Category Archives: TV-G[eek]

Sweet Tooth S3 E4

Posted on by

Spoilers

“Beyond the Sea”

We are now half way through the final season of Sweet Tooth and this was a dark, very emotional episode all around.

This is probably the best episode of the final season so far because it centered so much on Gus and what he had to do, not only to continue his quest to Alaska, but to honor the dead on the Whale’s Song, the boat they were trying to get to at the end of episode 3.

The boat had been shut down because the crew and passengers had all been exposed and died from the sick. All except one person, named Darwin. With Darwin’s help, Gus was able to remove all of the bodies from the ship while giving them all burials at sea.

The powerhouse moments of watching this little boy drag wrapped up bodies and throw them into the ocean, while providing a voice over eulogy, was truly a beautiful and touching homage to these people. Understand, we knew none of these people on the boat, but the way the moment affected Gus was how it affected us as the audience.

It made it even worse when we discovered that Darwin had also contracted the sick and he killed himself by falling overboard. Not before he set the boat up to continue its trek to Alaska.

I really thought that this was where Jepp was going to get his. The show teased that he had been exposed to the sick and that this was where Big Man was going to die. However Singh was able to test him and proved that he was free of the sick. I really do have a bad feeling about Jepp’s fate this season and I think that if something does happen to Bog Man, it is going to be crushing.

Meanwhile, we continue to see how horrific Mrs. Zhang is as she does not care what gets in her way in her wish to capture the ‘deer boy’ as she puts it. Her total dismissal of her grandson’s injury shows what she thinks of hybrids and her coldness toward her own daughter makes her a cruel individual.

The flash of hope at the end of the episode helped to place the rest of the episode into context. It was an episode about death, about remembering, about honoring, and about surviving. Gus remains perhaps the strongest character on the entire show.

Battlestar Galactica mini-series

Posted on by

Spoilers

Tonight I started the next TV program to add to the watchlist. I have been doing rewatches of The X-Files and Bates Motel, but it felt as if I needed another one. However, this was not a rewatch as I have never seen any of the episodes of Battlestar Galactica.

I used to watch the original series back in the 1970s with Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict (Face from the A-Team) and Loren Greene, but it was never one of my favorites. So when there was a new version of the series starting on Syfy, I was not interested. I have heard tremendous praise for the series from lots of different sources, so when I was looking for a new series around the time that I finished up with Man from Atlantis, Battlestar cam eon my radar.

The thing is… I discovered that there was a mini-series that aired prior to the series and, when I found it on Amazon Prime, I saw that it was over 3 hours long. That was preventative to starting it and it was going to require a certain spot to watch this lengthy of a show.

I was able to find the time tonight to watch this show (which was presented originally in two parts, but just in one full episodes on Prime).

What an amazing three hours it was.

This mini-series took time to present a group of characters, a few of whom I recognized names (Starbuck. Apollo. Both names from the 70s show). I was aware of Katee Sackhoff was playing Starbuck as one of the standout characters of the series. Even I, who did not watch the show but was aware of its cultural place, knew that. I recognized the actor Edward James Olmos who was playing the role that Loren Greene had originated. Other than that, the cast was full of actors whom I did not know.

The cast was excellent and I started learning these characters. The show does a decent job of providing enough development to know who these people are and why I should care about them. Such as Mary McDonnell, who played Laura Roslin, who becomes the President after the Cylon attack of earth killed everyone ahead of her in progression. It was Battlestar’s own Designated Survivor moment. Giving this important character cancer before she had to step into this leadership role was quite ballsy of the show and connected the audience to her immediately.

The show was a war show, which was also something that I was not expecting. I knew that it would be sci-fi, but I did not know how much of a war show this would actually be.

The special effects were tremendous throughout the show, specifically with the moment at the end when the Galactica was holding off the Cylons so the civilians to ‘jump’ was amazingly shot. The final moment when Starbuck used her own ship to push Apollo into the Galactica before it jumped as well was exceptional.

Making the Cylons look like humans for this series is a stroke of genius. Not that the design of the robotic Cylons was bad, but this gives you more than just unexpressive robots to be antagonists. It was a wonderful decision for whomever made it.

