Category Archives: TV-G[eek]

Shogun S1 E4

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“The Eightfold Fence”

I really enjoyed this week’s episode of Shogun.

The fish-out-of-water feel of Blackthorne continues to be very interesting as he is trying to comprehend aspects of the Japanese culture that he just cannot grasp. The way they both dealt with the differences and the unintended slights was fascinating, and it was clearly leading to a connection between the characters.

Blackthorne has realized that everything he believed about his deal with Toranaga may not have been what he expected. Still, his instruction on the use of his ship’s cannons impressed the Japanese.

 Lord Ishido sent his warrior, Jozen, to check in on Toranaga, to see if he were preparing for war. Jozen’s presence has been a challenge for the people in place, but Nagakado, Toranaga’s son, wound up attacking him with the cannon.

The brutal imagery of the victims of the cannon attack was amazing. The horror was impressive for a TV show.

There were also some tense stand offs between Blackthorne and Omi, whose initial confrontation at the beginning of the series still plays into this feud.

It is going to lead to a terrible situation, a declaration of war. What will happen next? What will Toranaga think when he discovers what his son has done? All pretty great questions and I am looking forward to finding out what is next.

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live S1 E3

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“Bye”

The third episode of the new Walking Dead spinoff arrived Sunday night, but I could not watch it then because of the Academy Awards. So I watched it on Monday.

Rick and Michonne are really great together. I honestly did not see that much of the couple since they were not together as much during the time in which I was watching The Walking Dead. However, they really do have that chemistry where you believe that they could do anything.

Janus’s comment about how she was more concerned with them together because they could maybe do anything was very appropriate.

The potential escape attempt that Rick backed out of shows how far down he has fallen. This was the guy who was unafraid to take on the Governor or Negan, but he has been so beaten down that he can not see a way out of his current situation without losing everything.

Michonne has not lost that focus and I have to say that I gasped loudly when Michonne grabbed Rick and threw them both out of the helicopter during the terrible rain. What a shock. It was something that Michonne would do. Past Rick too.

I do think that next episode is going to really set the stage for what’s to come.

The X-Files S3 E21

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“Avatar”

This is an episode featuring Assistant Director Walter Skinner. We get to learn some details about Skinner’s life, such as that he was married, a marriage that has been on the rocks for many months now.

Skinner is also being visited by a spirit of an old woman, who had helped protect him during his tour in Vietnam, and who was referred to by Agent Mulder as a succubus. Honestly, the paranormal aspect of this episode was a little slipshot.

The use of Skinner’s sleep troubles as a weakness for the secret government group to manipulate is better for the episode, to me. The way Agent Mulder found the culprit was quite clever (with the use of the airbag).

I am glad that they put Skinner front and center in this episode, but it did feel like the episode needed some more attention overall. Still, it was a decent X-Files contribution.

Shogun S1 E3

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“Tomorrow is Tomorrow”

Toranaga makes a brazen escape attempt from Osaka with Blackthorne and Mariko in tow.

This episode was chocked full of some exciting action bits, including a fire-arrow fight in the woods and a dramatic ship ‘race’ on the sea. Both action scenes were extremely well done and shot.

You can see the beginnings of the relationship between Blackthorne and Mariko forming. Mariko’s husband Buntaro, stayed behind and held off the forces trying to prevent Toranaga’s escape. We do not see him killed on screen, but that is certainly the implication. I was never a fan of Buntaro, but he came through big time in this episode. I wonder if we will see him again since we did not see his death on camera.

Néstor Carbonell returned this episode as Vasco Rodrigues. He was a hoot here and shows, again, how awesome Carbonell is as an actor.

Moonlighting S5 E2

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“Between a Yuk and a Hard Place”

I am glad that Moonlighting decided that Dave and Maddie needed to deal with the miscarriage before just moving on. The fact that they were both denying the problem and running away from it in their own ways.

Agnes Dipesto was the MVP of this episode as she showed some true manipulation by arranging it for Dave and Maddie to get stuck in an elevator. I guess she also is able to work it so they are leaving at the same time and wound up in the same elevator. She’s sneaky!

But the best moment of the episode was inside that elevator when the Muzak in the elevator was playing the song, You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby, causing Dave to freak out and use his briefcase to destroy the speaker. This led to a beautiful moment between these characters and they end up singing together. It’s weird since this show mixed this kind of strong drama with powerful acting with the over-the-top cartoonish moments.

