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TV

Still Shameless

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[Spoilers for the fist half of Shameless season 10]

Newly arrived on Netflix

Over the course of 10 years, the Gallagher family at the center of Showtime’s Shameless has been through it. This family can best be summed up by one phrase: Bad Decisions TM. This trend continues in season 10, the first without eldest sister/de facto matriarch Fiona (Emmy Rossum).

The season starts with each Gallagher in a transitional period. Debbie (Emma Kenney) has assumed the role of caretaker, managing the the $50,000 Fiona left the family in the season 9 finale. Lip (Jeremy Allen White) is about to become a father with Tami (Kate Miner). Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) is graduating military school, and Liam (Christian Isaiah) is exploring his African-American heritage. Frank (William H. Macy) is, recovering from last season’s broken leg on the couch, and Ian (Cameron Monaghan) and Mickey (Noel Fisher) are figuring out their relationship in prison. Kev and Veronica (Steve Howie and Shanola Hampton) are still Kev and V.

Because of Bad Decisions TM, we quickly learn Debbie is buying expensive clothes and jewelry – keeping them in an obsessively organized storage unit – and then returning everything, just to experience the finer things in life. Frank finds the storage unit, and if you’ve ever watched the show, you can imagine what happens next. Debbie learns baby daddy Derek has died in the military, and begins battling Derek’s wife Pepa (Danube Hermosillo) for daughter Franny’s share of the death benefits. Pepa turns the tables and demands custody of Franny in exchange for the share.

A very pregnant Tami gives birth, but there are complications from an emergency C-section, and she is sidelined for a while; Lip is left to care for baby Fred by himself, and is thoroughly unprepared for caring for another human 24/7. He meets a woman named Sarah (Idara Victor), an infant swim coach, who offers to help him and invites him to a mommy support group. Lip improvises and figures out how to look after Fred with Sarah’s help. Tami recovers, but when she comes home she has a hard time bonding with Fred and dealing with Gallagher madness, while figuring out what she and Lip mean to each other.

Carl (barely) graduates military school, and returns home with girlfriend Kelly (Jess Gabor). He gets his old job back, working for Lori (Sarah Colonna) at the seafood fast food joint, and meets Anne (Chelsea Rendon) – a Mexican girl running a side hustle involving vape pens and tartar sauce. The two strike up a friendship; Carl even makes tamales with her family, poorly, and defends her when INS shows up on her doorstep. He offers the Gallagher house to Anne’s large family to hide out; all of this doesn’t sit well with Kelly, but it turns out Kelly has been sleeping with a classmate at her Annapolis Navy prep school (and may have given Carl an STD).

Liam is on a mission to discover his African American heritage, even dressing like Frederick Douglas and Malcolm X. Through Frank, he learns that he has distant Black relatives that live down the block (!). One relative is a man named MaVar (Anthony Alabi), who takes Liam under his wing; MaVar quickly learns Liam is a Gallagher in every way.

Ian and Mickey are in jail, and Ian learns he’s up for parole. Because of Bad Decisions TM he considers torpedoing the parole hearing to stay in jail with Mickey, but Mickey convinces him he needs to go. Ian returns home, and through the parole system gets a job as an EMT – his career before the whole gay icon/setting vans on fire incidents. Of course, his new gig isn’t ideal, as his new team is pulling insurance scams; he also has the parole officer from hell, Paula (Rachel Dratch). Due to his cooperation on a case, Mickey is released as well and returns to the Gallagher house.

Frank and partner in crime Mikey O’Shea (Luis Guzman) continue to try to scam everything and everyone: Mikey get dialysis from a veterinarian; Frank steals Oxycontin from an old lady. To replace his soiled couch, Frank and Mikey steal couch cushions from a hotel. Mikey eventually decides due to his failing health, he’ll go back to prison, and Frank is left to his own devices. Shortly after, however, Randy (Andy Buckley) shows up with Frank’s baby twins in tow*, saying Ingrid has left him, and Frank needs to take the babies back. Frank agrees to take one, and due to Bad Decisions TM chooses to sell the baby on the black market, with Liam’s help.

*Ingrid (Katey Sagal), Randy’s wife, had twins by artificial insemination. She thinks the babies are Frank’s, but (because this is Shameless), they are actually Carl’s children.

With Kev’s help, V gets a new friend to fill the void left by Fiona; Mimi (Lynn Chen) is a pharmaceutical sales rep who asks V to help her with Black doctors, as they don’t take her seriously because she’s Asian. V does, and finds she has a talent for selling the drugs – with phony sob stories. Meanwhile, Kev is insecure about getting older, and he goes back to stripping (for a night, anyway), in order to buy basketball shoes he thinks will help his game (spoiler alert – they don’t). Kev’s insecurities continue after he learns his childhood coach molested his teammates, but not him; he decides to get in on the lawsuit against the coach anyway.

So the Gallagher clan fumbles on; after 9 years, it’s noticeable that Fiona is gone, but the show’s ensemble is strong enough to keep it feeling like the same show it’s been since the beginning. They continue to make Bad Decisions TM and deal with the fallout, emotional and physical.

After the first half of the season, Tami and Lip seem like they’re figuring things out. Carl and Anne seem to be getting closer. V seems to be getting back to her roots. Debbie seems to have figured out how to scam/get back at Pepa. Ian and Mickey seem to bet getting back to normal life. And Frank seems to still be Frank – looking for the next scheme while failing at the current one. With one final season to go, I’m interested to see where the Gallaghers will ultimately land, and if any will finally be able to support themselves (and their kids!) to break the Gallagher-cycle that’s been going on for more than a decade. M

TV

Muppets in the Age of Streaming

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As a child of the 80’s, I grew up watching the Muppets. The movies, the merchandise, the catchphrases and songs (Someday we’ll find it – the rainbow connection) were a part of my childhood, and I loved the antics of the frog, the pig, the… Gonzo.

Kermit and crew have had a solid run of entertaining kids and adults alike: The Muppet Show ran in syndication from 1976 – 1981, and the felt creations enjoyed cinematic success with The Muppet Movie (1979), The Great Muppet Caper (1981) and The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984). The Muppet Babies cartoon soon followed, then more movies: The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), and Muppet Treasure Island (1996).