This was a tense, exciting, anxiety-filled adventure with some new characters that I really liked out of the gate. I am excited to learn more about these people as this series moves along.

Battlestar Galactica has four seasons of around 74 episodes and I will be adding this to the watchlist starting this summer. It was a great start with this mini-series.

Sweet Tooth S3 E3

Posted on by

Spoilers

“The Pack”

I guess my idea that the father from last episode was going to be a problem for Gus and his group was dead wrong.

That character was finished off in the first five minutes of episode three by the hybrid wolf pack that is chasing after Gus. Turns out that Rosie is more of the threat than he ever was. And I have to say that Rosalind Chao’s Zhang is one cold-hearted monster. These are some serious antagonist for our heroes to avoid.

Looks like Gus, Jepp and Singh are making it to the boat, which had left before they all got to the coast. Poor Becky and Wendy get separated and have to deal with Rosie and her pups.

I’m not sure that they would have been able to fix that little boat the way they did, but I can suspend my disbelief for that. Gus continues to be the most heroic character on the show, showing his bravery and how excellent he is.

I am curious to see what happens now that their party has been split apart.

Sweet Tooth S3 E2

Posted on by

Spoilers

“Thank God I’m a Country Boy”

The second episode of Sweet Tooth sees Gus and his crew, including Dr. Singh, who wanted to help Gus find the cave in Alaska, come across a family that was anything but friendly.

The couple were in the middle of labor and the father was anything but responsive to the hybrids among them. In fact, it took Dr. Singh offering to help with the birth in order to have him allowed inside.

As that is going on, Gus and Wendy meet a young girl about their age named Theo (Jonah Wren Phillips). Theo, dressed as a super hero, speaks to Gus and Wendy as if their being hybrids made them less than human. These were ideas from her father. Gus and Wendy are able to befriend her and she shows them that she too is a hybrid with, what looks to be bat wings.

The baby was a breech and Dr. Singh was able to save it, but it did turn out to be a hybrid. The father tried to cut off the baby’s ears because of it. This father is clearly demented and is going to cause trouble down the road. I thought Theo might wind up going with Gus, but she wanted to stay and help her new brother. He’s going to need it with the father here.

This was a side quest on the season and it was fine. It seems as if the father is going to be back at some point this season.

Sweet Tooth S3 E1

Posted on by

Spoilers

“The Beginning is also the End”

The final season of Sweet Tooth dropped on Netflix this weekend. This is based on a comic book from one of my favorite writers, Jeff Lemire, and has been a great two season series. Now, Gus, Big Man, Bear and Wendy are on their way to Alaska to find Gus’s mom, who happens to be in bunch of trouble herself.

Christian Convery returned as the titular character and shows, once again, how perfectly he was cast as the deer hybrid, Gus. The young actor exudes charm and warmth, making this character the perfect protagonist for this world filled with sickness and cruelty.

Jeb, aka Big Man, has to face his own problems as he is trying to continue to protect Gus. Big Man is getting older and life’s conflicts just don’t bounce off him as they used to do.

The first episode provides some further insight into the relationship between the two hybrids, Gus and Wendy. They both seem to be the most good hearted characters you could hope to see, and I hope that does not lead to their eventual downfall.

With the first episode cliffhanger, the arrival of Dr. Singh wanting to talk about Alaska, the show kicked off with a bang. There was an avalanche in the Rocky Mountains that was awesome, placing another challenge before our foursome.

Jeff Lemire has written some of my favorite comic series from outside of Marvel, but I never read Sweet Tooth. It has that same feel that one might get when reading Fishflies. I do not know how much the series has stuck to the comics, but I can definitely feel the touch of Lemire in the story.

Sweet Tooth on Netflix has a total of 8 episodes in the final season.

The X-Files S5 E12

Posted on by

Spoilers

“Bad Blood”

This is one of my favorite, if not my favorite, X-Files episodes of all time. “Bad Blood” is a monster-of-the-week story involving vampires, but the best part of the episode is the humor. This is one of the funniest X-Files episodes in the entire series.