There was a typical Moonlighting-like case too that ended up with a fun chase scene involving a hot air balloon. There were some surprisingly good stunt work here.

The problem was that this felt too cartoonish. In fact, Dave even made a Wile E. Coyote joke. The show does become like a cartoon before, but when it gets too cartoonish, it weakens the situation. The ending with Maddie and the jeep just is like an animated moment.

Such a contrast in tones inside this episode.

By the way, Bert is just so obnoxious. I can see why I hated that character so much.

Twin Peaks S2 E10

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“Dispute Between Gentlemen”

With the case of who killed Laura Palmer solved, the show Twin Peaks started off on its newest mystery, “How do we keep Agent Cooper in Twin Peaks?”

Okay, maybe that is not quite right, but it is pretty close. Twin Peaks began its new group of stories for the second part of the second season with some background on Agent Cooper, a revenge plot from a Renault, another mysterious disappearance and the return of Josie.

Cooper is suspended for his part in the rescue of Audrey Horne, which is orchestrated by Jean Renault, via the FBI. This keeps him in Twin Peaks, for the immediate future.

I do love the brotherly relationship between Cooper and Sheriff Truman. Harry believes in Coop completely and their bromance just works on a positive note. And Harry 100% has Cooper’s back, even in the face of the FBI (and the Royal Mounties, apparently).

Just before Major Briggs disappears, he drops the first mention of The White Lodge. Even if the show becomes too disjointed or less taut in the rest of this season, I do enjoy the concept of the White Lodge.

Leo looks to be starting to get ready to stop being a wheelchair bound vegetable.

As the show tried to push Bobby Briggs and Audrey Horne together, Audrey had a goodbye scene with Agent Cooper that just showed how much chemistry this pair had and makes the decision for them to never get together all the more questionable.

Windham Earle is name-dropped once more. If I had not known, it would be painfully apparent that these moments of foreshadowing would lead to Windham Earle’s arrival eventually in Twin Peaks.

Those owls are still not what they appear.

The X-Files S3 E20

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“Jose Chung’s From Outer Space”

“I know how crazy this is going to sound, but….”

One of the greatest BLEEPIN’ X-Files episodes of all-time was next on my list. It was “Jose Chung’s From Outer Space.”

Let’s start off with the amazing casting of Charles Nelson Reilly as author Jose Chung. CNR was so great in this role and he brought a sensational comedic chemistry with Gillian Anderson, whose facial expressions and comedic timing were as on point as I have ever seen her. The pair of them recounting this story from different POVs made for such a fantastic framing device that the humor just worked perfectly between them.

Guest appearances from Jesse Ventura and Alex Trebek as Men in Black added such a special feel to the episode, as they tormented the weirdos involved in the story. Jesse Ventura was a personal favorite performer, originally from the world of pro wrestling, and I loved his use in this show.

David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson did a great job of changing the style of their characters’ performance depending on which person was providing the POV.

This episode was not just a comedic one. It started the stretch of doubt from Mulder that led him to dismiss his belief in UFOs, accepting the fact that everything is part of the government plan. This would carry on for quite a few episodes.

The use of footage of Scully’s actual autopsy of a man in an alien costume being used as a cheap alien autopsy video was a master stroke of genius as was Scully’s breathless reaction of consternation when Chung asked her about it.

This was the final episode written by Emmy winning writer Darin Morgan, whose episodes included classics “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose,” “Humbug,” and “War of the Coprophages.” Morgan would return in the X-Files 2016 revival.

There are so many clever moments in this episode that you could not hit them all. From the craziness of Rocky to the sweet potato pie, “Jose Chung’s From Outer Space” had something for everyone. It is one of my, if not THE, favorite episode of the show and I am so glad that we reached this episode in season three.

The X-Files S3 E19

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“Hell Money”

The X-Files head into the world of Chinese culture with a odd game played that is involved with harvesting body parts for money.

There are some creepy people in scary masks, but not much for paranormal activity. There was some talk about ghosts, but it felt more like an idea shoehorned into the story to involve Mulder and Scully.

The setting was Chinatown in San Francisco and you could see many of the typical Chinese stereotypes.

So much so that we see James Hong, an actor who has been in countless films and TV shows over the years. He even received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

B.D. Wong as corrupt detective Glen Chao was one of the more interesting characters on the show. Mulder and Scully did seem like arrogant outsiders.

Overall, this was not my most favorite episode, but it was fine.

Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live S1 E2

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“Gone”

It has been a few years since I watched any Walking Dead, but I remember a cardinal rule about the show. Never get attached to characters, particularly new ones.

