I Wasn't Ready
Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) reports to prison for a 15-month stint. This episode is split between (on the one hand) the first 24 hours of her prison stay and (on the other) flashbacks that help to fill in how she wound up in prison. The short version of her backstory is that she was in love with Alex (Laura Prepon), a woman who was a drug dealer. Piper helped her erstwhile lover to transport money from the United States to Belgium. She was later named as an accomplice. Rather than fight the charge she plea-bargained and that's how she wound up in prison. She has a fiance, Larry (Jason Biggs), who is very supportive. Her family, parents, grandparents, brother, seemed considerably less supportive.
In the present Chapman is doing her best to hold it together. She doesn't take to prison like a fish does to water but she is managing. Not everything goes her way. There are a couple interesting twists right near the end of the episode.
Took me a while to give this show a try. Must say I'm very impressed with the first episode. I like the characters and the pacing so far. The story is slowly evolving and I like what I see. Maybe that shouldn't surprise me since I was a big fan of the first couple seasons of Weeds. After that it kind of lost me. Weeds was also created by this show's runner, Jenji Kohan.
Saturday, January 14, 2017
Friday, January 13, 2017
Justice League Unlimited 3.08
The Great Brain Robbery
Dr. Fate tries using magic to track Gorilla Grodd by reading Flash's mind. At that very moment Lex Luthor is using scientific means to try to read Grodd's mind. Unexpectedly Flash and Luthor change bodies. Luthor, now in Flash's body, wrecks havoc on the Justice League's Watchtower as he tries to escape back to Earth.
Flash stumbles quite a bit after he wakes up in Luthor's body and hilarity ensues. There is already dissension in the ranks of the Legion of Doom. Dr. Polaris is leading a group of villains challenging Luthor's leadership. Grodd is the only one who knows what happened and he refuses to help change things back to the way they were.
In addition to Dr. Fate, there a number of other heroes who show up in this episode: Mr. Terrific, Red Tornado, Dr. Light, Steel, Ice. There's a fair amount of action mixed in with the humor.
I only had a sketchy recollection of this episode before watching it this time. It was much better than I remembered. This is the funniest episode of the season so far. I laughed several times. Most importantly it all flowed together well. Nothing felt tacked on or out of place.
Dr. Fate tries using magic to track Gorilla Grodd by reading Flash's mind. At that very moment Lex Luthor is using scientific means to try to read Grodd's mind. Unexpectedly Flash and Luthor change bodies. Luthor, now in Flash's body, wrecks havoc on the Justice League's Watchtower as he tries to escape back to Earth.
Flash stumbles quite a bit after he wakes up in Luthor's body and hilarity ensues. There is already dissension in the ranks of the Legion of Doom. Dr. Polaris is leading a group of villains challenging Luthor's leadership. Grodd is the only one who knows what happened and he refuses to help change things back to the way they were.
In addition to Dr. Fate, there a number of other heroes who show up in this episode: Mr. Terrific, Red Tornado, Dr. Light, Steel, Ice. There's a fair amount of action mixed in with the humor.
I only had a sketchy recollection of this episode before watching it this time. It was much better than I remembered. This is the funniest episode of the season so far. I laughed several times. Most importantly it all flowed together well. Nothing felt tacked on or out of place.
Thursday, January 12, 2017
Parks and Recreation 6.09
The Cones of Dunshire
Ben invents a new game (the Cones of Dunshire) and gets a new job after getting fired from Sweetums Corp. Donna and Tom help Ron sell his cabin. Leslie gets some help Chris taking on Councilman Jamm one last time before she is ousted from office.
Overall very funny. Lots of good laughs in all the plot threads.
Ben invents a new game (the Cones of Dunshire) and gets a new job after getting fired from Sweetums Corp. Donna and Tom help Ron sell his cabin. Leslie gets some help Chris taking on Councilman Jamm one last time before she is ousted from office.
Overall very funny. Lots of good laughs in all the plot threads.
Sunday, January 8, 2017
Star Wars: Clone Wars 3.02
ARC Troopers
Kamino is attacked by separatist droids led by General Grievous and Asajj Ventress. They are after the Clone DNA vault. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalked lead the forces that are sent to defend the Clone home world.
