Category Archives: TV-G[eek]

Andor S2 E7, E8, E9

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If I am being truthful, I have only liked Andor some over the last season and a half. I recognized how solid the show was and how great the characters and the acting was, but it just never quite fully grabbed my attention as I viewed it.

That all changed with episodes seven, eight and nine.

In particular episode eight, I have never been as enthralled and engaged in this show as I was with these episodes.

The slaughter at Ghorman was as thrilling and tragic of an episode of television as I have seen in quite a while. Placing all of the characters that we have been connected to over the show’s run created such a dynamic that snatched the attention and caused me to worry about all of them.

The slaughter on Ghorman led to so many things, including the end of the story for Syril and the origin of K2SO.

The speech and subsequent escape from the Senate by Mon Mothra was just as intense, seeing Mon and Cass running through the hallways in an attempt to avoid capture was great.

I do believe that episode 8 is one of the best episode of TV this year so far. It will probably be what this show will be remembered for when the show is done.

How can Andor be so good when other Star Wars TV shows are just not nearly as well done?

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #16

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“The Sound of Her Wings”

This was an interesting episode that could be seen as two parts surrounding a common theme. That theme is Death and the preparation for it.

The first half is Morpheus following his sister, Death around while she approached those who were about or pass to the other side. He sees Death interacting with the humans that she was meeting and how she made them feel comfortable with the unhappy news.

After Death leaves, we move back to 1389 where we see Morpheus and Death once again at a pub. They overhear a man making a boast that he would never die. Death decided to grant his wish and Morpheus talks to the man, Hob Gadling, telling him he would return to this pub in 100 years to speak to him again.

Obviously, the man did not buy the comment at first. Morpheus expected the man to beg for death after awhile. Every year, fate had found Hob in a different circumstance, but always happy to be alive.

The episode showed Morpheus learning lessons from both opposite characters. Both Death and Hob helped create a fascinating episode and all the mini-stories they encountered were well done.

This feels like a middle episode before the next big struggle, which seems to be Morpheus’s other siblings, Desire and Despair, the twins. Still, I like a good transition episode and this is certainly that.

Doctor Who S2 E5

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“The Story and the Engine”

I think this season of Doctor Who has been just exceptional. Every episode has been enjoyable and had its own brand of originality and creativity. This week, The Doctor goes to Africa for a story about stories.

Based inside a barber shop, the story was incredibly clever. The use of the barber shop to tell stories that then powered the barber shop was excellent. So was the antagonist who was intense and worked wonderfully off the Doctor.

The format of the storytelling was amazing, with the story that was being told being animated by the window of the barber shop. It was such an impressive piece of storytelling.

There was a wonderful story told by the Doctor during this episode that gave us some more background on Belinda and her career as a nurse. It was a lovely story about how she put her own wishes aside to help a sick woman in her hospital.

I don’t care what anyone says, I have loved these episodes on Disney +. I will be sad when the Doctor regenerates.

The Studio S1 E8

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“The Golden Globes”

I did not love this episode of The Studio because I am not a fan of our main protagonist acting the way he did. When the character becomes so crazy, it was not that funny for me. It was more pathetic.

It was fun to see the background of the Golden Globes and it felt very realistic with the way some of the creators would act.

I did feel badly for Matt. It is a shame how everyone made such a big deal out of being thanked, but he went out of his mind. I preferred the Matt at the very end, even though he was depressed over the lack of a thank you.

Zoë Kravitz and Adam Scott were the main cameos of this episode. Kravitz was the director of the movie that came from Matt’s studio which was up for the Golden Globe.

Of course, I want to thank Sal Saperstein.

The Last of Us S2 E4

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“Day One”

So I got to watch The Last of Us on MAX last night, but I had to wait until the Dodgers/Braves game ended, and I did not have time to do the write up.

This was a heavy Ellie/Dina story with them trying to navigate the city of Seattle. They are in search of Abby for revenge, but they have yet to find her.

Ellie and Dina had some big things happen.

  • They get together and make love. Dina told Ellie about her real feelings.
  • They get caught in a building with a bunch of infected and try to run.
  • Just before Dina gets bitten, Ellie stuck her arm in the way and takes the bite.
  • Ellie confesses to Dina that she was immune to the infected.
  • We meet Isaac, who killed his whole FEDRA unit.

Isaac is played by Jeffrey Wright, who is an awesome actor. His scenes with the naked guy he was torturing was intense. I am looking forward to seeing what this guy’s story is going to be.

  • Dina tells Ellie that she was pregnant.
  • Ellie finds a guitar and plays “Take on Me.” She sings to Dina. I really liked that scene.

