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Post by fonebone on Mar 15, 2023 2:58:22 GMT -8
Teen Titans Go! "Winning A Golf Tournament Is The Solution To All Of Life's Money Problems"
TTG Writer's room pitch: "Maybe an episode where Cyborg and Robin play golf could be funny."
Me seeing the results: "Nope."
I hate golf. I understand why people enjoy playing it. Like Bowling, it is a sport that requires zero athleticism to play, which is why is it favorite among the lazy, the fat, and the rich. I understand the appeal of that. What I don't get is why there are golf tournaments on TV, or how a person could possibly enjoy watching somebody ELSE play golf. Yeah it takes a high level of hand-eye coordination. So does brain surgery. Tiger Woods does that on camera and I'll watch it. Watching a loafer's sport however, is not my jam. *.
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Post by fonebone on Mar 15, 2023 2:58:37 GMT -8
Night Court "Marathon-Thon-Thon-Thon-Thon"
I like Rand. He a doof and I see what Abby sees in him. They are a good match and I think Abby is right that Dan approves of him. LOVES may be a strong word but his indifference is far more cordial than he is to most people.
I have to say, I think this show sucks at goofy people with big accents. Maybe that was a problem on the old show and I just didn't realize it, but I think it's more likely that that style of broad comedy is so out of fashion it's impossible to find actors who do it well anymore. This was Brent Spiner's Tuesday, but if you can't get Future-Data...
I like that the show is really leaning into Dan being proud of being from Louisiana.
Cute episode. ****.
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Post by fonebone on Mar 15, 2023 2:59:11 GMT -8
Stephen King Boob Club
The Green Mile: The Complete Serial Novel by Stephen King
Stephen King was going through a career rough patch with "Insomnia" and "Rose Madder". He didn't like either novel, neither did most of the critics, and they both sold relatively few copies with his fans. It's clear he felt better about "Desperation" and "The Regulators", but both critics and fans could take or leave those too.
I think "The Green Mile", and then "Bag Of Bones", are the true start of King's later career Renaissance. Of course if you compare "The Green Mile" to the rest of his later stuff, it's not as good, but the serial novel format rejuvenated King's mojo just the same, and got him on solid footing with both critics and readers again. King's writing was suffering in the 1980's from his substance abuse problems. And the first few novels he did when he got clean were, I don't want to say pedestrian, but King playing it a bit safe. He also sort of got on a bit of a kick about being defender of battered women, and while that's an admirable mindset, all his books at the time turning into that was kind of a problem. I feel like King going from Parts One through Six of this specific story in the course of six months had to have been an exciting writing experience, because even HE probably didn't know exactly how it would end. Really, the only other serialized franchise King ever had was "The Dark Tower", and cool thing about "The Green Mile", is King would actually be able to finish it in good time. And it's King as his strongest as a storyteller here, and started the phase of his career where he pretty much stopped writing terrible books altogether. There is some upcoming stuff of his I don't love (I am a rare critic of the Bill Hodges Trilogy, and "Revival" depressed the fudge out of me) but I'm done raging against King for how stupid he is for writing "IT" and his various Bachman debacles. If I dislike an upcoming King book or story, from this point forward it's a simple disagreement instead of me feeling rage for King doing wrong by me or the reader.
A lot of people credit King's outlook after being hit by the van and nearly dying as being a turning point in the way he told stories. And while I definitely think that King's writing after the accident is great, the accident doesn't explain how perfect "Bag Of Bones" is, or how similarly strong this and "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" are (all three books were written before it). Maybe the accident wound up making King's writing slightly less cynical over the long run. But he was already on the upswing by the time it happened.