Lots of action in this one and lots of cool fight scenes. The Separatist forces look as though they are attacking form the air but the brunt of their attack comes from the sea. Obi-Wan faces off against General Grievous and Anakin takes on Ventress. The best character moments are reserved for the clone troopers. The maintenance clone from last episode, 99, returns and gets to be a hero.
This episode was quite awesome. There was a lot going on all at the same time but it was all beautifully assembled.
Kamino is attacked by separatist droids led by General Grievous and Asajj Ventress. They are after the Clone DNA vault. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalked lead the forces that are sent to defend the Clone home world.
Lots of action in this one and lots of cool fight scenes. The Separatist forces look as though they are attacking form the air but the brunt of their attack comes from the sea. Obi-Wan faces off against General Grievous and Anakin takes on Ventress. The best character moments are reserved for the clone troopers. The maintenance clone from last episode, 99, returns and gets to be a hero.
This episode was quite awesome. There was a lot going on all at the same time but it was all beautifully assembled.
Saturday, January 7, 2017
Black-ish 1.02
The Talk
After an unfortunate incident, Andre decides it is time to have the talk, the sex talk, with Junior. It isn't easy and he doesn't actually talk to him about sex but afterwards he feels much better about himself. While he is busy patting himself on the back Junior returns and wants to talk about sex some more. Pretty soon this becomes a regular thing to the point where Andre can't stand it and starts avoiding Junior.
Rainbow has a similar experience experience with Zoey. Rainbow's problem is that whenever Zoey starts talking Rainbow starts daydreaming and can't remember anything her daughter has said.
Lots of chuckles. Very funny. I'm far from ready to stop watching this show.
After an unfortunate incident, Andre decides it is time to have the talk, the sex talk, with Junior. It isn't easy and he doesn't actually talk to him about sex but afterwards he feels much better about himself. While he is busy patting himself on the back Junior returns and wants to talk about sex some more. Pretty soon this becomes a regular thing to the point where Andre can't stand it and starts avoiding Junior.
Rainbow has a similar experience experience with Zoey. Rainbow's problem is that whenever Zoey starts talking Rainbow starts daydreaming and can't remember anything her daughter has said.
Lots of chuckles. Very funny. I'm far from ready to stop watching this show.
OJ: Made in America - Part 1 (2016)
I was fascinated by this installment of this five-part series. It starts with his time at the University of Southern California and follows him up until he met Nicole Brown, his future second wife, a little more than 10 years later. There is a good mix of coverage of his college and professional football career, his work as a spokesman for Hertz and Chevrolet, and insights into his personal life and what motivated him at that time. OJ appears in the documentary quite a bit, although he did not take part in the making of the it. It is all footage from past interviews he did with various news people.
There are a number of people who are interviewed who knew him personally and professionally in various capacities: childhood friends, college and professional football teammates, sports journalists who interviewed and wrote about him over the years.
This installment opens on a chilling scene from a probation hearing that occurred 5 years after OJ was incarcerated for armed robbery. I was surprised that the director was able to obtain such footage for the movie.
One other part that I found chilling was the juxtaposition of various footage from 1968 without explanation or dialogue from interviews. The scenes from that year are a mix of OJ's appearance on a Bob Hope special, the announcements of the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy, the Black Power salute at the 1968 Olympics, and the riots that occurred in a a number of cities following the assassination of MLK.
OJ isn't the only subject of the documentary. It also looks at the world he grew up in and was living in during this period. There are profiles of the Los Angeles Police Department, the Watts Riots, and Muhammad Ali who (unlike OJ) took a stance on the war in Vietnam and the Civil Rights Movement. OJ is the primary focus of the movie but the inclusion of these little sidebars help to flesh out the story and provide contrast to OJ and show who he was and was not.
This documentary is almost 8 hours long. It was released in 5 parts. Ezra Edelman, the director, recommends watching it all in one sitting. I can't stomach the thought of doing that. It took me three sittings just to get through this part, which is 90 minutes long. I am fascinated by it but I just can't sit still for that long to watch a movie.