Muppets Tonight, which debuted in 1996 on ABC, was a return to TV and a spiritual successor to The Muppet Show, but it got mixed reviews and lasted only 2 seasons. In 2004, Disney acquired the Muppets; since then, they have been trying to find their groove. The movies continued, with relative success – though the general sentiment was that the Muppets had passed their prime.

But ever the lasting property, 2011’s The Muppets movie with Jason Segal and Amy Adams seemed to give the puppets the shot in the arm they needed to grab America’s attention again. A few more movies later, and ABC once again took a gamble on the small screen: in 2015, The Muppets debuted. This mockumentary-style (post-The Office and Modern Family) sitcom showed the behind-the-scenes workings of a Muppet variety show, along with the ‘pets personal lives.

This time, however, reviews were not mixed – the show was pretty much hated by all. No one really wants to explore what would happen if Kermit and Miss Piggy were forced to work together after they break up, do they? Drama and Muppets don’t mix… unless they’re parodying it, a la “Veterinarian’s Hospital.”

Since their last TV venture, the television landscape has changed dramatically; gone (thankfully) are the mockumentary style sitcoms, and multi-cam comedies with laugh tracks are on the decline. In their place are shows that drop full seasons at once, are binge-watched in a weekend, then promptly forgotten until the next binge-worthy show premiers.

Enter Muppets Now, a new Disney+ show that debuts on July 31, with new episodes releasing weekly.

Still owned by Disney, in case you forgot

The new show is the Muppets for the digital age: short segments in a YouTube-esque format with celebrities, your favorite Muppets new and old, and of course, comedy. This show feels like old-school Muppets, adapted for the digital age.

The premise of the first episode is that Scooter, most beleaguered of all the Muppets, is at his deadline: Muppets Now needs to go live; you’re meant to believe the Muppets have been hard at work creating this show and now it’s being released for the world to see (so, what’s really been happening, I guess?).

I found myself laughing at each of the segments (but again, I may be biased here):

LifeSty(le) with Miss Piggy is a show where the host gets to impart her wisdom on all things style to her viewers. She gets by with some help from her friends, including Taye Diggs and Linda Cardellini.

Even the Muppets have mastered Zoom

The next segment has Walter asking Kermit how he became a great photographer; Kermit explains he’s actually a great photobomber:

Kermit is not in fact making a rude gesture. Plus Sam the Eagle!

Next the Swedish Chef (one of my personal faves), in the Okey Dokey Kookin show, cooks alongside YouTube chef Carlina Will… with interesting results.

Carlina Will shows Beverly Plume how not to cook like the Swedish Chef

And finally is “Mup Close and Personal” with RuPaul, where Kermit’s one on one interview goes off the rails.

Kermit can’t catch a break

I really liked the first episode of Muppets Now, and think if they can keep up the antics while mocking the YouTube/TikTok/Twitch content we’ve come to know and love (and sometimes loathe), the show can be a great success.

Some things people post are just begging to be parodied, and the Muppets have always been great at taking ridiculous things and making them even more ridiculous. Here’s hoping a new generation of kids, and kids at heart, get to enjoy the Muppets and learn all the words to “Rainbow Connection.” M

TV

On Doom Patrol

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“I’ve seen a lot of s***. But this? Y’all ain’t right.”

Roni Evers sums up the series in one sentence.

[Potential spoilers for Doom Patrol seasons 1 and 2]

The DC Universe (and now HBO Max) show Doom Patrol is about a group of unconventional heroes. Led by Dr. Niles Caulder (Timothy Dalton), aka The Chief, the Doom Patrol consists of:

Rita Farr (April Bowby): a golden age era actress with elastic skin who is unable to fully control when and where she becomes elastic. When she is upset, for example, her facial skin starts to droop.

Larry Trainor (voiced by Matt Bomer): a pilot with a being of energy – the “Negative Spirit” – in his body; his body was irradiated and burned, requiring him to wear bandages from head to toe.

Cliff Steele (voiced by Brendan Fraser): a race car driver who’s brain was transplanted into a robot by The Chief.

Crazy Jane (Diane Guerrero): Kay Challis, a young woman with 64 personalities, each with a different super power.

Cyborg (Joivan Wade): Vic Stone, a young man with cybernetic enhance-ments including an operating system/supercomputer called GRID.

The Doom Patrol (minus Cyborg, who was out being heroic somewhere)

Each of our heroes has a tragic backstory, and when they cross paths with The Chief, he takes them in to live at Doom Manor in Ohio. When they decide they’ve been cooped up in the mansion for too long and venture out into the nearby town of Cloverton, hijinks ensue. Rita ends up becoming unstable and her body morphs into a giant blob; Larry’s negative energy releases from his body and fries everything in its path. Jane becomes a giant entity with a flaming head ready to incinerate Rita, but Cliff grabs the road and lifts it up to block Rita’s path. The team retreats, and when they return to Cloverton with The Chief, find a donkey roaming around. The donkey farts, and the visible gas that rises forms the words “The mind is the limit.” Season 1’s big bad, Mr. Nobody (Alan Tudyk), a fourth wall breaking narrator able to time travel and warp reality, creates a giant sinkhole in the middle of town which sucks in everything around it… and that’s the end of episode 1.

The Doom Patrol has faced adversaries, among others: a goat who can transport people to different dimensions, Doctor Tyme – a man with a clock for a head who controls spacetime, a giant sentient cockroach, a cult bent on bringing about the end of the world via a huge eyeball in the sky, Beard Hunter – a man who eats facial hair and can track down its owner, and recently Scants – pink mite-like infections that cause their victims to have terrible ideas. Their allies are just as strange: Flex Mentallo (Devan Chandler Long) is a strongman who can flex his muscles to alter reality. Danny the Street is a sentient street on which colorful residents – Dannyzens – live. Willoughby Kipling (Mark Sheppard) is a magician and member of the Knights Templar. And Roni Evers, who so succinctly summed up the Doom Patrol, is an ex-soldier who had cybernetic enhancements grafted into her body; though these were forcibly removed.

