Category Archives: TV-G[eek]

Man From Atlantis S1 E1

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“Pilot”

I recently purchased the entire run of comics of a short-lived series from the late 1970s called Man from Atlantis on eBay. I remembered being a fan of the series when it was on TV back in the 70s. Honestly, the comic was not great, but I was happy to have it in my collection.

As I was writing about it today in the EYG Comic Cavalcade #87, I mused about what I might think about the show if I could see it today. That sent me to Google to see if it was streaming anywhere I might be able to watch it. Amazingly, I found that the entire series was available for purchase on Amazon Prime.

The series included four television movies to start in 1977 and then a weekly show ran 13 more episodes. The show was canceled after the 13 episodes because of a dwindling viewership and high cost.

The series starred Patrick Duffy as Mark Harris, a mysterious man who had gills, webbed fingers and feet, but who could not remember anything about where he was from. Duffy would go from this series to his iconic role as Bobby Ewing on CBS’ Dallas.

The first of the movies, entitled “Pilot” featured the discovery of the mysterious man washed up on the beach, entangled in a fishing net. He was gasping and having terrible difficulties breathing. No matter what was done, no one seemed to be able to help him.

When Dr. Elizabeth Merrill was called in, she discovered his gills and took him to the ocean, where she had him placed face down in the water. This did the trick and he was taken back to the  Foundation for Oceanic Research. Elizabeth named him ‘Mark Harris’ and the military became very intrigued by the possibilities of the water-breathing man.

I was very impressed by the swimming/underwater scenes. I am not sure how these were filmed because Patrick Duffy spent what seemed to be plenty of time under water. These scenes looked really well done.

Victor Buono, who was known as Batman villain King Tut in the 1960’s series, played the villain of the pilot, Mr. Schubert, who was set up as a reoccurring antagonist for the future of the series. Buono was a solid villain, with his line delivery.

I liked the pilot enough. I was worried that I wouldn’t enjoy the pilot and that I would not be happy doing this watch/rewatch (I know I used to watch the show, but I can’t say that I saw every episode), but I think things will be okay.

The X-Files S4 E3

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“Teliko”

The X-Files does have a tendency to have episodes that are similar to previous episodes. “Telika” reminded me of “Squeeze” and Eugene Tooms. Sadly, this copy is pale in comparison, and not just for the lack of pigmentation.

It was cool to see Carl Lumbly in a role in this episode. I loved Lumbly in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier series, and he is a exceptional actor.

I also enjoyed how Scully wound up saving Mulder in the finale of this episode. She came through like a boss here. It seems that she is usually on the other end of the rescuing and seeing her as the kick ass that she should be is cool.

The rest of the episode was mild, very uninteresting and repetitive. It was done better in past episodes that are considered X-Files classics.

X-Men ’97

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“To Me, My X-Men”

“Mutant Liberation Begins”

I was not ready for the levels of AWESOMENESS that the new animated series, X-Men ’97, a continuation of the 1990s TV series, X-Men: The Animated Series, would be.

Honestly, I knew there had been positives said about it by many people, but I did not expect the amazing two episodes we got kicking off the series on Disney + today. This was simply epic.

The 90’s series was great in its day, but it does not hold up as well as some animated series. the storytelling in the first series was decent, but the clunky, block-like animation never looked very good. It always felt rushed, as the time frame never seemed to be long enough to sufficiently tell the story. While I loved the show when I was younger, my recent re-watch of a few episodes only enhanced my thoughts that this was not as great as I remembered.

This changes everything.

These two episodes, which deal with the continued rage against mutants and the after effects of the ‘death’ of Charles Xavier, are filled with emotion, action, potential storylines that are not just focused on children.

That is really the main change. The 1990s show was focused on children, while X-Men ’97 feels as if it is not only something that works for children, but also targets those same children of the 1990s who have now grown up. This is a decidedly more adult version of that show. The 1990s show was a cartoon. This is animation.

Speaking of the animation, it does a remarkable job of updating the look of this show without feeling as if it rejects the look of the original. It feels like a new style while still engaging the nostalgia of those fans of the 1990s X-Men show. It is really beautiful and laid out in a wonderful manner.