I don't recall exactly where I heard about this documentary series first. It was discussed on a number of podcasts that I listen to regularly. I recall hearing Ezra Edelman talk about it on WTF. That is probably what got me the most interested in watching it. That episode of WTF is available but it is behind a pay wall now. I should probably chip in so that I can listen to it again but if I decide to do so then it won't be until after I have watched all five parts.
The only other podcast that I listened to where this program was discussed at length, that I recall, is Crime Writers On. They talked about it on the June 23, 2016 episode which can be found by doing a google search for Crime Writers On Made in America. I believe they also covered The People vs OJ Simpson on a different episode but I have not watched that yet.
I highly recommend this installment to anyone who is remotely interested in a nuanced documentary about OJ Simpson. I was out of the country when the Ford Bronco incident occurred and didn't pay close attention to the murder trial. I do recall where I was when the verdict was announced but once again I didn't pay much attention, probably because everyone else was talking about it and that's just the way I am. I'm looking forward to watching the next installment in the series and seeing what other insights it provides and the way in which Ezra Edelman assembles and presents the information.
There are a number of people who are interviewed who knew him personally and professionally in various capacities: childhood friends, college and professional football teammates, sports journalists who interviewed and wrote about him over the years.
This installment opens on a chilling scene from a probation hearing that occurred 5 years after OJ was incarcerated for armed robbery. I was surprised that the director was able to obtain such footage for the movie.
One other part that I found chilling was the juxtaposition of various footage from 1968 without explanation or dialogue from interviews. The scenes from that year are a mix of OJ's appearance on a Bob Hope special, the announcements of the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy, the Black Power salute at the 1968 Olympics, and the riots that occurred in a a number of cities following the assassination of MLK.
OJ isn't the only subject of the documentary. It also looks at the world he grew up in and was living in during this period. There are profiles of the Los Angeles Police Department, the Watts Riots, and Muhammad Ali who (unlike OJ) took a stance on the war in Vietnam and the Civil Rights Movement. OJ is the primary focus of the movie but the inclusion of these little sidebars help to flesh out the story and provide contrast to OJ and show who he was and was not.
This documentary is almost 8 hours long. It was released in 5 parts. Ezra Edelman, the director, recommends watching it all in one sitting. I can't stomach the thought of doing that. It took me three sittings just to get through this part, which is 90 minutes long. I am fascinated by it but I just can't sit still for that long to watch a movie.
I don't recall exactly where I heard about this documentary series first. It was discussed on a number of podcasts that I listen to regularly. I recall hearing Ezra Edelman talk about it on WTF. That is probably what got me the most interested in watching it. That episode of WTF is available but it is behind a pay wall now. I should probably chip in so that I can listen to it again but if I decide to do so then it won't be until after I have watched all five parts.
The only other podcast that I listened to where this program was discussed at length, that I recall, is Crime Writers On. They talked about it on the June 23, 2016 episode which can be found by doing a google search for Crime Writers On Made in America. I believe they also covered The People vs OJ Simpson on a different episode but I have not watched that yet.
I highly recommend this installment to anyone who is remotely interested in a nuanced documentary about OJ Simpson. I was out of the country when the Ford Bronco incident occurred and didn't pay close attention to the murder trial. I do recall where I was when the verdict was announced but once again I didn't pay much attention, probably because everyone else was talking about it and that's just the way I am. I'm looking forward to watching the next installment in the series and seeing what other insights it provides and the way in which Ezra Edelman assembles and presents the information.
Friday, January 6, 2017
Justice League Unlimited 3.07
Patriot Act
The show takes a step back from the Legion of Doom story for a one-off that is a bit of a callback to the Cadmus story from the previous two seasons. General Wade Eiling (J.K. Simmons) breaks into a government lab and injects himself with a super-soldier serum. It makes him big, strong, and deformed. He bears a certain resemblance, after the transformation, to the Hulk, not so much in his appearance as in his mannerisms.
