MagnusHex

True, but my point wasn't that they didn't use Dracula specifically, but that it wasn't a creature as demonic-looking or as epic in scale as him. The Alpha Vamp's just some guy with bad teeth.

Now that I understand they're doing Alpha versions of classic monsters, it's almost a disappointment in hindsight that the Alpha Vamp wasn't Dracula, Nosferatu or at least someone as cool as them. That's one of the problems I always had with low-budget shows like this, they pull their punches and make their monsters look too much like humans instead of something actually monstrous and inhuman. It's boring. Remember Coppola's Dracula from '92 starring Gary Oldman? Now THAT looks like stuff out of nightmares. I get that it's an unfair comparison since it's a big budget movie by a big name director (though Coppola's days from being The Godfather guy was kinda left behind by then since he had a string of mediocre works), but I'm just saying. You're gonna present the "Alpha", or the first of all monsters, which should be a pretty badass concept on paper, I was just expecting something with a little more kick and less mundane. That does beg the question, however: who would win in a fight? The Winchesters or Dracula? Buffy already kicked Drac's ass once, though to be fair, I guess she has superhuman strength (and maybe agility?). Moving on to the episode at hand. This time, we've got a werewolf knockoff skinwalker who's this cute little German Shepherd. For what it's worth, Shepherds scare me a lot, as do many big dogs that bark, so good job I guess. All things aside, I don't really mind skinwalkers over werewolves in hindsight because 1) it's based on actual Navajo folklore where evil witches could turn themselves into animals, 2) it feels more realistic turning into a regular animal than some fantasy monster, 3) Supernatural's werewolves were never really that terrifying-looking or monstrous-looking anyway IIRC (except maybe the anime version). I accidentally spoiled myself learning about "pureblood" werewolves, but I'm not holding my breath. Plus, Dean was right: you never really know how many of those dogs prowling in the day are skinwalkers just waiting for the signal, making it far more disturbing than your typical werewolves prowling in the night. And that's why I'm a cat person. I kinda like this episode's Subplot of the Week tbh, which isn't usually common for me when it comes to MotW episodes. Obviously, Lucky's a murderous psycho (as Mandy put it, maybe not in those exact words) who killed Mandy's husband and their landlord, but the whole concept of man's best friend being a lethal protector, whether their actions are justified or not, is often an intriguing exploration of the relationship between dogs and humans (for another example, also see the 1993 movie, Man's Best Friend, starring Lance Henriksen, which also featured a dog who would kill anyone to defend the protagonist). Then again, Lucky isn't really a dog, but some hobo who got way too aggressive in protecting his supposed family (not to mention what Daisy said, Lucky did feel skeevy in human form, but possibly also in dog form as well since he followed her into shower). Good concept; execution leaves one yearning. Also, I second Ditty's notion about Soulless Sam being more entertaining. I think it's the same way with many protagonists when their "dark side" is unleashed and you get to see them cut loose without any moral restraints (see Angelus in Angel and how he's often more popular). Sam has indeed become a better hunter, of course, but with a very steep price of lacking that humanity to not sacrifice innocents for the greater good. Without Dean around, he would have killed Mandy if it meant stopping the pack. And truth be told, much as it is interesting to see where Soulless Sam would go in terms of pushing moral boundaries, I never really minded Mopey Sam as much as other people, probably because I don't mind mopey characters that much (probably because I've always been somewhat of a mopey whiner myself full of angst and was able to relate to Sam's daddy issues during season 1). I mean, I have my limits in tolerance for mopeyness in a character (I legitimately wanted to murder Ben in Telltale's Walking Dead game, even as I saw my pathetic self in him), but Sam hadn't really crossed that line for me yet. Reading these comments, I feel bad we've come to this point where Sam is just an annoyance every episode. Sure, that might have started as early as bloodlust Sam in season 4, but there's always a chemistry between Jensen and Jared that made the brotherly bond work. I don't like to hate-watch a show, so I try to give these negative elements of a show an open mind for as long as I could tolerate it, and I just enjoy seeing the brothers working together so much that I wouldn't really want to see seasons-long drama where they just fight with each other all the time. Just stick with the fun campy stuff of saving people, hunting things, family business and I'm a happy pup. 2/5 for this episode. Was going to rate it a 3, but then I thought about how contemptible Lucky really is in a self-righteous and possessive kind of way, and Soulless Sam's bickering with Dean didn't do this episode (or this season if I could be honest) any favors. The tune's getting old. And the other .5 decrease is because the brothers didn't bother to kill Lucky even though they were so willing to kill Madison to prevent her from hurting anyone else. Like, what the fuck? Lucky killed at least three people this episode, not to mention being an actual creep compared to Madison. Big F moment. P.S.: Dexter reference! Side note: Just found out season 6 was supposed to be a five season arc. Yeah, okay, now that makes sense.