Cameos everywhere, from actual mutants like Roberto DeCosta to multiple mutants shapeshifted by Morph from everyone from Angel to Sabretooth. You had to keep your eyes open to see what Morph was doing next. And, by the way, I am not even going to address the controversy over Morph that sprung up online. Morph was just amazing. ‘Nuff said.

Note to all future X-Men live action shows or movies, this is how you do Cyclops. Talk about a character that has never been done properly in live action, Scott Summers is right at the top of that list with Doctor Doom. Cyclops is pitch perfect in these first two episodes of the new series.

Oh, and the 90’s show never allowed Storm to bring the level of kick ass as she did in these two episodes. She showed the Omega-level mutant that she is.

These first two episodes have laid the groundwork for some brilliant storylines moving forward. Nathan Summers? Rogue-Magneto? Gambit’s jealousy? Storm’s loss of powers? Roberto and Jubilee? Magneto’s attempt to go straight? Genosha? Was that Madeline Pryor? So many threads here to bare.

The voice cast is exceptional. I do not know how many actors came back to once again voice these characters, but the actors doing these voices sound very much like the cast from the 90’s show. They are exceptional.

What a treat these first two episodes were. I can not rave enough about how much I loved these two episodes. If the remainder of the 10 episodes are the quality of these first two, we are in for quite an amazing and possibly uncanny ride.

X-Men: The Animated Series

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Tomorrow, the new Marvel Studios animated program, X-Men ’97 debuts on Disney + and I expect to be watching it weekly. In order to prepare for this event, I picked out a few of the original series from X-Men: The Animated Series to watch over the last few days.

I watched a few of the episodes: Season one episodes- “Days of Future Past: Part One and Two“, “The Final Decision” ; Season two episode “Mojovision“; Season three episode “Longshot“; and Season three episodes “Old Soldiers“, “Hidden Agendas” and “Graduation Day.“

Graduation Day was the final episode of the series run and it is the one that the first episode of X-Men ’97 is supposed to follow directly after. That is why it was a vital episode to watch. It dealt with the near death of Charles Xavier and how Magneto and the X-Men tried to work together to call on Lilandra of the Shi-ar Empire to help save Xavier. Xavier was taken away in the Shi-Ar spaceship to keep him alive.

The animated series was never great in animation, but much of the storytelling was solid. Specifically, the stories based after the comics. The Phoenix Saga was considerably better in this animated form than it has ever been in a couple of attempts to adapt it into live action.

With the iconic opening theme, X-Men: The Animated Series introduced the concept of mutants to countless young children who have now grown up to be excited about the new series on Disney +. With the X-Men now being used in the Marvel Studios, their arrival in the MCU is right around the corner.

Shogun S1 E5

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“Broken to the Fist”

What a show this is.

An absolute banger of an episode after the huge and brutal episode last week, “Broken to the Fist” was truly a beautiful combination of conflicting cultures.

A few episodes ago, I wrote that Mariko’s husband, Buntaro, had been killed, but we did not see a death on screen so he may return someday. Someday was this episode as he arrived at the very beginning, immediately reclaiming the role of asshole that he seemed to have shook free of with this apparent sacrifice. The scene with Buntaro, Mariko and Blackthorne and the drunken bow and arrow display was about as tense of a scene as you are going to find.

This show is doing a marvelous job of portraying many truths of the Japanese culture of the time that I was unaware of and how it conflicts with the ideas of Blackthorne. I am never sure what the Japanese people in this show might consider shameful or what they may do in response. It is fascinating to watch them attempt to co-exist.

Especially with the secretive night that Blackthorne spent with the “cortisone” last episode. Mariko’s returning husband certainly places them both in jeopardy.

The earthquake at the end was devastating, showing the power of nature over everyone, including the most powerful of them all, Toranaga. Blackthorne’s immediate rush to save Toranaga was very heroic, but I did wonder how the Japanese would react this this? Did it insult honor to have this man save Toranaga? Did it show weakness of Toranaga? Just my own uncertainty of the culture makes this show unpredictable for me.

