TV shows are awesome

[JediTricks]

Night Court 2023 - lame, shallow, toothless, and the sole good thing is John Larroquette who is flawless as ever, there's a reason he won 4 emmys for that character. So I showed my gal...

Night Court 1984 - she laughed within 10 seconds and it's been consistent since.

My mom's favorite genre is murder mysteries, so this show is right up her alley. I've never seen much of it, but isn't William Windom in it fairly regularly? He's just turned up in Gunsmoke as an abusive husband who married his wife because her father has money and resents that he won't share it with them. I've seen all sorts of familiar faces turn up in the episodes I've watched so far: Leonard Nimoy, Frank Sutton, Joanne Linville, Buddy Ebsen, Glenn Strange, Paul Carr, and other familiar faces. I guess when you watch enough 50s and 60s television, a lot of these actors were making the rounds on various shows at the time.

William Windom shows up once in season 1, then is a repeating regular as a different character from season 2 through to the end. I always think of him as Commodore Decker from Star Trek: TOS - The Doomsday Machine, a role that he revisited on Star Trek Phase II, the fan series!

It's funny how TV would share those actors around, and Murder She Wrote hires a lot of them as well, apparently Angela Lansbury wanted to make sure older actors kept their union cards so they wouldn't lose their benefits.

[andersonh1]

It's funny how TV would share those actors around, and Murder She Wrote hires a lot of them as well, apparently Angela Lansbury wanted to make sure older actors kept their union cards so they wouldn't lose their benefits.

Good for her. That's a classy thing to do. And I always think of Windom as Commodore Decker too.

[andersonh1]

So I did buy the complete Gunsmoke on DVD and have been binge-watching it, something I never do with a tv series. Ordinarily I like to take my time and make something last a while, but with this show I've almost finished five seasons in two months. These early seasons are made up of half hour episodes, which the more I watch, the more I think is a great length for drama. The plots can't afford much padding, they get in and keep right on moving to the conclusion. There are 39 episodes per season, but it's easy to sit down and watch two or three at one sitting since they're half an hour. Almost of all of them are remakes of radio episodes, and since I've heard most of those, I already know how the plots are going to play out, though the tv episodes are softened up a bit more often than not. There is a constant parade of familiar tv and movie actors who appeared on this show. Almost every episode has a "he/she looks familiar" moment in it, adding to the enjoyment. I can see why this show did so well and ran so long, it's a quality dramatic series. I'm almost sorry I had never gotten around to watching it before now, but at least I'm able to watch it all in order since it's out on DVD instead of having to rely on streaming or tv land reruns.

[Sparky Prime]

Secret Invasion

With only two episodes left of a 6 episode run, I figured I'd post some comments about this series. I don't get what they're trying to do with this show...

Spoiler

This series focus is mainly on Fury, and the broken man he's become after everything. At least... that's what some of the characters claim. I wouldn't say this series does a good job of actually depicting that though. They claim he wasn't the same after returning from the blip, and that he'd been hiding himself away on the SABER space station. But we don't actually see any of that. Returning to Earth, he's no longer wearing the eye patch and is a bit unkept, but otherwise... I just don't buy what this series is trying to say about Fury when it doesn't actually show us anything like that. They introduce that he has a wife, who is actually a Skrull. But they show doesn't really do much of anything with that either. I'm not even sure why they bothered to introduce it as a plot point if they were going to move past it like they did.

The threat... A group of the Skrull refugees living on Earth have broken away, unhappy that Fury never found them a new planet to call home. So they've decided to take Earth as their new home. They've been taking the places of humans all over the planet, and have developed a machine to turn them into Super Skrulls. Thus far, we've only seen them display Groot (vine arm) and Extremis (healing) abilities. It's a decent enough premise for this series, but again, it just doesn't feel like they're showing us enough. It's been a slow burn, which I think is a mistake when they've only got 6 episodes with so much of that time devoted to Fury.

Much like the comic book Secret Invasion, thus far it's feeling very underwhelming.

[Sparky Prime]

Secret Invasion - part 2

Well that was... a whole lot of nothing.

Spoiler

Fury returns to form... or whatever, deciding to give Gravik, the leader of the rebel Skrulls, what he wants. Fury also finally ditches the disheveled look getting his eye-patch and trench coat back. He faces off against Gravik, as the radiation starts killing him. With the Harvest, which contains all the Avengers and their allies DNA, Gravik becomes an incredibly powerful Super Skrull. But Fury turns out to be G'iah in disguise. They have a Super Skrull fight, and Gravik is killed. Not sure a hole in the chest would kill him, with all the powers he has now. But it does. For some reason. All the human captives get released. Everett Ross asks how long Rhodey has been captured for... which we don't get an answer for. She ends up getting recruited by Sonya Falsworth. Meanwhile, the real Fury has gone to protect the President from the Rhodey Skrull, who is killed. As a result, the President gives a speech condemning all extraterrestrials on Earth.

