Category Archives: TV-G[eek]

Death and Other Details S1 E2

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“Sordid”

I got a chance to watch episode two of the new Hulu series, Death and Other Details featuring Mandy Patinkin as one of the world’s great gentlemen detectives, Rufus Cotesworth. 

Rufus goes about interviewing all of the passengers on the ship about the murder of Keith, Rufus’s friend and assistant who was on the ship undercover. Keith had been playing a role as such a jerk on the ship and wound up being murdered. Or was it because of his jerk-ness or was it tied to the old case of the murder of Imogene’s mother?

Mandy Patinkin is always great and he is, at this point, the reason to be watching this. I am still feeling my way along on this show, hoping to get more enthralled with the mystery than what I have so far.

Rufus certainly has shaken up the rest of the passengers, looking to see what he can find.

The X-Files S3 E4

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“Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose”

This is one of the best X-Files episodes of the entire run. Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose starred Peter Boyle as a grumpy man who has the psychic ability to see how individuals are going to die and he finds himself stuck in a murder investigation of a serial killer who is targeting psychics.

One of the greatest lines of the entire series was in this episode. 

From IMDB:

  • Clyde Bruckman: You know, there are worse ways to go, but I can’t think of a more undignified way than autoerotic asphyxiation.
  • Fox Mulder: Why are you telling me that?
  • Clyde Bruckman: Look, forget I mentioned it. It’s none of my business.

Peter Boyle was absolutely perfect in this role, a down-on-his-luck insurance salesman who has been beaten down by life and by the visions of death that he sees. His sarcastic and snide remarks were extremely funny and were delivered beautifully. His chemistry with David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson was tremendous. 

Though there was some wonderful humor in this episode, it was also one of the darker episodes of the season. It blended the two tones together seamlessly. 

Oh, and Bruckman indicated that Scully was not going to die, a quip he made that was carried through the series.

Definitely this is one of the best episodes of the show and one of the best episodes of TV of all time. 

Percy Jackson and the Olympians S1 E7

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“We Find Out the Truth, Sort Of”

I have really enjoyed this new series of the Percy Jackson shows on Disney +. Episode 7 has found Percy, Annabeth and Grover entering the Underworld, and in search of Hades in order to find the Master Bolt and save Percy’s mother.

It wasn’t going to be as easy as it sounded.

Who knew, but the Master Bolt was inside Percy’s bag. However, it was not Percy’s bag, but Ares’s. Ares had some kind of manipulative reason that he needed Percy to bring the bolt to the Underworld. We don’t know why yet, but I always love to see Adam Copeland.

We see some flashbacks to Percy as a child with his mother trying to get him into schools. The schools kept turning her down because of the way Percy was. (I have to say… every time I have tried to type the word Percy, in my head, I think Harry. I wonder why…)

When Percy and Grover came face to face with Hades, they discovered Ares’s lies. Of course, Hades isn’t going to help them without something on the line. 

We get a cool sequence with Cerberus too. The three headed dog that guards the Underworld chased our heroes around. The CGI looked really good for a TV show.

Percy and Ares faced off at the very end of the episode, setting up a huge showdown next week.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians has been excellent all season long. It does feel as if the show is a touch rushed, but it is a lot of fun.

The X-Files S3 E3

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“D.P.O.”

Giovanni Ribisi and Jack Black showed up as guest appearances on the X-Files episode “D.P.O.” 

Ribisi is Electro, who loved video games at the arcade, attracted to his former special needs reading teacher.

Okay, he’s not actually Electro, but he may as well be. He was struck by lightning and survived and somehow gained some electrical powers. 

He was out to gain the love of his former teacher, played by Karen Witter. 

It was a pretty decent episode because you were never sure what Mulder and Scully could do against Ribisi. Because of that, the intensity of the episode was high.

True Detective: Night Country S4 E2

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“Part 2”

So, after the weird and supernatural feel of the first episode last week, this week’s True Detective is a lot of procedural investigations, questions (both the right and wrong questions) and interactions among characters.