True. The rule of cool means you don't have to explain it because it's too cool to not include it. Why did James Bond chase bad guys in a tank in Goldeneye in the middle of the street? Because it's cool and iconic, even if it's impractical and over-the-top. Yeah, that's from The Cage as I remember it. In my opinion, and hopefully not to get too creepy/sleazy here, but I think both Number One and Colt have their own good points in their own way. I found Number One's annoyance not to really be out of jealousy for Colt or anything, but more out of the professionalism she seems to uphold, which is something I've found respectable about her when I first watched it. Colt felt like a schoolgirl with a crush more than anything to be honest; Number One felt like Pike's equal. It's no surprise that Strange New Worlds included her but not Colt.

I Shot an Arrow into the Air Took a break from watching as I was distracted playing The Dark Pictures Anthology games. lol Not all of these games came with a twist, but as someone who's a fan of TZ, you might enjoy Man of Medan and Little Hope for their twisty conclusions (House of Ashes too to a lesser extent). Plus, I came down with a bad case of fever, muscle aches, and dry coughs, possibly symptoms of covid even. But I'm feeling better now, thankfully (food's still tasteless though). Now onto our episode tonight: Seriously though, despite knowing the twist ending, I still enjoyed myself rewatching the episode. It's not the best character writing since Pierson goes off-screen midway, Donlin (while likable for his cool and honor under pressure) is a bit too stiff to be interesting, not to mention an idiot for leaving his gun around Corey whom he accused of murderous intent, and Corey is one of those selfish dicks every survival situations gotta have with no redeeming values. That said, before the reveal, one would be justified in thinking that Corey's viewpoint is, at the very least, a sympathetic one: trapped on some unknown asteroid with no way of knowing if you'd be able to get home in less than four years (the time it took to build the ship that brought them there), a weak man's "every man for himself" instincts would inevitably kick in. These don't seem to be the hardass marine types (SEMPER FI, OORAH!) so loyalty in life or death situations is unlikely to be a thing on a TV show. Of course, that cruel twist ending flipped everything around, and that's what made the episode work even in a rewatch. Knowing the twist actually makes the prior build-up towards it more fascinating to watch since you're just watching smugly as Corey seals his own fate by murdering his comrades. The trope presented in the ending is not nearly as polished as Planet of the Apes (with a screenplay that poses far darker implications of humanity's sins as written by your very own Rod Serling), and I couldn't care enough about Corey to feel like the ending is cruel irony rather than karmic retribution. That said, I'm all for downer (or even nihilistic) endings more than the feel-good ones, even when the episode isn't particularly well-written. 3/5 The Hitch-Hiker I've always found hitchhiking a fascinating concept because it's not a thing in Singapore. Sure, we have a service called Grab nowadays which is a ridesharing company like Uber (they also provide food and shopping deliveries), but it doesn't pose quite the same danger as hailing a ride from a stranger you meet on the road, hoping he doesn't kill you. At least the Grab app has an emergency "HELP ME I'M BEING ATTACKED BY A SERIAL KILLER" button that lets you call for aid, so it's not really the same. And of course, America knows this and has spent decades mining from this would-be horror tale with its many hitchhiking slasher movies, one of the more famous ones being The Hitcher (Google