Sha Na Na S1 E3, E4, E5

Grease for Peace!

I am back with the next three episodes of season one of Sha Na Na. This was one of my favorite shows as a kid and I always looked forward to seeing the next episode.

I just have to say, some of the negatives stand out more for me now than it did when I was a kid. The comedy is downright bad. Very few of these bits were funny at all. The only ones that seemed okay were the ones in the car with one of the members of the band and Ginger. The can laughter made it all the more obvious that it wasn’t funny.

The exception was the bits during episode 5 with Milton Berle. He brought in members of Sha Na Na and would makes jokes with them. These bits felt fairly improv-like and you can see the members of Sha Na Na trying to keep from laughing. Some did better than others. Johnny was working that gum over hard during his moment with Berle.

You do have to respect how they passed around singing responsibilities on the show. In these three episodes, only Santini did not have a lead vocal or a duet. Duke of Earl and Silhouette was performed by Denny. Party Doll and Itsy Bitsy teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini was done by Chico. Whole Lotta Shakin’ was led by Screamin’ Scott. Screamin’ Scott and Jocko combined for Poison Ivy. Bower sang with Ethel Merman with Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better. Lenny sang Too Chubby to Boogie. Dirty Dan sang Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow. Johnny sang the last song of episode five, though I did not recognize the title. The whole group had a part in The Name Game.

Admittedly, some of the background dancing gets too hectic at times and it gives the audience too many things to try and focus on. However, episode five gave us something different as this was the first time that we got to see shots of the live audience and their responses to the stage songs. I liked that variation on what they had done prior.

The dancing was okay during Carol Lawrence’s dance of The One, from the Broadway musical A Chorus Line. The whole group of Sha Na Na provided chorus line dancing.

Episode five was my favorite of these episodes as it felt like they did some different things and the Milton Berle comedy worked so much more than some of the other episode comedy bits.

Gen V S1 E1-E4

Spoilers

I am finally getting caught up with most of the TV shows and that meant that I got to Amazon Prime’s Gen V.

The spin-off of The Boys had a surprisingly good season one and this new season leads right into some of the major events going on in that series.

First of all, we had to deal with the real life loss of actor Chance Perdomo, who played Andre in season one, was killed in a motorcycle accident in 2024. Andre was a major character among the ensemble of Gen V so decisions had to be made. The show decided against recasting the role and decided instead to kill the character off-screen. While it was an uncomfortable idea, the death of Andre provided motivation for several of the characters to move forward.

We have a new Dean of Godolkin University and he is the new big bad of season two. Cypher is very mysterious and manipulative.

I do love how the group is kind of getting back together, even after the horrible things that they have done to each other. It sure looked like, after episode one, that Jordan had killed Cate. I am glad Cate survived as the entire event has led to a tentative reunion between Cate, Marie, Jordan, and Emma.

Gen V continues to have the same kind of shocking moments that are typical on The Boys, and the characters from The Boys are referenced constantly Starlight even made a cameo in one of the episodes, trying to recruit Marie to help her out. She mentioned one of the mysteries of the season, which was Odessa. It appeared as if Odessa was Marie, but that has all been questionable.

Episodes will release every Wednesday, so I will be watching them when I can. This kick off has been very enjoyable so far and I am deeply invested in the mysteries of the show. I am curious to see how this show will eventually play into the final season of The Boys.

Sha Na Na S2 E0, E1, E2

I was on Twitter/X a few days ago and I came across a Tweet by Jon “Bowzer” Bausman stating that the full episodes of the Sha Na Na TV series was going to be available on YouTube soon. I was excited to hear this as this was a big part of my childhood. I loved Sha Na Na and they turned out to be my first ever concert at Five Flags Center in Dubuque.

I have spent years watching musical clips from the show on YouTube and the news about the full episodes was great. I figured I could make this one of my rewatches here at EYG.

I went to YouTube and searched for Sha Na Na series and I found a playlist from pattyoc01, who had been one of the prolific posters of the Sha Na Na clips over the years. The playlist had all of the episodes on it.

I have a feeling this may not have been what Jon Bausman meant when he posted his tweet. I have a suspicion that a more clean and professional version may be coming in the future. However, I was excited to start the rewatch so I dove into the pilot (listed as episode 0) and the first two episodes of the series.

