Category Archives: TV-G[eek]

Loki S2 E4

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“Heart of the TVA”

Holy F-ing crap!

Episode 4 of Loki is one of the best episodes of Marvel TV ever.

This was so beautifully created and laid out. The fact that there were several examples of ouroboros as OB and Victor Timely geek out over each other and we see whom pruned Loki from episode 1.

And those were the minor parts.

I was literally shouting at the screen several times. I felt like a YouTube reactor as I watched the show. I usually do not do that, but I was fully engaged in this story.

One moment that shocked me was the arrival of Renslayer and Miss Minutes in the cell with Dox and her team, who had been imprisoned at the TVA, and they got crushed in the box that we saw Brad in earlier in the season. I was literally yelling, “no, no, no.”

Then ending of this episode with Victor trying to head out to fix the Loom and he got spaghettified… absolutely shocking. Never thought it.

The scene with Loki and Sylvie in “Pie Land” is brilliantly written. “Hope is Hard.”

There were so many shots that were so beautiful. The direction of this episode was just spectacular. It was the same director from episode one, and he did an amazing job.

I had a empty feeling in my gut at the end of this episode. I was speechless and breathless.

I loved this episode and I love this series…so much.

Moonlighting S1 E7

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“The Murder’s in the Mail”

I was not remembering this episode at first… and then I realized that this was the episode with the following, absolutely brilliant dialogue:

David: We’re looking for a man with a mole on his nose.

Maitre’D: Mole on his nose?

Maddie: A mole on his nose!

Maitre’D: What kind of clothes?

Maddie: (to David) What kind of clothes…?

David: (to Maitre’D) What kind of clothes do you suppose?

Maitre’D: What kind of clothes do I suppose would be worn by a man with a mole on his nose? Who knows?

David: Did I happen to mention, did I bother to disclose, this man that we’re seeking with a mole on his nose?

I’m not sure of his clothes or anything else except he’s Chinese, a big clue by itself.

Maddie: How do you do that?

David: You got to read a lot of Dr. Seuss.

Maitre’D: I’m sorry to say, I’m sad to report, I haven’t seen anyone at all of that sort.

Not a man who’s Chinese with a mole on his nose with some kind of clothes that you can’t suppose.

SO…get away from this door and get out of this place

Or I’ll have to hurt you…put my foot in your face.

David: Oh..!

Maddie: Time to go!

David: Time to go! *hasty exit*

This whole Dr. Seuss bit was so fantastic that it is one of the most iconic scene of the show. I’ve seen some bloopers of this scene that were hilarious as well.

This episode included a car chase scene with Maddie behind the wheel while David tried to give her instructions on where to turn and what to do. This was very funny and worked well.

The story was messy as always. Once again, the story is always the secondary aspect of Moonlighting, although this plot was a bit more involved than some of David and Maddie’s cases. And this was another example of David and Maddie stumbling into a case without a client. It happens quite a few times.

This was the final episode of season one of Moonlighting, which was a midseason series. It was a solid one ending with a food fight and including a Bruce Willis Three Stooges sound effect.

Bonus Action Vol.1 Episode 2

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“Pit Stop in Star-Top”

Week two of the Bonus Action Dungeons & Dragons adventure from the pReview’d crew was the shortest episode yet, but felt like the heaviest.

This was a sensational episode all based in character and backstory.

It started with some really goofy action from the crew, especially with Todd, Bric and Bar’b. And it had to do with food, of course.

However, when they were talking with one of the survivors who had gone after the MacGuffin that our new group is after, suddenly, Victor’s back story was front and center.

And it was heartbreaking. It was powerful. Adam Lash was amazing. He had been straight-faced with Victor for most of the time and we found out why. A great back story with Victor and his father brought Victor into conflict with his teammates as well as Alistair (via rock communicator).

It was tense and uncomfortable. And fantastic.

It brought some true drama into the campaign of goofiness and gave the comedy characters a chance to be more than just fun.

Congrats to Adam on the creation of a truly compelling character that doesn’t seem to fit, but he has an arc for the ages.

American Horror Story: Murder House S1 E1

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“Pilot”

With the mid-season finale of American Horror Story: Delicate airing this week, and with the news that the second half of the season would not be here until some time in 2024, that opned up Sunday morning for something else. This gives me a chance to go back and revisit (or watch for the first time) some of the previous seasons of AHS.

I’m starting first with the season of TV that grabbed my attention and helped make me more of a horror fan. That is season one, which was later entitled Murder House.

When I first watched the show, I was not much of a fan of horror movies. I watched some horror, but that genre was not near the top of my list. Thanks to the wonderful characters and downright creepy nature of American Horror Story, I was more interested in the genre.