The Chief as seen by Cliff Steele

Doom Patrol is delightfully odd, and leans into that oddness whenever possible. A team called Sex-Men tasked with clearing out sexual ghosts? Sure. A man who, because he wants super powers, undergoes “treatment” and becomes a being with a human head, a second dinosaur head, and tree limbs? Absolutely. Wall-crawling butts with limbs and razor teeth? You betcha. Season 2 goes a bit crazier, introducing Niles’ daughter Dorothy Spinner (Abigail Shapiro) and her ability to manifest imaginary friends.

It is so unlike any super hero show that’s come before it, much to its credit; it’s not afraid to be at the same time weird and strange and moral and cringey and taboo. It asks “What would happen if people stumbled into becoming super heroes?” Can people who are deeply flawed and struggle with responsibility, guilt, remorse, and even sanity really help the rest of humanity? At this point several members of the team don’t have full control of their powers; Rita and Larry struggle, but are making strides while also battling their personal demons.

The performances are incredible all around, but the true star of the show has to be Diane Guerrero as Crazy Jane. Jane changes personalities on a whim, and each one has not only a specific super power, but physical appearance and personal affectations as well. Guerrero effortlessly flits between each personality while making them all seem distinct – you thoroughly believe you are watching different people housed in Jane’s body. Karen, the homemaker and hopeless romantic, is worlds apart from Baby Doll, the young girl who just wants to play and make friends. Hammerhead is the tattooed tough as nails enforcer, while Penny Farthing is a shy British girl with a stutter. Silver Tongue can create sharp metal words from her speech, which she uses to throw at people, while Lucy Fugue can control electricity. It’s all incredible to watch as one personality switches into another, and hopefully they can touch on many more of the residents of The Undergound – the metaphorical place in Kay’s mind where the personalities reside.

If you’re sick of the same old super hero tropes, check out Doom Patrol (and its polar opposite, DC’s Stargirl). I’ve never read the Doom Patrol comics (though I’ve read through a bunch of wikis for some context), so I’m usually pleasantly surprised where the stories go, and there’s quite literally nothing the show can’t do in its universe. Its mix of action, absurdity, humor and outright weirdness are really something to behold.

M

TV

Come Dine With Me

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Over the past few months, working from home, I’ve had the opportunity to indulge in my obsession with television. I’ve re-watched shows like Cougar Town and 30 Rock. I’ve watched popular shows I’d never seen before like Scrubs and Happy Endings (finally understanding why people are still to this day upset it was canceled!) And I’ve stumbled upon shows that I’d never even heard of; the most entertaining of which has to be a little British show called Come Dine With Me. It’s a game show. It’s a reality show. It’s pure genius.

The premise is simple: 4 or 5 people who live in the same area each take turns throwing a dinner party for the others. At the end of each night – in the taxi on the way home – the guests give the host a score from 1 – 10. Whoever has the most points at the end of the week wins £1,000. The show is hosted by a never-seen narrator (Dave Lamb) and has been on the air in England since 2004 (!).

The show starts by introducing the contestants; the narrator will give some exposition: “First up is Karen, an estate agent from Essex” for example, and then will go through the menu for the first dinner party. The rest of the contestants are introduced, while reading the menu and giving their comments. “Black pudding, as a starter?” or “What on earth is venison – is it lamb?” The show proceeds to show the host preparing for the dinner party, by cooking or preparing the food to be cooked that night. The guests arrive one by one (usually with gift in hand), introduce themselves, and the dinner party gets underway. Each meal has an appetizer, main course and dessert, and can be whatever the host chooses. It is also completely up the host whether or not he chooses to make everything from scratch, or buy things from store to serve – and this becomes a main topic in almost every episode. “Is this shop-bought pastry?” is a common question on CDWM. The diners will take turns in confessionals commenting on the night’s events, and how they think things are going (they’re usually wrong).

At the dinner table, the diners come up with their own banter: “Which celebrity does Kevin look like?” “What do you do for a living?” “Have you ever met the queen?” While the host is preparing the food, the others will have a look around the house, and this often leads to interesting dinner conversation. Sometimes, if they aren’t meshing well there will be awkward silence – broken for us viewers by the narrator yelling “Someone say something!” For the most part, the diners get along and have fun conversations. When one diner refers to another as a fiery dragon (on Couples Come Dine With Me – a topic for another time), or when one asks another if he’s gay because he has a pink refrigerator, it can be a little cringey, but ultimately very entertaining. Even when diners don’t get along, it’s not all that serious, and at the end of the week they just decide to never see each other again.

The food, and prep, is a whole topic itself. I find it thoroughly entertaining to watch these definitely-not-professional chefs prepare meals, and implement what they think are good ideas. Pink unicorn fairy cake for dessert? Sure. Dauphinoise potatoes are apparently on everyone’s menu (We know these as potatoes au gratin, and I don’t know where they’re popular?). There are kitchen mishaps, food burnt, and dodgy cooking techniques that really must be seen, and not described. Though narrator Dave Lamb seems to have a lot a fun describing, commenting and insulting. “Hands!” he’ll shout, if a cook puts his hand in something. Or if something is store-bought, he’ll make a comment like “Well, you didn’t make that from scratch.” It’s a lot more hilarious than it sounds, trust me. The fist clip I saw of the show, which got me hooked immediately, was of a contestant named Tina, who didn’t make anything for her main course. The narrator explains: “Curry from a jar, microwaved rice, and a shop-bought flatbread. This could be interesting.” The diners ask her how things were prepared and she fumbles through telling them that she didn’t actually do anything herself. My favorite part of the night is when dinner is over and after a possibly awkward comment or encounter the narrator yells “Taxi!”, as we cut to the taxicab scoring.

In most cases where the diners don’t like a host’s food, they generally do not let the host know when they’re eating it; they usually wait until a confessional or taxi ride home to rip everything apart – sometimes savagely. But in some cases a diner will harshly criticize a host, then turn around and score them a 7 out of 10. It’s a funny battle between being nice, honest, and cutthroat – this is, after all, a competition. The scoring is based on the diner’s overall experience and seems completely arbitrary, though they all usually break it down into food, hosting, and entertainment. Yes, some hosts provide entertainment for the dinner party; examples: karaoke, salsa dancing lessons, aviation simulation, or a song sung by an X-Factor contestant.

