Category Archives: TV-G[eek]

Man from Atlantis S1 E9

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“Man O’ War”

Mister Schubert returned.

After a refreshing change of villain, Victor Buono returned to Man from Atlantis as Mister Schubert, the megalomaniacal villain who has appeared in most of the regular episodes so far.

I have stated that he may be a bit overused, but I did like his use in this episode.

There was a giant jellyfish that Schubert unleashed on the coast in an attempt to blackmail money from the government. Schubert is lacking money and it is causing serious problems for him. I do like this arc for Schubert.

There were definitely signs that this was a 1970s show. The special effects on the jellyfish were pretty lacking. The second thing was the Indian dialect for one of the secondary characters that was on the show. It was the stereotypical Indian accent and would not be used in today’s world. The third example was the cameo of Gary Owens and his distinct voice. It made me think of the old cartoon, The Superfriends.

Why did they not just arrest Schubert when they started looking for the jellyfish? Did Schubert not commit a bunch of crimes in previous episodes?

The X-Files S4 E8

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“Tunguska”

The X-Files is back to using the black oil in some horrifying manner. The mysteries of what the black oil is and what the government knows about it is the driving force behind this story.

Alex Krycek returned to cause trouble for Mulder and Scully. Mulder winds up in a Russian gulag and Scully winds up before Congress, being threatened with contempt of Congress if she does not reveal Mulder’s whereabouts.

Mulder and Scully get their hands on a rock that contains the black oil, to the chagrin of Cigarette Smoking Man.

There were some fun scenes in this episode including a handcuffed Krycek dumping a thug from Skinner’s apartment balcony. The thug, a courier for CSM, fell to his death. This show provided some real strength to the character of Krycek as he really outmaneuvered Mulder.

That final scene with the black oil dropping onto a confined Mulder, creeping beneath his face to cover his eyes in blackness was devastating.

This was a part one, and it was a tough one to stop on, but I did not have time to continue the part two before Smackdown.

Twin Peaks S2 E18, E19

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“On the Wings of Love”

“Variations and Relations”

Those pesky owls.

They just aren’t what they seem.

I did not remember the trip into Owl Cave to find some mysterious petroglyph, but it fits right into the magical woods around Twin Peaks.

Storylines are beginning to come together and the newly reinstated Cooper is on the case. Windham Earle continues to be very creepy as he has been stalking Audrey, Shelly and Donna.

Some odd things going on…

I am starting to feel pity for Leo. He was such a horrendous character during season one, but since he got captured by Earle, he has really come to bad side of karma.

Ben Horne is another character whom I suddenly want to root for. It is difficult to believe his change of heart, but I really want it to be more than just a way to stick it to Catharine.

I am not a huge fan of the new relationships that the show had forced upon us. Cooper and Annie felt pretty rushed. I had little connection with Audrey and John either. It seemed a long way to keep Cooper and Audrey apart.

I did think it was funny that Gordon Cole could easily hear Shelly even though she spoke in her normal voice. It wasn’t enough to base a relationship on, but it did make for a good scene.

The whole Miss Twin Peaks storyline is shaky. Ian Buchanan with the white bandage across his nose from the weasel bite from ep. 17 was funny.

X-Men ’97 S1 E4

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“Motendo/Lifedeath-Part 1”

It was a strange week on X-Men ’97. They had two stories inside the one half hour timeframe. The first one was Motendo, a Jubilee focused episode versus Mojo and the second was the beginning of the story of Storm and Forge, which was teased at the end of last week’s episode.

I believe both of the two parts, though enjoyable, suffered together. They both felt a little rushed and could have easily been full 30 minute episodes on their own.

The two halves were very different as well. The Jubilee part was full of action and video game Easter eggs, while as the Storm/Forge part was intended to be more emotional. Both had its positives, but I just felt as if the two did not flow together well.

It was cool to see Mojo again, and him moving into the world of video games makes perfect sense. I could have used more of the older Jubilee or more with Roberto. I did like how Jubilee and Roberto’s relationship took a step at the end of this section.

I wanted more with Storm as well. The connection between Storm and Forge did not feel fully realized.

Still it was an enjoyable half hour, but it was definitely the weakest of the four episodes this season.

