Category Archives: TV-G[eek]

Them: The Scare S2 E2

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“The Devil Himself Visited This Place”

Episode two of this anthology series really picked up the tension. LA during this time frame was rife with racial tension and this episode truly showed the way that the Rodney King problem made things unbearable in the city.

But this is not just racial tension that is amping up the anxiety of Them: The Scare. Part of it is that we have a serial killer of some sort, breaking people’s bones in terrible manners. We have Edmond who is a truly bizarre character and may or may not be tied to what is going on. When Dawn’s son started seeing reflections in the TV, especially of his own face contorted, this show got me.

Dawn’s partner and her chief (played by Wayne Knight) are just such rotten people that it is amazing that Dawn is able to keep herself under control. The isolation she must feel on the force with all of these closeted (not so much) racists. When her partner told her that his first girlfriend was black, I couldn’t believe it.

Edmond’s strange behavior at the very end of the episode is setting this story up to be frightening and fearful. I love it.

Great performances and some absolutely moody situations make this a tough watch.

The X-Files S4 E19

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“Synchrony”

The X-Files goes deep into the realm of science fiction, even further down that road than they normally go, as they tell a story involving time travel.

An old man (Michael Fairman) comes back from the future to attempt to stop the creation of a chemical compound that is used as a rapid freezing agent. In the future, this agent helped create the possibility of time travel.

I liked this episode, despite a few plot holes that appear in the episode. Michael Fairman would appear on General Hospital and it was cool seeing him in this episode (no pun intended).

There were a couple of disturbing scenes of people bursting into flames which were well done for the mid-nineties.

The secondary characters are not quite as interesting ad they should be. They are fine and that makes the show a fine watch, but perhaps not as awesome as it could have been.

X-Men ’97 S1 E9

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“Tolerance is Extinction, Pt. 2”

If the second part of a trilogy is always the darkest one, then “Tolerance is Extinction, Pt. 2” hits the mark.

What an amazing episode, filled with so much X-Men action that it left me breathless and anxious to see the conclusion to this epic encounter next week in the season finale.

Magneto is back and he’s done with Xavier’s message. He recreated Asteroid M and recruited both Rogue and Sunspot to his side. Both of their defections made total sense to these characters, but that did not make it any less impactful to see them turn their backs on the X-Men.

Blue and Gold teams? Yes, please. That was right out of the comics and I loved it. Having Forge, Cable, Nightcrawler still here despite not being “original” members really worked.

The showdown with Jean and Sinister was just epic, as was the inclusion of Cable into that mix. I wonder if this is all leading to Jean’s return as Phoenix? I have noticed that nearly every week, the Phoenix has made an appearance on the opening credits/theme.

This show pulls no punches and is as brutal as you could possibly expect. Seeing Wolverine’s bloody claws (even though the length of them was a bit awkward) stabbed through Magneto was unbelievable, as was Magnus’ response. Who would have guessed that we would see Magneto rip the adamantium from Wolverine on an animated TV program? This is not our kids’ X-Men.

Morph smash? Excellent “cameo” from our shapeshifter.

I also love how the X-Men did not just fall into line with Xavier. The anger they had for their leader and his choices was clear, even if they knew what they had to do in the end. Scott walking past Charles and ignoring his extended hand was a powerful image.

Bastion is still involved, even though the main thrust has moved toward Magneto. Bastion still feels as if something major will happen with him before this war comes to a close. Seeing him crying over his mother was unexpected, but very humanizing.

This animated program had no right to be as brilliant as it turned out to be. X-Men ’97 has surpassed the original program and might take its place as one of, if not the, greatest animated program ever. We will see how the conclusion of this series is next Wednesday.

Them: The Scare S2 E1

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“Are You Scared?”

I have been looking for another series to watch now that several of the others that I have been working on are concluded. I had seen a trailer for Them at the theater and it looked interesting. I do like some horror anthology, so I gave episode one a watch tonight.

I found this very unnerving and scary in all the best ways.

I did not watch the first season of Them, but if I enjoy this show, since it is an anthology, perhaps I can go back to it.

The show was set in the early nineties in Los Angeles around the time of the Rodney King trouble so there are racial tensions beneath the surface of this first episode. While not coming right out with it, the show definitely hints at the racial aspects.