literally gave me a result with "77 Best Horror Movies About Hitchhiking" at the top). It's a tale as old as killer in a cabin in the woods and brain-sucking zombies in the horror genre. I also couldn't help but think of the "Thanks for the ride, lady!" guy from Creepshow 2 watching this episode. lol Of course, that's not really what this episode is about, a killer hitchhiker. Quite the opposite, really, though I kinda saw it coming and predicted whom the hitchhiker was (kinda forgot what the twist is during my rewatch tbh). It's a nice twist, but what makes it work better than most TZ episodes is the amount of time we get to spend with Nan Adams (Inger Stevens) and explore her justified fear of this stranger stalking her, a very real fear even today. It also helps that Nan carries enough charm and wit in her dialogue instead of just going through the motions of the plot till the inevitable twist ending; she feels like a real person that way. There's quite an amount of what one might consider padding, but unlike Time Enough At Last, the many scenes of Inger looking confused and frightful is thematically linked to the story at hand: a lone woman stranded in the middle of nowhere trying to get away from a phantom stalker constantly on her tail, giving her that sense of uneasiness (I particularly like how the music score when she's on the run bears resemblance to Hitchcock's Psycho, which was also scored by Bernard Herrmann). She couldn't quite explain why she felt this way even though the hitchhiker didn't really do much aside from just standing there like the mousey little man he is. It's a nice build up to the end where that anxiety finally makes sense, and tranquility sets in upon revelation. It's a solid and coherent narrative where each scene builds on top of another to reach the climactic twist reveal. Even the scene with the sailor adds a nice spooky touch that leaves us wondering if Nan is really just seeing things. I also like how the sailor was acting rather intimate with her despite being strangers, making us wondering if it's such a good idea for her to pick this lecher up. Of course, as we would come to learn, it's not Nan that's seeing things after all, and the sailor, for all his counted blessings of hitching a ride with a pretty lady with the looks of a movie star, got more than what he bargained for as he freaked the heck out. This reminds me of that perfect episode from season 2 of Supernatural, "Roadkill" (probably my favorite episode of all time to be honest), which also features a woman (played by Tricia Helfer) whom also isn't quite aware of what her state of mortality is. It's a trope that has been used a couple of times, the spirit not knowing they're a spirit, but I think it works because of its roots in folklore regarding wandering spirits unable to pass on to the afterlife due to some unfinished business. It also allows for great tragedies to be played out most of the time. In particular, I like this episode's closing, where Rod gave a very succinct but impactful narration (as opposed to his usual closing remarks in other episodes): "Nan Adams, age twenty-seven. She was driving to California; to Los Angeles. She didn't make it. There was a detour... through the Twilight Zone." It's a real shot through the heart when Rod punctuated what was already revealed earlier as the audience is still grappling with the tragic truth, "She didn't make it." It's simple yet clear in a rather somber way, like a coroner coldly pronouncing someone's time of death. Curtains. Two final notes to end this great episode on. If this was filmed today: 1) The episode would be much shorter due to cellphones. 2) There would be a contrived flashback to earlier scenes showing the people Nan talked to, and how they were talking to nobody but an empty space. 4.5/5

