Category Archives: TV-G[eek]

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.

Doctor Who S2 E3

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“The Well”

One of the wonderful things about the Disney + series, Doctor Who, is that this character can be in any kind of type of story needed. Last week we had the meta episode with the animated character. This week there was a space sci-fi/horror story with a lot of tension and mystery. Doctor Who can do whatever you need.

This week was tremendous. The Doctor and Belinda showed up in a space military operation on an unknown planet in the distant future. They encounter a mysterious force that stands behind a person. It is connected to a story that Doctor Who had told previous when David Tennent was the Doctor. It was fun when Ncuti Gatwa said, in character, that he had been on this planet before, and we get a flash from that episode with Tennent.

I truly did not know what was going to happen with this story as there were just a bunch of characters on edge. The show also did a great job of building these side characters quickly so I felt something for them when they were in jeopardy. It was not just a bunch of cannon fodder (though there were some of those here too).

The episode continued to build the overarching mystery of the season with the question about why the Tardis can not return to earth in 2025. These people in the distant future had never heard of the earth or the human race even though The Doctor indicated that the earth should have been known in the time. I do like how they keep planting those seeds even if it is not the main thrust of the episode. Oh and Mrs. Flood is there again, just taunting us with her continual presence.

I am such a fan of this version of the Doctor so far. Ncuti Gatwa is such a strong performer and seems to have chemistry with everyone. He is emotional and powerful, oozing a confidence that is shaken over and again. I have not seen many other versions of Doctor Who, but this one had made me a fan.

The Studio S1 E6

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“The Pediatric Oncologist”

Matt is dating a doctor. A pediatric oncologist, to be precise, and she invited him to a fancy black tie fundraiser with other doctors.

Things do not go well.

Matt agrees to go even though, as the studio head, he has to get a trailer for Johnny Knoxville’s new satire about projectile diarrhea approved.

This led to a conflict between Matt and the doctors who were with his girlfriend. They were looking down on his work, treating it as if it was not important. Matt disagreed, claiming his work as “art.”

While it is difficult to compare movie making to trying to cure cancer, these doctors were extremely dismissive of Matt and looked down their collective noses at him and what he does for a living.

This led to some extremely funny moments. My favorite one was when Matt outbid the doctors at his table for a gold trip to Ireland, even though he does not like golf. I actually cheered for Matt when he tossed out his winning bid at the last second.

I have been enjoying this Apple TV + comedy every week. Again, it feels so very meta, but has some very strong themes.

Light & Magic S2 E1

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“Are We Ready For This?”

The Light & Magic documentary series got an unexpected second season as it showed up with three episodes on Disney +. I enjoyed the initial season of this documentary, so I figured this would be a good series to add to the watchlist.

The story of Industrial Light & Magic, or ILM, is an fascinating tale of movie making and the way they took the business on an entirely new path.

This was around the time that George Lucas was preparing to create the prequels, the infamous films that were the pre-story of Star Wars, featuring Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker. Lucas did not want to start work on prequels until he believed that IBM was ready to create the digital work that he thought the movies needed.

The beginning of the doc included discussion on Caspar and Dragonheart. The episode indicated that once Lucas saw Dragonheart, he knew ILM was ready for The Phantom Menace.

They spent a good chunk of the doc on the creation of Jar Jar Binks. One of the most divisive characters in Star Wars, Lucas believed that Jar Jar was one of the most important pieces of the puzzle and that the film would not work if they did not nail Jar Jar. Such an interesting comment for a character that so many Star Wars fans hated.

They also discussed the pod racing scenes and how George saw these.

Whether I was a fan of these movies or not, the technology created and used on these films revolutionized the industry without a doubt. I am intrigued to hear the stories of the making of the prequels moving forward.

All three episodes of this documentary dropped on Disney +.

The X-Files S9 E4

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“4-D”

The multiverse comes to the X-Files.

This was an interesting and confusing episode as it started off with Monica Reyes having her throat cut, and Doggett getting shot, but returned from commercial with Monica at home and Doggett there with her.

Skinner called her and told her that Doggett had been shot.

How many times does Doggett die in this series? This is at least the second time.

Monica Reyes came up with the theory from out of nowhere. It was the kind of theory that Fox Mulder would have pulled out.

This was an interesting idea but the overall execution was at best okay.

The Last of Us S2 E2

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“Through the Valley”

I can’t believe it.