As these were initially separately sold novellas, I am going to review each part individually. Trust me, I will talk about critics' disgust in hindsight at John Coffey's role as the Magical Negro. You'll see as my reviews of novellas go on, I actually debate whether Coffey fills the role of the sainted black man who dies to help the white characters learn about themselves. Because in hindsight, I believe Coffey's gifts to Paul Edgecomb are the antithesis of help, and may in fact be a form of damnation under the guise of salvation for his failures in 1932. I also argue Mother Abigail from "The Stand" doesn't fit that trope either. But that's because Mother Abigail is not just sanctimonious and annoying, she's actually quite useless. For John Coffey, the gifts he gives come with a steep cost. Which a timid man like Paul Edgecomb, always afraid to stick his neck out and upset the applecart learns to his great cost. There is a little too much Old Testament retribution attached to Coffey's actions to make me believe he's the sainted black man who dies to teach those poor white folks a healing lesson. It's a lesson Jud Crandall once tried to teach Louis Creed in "Pet Sematary": Sometimes dead is better. And sometimes being saved means spending your unnaturally long life watching everyone you ever knew and care about die while you wither away to helplessness. Perhaps Paul's misery in the retirement home isn't just random happenstance. Maybe it is Paul finally having to pay the cost of the miracle after having sat on his hands decades earlier when he could have done something to actually help. And I like that the morality there is neither easy or obvious. And the downbeat ending feels entirely appropriate in this read-through.
A turning point for King, and truly the thing that got his career back on track. Serial Novel Overall: ****1/2.
Part One: The Two Dead Girls
Interesting start to the whole thing, and it's easy to see why this format became a success. John Coffrey's role as the fabled Magical Negro has been criticized in hindsight, but the truth Stephen King fans sadly understand is that King has done a TON more offensive black portrayals before that, so it never phased us. I'm glad King and the makers of the movie got crap for that. They deserved it. But the truth is there are a TON of black characters King deserved crap for and never got. Speaking as someone who has read most of his stuff, him being reamed over that kind of thing was simply long overdue.
But again, because I have the context of other black King characters, Coffey himself doesn't phase me. As far as stereotypes go, as least he's pleasant instead of ugly like Detta Walker or sanctimonious like Mother Abigail. I like him personally which is another reason I am not as hard on King about it as some of his critics.
The format so agreed with King, his readers, and the critics, it's a wonder he's never attempted this again. ****.
Part Two: The Mouse On The Mile
In "Rita Hayworth And The Shawshank Redemption", the prison guards are entirely corrupt. It's interesting that with the exception of Percy Wettmore, King chose to make the prison guards here morally upright, empathetic and good at their jobs. Like the difference between cop portrayals in "Rose Madder" and "From A Buick 8", King seems to believe institutions are not inherently good or bad, and only as decent as the people who run them. There are bad and good prison wardens in his stories just like there are bad and good cops.
But Percy truly is a wet end. And Paul descriptions of both him and the guy Toot-Toot's antics "Not being right" seem to be really all that needs to be said. Edgecomb can't even give a solid reason why Toot-Toot shouldn't be vulgarly goofing off during the execution rehearsal. Other than it's wrong. And that's all he really needs to make the judgment there.
Interesting chapter with a good cliffhanger. Wharton sure knows how to make an entrance. ****.
Part Three: Coffey's Hands
It's not a huge thing, killing a mouse, but the cliffhanger is dark and horrific for that reason, and sort of fills the reader with dread about the upcoming things in the next chapter. Spoiler alert: Things are going as badly there as we feared, although Mr. Jingles fate and John Coffey's are not over by a longshot.
Paul's description of how difficult it was to work with Percy and why is good writing on King's end, because we've all met people like that before. And most of all have probably met quite a few of them. We recognize and are outraged by Percy's cruelty because we've seen other people do it first-hand. Even Paul acknowledges that fact by noting the eerie similarities between Percy and the abusive rest home worker Nolan. We see people like this all throughout our lives, and Nolan is proof-positive to Paul that there is no escaping them. And King paints that picture and frustration beautifully and hauntingly. ****1/2.
Part Four: The Bad Death Of Eduard Delacroix
Holy crap! That was awful! What a great storyteller Stephen King is. Everything that COULD go wrong with that execution went wrong. Percy is a pure monster.
Weirdly, the part of the chapter I dug most was Paul gathering the other guys at his house at the end to discuss temporarily breaking out John Coffey to heal Melinda Moore. For some reason all of that dialogue just slays me, and is as riveting as that damn horrible execution. I doubt many people will agree with me about that, but I value different things from fiction than most people. ****1/2.