At the end of last episode, a ghost had led his former wife to a group of bodies frozen in the ice. Turned out they were scientists working at a station out in the Alaskan night.

How they wound up in a frozen pile, naked, with their clothes folded neatly in piles nearby. 

I must say that when the hand broke off and the body screams, I jumped. One of them survived! 

And it looked as if the scientists have some kind of connection to the case of Annie’s murder from six years before. There is a spiral tattoo that plays a prominent part this the mystery. Danvers and Evangeline (and a throwback to season 1).

Raymond Clark was not among the mass of frozen bodies, indicating that he might still be alive and out there.

Another week and the mystery is becoming bigger as we go. I enjoyed the characters quite a bit and I look forward to seeing where this goes next.

The X-Files S2 E24, E25 and S3 E1, E2

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“Our Town”

“Anasazi”

“The Blessing Way”

“Paper Clip”

I wanted to finish off season two of the X-Files with the final two episodes. However, episode 25 “Anasazi” left off on a cliffhanger and dropped the old TO BE CONTINUED signal. So I decided to go ahead and watch season 3 episode 1. 

Then, that episode did the same thing. It was so tense and anxious, that I had to go on to epside 2.

“Our Town” was a creepy small town that were killing people and eating them to keep themselves young. This was a truly weird episode with some frightening ideas in it. The masked fellow with the giant axe. 

Meanwhile, the next three episodes all focused on the series’ underlying mythology and the governmental conspiracy about aliens and the projects that were being run on abductees. It was three episodes of intensity and a huge reminder how much I absolutely HATED Cigarette Smoking Man. Not just as hate him cause he is an awesome villain, but HATE him- please put a bullet in his head.

These three episodes saw the deaths of Mulder’s father and Scully’s sister. We also found out that Mulder’s father was involved in the projects from the 1950s. It is implied that he chose Mulder’s sister as an abductee. 

I did not enjoy the spiritual visits Mulder had in this few episodes as they felt very clichéd. Plus, they did not look very good. They reminded us all that this was a 90s show.

The conspiracy felt so gigantic in this episode, but there were some small victories, such as Skinner telling CSM to “pucker up and kiss my ass.” The return and subsequent attempted killing of Krycek was very good too.

One has to feel for the families of Mulder and Scully as they are constantly in the line of fire or into the troubles up to their ears.

There was also a scene that got downplayed here, but leads to big things. It was when Scully discovered the chip in her neck. If I remember correctly, the removal of that chip is what triggered Scully’s bout with cancer.

Lots of great stuff here as the X-Files heads into their third season.

 

Fargo S5 E10

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“Bisquik”

I loved the final scene of this season! I did not know that I needed it so much. 

The finale of the tremendous season was so very satisfying even though it was nowhere like I expected it to be. 

The whole standoff was done in like ten minutes. We did not get the final showdown between Roy and Dorothy. We did have a showdown, but it was not final nor was it as epic as I thought it was going to be.

Most of this episode would be considered falling action in the plot map. Basically, they wrapped up the conflict quickly and then they showed us where everyone woundup.

RIP to Deputy Witt Farr. I was yelling at the screen for him to shoot Roy in the head as he held the renegade sheriff at gun point. When Roy would not drop the knife he was holding, I was getting nervous and I was right to be nervous as Roy killed Witt with that knife. It was a shocking death that I did not expect and Dorothy’s reaction after was one of deep pain.

The episode was filled with great final interactions including Dorothy shooting Roy in the gut, Dorothy being so sweet to Gator, Dorothy reuniting with Wayne and Scotty, Dorothy’s hug with Lorraine, and Lorraine’s meeting with Roy in prison. But everything was building to the scene that I had no idea that I really needed.

Dorothy and Ole Munch… aka Oola Moonk. 

In a season of so much violence and anger, this soft and kind scene between the man and the tiger was so beautiful. Moonk was clearly thrown off his game by the manner of Dorothy and her family. When Wayne handed him an orange pop, the look on Moonk’s face was everything. The Sin-eater kept speaking to the past and the code, but Dorothy was having none of it. It was halfway to dinner and a school night so Dorothy said either wash your hands and help or do this another time.