Rubber Man is one of the scariest and hauntingly creepy characters on TV and the show was filled with unbeleivable actors providing some of their best work. Jessica Lange is utterly perfect as the neighbor Constance. Evan Peters showed us what a star he would be as Tate, the troubled teen that Ben (Dylan McDermott) was seeing out of his home office. Ben and Connie Britton’s Vivien and their marriage problems were both understandable and warped. Frances Conroy’s Moira, who changed her appearance depending on whom was looking at her… old or young.

This pilot episode does so much to set up Murder House as a sinister location with mysteries and ghosts abounding. Taissa Farmiga helped to kick off her scream queen persona with her troubled Violet.

I love this episode and the whole season only gets more exceptional. I’m excited about watching this every Sunday morning moving ahead.

American Horror Story: Delicate S12 E5

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“Preech”

The first half of season 12 of American Horror Story: Delicate is done. The mid-season finale dropped the other day and now it sounds as if it will be well into 2024 before the show comes back for the second half of this season.

So it seems as if Ms. Preecher is not the horrific stalker that we thought as she told Dex’s mom that she had given up a baby when she was young to this same cult and she wanted to help protect Dex and Anna’s baby.

Of course, Dex and Anna are having their own issues as Anna confronted Dex about the affair she believed he was having and about how he really did not believe that she was being stalked or, basically, anything that she had been saying since the beginning of the series.

Anna and Siobhan had some trouble when Anna found out that Siobhan was representing Babette Eno, a younger actress in the same Golden Globe category. Anna loses the Globe to Babette, but finds out that she had been decapitated in a car crash. Siobhan has some secrets going on and she is so very sus. She seems to have some ties to the baby stealing cult and those vials of B12 she keeps giving Anna are iffy at the best.

Dex’s dead wife, Adeline, was also connected to the cult somehow. The mysterious Nicolette had some tie to Adeline that we have yet to know. Honestly, if I were Anna, I would have fired Nicolette by now and got her out of the house.

At least Anna is not eating any dead raccoons this episode.

X-Files S1 E10

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“Fallen Angel”

“Fallen Angel” is another X-Files episode that I do not remember seeing when it first aired. This is the second of the first season episodes that I do not remember. I had always thought that I had seen all the episodes of the X-Files (at least the ones with David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson in it. Robert Patrick, not so much). However, this episode did not ring any bells for me.

It did follow a basic concept though. Mulder sneaks into a government something-or-other (in this case, a crash site), gets caught, government conceals whatever it is, Mulder deals with the real issue (usually something with UFOs) and then gets no answer.

This episode featured a man named Max who seemed to be a precursor to the Lone Gunmen. Max was a conspiracy theorist/UFO aficionado with long hair and lots of technical gadgets. Max did have several apparent mental issues which seemed to make him interesting. Sadly, the aliens took him off and we lose Max to the wind (or had his body in a container).

Deep Throat appeared in this episode and saved Mulder from being fired from the FBI. He did the old “Keep your friends close, enemies closer” line in a ominous voice, implying that he may not be the ally that Mulder believes he is.

Oh, and while we had the X-Files meet The Thing a few episodes ago, this one is The X-Files meets Predator. The invisible creature was killing people in the woods and I kept waiting for Mulder to yell out, “Get to the chopper!”

Mulder and Scully vs. the US government is always fun, though they are really lucky that they haven’t been stuck away in a cell somewhere as of yet.

Moonlighting S1 E5

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“Next Stop Murder”

This is one of the best episodes of Moonlighting. They brought Agnes DiPesto to the forefront as she winds up winning a space on a murder train. David and Maddie wind up getting stuck on the train too. The Murder Train was meant to be the staged murder, but it turns into a real one. This is another well-known trope in mystery stories but it is around so much because it works.

Miss DiPesto gets a love interest in the shape of actor Vincent Schiavelli. He is quirky and interesting looking and he made a great pair with Agnes. The actor was actually married to Allyce Beasley, who played Miss DiPesto, for a few years.

This actually gives David and Maddie a chance to actually solve the case, well…David in sense. I liked that we got to see that David and Maddie are not always jokes when it comes to their detective careers. They stood out here among a group of wannabe detectives.

As with every train centric episode, they had to climb up to the roof of the train to do battle. They did it in a very Dave/Maddie way that made this a funny exception.

I liked how this episode showed how much Miss DiPesto meant to both Maddie and David and how the eccentric character made such a tight connection with them.

This was a ton of fun and one of my personal favorites in the first season.

Gen V s1 e6

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“Jumanji”

Gen V sixth episode was a really great one.

