Guerilla
Coleman, new show runner, lets Chet run the show, at first. Chet's first idea gets shot down by Darius as being too dangerous. His second idea is to have the women run an obstacle course. Darius is okay with that but refuses to run the course himself. He says it is because he can't afford to risk an injury. There is some sense to that but considering what happens later in the episode I have to wonder if he wasn't hiding something.
Quinn goes behind the scenes to spice things up. She has chats with two of the contestants (Brandy and Chantal) before the obstacle course, and gets them mad enough to start a shoving match during the obstacle course. Chantal falls from about 10 feet up on the climbing wall and lands on her back. Quinn loves it. She has Rachel put Brandi in a room and locks the door. Brandi flips out. All of this is being filmed for possible use in the show.
Darius is sent to check on Chantal who is by now in a hospital bed and has a bandage around her head. They talk. He is sweet. She feels better. They make out. Quinn loves it.
Ruby and Beth Ann have a moment at the party that afternoon. They go at one another, vocally. There are no fists thrown or hair pulled. Quinn does not love it.
Quinn pays Brandi a visit. She explains to her that she needs to apologize to Darius, tell him about her past, about being a foster child. They set things up. Darius and Brandi have their moment alone. Brandi explains how tough she had it growing up. Darius comforts her they kiss. Quinn is much happier.
Quinn calls a meeting with Darius in her office. She has a woman with her, Brandi's mother, who explains that Brandi was never in foster care. Her daughter is a compulsive liar. Darius feels totally betrayed and agrees to kick Brandi off the show. That is exactly what he does. He calls her out on camera in front of the other contestants. Brandi flips out and attacks Darius. She jumps on his back and gets him in a headlock.
Security pulls Brandi off of Darius. Darius looks injured. I'm left wondering at this point if he wasn't already nursing some sort of injury. It is possible that Brandi was able to cause him that much damage that quickly but I wonder if Darius hasn't been hiding something from the folks on Everlasting and everyone else. What Darius doesn't know but it quickly revealed is that the woman who claimed to be Brandi's mother was just an actress who was hired to convince him that Brandi was lying about the foster care system and the abuse she suffered when she was younger.
Quinn is laughing it up and has a good time though out this episode right up until the last few minutes. She has owned Chet. She did a masterful job of manipulating Brandi and Darius, with some help from Rachel. In the last few minutes of the episode Gary stops by the set of the show, the next morning, and congratulates Coleman (in front of the entire crew) for putting together a great episode. There was a moment there where it was unclear who he was going to congratulate. For a few seconds there I thought it was going to be Rachel, which totally would have blown her cover, but he didn't, not in front of everyone.
Gary pulls Quinn aside after he talks to everyone. He reprimands her for the voice mail she left him and then tells her about Rachel. Quinn is facing Rachel who can't overhear the conversation but who can see the look on Quinn's face. She knows that Gary is letting Quinn know about what she did. She freaks out, goes back to her office and starts to pack. Coleman walks in. He tries to reassure her. They make out briefly.
The final scene is a bit of a tease but honestly it wasn't as good as wondering what Quinn is going to do to Rachel. In the last scene Rachel goes to see Darius. He looks like he is in a lot of pain. Yes, it is a bit of a cliffhanger but there are other things that intrigue me more like what is going to happen to Quinn and Rachel's relationship now that Quinn knows that Rachel went behind her back.
This was more along the lines of what I was expecting from this season all along. This episode more or less followed developments on the set and behind the scenes of an episode of the show. This time out Rachel seemed to play second fiddle to Quinn, that isn't usually the case on this show. Yes, Rachel works for Quinn but Rachel seems to spend more time in the spotlight that Quinn does. It was also different to see Quinn running around goading the contestants and the bachelor into doing things. In the first season she usually stayed in her office or the control room and got Rachel to manipulate the folks on the show.
Overall this was a great watch. I consistently amazed at how much they manage to pack into each episode without making it feel bloated or like it is dragging.
Saturday, May 13, 2017
Friday, May 12, 2017
Flash 1.19
Who Is Harrison Wells?
Barry, Joe, Eddie, Caitlin, and Cisco meet to discuss what to do next about their investigation into Dr. Wells. They are all on board except for Caitlin. She has doubts. The meeting ends abruptly when she storms off.