The whole scene when Blackthorne learned of the fate of his gardener and how it was indirectly his own fault was powerful. I knew that when John had stated if someone touched the peasant it would be death was an error, and it certainly came back to pay off at the end.

The army on its way sure picked a fine time to arrive.

This is very exciting and is one of the best TV shows going right now.

Twin Peaks S2 E12

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“The Black Widow”

Last episode I found a real slog to get through. This one was considerably better.

I found a few of these storylines to catch my attention. I do not remember much about where some of them go, but there are some intriguing ideas.

Starting with Little Nicky. The mysterious child who Dick and Andy have been spending some time with has some curious things happen around him. Although the image of Little Nicky in a thought bubble over Andy’s head was silly, I really like the initial concept involving him.

Major Briggs’ sudden return from wherever was done well too. He is being folded into the White Lodge storyline, which will eventually tie back into Killer Bob, and one of the biggest, most vital pieces of the Twin Peaks mythos. I also like the current progression of Bobby Briggs, who has been criminally underused. Not as underused as Audrey Horne, though, as she needs something more to do.

The whole James storyline remains one of the worst on the show as they are setting up a murder. James ahs to be one of the dumbest characters on screen.

Nadine kicking Mike’s butt on the wrestling mat was funny, but it was not very accurate in high school wrestling, which does draw the audience out of the already weird situation. Nadine’s super strength is something that I do not think the show ever truly deals with.

Dougie’s death at the ‘hands’ of his new bride saw veteran actor Tony Jay removed form the cast fairly quickly. I am not sure how I feel about the men of Twin Peaks totally fascinated and enthralled by her stories and her presence as they were. It was funny, but it does not feel as if this is going to go anywhere.

Ben Horne is starting to go off the deep end and this could be very interesting. The fall of the house of Horne gets very bizarre, if I remember correctly.

While some of these stories seem to be picking up juice, I do not think that many of them really pay off. Maybe I do not remember it correctly, but I guess we will see.

Moonlighting S5 E5

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“Shirts and Skins”

Episode five of season five of Moonlighting was really pretty good. My memory of season five was low quality, but it really does feel as if the show was trying to get back on track with some decent episodes.

This even avoided the end of the episode silly chase scene that has been a trope of the show for a good part of the run. This was a serious case that centered around a battle of the sexes.

Maddie and David find themselves on opposite sides of a criminal case as investigators and the stress of the situation was causing some serious issues between them and within the office of Blue Moon.

To be fair, the show was behind Maddie’s side of the case, as it featured a woman who had been fired for rejecting her boss’s sexual advances. After that, she bought a gun and shot at him several times, finally winging him in the leg. Honestly, she was totally in the wrong here even if her boss was a complete jerk. Shooting him is going too far.

It’s not that big of a deal, but with the woman getting completely off from the charges, that sent a poor message. I really don’t agree with the idea that it is okay to ever take a gun and shoot at someone, even if they are a big jerk.

It did lead to Maddie and David reuniting and Maddie offering to make him officially her partner.

There were fun bloopers played over the end credits too. Several with those weird birds from earlier this season.

I do think the show quality has taken a step up during this season, and that they were trying to get the show back to where it was. Unfortunately, I just believe that they had done too much damage to the brand by this point to go back. It is sad considering how much they could have done with this show moving forward.

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live S1 E4

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“What We”

Michonne found Rick in the season premiere, but she did not actually find him until this episode.

What an episode.

“What We” was written by Danai Gurira, who plays Michonne, and this is one of the most emotional episodes of the entire The Walking Dead series. It was beautifully written and had so much between these two, amazing characters, inside this building that is collapsing around them.

I would compare Rick to an abused and beaten dog who can’t see any other path than taking it, retreating inside himself to hope for the best. Michonne can see that this is a shell of the man she knew all those years ago, but she held out hope that that man was still inside him somewhere.

Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira give Emmy-winning worthy performances basically on their own. Their passionate arguments to their ass-kicking of the Walkers just filled this episode with power.

The X-Files S5 E2

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“Home”

One of the greatest X-Files episodes of all time, plus one of the most disturbing hours of television you are ever going to see is up next in the X-Files rewatch. This episode was not repeated after its initial broadcast because of the content. This is “Home.”