Fallout from last week involving Kate and her mental manipulation of her friends was the main storyline of the show. We got to see a lot of the hidden back stories of Kate as well as the others who wound up inside Kate’s mind.

We saw more involving Golden Boy, including a disturbing realization that Andre and Kate had been having an affair before Golden Boy died.

We saw how Jordan had become Professor Brink’s assistant as she helped stop Golden Boy.

We saw more about Marie and her sister moments after she had accidentally killed her parents.

We saw more about Kate’s background and how she came to be with Dean Shetty.

Oh, and there was a Soldier boy cameo.

But the story of Kate was not the only thing we got tonight. We got Emma and Sam back together and making love.

And we find out that Dean Shetty’s plans were to develop a virus that could kill supes and she wants it contagious.

Whoa.

Gen V has been very compelling and getting better every week. Even week four, which felt like an initial back step for the show, turned out to be better in retrospect.

And with the potential deadly virus being created in the Woods, this could have major impact in the Boys world.

Goosebumps S1 E6

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“Night of the Living Dummy”

Goosebumps on Disney + continues with some excellent episodes as they reached the episode featuring the dummy that gave nightmares to plenty of kids in the 1980s.

We hear the story of Slappy from the mouth of Mr. Bratt, who is of course possessed by the spirit of Harold Biddle. He tells the kids how Harold came into possession of the dummy and how their parents were involved in his death and subsequent removal of Slappy.

Mr. Bratt became more agitated and disgruntled as he told the story, but the kids were hearing it in a different manner than his own POV. He was becoming irritated that the kids did not share his POV of what happened. His reveal at the end of the episode was well done and made me happy. The possession of Bratt and having him pretend as if things were normal had definitely run its course. I’m pleased that the show took this step because a lot of shows would drag that mystery out for several episodes.

As for Slappy, we have certainly seen this concept before. There were living ventriloquist dolls in The Twilight Zone (Caesar and Willie), Batman the Animated Series (Scarface), and The Ventriloquist Dummy (Hugo). Throw in there dolls such as Annabelle and Chucky, these scary dummy/dolls are used quite a bit. Slappy is a great character to introduce younger kids to this trope.

Will the show be able to make this dummy different from the ones that came before? I hope so, and the show has been doing a great job so far.

Loki S2 E3

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“1893”

The third episode of season two of Loki just aired on Disney +, and it was a banger. Loki and Mobius were trying to find Miss Minutes to try and get her to help fix the loom in the TVA. They wound up in 1893 at the Chicago World fair and they found something besides Miss Minutes or Renslayer.

They found Victor Timely.

Victor Timely is a variant of He Who Remains… aka Kang. We saw a clip from this show at the post credit scene of Ant Man: Quantumania.

In this episode, Victor Timely does not have the frightening aura that He Who Remains. Instead, he was a blundering con man. An inventor that would sell his inventions that barely worked, if worked at all, only to have unhappy customers chasing after him.

Loki, Mobius as well as Renslayer and Miss Minutes were in a competition to get to Victor Timely first.

When Sylvie showed up ready to try and kill Victor, and Loki had to protect him. And Sylvie was absolutely brutal.

Miss Minutes’s return gave us a better look at the ‘cartoon clock.’ She showed a lot of jealousy over Renslayer and Victor Timely. Her professing her love for Victor was really creepy too. Tara Strong was great voicing this character.

And Miss Minutes dropped a hint that she knows a big secret about Renslayer that would make her made. What could that be?

This was a great episode that gave us a bunch of focus on out villains of the season. And Victor Timely has been taken to the TVA.

That can’t end well.

The X-Files S1 E9

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“Space”

This is the second episode among the first nine that I felt was average to sub par.

In fact, I would say that this is my least favorite episode so far.

A former NASA astronaut, who was Mulder’s childhood hero, was possessed by an extraterrestrial spirit of some sort. This spirit was base don the ‘face on Mars’ image that occurred around this time.

I don’t think anything worked with this episode. The story was nonsensical and dull. The acting was far below the series’ typical level. The special effects, especially the look of the spirit on the astronaut, were poor.

They made a connection to the Challenger explosion which felt a little slimy or exploitative.

There were some of the worst scenes, some of the most unintentionally funny scenes in the series history. With this episode following the splendid “Ice,” it really fell down the ladder quickly.

I remember seeing this episode originally and not being a fan then. I disliked this more than I remembered.

Bonus Action Vol. 1 Episode 1

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“A Beginning Most Humble”

After three weeks of Odd Jobs, mini missions to introduce characters, Bonus Action started off strong with all six characters involved.

This episode was used as practice, character moments and getting the group to interact.

These six players brought a ton of quirks and enjoyment from their characters. They all have some really cool concepts and back stories that they play as every bit as important as the actual mission. That is awwsome.