Sha Na Na consisted of the following group members on the show: Bowzer, Johnny, Screamin’ Scott, Santini, Denny, Lennie, Donny, Dirty Dan, Chico, and Jocko.

The musical numbers are far and away the best part of these first three episodes. The comedy on the show was, at best, iffy. Some of it was groan-inducing. I saw another tweet from Bausman stating that he knew the humor of the first season was not the beat, but he felt the following seasons got more clever.

I was always focused on whether they were lip synching the music. I know that they had done, at least for the stage songs, live singing with the instrumental and the back up singing being pre-taped. You could usually tell from the powerhouse vocals of Johnny Contardo. Some of the street songs or comedy sketch bits (such as the Monster Mash bit in the pilot) were clearly being lip synched. It was obvious that Bernadette Peters was not singing live in episode two either. It was not a major issue, but I am more impressed when they let their vocals come through.

A great example of this was in the third episode where five of the group’s best singers, Johnny, Bowzer, Donny, Lennie and Santini sang an a cappella doo wop version of “I Wonder Why.” This was an amazing performance with these five really blending their voices into a fantastic harmony.

Other songs performed in this first three episodes included Blue Moon, Teenager in Love, Yakkety Yak, Tell Laura I Love Her, Rama Lama Ding Dong, Personality, Little Darlin’, and Runaway.

Along with Bernadette Peters in episode two, Rita Moreno and Frank Gorshin guest starred in the other two episodes however whatever Gorshin did seemed to be cut from the episode on YouTube. This is another reason why I think this may not be the collection that Bausman was referring to in his tweet.

I have to say that this is a bizarre series as the show constantly tells you as an audience member that Sha Na Na is terrible. The show puts down their music, their intelligence and everything else. You would think that they shouldn’t be downgrading their stars, even if it is nothing more than a running joke. It is clear that these ten men are remarkably talented (although they may not have been the greatest dancers ever to grace the screen).

Seeing this show once again gives me a huge feeling of nostalgia. I forgot this show when compiling my Top 100 TV Shows list that I am currently counting down with the Daily Countdown on EYG. This should have probably had a spot on that list.

For the first three episodes… Goodnight sweetheart, well it’s time to go…

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #34

Spoilers

“I Am”

 “I am Hippolyta.”

This week’s Lovecraft Country focuses on that comment, and we get an episode centered around Hippolyta.

This was a wild, sci-fi romp through alternate dimensions and spiritual encounters. Hippolyta finds herself dancing on a stage with Josephine Baker in Paris, a warrior woman training in what appeared to be Africa (reminded me very much of the movie, The Woman King) and back in bed with George (with Courtney B. Vance returning to the role).

It was a journey of self-discovery for Hippolyta as she is able to work through her grief and anger over the events that she had gone through in the series.

Of course, before she had been pulled into the portal by this strange machine, she had shot and killed a police officer who was going to kill her after catching her in this place. Atticus showed up and helped out, sending another officer through the portal. However, the dead officer’s body was lying on top of Diana’s comic book, leading us to think bad things are coming for the young girl.

We also discover that Atticus had gone through a portal as well. We do not know where he had gone, but he returned with a paperback book entitled Lovecraft Country written by George Freeman.

Other items from this episode:

  • The show has been implying that Leti is pregnant. I am curious to see how that will play into the narrative.
  • Emmet Till is referenced in this episode as a friend of Diana.
  • Atticus learns the truth that his father Montrose was gay. He did not take it well. In fact, Atticus’s response using the f-slur was one of the most shocking moments of the episode. It is a term that we don’t hear much anymore, but would have been more common during this time frame. It was still very hard to hear coming from our protagonist’s mouth.
  • Ruby and her relationship with Christina is bizarre and could lead to Ruby betraying her sister.

This was a strong episode of Lovecraft Country, which built on the idea of the power of women, much like last week’s episode featuring Ji-ah.

There are just three more episodes of Lovecraft Country remaining. Because next weekend I am going to attend SiouxperCon 2025 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the Sunday Morning Sidewalk will be poster this coming Friday, September 19th.