Part Five: Night Journey
King knows how to spin a yarn for sure. I'll talk a little more about how this went down in the review for the next part.
King Connections of Note: Weirdly few, as far as the story goes. But Paul talking about potential forces of Discord and The White are ideas found in "The Dark Tower" series, and that's what King is referencing there.
Addictive storytelling. ****1/2.
Part Six: Coffey On The Mile:
I was always deeply unhappy with the last part, and felt Paul Edgecomb's sad fate was unfair. I see it with different eyes now. Paul Edgecomb is a nice enough guy, and a kind death-row warden, but I stopped thinking of him as precisely a good man. Recently events in the news since I've last read the book remind me that evil is allowed to prosper when "good men" sit back and do nothing. Him and Brutus make convincing arguments to his wife that nothing they could do could change Coffey's fate. That they'd ruin they're careers for no gain.
The thing is, if Paul was truly righteous, he would have made the fuss and ruined his career anyways. The fact that he didn't so much as try is damning. Brutal himself says he fears his soul is Hellbound. What is supposed to tell Saint Peter at the gates of Heaven? He murdered a gift of God because it was his JOB?
And suddenly Paul having to spend his final years alone learning that salvation and damnation are the same thing if you live long enough, felt like the proper cautionary tale. Maybe Coffey COULD have helped Janice at the end. Were he still alive. All of the suffering Paul goes through later in his life might not have happened then. And the suffering in the rest home which he interestingly (and insightfully if you ask me) calls "dangerous", is most certainly penance for going along to get along in 1932.
Back in the day, I thought Coffey telling him he didn't want to live anymore absolved him a little, and it's clear Paul thought that too. But it doesn't. Paul being forced to essentially commit a murder of not just an innocent man, but a gift of God seemed to have Biblical implications in making Coffey a martyr for our sins. But maybe Paul isn't the guy whose sins Coffey died for. Maybe the part of the Biblical Allegory Paul must look to for guidance is the role of Judas Iscariot. Or at least the Jesus-denying Simon Peter (or Doubting Thomas). As far as disciples of divine beings go, Edgecomb falls into the camp of the flawed ones. And while his ending isn't as bad as Judas', maybe part of Coffey's protection from harm IS a life-long curse that has finally caught up to him. And maybe on some level he deserves it.
I like Paul. I like how he conducted a very dirty business for the most part. But when push came to shove, he took the easy way out. You can tell yourself Coffey is a Biblical martyr, and being killed for stuff they didn't do is how they all go out. But he's also a living man so afraid of the dark he begs Paul not to put the mask on him before the switch is thrown.
I love the reason Paul grants this request. The mask is done as a courtesy for people watching the execution. So they don't lose their lunches. Just this once, nobody present deserved that courtesy.
The whole "I wish I could tell you / I wish I could say" thing at the end is very much reminiscent of Red from "Rita Hayworth And The Shawshank Redemption", and the beloved movie based on it. I see entirely what drew Frank Darabont to make a movie of this story too (although I haven't seen either that movie or his version of "The Mist" yet).
Maybe the ending is sad and unsatisfying because the choices Paul and his coworkers made in 1932 led them to no other outcome. Instead of being entirely sympathetic to Paul's pain, I feel very much as if Ka is a wheel. Again, I like and admire Paul. But he IS the Good Man Who Did Nothing. And I liked the ending this time out because it suggested there can be real consequences to that if the stakes are big enough. If it's true enough in a Biblical / supernatural fictional setting, part of me disillusioned with the open criminality by powerful people in our real world, that are allowed to get away with their crimes, hopes that not only will the William Whartons and Percy Wetmores of the world get what's coming to them, but that the people who sat on their hands and let them run amok are in for a reckoning as well. Brutus fears Hell for his cowardice and complicity. I would very much like to believe it should be a real fear for people not bringing criminals to justice because it might upset people.