After the meeting Cisco and Detective West head to Starling City to try and dig up something on Dr. Wells life before he moved to Central City. They get some help from Lance of the SCPD. I can't figure out what his rank or title is at this point. I know that in the first season of Arrow he was a Detective. He later got busted down in rank. In this episode someone addresses him as Captain. That someone is Laurel Lance, his daughter.
In what has to be the goofiest and least elegant scene in this episode and possibly the whole season, Laurel admits to Cisco that she is the Black Canary. She asks him for some help with fixing or augmenting one of her weapons. He does so but there are no demonstrations on this episode. That probably happened on an episode of Arrow. I was a bit concerned when I saw that there were two characters from Arrow going to show up in this episode. On the whole the Starling City characters didn't appear as much as they have in a few other episodes which was definitely a good thing.
Barry and Eddie have to deal with a metahuman who is able to assume any form. At first they aren't sure what they are dealing with until Barry sees the guy transform into a teenage girl. Apparently he retains the ability to assume the form of anyone he has touched. He loses Flash very quickly during their first encounter. The second time around the metahuman, whose real name is Hannibal Bates, assumes the identity of Eddie and shoots two cops. Eddie is arrested for shooting the two cops. Eventually he gets cleared thanks to some sleuthing by Iris and the Flash.
Still disguised as Eddie, Bates goes to Joe's house. Barry is the only one there. He thinks it is Eddie and gets knocked out by Bates. Caitlin walks in next but she is also fooled by Bates who now looks like Barry. Bates and Snow head back to STAR Labs. Bates is acting strange but Caitlin fails to pickup on what is wrong, even after "Barry" kisses her. What's really interesting about that is that she doesn't tell anyone about him kissing her. She gets really jumpy when the real Barry touches her on the shoulder later in the episode.
In Starling City Lance takes West and Ramon to the site where Dr. Wells and his wife were in a car crash, that was depicted in 1.17 (Tricksters). Using some of his high tech gadgets Cisco finds what turns out to be the remains of the real Dr. Wells. This proves to be a crucial piece of information in swaying Caitlin to believe that the Dr. Wells they know isn't who he says he is.
Bates, still disguised as Barry, is about to shoot someone when Dr. Wells takes him down from behind with a TASER. Iris is visiting STAR Labs and insists on taking the bad guy to the police. What a stupid idea, colossally stupid. The inevitable happens, Bates escapes. Caitlin goes back to Joe's house. There she finds Barry who is still unconscious and tied up. She frees him and they head back to STAR Labs.
Soon thereafter Dr. Wells is able to detect Barry's cellphone, which Bates has, at the airport. Barry rushes there and gets into a fight with Bates. Bates changes form several times during the fight. At one point he is Caitlin, then Eddie, and then finally Iris. I thought this was very cool. Barry is able to defeat Bates at last thank to a serum developed by Caitlin. Bates gets locked up at STAR Labs like all the other villains. He admits that he can't remember who he really is.
Dr. Wells goes to see Detective West after he and Cisco return to Central City. He seems suspicious of Joe's reason for going to Starling City. He suggests that they should have another drink together some day. Joe is wary.
Finally Cisco, Barry, and Caitlin go looking for anything strange in STAR Labs. They find and enter Dr. Wells secret room where he stores the Reverse Flash costume and the digital newspaper from 2024 which has the headline about the Flash disappearing during the Crisis. They are all stunned.
I am always chagrined by how fast people leap to conclusions on TV shows, on very little or no evidence. How in the world were they able to confirm that the body was not the real Dr. Wells that quickly? Why did they assume that the shapeshifter has to be a man? In the end it seems like it is but still.
Another exciting episode. There are lots of little things that were cool. I liked how the two stories (supervillain of the week and the mystery of Harrison Wells) were layered together and interacted with one another.
Barry, Joe, Eddie, Caitlin, and Cisco meet to discuss what to do next about their investigation into Dr. Wells. They are all on board except for Caitlin. She has doubts. The meeting ends abruptly when she storms off.
After the meeting Cisco and Detective West head to Starling City to try and dig up something on Dr. Wells life before he moved to Central City. They get some help from Lance of the SCPD. I can't figure out what his rank or title is at this point. I know that in the first season of Arrow he was a Detective. He later got busted down in rank. In this episode someone addresses him as Captain. That someone is Laurel Lance, his daughter.