Only Murders in the Building S5 E1, E2, E3

SPOILERS

“Nail in the Coffin”

“After You”

“Rigor”

I am so happy that Only Murders in the Building is back with their fifth season already. Where most streaming shows take 2-3 years in-between seasons, OMitB is back just over a year from season four.

The show n Hulu kicked off by dropping the first three episodes of the new season and I absolutely loved them.

Episode one had a lot of stuff going down as we started laying the breadcrumbs for the fifth season’s mystery. Longtime doorman Lester was found dead in the fountain at the Arconia. However, the police have dubbed it an accidental death, a fact that made Charles, Oliver and Mabel both unhappy and suspicious.

As it turned out, there are some really big questions about what happened to Lester.

  • Was it the mob? We know the wife of the missing mobster Nicky “The Neck” Caccimelio came to try and higher the crew last season to find her missing husband.
  • Nicky ends up dead at the local laundromat which begs the question… why are there never any employees at this laundromat?
  • There are corrupt cops involved as they are reporting Nicky’s death as they are told.
  • A finger showed up in the leftover shrimp from the wedding. We find out whose finger it is at the end of episode three. Jay Pflug, billionaire.
  • The mysterious speak easy room beneath the Arconia is where the three billionaires meet. Very curious for Logan Lerman, Christoph Waltz and Renée Zellweger, who play these billionaires.

The second episode gives us a whole backstory for Lester the doorman and showed us how he got wrapped up in the mob. This wrapped the history of the Arconia with the entire cast. Lester did the actual narration as well, flashing back eerily to scenes from the first episode.

We got a glimpse into the personal issues of our main trio for this season. Mabel seemed happy with her life, but an old friend moving into the Arconia appeared to challenge her thoughts. Charles is afraid that he is going to die alone and it manifested itself as the dead body of Nicky talking to him. And Oliver has guilt over the way he treated Lester and is beginning to see his own negative traits.

I laughed out loud multiple times in episodes 1 and 3. The show is extremely funny and wonderfully written. Episode two had moments too but it was more of the intriguing backstory.

Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez are amazing together and they carry this show. The writing is so good too. This is one of the best shows around and I am so pleased that it is back.

Wednesday S2 E7, E8

Spoilers

“Woe Me the Money”

“This Means Woe”

Honestly, the last three of the four episodes of Wednesday season two were fantastic. I loved the final two episodes after one of the best uses of the Freaky Friday twist ever. I was not sure where it was going because it seemed as if the storylines were all ending quickly.

In episode 7, we dealt with the story of Principal Dort, revealing what he was always after. The third act of the episode at the gala was sensational. Particularly the dance routine with Enid and Agnes was amazing and I loved how it worked in to the downfall of Dort.

In episode 8, there was a great finale featuring one of the best reveal of all time with the origin of Thing. I never even thought that was possible even though they spent some time hinting about Thing’s past during the season. Making Thing the actual right hand of Isaac Night was so good.

Once again, the story is rooted in something that Morticia and Gomez did while they were at Nevermore. The secrets of the Addams Family seem to cause all kind of troubles.

The best part of the season was getting Wednesday and Enid back on the same page. The lack of these characters’ interaction in the first half of the season and the negativity between them was a poor choice. This is part of the reason why the last three episodes were so good. They were able to get back to the pair.

Hopefully Pugsley’s inclusion in season three will be considerably less. It looks as if season three will start off with a search for the Alpha Wolfed-Out Enid and eventually will include the mysterious Ophelia, who we see Grand-ma-ma has in a dungeon. They named dropped her all season long so I anticipated seeing her this season, but it’ll be next season.

Finishing strong, I am excited to see where this is heading.

Dexter: Resurrection S1 E10

Spoilers

“And Justice for All”

The first season of Dexter: Resurrection came to a close on Amazon Prime with an exceptional finale that was filled with tension and anxiousness and finished in an extremely satisfying way.

Dexter was trapped inside the serial killer vault at Prater’s home with the dead body of Batista on the floor. Prater trapped him inside and was going to leave him to die from lack of water. Dexter finds Batista’s phone in one of the episode’s contrivances. There were a few.