According to IMDB, “LAPD Homicide Detective Dawn Reeve investigates a gruesome murder in a foster home. It already feels like she’s bringing her case home with her. Meanwhile, Edmund Gaines, a struggling actor, pursues a new role – and a new friend.“

Deborah Ayorinde played Dawn Reeve and Luke James played Edmund Gaines. Both actors do a tremendous job of reacting to what is around them. James is absolutely creepy as the struggling actor who may have more involvement than we expect. Ayorinde has secrets in her life that are coloring her perceptions of what is happening in this case and I expect these to affect everything moving forward.

There were some very difficult moments in watching this. I have never been a huge body horror fan, and this has some imagery that is frightening. I am very much curious about where this is heading though and it should be a scary ride. Looks like there are a total of 8 episodes on Amazon Prime.

The X-Files S4 E18

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“Max”

The second part of this story which began in last episode’s “Tempus Fugit” was a very solid conclusion to a decent start. “Max” takes some time to continue to determine what happened to the flight that the character of Max Fenig, who had some kind of object on the flight with him that was a direct reason why the plane crashed and killed the entire passengers.

The object was radioactive and the show hinted around with it being some kind of alien technology. The scenes where Mulder faced off with the man who shot Agent Pendrell were tense scenes, especially when the UFO arrived.

I am not sure that this story needed to be told in two episodes. I think if you took the best parts of this, you could have made one exceptional episode instead of two mildly decent ones.

I do like the fact that the show finally go back around to starting to deal with Scully’s cancer, as her nose did start to bleed during her attempt to save the shot Pendrell. I also appreciated Skinner’s direct reference to her health as he noticed the blood on the tissue that Scully held in her hand. There were several episodes since the diagnosis that did not deal with the cancer even in the slightest and they felt as if they could have been placed at any point in continuity. Bringing it back should help show us motives for all of the main characters involved moving forward, whether the episodes are mythological based or monster-of-the-weeks.

The X-Files S4 E17

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“Tempus Fugit”

It had been awhile since the mythology episodes of The X-Files has been great. They have ranged from okay to repetitive. The first part of this two-parter “Tempus Fugit” was a pretty solid installment with a bit of a different take on the government conspiracy that we have become used to over the last few seasons.

I’m not sure how I feel about the cliffhanger at the end of the episode. The overall idea of the episode seemed to be working fairly well, but this felt very unsubtle and out of place for the rest of the episode.

It was a solid episode up until that reveal at the end. There were some good guest stars and some good work between Mulder and Scully. Still no reference to Scully’s cancer, although the episode kicking off with Mulder celebrating Scully’s birthday could have been seen as him overcompensating for a failure of celebrating her birthdays before.

The imagery of the plane crash site was very brutal for television. It was tough at times to watch as they found bodies that had died horrific deaths. The realism of this scene was special for the X-Files.

I’ll be interested in seeing where this episode goes next as it did not stand out in my memory as a show I had seen before. I am sure I did see it, but it was not one that I recalled.

The Jinx Part Two S2 E3

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“Saving My Tears Until It’s Official”

The third episode of the next season of The Jinx tonight has a focus in on the trial of Bob Durst for the murder of Susan Berman.

The show gave us specific moments from the actual trial in Los Angeles. We heard from several of the witnesses as well as Bob’s reactions on the phone with his wife Debbie. There are a bunch of talking head interviews through the episode with other people from Susan’s life.

Bob Durst was wheeled into the courtroom, with a neck brace. Was this for optics? Was Bob truly in such a bad shape.

During the trial, they came across a tape recording of a conversation between Susan and a reporter named Albert Goldman. It was very creepy how Susan would ask Albert about things that could have happened to Bob’s wife Kathie. Susan was trying to come up with the most reasonable answer to what happened to Kathie so she could distract the media to what could have happened.

The prosecutor did not use that tape because it made Susan to be unlikable and they did not want the jury to think the victim was a bad person.

Nick Chavin, one of Bob’s friends and a friend of Susan, was a surprise, mystery witness in the trial. It did not seem to go very well.

The first part of this trial also does not seem to be going very well. At least, from what we have seen at this point.