These Wolves look to be a real problem.

The Studio S1 E7

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“Casting”

Oh, Yeah!

Who would have thought that the announcement of Ice Cube voicing the Kool-Aid Man would turn into a major race problem?

Only those on The Studio, as they, once again, turn the situation upside down and parody discussions that really happen in Hollywood.

Matt (Seth Rogen) is just trying to cast his movie, but when black tropes and stereotypes threaten to crush his film, things spiral out of control ridiculously as only The Studio can do it.

Watching Matt, Sal and Patty spin out over every perceived racial slight and their attempts to overcorrect them was hilarious. Kathryn Hahn, especially, was at the top of her game in this episode.

Meanwhile, the show does something sneaky as it takes the race argument out of the final moments and replaces it with a comment on AI, something Matt had okayed earlier in the episode to replace some special effects artists in order to keep the film on budget and release schedule… stuff that was messed up because of the massive recasting that was going on because of race.

Genius.

This show has been exceptional and only seems to be getting stronger with each passing episode on Apple TV +. If you are not watching The Studio and you have any interest in the way films are developed, you are missing some excellent stuff.

Light and Magic S2 E3

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“There’s No Going Back”

One more May the 4th watch. I watched the third and final episode of Light and Magic, the second season documentary detailing ILM’s history.

They talked about the work on Revenge of the Sith and then moved on to Pirates of the Caribbean. We see a couple of Oscar winning moments for ILM.

The creation of Davy Jones was one of the more intriguing parts of this documentary.

They looked at some of the competition that was springing up in the movie industry.

It was a fine conclusion to the second season, but honestly, there was not anything that really stood out as excellent in this episode. There was just a lot of interesting moments and images.

Andor S2 E4, E5, E6

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May the 4th be with you!

It was not intentional that I watched the three Andor episodes on Star Wars Day. It is merely a coincidence. The second season of Andor releases three episodes every Tuesday night at 8 PM my time. That does not give me much time to watch on Tuesdays so I have been pushing it off to the weekend. For the second week in a row, I watched them on Sunday, which just happened to be Star Wars Day.

It’s nice when things work out like they should.

Leia’s adopted father, Senator Organa made a cameo walk through in episode six, but, surprise, surprise, he has been recast. Benjamin Bratt is now playing the role instead of Jimmy Smits. Reportedly, Smits could not shoot the role because of scheduling conflicts. Organa does not make much in the episode four, so I can only assume that the character is more vital as the season continues, otherwise, this cameo would be easily removed, I would think.

Saw Gerrera made an appearance in these episodes as well, and I have to say, Forest Whitaker is downright creepy in the role.

These episodes have been fine to me. I have not absolutely loved these episodes, but there are some really strong points. I thought that every scene involving Diego Luna was perfect. The tension of episode six was palatable.

It seems as if every block of episodes has some tragic occurrence going down. Episode six had one of those as Cinta was shot accidentally by Samm, who was not supposed to have a blaster. This was just after Cinta and Vel reunited, which should have tipped me off that something bad was going to happen to one of them. It was the old LOST thing about when someone is happy, that is when everything goes to hell.

Oh, and when Bix (Adria Arjona) got some vengeance on Dr. Gorst, who tortured her in season one, that was epic. Really bad ass and how she and Cassian walked away together after… loved it.

Doctor Who S2 E5

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“Lucky Day”

I loved this episode. Unlike a certain faction of fans online, I loved Ruby Sunday as the Doctor’s companion in season one of the show on Disney +, and I thought it was great to see Millie Gibson once again.

I was sad that we did not get much involvement with the Doctor in this episode, but I understand the importance of that for the character of Ruby.

We did get to see how much of a bad ass Kate from U.N.I.T. was though. Her scenes facing off with Conrad were intense.

This episode of Doctor Who dealt with the idea of misinformation and the spreading of lies and half-truths across the internet and social media. Conrad’s vileness through the second half of this episode spoke to the disillusionment of many people in our institutions because of this misinformation that has been weaponized by certain individuals and groups.

I did not see Conrad’s betrayal coming. Not even a little bit. As the show was setting up Conrad and Ruby as, apparently, a new and happy couple, I was buying into the relationship 100%. To reveal the truth in such a callous manner was tough to watch as Ruby did not deserve such hostility. I went from really liking Conrad, hoping that he could be another important piece in Ruby’s life and an ally for the Doctor, to absolutely despising the bastard. I will say that the fact that the ending clearly showed that, with Mrs. Flood’s arrival, Conrad has a bigger role to play this season. Actor Jonah Hauer-King does an exceptional job as this character. he made me hate him so much. I am glad that there seems to be more for him to do moving on.

