Category Archives: TV-G[eek]

Battlestar Galactica S1 E12, E13 S2 E1, E2

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“Kobol’s Last Gleaming, Part 1 and Part 2”

“Scattered”

“Valley of Darkness”

I had planned on watching the two part season one finale for Battlestar Galactica, but it was so compelling and engaging that I found myself bleeding over into the first two episodes of season two. Battlestar Galactica has become a must see series. For the longest time, I had no desire to see this show, despite the positive word of mouth I had heard. Now, I see exactly why this is considered such a classic.

There are too many major things happen over these four episodes to do any real recap, so I am just going to hit upon some of my thoughts as we move through.

The shooting of Adama was shocking. I literally cried out ‘oh no’ when Boomer shot him. The blood and the desperation of those around him really made the tense moment feel tragic. In the back of my head, I kept saying to myself, ‘they won’t kill off Adama,’ yet I had serious doubt about it. It appears as if Adama is going to wake up at some point, but this was extremely suspenseful.

The crew that crashed on Kobol had so many thing going down, but with the two deaths, we really proved the danger that they were in. Chief had a tough couple of episodes for sure.

I had made my decision about Dr. Baltar. He was an antagonist and I was going to consider him a villain in this piece. And then this happened. I can’t decide if he is someone I am supposed to hate or someone who is just being manipulated by the Cylons… or perhaps even the real hero of the piece. The whole thing with his daughter felt like it was more than just another trick. The dream where Adama drown the child was horrifying and definitely made Baltar look more like the positive force. If this were any other type of sci-fi show, I would know what it was trying to do, but Battlestar Galactica seems to be a deeper story with something more developed.

The conflict between Roslin and Adama is still very much brewing, having Tigh as Adama’s surrogate. The split between the survivors looks to only cause more troubles. Starbuck’s betrayal to Adama was rough, as is her fight with Number Six. Starbuck and Helo in Starbuck’s apartment, listening to a recording of her father playing the piano was very emotional and gave us even more depth to Kara.

The Cylon Centurions in “Valley of Darkness” (as well as at the very end of “Scattered”) was amazing and looked fantastic for a TV show. It would have been excellent for a big screen film too. Understandably, they have limited the use of these robots because of costs, but these were certainly worth whatever they had spent on them.

This was an epic little run of four episodes that provided an amazing sci-fi adventure with excellent characterization. Things really began to happen quickly through these episodes and the storyline is solidly in place for the foreseeable future of the show.

The X-Files S6 E2

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“Drive”

Some of the best and most under-the-radar episodes of The X-Files are the ones that seem to take a premise or theme of a well known movie and adapt it into the world of the X-Files. There was an early season episode called “Ice” that was similar to The Thing. “Post Modern Promethean” was in the style of the Universal Monsters movies, particularly Frankenstein. This one “Drive” takes the premise of the movie Speed and plays with it so it fits with the X-Files concept. In fact, Mulder even makes a joke about seeing this movie.

Bryan Cranston was an unexpected face to see in the car with Agent Mulder. He was about a couple of years before being Hal in Malcom in the Middle and a decade away from becoming Walter White in Breaking Bad, but Cranston remained an amazing actor at any point of his career, playing antisemite Patrick Crump in this X-Files episode and forcing Mulder to drive him fast and to the west. Cranston was able to instill in “Mr.” Crump a humanity that took this character which could be considered the villain of this story and made him someone the audience was rooting for, despite his antagonistic approach to Mulder near the beginning of the episode.

The dialogue between Cranston and Duchovny was expertly written and helped take this premise to another level. It was much more than just an homage to Speed. It fit right into the world of The X-Files.

The episode kicked off with a fantastic hook, having Crump in a high speed chase with police, filmed from the above helicopter. The start of the episode set a tone that insured that this was going to be fire.

I really enjoyed this episode and thought the inclusion of Bryan Cranston made this episode a standout.

Bates Motel S3 E1

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“A Death in the Family”

There is no doubt about it. Norma and Norman have a weird relationship.

Dylan called Norma out on it at the beginning of this episode, telling her that it was strange for her 18-year old son to be sleeping in the same bed as his mother. He was right, by the way. Especially cuddled up the way that Norman and Norma do.

The third season started off with a bunch of new storylines as the final episode of season two really felt like a cool conclusion.

  • Norma’s brother came back to see Dylan.
  • Dylan wants out of the drug business. Just growing the legal amount of pot for medicinal uses.
  • Norman and Emma decide to begin dating.
  • Norman is not going back to school- being homeschooled.
  • A new woman comes to the motel, reveals herself to be a prostitute.
  • Did Norman kill her already?
  • Sheriff Romero showed off his bad-assery once again.
  • Norma’s mother died off screen opening up old wounds for her.
  • Emma’s lung capacity dropped dramatically.