In what has to be the goofiest and least elegant scene in this episode and possibly the whole season, Laurel admits to Cisco that she is the Black Canary. She asks him for some help with fixing or augmenting one of her weapons. He does so but there are no demonstrations on this episode. That probably happened on an episode of Arrow. I was a bit concerned when I saw that there were two characters from Arrow going to show up in this episode. On the whole the Starling City characters didn't appear as much as they have in a few other episodes which was definitely a good thing.
Barry and Eddie have to deal with a metahuman who is able to assume any form. At first they aren't sure what they are dealing with until Barry sees the guy transform into a teenage girl. Apparently he retains the ability to assume the form of anyone he has touched. He loses Flash very quickly during their first encounter. The second time around the metahuman, whose real name is Hannibal Bates, assumes the identity of Eddie and shoots two cops. Eddie is arrested for shooting the two cops. Eventually he gets cleared thanks to some sleuthing by Iris and the Flash.
Still disguised as Eddie, Bates goes to Joe's house. Barry is the only one there. He thinks it is Eddie and gets knocked out by Bates. Caitlin walks in next but she is also fooled by Bates who now looks like Barry. Bates and Snow head back to STAR Labs. Bates is acting strange but Caitlin fails to pickup on what is wrong, even after "Barry" kisses her. What's really interesting about that is that she doesn't tell anyone about him kissing her. She gets really jumpy when the real Barry touches her on the shoulder later in the episode.
In Starling City Lance takes West and Ramon to the site where Dr. Wells and his wife were in a car crash, that was depicted in 1.17 (Tricksters). Using some of his high tech gadgets Cisco finds what turns out to be the remains of the real Dr. Wells. This proves to be a crucial piece of information in swaying Caitlin to believe that the Dr. Wells they know isn't who he says he is.
Bates, still disguised as Barry, is about to shoot someone when Dr. Wells takes him down from behind with a TASER. Iris is visiting STAR Labs and insists on taking the bad guy to the police. What a stupid idea, colossally stupid. The inevitable happens, Bates escapes. Caitlin goes back to Joe's house. There she finds Barry who is still unconscious and tied up. She frees him and they head back to STAR Labs.
Soon thereafter Dr. Wells is able to detect Barry's cellphone, which Bates has, at the airport. Barry rushes there and gets into a fight with Bates. Bates changes form several times during the fight. At one point he is Caitlin, then Eddie, and then finally Iris. I thought this was very cool. Barry is able to defeat Bates at last thank to a serum developed by Caitlin. Bates gets locked up at STAR Labs like all the other villains. He admits that he can't remember who he really is.
Dr. Wells goes to see Detective West after he and Cisco return to Central City. He seems suspicious of Joe's reason for going to Starling City. He suggests that they should have another drink together some day. Joe is wary.
Finally Cisco, Barry, and Caitlin go looking for anything strange in STAR Labs. They find and enter Dr. Wells secret room where he stores the Reverse Flash costume and the digital newspaper from 2024 which has the headline about the Flash disappearing during the Crisis. They are all stunned.
I am always chagrined by how fast people leap to conclusions on TV shows, on very little or no evidence. How in the world were they able to confirm that the body was not the real Dr. Wells that quickly? Why did they assume that the shapeshifter has to be a man? In the end it seems like it is but still.
Another exciting episode. There are lots of little things that were cool. I liked how the two stories (supervillain of the week and the mystery of Harrison Wells) were layered together and interacted with one another.
Thursday, May 11, 2017
Young Justice 1.03
Welcome to Happy Harbor
Robin, Aqualad and Kid Flash try talking Speedy into joining the team but he's not interested. Life at their new headquarters is kind of boring. Miss Martian takes the boys for a spin in her bio-ship. While they are flying around Happy Harbor they get a call from Red Tornado asking them to investigate a distress call from a factory in Happy Harbor.
At the factory they get into a fight with Mr. Twister, a super villain with powers similar to Red Tornado. They get it in their heads that Mr. Twister is Red Tornado in disguise, but he isn't. He proves to be very difficult for them to defeat. He has their number and they can't seem to do anything to stop him until they fool him. Miss Martian uses her shape-shifting abilities to make herself look like Red Tornado. Kid Flash uses his superpowers to augment the illusion that Miss Martian is Red Tornado. It proves to be the decisive Factor that allows Aqualad and Superboy get close enough to finish off Mr. Twister who is, like Red Tornado, an android.