Mayberry it is not, even with a sheriff named Andy Taylor and a deputy named Barney.

The Peacock family has to be one of the most horrific TV show characters/antagonists in television history. Yet they held some tightly believed ideals about family that, while perverted and creepy, actually present the concept of family in the highest regards. Mrs. Peacock loved her boys and was proud as their mother, despite the horrors they engaged in.

The use of the song “Wonderful, Wonderful” during the murder scene of Sheriff Taylor and his wife by the Peacock boys is forever etched into my brain and I cannot hear that song even today without picturing the episode. Johnny Mathias, the song’s singer, did not want his version of the song on the episode because of the violence involved, so a cover version was recorded.

There was such an isolation to this setting that one could understand Mulder and Scully’s decision to not wait for backup when they believed that there was a kidnap victim inside the Peacock house.

That house, by the way, is just as unsettling as everything else on the show. The mood of the episode was just tremendously disturbing and the entire episode had plenty of moments that led to a moment of disgust. For example, when Mrs. Peacock said that she was hungry and one of her boys put some bread into his mouth and fed it to her like a bird… seriously, my own stomach turned a bit.

The episode stirred up controversy, but it remains one of the best X-Files monster-of-the-week episodes of the series’ run.

The X-Files S4 E1

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“Herrenvolk”

The conclusion of the season three finale brought some weird truths to light only to pull them away at the end. In all honesty, the X-Files seemed to only dole out a few nuggets at a time when dealing with the show’s mythology and also change many of the things that we knew before.

The episode was tense, but the use of Samantha Mulder as a ‘clone’ at these farms in Canada with the bees was really one more idea that tried to use the disappearance of the girl. It did not seem to make a lot of sense. Mulder’s sister always felt like a MacGuffin that the series just tossed out when it needed a boost.

The alien bounty hunter was all over this episode too as he tracked down Mulder and Jeremiah Smith as well as, for some reason, let Scully live, twice and healed Mulder’s mother.

It is a decent episode, but it did not feel as if it measured up to the season three finale. One wonders at this point in the series, did the writers and creators of the show know what their overall mythology was or did they just add and adjust as needed with little plan to ever give out the truth?

The death of X was dramatic and powerful, but it seemed as if he was replaced as an inside informant before the episode ended with the arrival of Marita Covarrubias at the SRSG.

Twin Peaks S2 E11

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“Masked Ball”

Twin Peaks takes a real step from the Laura Palmer mystery into what sure felt like a series of dull and uninspiring storylines.

  • James rode his motorcycle and met a woman named Evelyn Marsh. I legit hate this storyline.
  • Nadine is interested in high schooler Mike.
  • Catharine has some new manipulations
  • The mayor’s brother gets married again- played by Tony Jay.
  • David Duchovny comes to town as DEA Agent Dennis/Denise Bryson
  • Windham Earle makes a chess move.
  • Dick brings Little Nicky for a malt; Andy tags along.
  • Betty Briggs is not upset that her husband disappeared in the woods last episode.
  • Audrey was on screen for three seconds dancing with Cooper at the wedding.

Seriously, this was very dull for most of the episode. It was odd to see David Duchovny show up in drag, but it is less of a shock these days as it would have been back in the 1990s.

There was an interesting scene between Hank and Ben Horne. Horne is very eccentric at this point, watching old home movies and making shadow puppets with his hands.

This was a huge step down from previous Twin Peaks episodes.

Moonlighting S5 E4

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“Plastic Fantastic Lovers”

Season five continues to put the David-Maddie relationship on the back burner and focus on the cases with only a few references to the “Spaceman.”

This episode dealt with plastic surgery, and made me think about the episode from season two, The Lady in the Iron Mask. This time there was a man who had been horribly disfigured by a plastic surgeon that he wanted to find details to sue him. This is why he hired David and Maddie.

David did not want to take the case. This led to an interesting discussion of vanity between Dave and Maddie that continued to inform on their characters.

Of course, as any Moonlighting case, things are never exactly what you see and it leads to a wild, cartoonish chase scene.

There was a chainsaw too.