There are some solid starts for the new season. No matter what, as long as this show featured Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore, it will be great.

The Greatest American Hero S1 E1

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Look at what’s happened to me….

That is right. I found this series available on Amazon Prime and so I have added it to the watch list, along with The X-Files, Bates Motel and Battlestar Galactica. The Greatest American Hero was one of my favorite shows on ABC back in the early 80s. Starring William Katt, Robert Culp and Connie Sellecca, the series featured a high school teacher that was given a super suit by aliens. Unfortunately, the teacher, Ralph Hinkley, lost the instruction manual so he had trouble figuring out how the suit worked.

Meanwhile, FBI agent Bill Maxwell was with Ralph when the aliens arrived and becomes involved in the scenarios. Ralph’s lawyer and girlfriend Pam Davidson gets involved with the chaos as well, at first believing that Ralph had lost his mind.

This first episode is the full length pilot episode, running around 90 minutes long.

The Greatest American Hero was a ton of silly fun, playing with the tropes of the super hero genre. Ralph is unable to access the full power of the suit and what he can do, he does not do smoothly. [“DAMN”].

There requires plenty of suspension of disbelief here. Why doesn’t Ralph put on some kind of mask as he is flying around the city with his own face exposed. He also randomly tells people his name and job as he is dressed in his suit. Sure that defies logic, but so does a super suit from space aliens and a flying teacher who can crash through a wall. If you are derailed by some faults in logic, you have chosen the wrong show to watch.

Of course, one of the things this show had going for it was perhaps the best TV theme song ever recorded. “The Greatest American Hero [Believe it or Not]” by Joey Scarbury is undeniably catchy, easy to sing along with and sets the perfect tone for the show. To this day, that song is on my phone and is one that I always stop to listen to when it comes around.

William Katt and Robert Culp are also huge pieces of this show’s unlikely success. Both actors are solid performers and have had plenty of luck in the past. Culp was a star of the show “I Spy” with Bill Cosby. Katt appeared in the Stephen King film, Carrie, as well as several other films. The pairing of Katt and Culp were one of the key elements to this series’ cult stasis.

There are 45 episodes spread over three seasons of The Greatest American Hero. We will continue to add to this watch as the months go on.

Battlestar Galactica S1 E11

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“Colonial Day”

How can an episode from 2005 feel so relevant to the political world of today?

A terrorist making a run at a political office with eyes on the presidency? Hmm.

Richard Hatch returned to the show as Tom Zarek, who had become a representative for one of the colonies by his words and his outsider position. The episode featured a meeting of the Quorum of Twelve, the representative body of the colonies. Zarek proposed that the position of vice president be the first item on the agenda.

Zarek manipulated others into nominating him with the idea of being elected VP and then taking out President Roslin.

I could not help but see echoes of the current day political discourse in this show, which is amazing considering this was nearly 20 years ago.

I am also amazed at how many of these characters on Battlestar Galactica are characters that I truly dislike. I have been going on about Dr. Baltar the last few posts, and his being eventually elected vice president does not put him in a better stead for me. Ellen Tigh is simply a horrendous character that I despise every second she is on screen. Zarek is a terrible character, but at least he interests me more and his compelling performance by Richard Hatch is fun.

Major events on Caprica too as Helo and Sharon were going to steal a ship to escape when Helo saw doubles of Number Six speaking to each other. He then saw another copy of Sharon (Number Eight) and he ran off, putting together what had been happening this whole time.

Battlestar Galactica has been very consistently entertaining this entire first season although I worry what havoc a VP Baltar will bring. I look forward to the eventual return of Richard Hatch once more as he brings an energy to this show unlike any others, as well as an awesome antagonist outside of the world of Cylons.

The Boys S4 E7

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“The Insider”

There is a lot to talk about with the penultimate episode of season seven of The Boys. I do not think that this show can be considered an allegory any longer. With the whole January 6th reference for the planned assassination of the president, as well as the obvious connections to our current political climate, the Boys is anything but subtle. The whole Christmas song, although very funny, might have been on the nose too much.

Sticking with the singing puppets Christmas special, I do love what Ryan does at the end of the episode, stepping up and talking live on the television about how this isn’t right. He felt very sincere and affecting. The only trouble I had with it was that was not the way Ryan seemed to be going last episode. It felt like a very different response and so I am not sure what that character is actually feeling. Maybe it is supposed to be that way considering he is a teen and they can be inconsistent as a rule. I just am having a difficulty with the overall execution for this character.