The concept behind the episode was Mulder and Scully telling the story of what happened in their case in Texas, describing what happened in each of their own POVs. While the scenes were similar, little differences between the way Mulder saw things and the way Scully saw things were just hilarious.

Even more intriguing was how Mulder and Scully saw the other one. Scully’s tale had Mulder being more exuberant and not very forthcoming while Mulder saw Scully as irritated and snipy.

Luke Wilson guest starred as Sheriff Hartwell, both with and without buck teeth. The running gag of Scully’s attraction to him was in both of their stories and led to Mulder adding the detail of the buck teeth, assumingly out of jealousy.

Some of my favorite lines/moments from “Bad Blood” :

  • “It’s not that Mexican goat sucker either”
  • “I was drugged!”
  • Scully getting hungry during an autopsy because she saw pizza in the stomach contents.
  • Mulder’s “Yee-haw” and Scully’s “Hoo-boy”
  • Mulder throwing the sunflower seeds, saving himself.
  • “Probably Cause of Death: Gee, that’s a tough one”
  • In Scully’s version: Mulder does the Shaft theme song to which Mulder responds “I DID NOT!”
  • “I just put money in the magic fingers” -Scully’s total disappointment.
  • The small intestine sliding out from the scale.

That is just a sampling of the brilliance of this episode. As I stated, if this is not my number one episode of the X-Files, it is certainly in argument for the top three. It is wholly original and provided Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny a perfect situation to show off their excellent comedic timing. It also allowed a look inside the minds of Mulder and Scully to how they can see the other person in their partnership at times.

“Bad Blood” is outstanding.

Bates Motel S2 E2

Posted on by

Spoilers

“Shadow of a Doubt”

Lots of things going down on Bates Motel as the second season gets underway.

  • Norma is concerned over Norman’s blackouts and she finds a pearl necklace in his room.
  • Norman is trying to help Bradley get away with the murder she committed.
  • Speaking of which, the murder Bradley committed, Gil, whom killed her father, started fireworks between the two weed families in the area.
  • Norma and Norman try out for local musical at the theater in town. Norma knocks her song out of the park.
  • Romero arrests a suspect for Miss Watson’s murder, based on a seaman sample.
  • Romero presses charges without much evidence.
  • Norman can’t get away from Norma to drive Bradley to the bus station. He called Dylan to help. Dylan will make it look like she committed suicide.

Then, the episode was coming to an end in what seemed to be a happy moment. The word about Miss Watson’s accused killer got out and everyone was happy (especially Norma who believed that Norman had killed her during one of his blackouts). Dylan had returned and gave Norman the good news about Bradley getting on the bus and gave him a handwritten note from her to Norman. There was happy music playing in the background. It felt like the episode was going to end on a happy note for once.

I should know Bates Motel wouldn’t let that happen.

Norma’s brother arrived in the town, looking for the Bates Motel. At the end of season one, we discovered that Norma had been sexually assaulted by him through her teenage years. Things aren’t looking good for this guy.

The X-Files S5 E11

Posted on by

Spoilers

“Kill Switch”

AI rear its ugly head once again on The X-Files and this time, Scully get to kickbox a bunch of evil nurses.

What?

It was a weird episode that featured an armless Mulder, action hero Scully, and a computer programmer trying to prevent an AI from going worldwide.

It included a couple of laser beams from a satellite targeting our heroes from space, leading to massive explosions.

I saw a lot of love for this episode online, but to be honest, it was not a personal favorite of mine. The whole Scully does roundhouse kicks seemed silly to me and it damaged the tone of the episode, in my opinion.

It was always nice to see the Lone Gunmen once again and their jaw-dropping idolization of “Invisigoth”, the hacker involved with the AI, was very funny. Her attitude toward them put them in their place too.

Overall, this episode was fine and the armless Mulder scenes were scary, but I just was not as into this as some previous X-Files episodes. It was far from bad, but I just did not love this one.

Doctor Who S14 E6

Posted on by

SPOILERS

S14 E6 or S1 E7 or …who the hell knows

“Rogue”

I could feel the internet melting down every second that I watched this episode.