I was aware of Joel’s fate in general from the video game, but I knew no specifics. So as this was being set up, I was in denial. I was sure that they had planned on extending Pedro Pascal’s part longer into season two because of how huge of a star he had become.

Nope. Episode two and Joel is dead.

Honestly, right up until the end, before Abby drove that broken golf club into Joel’s neck, I thought he was getting out of it, somehow. I never played the game so I was unaware that this was setting up a scene that was straight out of the game.

Ellie held on the ground, screaming for mercy for the man who was like a father to her was heartbreaking, and I know that there are extenuating circumstances behind the vengeance of Abby, but I want her dead… just so dead.

Joel had saved her life earlier in the episode as she had been chased by the Infected and was about to be caught when Joel appeared from nowhere to stop it. The whole chase scene with Abby and the Infected, as well as the crawling beneath the collapsing fence, was just suspenseful.

Before this tragic event, the Infected crashing into the city and causing such a tremendous amount of loss. The standoff with Tommy and the Bloater was intense as you get on TV. I thought Tommy was a goner, but he was able to make it through, thankfully.

Bella Ramsey was amazing in this episode. They are absolutely setting up Ellie and Abby as similar characters for future face off. Historically, heroes and villains are like the other side of the same coin. This feels like the show is building a hero/villain archetype.

What We Do in the Shadows S1 E10

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“Ancestry”

The first season of What We Do in the Shadows wrapped up with episode 10 called “Ancestry.” Guillermo does some DNA testing on the vampires and himself to see what their ancestry would be. Guillermo discovered some interesting facts.

One, Nandor had 200,000 living descendants. This included one living descendant in Staten island. Nandor wanted to go see her and she turned out to be 94 years old. The sight of Nandor floating outside her window led directly to her death.

And two, that Guillermo was a descendant of Van Helsing, the well-know vampire killer, leading Guillermo to question everything about his life. Especially since he “accidentally” killed two vampires in the recent episodes. The idea that Guillermo, Nandor’s familiar is actually related to Van Helsing is a really funny idea.

What was also funny was how Nandor, Laszlo, and Nadja, along with Colin, attended Nandor’s granddaughter’s funeral… inside a church. The vampires were in the back literally smoking and catching on fire. When Nandor sent Guillermo for water to put him out, he accidentally brought holy water, which burned him all the more.

The first season of What We Do in the Shadows was really funny and enjoyable. I do believe, moving forward with this show, I will be doing a binge day for the remaining five season, where I take the entire season and binge them in a day, doing a wrap up write-up at the end of the season.

The Studio S1 E5

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“The War”

Quinn and Sal are at war with one another over the director for a blatant rip-off of the Smile movie franchise called Wink. They go to all sorts of shenanigans to make the other one look bad until there is a dramatic and terrifying burrito accident.

The Studio is such fun show and, while I know this is a parody of the behind the scenes events that occur at a movie studio, I have this feeling that there is more truth to the episode than fiction, and that it is just turned up to a higher volume.

This episode featured Chase Sui Wonders as Quinn and Ike Barinholtz as Sal as Seth Rogan is more around the outside of the episode. We see him, but he is not the center of the chaos as he has been for the first four episodes. Several other cast members such as Catharine O’Hara and Kathryn Hahn are missing completely.

The show is very funny and I do like how it is willing to put Seth Rogan off to the side with confidence that the episode would still turn out great. The Studio is one more excellent series from Apple TV and I am glad I started with it.

Doctor Who S2 E2

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“Lux”

What a clever episode.

What a meta episode.

I loved this one.

1952. It is Miami. A group of people disappear after a strange cartoon comes out of the theater screen and does something to them. It is terrifying.

The Doctor and Belinda have to take on Mr. Ring-a-Ding, another of the Pantheon. Mr. Ring-a-Ding is voiced by Alan Cummings.

I was surprised that the secondary characters were so intricate even though they did not get as much screen time. The conflict from Reginald Pi is beautiful. I loved the Doctor Who fans as well. I found the fans so strangely emotional.

The writing is spectacular with so many film language weaved into the story. They had an animated section that was really excellent too. I loved how the Doctor referred to himself as Thelma (with the Scooby Doo references).

I thought the use of the segregation allusions were well done and made a lot of sense. I also liked how the Doctor understood this before Belinda realized the issue.

I have never seen “Blink.” Perhaps I should watch it. I hear it is a great episode.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #13

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“Dream a Little Dream of Me”

Happy Easter. Happy 4:20. Happy Wrestlemania weekend.