That was a dark ending. But now I think it's the right ending. And John Coffey can still get proper shade from being a problematic fictional black character. But his death doesn't actually absolve or save the white folks or make him a martyr for their sins. In reality, those sins must be paid for, if not in death, than cruelly long life. If Paul's ending were kinder, I'd more fully agree with the Magical Negro complaints. The thing is, just because his initials are J.C. doesn't stop his fury from being Old Testament. If he was purely benevolent, both Percy and Wharton would have ended their lives differently (and less violently). There is an Old Testament "Eye for an eye" component to John Coffey's gifts that makes it hard to believe his role is to die for the white folks and make them feel bad about it at worst. In reality, his death is the murder that Paul cannot ever escape from. I haven't seen The Legend Of Bagger Vance but if you told me that movie's arc was remotely similar to THAT idea, I'd be surprised.
I've changed my mind, and think it is a fine closing chapter of the serial novel. ****1/2.
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Post by fonebone on Mar 16, 2023 15:04:33 GMT -8
Star Trek: Picard "Imposters"
I loved it.
That confrontation between Ro and Picard was 30 years in the making. They played up the conflict to the hilt and explored every inch of their grief. And her sacrifice was amazing. I had always assumed Ro died when the Dominion committed genocide against the Maquis. This is much more fitting ending to her.
Star Trek is notorious for giving characters crappy deaths. This is literally the second good one after Hemmer on Strange New Worlds.
Worf's trick was great. A Vulcan gangster. I think his logic is flawed, but it was cool getting a Star Trek role for Kirk Acevedo. It would be illogical for them to kill him but Worf is bleeding out and his impatience might take over. This is all great stuff.
Him saying him and the Ferengi Sneed were brothers was a very interesting facet. I wish Star Trek did more stuff like that and it's why I love this specific iteration.
Jack Crusher is almost certainly a Changeling. Probably a sleeper agent. I don't think he knows.
Wonderful episode. ****1/2.
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Post by fonebone on Mar 16, 2023 15:04:47 GMT -8
The Flash "The Good, The Bad, And The Lucky"
I was cursing the show and my lowered IQ as the episode was going on, and hating every inch of it. But the ending gives me pause in totally dismissing it. It was an empowering, positive ending. The show's entire problem is how dark and depressing it's gotten despite the fact that the premise does not support that tone. I can talk smack about the episode (and I'm gonna) but really, I can't be TOO hard on the show for setting an appropriate tone. It doesn't do that very often.
But there is MUCH to complain about. While we are on the subject of the show being unnecessarily depressing, did killing off Frost and Caitlin actually help the show any? As cute as Khione is, does she improve the show in any measurable way? No, she does not. Also, why was Caitlin never given a funeral? Was Cisco even given a head's up she died? The fact that Cisco hasn't even been MENTIONED first after Frost's death and then Caitlin's is outright disturbing.
I think the stupidest thing in the episode is it positing the idea that a guy in debt to the mob could choose his own inside blackjack dealer to constantly lose to him. Forget the fact there is literally no way for ANYONE to do that, how is it him getting so many blackjacks one right after another didn't raise red flags at the casino? I hate The Arrowverse because the writers are lazy, don't do even cursory research of a given subject they explore, and botch things even I as a layman know are not possible. I've never set foot inside a casino. And even I know this is utter b.s.. And I'm tired of this crap, and I won't miss Greg Berlanti when his tenure running DC stuff comes to an end. Him being involved in SO much stuff makes a LOT of stuff a lot worse than it would have been if there were a different production company involved. It's frustrating as hell how bad that producer is for all of television,, and considering Superman & Lois is my favorite DC show, it puts a knot in my stomach obsessing every week over when they'll finally wreck it (which they probably will). I'm totally sick of this crap.
The Luckiest Girl alive opening is cute, but a little of that chick's screechy voice goes a long way.
I will not miss this show. And I will not miss The Arrowverse. At all. **.
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Post by fonebone on Mar 21, 2023 5:44:37 GMT -8
Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous: Hidden Adventure
Under most circumstances, after a series finale, a mostly self-contained interactive special would be a treat. A sweet dessert and capper to the entire saga. Instead this made me remember why I will not miss this series at all. It is truly inane, even using the fun choose your own adventure gimmick.