In the aftermath they return to the cave and ask Red Tornado why he didn't help them when they were having so much trouble with Mr. Twister. He isn't very forthcoming which leaves them a bit puzzled.
The first time I watched this series I wasn't completely won over in the early going. What got me in the end was the development that happens over the course of this season. There are a number of things being seeded here that will bear fruit later on. The main characters change, evolve over the course of the season.
There is a definite lack of teamwork in this episode. When the team arrives at the factory there is no coordination. Robin just takes off to deal with the problem without saying anything to anyone. The other team members kind of follow his lead but there is no plan or communication. They each attack on their own. It isn't until they follow Miss Martian's lead and work as a team that they are able to beat Mister Twister.
Miss Martian is new to Earth. She tries communicating with the others telepathically. Her telepathy proves to be useful in the battle with Mister Twister but it also leads her to a false conclusion. Because she is unable to read Mister Twister's mind, as she was unable to read Red Tornado's earlier in the episode, she concludes that he is not human. That was a correct assumption to make but then she jumps to the conclusion that he is Red Tornado, which is not the case.
T.O. Morrow, the inventor of the Red Tornado shows up briefly. He was the one behind Mister Twister. If I remember correctly this is not the only appearance he and his newer creations will make in this season.
Overall this is not a great episode but it is laying groundwork for the rest of the season. There is more than one story that runs through the season. This episode does not touch on all of those stories but it is an important building block.
Robin, Aqualad and Kid Flash try talking Speedy into joining the team but he's not interested. Life at their new headquarters is kind of boring. Miss Martian takes the boys for a spin in her bio-ship. While they are flying around Happy Harbor they get a call from Red Tornado asking them to investigate a distress call from a factory in Happy Harbor.
At the factory they get into a fight with Mr. Twister, a super villain with powers similar to Red Tornado. They get it in their heads that Mr. Twister is Red Tornado in disguise, but he isn't. He proves to be very difficult for them to defeat. He has their number and they can't seem to do anything to stop him until they fool him. Miss Martian uses her shape-shifting abilities to make herself look like Red Tornado. Kid Flash uses his superpowers to augment the illusion that Miss Martian is Red Tornado. It proves to be the decisive Factor that allows Aqualad and Superboy get close enough to finish off Mr. Twister who is, like Red Tornado, an android.
In the aftermath they return to the cave and ask Red Tornado why he didn't help them when they were having so much trouble with Mr. Twister. He isn't very forthcoming which leaves them a bit puzzled.
The first time I watched this series I wasn't completely won over in the early going. What got me in the end was the development that happens over the course of this season. There are a number of things being seeded here that will bear fruit later on. The main characters change, evolve over the course of the season.
There is a definite lack of teamwork in this episode. When the team arrives at the factory there is no coordination. Robin just takes off to deal with the problem without saying anything to anyone. The other team members kind of follow his lead but there is no plan or communication. They each attack on their own. It isn't until they follow Miss Martian's lead and work as a team that they are able to beat Mister Twister.
Miss Martian is new to Earth. She tries communicating with the others telepathically. Her telepathy proves to be useful in the battle with Mister Twister but it also leads her to a false conclusion. Because she is unable to read Mister Twister's mind, as she was unable to read Red Tornado's earlier in the episode, she concludes that he is not human. That was a correct assumption to make but then she jumps to the conclusion that he is Red Tornado, which is not the case.
T.O. Morrow, the inventor of the Red Tornado shows up briefly. He was the one behind Mister Twister. If I remember correctly this is not the only appearance he and his newer creations will make in this season.
Overall this is not a great episode but it is laying groundwork for the rest of the season. There is more than one story that runs through the season. This episode does not touch on all of those stories but it is an important building block.
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
NewsRadio 2.21
Led Zepplin
Dave and Lisa announce to the staff that they have broken up. Matthew is not happy and tries to get them back together again. Lisa doesn't want to talk to Dave and insist that he communicate to her through memos. Phil tries to commiserate with Dave by telling him about the gal who dumped him.