After being transformed he goes looking for Superman. He still doesn't trust superheroes and is convinced that the military is the best defense for the United States. He sees superheroes as a threat and probably has at least since the events of the Starcrossed story, at the end of season 2 of Justice League. Instead of Superman he finds a bunch of heroes who have volunteered to fill in for Superman at a parade.
The heroes (Green Arrow, Shining Knight, Vigilante, Star Girl, STRIPE) do their best but can't beat the General. He is ready to kill them until an old woman shames him into backing down. Unlike the Hulk, he has not lost the ability to reason. He runs off in the end never to be seen again.
This episode is notable for a couple more things. First, the groups of heroes that comes together and fights General Eiling were at one time known as the Seven Soldiers of Victory in the comic books. In this episode they are just thrown together by chance and Mr. Terrific. Speedy (Green Arrow's former sidekick) and Crimson Avenger show up in mid-fight to help out. The Seven Soldier of Victory had a run that lasted 14 issues in Leading Comics in the 1940s.
Second, the Newsboy Legion shows up in this episode. The Guardian, a costumed hero who usually appeared with the The Newsboy Legion, does not. The Newsboy Legion helps to get people to safety while General Eiling is fighting the costumed heroes but that's about the extent of their role in this episode. The Newsboy Legion were created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby in Star Spangled Comics in the 1940s.
Third and finally there is also an appearance by Spy Smasher in a flashback to World War II. It is this sequence that introduces the super-soldier serum and tells the story of how Spy Smasher stole it from the Nazis before it could be used to create a Nazi super-soldier. It is presented in back and gray tones and made to look like a newsreel.
Overall this is a middling episode in my opinion. I like it more than episodes 2,3,5 but not as much as 1,4,6. I think it tries a little too hard to pull in too many elements and is a little too fan service laden. Despite that fact I think it is fun even though it is lacking in the sort of serious character moments that I like so much.
The show takes a step back from the Legion of Doom story for a one-off that is a bit of a callback to the Cadmus story from the previous two seasons. General Wade Eiling (J.K. Simmons) breaks into a government lab and injects himself with a super-soldier serum. It makes him big, strong, and deformed. He bears a certain resemblance, after the transformation, to the Hulk, not so much in his appearance as in his mannerisms.
After being transformed he goes looking for Superman. He still doesn't trust superheroes and is convinced that the military is the best defense for the United States. He sees superheroes as a threat and probably has at least since the events of the Starcrossed story, at the end of season 2 of Justice League. Instead of Superman he finds a bunch of heroes who have volunteered to fill in for Superman at a parade.
The heroes (Green Arrow, Shining Knight, Vigilante, Star Girl, STRIPE) do their best but can't beat the General. He is ready to kill them until an old woman shames him into backing down. Unlike the Hulk, he has not lost the ability to reason. He runs off in the end never to be seen again.
This episode is notable for a couple more things. First, the groups of heroes that comes together and fights General Eiling were at one time known as the Seven Soldiers of Victory in the comic books. In this episode they are just thrown together by chance and Mr. Terrific. Speedy (Green Arrow's former sidekick) and Crimson Avenger show up in mid-fight to help out. The Seven Soldier of Victory had a run that lasted 14 issues in Leading Comics in the 1940s.
Second, the Newsboy Legion shows up in this episode. The Guardian, a costumed hero who usually appeared with the The Newsboy Legion, does not. The Newsboy Legion helps to get people to safety while General Eiling is fighting the costumed heroes but that's about the extent of their role in this episode. The Newsboy Legion were created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby in Star Spangled Comics in the 1940s.
Third and finally there is also an appearance by Spy Smasher in a flashback to World War II. It is this sequence that introduces the super-soldier serum and tells the story of how Spy Smasher stole it from the Nazis before it could be used to create a Nazi super-soldier. It is presented in back and gray tones and made to look like a newsreel.
Overall this is a middling episode in my opinion. I like it more than episodes 2,3,5 but not as much as 1,4,6. I think it tries a little too hard to pull in too many elements and is a little too fan service laden. Despite that fact I think it is fun even though it is lacking in the sort of serious character moments that I like so much.
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