Shogun S1 E7

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“A Stick of Time”

When Toranaga was awaiting the arrival of his brother and his brother’s forces, I thought to myself, what if his brother betrayed him. However, I immediately dismissed that possibility.

Then, I found out that I was right.

Saeki became the fifth regent, turning on Toranaga in the process. He gave his brother an offer, return to Osaka and face his fate or to die on the field of battle.

He gave him until the sundown the next day to decide.

Toranaga agreed to return to Osaka.

This led to Toranaga’s son to Nagakado launching an attack on Saeki while he was at the brothel with the courtesan Kiku. This led to the accidental death of Nagakado. Whoa. I did not expect that.

Tough show. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, as I was not sure what was going to happen and it was compelling. John is really getting frustrated with the situation too.

This has been so good so far. Can’t wait to see where this goes.

Man from Atlantis S1 E8

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“Giant”

This was a really fun episode of Man from Atlantis. I had been hoping for a break from Mr. Schubert, as played by Victor Buono, for awhile now. He had been in all of the run of the series, since the end of the TV movies. This was the episode that finally gave us a break from Schubert. And in his place, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar!

The former Lakers star appeared as a giant named Thark. Water from the ocean was being drained through a vortex into another world where Thark was mining gold. Another person named Muldoon was trying to steal the giant’s gold.

This was a weird episode, but I did like it quite a bit. At first, it looked as if Kareem’s giant character was monstrous, but he turned out to be friendly and helped Mark stop the flow of water. When Thark learned that the water, which was invisible in this world, was a danger to Mark’s world, he immediately went to help him.

I really like how Mark deals with his conflicts. Many action heroes would head into a confrontation with the giant using physical threats, but, even after getting thrown around by Thark, Mark just spoke to him and used his words to convince him that he meant him no harm.

There was an ironic lesson to be learned for Muldoon too as he wound up stranded in this odd location with Thark. Muldoon had come back after deserting Mark to help them close the vortex, but the show still had him pay for his greed. I felt bad for Muldoon.

This was a step up from last episode’s offering. I thought Kareem did a good job in his role, which was admittedly fairly simple. The sci-fi concept of the ocean containing portals to different dimensions is an intriguing idea. I wonder if they were going to use this idea eventually to deal with the origin of Mark Harris and where he came from had the series continued.

Twin Peaks S2 E17

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“Wounds and Scars”

The fallout over Josie’s bizarre death happened in this episode as Harry went into a dark place. I do remember that aspect, but I am not sure what else was done with Josie’s death. I did like the Cooper/Harry bromance that was displayed here. The fact that Josie weighed 65 pounds from the autopsy was a detail that I did not recall that was cool.

Honestly, there was not much more in this episode. Windham Earle stalked Donna. They held a fundraiser at the Great Northern to fight Ghostwood and Dick had a weasel bite his nose. Norma’s sister Annie arrived and met Cooper. Audrey and her new boy toy connected. Ed and Nadine prepared to divorce and Nadine and Mike snuck into a room at the Great Northern.

Just not much there in this episode. Without the scenes with Cooper and Harry, this would be a totally dismissible episode.

Cooper spoke with Major Briggs and the Log Lady about stuff that happens in the woods. The Log Lady has a mysterious mark on her leg that was similar to Briggs’ mark on his neck. They both made a reference about the owls.

Not much of an episode.

Moonlighting S5 E10

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Note: [The numbering of these Moonlighting episodes may be off. I am following along Hulu with the episode numbers they have provided, but most place I have found online list this as episode 9. ]

“Perfetc”

What was that?

I do not know what I just watched, but I found it to be a total misfire among a season that has mostly done a decent job of trying to get Moonlighting back on track.

I legit hated this.

It felt totally off kilter. The characters were acting in manners that they would never act and changing behavior from one scene to another. There was way too much use of Herbert Viola in just a ridiculous set up after another for no reason.

David started off being late because of a bowling tournament. Um… what? He arrived in a bowling shirt.

The case they were working on was bizarre and made no sense. The entire set up was dumb. The pay off was ridiculous and the stupid chase scene only made it worse.

I think this may be my lest favorite Moonlighting episode ever.

