tkc

That was so silly… I loved it!

If that were really true, that'd bring into question the whole reason for forums like this one to exist. 😜

I read Mark Consuelos, but I thought of Mark Dacascos:

Carol frickin’ Danvers! Muneeba will be scandalized to see Carol coming down the stairs in that suit… ”Come on, what is it that you are wearing, beta? Let’s get you something more comfortable, and then we can feed you a little something.”

Actually, it reminded me of Chris Pine's Kirk goading Spock into starting a fight in Star Trek (2009):

On a rewatch, I think the episode might have worked better if it had ended with the pull-away shot of Karachi, and then used the Circle Q scene as a mid-credits scene…

Totally the opposite of going back in time to murder your grandfather... ...The Grandmother Unparadox! I came to this show not knowing very much at all about the material, but I have been *so* pleasantly surprised! instead of dwelling on a teenage love triangle (quadrangle?), they've told a story about friendship instead of having the clichéd clueless or overly protective parents, Kamala has two parents who genuinely love her and are trying to do right by her instead of telling a story set in America with fish-out-of-water immigrants, we get a story anchored in a history of a South Asian culture ...and we get a lovely inter-generational moment between Kamala, Muneeba, and Sana (bonus marks for the clever Marvel Studios intro) I guess what I was seeking was seeking me! There may be criticisms about pacing (the episode seemed to be drawing to a sudden series climax with The Veil appearing) or characterization (Najma and her colleagues were drawn somewhat two-dimensionally), but I'm glad to overlook any shortcomings in favour of the things I feel the show is doing well!

Is Kamala going to be the one who creates the trail of stars to allow her grandmother to get on the train? If so, will this become known as the Grandmother Unparadox?

The show continues to impress me, with Iman’s fun and charming portrayal of Kamala, and with a non-exoticized presentation of a culture that gets little attention in North American pop culture. As for this episode, I really liked the chase scene — well orchestrated! Hopefully Phil Keoghan was paying attention to some of the things you can do in an auto rickshaw…

I don’t think Ed is the father.

Could be room for an interesting game here: which dramatic trope will The Orville employ (while seeming to subvert) to bring the Charly/Isaac conflict to a head? How about: Charly refuses to sacrifice herself for Isaac? (Apologies: starting to veer off the episode discussion.)

Bruce Boxleitner! Now if Mira Furlan (RIP) were still alive, she could have put Teleya in her place. (It’s funny that BB headlined a show — Babylon 5 — that was filled with actors unrecognizable under their prosthetics, and now here he is with us going, “Was that really Bruce Boxleitner?!”) This episode may have been better than some of the earlier ones this season, but the show still has a ways to go, to my mind. I don’t like to say negative things about shows generally (yes, I know, so why am I here? 😄), but I must say that This show has really morphed from its “sci-fi drama cake with comedy frosting” beginnings. Personally, I feel that if they are going emphasize the drama side more, they should really improve their baking skills. It’s great that they’re doing an homage to Star Trek with this show, but in the ‘80s, Gene Roddenberry picked a renowned Shakespearean actor in Patrick Stewart to play the lead. Here…

Anyone else get Jurassic Park vibes during the hide-and-seek scene in the kitchen? Too bad Kamala couldn’t figure out a way to lock one of the djinn in the walk-in freezer!

Among the host of thoughts running through my head after watching this episode is just how formidable a task the showrunners set themselves in producing this show. Just a few challenges they had to contend with: Writing a true "sandwich" story, having to accommodate pre-existing backstory and follow-up, while bridging the narrative gap. Finding a way to deepen the story of two of the most iconic Star Wars characters and their relationship. Including the background of the canon animated stories, without alienating viewers who were familiar only with the live-action films. Finding a child actor who would be up to the task of playing the younger version of a beloved character. It could have gone wrong in so many ways for Deborah Chow and her team, but they pulled it off -- telling a new character-driven story that fit new, small, detail pieces into the jigsaw puzzle that is the Skywalker Saga, while leaving the bigger pieces in place. There'll be lots of time for nit-picking later, but for now: Well done!

I never knew that I needed to see the Umbrella Academy involved in a dance-off set to Footloose… thank you, show! Welcome back, Umbrellas!

By the way, wasn't it adorable (or "adorbs", as her counsellor "Gabe" might say) how Kamala hit the superhero pose after she landed?

I really like that they're telling a personal story about a somewhat awkward teen trying to find her place in two cultures, rather than yet another end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it story... although the series is still young. Iman Vellani is so charming in the role! I know nothing of the Ms. Marvel comics, and I'm enjoying the ride so far. Do Bruno and Kamala get a ship name?

I don’t know they did it, but despite what we’ve seen in Reva to date, I felt sadness when she fell to Vader… …but did she? What of — Owen — the boy — ? Also, as much as I’ve mocked Hayden Christensen’s portrayal of Anakin over the years, it was great to see him again. Too bad Obi-Wan’s training seemed to consist mostly of saying “you’re really lacking, you’ll be better when you fix that.” RIP Tala Durith.

Since Vader handed out some payback in this episode, could Episode 3 have been called Revenge of the Sith? …and I wonder if using the Star Wars film names for this series’ episodes could work in general? Hmmm…

Star Trek trivia question: Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy, and Lt. d’Amato all beam down to the planet together. Which character does not make it back?

Okay, so at Avengercon there is a brief picture of some Ant-Man merch, that has the red rectangle Marvel logo above the “Ant-Man” branding… …so what is “Marvel” in the MCU? Hmmm…

Somewhat of a filler episode, but even though we know the eventual fates of Obi-Wan and Leia, it was still intense. All the callbacks — Leia’s reluctant “submission” to questioning, the interrogation table, the flight from danger only to be used to track the main base. Loved Obi-Wan starting to get his mojo back, and his patented lightsaber flourish! Tala is not to be underestimated.

Just found out that an AI program called Respeecher was used to reproduce James Earl Jones’ voice from older productions. JEJ gets a credit, but so too does Respeecher. https://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/ent/star-wars-respeecher.html