The switch of scene to Moonk washing his hands was perfect.

And the look on his face after taking a bite of the biscuit ‘made with love’ was a perfect punctuation to the season. What a beautiful image. It truly filled my soul with hope and kindness. 

What a wonderful season finale. Honestly, I loved this and it was so unexpected that it caught me totally off-guard. 

True Detective: Night Country S4 E1

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“The Long Bright Dark”

True Detective season one was one of the best seasons of TV you are ever going to find. Season two was a huge step down. I did not watch season three. 

Season four has debuted on Max. I did not know it had started until I saw it on Hulu. I knew it was coming out soon, and I wanted to give this new season a chance.

Jodie Foster is the star of this season which is taking place in Alaska. Foster is a fantastic actor who has a realness to her, a natural feel. 

According to the opening text, this is set around December 17th, which was the last sunset of the year. I can’t imagine what it would be like to live at night for two weeks or more. 

This first episode started building up these characters and there are some definitely intriguing people living in Alaska. It also began the new case, with a body found without a tongue that apparently has ties to a previous one. That case had some tie to Kali Reis, the boxer-turned-actor, playing the role of trooper Evangeline Navarro, an indigenous native with some spiritual connections. 

There is something mystical going on too. It was not 100% clear what was happening. Ghosts maybe? There was a scene that reminded me of Killer Bob from Twin Peaks. Oh, and there was a polar bear. 

I found this interesting and I love the supernatural stuff here. Jodie Foster is top notch and I think this season has started off strong.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians S1 E6

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“We Take a Zebra to Vegas”

This week’s Percy Jackson episode felt a touch more comedic than we have had over the first five. That was an interesting tone as Percy, Annabeth and Grover attempted to find Hermes, played by the one and only Lin-Manuel Miranda. They had to go into a casino in Las Vegas called the Lotus, which leads to them to start forgetting details.

Based on the Odyssey, the Lotus was pumping forgetfulness into the air. While inside the casino, Grover forgot just about everything and went on a virtual quest to find Pan.

Meanwhile, Percy and Annabeth found Hermes, but discovered that time was passing slower inside the casino than it was outside, meaning that they missed the window to get into the Underworld. 

While this was still a solid episode, it did not feel as great as the last couple of weeks. However, it seems as if our trio is ready to head into the Underworld and complete their quest for the Master bolt. 

Not sure where the zebra comes into it though. Maybe I missed it.

Oh, and Percy is having dreams, including Hades in them. I was happy that he told Annabeth about it instead of just keeping them to himself. He’s a Greek demigod, dreams are part of the gig.

Death and Other Details S1 E1

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As I was preparing to finish up A Murder at the End of the World on Hulu today, I happened across another series that dropped today called Death and Other Details. What drew my attention to this was the thumbnail that featured Mandy Patinkin.

I then read the synopsis and it told me that Patinkin was playing the world’s greatest detective, Rufus Cotesworth and that he was investigating a locked-room murder aboard a luxury ocean liner. 

That was enough for me. I do like murder mysteries and this had a bit of a combination of Adrian Monk and Benoit Blanc. Mandy Patinkin is always excellent and I was excited to see the show.

After watching the first episode, I can say that this is totally okay… and has a chance to be entertaining, even if the first episode may not have reached that level.

Rufus was on the liner investigating another case, and the story was being told in flashbacks about a case that he did not solve earlier in his career, A mother blew up in a car bomb in front of her young daughter, scarring the girl for life. This girl, now an adult, named Imogene Scott (Violett Beane), happened to be on the boat too, and had an interaction with the murder victim that made her look like a prime suspect. 

Not sure how much I liked Imogene and that was a drawback to the show. I hope that once I get connected to her more, I’ll enjoy the show more. It was okay. 