One that the episode kind of wrapped up was this. Dexter had seen the gun on the floor that Prater had used to kill Batista and he thought to himself that he must not get his fingerprints on the gun. However, it did not seem as if Dexter minded getting his fingerprints everywhere else in the room as he touched…. everything. At the end, it did show Dexter cleaning up after himself, but to think that he could get rid of every print is stretching it a bit. Still, at least he made the effort.

I like the fact that Charlie gets to leave with her ailing mother after basically making a deal with Dexter and Harrison (sort of).

Peter Dinklage is a superior actor and his performance as Leon Prater was top notch. He probably was the second best villain in Dexter history behind John Lithgow’s Trinity Killer. You could feel the desperation from Prater as he was wrapped up on Dexter’s table.

I think that we have finally put to bed the possibility that Blessing is the New York Ripper. That made me extra pleased. In fact, Dexter implied that Blessing is someone whom Dexter himself needs. Dexter took a turn to be more inclusive and less isolated. It sounded as if this was a new arc for everyone’s favorite serial killer.

I enjoyed every episode of the Dexter: Resurrection season and I hope that there will be another season down the road. I liked the tone and the intensity of the show and the budding relationship with Dexter and Harrison worked well.

Dexter: Resurrection S1 E9

“Touched by an Angel”

Man, I love Dexter: Resurrection.

I stopped regularly watching Dexter after the Trinity Killer season and only saw some episodes after. I knew the finale of the show was universally despised and I knew that the show came back to try and get the finale right the second time. It had to be better than the first one. I comment on these as an outside observer having not watched any of these episodes.

I did watch Dexter: First Blood, and the prequel series was, at its best, inconsistent. The tone bounced around too much. It was watchable, but it made me question watching this new Dexter series.

I am so glad that I decided to give it a chance, because this season is fire!

One thing First Blood did do was introduce us to Angel Batista as a young cop. He felt like a great addition to the cast and it gave us even more background with the friendship between Dexter and Angel. A friendship that had been stretched by this season. A friendship that eventually snapped at the end of episode nine.

Seeing Batista’s death scene was tough, as he has been a character on Dexter since episode one, but this felt as if Angel Batista had taken things as far as he could take them. His obsession with proving that Dexter was the Bay Harbour Butcher had overtaken his life and led him to the final trap.

Leon Prater, as played by Peter Dinklage, is an absolutely spectacular villain for this season. His flunky Charlie, played by Uma Thurman, is unexpectedly deeper than she ever needed to be. Both of them are tremendous foils for Dexter and things really took off this last few episodes. Prater discovering that “Red” had a son, Charlie cornering and intimidating Harrison in a hotel room, Dexter responding by finding Charlie’s home and seeing her mother, Dexter’s confrontation with Charlie in the car, Batista’s spilling the beans about the truth behind Dexter Morgan to Prater and Charlie, and then the showdown inside the serial killer vault were all amazing moments moving the story along.

Then, with Batista’s final words to Dexter as he died from gunshot wounds inflicted on him by Prater being “F-you” showed, in no uncertain terms, that Batista knew how to hold a proper grudge. Poor Dexter, continues to lose people close to him. It’s why I really hope Blessing is not the New York Ripper as the rumor indicated.

This has been a great season and there is one more episode remaining in the season which will be released next Friday.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #32

Spoilers

“Strange Case”

I’m not sure how I am feeling about Lovecraft Country after the first five episodes. We are half way through and I am not sure what this show’s overarching story is about.

This episode focused more on Ruby and Montrose than it did on anything else. I have to say that Ruby’s story was gross as it seemed to embrace some body horror (of which I am not a fan) as she gruesomely transforms between her natural self and that of a white woman. Blood and floppy skin everywhere.

Meanwhile, we learn that the hidden issue with Montrose is that he is gay and it is the 1950s where you simply cannot be out of the closet.

I started out confused as Atticus beat the crap out of Montrose at the beginning, because, fact is, I had not remembered the ending to episode four. I had to go back and re-read what I had written about it last week.

Another revelation fell into Ruby’s story this week as we discover William, who had taken Ruby last week for sex on the staircase, is actually Christiana, transformed into William just as Ruby had transformed into a white woman. Bizarre.