The X-Files S4 E7

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“Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man”

“Life is like a box of chocolates. A cheap, thoughtless, perfunctory gift that nobody ever asks for. Unreturnable because all you get back is another box of chocolates. So you’re stuck with this undefinable whipped mint crap that you mindlessly wolf down when there’s nothing else left to eat. Sure, once in a while there’s a peanut butter cup or an English toffee. But they’re gone too fast and the taste is… fleeting. So, you end up with nothing but broken bits filled with hardened jelly and teeth-shattering nuts. And if you’re desperate enough to eat those, all you got left is an empty box filled with useless brown paper wrappers“

This monologue came from the season four, episode seven of the X-Files, out of the mouth of the Cigarette Smoking Man, and I loved it. It was not the kind of monologue one expected, taking a famous quote from Forest Gump and warping it into a view of life considerably more negative.

The episode featured a telling of the back story of CSM, played by William B. Davis (and a younger version played by Chris Owens). In the show, CSM is given credit (or blamed depending on how you look at it) for the assassination of JFK and Martin Luthor King Jr, as well as many other historical moments. However, it is implied that the story may or may not be accurate, as Lone Gunman Frohike stated that he found this story in an old magazine of his.

This article is a fictional tale written by CSM himself, though, as he said, the ending had been changed. Exactly what was changed was not included keeping us uncertain about the accuracy of the episode.

I liked the way they leave it uncertain as it felt sort of doubtful that one man could be behind all of the things CSM was given credit for.

The main purpose of the episode is to show just how dangerous Cigarette Smoking Man was and continue to set him up as the big bad for the series, while potentially humanizing the character a touch. Imagine the pain and death that could have been spared had the magazine just published the story he wrote as he had intended it.

The episode also gives the actual cigarettes as a symbol for the evil that CSM does, as he was preparing to resign, he crumpled up the cigarette pack and once he realized that his life was not changing, he purchased a new pack right away.

I had always wanted CSM to be killed by Mulder, multiple times over the series so far. This provides even more context to the villain.

Man from Atlantis S1 E7

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“Hawk of Mu”

This episode was probably my least favorite one so far, certainly of the regular weekly series if you discount the TV movies.

Schubert is back again and, although I love Victor Buono here. I would really like a new villain to step forward. They added a daughter for Schubert who has taken a liking to Mark.

According to IMDB, “Schubert’s tracking of a mysterious power source causes a blackout, at the center of which, Mark discovers an ancient statue of a hawk. When he rescues Schubert’s daughter Juliette from drowning, the villain learns of the hawk and steals it to discover the secret of its power.“

I thought the conclusion of this episode was fairly lacking, though I did like the scene where Mark tricked the local law enforcement to spray him with a hose as he was trapped inside their cell. He had been dehydrating and Mark knew he needed the water.

Other than that, I found this episode to be a step down from the last couple. It is not terrible by any stretch, but just nothing major.

Twin Peaks S2 E16

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“The Condemned Woman”

The ending of this episode of Twin Peaks was the weirdest I can remember. It was the resolution, kinda, of the storyline of Josie Packard. The one where she just dies before having her ‘spirit’, shall we say, trapped in the bed stand drawer. We see Killer Bob again, taunting Cooper and we see the dancing dwarf from the Red Room dancing on the bed. Did Bob imply that he killed Josie?

What was even stranger was I do not think they mention this Josie story again in the rest of the show. If they do, it is just in passing.

Just not sure how this was intended to play into the overall story of the White Lodge, but it was certainly intended to do so. I wonder if there were contract issues with the actress playing Josie that led to this bizarre twist. (FYI- doing some research, I found that the actress Joan Chen, who played Josie had asked to be written out so she could go film a movie, Turtle Beach, which was a critical and financial flop).

Of course, we learn about Josie’s shooting of Agent Cooper and how the husband she thought she killed, Andrew Packard, was actually alive. It was heavily implied that she had killed Jonathan and we see her kill Eckhardt, who was angry with her over her supposed betrayal since Andrew was alive.

Windham Earle took a bit of a backseat this episode, though he was trolling Donna, Audrey and Shelly as his “three queens” for a gathering of “the angels.” He had sent each an invite to the Roadhouse and part of a poem torn into three. Earle continues to be a big time creeper.

He also continues to taunt and torture Leo, which Leo deserves completely.

James is still a dumbass. He and Donna kind of broke up as James is still out there doing God knows what with the Walsh case. Donna needs to move along. She is way too good for him.