1x14: Court Martial For a show like Star Trek that features the episodic adventures of the protagonist without much continuity, it's inevitable that the writers would try to shake things up with special set-pieces or genre-changes from time to time, or in this episode's case: LAWYERS. IN. SPAAACE!!! Then again, perhaps it's not so much an attempt at changing up the formula as it's an attempt to cut cost since courtroom dramas are cheap to produce, especially when they're usually restricted to a single set. Of course, being a courtroom drama (IN SPAAACE), the plot plays out predictably, with the last minute evidence showing up at the final act of the episode to turn the verdict around. One also has to wonder why they didn't just use any thermal or motion sensors to track the existence of any other crew member outside the bridge and the transporter room. You'd think that by the 23rd century, the Enterprise would have technology to track the motions of crewmembers aboard the ship. But as flimsy as the plot is, I like most of it enough, save the abrupt insertion of a fight scene with Kirk's shirt being torn open, again. As far as courtroom dramas go, one where the supposedly infallible technology is called out for providing bad evidence, it's not too bad, and it could have been worse. 3/5 1x15: The Menagerie, Part 1 In an episodic show like this, it's inevitable that we would get a clip show. But to be completely fair, The Cage wasn't really aired officially till decades later after this episode, so it was less of a clip show and more of an in-depth exploration of a guest character for many audience. That said, having already seen The Cage, however, I do feel that some of the scenes are rather redundant in showing the reason why Spock forced the Enterprise to land on Talos IV, like Pike's conversation with Dr. Boyce (which is really there just to let the audience connect with Pike). That said, it's amusing that Mendez pointed out the detailed recording of the video log entry showing scenes from The Cage, especially with the recording featuring multi-cam footage and an external pan-in from outside the Enterprise at the beginning. Not to mention that the footage also shows the Talosians looking at Pike and his landing party through the monitor. Usually, a clip show like this would silently treat the multi-cam footage of previous episodes like it's a natural thing, but I do like that there's an in-universe explanation here that the footage might be a transmission from Talos IV, possibly streamed through the Talosians' psychic powers (sort of like Teletubbies if you think about it). Looking back at the footage from The Cage, I also realized how much younger Leonard Nimoy looked in the episode, even though it was filmed just a year or two prior to TOS' true pilot. That's some nice make-up to either de-age or age Leo here. I've read that poor Captain Pike here would learn about his unfortunate fate in the future on Strange New Worlds, so that's something that would draw me to the spin-off at least, even if it's spun off from the widely hated Discovery (which many have claimed is worse than Enterprise, so that's saying something). Still, at this point of the canon, Pike has only been seen in one episode of the series: the pilot, The Cage, and in hindsight, he seemed like a throwaway prototype to Kirk. Of course, I'm not too familiar with what plans Roddenberry initially have for Pike. But all the same, it's not easy to feel much for Pike aside from surface-level sympathy (as opposed to someone like Kirk or even Spock whom we've spent half a season with by this episode), even if the clip show here was meant to connect us with his character. I will admit, however, that I liked Pike as a captain, possibly even more than Kirk in some cases. Pike is more grim and serious, not exactly the quippy and wisecracking leader you'd usually find in such shows. He feels more like a veteran suffering from PTSD next to Kirk, and I've always found such qualities in a leader of a story to be more interesting and engaging because I'd be invested in seeing how he's going to work past his demons to lead the team (such as Angel when he started out in the Buffy spin-off, feeling the weight of his past and working through his depression). That said, how about that iconic wheelchair, huh? I can't watch this episode without remembering Captain Musky from Futurama. Still, you'd think that by the 23rd century, technology would advance enough for quadriplegics that Pike would get some sort of Darth Vader armor deal. I really love how McCoy stood up for Spock here. While these episodes don't usually have a continuity, watching the series in production order kinda gives you a sense of how close these two have become despite their ideological differences, especially after The Galileo Seven (which was aired after this episode, despite having been produced earlier), not to mention the previous episode, Court Martial, where he accused Spock of being the most cold-blooded man he had ever known (before realizing what Spock's true intention was at the time). It was also kinda cute when he had to ask Spock if confinement to the quarters was sufficient as punishment for mutiny. Of course, we've seen Spock show his emotional side before (SMUG IS AN EMOTION, MR. SPOCK), but aside from Galileo Seven, this feels like the first time Spock really went out of his way to bend the rules in a very human way. Spock's merely half-Vulcan, after all. That said, the vagueness of his intentions can feel rather frustrating, especially if you have already seen The Cage and might have also guessed why he had brought a crippled Pike to Talos IV. This means that all the footage we've seen in Part I so far feels like filler that contributes little meaning to Spock's trial. Like I said, it feels like it's more of a lost episode meant for an audience that hasn't seen the pilot, so perhaps it's unfair to judge it through the perception of someone watching the series for the first time in 2023. Perhaps it's simply because I'm just not a fan of rewatching things. lol 3.5/5

True, but TAS' version of Penguin lacking layers is one reason why I never found his episodes interesting. Eh, I like it though. Mr. Freeze's tragic background makes him one of my favorite Batman villains.