When all the diners have taken turns hosting, the winner is revealed, and it’s the last host’s duty to do so. They bring out the £1,000 cash under a silver cloche, with a scroll that lists the contestants and their places. The host reveals each place, last through first, and the winner gets the prize. In one infamous clip, a salty final host throws a temper tantrum because he didn’t win – Google “Enjoy the money, Jane”. But usually, the show ends happily to catchy (and appropriate) song while the credits roll. Episodes of the show can be found on YouTube and all around the internet, and if you’re a fan of reality shows, cooking shows, or British humor, you should give it a go.

According to Wikipedia, there were 2 failed attempts to bring this show to the US: Dinner Takes All in 2006 on TLC, and Come Dine With Me on Lifetime in 2013. I haven’t seen the American versions, so I can’t say why the show failed here, twice. A few possibilities: either people were too polite and the show was boring, or people were too rude and the show came off as trashy. The show has been exported to over 30 countries, so food with side of snark may just be the true universal language.

M

TV

(Star)Girl Power

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[Some spoilers for Stargirl season 1 below]

When it was announced that there would be (yet) another DC superhero show, I have to admit I rolled my eyes.

I’ve watched the Arrowverse shows almost since the beginning. I missed season 1 of Arrow and caught up on Netflix before season 2. Since then I’ve watched every Arrowverse show, and have only stopped watching Supergirl (midway through season 3). I even sat through the entire first season of Batwoman, which at best was mediocre, thanks to now former series lead Ruby Rose. I have loved what Greg Berlanti & Co have done with the majority of these characters and shows. The early seasons of The Flash were great. The last few seasons of Legends of Tomorrow have been really great. But The Flash has become tiresome, and while Arrow ended strong, the road there was… bumpy. As I mentioned, I stopped watching Supergirl for a few different reasons, none of which was Melissa Benoist – I think she’s great in the role, but the show was ill-conceived, aimless and little nonsensical (yes, even for a show where Martians live among us, and an alien prison ended up crash landing on Earth).

So when I heard about DC’s Stargirl, my expectations were not high. I wasn’t even sure I could watch it, as I didn’t subscribe to DC’s streaming service DC Universe. Then I heard it would be airing on The CW and I decided to give it a shot. Since this was another Berlanti show, I thought I knew what to expect. Surprisingly, though, the show broke the mold in a few different ways.

The show starts with an epic battle between the good guys: the Justice Society of America (JSA) and the bad guys: the Injustice Society of America (ISA) – clever, right? Evil actually wins as the JSA, including Starman (Joel McHale), is defeated and its members killed. Starman’s sidekick Stripesy, aka Pat Dugan (Luke Wilson), retreats and gathers up the fallen heroes’ weapons and costumes, and escapes to fight another day. Though he doesn’t – at least not yet. At some point he has a son named Mike (Trae Romano) and moves to LA… like you do. (Full disclosure: I don’t remember if they spoke about Mike’s mom, but let’s say she died, because she’s not ever really mentioned.)

Enter Barbara Whitmore (Amy Smart), a transplant to LA from Blue Valley, Nebraska. She is a single mom with a teenage daughter named Courtney (Brec Bassinger). Pat and Barbara meet (in Blue Valley, actually), get married, and move back to Blue Valley – one big “happy” family. What they don’t know is that nefarious things are going on in the quaint little town.

Here’s where Stargirl does things differently. Courtney is not an adult. She goes to school; she probably has a curfew. This show is the first to tackle a teenage hero, and with that comes a different set of parameters. Does it make later fight scenes with actual adults a little cringe-inducing? Yes. But Stargirl leans into that cringe – these are villains. They are dark, evil people who don’t care who gets in their way. If they have to beat up and kill a few kiddos to get what they want? So be it.

In the Arrowverse shows, the protagonist has an origin story that usually involves several other people, who end up becoming that person’s Scooby gang. There’s love, hate, super powers/skills, and the hero sometimes reluctantly takes on the role, saving lives, protecting innocents, blah blah. Oliver Queen wanted to carry out his father’s quest to right wrongs in Starling City. Barry Allen wanted to help stop meta-humans from terrorizing his city. Kara Danvers wanted to stop aliens from terrorizing her city. Kate Kane wanted to stop her homicidal twin sister from terrorizing her city.

But Courtney is chosen by Starman’s Cosmic Staff (which I refer to as Staffy, because it really needs a name). Staffy reveals itself, and its abilities – shooting bursts of energy and flight, among them – to Courtney and she excitedly decides to become a super hero. She does some research and thinks Starman is her father, for reasons, and decides she needs to avenge his death. Courtney finds and alters the Starman suit (in her new high school’s sewing class) and Stargirl is born.

Stargirl encounters Henry King (Christopher James Baker), aka ISA member Brainwave , a telepath and telekinetic, and ends up accidentally putting him in a coma after he learns her secret identity. His son Henry Jr (Jake Austin Walker) is a classmate and is involved in a sexting scandal with fellow classmate Yolanda Montez (Yvette Monreal). Yolanda sends Henry a picture and jealous girlfriend/mean girl/queen bee Cindy Burman (Meg DeLacy) sends the pic to… everyone. Yolanda is ostracized by her friends and even super religious family; she ends up befriending new girl Courtney and she recruits Yolanda to her cause by giving her the costume of JSA member Wild Cat, effectively creating a new JSA.

Turns out sociopath Cindy’s dad is also a member of the ISA – the hooded Dragon King. Cindy decides she wants to follow in daddy’s footsteps; we learn because of his experiments on his daughter, she is somewhat cybernetic. She fights Courtney but gets sidelined by her father when she goes off the rails, demanding to be a part of the ISA.

Speaking of the ISA, head honcho Jordan Mahkent, aka Icicle (Neil Jackson), returns to town to pick up where they left off, restarting Project New America, which at this point hasn’t been fully detailed to us viewers. We do know it involves mind control and six surrounding states… We also learn Barbara now works for Jordan and Jordan’s son Cameron (Hunter Sansone) is also in Courtney’s class, and a possible love interest.