This one had a number of good laughs in it. Big thumbs up.
Dave and Lisa announce to the staff that they have broken up. Matthew is not happy and tries to get them back together again. Lisa doesn't want to talk to Dave and insist that he communicate to her through memos. Phil tries to commiserate with Dave by telling him about the gal who dumped him.
This one had a number of good laughs in it. Big thumbs up.
Seinfeld 3.05
The Library
The New York Public Library claims Jerry checked out Topic of Cancer in 1971 but never returned it. George thinks a homeless man is the high school gym teacher who got fired in 1971 after George complained about him.
I remember this one. It is by far my favorite so far of this season. Philip Baker Hall in the role of Mr. Bookman, the library cop, is over the top but I love the deadpan delivery of his lines.
The New York Public Library claims Jerry checked out Topic of Cancer in 1971 but never returned it. George thinks a homeless man is the high school gym teacher who got fired in 1971 after George complained about him.
I remember this one. It is by far my favorite so far of this season. Philip Baker Hall in the role of Mr. Bookman, the library cop, is over the top but I love the deadpan delivery of his lines.
Monday, May 8, 2017
Maron 4.12
The Bookstore
Marc tries to make a life for himself in Chilton. He goes to an AA meeting, stalks his son, meets his son, tries to get a job at a used bookstore.
Not so into this one am I. There were parts that felt a bit forced. Not awful just not very special in my book.
Marc tries to make a life for himself in Chilton. He goes to an AA meeting, stalks his son, meets his son, tries to get a job at a used bookstore.
Not so into this one am I. There were parts that felt a bit forced. Not awful just not very special in my book.
Saturday, May 6, 2017
UnREAL 2.02
Insurgent
In some ways this felt like the first episode of the first season. In many other ways it did not. The previous episode built up to the first episode of the new season of Everlasting. The focus this time around is the first episode of the season. Chet is trying to take control of the show back from Quinn but she is not about to give up without a fight. She knows how to run this show. Chet's new ideas all come from the paleo-influenced diet/regimen that he has been on and don't make the best creative or business sense.
There are a lot of contestants on this episode but four of them get little spotlights: Beth Ann, Ruby, Tiffany, Yael. There are other contestants with speaking parts but none of the others get a moment in the spotlight with Darius (the bachelor) that standout like these four did.
Beth Ann is a southern, white girl. Rachel talks her into wearing her Confederate flag bikini on the first episode of Everlasting. Once she sees who the bachelor is she tries to run away and hide. It isn't just the fact that Darius is African-American but also the fact that he is the quarterback for her favorite team. Rachel talks her into going up to Darius and talking to him. They have a bit of a moment as Beth Ann strips off her top after apologizing. Maybe it is this boldness or her apology but Darius includes her in the contestants that make the cut to the next round of Everlasting.
Ruby is the contestant that (last episode) Rachel talked into dropping out of university for the show. She is not trophy wife material. She is African-American, outspoken, and takes great exception to Beth Ann's bikini. Early in the episode she confronts Beth Ann but later when the cameras are on she holds back her feelings, much to the disappointment of Quinn. Rachel made promises to Ruby, some of which she had no intention of keeping. Ruby is kind of fed up with the show by the end of the episode but Darius likes her enough to keep her around.
Tiffany's father is the owner of a professional football team. She's upset because she came on the show to get away from football. At first she thinks that it was her father's idea to get her on the show. They assure her that it was not although it is a little unclear whether he had anything to do with it. At first she wants to get off the show as quickly as possible and does something which might cost her. Rachel talks her into making a run at winning the whole things and marrying Darius. Tiffany is Quinn's pick for the winner. She looks like "wifey" material in Quinn's eyes. She is the last one that Darius selects to advance to the next round.
Yael is given the nickname of Hot Rachel by Quinn. Rachel hates the name. Yael seems oblivious to it, if she is even aware of the nickname. She tries to get some advice from Rachel on what to do to make herself standout. Rachel isn't feeling very charitable and doesn't take Yael under her wing. Yael is forced to create her own dramatic moment and does so by falling in the pool and then pretending that she doesn't know how to swim. Darius dives in, fully clothed, to rescue her. Like the other three she also advances to the next round.