The Deep, however, is completely different. His arc of the season has been a rough one, messing with his self-image and confounding what he wants. I actually gasped when he crashed that aquarium, which led to the death of his octopus lover. Tilda Swinton was genius level voice over in this episode as she voiced first the anger and betrayal felt by Ambrosius and then the despair as her love Deep allowed her to suffocate to death trapped in a closet. This was very much an allegory for domestic abuse and, because of this, the Deep took a step of a descent into losing what little humanity he had remianing.

What can we say about poor Hughie? He has taken such a beating this season, mostly emotionally. He lost his father. He was assaulted sexually by Tek Knight (and Ashley too). His girlfriend’s abortion is plastered across the TV (something, by the way, that we have not had a reaction from Hughie about. What was his thoughts of Annie’s choice?). And now a shapeshifter comes into his home with Annie and has sex with him in the form of Annie, all to get the info they had on Victoria. I feel so badly for Hughie this season and I think he will have a lot of problems moving forward.

The fight scene between Butcher and Starlight and The Deep and Black Noir in the Boys’ office was tremendous and gave us some cheer out loud moments. The arrival of A-Train to save the day and then the arrival of Mother’s Milk with a Gatlin gun were two amazing moments within this fight that were just sparkling hero moments. I used to hate A-Train, but his redemption is complete for me as I see him as a hero and, perhaps, my favorite character on the show. I hope he survives.

Homelander had a tough emotional episode that will clearly lead into whatever craziness is in store for the finale. Antony Starr’s sly side eye to Firecracker’s breast near the end of the show was utterly perfect. Homelander’s tears at A-Train being revealed as the leak was amazing. It gives you a glance inside the mind of him and his deep neuroses. Then he watches as his son speaks to the nation live on TV. This does not feel like it will end well.

I do not know where this is heading, but it seems apparent that next week’s episode will deal with the plot to assassinate the president on January 6th. That makes sense. How it all falls together, I have no idea. It does feel as if The Deep’s story is wrapping up and I wonder if he will be killed. I hope A-Train makes it through. How will Sister Sage work into this since Homelander fired her? Will Butcher live past this season? He did not look good at the end of E7.

I don’t know how this is wrapped up, but I can see a rocket lashed to this show heading into its final season after this.

The X-Files S6 E1

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“The Beginning”

The opening “previously on The X-Files” showed that this season six takes place directly after the movie, The X-Files: Fight the Future, the feature length film that had been released in theaters, and the story told in that movie is included in this season premiere.

However, it is only part of the story as the episode also included details that were introduced in the fifth season finale, “The End.” Specifically, the use of the little boy who could read minds, Gibson, as well as agents Jeffrey Spender and Diana Fowley. These two agents were assigned to take over the work of Mulder and Scully, who were reassigned within the FBI with explicit instructions to not work on the X-Files again.

Fowley is one of my least favorite X-Files characters because she is such a sell out and feels as if she exists only to put a stress on the connection of Mulder and Scully. You can see that stress in this episode and Scully argued with Mulder and at one point asks him to trust her. I seem to remember a time when Mulder said that Scully was “the only one he trusts.” That seems to have been chipped away as the new Mulder only wants to hear from Scully if she agrees with him.

Diana Fowley becomes a major character over the next few seasons and it is part of the slipping of The X-Files.

The horrors that the show has put the character of Gibson through is shocking and terrifying, and not in a good way. The treatment of this kid has been very distasteful by everyone and I do like how he just calls the adults out because he knows what they were thinking.

Spender, of course, is a horrendous person too, because he is taking direction from Smoking Man, who continues to be the one character that has to have a bullet in his head. I am consistently stating how much I hate this character, which should go to show what an amazing job William B. Davis had done with this role.

However, the opening scene of the episode featuring a carpool, had some of the worst dialogue that I ever remember in an X-Files episode. It was shockingly bad and did not start the episode off well. Thankfully, an alien ripped out of someone’s chest and made things a lot better.

My memory is that The X-Files becomes difficult to watch over the next few seasons, so we will see how this rewatch progresses.

Battlestar Galactica S1 E10

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“Hand of God”

With the fuel supplies dwindling among the fleet, Adama and his crew of the Galactica take a huge risk in an attempt to find energy to support them.

This is one of Starbuck’s big time episodes as she is shown to be capable, smart and more than just the best pilot in the fleet.

It also gave some major props to Apollo as he stepped up and took the place of Starbuck, whose knee injury was not healed fully for her to be involved in this attack plan.

