park.

In episode 20, Sha Na Na performed “Unchained Melody, which may be their best performance ever on the stage. The song was at a quicker pace and the background choreography was spot on. A lot of times, Sha Na Na look a touch out of step with the background dancing. I mean, they are singers and not necessarily dancers. However, this performance was fire. Unchained Melody, which was more well known as by the Righteous Brothers, was originally performed as a doo wop song by Vito and the Salutations in 1963. This is the version Sha Na Na was doing.

We also got some great vocalization with Bowzer and Johnny in Lovers Never Say Goodbye, in episode 21. This group have some great singers that compliment each other really well. Bowzer and Johnny work perfectly together in this song.

Alley Oop was one of the most distinct memories I have of the comedy skit songs the group would do. They would break in the song to do some silly joke. Most of the jokes were cringy, but I did love the song performed by Dirty Dan and Screamin’ Scott.

They still overuse the crowd noise/laugh track, but it is not as distracting as it was in the first half of season one.

The Pitt S1 E1, E2, E3, E4

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So this was a series that I have wanted to watch for awhile now. The time was just never right, but with Christmas break upon me, plus the second season debuting in January on HBO Max, I thought I would give The Pitt a try.

See, I am a hypochondriac… well, sort of. Medical shows have bothered me in the past. I am bothered by things that can go wrong in the human body. While it does not make me feel as if I am having the same symptoms, it does bother me. That being said, the idea of each episode being an hour at a time in an emergency room made me think of 24 and I was intrigued.

I almost stopped at the first episode. A couple of scenes in that first show nearly finished me off. I was in on some of the storylines though so I decided to stick with it. After four episodes, I am fully in and will hopefully not have any further issues.

The storylines were coming hard and fast in the first four episodes. I was working on the EYG Comic Cavalcade as I was watching so the number of episodes just kept rolling as I worked. Perhaps I shouldn’t work as I watched, because I was being distracted by the show.

Noah Wylie led this cast of actors that I mostly did not recognize. Yet, they all did a great job with their roles. The short term stories with the patients were all very engaging and ranged from deadly serious to a good laugh.

One that especially caught my attention was a mother who faked an illness to get some help with her son. She found a list of girls to eliminate in his room, causing some serious tension of the story. That one is still percolating away. There was one that seemed to fly by faster with a brother and sister who desperately tried to keep their father alive, despite his wishes not to be on life-saving equipment. That story felt like it played out over a longer time than what it actually did, since the four episodes were designed to be only four hours total.

There were also a bunch of deaths in that four hour period. It truly showed the anguish the doctors and nurses have to deal with in their daily job.

The characters are introduced really well as there is not a ton of time to spend with them. Their minutes on screen are maximized extremely effectively.

I was not sure I was going to continue to watch this during episode one because of my own issues, but I am glad I pushed on. This is a strong series so far and my goal is to finish season one before the arrival of season two in January.

Pluribus S1 E8

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“Charm Offensive”

Episode eight is the penultimate episode of season one of Pluribus. It feels as if I have only begun to watch it. Having the first season on the brink of being over is odd.

The episode started off with Manousos getting medical attention from his trouble in the jungle last week. He refused to stay to recover though, as he discovered that he was in Panama. There was not much from him this week, but it is clear that he is on the way to Carol’s soon.

Meanwhile, Carol has reunited with Zosia, which she seems very pleased about after her forced isolation by the hivemind. Carol was bonding with Zosia, though also picking her for information. Carol wrote on her dry erase board that the hivemind was planning on creating an antenna to send message (virus?) to other planets.

The show revealed an answer to a mystery. Specifically, are animals a part of the hivemind. We meet a nice dog at the hivemind’s sleepover that proved that animals are not a part of the hivemind.

Carol took her relationship with Zosia to another level after an emotional confrontation with her after a weird trip to a diner from Carol’s past. They had sex and Carol started to write afterwards again. She does feel like she is becoming more connected to Zosia. I wonder what will happen when Manousos gets there.

One more episode to go for Pluribus. It has been a wonderful show so far on Apple TV +. Vince Gilligan seems to have another hit on his hands.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #48

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This week for the Sunday Morning Sidewalk, we start a two episode documentary on HBO Max about Billy Joel called Billy Joel: And So It Goes. This is truly a first for the Sunday Morning Sidewalk because the first episode is almost 2 and a half hours long. Next week’s is about the same. We have never had an episode for the Sunday Morning Sidewalk as long as this was.

Honestly, I love Billy Joel, but, when the show first came out on HBO Max, the runtime of the documentary was something that put me off. However, the timing of this worked out perfectly as The Haunting of Hill House ended last week, and the next series would start over Christmas break from school. I have two weeks off from teaching and so anything that I did not get to watch on a Sunday because of the length of the documentary could easily be watched during the week. It was perfect.

I watched Part 1 today, and the doc was fascinating. It reveled a ton of details that I was unaware of pertaining to Billy Joel. The early career depression that led him to attempt suicide a couple of times was truly unexpected.

Many rock documentaries do not feature some of the worst times of the performer. They may gloss over things that they do not want to explore. I did not get that feeling about Billy Joel: And So It Goes. The cliché phrase “warts and all” seems to fit as the first episode talked about Billy’s drinking, his depression and suicide attempts, his attitude toward the record companies, just to mention a few. All of this came together to show us a cool portrait of this musician.

There were plenty of talking heads in the film including comments form Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, John Mellencamp, as well as people closer to Billy. His wife/manager Elizabeth Weber was an essential character in the narrative of Billy Joel’s early successes, and she appeared through the entire episode. Of course, we also heard directly from Billy Joel in multiple settings and time periods.

The first episode ended just after the motorcycle accident that Billy survived and the split of his marriage with Elizabeth.

We will finish episode 2 next Sunday.