Nadine tells Ed she wants to split up and that she had a night of love with Mike. Ed is surprised, but Nadine said that he and Norma had done it. Ed say, “Well, there’s that.” LOL

Norma stands up to Hank, who is in jail for multiple crimes and parole violations. She will not support his lie of an alibi. Yay! You go girl. I think my memory is that she caves… but I hope I am wrong.

Moonlighting S5 E9

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“Those Lips, Those Lies”

We get one of the best Richie Addison episodes that we have ever had because it was an episode that really focused on the relationship between Richie and David.

According to the web, “David’s brother asks him to help his fiancée, who has had some money stolen from her. David is reluctant but investigates and finds the woman used to run prostitutes – but his brother already knew.“

Charles Rocket returned to resume his role as David Addison’s older brother Richie, a role he has played on and off through the entire run of the series. The chemistry between Rocket and Bruce Willis make them seem like real life brothers. Charles Rocket was brilliantly cast as the older Addison sibling.

There was a solid story told here too. Cybill Shepherd is really great as a supporting character in a show where she is usually the lead.

And the show kicked off with a funny cold open where the show told us they moved to Sunday night and Al Jarreau was not there to sing the theme. Fun.

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live

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“The Last Time”

Quite a powerful end.

Rick and Michonne perhaps can do anything they want.

Walking back to the CRM with the purpose of ending them sounds insane, except when Rick and Michonne was doing it.

The confrontation with Biehl, (aka John Locke from LOST.. hey Terry O’Quinn), where Rick makes his decision about what he had to do… and with Biehl sensing it before Rick actually made him move was dramatic.

Michonne’s plan to ruin the CRM once and for all was just brutal. Massive explosion.

I still am not sure that Rick made it out of that swarm of new zombies. Or that hand grenade explosion. Not sure how he lived through that.

But he did. Because Rick and Michonne were together.

I enjoyed the flashbacks that were spursed through the episode. Some I knew, others I did not.

I did not know how much I needed that reunion between Rick Michonne, Judith and R.J. but I did need it. I really thought that Andrew Lincoln was going to die in this episode, but he did not.

This has a great ending and it feels as if the story that has come to an end, a perfect end.

The X-Files S4 E6

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“Sanguinarium”

The opening scene of this episode was so disturbing, it gave me literal chills. It has been a long time since a TV show had done that to me.

Combining plastic surgery with black witchcraft is a bizarre choice, but it makes sense throughout this episode. The story itself is not as strong as some others that we have seen during thee monster-of-the-week episodes, but the horrific visuals made up for that.

Plus, Twin Peaks’ own Benjamin Horne, actor Richard Beymer, appeared as Dr. Jack Franklin, the driving force behind the black magic at the hospital. In fact, Dr. Franklin was able to escape and set up shop in another hospital at the end, showing the failures of our protagonists.

The scene where Ben errrr Dr. Franklin, I mean, started peeling off his face, well, that was extremely disturbing as was most of the surgical scenes involving the patients and the doctors which are mesmerized.

There were some twists that did not make much sense.

Moonlighting S5 E8

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“I See London, I See France, I See Maddie’s Netherworlds”

We are into the final stretch for the Moonlighting series rewatch as we are up to episode 8 out of 13. This one sports one of the longest titles of any of the episodes.

This episode is basically Weekend at Bernie’s meets spy thriller. A man named Harry comes to see Dave and Maddie about hiring them as a bodyguard, but he dies in Maddie’s office before they have a chance to talk to him.

The rest of the episode was filled with comedic bits surrounding the dead body and Dave and Maddie’s attempt to figure out what was going on.

The episode was marked with Dave and Maddie being buried up to their necks in a grave, with their heads sticking out like you sometimes see at the beach. Their banter during this time was meant to be funny, and, for the most part, it was. The best line was when a dog came over and Maddie was afraid the dog was going to mistake her for a fire hydrant. She started barking at the dog, scaring it away. Maddie then delivered the line of the episode, “I guess I can be a scary bitch.”

There was also a fun dream sequence after Maddie gets hit in the head with a gun barrel. She dreams that she had died and that David was the Grim Reaper.

There was a most suggestive scene that takes place in the shower that amazingly made it past the network censors.

Overall, this was a silly episode with some fun moments. It is right with the tone that the fifth season tried to portray to the audience.