Through a series of events, fellow outcasts Beth Chapel (Anjelika Washington) and Rick Tyler (Cameron Gellman) become the new JSA’s Dr Mid-Nite and Hour Man, respectively. Beth’s Dr Mid-Nite goggles are basically a supercomputer (and sometimes deus ex machina), and Rick’s hourglass pendant gives him super strength for an hour at a time. It turns out Rick’s parents were also heroes and killed by the monstrous Solomon Grundy – who even the ISA keeps locked up – and Rick is out for revenge.

The creation of the new JSA/Courtney’s own Scooby gang felt very organic, and even shows the team struggling to be superheroes. Courtney and crew stumble; Yolanda even threatens Henry Jr as Wild Cat, and in a possibly unprecedented scene, Henry immediately recognizes Yolanda – because of course he would. All too often superhero shows gloss over this bit of realism, and it was refreshing to see this play out this way.

With Pat, who now pilots a huge battle ready robot called S.T.R.I.P.E, as their mentor, the kids are now investigating the ISA, the ISA members’ kids, and trying to figure out what’s really going on in Blue Valley. Along the way there are some fights, deaths, and revelations that make this show one roller coaster ride. Mysteries are sprinkled throughout as you would expect, like the truth about Courtney’s parentage, and the creepy (or is he?) high school janitor that for some reason has a sword and possibly remembers using Staffy.

So far, Stargirl feels like a fresh superhero-show experience. The writing is quick and authentic, the action sequences and special effects are well done and satisfying, and storylines are playing out a little more realistically (dark?) than the norm: Icicle kills [spoiler] to send a message! Barbara finds out about [spoiler]! Brainwave kills [really big spoiler]! I’m anxious to see how the season wraps up, and having already been renewed for a second season (relocating solely to The CW), here’s hoping Stargirl keeps things interesting and never becomes another superhero slog.

M

TV

The Fall TV Season – 2019

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Though in recent years the concept of a “TV season” has pretty much fallen by the wayside, the traditional start of new episodes of broadcast shows has typically been in September. And while Netflix can launch Stranger Things in July, October, or whenever it feels like, really, the old networks still rely on this tried and true release schedule. Kids are back in school, the summer months give way to a chill in the air, and new episodes start airing. This fall, in addition to the return of broadcast TV, we the viewers have several new streaming services, several of which have “+” in their names, and in this era of #PeakTV, a slew of new shows on which to obsess. Here are some new and returning shows that I’m looking forward to seeing this fall.

The Mandalorian | Disney+ | November 12th
In recent years, Star Wars has become a somewhat embattled franchise. The Last Jedi debuted to mixed reviews, and the furor over new entries in the Skywalker saga has certainly seemed to wane. On the television side, animated fare such as Star Wars: Rebels has seemed to garner overall praise for expanding the canon and scope of the space opera. I’ve been a Star Wars fan though it all, and I’m looking forward to The Mandalorian, and have been since I heard it would be a Boba Fett-focused series. Nixing that particular bounty hunter in favor of a generic one, the new series aims to fill in some gaps between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens while telling a unique story of a guy (?) just trying to make a living in the wide galaxy of blasters and light sabers, and hopefully no midichlorians. Taking a break from the Jedi/Sith conflict seems to be a step in the right direction, and I have faith that showrunner John Favreau can finally bring a successful live-action Star Wars to the small screen.

Living With Yourself | Netflix | October 18th
It’s Paul Rudd, and… Paul Rudd?! Yes, Netflix did use that hokey credits shtick in their trailer for this new comedy. Rudd plays a man named Miles who undergoes a procedure to better himself, but ends up with a Miles clone – a clone who is better at being Miles than Miles – and hijinks undoubtedly ensue. Have we seen this premise before? Sure. Do I think Paul Rudd can bring something fresh to this concept? Absolutely. His comedic timing and ability to bring pathos and likability to his characters make this series worth a look.

Arrow/The Flash/Batwoman | The CW | Oct 15th/8th/6th
The Arrowverse is about to be shaken to its core with its version of legendary comic book tale Crisis on Infinite Earths. In the comics, Barry Allen and Kara Zor-El (aka The Flash and Supergirl) are sacrificed to save the multi-verse; however given the events of Arrow season 7 and the show’s cancellation, it’s safe to assume Green Arrow Oliver Queen will be stepping in so the other shows can continue. I’ve always enjoyed the Arrowverse crossovers – some much more than others – and this season’s seems to be the most ambitious, and will likely have the most lasting effects on the characters.

I’m hoping The Flash can shake things up a bit after last season; the villain (a woefully miscast Chris Klein) was laughable, and the writers really struggled to keep that conflict going (I mean, the heroes can only have the villain dead to rights so many times before you start rooting for the villain). Adding future kid Nora to the mix, and her relationship to a certain evil speedster was such a great idea, though again keeping up the mystery and intrigue for the whole season got tiresome. And the less said about Sherloque, the better. It seems they will split the season up into arcs, which is usually a good idea – as network TV seasons are quite long and fans (especially this one) don’t have great attention spans. I’m cautiously optimistic The Flash can catch that lightning in a bottle again.

New to the ‘verse is Batwoman, the Ruby Rose-fronted series that re-introduces the titular Gotham City heroine after her appearance in last year’s Elseworlds crossover. Though the show seems to have a similar dark tone akin to Arrow‘s first season, I’m not entirely convinced it will be unique enough to stand out from the pack. Will there be a Bat-team? Probably. Will there be young-adult soap-opera-y themes? It’s the CW. Unlike her contemporaries, Batwoman is arguably the least-known of the DC superheroes, although everyone is familiar with her cape and cowl-ed cousin. If any show or hero were to replace the departing Arrow, Batwoman certainly seems to fit the bill, but time will tell.

And there is so much more! Watchmen, Letterkenny, Disenchantment, FutureMan, Runaways, Always Sunny, and Silicon Valley are all on the Watch List. How can fall not be everyone’s favorite time of year?

M

TV

Veronica Mars: Where Was I?

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In 2004, the upstart television network known as UPN premiered a plucky little show about a teenager who had a knack for solving mysteries. Set in the fictional Neptune, California, our heroine struggled with the usual high school hurdles: homework, angst, parents, love and… murder? Also, rape, racism, child molestation, trans-phobia, alcoholism, and suicide. Sounds like feel-good TV, doesn’t it?