After plenty of time in these first 10 episodes (and the mini-series prior) where the humans were just able to escape from the Cylons, it was good to see them articulate and execute a plan to fight back once. Their plan was offensive and gave some hope that it was not just evacuation that the humans could do against the Cylon fleet.

I’m still not getting sucked in by Baltar again. After last episode, he is still the villain in the mix to me and, even though he made a lucky pick at where to strike on the base, I am not buying him as a hero. I am not sure what motivated his mind Number Six, but it can’t be positive for the humans.

Exciting episode with some great effects. It looks really amazing for a Syfy Channel show.

The X-Files S5 E19, E20

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“Folie à Deux”

“The End”

The were the final to episodes of season five of The X-Files. The first one was a monster-of-the-week story and the second one returned to the mythology episode seeing the comeback of Cigarette-Smoking Man, who does not seem to have missed a beat with his manipulations and evilness.

Starting with Folie à Deux, this was a very solid episode with a scary bug antagonist. It sounded as if they were unhappy with the look of the costume they were using and had visual effects make the monster harder to see. It is a logical step that a monster that is hidden is scarier than one you can see fully.

The introduction of Diana Fowley did not work well for me. She felt as just a conflict tossed into the relationship of Mulder and Scully. This triangle that was introduced just fell flat for me. I did not mind another agent accepting Mulder’s theories, but the romantic aspect just lacked any substance.

The introduction of mind reading child Gibson was much better though and gave me some of the flavor of “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose” but with a little boy instead of an old man. I found there to be less comedy in this episode than in Clyde too.

Smoking Man is back and I want him dead yet! Honestly, this villain is just so effective that I want the character to pay for all of his crimes. He told Agent Spengler that he was his father, and he continued to manipulate the entire situation, as Spengler is being set up as an antagonist for Mulder.

The image of Mulder standing before the charred remains of the X-Files was shocking and powerful. Damn that Smoking Man.

Season six is next to come.

Bates Motel S2 E10

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“The Immutable Truth”

What a season finale this was.

I wonder if this was meant to be potentially the end of the series, because this would have worked out for that with that final shot of Norman leading beautifully into what we know of the character.

Every storyline was to a point where it could have been wrapped up nicely. The whole Dylan/drug trade stuff came to a violent end with the death of just about everybody involved. Romero provided a story to cover the situation, leaving Dylan safe.

The Dylan/Norma drama was resolved too as Norma and Dylan had a great scene together where all of the baggage was finally put aside and Norma told Dylan how much she loved him and how sorry she was with the way she had treated him. She even proved it to him. She told Dylan that she had bought tickets to leave town to Montreal, a way to escape from Norman’s polygraph test, and that she had bought three tickets so Dylan could go too. The flash of recognition on Dylan’s face was amazing as he learned that his mother did love him. It’s all Dylan ever really wanted, despite how angry he had been.

Norman passes the polygraph because his other personality, Mother, told him that she had killed Miss Watson, making Norman able to say that he did not do it. Norman believed, so he could be truthful, in his mind.

The show did an amazing job of showing a young man who had decided to kill himself. He was very precise and started taking care of his life. He made a list of things to do and he went about it calmly. Perhaps the actual scene between Norman and Norma in the woods was more melodramatic than it should have been, but it showed prior that someone who is suicidal may not be out of control and this can give important information to anyone whose loved one might be considering such an action.

As I said, this could have easily been the end of the series. I wonder if they were unsure of a pick up and filmed this as a way to end the series if they were not renewed. There certainly is not many storylines, outside of Norman’s neuroses, remaining.

Battlestar Galactica S1 E9

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“Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down”

Oh, the paranoia… it is so lovely.

This episode did a great job of planting seeds all over the place, making everyone feel as if they could be a Cylon. The concept of making the Cylons look human is paying off big time with this as you are never quite sure who could be a machine.

Before going on, I have had thoughts about Gaius Baltar. His charm and humor has made me want to root for this guy, even though I saw him making bad choices everywhere. That is over for me now. This guy is officially a villain in my eyes from this point forward. Intentionally not revealing the truth of the Cylon identification testing and just making everyone pass the test because it is easier that way is the worst thing I think I have heard. I was willing to give this guy a pass before but that not the case moving forward. He may not be a Cylon sympathizer, but he is not too far away from it.

The character of Ellen Tigh is over the top. She is very unlikable as well. I found her annoying immediately and I had enough of her antics well before Baltar gave her the questionable test. I do not see any real chemistry between her and Saul Tigh. This is not the picture of the character of Saul that I had drawn up to this point. I’m not sure Ellen is someone that will build better story.