I think the thing that cheeses me off about the gimmick that didn't in the Carmen Sandiego special is that Carmen making the choices makes sense. She's in charge. Darius, the character with famously bad judgment and a huge blind spot for dinosaurs gets the final say. The series has always been more collaborative between the characters than that.
Mr. DNA is super annoying. I want to enjoy making bad choices and feeding this group of characters I hate to dinosaurs but his annoying face and voice make it no fun whatsoever. Sheesh. The nerve.
I will not miss this show, and I can only hope this is the last thing in that corner of the franchise. **.
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Post by fonebone on Mar 21, 2023 5:44:53 GMT -8
Quantum Leap "Ben, Interrupted"
This is all great stuff.
Ziggy being the mole is ingenious. Not only has the viewer trusted that damn computer since the original series (sort of), we've still always been led to believe there was something off about them. Now clearly Donald P Bellisario never planned THIS back in the day, but in "The Leap Back", Ziggy, as voiced by Bellisario's then wife and co-producer / writer Deborah Pratt, (who also voiced the original series' opening narration), seems antagonistic, bordering on sinister. Is this the same Ziggy? If so, the computer with a giant ego obviously had sociopathic tendencies all along.
The episode also raised an interesting question to me. Janice claims if Ben doesn't sacrifice himself at the end of that Leap, Addison will die. Clearly, for the sake of the show, neither of those things can happen. Which means, no matter HOW sure we had been led to believe Janice was, no matter how carefully planned out this all was with her and Ben, she is in error about a very big thing. And I couldn't ever say that before now until they made it a choice between Ben's life or Addison's. Magic wanting to save everyone is not just the more moral mindset, it's the one the narrative demands too. Sometimes narrative demands speak more about the reality of the fictional project than the most educated characters ever do. Ben and Addison can't die, at least not this soon into the show's run, so that makes Janice's predictions faulty. What else is she wrong about? And does knowing Ziggy is the mole change her thoughts there, or how she will approach things going forward?
Another sign Ziggy is the mole is because Martinez probably never could have Leaped without them. What's the true wild card is how Ian eventually became a Leaper. That bit doesn't add up to everything else.
I think Beth Calavicci is WAY too young. She literally looks 40 years younger than her character should be. I understand the need to bring back Susan Diol. She is so far the only actor from the original series to return. But they should have put her in age prosthetics. It is not credible she looks in her uppers fifties when Beth is probably 90 years or older.
Want to feel old? See Patrick Fischler, famous genre young punk, with white hair.
The Leap was a pretty horrific scenario. The original series also mined great drama with "Shock Theater", another Leap that weirdly had a lot to do with the series mythology too.
The Evil Leaper program is mentioned, but I don't think Martinez is to do with it. That program's computer was names Lothos. Neither Sam, Al, or Project: Quantum Leap ever heard the name, but it WAS an entirely separate enterprise. I wonder if it still even exists. For the record, I never bought the premise. Who the hell would work there in the first place? I understand Sam believe God controlled the Leaps. But really the only person the Evil Leapers could potentially answer to is the Devil Himself. I don't object to the show getting a bit mythological or Biblical. But it doesn't explain why people would work at that project.
Let me also put it in your head that as beloved of a fan premise as that was at the time, all three episodes with Alia sucked ass, especially the first. It was bad for the show. I think the writers of THIS show are a little more talented, and I would kind of want to see what they'd cook up (and both Carolyn Seymour and Hinton Battle are still alive) but I think if they can't actually figure out a good reason for that nonsense to exist in the first place, they'd do better off leaving well enough alone. The mention is more than enough for me.
I love this show very much. At this point I actually love it more than the original series. It's like everything I loved about it with none of its many disturbing faults. It's great to have Quantum Leap back on network TV in all its TV-PG glory. ****1/2.
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Post by fonebone on Mar 21, 2023 5:45:20 GMT -8
Animation Domination of Fox Reviews
The Simpsons "Pin Gal"
Jacques?! Are you kidding me? Holy cow!