A Murder at the End of the World E4-E7

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I had said at one point that I would be very disappointed if Andy, as the guest of this trip, would turn out to be the killer because it was a boring, overused trope. For awhile, I was afraid that the show was absolutely heading in that direction.

Then it turned.

The show was very intense and powerful. I really enjoyed the mystery and I found Darby to be an outstanding protagonist. The other characters all were well done. There were a few of the other characters who were just there and were not involved in the main story that was being told, but that was alright.

Admittedly, the show did turn to another old trope a its solution. The renegade AI. 

The AI known as Ray was shown to be the reason why Bill was murdered, but it was a bit of a change. Ray did not go off on his own as all AIs are destined to do. Instead, he was following what he thought was an instruction from Andy during a rant over his anger. Andy was anything but innocent here. His temper and his violent streak certainly led to the beginning of the deaths that was going on.

However, the trick of making the little boy Zoomer the person who injected Bill with the killing dose of morpheme, because Zoomer was playing a game designed by Ray. A game of doctor, much like he did in the first episode. That was a clever twist that I did not see coming. I did think about Ray early on in the episodes, but I did not go any further.

This was an excellent limited series with a protagonist, played by Emma Corrin, that is awesome and fun to watch. I love smart when it comes to characters. And Darby was very smart.

A Murder at the End of the World E3

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“Chapter Three: Survivors”

I watched the third episode of the FX limited series A Murder at the End of the World on Hulu tonight. It continues to be engaging and mysterious.

Another murder happened in this episode, of one of the guests who had told Darby that he had information to share with her. Rohan had confirmed that he had been the man in the mask on the tape, but before he had a chance to tell the next piece of information, the sounds of Rohan being attacked crossed the phone.

This all happened after Andy told her that he wanted Darby to leave the site. He told her that the police had declared that Bill’s death was not a murder, but an overdose. Andy told Darby that she was grieving and needed to rest. He asked for her ring back.

Yes, he is a little suss with his statements. I certainly hope he does not turn out to be the killer, because that feels too obvious. Had they started it off like a Monk/Columbo show where we knew the killer, but just try and see our heroes find out how they did it, it would be one thing. But this started off as a mystery and the host being the killer is just too much of a trope.

There are just 4 more episodes of the limited series remaining. I am excited about finishing this up soon.

A Murder at the End of the World E1, E2

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“Chapter One: Homme Fatal”

“Chapter Two: The Silver Doe”

I was looking for something new to watch. I didn’t want to dive into more from Moonlighting or The X-Files, as I have done several of both of those series this weekend. Picket Fences is done. Fargo has one more episode. I have not been too enthralled with For All Mankind as of yet. I finished Murder House. I wanted something new.

I will be doing a Twin Peaks rewatch at some point, but this did not feel like the right time. There are several other great shows I love such as Monk, Castle but those are both multiple season runs and I am only in season 2 of a bunch of the X-Files. Having something that has an end in sight is always welcome.

So I went looking for other options, and eventually I worked around to Hulu. Hulu was being kind of wonky tonight (I think because of the frigid cold we have here right now), but I still came across A Murder at the End of the World.

I had seen this before and the concept intrigued me and I am always a fan of a good murder mystery. It is also only seven episodes, which is great. It feels like one of those shoes like Echo, The Body or Fall of the House of Usher that can be a quick, palate cleanser in-between the longer commitment of the multi-season re-watches.

I started the series hoping that it would be able to catch my attention. I will say it started a little slow, but my the end of episode one, everybody had arrived at the setting and the characters were introduced and the murder was in place. At that point, I was all in.

The basic plot is something that we have seen before. A group of people are invited to an isolated location and somebody is murdered. This trope is very common, but I did like the way this series set up the trope and tied it to our main protagonist’s background. 

Emma Corrin felt very familiar to me, but I did not recognize anything on her IMDB page (that I had watched, I mean… I recognized shows. I just never watched The Crown or Pennyworth). I enjoyed her portrayal of Darby Hart, an amateur sleuth/true crime writer who had been called the Gen Z Sherlock Holmes. She wound up being invited to a retreat with some of the big brains of the world and her former friend/love Bill Farrah (Harris Dickinson) was also in attendance, as one of the world’s aforementioned artists.