Fury is not happy about the President's speech, given it has lead to many Skrulls, and humans, being killed. But he doesn't do anything about it. Varra/Priscilla Davis arrives as Fury returns to the SABER space station. He tells her they're in the process of peace talks between the Skrull and the Kree and asks she goes with him. Despite telling him her work on Earth is important, now more than ever, she ends up going with him.

I honestly have no idea what they were trying to do with this series. The story was a mess. The characters motivations aren't really justified or shown to us in any meaningful way. Much like the comic this series got its name from, the 'secret invasion' part of the story wasn't really even a thing. Overall it was disappointing.

[andersonh1]

I haven't watched Secret Invasion yet, but the consensus seems to be that it's just not good. I hate to hear that, I like Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, but it seems like Marvel has lost whatever made their writing work for so long in phases 1-3, and a lot of what they've put out in the last few years doesn't quite work.


I'm still watching Gunsmoke, which is the very definition of "tv shows are awesome". I bought the box set of the series in January, and have been watching fairly steadily ever since. Seven months later, I'm eight episodes into the 10th season, with ten more to go, and nearly every episode is well-written and engaging. The show is the opposite very often of what we might expect today, with characters and storylines not always going well, with the result being that it's often hard to predict where an episode will go. I find that refreshing in a day when so many plots feel formulaic and well-worn. Gunsmoke isn't afraid to do cruel things to characters, and it's one of the least sentimental shows I've ever seen. There's an episode I recently watched for example, where an innocent old man is framed for a murder. He's convicted in the court and sentenced to hang. The audience knows he didn't do it, because they show the genuine killer commit the crime and then set up the old man. We might expect some last minute save, but no... the old man hangs for a crime he didn't commit. The real killer is caught, but only because he's drunk and running his mouth and happens to mention a fact about the killing that he shouldn't know. It's a cruel world full of cruel people, which only makes the regulars stand out as decent, if flawed people. It's one of the best shows I've ever seen, and I understand why it lasted twenty years. I'm still in the black and white era, it doesn't go to color until season 12.

[andersonh1]

The first episode of the Frasier revival was free for a day or two, so I decided to watch it. I had never seen an episode of the original series, and I never liked Cheers, where the character originated, which is a big reason why I skipped the original Frasier. But I genuinely enjoyed the new episode, and thought it was funny with some drama where it needed it. And since the first season of the original show is apparently free on YouTube right now, I watched the first six episodes of that over the weekend. I've been missing out, it's a really fun show. I love the two pompous brothers contrasted with their down to earth father, and the dog is hilarious. I'll definitely be watching more.

[Sparky Prime]

I never liked Cheers either. I remember my parents watching it when I was little (they enjoyed it), but even as an adult, I just can't get into it. Frasier, I'd watch on occasion when I was a kid. As I remember, the local channel that aired DS9 would run reruns of Frasier just before it, so I'd often catch at least part of an episode waiting for Star Trek to come on. Some of it went over my head, but somehow I still enjoyed it. We've been watching the new series, as well as the old. I think the old series still holds up, and we've been enjoying the new series, although I miss all the characters.

[andersonh1]

I watched the first of three David Tennant/RTD Doctor Who episodes made for the 60th anniversary of the show. Bringing both back was clearly a desperation move by the BBC to try and get the audience back after it's been shrinking for years. I thought "The Star Beast", while it had good and bad points, was a fairly typical Tennant episode. It was nice to have the Doctor and Donna together again and revisit some old storylines, but the episode was ridiculously preachy, down to mocking the Doctor for being a man and asking the alien what its pronouns were. I quit watching this when Peter Capaldi left back in 2017, and while I'm willing to give the other two Tennant episodes a chance, I won't be coming back as a regular viewer. I don't care to be preached at in such a ham-handed way. Messages in sci-fi are fine, Star Trek's been doing that since the 1960s, but writers used to treat the audience like they were intelligent instead of stopping the plot every five minutes for a lecture.

[Sparky Prime]

Season 2 of What If...?

Spoiler

Nebula Joined the Nova Corps?
Straight forward story with Nebula investigating Yondu's murder on Xandar. She'd joined the Nova Corps after Rowan successfully took down Thanos, before turning his sights on Xandar. Turns out Yon-Rogg and Nova Prime were behind the murder, because they're seeking a way to take the planet out of a lockdown which is protecting it from Rowan.

Peter Quill Attacked Earth's Mightiest Heroes?
Sort of a what if the MCU had an Avengers team in the 80's... Agent Carter and Howard Stark recruit Bill Foster, King T'Chaka, Bucky, Wendy Lawson, and Hank Pym to take on a super powered Peter Quill after he rejects Ego. Thor also joins the team and along with Peter and Hope, they defeat Ego (or at least, a manifestation of him) when he comes to Earth looking for his son.

Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?
Christmas themed story with Happy, Maria Hill and Darcy Lewis defending Avengers Tower from Justin Hammer.