I broke that rule tonight as I was watching the second episode of the Rick/Michonne spin off The Ones Who Live. And did I pay for it.

Episode one focused on where Rick was and what he had been doing all this time and this week, we got the same thing with Michonne. With Michonne, she came across some people whom she saved and then bonded with. So did I as an audience member.

So of course they were doomed.

I think some of these characters at the beginning of this episode were from the end of The Walking Dead, but I have not watched that show for several years so I have no idea what was happening at first.

I did love Nat though. I was sad when he died.

Rick and Michonne are now in the middle of the belly of the beast.

Moonlighting S5 E1

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“A Womb With a View”

The final season of Moonlighting kicked off with a big musical number and one of the jokes in the song was that they were determined to make 22 episodes this season, but the critics claim that they would only get to 16. Funnily enough, they do not get to 16, they only make thirteen.

I can understand why. The first episode of season five introduced us to Baby Hayes, played by Bruce Willis and visited by angel Jerome (played by Joseph Maher). Jerome introduced Baby Hayes to his mom and dad and showed him some of the best and worst parts of the world.

Then, in a remarkably cruel twist, Jerome claimed that the “Creator” has decided that Dave and Maddie were not going to be parents and took Baby Hayes away to let him be born to a different set of parents.

I remember being upset with that decision when I first watched the episode. It was like everything we as an audience member went through in season four was rendered a waste of time with one quick twist of fate… and they did it with another musical number.

They gave Dave and Maddie a three minute scene tacked on the end of the episode to deal with their grief and their loss. It just felt so wrong. Clearly they had decided that the show could not handle a baby in the cast and they went out of their way to fix it. I wonder how many viewers they lost with this stunt?

It made no sense and was a weak way to try and get around a prior season full of narrative. No the best way to kick off a new season.

Shogun S1 E2

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“Servants of Two Masters”

I got the chance today to watch the second episode of Shogun on Hulu. Both this episode and episode 1 dropped at the same time last week, but it did not fit into my schedule to see them both. I planned on getting to Shogun episode two before the weekend finished, and I was able to get it done. I think I enjoyed this episode more than I liked episode one, and I liked episode one a lot.

John was bounced around to different areas, from the palace to a prison then back to the palace as the people involved tried to determine how they were going to best use this ‘barbarian.’

Interestingly, we get the first interactions between John and Mariko, which I believe will become something much more than expected.

But John… when they offer you a bath… take it. Twice a week is okay.

Lord Toranaga clearly is looking as a mastermind with his machinations.

Next episode of Shogun drops late night Monday on Hulu.

Twin Peaks S2 E9

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“Arbitrary Law”

So the story of “Who Killed Laura Palmer” came to a conclusion in this episode, at least for the most part. Leland Palmer was revealed to the world as ‘Bob’ and he was shown to be the killer of his own daughter.

This is one of those episodes of TV that I always remember. The final scene where Leland/Bob kills himself is completely compelling and goose bumps-inducing. Ray Wise had been amazing with his performance as Leland Palmer up to this episode and this absolutely is his magnum opus. The scene of Leland laying in the interrogation room being held by Cooper is unbelievable. Leland’s realization of what he had done to Laura was powerful and Cooper’s kind way of directing Leland to the light was caring and hopeful.

The scene preceding this with Leland in full Bob mode and being interrogated by Cooper was another amazing scene that illustrated Ray Wise’s astounding performance. The way he switched from chaotic insanity to a calm, evil aura showed what an wonderful actor Ray Wise was.

When Leland had Donna in his house, I remember being totally sold on the chance that Leland was going to claim another victim and the scene was scripted so brilliantly that, as a viewer, you could not be sure that Donna was going to survive.

Of course, then there was the scene with Donna and James, a scene that really highlighted once again what a doofus James Hurley was. I really dislike him even as I recall being a fan of James when I first watched the show back int he 1990s. I would love for James to hop on his motorcycle and just ride off and leave twin peaks forever. I know that is not what he will do, but Donna deserves someone so much better than this loser.

It was also a welcome return for FBI Agent Albert Rosenfield, played by the incomparable Miguel Ferrer. In a few sparse scenes in the show so far, Albert has taken quite a lengthy journey for his character.

Even though the show hints at Bob escaping from his fate, the conclusion did not feel tainted. It brought this mystery to a satisfying conclusion, even if it was initially intended to never have been solved.

