jmonique

I'm going to be That Gal and say I expected this from the Kaylon ever since we heard about how they assume they're better than us fleshbags. So the turn wasn't a big surprise to me. But I still found it impressive how The Orville delivered on it! A little boy discovering hundreds of THOUSANDS of skeletons underground? Now that's just creepy. However, I found it weird how the crew knew stuff was getttin' real nasty and knew hundreds of thousands of bones were underground, but they weren't prepared at all to enact any real countermeasures against the hijacking?

Every kid on the show is like that to me. I take it as some sort of conceit of the show; the heightened reality of the Single Parents universe in which they steer into the "overly wise/mature/flamboyant" cliches of child actors. None of these kids act like actual kids. (Or maybe that's just a thing I had to tell myself in order to get past that and try to enjoy the show because there's nothing else on for me at that time slot on Wednesdays.)

True, but she was still taking it out on the world an hour later as she lazily strolled to the concert. She wasn't responding in the heat of the moment, she had checked out like she did when she was tearing through nannies at 4, and Hargreeves went to his backup plan and locked her powers down (which I'm not justifying; once she became 10 or 12 he should have sat her down and worked out an actual program with her once she could reason, but of course he couldn't be assed to bother).

The whole Jay and Cam storyline was a classic case of sitcom writers going to extraordinary lengths to come up with a plotline. Like two grown men wouldn't just be like: "Hey, Cam, you still coming over so we can make chili? I'll leave a key under the mat so you don't wake up Gloria and Joe." "I'll be there with bells on!" No, instead they go out of their ways to NOT mention it, just to give these men something to do.

Yeah, Umbrella Academy is following that trend set by Gotham and then Riverdale and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, with the retro "what if the Internet had never been invented" type of alternate timeline setting. The scene with Vanya typing made me smile about how charming typewriters seem, but how glad I am computers don't need White Out. I get that, and if she'd left it at blowing up the scene of her imprisonment, I'd have understood. But she just completely checked out and went full White Violin, even flipping some rando's car over and getting ready to blow up all of civilization. It's one thing to exact revenge on your family; taking out the world is a sign of deep problems. Luther is just a terrible, terrible leader. He needs to own it and step back from the whole "#1" thing, but I get then we would have one less conflict on the show.

I feel like I'm hitting the same notes whenever this story is focused on, but: Am I supposed to think these two are ready for parenthood after watching Dylan flounce out of the baby shower and Hayley spend the entire time pouting over her clothes and the effects this pregnancy is having on her body? Also, they're working way too hard to try to make me think Dylan = Phil. Phil's naive, but he's not stupid.

According to this modeling site, he's 29, but if he isn't actually 33, I'd be stunned.

We could have also spent more time with Ben and Five than we did with Hazel and Agnes. For sure. I enjoyed the series but I was bothered by the indiscriminate killings throughout. 13-year-old Ben was instructed to just unleash The Horror on those bank robbers -- no trial, no jury of their peers, just being ripped apart by tentacles sprung forth by a tween? Same with the tow-truck driver murdered by Cha-Cha and Hazel, or the attempted murder of Agnes. Those just felt gratuitous. (Screw Harold Leonard, though. He got what he deserved.)

So Hargreeves goes scurrying around the world, picking up as many of the miracle births as possible like a suburban mom racing through Target on Black Friday, then goes about raising them all to be heroes who'll stop the end of the world... which comes about, ultimately because he was a distant, demanding jackass who emotionally abused his purchases, and never got around to trying to deal with or being honest with the atom bomb known as Number 7. And yet, I was all in. Even though Vanya was obviously a psychopath, given how little response she had to tearing through nannies at 4, or slaughtering Leonard. The Phoenix Has Risen thing where Vanya checked out and went full The White Violin was completely disturbing and infuriating: Yeah, sure, your childhood sucks, who didn't? But the joy of having seven characters throughout the series meant that when I was annoyed with one, the others were there to carry things for me. Klaus discovering how fully he could channel Ben, Diego and Luther working together like brothers, and Allison trying so hard to save her broken, seemingly forever lost sister had me all in. The "everybody lived happily ever after" in me wants to think they'll all blink back to 2002 with all the knowledge of how things could go and be able to avoid things like Luther going ape, Klaus going junkie and Ben going, well, dead, but I'd hope they'd keep Aidan Gallagher around as Number Five, because his premature old man schtick with that face that's at once 15 and 50 is amazing.

Justin H. Min (Ben) posted to his Instagram about the secrecy he's been living under regarding being cast:

I was incredibly impressed with Aidan Gallagher (Five) throughout the series. So much hinges around him, and at 15 years old, he just seemed to nail the role of a 58-year-old in the body of a 13-year-old. Here's an interview with him.

Binged the whole thing and thoroughly enjoyed it. As it looks like others are still making their way through, I will say I enjoyed the world building and thought this is a fine addition to Netflix's superhero arsenal given the Disney+-motivated departures of the Marvel series and movies. I also liked that it wasn't 85% in darkness and just dreary, unlike the Marvel series, but that could just be me! Will return with more thoughts once others have made their way through the series...