At the end of the first episode, Bill dies in front of Darby. It is believed that he O.D.’d, but Darby did not believe it. She knew something more was going on, and she sneaked into the crime scene to see what she could find.

The story is told with flashbacks back to Darby’s younger years, not only during the time she and Bill were in pursuit of the Silver Dove Killer, a serial killer obsessed with silver jewelry, but also to younger years yet, when Darby was with her policeman father, including at crime scenes he was investigating. Her observations helped him with his cases.

There are some interesting characters in the show, but there has not yet been too much development of any of the other invitees to the retreat. They have been touched on, but the depth is still to come, I expect.

There was a disturbing glance at a person in a mask on the video in Bill’s room when he died. It was a scary image and it was one that I did not expect.

The first two episodes were really good and, with only five more to go, it should not take too long to find out who the guilty party is. I hope it delivers in the long run.

The X-Files S2 E21, E22, E23

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“Calusari”

“F. Emasculata”

“Soft Light”

The X-Files were on quite a positive run as it neared the end of season two. These were three solid episodes that all had a different feel to them. Episodes 22 & 23 were both involving the government and their sneaky, sneaky tricks. 

It was cool to see Adrian Monk himself, Tony Shalhoub, in the 23rd episode as the man with the murderous shadow. Shalhoub is always great in whatever role he takes on and the final shot of him in a chair, controlled by the government (X himself) as a tear rolls down his cheek is an amazingly terrifying image.

The 21st episode featured a cool concept that took the old possession angle in a different manner. The idea that the little kid was a twin who had his twin die in the womb, and that the dead twin spirit was killing people was a really awesome twist. 

How many times have Mulder and/or Scully think they have been exposed to some kind of virus/disease/illness? It happened yet again in “F. Emasculata” when Scully could have been exposed to a deadly contagion. She avoided this one (again) but you would think that her luck would run out one of these days.

I did find the showdown on the infected prisoner, who had the little boy captive, and Mulder was intense and solidly written, even though his eventual death was pretty obvious.

Moonlighting S3 E13, E14, E15

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“Maddie’s Turn to Cry”

“I am Curious…Maddie”

“To Heiress Human”

Season three of Moonlighting wrapped up with the final three episodes. Episodes 13 & 14 both started off with creative recaps that seemed to make fun of itself for having too many repeats and not enough new episodes. It doesn’t play as well now since I am watching these back to back and there have been no repeats in-between. 

The second episode of these, “I am Curious… Maddie,” is the episode where Dave and Maddie finally do the deed. The will-they-won’t-they dance finally becomes a they-will. After several episodes with Mark Harmon as a roadblock, Dave and Maddie hit the sheets together.

The only problem with that is I disliked how this came to be. I remember not being a fan of the way this worked out when I first saw it back in the 80s. It was so dark. There was so much anger and spite that it did not feel right. I know it was designed that way because Dave and Maddie are always arguing so why not translate that into their first sexual encounter? It just felt like they were way too aggressive, too angry and not showing how they truly felt. 

I would have liked it more had they had their encounter in the episode “Maddie’s Turn to Cry” when Maddie came over to David’s apartment. This is when it should have happened so it was more about two people actually finding themselves instead of such a mean-spirited, almost violent way.

It almost made me feel bad for Mark Harmon. His character of Sam Crawford was such a good guy who seemed to be hurt badly by the relationship between Dave and Maddie.

Cybill Shepherd is clearly pregnant too. You can see how she was wearing clothes that were large and flowing, and using handbags to block her belly. The pregnancy had been part of the problem with getting new episodes out, along with the feud on set with the stars.

Honestly, the breaking of the fourth wall in these episodes felt very off considering the different tone of the episodes.

Season four of Moonlighting goes off the rail. I am curious to see what I think of this next season on rewatch.