In a way, it actually was. The show effortlessly blended heavy topics with normal everyday situations and a little comedy – and somehow made it all believable. Veronica Mars, starring a young Kristen Bell as the titular sleuth, was an anomaly – and one that I missed completely. I’m not sure what I watching in 2004; looking at Wikipedia’s article on the 2004 TV season, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t According to Jim. Veronica was, sadly, nowhere on my radar.

This all changed earlier this year when Hulu revived the show for a fourth season and posted the 3 previous seasons – that’s 64 episodes – which I then promptly binge-watched in the span of 2 weeks. “Binge-watched” may not accurately describe what I did – obsessively black-hole watched? I’ll workshop that… Let’s just say after the first episode, I was hooked.

We were introduced to Veronica, her father and former Neptune sheriff Keith Mars, and her estranged mother Lianne. Veronica’s best friend, Lilly Kane was murdered; Keith bungled the investigation, blaming her grief-stricken father, Jake Kane. Lianne skipped town, Keith got ousted as sheriff and became a private investigator. Further complicating things were Veronica’s ex-boyfriend and Lilly’s brother Duncan Kane and his buddy and Lilly’s boyfriend, Logan Echolls.

Add in arrogant but clueless sheriff Don Lamb, public defender Cliff McCormack, biker club leader Eli “Weevil” Navarro, and Veronica’s BFF Wallace Fennel and you’ve got a binge-worthy TV season.

Who murdered Lilly Kane? #NoSpoilers, but I certainly didn’t see it coming. The mystery was solid, but the relationships – Veronica and Keith above all – kept me coming back for more. Veronica herself was at the center of a mystery, being drugged at a party and subsequently raped, not knowing exactly what happened or with whom. The first season was a wild ride, all while making the viewer guess (and second-guess) how Lilly met her end. The reveal was satisfying, and made me wonder how they would up the ante for season 2.

To up said ante, they killed a bus load of kids. Season 2 was the season of the Casablancas – making series regulars out of Dick and Cassidy “Beaver” Casablancas, and introducing step-mom Kendall Casablancas. Also introduced were Neptune mayoral hopeful Woody Goodman, his daughter, Gia, new student Jackie Cook as well as an increased presence of computer nerd Cindy “Mac” Mackenzie. Also along for the ride were Deputy Leo D’Amato and sleazy PI Vinnie Van Lowe.

While I didn’t find the mystery of the bus crash as compelling as Lilly’s murder, it kept my interest, and the reveal of who did it (and sadly, why) was genuinely jaw-dropping. Again, I won’t spoil the mystery, but you have to imagine a character with the name “Goodman” is probably somehow involved. In another exciting twist, Veronica’s rape story was also revealed at the end of the season, creating a retcon of sorts, as events as Veronica and the viewers knew them turned out to be untrue.

Season 3, or Veronica Mars: The College Years, saw the show experiment with mini-mystery arcs, each getting a few weeks’ attention. This definitely changed the pacing of the show as the storylines were wrapped up more quickly. New characters Stosh “Piz” Piznarski and Parker Lee joined Veronica, Wallace and Mac at Hearst College where PI Veronica continued sleuthing. While the mysteries of rapes, murdered deans, and extra-marital affairs waxed and waned, Veronica’s relationships took more of a prominent role.

And then the show was canceled. The UPN and WB networks had merged into The CW, and Veronica Mars couldn’t find a stable audience. Cut to 8 years later where, due to the magic of the internet, a feature film was Kickstarted. Veronica – now an adult – was back, along with old friends and new, to solve another mystery that nicely tied in with the original run of the show. While the mystery itself and resolution weren’t quite as sharp as the original, it was great to see where the characters ended up and get the gang back together.

Revival and reboot fever being in full swing, Hulu brought Veronica Mars back for an eight-episode fourth season in 2019. The new season retains the charm of the original show, again mainly due to Veronica and Keith’s relationship – the one constant through the show’s iterations. The now fully-engrossed-in-PI-work Veronica, along with some familiar faces, tackles mystery bombings plaguing Neptune. Guest stars like J.K. Simmons and Patton Oswalt are engrossed in the mystery, which results in a somewhat predictable reveal, and a truly sad ending. Creator Rob Thomas has said he has some ideas for an Agatha Christie-like season 5, but whether or not he’ll get to tell that tale remains to be seen.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching 72 episodes and a feature film with these characters and hope enough people get on the bandwagon for Hulu to bring it back for season 5. The show could continue on for several more seasons in its current incarnation, and Kristen Bell has taken the character from defiant teen to mature private investigator. I’m certainly on board for more, though I probably won’t be taking the bus any time soon.

M

TV

The State of the Arrowverse – Supergirl

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The latest in the set of Arrowverse shows is CBS transplant Supergirl. I really wanted to like this show, especially since lead Melissa Benoist is charming as Kara Danvers and kick-ass as Supergirl. Season 1, for me, was a total train wreck. Season 2 seemed to right the ship a little bit, before devolving into a big mess once again. And season 3 feels like a chore, because I genuinely do not like 95% of this show. How could they get the Girl of Steel so right but the rest of the show so wrong? Let’s explore. Spoiler alert: anything up until 2017’s winter finales is fair game.

SUPERGIRL – Current Season: 3

Season 1 of Supergirl oddly aired on CBS, home to many NCIS’s and the baffling “comedy” that rhymes with Mig Mang Meory. As I said, I really like Melissa Benoist in the role, but 3 aspects of the show’s first season really failed:

(1) The Setup
Kara’s adoptive sister Alex works for the DEO, a secret government agency that deals with aliens – a truly solid way to set up a Supergirl series. Inexplicably, the DEO base is in some remote desert that Kara has to fly to whenever there’s trouble. I can suspend disbelief for a TV show quite easily, but Kara left her job so many times that Cat Grant hired another assistant to do Kara’s job instead of firing her. I think it might have been better if they didn’t address that issue, because making Cat oblivious is not as stupid as hiring 2 people to do 1 job. HR department on line 1, Miss Grant. Speaking of…

(2) The Supporting Characters
I am in the minority as someone who never liked Calista Flockhart as Cat Grant. I think she was miscast, and never believed that she was some high and mighty publishing maven; she was just louder than everyone else in the room. Winn Schott and James “Don’t Call Me Jimmy” Olsen were okay as Kara’s coworkers, but shoehorning them into DEO adventures rarely worked. James as a love interest and Winn pining for Kara also fell flat – James and Kara had zero chemistry (anyone remember Lucy Lane?), and the nerdy-guy-with-a-heart-of-gold drooling over the cute girl bit has been done to death. Super soldier Alex was solely a super soldier and supportive sister; Martian Manhunter was a cool addition, but was usually relegated to a command center instead of using his abilities to help Supergirl. Ultimately Supergirl’s Scooby gang didn’t come together organically because the show was trying to live in both the DEO world and the CatCo world.