The X-Files S4 E16

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“Unrequited”

“Unrequited” was an episode of the X-Files dealing with the idea that there were POWs left behind in Vietnam by the US military and that one of the soldiers left behind was back to take vengeance on those who left him behind.

Oh, and that soldier is able to turn invisible.

The show uses the same shot at the beginning of the episode and then repeats it in the third act which feels fairly lazy. The story itself was lacking a bit. The middle part of the episode does not feel as tense as the ending.

How many times can you see someone and then not see them? It turned the episode fairly repetitive and the conclusion felt somewhat anticlimatic.

Overall, I liked the concept, but the story and the characters did not feel as flesh out as it could have been and was just another excuse to have Mulder and Scully wonder about the corruption of the government.

The Jinx Part Two S2 E1, E2

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“Why are You Still Here?”

“Friendships Die Hard”

I never expected that there would be more for The Jinx. I loved that docuseries when it originally aired on HBO, but it felt like it was one and done. When I discovered that there was a part two that had already started, I was excited to see this story continue. I rewatched the first season of The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst in preparation. With that done (and still as shockingly engaging as it was the first time), I was able to watch the first two episodes of the second season.

While there has not been anything quite as shocking as “killed them all, of course” to this point, the story of Bob Durst continues to be riveting, to the point of being spellbinding.

One of the early highlights of episode one of season two was the scene where Kathie’s family, the prosecutors and investigators and others viewed the streaming of the final episode of The Jinx at Andrew Jarecki’s home. Their reactions to some of the other scenes were fascinating, but the moment where Bob gives his accidental bathroom confession was surreal. The gasps and the stunned silence gave way to a buzz through the room of excitement and anticipatory expectations. There was a palatable relief for so many of these people.

The first episode included the fallout from the airing of The Jinx, including Bob’s decision to go on the run after the fifth episode. Bob is both one step ahead of everyone and foolishly naive at the same time. Bob’s biggest problem seems to be his desire to talk to anyone about anything. Doing the interview with Jarecki in the first season felt like a self-destructive decision, but that did not stop Bob. Why does he make that choice? We hear Bob admit in season two that doing the Jarecki interview was a huge mistake.

The second episode focused on Bob’s friends and confidants that Bob may have confessed to or those people who may have helped him at some point during this adventure. In particular, was Nick “Chinga” Chavin, who was about as close to Bob as you could get. The thing was that he was also very close with Susan Berman, and that loyalty was a theme of this episode. Chavin’s belief in becoming famous as a singer in a “country porn” band with songs such as “Cum Stains on My Pillow (Where Your Sweet Head Used to Be)” continues to be an unbelievable feature of this overall story.

Another shocking person here is Susie Giordano, who we see Bob state that he wished he had married. She and Bob are apparently in love, to the chagrin of Bob’s wife, Debbie. You can’t make this stuff up. No one would believe it.

I love these first tow episodes, even if it does not really provide us any further specifics of the case that we need to know. It is all setting up what is to come with the Bob Durst trial, I can only assume.

I have caught up to where the season is currently for releases. Each new episodes (the four remaining) will be arriving on Max on Sundays and I will be anxious to see the next installment.

The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst S1 E6

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“What the Hell Did I Do?”

“There it is. You’re caught. You’re right, of course”

“But you can’t imagine.”

“I don’t know what’s in the house.”

“What a disaster.”

“He was right. I was wrong.”

“And the burping. I’m having difficulties with the questions.”

“What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.”

This was a tremendously engaging and thrilling docuseries before that unbelievable ending to this episode. Perhaps the idea that this show presented a true crime case and what looked to be a wrap on the case was what was so special. Usually a lot of these true crime docs end up with an ending that does not have the kind of finality that this had. That is part of what made this such a stirring ride.

Watching Andrew Jarecki, holding an ace up his sleeve, trying to get Robert Durst to agree to one more interview to spring it on him, only to have Durst cancel and delay and put off the final meeting, is just sensational. Then when Bob finally agrees to the interview, the prep for the interview with Andrew and the rest was so great. They went all in. It was also exceptional when Andrew commented on how cold this was going to feel to Bob. It was an interesting moment and you could see how the weight of what was going on, and how Andrew actually had some feeling for Durst, stressed Jarecki out.