I reiterate, what the heck is up with Mrs. Flood?

The monologue that the Doctor delivered to Conrad at the end was one of the sharpest moments Ncuti Gatwa got to have. There was something about that speech that felt off though. Perhaps the timing…

Doctor Who has been one of my favorite shows so far, as it has had a bunch of amazing episodes this season. It was great to see Ruby again and I enjoyed how the show delved into the idea that companions might have a difficult time getting back to a normal life after their time with the Doctor ended. One could even argue that Ruby is suffering from a form of PTSD, which is why Conrad’s betrayal was all the worse.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #15

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“24/7”

John Dee-centric episode took quite a turn.

With John having the dream ruby, he stops off at a diner for some coffee and truth-telling, bringing along everyone with the misfortune to come inside the diner.

This did not feature much Sandman. Outside of a shot of him still unconscious with Matthew trying to wake him, we do not see Morpheus until the final act of the episode. What we get is a tour de force from David Thewlis as John, just sitting back and observing the scenario he put into place about truth telling. There was something funny about John Dee watching everything unfold as he dug into a big container of ice cream.

The show provides a powerful theme about truth and lies, showing, I believe, the fact that we cannot survive by being honest all the time about everything. It reveals the darker side of human nature and destroys the idea that “honesty is the best policy.” At least in part.

The unfortunate people in the diner have to face their unhappy existences because John Dee has created a situation where they are going to tell the truth about everything. Even for one of the sweetest characters that we have seen so far, waitress Bette Munroe (Emma Duncan), who seemed to be engaging and friendly to everyone.

The show does a strong job of introducing these secondary characters quickly and providing enough details that make us intrigued, if not interested, in their lives and their eventual downfall.

There was a lot of darkness in this episode, and Morpheus is anything but a hero. He is just finally here to retrieve the power of the ruby, which he does in the final showdown. I was unaware that John Dee was the kid of the man who had captured and imprisoned Morpheus in episode one, and that made the story all the more interesting. John Dee seems to have found his own fate at the end of the show.

Is it just me or is Matthew the raven a better person than anyone else on the show?

There are six more weeks of The Sandman in the Sunday Morning Sidewalk.

The X-Files S9 E5

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“Lord of the Flies”

Okay, I saw the cast list for this episode which included Jane Lynch, Aaron Paul, and Erick Avari and I was hopeful. Then I started to see the episode and I knew this wasn’t going to be one for me.

It started off with a YouTube show called “Dumb Ass” which was clearly a parody of Jackass. I have never liked jackass so I was not into this opening either. Stupid people doing stupid things are not funny. One of the main Dumb Asses wound up shockingly dead.

It turned out that the loner kid hanging out in the bunch named Dylan, who can control bugs. He has some kind of bug boy with bug pheromones. There was a girl he was in “love” with which felt like too many other X-Files episodes that we much better.

Jane Lynch was Dylan’s mother and, I think, principal at the school. She can web people up with webs from her mouth.

There was some dumb doctor specialist involved that had some attraction to Scully, and that was just did not fit into this story.

I found this to be a very disappointing episode. This episode was meant to echo early series episodes of the X-Files, but it just does not work well. The show is lacking the Mulder-Scully dynamic and it can not be duplicated with these characters. They need to play to the strengths of these new characters and not trying to reclaim the old tones.

This was an episode that I just did not like.

The Last of Us S2 E3

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“The Path”

This is the first week of the post-Joel era of The Last of Us, and much about us grieving the loss.

I have to tell you that the cry of Ellie as she woke up in the hospital was just feral. Totally crushing. I was nearly in tears from just Ellie’s roar of anguish.

This show has been effective with their time jumps. This is another good one, but I thought the moments before the leap (Ellie in hospital, Tommy with Joel’s brother) were tremendous.

Three months later, Ellie is getting out of the hospital with the anger underneath the surface.

It was great to see Catherine O’Hara again as the local therapist. Her meeting with Ellie was funny and her conversation with Tommy was interesting. The sudden baseball game that Catherine O’Hara was watching was a weird and felt odd. She has added a ton to the show in her few scenes.

Ellie and Dina are on the road to go kill Abby. The Jackson Council refused to send a group of 15 to Seattle after Abby and the others who killed Joel. Ellie tried to speak to the Council and her speech was moving. Didn’t work though. Ellie had never planned on accepting the verdict of the Council.

The group of people who just appeared in the woods and wound up getting killed was a weird detour in the show. These people’s death must be part of the next story arc, but it seemed to come out of nowhere.