Iron Man Crashed into the Grandmaster?
This is an episode that had been planned for season 1, which explains where the Gamora that The Watcher recruited came from... This story revolves around Tony Stark who ends up on Sakaar, when the portal back to Earth closed before he fell through it at the end of the first Avengers film. He ends up getting help from Valkyrie, Korg, and Gamora to overthrow the Grandmaster.

Captain Carter Fought the Hydra Stomper?
Follow up with Captain Carter from season 1 who got the super soldier serum instead of Steve Rodgers. This is sort of her version of The Winter Soldier, which is also mixed with the Black Widow movie. Steve, still in the Hydra Stomper armor (which is somehow keeping him alive after all these years) was brainwashed by the Red Room under the control of Melina Vostokoff. After Steve sacrifices himself to destroy the Red Room and save Carter and Natasha, Cater is transported to the 1602 universe by Wanda.

Kahhori Reshaped the World?
This story introduces a completely new original character which is pretty interesting. Ragnarok occurs earlier in this universe, resulting in the Tesseract crashing into North America in the late 15th century. After several tribespeople disappear, the lake the Tesseract resides in is declared forbidden. When Spanish Conquistadors arrive looking for the Fountain of Youth, Kahhori ends up transported to the world all the other tribespeople were sent to, where they all received super powers. Some Conquistadors end up in this world, and Kahhori convinces them they have to go back to defend their people. Eventually, they head to Spain to force the Queen to make peace. Supreme Strange then arrives looking for Kahhori.

Hela Found the Ten Rings?
The title of this episode felt a little misleading. Essentially this is what if Odin did to Hela what he did to Thor. Hela ends up in medieval China where she meets Xu Wenwu. After failing to steal the rings from him, she ends up in Ta Lo and learns their ways, and realizes she wants freedom from the weapon Odin made her out to be as the Goddess of Death. Odin arrives on Earth, concerned when Heimdall reports he lost sight of Hela. Teaming up with Wenwu, Hela becomes worthy of her powers again and defeats Odin. Together, Hela and Wenwu form an army to spread freedom from oppressors across the universe.

the Avengers Assembled in 1602?
Somewhat of a take on the 1602 comic book series... Carter is charged to find and stop whatever is causing rifts to open in their world, which threatens to destroy their universe. Carter has figured out someone doesn't belong in this world, which is causing two universes to collide in an incursion that will destroy them both. Eventually they find out the cause is Steve Rodgers, who was accidently transported to the past when he hit the Time Stone during his battle with Thanos. Steve is returned to where he belongs, which also resets the universe, resulting in 1602 not having any super heroes, save for Carter. Supreme Strange arrives asking for her help in exchange for returning her to her reality.

Strange Supreme Intervened?
Supreme Strange has been busy since the end of the first season it turns out. Like they did with Killmonger and Ultron, he's been capturing universe ending villains from across the multiverse in crystal prisons, and asks Carter to help him apprehending one. This turns out to be Kahhori, who explains to Carter Supreme Strange lied to her, and that he's been capturing strong willed heroes as well. His plan is to use them to feed a forge that will rebirth his own universe. Teaming up, they battle Supreme Strange, and send all the captives home. Strange ends up falling into his own forge, sacrificing himself. The act rebirths his universe, but as a result of his sacrifice, he will never be born within it. The Watcher comes to take Carter home, but she asks to take the "scenic route".

I liked this season more than the first. The first season was a little too heavy on alternate takes of the MCU films. And while there was still a bit of that this season, they got more creative with the concept and even branched out into their own original ideas. I never expected them to create a brand new character in this series. And I have to say, I really liked Kahhori. I wish we got to see more of her universe, because there is a lot of interesting things they could do with that storyline. Maybe for season 3? We already know they're getting one, they released a clip for an episode that was meant to be in this season that got pushed to season 3 for whatever reason.

Spoiler

One thing I wish they'd done better was tying together the ending. In the first season, the Watcher had a reason why he chose the specific people from the realities he'd witnessed. This season... there isn't really any given reason for Captain Carter to hop realities. Like, why did Scarlet Witch think Captain Carter was the best choice to save their universe? Wanda barely appears in the episode and never gives an explanation. Same thing for Supreme Strange wanting Carter's help to capture Kahhori. He says she'd see him coming, and that Carter's an "unknown", but that didn't seem to matter when Carter actually faced Kahhori. Seemed like Strange could have picked anyone. Or was Carter convenient because she was already outside of her reality?

They also play it loose with some of the established MCU rules... Like at one point, Captain Carter grabs all the Infinity Stones in her bare hand and suffers no ill effects. Or Hank Pym shrinks Peter Quill without a protective suit. Arguably, Quill's powers may protect him, but he shouldn't even have powers on Earth given Ego said in GotG2 he'd only have those abilities while on Ego. Interestingly, later on in that episode, Quill makes the powers permanent by absorbing the seed Ego planted on Earth.