This episode did feel as if the writers were trying to reach back before the whole Dave and Maddie thing to capture some of the old magic of the show, and they did a fairly decent job of it. This had that same feeling of the third season, but the tension between Dave and Maddie was not here. I liked this episode, but you can see how it is just not quite the same.

The X-Files S3 E23, E24

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“Wetwired”

“Talitha Cumi”

After a series of excellent monster-of-the-week episodes, The X-Files came back to the governmental conspiracy mythology with a vengeance with the final two episodes of season three. While “Wetwired” was not as directly involved as it seemed, it did turn out to be a connected show where as “Talitha Cumi” expanded the mythos dramatically.

“Wetwired” dealt with the use of subliminal signals over the television to lead to a form of mind control. The best part of the episode was seeing how the signals affected Scully, turning her paranoid and angry at Mulder, whom she believed was betraying her.

When Mulder tracked Scully down at her mother’s house, Scully confronted Mulder at gunpoint about how he did not trust her, and he delivered one of my favorite lines of the series when he said, “You’re the only one I trust.” Gillian Anderson gave a great performance as the unhinged Scully.

We also learned (at least, I do not recall it coming up before) that Mulder is red-green color blind, which kept the signals from turning him into a crazed killer.

In Talitha Cumi, we meet Jeremiah Smith, played by Roy Thinnes, who has apparent healing powers and an ability to shapeshift. We discover that the alien bounty hunter from earlier in the series was out to kill all the different version of Jeremiah Smith that were out there.

This is the dramatic end to the show, leaving a cliffhanger over the summer until the beginning of season four.

Mulder’s mother had a stroke just after a confrontation she had with the Cigarette Smoking Man. We learned that she had a connection to him in the past, and that one of the weapons capable of killing the alien bounty hunters was hidden in a summer home of the Mulders.

I swear, every time Mulder has CSM pushed against the wall with a gun to his head, I want him to finish the creep off. How would everything have been different if he had taken care of the bastard?

The show still referred to him as Cancer Man a couple of times, and I believe the episode with the actual guy who could see cancer comes in season 4. That is my guess as to why they removed that tag from CSM.

Two very good episodes that concluded an excellent season of TV from the X-Files. Season three is definitely the best season of the show so far, and is arguably the best season of the series.

Moonlighting S5 E3

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“The Color of Maddie”

The third episode of season five of Moonlighting had some decent moments to it. The end chase scene was still a little cartoonish, but it felt less obnoxious than the last time with the hot air balloons. I will say that I laughed when suddenly David and Maddie were on a bicycle built for two from out of nowhere, with little helmets to add to the imagery.

The dialogue between Maddie and David felt more on the nose and like an episode of Moonlighting. Their relationship was still at the center, but it was handled with care and not as if it were the most foulest thing ever. There was a feeling of love, not the anger that seemed to permeate season four of the show. That was a welcome change.

Of course, you could see the twist at the end with Maddie being great at pool coming from a mile away. Cybill Shepherd looked absolutely fabulous in that dress at the end of the episode, however, and it was worth the time to see her looking so gorgeous.

Unexpected background for Agnes though. A football team?

The X-Files S3 E22

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“Quagmire”

This was a great episode of the X-Files. A monster-of-the-week episode that sees Mulder and Scully in search of Big Blue, a supposed lake monster that is killing humans.

It turned out to be a killer alligator, which, by the way, is one of my biggest fears. We lose Scully’s dog Queequeg to the alligator.

The best part of this episode was when Mulder and Scully wound up stuck on a rock after their boat sinks in the pitch black and they have an amazingly meaningful conversation. Scully compares Mulder to Captain Ahab from Moby Dick. The truth=the white whale.

This scene just makes this episode special. The 10 pages of dialogue for that scene was one of the best Mulder/Scully interactions of the series up to this point.

There was a lot of tension, not only when they were trapped on that rock, but also when the alligator was rushing at Mulder and he unloaded his weapon at the beast. I remember that tension from the first time I watched it.

There was some good humor in this too, as Darin Morgan, who was the writer of all of the classic humor episodes this season, did some touch up here and you can tell.

A slight story, but really enjoyable.