I binged this show recently, and once I realized the schtick is that the kids are basically 50-year-olds in 7-year-olds' bodies, I felt like I kind of got it. All three storylines last night were kind of trying, though.

Air date: February 13, 2019 Really ready for the Oedipal undertones of the Adam and Beverly relationship to be buried for good someday.

The beauty of Griffin Dunne's performance is that he's capturing not just what it's like to be a war veteran/hermit with PTSD, but I also 110% can buy him as the older version of Michael Angarano's character. I read that Dunne and Angarano played father and son in a movie a while ago, so it isn't without precedent, but you can totally see the younger man from the Vietnam scenes in Dunne's character. At the same time, you can read the conflict in Nicky's face: He's spent years alone, hating himself for what he did and probably not deeming himself worthy of family, and suddenly here are four Pearsons, loud and in technicolor. But 50 years of pain and sorrow and alcoholism and trauma can't be fixed in a weekend. As for the look on Rebecca's face upon seeing him, yeah, that was an absolute misstep on the part of Mandy and/or the writers, IMO. The looks she was throwing him were the looks Nicky would have deserved if HE had shown up, barged into their house and dragged them all off to stay at a hotel. Not the other way around. SUPERFICIAL NOTE: They need to stop filming Kid Kate right next to Milo for a while, given she's half a foot taller than Teenager Kate, as well as Kid Kevin and Kid Randall.

Randall flew out to see and make up with Kate for the insemination, then flew back on a dime to be there for a woman he had met once. But he couldn't spare any more time for his father's brother. As for the rest, I continue my pitch for Kate to move home because her standing there laughing with Randall (before he made it weird) was the first time I can remember adult Kate being allowed to feel and convey real joy in some time. As for Nicky, good for HIM for being one of the few people to tell Pearsons to slow their damn roll.

I didn't sign up for the "Nora West-Allen Acts Like a 16-Year-Old" show.

I agree with this article that Season 3 was actually sort of an arc for Alex: "Watch Netflix’s One Day at a Time. Please." Regarding the scene where he comes across a wasted Schneider in the laundry room: I've been in Alex's place, on the receiving end of an angry addict trying to convince me and themselves that it's really "not that bad." Todd Grinnell and Marcel Ruiz really each nailed their respective parts in the confrontation. There's only so much they dive into about addiction during a 13-episode season, but I felt like they did a good job of building up to the inevitable relapse and showing Schneider trying to start anew. I wish they would have laid off of the reunion with Avery, given his return to sobriety, but again, I'll handwave some things given it's a Netflix comedy. The show needed more Danny Pino. But, then again, I think TV in general needs more Danny Pino.

I binged S3, and it's flawless, IMO. Every note is hit just right; it's funny, yet real. And I love all the guest stars. Co-creator Gloria Calderon Kellett as Nicole was perfect.

Has the show's budget been reduced or something? It's like they can't afford to use everyone now. In other news, at first I was like: "How'd Ralph become such a bad ass?" Then I remembered, he was a cop. Of course he knew how to fight and shoot. Kind of wish they would have reminded us of that. But it was nice to see him demonstrate how he became a detective. As for Nora and Sherloque, I just can't, y'all. I just can't.

Everyone on that bridge took being in the rain way more in stride than anyone I've ever worked with would if I up and unleashed rain on them! I looked it up to confirm, and yep, that was Mark Jackson. Honestly, I don't know if anyone else in this cast other than Penny Johnson could have made this storyline not just work, but be so heartwarming.

Andy Daly - he also recently guest starred as "Dave," Eleanor's mother's boyfriend on The Good Place.

Yeah, no, me being over the writers repeatedly going to the mindswipe well doesn't mean I don't get it. I, and I'm guessing others, fully see how they led Chidi to this point where he and Eleanor have to make this huge sacrifice. That doesn't make the "well, let's just take the character's memories" routine any less overused on the show or this any less manufactured. The Chidi who woke up in the waiting room and was greeted by Eleanor is the Chidi who was constantly paralyzed by indecision; we've lost the Chidi who saved Eleanor by imploring her to hold onto her memories of who she was; the Chidi who boldy told her that he loved her and then not only planned a date with her in the way station but also cosplayed as a mailman to fulfill Eleanor's kink; and the Chidi who finally knew happiness in a couple. Instead, it's Chidi #804, and I'm tired of getting emotionally attached to these characters every season, only to have them and their interactions reset by reboots. Jason and Tahani don't remember falling in love and the growth they gained by trying to make a relationship work. Eleanor and Tahani don't remember becoming BFFs despite hating one another, and the growth they gained by being there for one another. I found the mindwipe in the season one finale clever, and thought the second episode of season two that was nothing but mindwipes just brilliant. I'll still watch season four, and I get that pulling one of the original four out of the group dynamic will make for interesting storyline possibilities next season, especially considering he'll think Eleanor is an architect, not Arizona trash. But they need to commit to these characters and allow these relationships to grow and continue, because watching them have to find and rebuild and regain these relationships is getting repetitive to me. ALL THAT BEING SAID: The Chidi & Eleanor movie was not just beautiful, but the music that played over it was a feast of artistry. The music team needs a raise for that score alone. It took the montage from lovely into the Rom-Com Hall of Fame.