How does all this work together to further our story? Unclear at this point. Atticus, between sexual encounters with Leti, was working on a translation for some of the pages, and he deciphered one word at the end of the episode… “DIE.” This caused him to call his former flame, Ji-ah, and ask her how she knew. What does any of that mean?

The show continued to have scenes that were extremely uncomfortable to watch… and I am not just talking about the scenes of body horror or creatures. The scenes with the white people treating the blacks the way they did were just as difficult to watch as anything on the show. I do wish there was at least one white character that was not a total racist piece of garbage.

There are ten total episodes and we are currently half way through the one and only season. I hope things start to come together in the narrative soon. It does feel very disjointed.

Dexter: Resurrection S1 E8

Spoilers

“The Kill Room Where it Happens”

Dexter is struggling with all of the outside forces coming into him.

  • Angel Batista’s obsession is making things difficult. Batista nearly caught Dexter in a kill room. Dexter found the ear pods Batista left behind in his car though.
  • Dexter failed to grab “Rapunzel” who did not like Hamilton. “Did you know they all rapped?” LOL.
  • Harrison asking for help with Elsa’s landlord.
  • Prater showed up at the site where Dexter was having dinner with Harrison. No good will come of that.
  • Blessing getting mad at Dexter when Dexter let it slip to Blessing’s daughter about her father’s past. Perhaps the rumors of Blessing being the New York Ripper, a twist that I would not be a fan of. However, his reaction to Dexter’s mistake made me think that there is more to Blessing than we thought.

However, it seemed as if Detective Wallace is filled with doubt about Batista and what he is doing. She did not respond to the story of the kill room very well, and she called down to Miami to ask about the Bay Harbor Butcher case only to find out that Batista was no longer an active police captain. Batista surely is looking shaky as his obsession with Dexter might be bringing him down.

Harrison had a night of sex with Gigi. I don’t know why but I just do not trust Gigi at this point. Maybe that is just the type of show Dexter is that I question anyone new, but I am just unsure about her at this point. I do hope she is not going to betray Harrison because I like seeing him happy for once.

I know now that there are two more episodes of Dexter: Resurrection remaining. Surely, there will be a confrontation between Dexter and Batista among those and I get a feeling that Blessing may have something in his past that we still need to face. I do hope that neither Batista or Angel wind up on Dexter’s table. Prater, however, I feel is destined for that table.

Peacemaker S2 E1

Spoilers

“The Ties That Grind”

I watched the first episode of Peacemaker season two last night, but, to be honest, I was really tired and I dozed through a bunch of the show. It is not a criticism of the episode as much as it was how tired I was after all day at school and the open house that night.

So I woke up early this morning and rewatched the episode, and I am so glad that I did. I realized that I actually dozed through the entire bit with Chris (Peacemaker) and his father and his brother Keith in the alternate universe, which is a major piece of the episode.

Before we go on, let’s talk the most important part… the dance routine on the opening credits. I have to say, my first thoughts were that I did not love it as much as I did last year. While I did enjoy it, and the dancing of the cast was as corny and over-the-top as ever, I feel as if the song this season, “Oh Lord” by Foxy Shazam, does not reach the level of awesomeness as “Do Ya Wanna Taste It?” by Wig Wam. That is just a personal preference, and I will say that I found it more entertaining the second time, so perhaps this will be a song that will grow on me as the season progresses whereas last season’s song grabbed me immediately.

Moving on, I thought this episode was really strong and highlighted more of the character aspects of the cast, especially Chris, Economos, and Harcourt. Chris’s entire storyline with the alternate world Peacemaker was amazing. The scene where Chris sat silently as his dad and Keith talked was powerful and a bit sad. I wonder if, in this universe, his dad is not the racist piece of garbage that was displayed last season. They do seem to be working together as a trio.

There was less about Adebayo and Adrian Chase (Vigilante) though they do appear in good scenes complimenting the other performances. I expect more from both before the season ends.

Also, shout out to the Bludhaven reference made during the episode. Bludhaven is the city outsie of Gotham where Dick Grayson, aka Nightwing, resides.