There is a lot going down today. It is also Sunday Morning Sidewalk #13, the third episode of the first (and only?) season of Netflix’s The Sandman, entitled “Dream a Little Dream of Me.”

Morpheus was in search of his items and he started with the pouch of sand that was in the possession of Constantine. That is Johanna Constantine, not John, by the way.

We also get the debut of a new raven, Matthew. This one is voiced by everyone’s favorite comic book geek, Patton Oswalt. Oswalt has appeared in Agents of SHIELD, voiced MODOK, Uncle Ben, Chameleon, The Atom, made an appearance as Pip the Troll and played himself in the Boys. He has also written comic books over the last several years. He has a ton of irons in the geek fire.

David Thewlis continued to be as sinister as could be as John Dee got himself out of the asylum he was living in thanks to his mom, Ethel Cripps. He immediately met up with The Corinthian, who gave him a coat. This pairing of villains are compelling and these two actors, Thewlis and Boyd Holbrook, are great.

This was another solid outing. I am pleased with what I saw this week. Week one, I was uncertain if I was going to enjoy this series, but the last two episodes have been very good so I hope we are on a entertaining path moving forward.

I guess the path we are on will lead to Hell as that is where Morpheus and Matthew were departing for as the episode closed.

Daredevil: Born Again S1 E9

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“Straight to Hell”

“We need an army”

Daredevil made this comment near the end of the episode, talking about how they are going to win the city back from Wilson Fisk.

Wilson Fisk, at the end of season one of Born Again, is on top of the world. He is dominant, he is in control. He has control of the police. He has put out the vigilante act. He has the courts. Wilson Fisk is the Kingpin Mayor of New York. He loves the city… and he is ready to take total control of the city.

We get some of the most brutal scenes in the entire MCU with the Punisher. Frank Castle was absolutely NOT Disneyfied. I can almost say that some of the moments in here are as gory and bloody as I have ever seen. Not only Frank, but when Kingpin literally crushed the police commissioner’s head with his bare hands in front of the police force… whoa.

Karen is back. I was worried that she would not make it through the episode. Heck, I was worried that Frank wasn’t going to make it through the episode.

Massive blackout across the city. Riots in the streets.

Another cool moment was when Frank asked Matt, “Why would you take a bullet for that *sshole?” and Matt responded, “I don’t know.”

I know some have not liked this series. I personally loved it. These last few episodes were absolutely stupendous and will lead into an unbelievable season two.

The X-Files S9 E3

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“Dæmonicus”

The first monster-of-the-week episode with the new regime of the X-Files is “Dæmonicus”. I have never been a huge fan of X-Files episodes that were religious background. This was a demon possession tale of sorts.

Plus, there was a gigantic puke scene, which are never good for me.

I found this episode to be dull and uninteresting. John just denied everything. In an obnoxious way. Monica moved around the episode with a weird look upon her face. Scully was there, now teaching a class.

None of this worked for me.

What We Do in the Shadows S1 E7, E8, E9

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“The Trial”

“Citizenship”

“The Orgy”

I was able to watch three episodes of What We Do In the Shadows season one tonight, and they were all really funny and enjoyable.

Probably my favorite of the three was “The Trial” as Laszlo, Nandor and Nadja are put on trial by the Vampire Council for the murder of The Baron, who was burned in the sunlight last episode. Of course, it was Guillermo who killed the Baron, however accidentally it was.

This episode was chocked full of cameos that were all just fabulous. Dave Bautista, Paul Rubens, Taika Waititi, Tilda Swinton, Evan Rachel Wood, Jemaine Clement, Danny Trejo, Doug Jones, Kristen Schaal, and Westley Snipes all made cameo appearances in this episode.

Laszlo, Nandor and Nadja were found guilty and placed in a well, to await the sun to burn them to death. Luckily, they were saved by Colin Robinson and Guillermo.

“Citizenship” included Nandor trying to get his American citizenship, and his lack of knowledge of America is hilarious. This episode is also dealing with Jenna’s transformation into a vampire and Nadja’s attempt to help teach her what she needed to do to become the best vampire she could be.

“The Orgy” revealed that Laszlo had been making pornos since the beginning of cinema, and, sadly, the pornos he made were boring. With the threesome looking to throw an awesome orgy, things do not go quite as well as they had hoped.

These were three great episodes. I have to finish up season one soon.