Rachel is doing her best to keep it together but seeing how the war between Chet and Quinn is destroying the show and her chance to be the show runner get to her. She goes behind their backs to Gary, the network executive who green lit the show. She thinks she is doing the right thing and that Gary will hand the show over to her but that's not what happens. Instead Gary brings in Coleman Wasserman to run the show. Coleman is the show runner of another successful show. He knows that Rachel is the one who blew the whistle on Chet and Quinn but they don't know that yet.
This episode was much more focused on the contestants than the last one. I like how this season is shaping up. It has some wrinkles that the previous one did not. The contestants who are getting the most screen time don't seem like carbon copies of the ones from the previous seasons. The changes to Chet and his role on the show have also helped to guide the show in a different direction. Rachel is still the star of the show. It seems like she is in a dark place right now. The music helps to emphasize that fact. I am eager to see where the show goes next and how it may surprise me.
In some ways this felt like the first episode of the first season. In many other ways it did not. The previous episode built up to the first episode of the new season of Everlasting. The focus this time around is the first episode of the season. Chet is trying to take control of the show back from Quinn but she is not about to give up without a fight. She knows how to run this show. Chet's new ideas all come from the paleo-influenced diet/regimen that he has been on and don't make the best creative or business sense.
There are a lot of contestants on this episode but four of them get little spotlights: Beth Ann, Ruby, Tiffany, Yael. There are other contestants with speaking parts but none of the others get a moment in the spotlight with Darius (the bachelor) that standout like these four did.
Beth Ann is a southern, white girl. Rachel talks her into wearing her Confederate flag bikini on the first episode of Everlasting. Once she sees who the bachelor is she tries to run away and hide. It isn't just the fact that Darius is African-American but also the fact that he is the quarterback for her favorite team. Rachel talks her into going up to Darius and talking to him. They have a bit of a moment as Beth Ann strips off her top after apologizing. Maybe it is this boldness or her apology but Darius includes her in the contestants that make the cut to the next round of Everlasting.
Ruby is the contestant that (last episode) Rachel talked into dropping out of university for the show. She is not trophy wife material. She is African-American, outspoken, and takes great exception to Beth Ann's bikini. Early in the episode she confronts Beth Ann but later when the cameras are on she holds back her feelings, much to the disappointment of Quinn. Rachel made promises to Ruby, some of which she had no intention of keeping. Ruby is kind of fed up with the show by the end of the episode but Darius likes her enough to keep her around.
Tiffany's father is the owner of a professional football team. She's upset because she came on the show to get away from football. At first she thinks that it was her father's idea to get her on the show. They assure her that it was not although it is a little unclear whether he had anything to do with it. At first she wants to get off the show as quickly as possible and does something which might cost her. Rachel talks her into making a run at winning the whole things and marrying Darius. Tiffany is Quinn's pick for the winner. She looks like "wifey" material in Quinn's eyes. She is the last one that Darius selects to advance to the next round.
Yael is given the nickname of Hot Rachel by Quinn. Rachel hates the name. Yael seems oblivious to it, if she is even aware of the nickname. She tries to get some advice from Rachel on what to do to make herself standout. Rachel isn't feeling very charitable and doesn't take Yael under her wing. Yael is forced to create her own dramatic moment and does so by falling in the pool and then pretending that she doesn't know how to swim. Darius dives in, fully clothed, to rescue her. Like the other three she also advances to the next round.
Rachel is doing her best to keep it together but seeing how the war between Chet and Quinn is destroying the show and her chance to be the show runner get to her. She goes behind their backs to Gary, the network executive who green lit the show. She thinks she is doing the right thing and that Gary will hand the show over to her but that's not what happens. Instead Gary brings in Coleman Wasserman to run the show. Coleman is the show runner of another successful show. He knows that Rachel is the one who blew the whistle on Chet and Quinn but they don't know that yet.
This episode was much more focused on the contestants than the last one. I like how this season is shaping up. It has some wrinkles that the previous one did not. The contestants who are getting the most screen time don't seem like carbon copies of the ones from the previous seasons. The changes to Chet and his role on the show have also helped to guide the show in a different direction. Rachel is still the star of the show. It seems like she is in a dark place right now. The music helps to emphasize that fact. I am eager to see where the show goes next and how it may surprise me.
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