The Doctor and Ruby arrive in a Bridgerton type location (19th Century earth) and come across a bounty hunter named Rogue, who believed that the Doctor was the shape shifting killer that he was chasing. The Doctor and Rogue flirt throughout the episode and try to drive the trolls online crazy. I mean… they end up teaming up trying to capture the shapeshifters from the Chuldur species.

They actually use the term cosplay for what the Chulder species does, really a insider term. This show has been very meta all year long and this played right into it.

Jonathan Groff played Rogue and he and the Doctor had a great deal of chemistry between them. The time they gave to this new relationship feels as if it is setting up something else for the future of the character in the romance manner.

This show continues to be well written and entertaining every week. I have enjoyed my first real dive into Doctor Who.

The X-Files S5 E10

Posted on by

Spoilers

“Chinga”

Stephen King co-wrote this episode of The X-Files along with series creator Chris Carter, who would help get the voices of Mulder and Scully correct. King was a fan of the show and approached David Duchovny with the hope of writing an episode.

The episode he helped to pen featured an evil doll, much like Annabelle or Chucky, that was able to force people into violent behavior.

Scully was on vacation, actively trying to avoid the phone calls from an obviously bored Mulder, but she came across this terrible scene at a supermarket and she wound up getting roped in to helping the local sheriff.

As the episode was basically a Scully solo episode, with a few phone calls coming from Mulder to provide some comedic relief, it was a fun time. I enjoy Scully being able to show that she is a capable FBI agent and not just depend on Mulder. She did seem to slide into Mulder’s way of thinking perhaps a bit too fast, considering scientist Scully would have a difficult time accepting the possibility of a talking, killer doll. Still, it mostly made sense and there is little that was funnier than Scully taking this doll and putting it in the microwave.

Clearly the doll, Chinga, was not at the level of Chucky or Annabelle because there is no way nuking them in a microwave would take care of them.

There were some creepy moments of the show too, including the “Hokey Pokey.”

The X-Files S5 E9

Posted on by

Spoilers

“Schizogeny”

… or the killer tree episode.

I first thought this was the episode with the kid who could summon lightning and was always in the arcade, but it switched up quickly. I do not remember this episode at all. Perhaps that is because this is terrible.

Did I mention killer trees?

Poor Aunt Linda.

I think there was an intention to speak against abuse in children, but the ridiculousness of the rest of the episode just did not fit with the topic. The tone of this episode was all over the place and the abuse did not work for the story.

And evidence that Mulder should not be involved in car chases.

The X-Files gave us, perhaps, the first crazy Karen. Decapitated, even.

If I missed this the first time around, it seemed that I was lucky. This was one of the worst X-Files episodes in a long time.

Bates Motel S2 E1

Posted on by

Spoilers

“Gone but not Forgotten”

I was about halfway through the episode on Amazon Prime when my internet went out. So I had to wait a couple of hours before I could finish the season premiere of season two of Bates Motel.

One of my favorite scenes of the show happened in this episode. Vera Farmiga had the most righteous rant at the city council meeting and I threw my arms into the air as she ripped into the council and the prudish women who had presented about removing books from the school. This gave another great look at the character of Norma Bates, who is being shown to be a force of nature.

The show took the character of Bradley in a different direction this season as she tried to kill herself at the beginning of episode 1. She started going all in on an attempt to find out about her father, who died in season one. That led her to killing the guy that had some knowledge of the death in a shocking moment. Then she drew Norman into the problem at the very end of the episode. I did not remember this part of the storyline from the first time I saw this back in season two, so it was a cool, seemingly new, feature.

Norman is continuing to have trouble getting over the death of Miss Watson. The show is implying that he had something to do with the murder. Norman does not remember what happened that night, but, when he was talking to Norma about it, Norman said that he did not remember and when he left, he could have been there to help her when the person who killed her arrived. You could see that Norma was thinking that Norman had something to do with the death.

Great kickoff to season two.

Bates Motel S1 E10

Posted on by

Spoilers

“Midnight”

Season one of Bates Motel wrapped up with some major events that both put an end to some dangling threads and set up what will be happening in season two.

Norma goes to Sheriff Romero with the details about Abernathy’s threats at the end of the previous episode. Romero basically tells her that he would take care of it and that she should trust him. I don’t know why anyone would at this point because Romero is sus as hell.