The scene of Ellie at Joel’s grave was powerful too. The director spoke about this scene being an opportunity for the audience to grieve with Ellie.

Good episode. Seattle looks like a bad deal.

Light & Magic S2 E2

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“There Must Be A Better Way…”

The second episode of the second season of Light & Magic on Disney + featured heavily on the transition from practical effects to that of digital recording and the way in which ILM lead the way in the field of digital special effects.

It started out talking about the elephant in the room, Jar Jar Binks.

Jar Jar is one of the most hated of Star Wars characters among a certain section of the fandom, but the doc looked at the creation of the character. They spoke to Jar Jar actor, Ahmed Best, who was not taking the criticism and anger of the character well. The comments of Jar Jar being a racist character or filled of racist tropes was difficult for him to hear. It got so bad that he told a story about him going on a bridge in New York with the intent of “showing them” how much it affected him. This story of a man having suicidal thoughts over the creation of a movie character was very powerful as was the resolution of the story. It made me think about my own feelings toward Jar Jar.

I was impressed with how much of the negative thoughts and criticisms this doc dealt with. They could have easily brushed that under the rug, but the doc still showed the push back ILM received for its motion capture and digital film from the movie society in general.

The doc spent some time showing how they were involved in the creation of digital tornados for films such as Jumanji and Twister as well as the massive wave from A Perfect Storm.

They spent a good deal of time telling about how they transitioned from Yoda being a puppet as he was in the original trilogy to more of a digital character and then eventually to a point where Yoda could have a lightsaber fight with Count Dooku in Attack of the Clones. One of the more fascinating parts of that section of the show was seeing how Frank Oz, who was puppeteering and voice Yoda, went through so much trouble and challenges with this extremely heavy puppet that he had to hold up with his right arm.

There is one more episode of season two to go. My guess is that it will focus in on Revenge of the Sith.

Andor S2 E1, E2, E3

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Andor season one has been the best Star Wars show on Disney + yet. Some might argue for the Mandalorian, but for depth and story, Andor took the prize.

Andor returned to Disney + for the long-awaited second season debuted with three episodes this past Tuesday night. I was unable to fit it into my schedule until this Sunday morning.

It was worth the wait.

It started one year after the end of last season and we see Cassian stealing a Tie-fighter. He was to meet for a drop off, but that turned into an immediate cluster as the rebels he met could not get along or agree on anything. Cassian was clearly just biding his time with these idiots.

On Mina-Rau, things are much worse, including a near rape. This was not something one would expect in the Star Wars Universe, but I could see it as a part of Andor. I loved the Skeleton Crew earlier this year, but that was clearly Star Wars for the young. Andor is Star Wars for the adult.

That does not mean that there is not humor to go around. There are some very funny things that happen, one of the major ones being a dinner date with Eedy Karn and her son Syril, who wants to introduce her to Dedra Meero. Dedra is a force and her scene with Eedy was epic.

The third episode ended with some tragedy.

Andor continues to be one of the best Star Wars shows around.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #14

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“Chapter Four: A Hope in Hell”

This morning, we take a stroll down the Sunday Morning Sidewalk onto the path to Hell.

And the path to Hell is lined with more than just good intentions. It is lined with tension, anxiety and suspense.

What a great episode this was.

At first, as Morpheus and Matthew traveled into Hell to regain his helm, I was more engaged with the second part of the story, John Dee being picked up by a woman named Rosemary. That conversation inside Rosemary’s car was scary and I dreaded what was going to happen to Rosemary, who was just trying to be a good person.

However, then Morpheus wound up in a fight with Lucifer Morningstar and the narrative of the episode switched. The ‘fight” between these two was amazing… and unlike anything I expected. It was truly sensational and brilliantly constructed. It could have easily just slipped into the big power fight that we see so often, but this was deeper, more intense.

The fight turned on the word of the raven, Matthew, giving Morpheus that last bit of motivation to overcome the ruler of the Underworld.

It also seemed as if Rosemary was able to survive the episode, and I was sure she was a goner. Sarah Niles played Rosemary so exceptionally that I immediately connected with the character and wished for her safety. John gave her the amulet of protection at the end of the episode after she had decided to wait for him instead of escaping to freedom. It was a sweet ending that I still was anxious about. I really wanted Rosemary, a good person, to not be killed off in this warped story. When it was clear that she was going to make it, I did breath a sigh of relief.

Nicely paired episode with two stories (which nearly crossed at the end) that I was very engaged in. This is my favorite episode so far of the season and it does seem as if the show is only getting better each week.