Normally, this is the kind of thing I'd chide the show for taking 35 years to get back to, but the truth is Jacques was one of the best and most memorable things about the first season, and one of the reasons A. Brooks became the show's best guest voice. So I'm glad they waited because I don't think either Mike Scully or Al Jean could have handled the character this well during their tenures as showrunners. I also love the fact that animation techniques have progressed so that they can take warped Klasky Csupo designs like Jacques from 1990, and do the kind of flailing animation it demands in 2023. The design is unusually expressive for that reason, even for a Season One design, and this episode took full advantage of that fact.
I was 14 when I saw Jacques on television for the first time. He was unlike any other TV character I had ever seen before, and The Simpsons was unlike every other show at the time. People don't remember that about the first season, but before The Simpsons was mainstream, it was underground as hell. And Jacques was one its weirdest and most amazing characters.
And can I just say how refreshing that the lesson isn't that Marge did wrong by being tempted by Jacques back in the day? It's that she did right by sticking with Homer after all of the crap he's pulled. Homer isn't angry at Marge at the end. He's grateful. That's another reason I'm glad they waited. I'm not sure another era of the show would have played that properly. I think Al Jean would have made it a genuine marriage crisis with hurt feelings between them both. Instead this episode shows how strong the marriage actually is and how much they love each other. And I freaking love that.
Brooks riffing on cheese and stuff in France is just amazing. You could argue Jacques is as offensive to French people as Apu is to Indians, but I think Jacques is genuinely funny. You heard Hank Azaria's recounting of how the writers were afraid Apu could be offensive, but the voice got a big laugh at the table read, and then the show's most offensive character was greenlit. The subtleties of the things Jacques says go beyond an accent, and I think my standards for something potentially offensive getting a laugh are much less cheap than the writers were back in the day for Apu. I might be wrong, and patting myself a little too hard on the back, but The Problem With Apu landed so badly with me because it boggled the mind that the writers actually thought Apu was funny. Apu was a character I barely tolerated for a couple of decades. I never liked him and he was rarely funny. I wonder how much of my opinion would be different if A Brooks had voiced him instead of Hank Azaria, and he wasn't made a series regular because of that fact. I'm pretty sure the reaction would be entirely different not just from me, but probably from Indian groups too. He wouldn't have had a bunch of catch-phrases that turned into schoolyard taunts against Indian kids from white bullies growing up for sure. Brooks does many things in his Simpsons roles. Repetition and catchphrases are not one of them.
I was disappointed in the week before last, and frankly furious at last week. I'm glad the show made a great episode this week. I was starting to worry a little. Silly me. Just hire A. Brooks and all the show's problems go away. That's how it works. *****.
The Great North "Great Bus Of Choir Adventure"
The Choir was super annoying. That being said, there IS something noticeable about them: Both the songs they sang were pretty good. Probably because they could actually SING, unlike the casts of both this show and Bob's Burgers. It's amazing what a difference that can make.
For the record, Jenny Slate could sing just fine on Muppet Babies. Her Judy being always off-key is a weird and annoying choice.
Is Wolf wearing a Sailor Moon wig? I think so.
It was all right. ***.
Bob's Burgers "What An (April) Fool Believes"
I think Mr. Fischoeder's pranks suck. Yes, they are big. But they aren't good natured or fun. They all seem to involve dominance and fear. I don't like April Fool's because a lot of people feed into that sort of thing and it's unhealthy. If April Fool's were all sugar on eggs it would be tolerable. But a lot of people use it as license to be mean to people they don't like without consequences for it. Worst of all, the internet is absolute useless for that entire day. The holiday should be retired if only for that.
Speaking of suck, doesn't Jimmy Jr.? Can't Tina do better? I seem to keep asking this and I won't stop until she realizes she can.
Bob's prank was all right, because it WAS personal and showed that Fischoeder DOES care about him. But it's still pretty asymmetrical warfare if you ask me. Ten seconds of Fischoeder being "Dear God, not Bob!" is in no way equivalent to the amount of suffering he puts him through every year.
It was a solid plot and mystery. But it was also frustrating. Bob doesn't deserve all this and I feel bad for him. ***1/2.