Norma asked Dylan if he could get her a gun and teach her to use it. Dylan refused at first, but changed his mind and they had a nice mother-son moment while shooting cans and bottles.

Norma still planned on going to the meeting with Abernathy at midnight.

Meanwhile, Norman and Emma decide to go to a school dance together, but Norman’s obsession with Bradley tanked that.

Prior to Norman and Emma going to the dance, Norma told Norman about her brother. She said that when she was 13, her brother would make her have sex with him and she told Norman because she just needed someone to know. You could see how this news affected her barely sane son.

So at the dance, when Emma leaves Norman alone, Bradley’s boyfriend punched Norman and he started walking home in the rain. Miss Watson picks him up and takes him to her house to fix up his bloody eye.

Norma went to the docks to meet Abernathy despite Romero’s warning for her to trust him. She saw Romero arrive and hid. Romero confronted Abernathy and shoots him multiple times, shoving him into the water. Romero then told Norma, whom he knew was there, to go home. It was a laugh out loud moment when Norma popped up from her hiding spot after Romero said that. Romero told Norma that she needed to trust him when he says to trust him.

Romero is a bad ass in these episodes. He is also a huge riddle. Is he corrupt? Is he just like a vigilante, taking care of things on his own? He says that this was his town, to what extent does he mean that? Nestor Carbonell brought the intensity of this character to the screen and would become a series regular in season two.

We then see Miss Watson dead on the floor of her home with her throat slit. We know Norman was there and we know that “Mother,” the delusion that Norman sees, told him that he knew what he had to do. Did Norman off his teacher? We did hear Miss Watson on the phone earlier with what sounded like an old boyfriend so it may not be cut and dried that Norman killed her.

After a couple of lesser episodes, the season finale of season one of Bates Motel really rocked and set up everything for the series moving forward.

Doctor Who S14 E5

Posted on by

S14 E5, S1 E6???

SPOILERS

“Dot and Bubble”

Wow, what an ending.

At first, I thought this was going to be an episode with a theme about the dangers of social media, but it became so much more in the last five minutes.

Lindy is our main protagonist in this world called Finetime. She was very unlikable but the Doctor and Ruby tried their best to help her avoid being eaten by a large bug-monster creatures. These bug-creatures are just really creepy and seeing them devouring the people of Finetime was unnerving.

Most of the episode had the Doctor and Ruby appearing on screens inside the ‘bubble’ , the screen-like function that went around their heads and allowed them access to the social media world. They did a great job without being in much of the episode.

Lindy became even more unlikable as the episode progressed and when Ricky September showed up and she tossed him to the wolves, I really started to want to see her pay for her meanness.

Only it got even more.

The last five minutes revealed that Lindy was a racist and she made implications that she wouldn’t go with him because he was different. It did not come right out and said it was because he was black, but that is absolutely what she was referring to in that ending.

Going back for a minute. In the Bubble, the Doctor and Ruby see whom Lindy said was her mummy, but it was the same actress who has been in all the other previous episodes. She is played by Susan Twist, and this episode, the Doctor and Ruby realized that they recognized her face from previous episodes.

I think this is an episode where a second watch, after knowing the ending, makes the rest of the episode look differently than it did on the first view.

Another strong episode with a very creative story.

Bates Motel S1 E9

Posted on by

Spoilers

“Underwater”

Poor Norma.

She has had a rough time. Finding the cadaver in her bed only started her stress. She was clearly afraid that this was the start of something worse, and she was very apparently correct.

The scene with Norma in the car with Jake in her backseat telling her to bring him the money that Shelby owed him was tense. Poor Norma had no idea what he was talking about, but she was stuck.

And she needs help but there is not much that Sheriff Romero could do and his comments to Norma with the flowers was completely understandable, even though she was 100% right.

Norman is still slowly descending into his craziness and I know it is heading toward his teacher getting the death treatment. Norman is showing the cracks in his life, especially when he trots into the house with his stuffed dead dog.

This is the penultimate episode of season one and it is again kind of a feeling of set up than a full story. It is a solid episode but it is not the same as the first half of this season.