Then that last moment. The confrontation with Robert and the letter/envelope was rough as Robert tried to get through the interview without giving anything up, but clearly it was building up inside of him because as soon as the interview ended and he used the restroom, Durst starting talking, dropping lines that made it look real badly for him.

He did not come right out and admit to the murders, but he came really close. This is the reason we saw the time in episode three or four where they showed Robert talking with his live mike… all to set up for this very moment.

And it is a glorious reveal. Shocking. A man who has been brilliant in his ability to avoid being sent to jail several times, even after he was shown to have cut up a body and dumped its parts into the water, he basically wrecks himself with his own words.

I have never expected that we would get more episodes to this as it felt done, but I am ready to dive into the next round of episodes in season two.

The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst S1 E4

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“The State of Texas vs. Robert Durst”

Okay, this is just astounding.

This episode featured the trial of Robert Durst in Galveston, Texas on the murder of Morris Black, Durst’s neighbor while he was hiding out in Galveston, pretending to be a woman.

There are so many unbelievable things that happened during the trial that would lead to his being found “not guilty” that it is difficult to understand how it could happen. The thing is as you are watching this trial unfold, including Durst’s own testimony on the stand, you can see why the jury made this remarkably unpopular verdict, freeing the NYC billionaire in what seemed to be a slam dunk case.

I may have missed this, but why in God’s name did the prosecutors in Galveston not include charges against Durst for cutting up the body, destroying evidence or anything else along with the murder charge? By not charging him with these other offenses, they gave Robert Durst a clever way to get away with what he had done.

The fact was that no one could conceivably say that how the event in the room happened. Was it a murder-execution style or was it an accidental death coming from self-defense? Once Robert explained the decapitation part, in a way that made somewhat of a sense, the jury only could decide whether Robert had committed murder. They could not determine if he had cut up the body and disposed of the evidence. None of that was relevant to this case because there were no charges stemming from that.

That entire jury may have believed that he had killed Morris, but there was no proof that he had done so.

The creators of the docuseries added something at the end of this episode that is foreshadowing the bombshell that would be dropped at the end of the series. Andrew Jarecki had asked Robert if he needed a break and during the break, Durst was practicing what he was going to say, which was being picked up on his hot mike.

Durst said, “I did not knowingly purposefully lie. I did not knowingly purposefully lie. I did not knowingly, purposefully, intentionally lie. I did make mistakes.“

I literally shook from this. Durst is such a chilling, manipulative person and his words both at trial and the interview with Jarecki is what makes this more than just any true crime story.

And by the way, why does nobody ask Durst what happened to the head?

This is amazing. I remember how much this stuck with me after the first watch and it absolutely holds up and a compelling piece of drama.

The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst S1 E3

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“The Gangster’s Daughter”

How DO you accidentally shave your eyebrows?

Episode three brings into focus the next suspected murder committed by Robert Durst, a woman named Susan Berman. Berman was a daughter of a gangster and had become one of the staunchest supporters of Robert Durst during the period he was being looked at as a suspect in the disappearance of Kathie, his wife.

The speculation was that Susan Berman had some knowledge of the disappearance of Kathie and that was a direct reason why she was executed.

I swear, every time Robert Durst appears on screen in his interview with director Andrew Jarecki, Robert Durst is the most shockingly sociopathic man I have ever heard. The constant blinks and winks (which I think may be beyond his control) and the manner in which he speaks is just chilling. He asks questions during the interview that honestly feel as if he is trying to lead the viewers or Jarecki to the real truth, that he is guilty. Does Durst, perhaps subconsciously, want to get caught?

While on the run from the charge of murder of Morris Black, Durst went into a grocery store and was caught shoplifting a tuna salad sandwich. Why would someone who could afford just about anything try to shoplift a sandwich, especially when he knew that he was on the lamb?

He admits to being on the lamb and admits to planning to jump bail after posting it in Galveston. He said that he shaved his hair and his eyebrows in an attempt to look different.

This is an amazing true crime story that is only amplified by Robert Durst’s own words.