Bob's Burgers "Crows Encounters Of The Bird Kind"
When the hawk got the dove it's one of the few times the show really got real. The show doesn't deal with actual death too often (outside of the movie) even though one of the secondary characters is actually a mortician. But that bordered on appalling and I was nearly as upset as Tina was. And I was mad at her too.
All right episode. Family Guy had the night off and The Simpsons easily won the night of Fox Toons. ***1/2.
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Post by fonebone on Mar 21, 2023 5:45:35 GMT -8
Animaniacs x MasterClass: The Brain Teaches World Domination "Meet Your Instructor"
Mind controlling the audience? Yeah, Brain, good luck with that. ***1/2.
Animaniacs x MasterClass: The Brain Teaches World Domination "Finding Your Assistant"
I like Pinky saying "I blinded meself." Funny. ***1/2.
Animaniacs x MasterClass: The Brain Teaches World Domination "Disguises And The Art Of Subterfuge"
If Brain's disguises were so successful, how come he hasn't taken over the world yet?
Somehow I feel like the wrong guy is teaching this class. ***1/2.
Animaniacs x MasterClass: The Brain Teaches World Domination "Analyzing Your Adversaries"
It's a bad plan.
For the record, I knew how to spell Mississippi since I was 8. My dad taught me: Em-eye-ess-ess-eye-ess-ess-eye-pee-pee-eye. SUPER easy to remember it that way.
I hope these are on the Animaniacs season three DVDs. Cute extras, and a little bit more of the show after it's been canceled. ***1/2.
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Post by fonebone on Mar 21, 2023 5:45:46 GMT -8
Spidey And His Amazing Friends "Spin Saves The Day / Water Woes"
Spin Saves The Day:
Boring and underwhelming . **.
Water Woes:
Not pointed out is the fact that because Doc Ock keeps all of the stolen water in one vat, every bit of it is tainted. There is chlorine in pool water and if it's mixed with the rest of the water supply it's become undrinkable. I sincerely believe the writers were simply too stupid to see this and overlooked it in their dumbness. Usually I give the writers the benefit of the doubt regarding stupidity and say they are merely dumbing things down to pander to their audience. This feels like a genuine oversight to me that probably wouldn't have happened if they were smarter or better at their jobs. They wouldn't have involved a pool at all otherwise. *1/2.
Episode Overall: *1/2.
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Post by fonebone on Mar 21, 2023 5:45:56 GMT -8
The Blacklist "The Hyena"
I'm less concerned about the ending than the writers are hoping I'll be. I forget the name of the Chinese guy assembling Blacklisters against Red. But recruiting Robert is a BIG mistake. I'm sure it's possible he can turn him. But seeing how Robert and Red were during the episode, I am confident Red could turn him BACK, and make him an asset on the inside of that group against him.
I don't think he's aware of how much personal fondness Robert and Red share. Both have screwed each other over in the past as well, so I doubt Robert will take this as personally as the other Blacklisters do.
I am very pleased they tried to recruit him, honestly. Last season means all bets are off. If Robert gets inside, Red actually has a chance to survive the final season. I was getting worried on that last bit.
It was a good episode too. I liked Robert's suggestion to send a third of the inheritance to the kind sister. And the fact that Red goes along with it is the reason I don't think trying to set Robert against Red to destroy him would ever work. It's simply not their dynamic. It wasn't even when they were tricking each other and screwing each other over.
I like how the lady who played the triplets played them entirely differently. That reminds me. I need to see Orphan Black at some point.
Very enjoyable episode. ****1/2.
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Post by fonebone on Mar 23, 2023 1:57:58 GMT -8
This thread has outlived its usefulness. Yes, it's a handy place to put my reviews. But the format doesn't invite dialogue for posters to offer their own opinions about the crap I am reviewing. I will be setting up separate topics for all this stuff this morning and opening the floor to you.
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Post by fonebone on May 15, 2023 12:23:50 GMT -8
I have some new reviews but I probably won't post them for a few days. I'm still in a bit of shellshock. I am not in a good place right now.
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Post by fonebone on May 16, 2023 13:42:51 GMT -8
Talked to Classic Swim. I think I'll post some of my new reviews now.
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