I do love the tension between Adama and President Roslin. The questions about if Adama could be a Cylon has affected the relationship and the anxiety building is awesome.

It is fascinating seeing the Cylons starting to wonder about the feelings, particularly love, that humans have, Number six’s response to “Sharon’s” behaviors on Caprica is telling and will probably become a major theme of the show. When will the first Cylon switch sides officially? I think it is destined to happen.

I am very pleased that I have started this series. I can absolutely understand why so many fans loved this show when it aired. It is top notch sci-fi and has already developed a crew of intriguing characters.

Bates Motel S2 E9

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“The Box”

The penultimate episode of season two of Bates Motel was full of major events and shocking moments.

As he was being tossed into the box, I remembered how Norman was held captive in this box out in the woods. I remembered how horrible that was and how it affected his mental state, which was fairly unbalanced as was. I can’t imagine such a torturous situation as what Nick put Norman through.

I guess Nick paid for that as it looked as if Dylan killed him with that fireplace poker.

Romero wants to give Norman a lie detector test to see if he killed Miss Watson. But when he found out that Nick had grabbed Norman, Romero told Norma he would take care of it.

And we find out for sure, or at least as sure as we could, that Norman did indeed kill Miss Watson after he had sex with her. I said last episode that all the bad things on Bates Motel happen after sex. Here was another example.

Season two has one more episode.

The X-Files S5 E18

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“The Pine Bluff Variant”

This X-Files episode was refreshing because it did not have that air of supernatural/alien that we have come to expect from the X-Files and it was a dead serious one that could actually take place in the real world. That made this episode different than most of the series and it was a nice change. I’m not saying that I would want an entire series like this one, but the tension was tight and the story worked.

In the end, it still did tie in with the greater mythology of the X-Files with the government conspiracy at its heart, but most of it was straight forward.

David Duchovny was really great taking Mulder undercover inside a group of terrorists who were looking to test a dangerous bio-weapon.

Sam Anderson (LOST, Picket Fences) appeared as US Attorney Leamus, one of the men at the heart of this bio-weapon test happening. At least, that is what was implied though it was only through Mulder and Scully’s confrontation that this is revealed. Leamus said his job was to protect the people from the truth, certainly setting him up as a foil for Mulder moving forward.

The Boys S4 E6

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“Dirty Business”

Oh Hughie….

Spider Web!!!!

No…Zendaya

This entire episode made me feel icky.

I’m not sure what was ickier… the whole Tek Knight Tek Cave scene or the Victoria Neuman speech. Of course, there was also Firecracker’s breast milk.

The ick factor stepped aside for a powerful scene with Butcher and his internal monologue. The show confirmed one of the long running theories… Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Joe Kessler is indeed a projection of Butcher’s own mind, just like Becca is. The reveal was epic as both Becca and Joe were trying to convince Butcher to have the virus made that would kill all supes and Joe turned to tell Becca to shut up. Butcher realized that Joe could see Becca. It was a great reveal.

Poor Hughie. He was basically sexually assaulted by Tek Knight and Ashley, plus he was still dealing with last episode’s loss of his father. While it seemed funny at the time, it is actually rape and probably shouldn’t be used as humor.

If there was any doubt who Firecracker is based after, she made a “Jewish space lasers” comment.

The whole Homelander, Victoria Neuman, Sage story with the potential interment camps are just too close to what is going on in the real world. The timing of this episode’s release is unbelievably coincidental. The people at the Tek Knight party were some of the worst, most disgusting characters I have seen on this show yet.

And, by the way, I am not sure I’ll ever look at German Chocolate cake the same way again.

Battlestar Galactica S1 E8

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“Flesh and Bone”

A Cylon is captured hiding aboard one of the ships and it falls to Starbuck to try and find out what its mission is.

The Cylon hints that there is a nuclear warhead aboard one of the ships. Starbuck used some “enhanced interrogation techniques” aka torture to try and get the truth out of the machine.

The idea of the episode is wondering what makes one human and how close to human is the Cylon?

Dr. Baltar discovers that Boomer is a Cylon, but his mind Number Six convinces him not to tell her that she is because she may attack him and kill him. Baltar is such a coward. What is he going to do with this information? Just forget it?

Our captured Cylon is using its manipulative tricks and whispered to the President that Adama was a Cylon. She did not believe it, but you could see the slight doubt in her eyes when she was talking to Adama.

The Cylon pretending to be Lieutenant Valerii on Caprica seemed to be maybe falling for Lieutenant Agathon.

This seems to be starting to question how human these machines are now that they have these human bodies. I have a feeling this theme is going to continue over the seasons.