(3) The Villains
Besides the villains of the week (including the aforementioned second assistant, Siobhan Smythe, aka Silver Banshee), Kara’s Kryptonian aunt Astra was the big bad of season 1 – though I think she was around for a total of 4 episodes. Astra was trying to take over everyone’s mind to destroy them for… reasons. But then she died, and her husband Non and evil robot Indigo took over. I don’t really remember what their plan was, but it was evil. Only an impassioned speech by Supergirl could free the public from… whatever it was. Yeah, it didn’t make much sense.

There were many welcome changes in season 2. James/Kara/Winn decided to just be buddies. Cat Grant chose her family over her career (as Calista chose LA over Vancouver). The DEO moved to National City, so Kara didn’t have to leave her job for days at a time to fight evil. Winn became a DEO agent so he’d actually have a reason to be involved with things. Kara got a real love interest in Mon-El, and Alex got a real love interest in Maggie.

Just when I thought things were on the uptick, we had these developments:
After a Cadmus tease, Lillian Luthor was a big bad, sort of? (Metallo was pretty cool)
Way too much time was devoted to Alex and Maggie. I got the emotional heft, but it just dragged on for me, and seemed like filler after a while.
That whole Guardian sub-plot (sub-not?)
Kara just becomes a reporter? Also cranky Ian Gomez is not good Ian Gomez.

And in the case of 1 step forward, 2 steps back:
Superman, for me, was just meh. I didn’t dislike him, but he didn’t add much either.
Casting Kevin Sorbo and former Lois Lane Teri Hatcher as Mon-El’s parents was genius… and then they were both killed off. Rhea forcing her son to marry Lena Luthor felt forced, as did Mon-El’s banishment by lead poisoning.
Ex-Superman Dean Cain as Jeremiah Danvers also disappeared without a trace.

Now in season 3, we have Reign to deal with. It was an interesting choice to have Samantha Arias integrate into Kara’s life and have her become Reign before our eyes. Again though it feels like the story is moving too quickly; as with the first two seasons it seems like the writers are teeing up another story for the back half of episodes.

On a side note, at one point in this current season, Lena refers to Kara as her “best friend.” I guess this a “show, don’t tell” moment, because if anyone asked me who Kara’s best friend was, my first response would be Alex. End side note.

So Sam is Reign, Maggie broke off her engagement, Mon-El is back with a wife (and soon a Legion of Superheroes), and Kara is out of commission after Reign beat her up. We’ll see how the rest of the season shakes up with Mon-El and company since I have a funny feeling Supergirl will defeat Reign (with Ruby’s love, of course). I’m not hate watching yet, but this may be the season that tips me over the edge…

MxM

TV

The State of the Arrowverse – LoT

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Third up in the Arrowverse shows is Legends of Tomorrow. After a rocky first season, the show has found its footing and continues to grow and evolve with each episode. Ex-Black Canary Sara Lance leads a ragtag crew around time trying to right the wrongs… that they created. How did these heroes become legends? Spoiler alert: anything up until 2017’s winter finales is fair game.

LEGENDS OF TOMORROW – Current Season: 3

The first season of LoT was not great. The core “Legends” were fine: White Canary, The Atom, Firestorm, Hawkgirl, (sometimes) Hawkman, Captain Cold, Heat Wave, and Rip Hunter. But that was problem #1 – too many characters. None of them were able to develop properly because there were just too many people on screen at once. Personally I could have done without Captain Cold and Hawkman, and maybe Atom, just because the other characters seemed so much more interesting (and Captain Cold, for me, ran his course on The Flash). I was very much looking forward to seeing Arthur Darvill take his turn behind the wheel of a time machine, after being on Doctor Who as lovable sidekick Rory. Although he’s still on the show in a diminished role, he is still very enjoyable as Rip.

The main antagonist for our Legends was Vandal Savage, a classic from the comics, and his quest to… honestly I don’t remember. They just kept saying he was immortal, which is not an ideal quality for a villain in a show’s first season… The backstory about Savage, Hawkman and Hawkgirl being reincarnated over and over fell flat, since there weren’t really consequences for them; they even killed off poor Hawkman, who was a capable  version of the character.

Predictably, the Legends stopped Vandal Savage, and lost a few people along the way. Captain Cold and Hawkgirl (along with a missing Rip Hunter) bounced off the team in season 2, and we welcomed Vixen and Steel. The Arrowverse created a Legion of Doom with Damien Darhk, Malcolm Merlyn, and Eobard Thawne fighting to find and use the Spear of Destiny to alter reality. This led to some fun along the way (the 80’s! Shogun! Jonah Hex! Camelot!), and Vixen and Steel quickly fit well into the team. The overall tone of the show changed during this season to be much more lighthearted (instead of all the death and destruction of season 1), and learned to play with time travel instead of just using it for gloom and doom.

With the Legion defeated and Rip found, the Legends inadvertently broke time, and are currently tasked with fixing their anachronisms while battling a newly resurrected Damien Darhk and a currently unknown enemy named Mallus (voiced by the great John Noble). Rip formed the Time Bureau, an FBI – for time – and has been popping up here and there, along with obviously-an-eventual-love-interest-for-Sara Agent Ava Sharpe. Along the way we met younger versions of the Legends and even an imp named Beebo who temporarily took over Christmas.