This week gave us the outline of the campaign and explained the MacGuffin.

These six players are funny, creative and should make this series a lot of fun.

Moonlighting S1 E4

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“The Next Murder You Hear”

Boink! Boink! Boink!

Another key moment for David and Maddie… when David used the term ‘boink’ and said that Maddie was repressed or suppressed or on of those S-words. Their outstanding banter made this series what is was.

David and Maddie get involved in a sensational case of the murder of a romance/love spurned talk show DJ that happened live on the air. No clients, but Addison believed solving this case would be a boom for business.

Maddie didn’t want to take the case and David wanted to, which was a reoccurring theme on the show. However, when Maddie started listening to the tapes of his show, she changed her tune.

This episode looked at David’s developing feeling for Maddie and he goes on a binger, talking to anyone who would listen (or wouldn’t) .

The episode ends with the typical all-out Moonlighting fight scene with David and the killer struggling on a neon light sign.

A great episode that looks at the characters more and a story that is less convoluted than normal.

The Fall of the House of Usher E3-8

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I had no intention of finishing this series today. I wanted to spread it out over the next several weeks. However, with the schedule packed with TV shows, movies and comics, and since I was really engaged in it, I just kept watching another episode as I would finish the previous one.

The titles of the series included;

Ep. 3: “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”

Ep. 4: “The Black Cat”

Ep. 5: “The Tell-Tale Heart”

Ep. 6: “Goldbug”

Ep. 7: “The Pit and the Pendulum”

Ep. 8: “The Raven”

Because of these titles, I knew which of the Usher kids were doomed that episode. They were all neat adaptations of the short stories written by Edgar Allan Poe, into a new story, a new format.

There were plenty of other stories/poem incorporated into the series as we met Annabel Lee, The Cask of Amontillado was highlighted, Rufus Griswold (who wrote Poe’s scandalous obituary), The Belles (poem), among others.

Some of the allusions to Poe’s work was subtle, some was anything but. Several lines of Poe’s poetry is recited in the episodes, especially lines from Annabel Lee.

Each of the Usher kids’ deaths are fun and earned. They all take form similar to Poe’s works. It’s cool knowing some of these reference. For example, as Roderick sat in the basement staring at the brick wall, I wondered whom was bricked up in the wall. Of course that was coming. As a writer, Poe buried people in walls several times in his career.

To be honest, the finale did feel a little preachy at times. Some of the monologues delivered in the episode spoke of a lot of the political controversies of the day and it did feel somewhat out of place. The message was there without needing to bludgeon the audience over the head with it. I did find that to be a bit unnecessary.

Though, I admit that I laughed with the line about Trump when the mysterious Verna said,  “Like I said to one of my clients, when I’m done, you can stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and it won’t cost you a thing.”

The Fall of the House of Usher was great. I love Edgar Allan Poe and this had him all over the place. Greta acting. Cool kills.

Goosebumps S1 E4 & E5

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Episode 4: “Go Eat Worms”

Episode 5: “Reader Beware”

I am really digging this new Goosebumps series on Disney +. It feels so much more mature and targeted to an older audience than any of the other versions I have seen without losing that youthful appeal that the series intended.

This show has been weaving together an overarching story about Harold Biddle, what happened to him and how the parents of our group of protagonists were involved. It is telling that story while including character moments for all involved. It has been well done so far, with each episode building suspense and curiosity about what happened.

I mentioned it after episode 3, but this show is absolutely giving me Marvel’s The Runaway vibes. The Runaways discovered that their parents were actually supervillains, but I think there is more here than what we have seen so far. It is not that the parents in Goosebumps were involved in the fire that killed Harold Biddle. There is more to it and I believe that involved Mister Slappy.

Episode four was featuring Lucas and the worms he found on Halloween at the Biddle house party. I have to say, of all the actors playing the kids, Will Price, who plays Lucas, looks the oldest. He is only 23 years old, but I would have guessed 32. His older look does distract me more than the others (who are clearly all older than high school).

Episode five sees Mr. Bratt give Margot a scrapbook he said he found in his house, but it was clearly a set up from Harold Biddle to try and get the kids to help him find what the parents had taken on the night Biddle died. This episode went into more detail with the affair between Colin and Nora as Colin’s wife, Sarah, had returned form Seattle. Sarah feels like a wild card tossed into this mix. She told Nora that she believes what she has been saying, things that got Nora tossed into a mental hospital and drugged by Victoria. This episode dove deep into the mysterious story being told in this series and it was great.

I really have enjoyed watching these Goosebumps episodes so far. The next one drops on Disney + coming Friday, I believe and I will be there to see it.