Kids on the Slope 1.06

You Don't Know What Love Is

A new school year begins. Sentaro is assigned to a different class from Kaoru and Ritsouko. Kaoru tries to tell Sentaro what he knows and suspects about Yurika and Junichi but can't bring himself to follow through.

Sentaro goes on a date with Yurika, despite Kaoru's advice not to. They end up talking about Junichi quite a bit but Sentaro doesn't pick up on why she is so eager to talk about Junichi. He does make friends with Seiji, a new classmate who is also friends with Yurika. Seiji idolizes the Beatles, wants to start a rock band, and wants Sentaro to be their drummer. Sentaro agrees to but his heart doesn't really seem to be in it. He seems to be hanging out with Seiji because of what he can tell him about Yurika.

Kaoru and Ritsouko continue to be friends but things aren't as warm as they once were. Kaoru worries that Ritsouko is romantically interested in Sentaro. I don't think that's the case. I think it is a combination of shyness on her part and possibly something to do with her religious convictions.

The trio goes to the beach with Sentaro's younger siblings in tow. They dig for clams and run into Seiji. Kaoru gets very hurt and runs off when Sentaro tells him that he is going to join Seiji's band. He remembers other friendships from earlier in his life that ended abruptly and fears that this one will suffer the same fate.

I might have missed it but for the first time the song title that is also the title of the episode was not played. The only song that is played is My Favorite Things.The Beatles are referenced but none of their songs are played.

Iron Fist 1.05

Under Leaf Pluck Lotus

Danny confronts Ward about some legal, synthetic heroin that Rand Industries is making. Ward shrugs it off. He doesn't see a problem with it. Joy has to deal with a group of people from Staten Island who claim that they are being affected by the toxic waste emanating from the factory that is making the syntheic heroin. Unlike her brother she has a conscience and isn't happy that they are dealing in this product or that she has to stand up for the company on this issue.

Danny pays a visit to Colleen. Colleen happens to have a student with her when she shows up. The student is Claire Temple. Danny wants to have a meal with Colleen. He insists that it isn't a date, unless Colleen wants it to be. So dumb. Claire sticks around, they talk, eventually Claire leaves.

After Claire is gone Danny talks Colleen into accompanying him to the pier that Rand Industries just bought. He is convinced that something shady is going on there. They sneak around the pier, avoiding the armed guards. Danny sneaks onto an 18-wheeler and discovers a secret chamber where the man who developed the synthetic heroin is being kept. The guy has a bodyguard. Danny tussles with the bodyguard. Danny and the scientist escape after the scientist gets very badly injured. Danny and Colleen bring the badly wounded scientist to Claire.

The scientist reveals that he works for the hand, but not willingly. They have his daughter. Claire flips out when she hears that the Hand is behind this. She calms down after Danny insists that he can handle this and looks forward to battling the Hand.

Not good. Not good at all. I got the feeling as I watched this episode that there times when I was supposed to care but I didn't. There were moments that felt like that they were supposed to be tense, but they weren't, like the scene on the pier. I'm not impressed with the actor who plays Danny Rand but I think a bigger chunk of the blame needs to be poured down the throats of the writers and the director. This show feels clunky. It lacks in subtlety. There has been little to nothing in the way of flashbacks to the monastery.

There is a definite lack of character moments in this show. There is no internal struggle for the main character like there is on the other Marvel Netflix shows. It all feels very surface level. Honestly, I'm surprised that I made it this far into the Marvel Netflix shows before getting a dud.

I'm not sure I want to continue watching. At the very least I think I need to take a week or two off before I start watching again.

Young Justice 1.02

Fireworks

Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Superboy fight their way back to the surface. It takes some convincing before Superboy agrees to help the other three. Dr. Desmond planned to clone the three new arrivals to Project Cadmus but Superboy interfered with that plan once he decided to pitch in and help the other three escape.

The fight to the surface is not an easy one. It turns out in the end that the four young heroes had a secret ally at Cadmus, a genomorph named Dubbilex. He doesn't like the way that genomorphs are being treated. He wants to Superboy to escape and do what he can to end Project Cadmus.

Before they finally do escape they have to fight Dr. Desmond who swallows a serum from Project Blockbuster. It turns him into a hulking monster. He is very tough to beat. Some of the hits the heroes take from Desmond should have been life threatening but they just shrug them off.

The League shows up at the end of the episode, after they are free from Project Cadmus and the building has been destroyed. They are very unhappy with their sidekicks. Superboy meets Superman, who seems very unnerved by the notion that he has a clone and doesn't say much to him despite the puppy dog eyes that Superboy keeps throwing him. Batman tries reprimanding the youngsters but they throw his attitude right back in his face.

The episode ends with the League conceding to the younger heroes and giving them the League's old headquarters, the cave in Happy Harbor. They are told that they will be a covert team that operates under orders from Batman. Red Tornado will keep an eye on them and Black Canary will train them. They also meet their 5th team member, Miss Martian.

Desmond is now in captivity. Guardian is left in charge of Project Cadmus. He reports back to a group called the Light. The faces of the group are not seen. Only their voices are heard. In the comic books Guardian was a hero but here he seems more like a mercenary, a gun for hire. It reminds me a bit of the role Hawkeye played at the beginning of the Hawkeye mini-series when he was the head of security for Cross Technologies.

Another solidly good, but not great, episode. The best part is the centerpiece, the escape from Project Cadmus. It seems like the young heroes are in a no win situation. The forces stacked against them seem insurmountable. Superboy isn't as strong as Superman, can't fly, and doesn't have heat vision. Kid Flash gets a little annoying. One of the strengths of the season, as I recall from previous viewings, is that the characters evolve.

I find the adult heroes to be a bit annoying. Maybe that is to be expected considering that the intended audience is most likely not adults and that this is not their show.

UFO Robo Grendizer 1.04

Island of Fear

Kouji volunteers to draw away the latest attack by Vegan minifos. Daisuke is reluctant to use Grendizer because he fears that the Vegans will learn the location of their base. Kouji is partially successful but eventually gets overwhelmed and crashes lands on an island. He is badly injured and the TFO is incapable of flight.

Eventually Daisuke in Grendizer comes looking for and finds Kouji. Kouji and Duke Fleed have one peaceful night before the Vegans spot Grendizer and attack. At first it seems bad but Kouji fixes the TFO and proves to be the decisive factor in the battle with the forces of evil.

NewsRadio 2.20

Coda

Dave, Phil, and Mr. James spend a whole day working on a 15-second promo spot. Matthew tries to get everyone interested in pitching in for a summer home in the Hamptons. Joe turns to Lisa for help in studying for an engineering exam.

On the whole this episode felt like a bit of a hot mess. None of the three plots amounted to much. Humor-wise I liked it. Not every joke brought a smile to my face or made me laugh but there were a few good ones that made me laugh out loud.

Seinfeld 3.04

The Dog

Jerry gets stuck taking care of a stranger's dog. Caring for the dog interferes with his plans to see a movie, Prognosis Negative, with George and Elaine.

I've seen this one before. I didn't remember how annoying the scenes with the dog barking were. Jerry yelling at the dog didn't help either. The dog is always off screen and probably isn't a dog, based on the way his bark sounds.

Overall this is a very skip-worthy episode.

Maron 4.11

The Geographic

Marc hits the road (in the RV his father gave him) and heads north to see his biological child. Along the way he stops and sees a number of people he knows.

That description (especially the second sentence) makes the episode seem more epic than it actually is. It's a decent episode, a bit weird in parts.