Another major switch came in the “Previously on” section at the beginning of the episode where they made a couple of adjustments to scenes from seaosn one. Specifically, we hear Adebayo make mention of the “Justice Gang” instead of the “Justice League.” Another switch was the iconinc scene at the end of season 1 where the Justice League shows up and we see Flash and Aquaman from their movie sides. Here we get the Justice Gang with Guy Gardner and Hawkgirl making comments instead. None of these adjustments bother me any and it makes me wonder if the plan is not to have Chris move into a different world, but to have Chris’s world be the actual DCU.

I know everyone was making the guess that Peacemaker would jump universes, but I think that is not going to be the way they go. With these few retcons, I think the story will be Chris goes to the happier universe with his cool dad and living brother, but he needed to return to his home world which is the DCU. I could be wrong on that, but I am calling it right now.

Peacemaker season two episodes drop every Thursday on HBO Max.

Dexter: Resurrection S1 E6

Spoilers

“Cats and Mouse”

David Dastmalchian has an awesome twist in this episode of Dexter: Resurrection.

Dastmalchian’s serial killer, The Gemini Killer aka Gareth, showed up at Dexter’s place as the Blessing family above were having a wake for the dearly departed mother. Dexter took advantage of the situation and killed him.

However as Prater had organized a helicopter trip for the serial killer’s club, Dexter was worried that they would figure out that he was responsible as the new guy for the sudden disappearances of the group.

And then, The Gemini Killer showed up to get in the helicopter. Twins. Gemini Killers, plural.

What an awesome shock that I did not see coming.

This episode was packed full too. Mia wound up dead, hanging in her cell. It looked as if Charley had paid off a guard to take care of business. This happened coincidentally just as Batista, Wallace and Olivia had arrived at the prison to show Mia a photo of Dexter to see if she recognized him as the Bay Harbor Butcher. Of course, that would have been a big time reveal as she believed he was the Dark Passenger.

There were several great scenes here too. There were some wonderful moments with Dexter and Harrison. Harrison attended Blessing’s mother’s funeral. Harrison helped Dexter out after Dexter called his son and asked him if a hoody was proper attire for a funeral.

There was also a fantastic scene between Dexter and Blessing, who had came to apologize for being snippy about some ice. The scene was also very tense since Gareth was dead in the shower/tub.

Dexter is doing a wonderful job of being a part of Harrison’s life. Harrison told his dad that he had an image of killing the landlord, but Dexter talked him down, easing the anxiety that Harrison was clearly entertaining in his head.

I really enjoyed this episode. It felt like it was adding so many awesome moments that I kept waiting for it to end. The end with the reveal of the Gemini Killer was absolutely a masterfully campy end.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #29

Spoilers

“Whitey’s On the Moon”

I really enjoyed episode one last week for the Sunday Morning Sidewalk featuring Lovecraft Country. Unfortunately, this week’s episode felt like I was watching the show in fast forward. So much happened and there was a super ton of exposition and it felt like the flow of this was way off whack.

I am not sure exactly was was real and what had happened. There is a secret society based on Adam from the Garden of Eden. Leti died, but comes back. Atticus turned out to be a descendent of the founder of this secret society. Leti and George forgot everything about the night before and then a little bit later, remembered everything that had happened. They all had weird delusions in their rooms with people from their past although Leti’s delusion was having sex with Atticus who turned out to have a snake as his penis. Tony Goldwyn showed up having what looked like parts of his liver removed to serve for dinner. Then he turned to stone and got crushed in the last act of the episode. The castle collapsed into the ground. They found Montrose but the episode ended with George succumbing to his gunshot wound he got from Tony Goldwyn.

As I said, this was insane.

It all felt so rushed that it diluted what should have been a powerful moment at the end of the episode… the death of George. I am not sure if this is a final death or if he will be coming back like Leti did. Montrose’s arrival was also bizarre as he just dragged himself out of the ground in handcuffs.

Oh and it kicked off with the theme song from The Jeffersons.

I found this episodes too packed with stuff that could have been spread out over several episodes. I am not sure what is coming next, but the pacing was just such a problem for me. I do like the characters and the setting, but everything was just flying at such a pace that I was not able to engage as much as I would have liked.

Wednesday S2 E2

Spoilers

“The Devil You Woe”

I have found the second season of Wednesday on Netflix to be a bit of a mixed bag so far. Anything dealing directly with Wednesday and her orbit has been great. Episode two revealed her stalker, an invisible girl who is Wednesday’s #1 fan.