Of course, the shot of the owl at the end of the episode was a great piece of potential foreshadowing. We all know that the ‘owls are not what they seem.’

Twin Peaks S2 E8

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“Drive with a Dead Girl”

With last episode’s gigantic reveal that Killer Bob was possessing Leland Palmer and that he killed his daughter Laura, and then killed cousin Maddie in a brutal murder, Twin Peaks was firing on all cylinders. Episode 8 could never hope to match up with last episode. Still, it was an interesting episode.

Ray Wise brought out his inner demon in this remarkable performance. The greatest moment was when Leland had been pulled over by Sheriff Truman and Agent Cooper for his reckless driving, and Leland wanted to show Cooper his new golf clubs, which are in the trunk with Maddie’s dead body. The visual of Leland with the golf club, running the idea of smashing it into Cooper’s unexpecting head was awesome.

I also LOVED seeing Pete Martell and his joyous laughter as he taunted Ben Horne, who was inside his jail cell, with the tape recorder playing Catherine’s voice, blackmailing Ben with an alibi. Not sure how Pete was able to get down to the cells at the police station without being let in by Harry or one of the deputies, but it was worth seeing to hear his riotous laugh.

So Maddie is discovered at the end of the episode in the forest. If I remember correctly, Maddie’s murder is the beginning of the downfall of Bob/Leland.

Shōgun S1 E1

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“Anjin”

Shōgun has dropped on FX and I was able to watch the first episode on Hulu. I have not had the chance to watch episode two, which also dropped. I do thin that this is something that I will continue to watch.

Easily my favorite part of the episode was the arrival of Vasco Rodrigues, played by Néstor Carbonell, Richard himself from LOST. I loved him on LOST and Bates Motel, so it was great to see him once again.

This is a new take on the novel of 1975 and the mini series from the 1980s.

According to Wikipedia, “Shōgun follows “the collision of two ambitious men from different worlds and a mysterious female samurai; John Blackthorne, a risk-taking English sailor who ends up shipwrecked in Japan, a land whose unfamiliar culture will ultimately redefine him; Lord Toranaga, a shrewd, powerful daimyo, at odds with his own dangerous, political rivals; and Lady Mariko, a woman with invaluable skills but dishonorable family ties, who must prove her value and allegiance“

John Blackthorne is played by Cosmo Jarvis, and he does a good job filling the role made famous by Richard Chamberlain. Lord Toranago is played by another LOST alum, Hiroyuki Sanada. Lady Mariko is played by Anna Sawai.

I did not watch the mini series back in the 1980s, but I was aware of it. I was only around 11 years old and not interested in feudal Japan. Many decades later, I am more intrigued by the story.

This is beautifully shot and looked great. I am excited to keep watching the series. I should get to see episode two later this week and then I will be following along on Hulu as it releases weekly.

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Lived S1 E1

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“Years”

Rick and Michonne return to the world of the Walking Dead through the new series The Ones Who Lived, which debuted on AMC this past Sunday.

Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira step back into their roles of Rick Grimes and Michonne that they played for years on AMC’s The Walking Dead. This series had gone through several stages, including the possibility of being a movie instead.

The Walking Dead was one of my favorite shows for many years, but I did lose interest in the show as time moved on (around the time the show killed of Glenn, things started going downhill for me).

Rick was believed to have been killed in the series, but it was shown that he had been taken by the CRM, aka the Civil Republic Military. This new show picked up five years after when Rick disappeared. And does this show kick off in a hurry.

Rick is shown trying to escape, and he does it by chopping off his left hand. I couldn’t believe it. Apparently, this was something that the comic version of Rick does early on (The Governor cut it off) and Andrew Lincoln had been pushing for it for years. It finally happened.

The episode was very emotional. Andrew Lincoln’s story was the main focus of the show. It looks like next week’s episode will be a Michonne centered episode so we see how she wound up at the end of this first episode.

I did have a little bit of a problem with how Rick and Michonne came face to face at the end of the first episode, so I hope next week will help make this coincidence a little easier to buy.

Otherwise, I found this to be a great opening episode with so much emotion. Seeing how Rick struggled with his situation and how he nearly took some steps to end everything was brutal.

There were plenty of shocks in the show too. I hope that this show maintains this level of height as it moved along.

Oh, and I almost forgot, Terry O’Quinn is here. I loved him from LOST as John Locke and his military man  Beale, the Major General of the Civic Republic Military. It is epic to see him once again. I’d be lying if I said that his joining this series did not help me choose to watch it. Love Terry.