What usually doesn’t work with other shows does seem to work for LoT: a somewhat rotating cast. With Firestorm no longer a thing, thanks to Stein’s death, there are 2 vacancies on the WaveRider; I hope they’ll be filled with The Flash’s (underutilized) Wally West, and supernatural sleuth John Constantine. It definitely keeps things interesting when Legends can come and go at any time, and is a fun way to explore new team dynamics like Ray and Nate’s bromance or Amaya and Mick’s friendship.

What hasn’t really been working for me in season 3 is the seemingly disjointed villains/storylines. I’m hoping Darhk, Mallus, and Kuasa come together at some point – hopefully Mallus is pulling all the strings? But overall it’s been an interesting ride for the Legends, and I’m happy to stay aboard the WaveRider for some more jaunts through time, if only to see some more DC classic characters come to life.

MxM

TV

The State of the Arrowverse – The Flash

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It seems like we’ve heard “Run, Barry, run” a lot over the past few years on The Flash. The first Arrow spin-off officially created the shared universe, and has brought laughter, tears, time travel, and murderous apes (and sharks!) to our screens. How have Barry Allen and company fared? Spoiler alert: anything up until 2017’s winter finales is fair game. Let’s explore!

THE FLASH – Current Season: 4

What I’ve always loved about The Flash is its humor. While Arrow was always dark and brooding with some comedy sprinkled in, The Flash was far lighter and more fun in tone and content. Rightfully so: the Flash of the books and cartoons was typically used for comic relief. The first and second seasons of The Flash artfully combined comic book elements with humor, while not only crafting one world, but a whole multi-verse to boot.

Season 1’s reveal that the Harrison Wells who had been Barry’s biggest champion, was in fact Eobard Thawne/Reverse Flash, was just brilliant. It was one of those twists that made you want to go back and re-watch every episode to see if there were clues you may have missed. The introduction of iconic characters like Captain Cold, Trickster, Firestorm, and Gorilla Grodd to name a few, was so much fun – only made better by the terrific core cast of Grant Gustin, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes, Jesse L. Martin and Candice Patton.

*Special shout-outs to John Wesley Shipp, Amanda Pays, and the Mark Hamill (Pays and Hamill reprising their roles from 1990’s underrated The Flash show on CBS).

I also enjoyed season 2, constantly guessing at the identities of Zoom, and “the man in the iron mask.” Those reveals were good, though not on the same level as Wells-Is-Thawne; Zoom was a decent villain, and it was this season that introduced us to the multi-verse, allowing for evil versions of Caitlin, Cisco, and even Arrow’s Laurel Lance. But there were a few missteps, here: Barry and Patty never had real chemistry, that backdoor Legends of Tomorrow pilot, and the season kinda ending with a thud, since Zoom just wanted to… race? But the standout developments were the introductions of Jay Garrick, Wally West, Jesse Quick and Wells 2.0. The season was capped off with a jaw dropping tag in which Barry saved his mother from being killed by Thawne, thereby creating Flashpoint. You’d expect the next season to be the ‘Flashpoint fallout season’, right? Well…

Season 3 spends exactly 1 episode fixing Flashpoint, and while there were certainly lasting effects, (CSI coworker, Julian! John Diggle’s son! Killer Frost/Vibe! Pied Piper [remember him?] being a friend!) I wish they would have lived in Flashpoint a bit longer. The rest of the season got dark and broody, since Alchemy was running around transforming people into metas, trapping Wally in a… cocoon (?) and being all scary voiced, thanks to Saw villain extraordinaire, Tobin Bell. The reveal that Alchemy was Julian was pretty anti-climactic, since he was pretty much the only new character/only one it could have been; also dividing up the season into Alchemy-Is-The-Villain then No-Really-Savitar-Is-The-Villain ultimately just slowed down the story.

The story continued to be a bummer, since it revolved around Savitar killing Iris. By the time Savitar’s identity was revealed, I was pretty bored with the story, and having it be a ‘time remnant’ of Barry’s was also pretty weak. Here I’ll note that Savitar was a character from the comics, but the show didn’t use the source material at all – only the name. So, what’s left to say but ultimately they defeat him by sacrificing one of the Wells (Wellses?) pretending to be Iris. Then Barry just abandons everyone by going into the speed force. Yay?

There were a few great things in this season: meeting Caitlin’s mom and Caitlin finally becoming Killer Frost, the introduction of Gypsy, and Anne Dudek as Tracy Brand. I also enjoyed the cutesy “Duet” episode/Supergirl crossover/mini Glee reunion of Gustin with Darrin Criss and Melissa Benoist. In that episode, there were are a lot of people who have some serious singing talent: John Barrowman, Jesse L. Martin, Victor Garber, and Jeremy Jordan.

Currently in season 4, The Flash has seemed to err on the side of comedy and bring the series back to its roots. Barry’s malfunctioning new suit and the unwitting metas created by Barry’s return from speed force jail have been great to watch. The villain is, thankfully, not a speedster, but a genius named Clifford DeVoe/The Thinker (nicely foreshadowed in season 3) who seems to always be a step ahead. Though the show retconned DeVoe back to include him in season 1, he is an interesting and compelling villain, along with his wife, Marlize DeVoe/The Mechanic.

Though I think too much time has been given to Ralph Dibny, (destined to be Elongated Man) at the expense of Kid Flash. Wally just disappears for a while and honestly, who noticed? Move that guy over to Legends of Tomorrow! Ralph’s sleaziness also doesn’t fit the show; dragging Barry, Joe and Cisco to a strip club, and Joe seeing Cecille’s daughter on stage… what was that about?! If they toned Ralph down by 20% and gave him a purpose, I think he’d be fun to see once in a while.

Someone who I love seeing on my TV screen is Katee Sackhoff, who looks like she’s having a blast playing Amunet Black (though why is the American Sackhoff playing British Amunet?) and I hear she’ll be back later in the season.

The Flash has become my favorite of the Arrowverse shows, and after a depressing third season, it’s rebounding in season 4. Despite the hijacking of Barry and Iris’ wedding by a certain other couple, this season has been enjoyable because of the humor that’s been injected back into the show, and the willingness to explore another type of villain. The latest twist, in which The Thinker has framed Barry for his murder, was jaw dropping, and for the first time, Barry hasn’t run out on a terrible situation.

MxM