X-Men ’97 S1 E8

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“Tolerance is Extinction, Pt. 1”

The first part of the three-part season finale dropped on Disney + this morning with an epic episode built on previous episodes. Bastian, a character that I really missed out on in the comics, is designed so beautifully, and feels original and unlike any other X-villain.

This episode felt like it fit inside the Marvel Universe more than any X-Men episode, dating back to even the early 1990s. We saw Spider-Man. We saw Dr. Doom. We saw Baron Zemo. We saw Omega Red. We saw the Silver Samurai. I’m really sure that we saw the timeline from Loki. It felt as if this show was building a world that we have known for decades from out of the pages of the comics.

Some of the action in this episode are absolutely bad ass. The Scott, Jean and Cable being pursued by the human/sentinels and plowing through the mountain in a Porsche with optic blasts was unbelievable. The Wolverine falling from the sky, slicing the hybrids on his way down. The use of Nightcrawler and his sabers fighting back-to-back with Wolverine protecting an unconscious Rogue. These scenes were all just so epic.

Magneto was right. Just thought I’d leave that here.

Magneto’s boss move, as Wolverine stated “He declared war on the planet,” happening in the first episode of the three-part episode is dramatic and quite the swing. Seeing Magneto going final boss just before Charles Xavier returned to the earth was poetic.

The family theme goes throughout the episode, with the Summers, with Nightcrawler-Rogue, with Bastian’s background, with Roberto’s mother, with Xavier’s return. The writing on this show just keeps getting better every time.

I love Nightcrawler. He has always been one of my favorite X-Men characters, but he is so perfectly portrayed here and his words are so wise and impacting that I love every second Kurt Wagner is on screen. I hope this character sticks around past this season.

It was a great start to the finale. Two more to go.

The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst S1 E1, E2

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“A Body in the Bay”

“Poor Little Rich Boy”

One of my favorite, all-time true crime docudramas was The Jinx, which tells the compelling story of Robert Durst, NYC real-estate scion. The series was remarkably intriguing, but ended with the greatest hook of all time. We’ll save that discussion until later in the rewatch.

Well, there is a second season currently airing on Max, which I never thought would happen. I want to start to watch the Jinx season two, but I figured it would be a smart move to rewatch that first season from 2015 before I dove into the new season.

This is absolutely insane.

The first couple of episodes are just the beginning, but it gives the most unexpected picture of Robert Durst. Who is this guy? A man who was accused of decapitating an old man in Galveston, Texas and who was always suspected for killing his wife, decided that he wanted to do a sit down interview with a director, Andrew Jarecki, who directed the movie All Good Things, which was inspired by Durst’s rumored story.

What makes a man search out a director to give an interview to about his life, a life that had so many infamous moments?

Listening to Durst tell these stories in his own voice was really creepy. Watching Durst and his remarkable twitches and blinks as he made direct comments was fascinating. I do not know if these were “tells”, but they all seemed to come at sinister moments. Admittedly, I may be reading into this way more than there is.

Episode two was heavily focused on Kathie, Durst’s wife, who disappeared in 1982, and whose body has never been found. Some of the words from Kathie’s friend were powerful.

It was jarring to see Jeanine Pirro, currently of FOX News, appear in the documentary as a prosecutor who was involved in the case against Durst.

There is so much about this man that is absolutely fascinating and the fact that you feel as if he was lying to you with every breath was something that was just unbelievable. After two episodes, I remember clearly how shocking and compelling this docudrama was.

The X-Files S4 E15

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“Kaddish”

The X-Files have used plenty of mythological creatures from different religions and cultures over the years in their monster-of-the-week episodes. This episode featured the Jewish creature known as a golem.

I knew of the idea of a golem from Marvel Comics so I remember being intrigued by this episode when it was first released.

Mulder and Scully were investigating a murder of a man who was suspected to be involved in the death of a Jewish man. They expected this to be a revenge killing.

Of course, the murdered man had two other friends who were doomed as well. They were all Nazis, so I did not find much compassion for these victims.

However, the golem would go off on its own and become more of a danger to others as well.

This was a decent episode, but a bit of a step down over the last few episodes. There was no mention of Scully’s cancer at all, which felt out of place considering how important of a twist that storyline was.