There was also a great scene between Wednesday and Tyler at the insane asylum. Tyler’s psychiatrist makes me suspicious. There is more to this character than the few fleeting moments we get with her.

It was Prank Day at Nevermore, which feels like a horrible idea. Barry Dort is another of the new characters this year that clearly has more to his story than what we know. Will the principal of Nevermore now be like the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts?

Donovan Galpin, a major character of season one, was found dead by Wednesday, his eyes pecked out by crows. “Murdered by a murder of crows” as Wednesday said. Donovan’s eye found its way to Wednesday and Enid’s dorm room.

All this is fun and I expect will mix together before the end of season two. What I have not enjoyed at all so far has been Pugsley Addams and his storyline. There is just something about Pugsley that is off-putting. I am also not fond of Eugene this season. I loved that character last year, but I am just not feeling him in season two so far. These two together have been dragging these episodes down.

Catherine Zeta-Jones is great as Morticia and seeing her more this season is only a good thing. She has some storyline that requires her to bring in her mother. It ties into Barry Dort’s desire as he blackmailed Bianca to use her siren song on Morticia.

There are two more episodes in the part one of season two.

What We Do in the Shadows Season 6

Spoilers

Today I finished the final season of What We Do in the Shadows on Disney +. Season six had eleven episodes, one more than any of the other seasons. I have to say… I thought this season was the worst of the six. Not that it was bad overall, but it just did not feel like it was scattered all over the place.

These were a few of the highlights for me:

  • Laszlo’s ghost father arriving was a funny bit. His father trying to take over Laszlo’s body was a fun scene.
  • I enjoyed the Monster, created by Laszlo and Colin Robinson, but that joke ran out of steam during the season.
  • The big night for the Baron led to the vampires looking to kill the group. This felt familiar (no pun intended), but I thought it was one of the better episodes of the season.
  • I did like the concept of Nandor and Guillermo forming a crime fighting duo. I would have liked more of this during the season instead of a joke at the end.
  • The Finale. I’ll talk about that in a little while.

Low lights:

  • Jerry. Though it was funny that they forgot to awaken another vampire who used to live with them as he entered “super slumber,” the character of Jerry was hardly worth the time and turned out to be a throw away as the season progressed.
  • Guillermo working at the office. It had some funny moments, but it did not work well for me. It was lackluster.
  • They repeated a couple of beats from the series, including how Nandor was ready to go to war with the TV show filming outside.
  • Sleep hypnosis. Nandor as Richard Nixon was funny, but overall the idea was barely enough for an episode.
  • Nandor’s Army? That felt like a waste.

Let’s talk about the finale. I loved this. It was easily the best episode of season 6. It was so meta that I found it highly entertaining. The documentary filming was coming to an end and Guillermo was having trouble accepting it. They had so many fun meta lines which were referring to the documentary, but in reality were designed toward the actual show itself. My favorite was Nadja, who, when talking about how the documentary should end, mentioned how the doc should have ended last year after Guillermo was turned back to human after being a vampire. This line basically said the fifth season finale would have made a better ending to the show than anything done during season 6. She was 100% accurate.

They added some parody endings that came about when Nadja hypnotized the audience. The first one was a spoof of The Usual Suspects. The next two, which came as post credit scenes, were one like Newhart, with Nandor having a dream and telling Guillermo, who is in bed with him, about it. The third spoof was one of Rosemary’s Baby, with Nadja playing the role of Rosemary (and Colin Robinson back as a baby again). These were a lot of fun and an enjoyable way to end the series.

With the whole group (except Guillermo) singing “We’ll Meet Again” was a wonderful moment. Even better was when Laszlo exclaimed, “Now, everyone but the Guide!” because of how badly she was singing. I laughed out loud at that line, which was said off screen.

While this season would be my least favorite of the six, What We Do in the Shadows is one of my favorite comedies of all time. The stories were great. The characters were a hoot. It was very enjoyable. I do think it was time for the show to come to an end [although I would have loved more of the crime fighting Nandor (aka The Phantom…Menace) & Guillermo (aka The Cowboy Kid)].