2x05: House & Garden "Goodbye, Mr. Wayne." What? lol Does the Plant Creature assume that Bruce Wayne can't swim or something? It's not from a very great height that he fell from, so any surface tension wouldn't harm him much even if he's not Batman. Though to be fair, its intelligence is questionable, considering we don't know how fast these things grow at a natural rate (without the plant steroids Ivy pumped them with at the end of this episode) and how smart they are. It's a shame things turn out this way. I wouldn't have minded settling for a more generic villain if it meant Pamela could have been reformed. That would have made for a nice refreshing change in one of Batman's rogues gallery for once, someone who could reform like criminals could in real life. It would also prove that Batman villains can be reformed, and incarcerating them and fighting them again when they break out in an endless crusade that lasts forever isn't necessary, especially for villains who used to be on the right side of justice like Harvey Dent (who has actually been cured multiple times in the comics, even fighting crime in Batman's place). But as it is, I can't complain either because I love how twisted Ivy's plan was. I felt so disturbed watching those babies crawl out from those plants, especially when you consider how little Pamela values these offspring. There's something sympathetic to her plan, especially if you consider her confession that she's infertile to be true, and yet the way they burn out after being used as Pamela's disposable bodyguards just makes me question just how much value she places on the value of her "family." I believe she merely likes the idea of a family, but in terms of appreciating them as sentient lifeforms (as opposed to disposable tools one pumps quick-growth steroids with), maybe not so much. That being said, it doesn't take away from the pathos of Ivy's newly layered character in TAS. Paul Dini did a great job fleshing her out, as I've always found her tree-hugging extremism to be too simple of a motive for a Batman villain, and infertility as a motive for a children's cartoon is beyond ambitious for Dini. Now if he could only fix the Penguin (I also heard Catwoman was did dirty on TAS, though my memory's unclear on that one except remembering the notorious Tyger Tyger). 4.5/5 Side note: Poor Dick, cockblocked by Bruce. I would say he and Barbara are meant to be together, but Batman Beyond 2.0 would prove otherwise with Bruce's affair with her... though I don't know if that's canon. Then again, even if it's canon, I remember seeing an old Barbara who's still in love with Dick in the Batman Beyond movie.

Makes sense, considering he was inspired by Ray Bradbury's works, the famous author of Fahrenheit 451.

"Of course - your problems always come first." OUCH. Castiel's right though. Dean's been a self-centered dick. Plus, he's surprised a woman could speak her mind. How 1950s. Is this The Twilight Zone or just your typical CW sexism? I like that Gwen survived though, out of all the redshirt Campbells. She's at least the one with the most personality among all of them (and the only female character with personality this season). Here's hoping she'd survive though because I still stand by my initial desire for more recurring characters who are hunters we could have our spotlight on instead of just Sam and Dean hogging the camera all the time. I get it's their show and I get that we got a Bobby episode not long ago, but variety is the spice of life. Crowley being the main antagonist oddly makes me like him even more. lmao Obviously, demons, and especially Crowley, are not to be trusted, so the smart choice for Dean would have been to stab Crowley anyway since Sam's supposed to be dead in the first place. Just saying. Dean could run the show alone, as we've established in my post for the last episode. The whole soulless issue seems arbitrary by pop culture standards anyway. One could argue that the T-800 lacks a soul since he's just a machine, yet even he could be programmed to be an ally. Sam seems to possess a similar capability to learn from his mistakes, so he could probably learn some semblance of human empathy as well even if it's fake empathy; just needs a little practice. I don't mind Purgatory being the goal, since it's always cool to explore yet another biblical location, especially one related to Dante. I doubt Crowley just wants it for real estate though. The most obvious answer is that he's looking to secure the location as an insurance in case he gets sent there someday, like all good little demons. 3/5 for the episode. I like the twist, but I would like to see more done with it first, because Supernatural, like many similar shows like it, tends to build up the hype with cool concepts but fail to deliver. The Alpha was kinda cool, so I was hoping he'd be a bigger threat (or at least had his history explored more), but alas.

The Four of Us Are Dying Another idiot who squanders a useful power. Maybe try not turning into a criminal, huh? If Arch Hammer needed money, why not perform a gig as the resurrected Johnny Foster or something? Hell, there could have been a dozen other ways. Archie wasn't just cheap; he lacked imagination. This episode shares the same problem with both And When the Sky was Opened and What You Need: cool gimmick for the plot to hinge on, but barely enough substance in their characters to keep the audience emotionally invested. These stories work better as a pulpy short film or short story you'd consume once from an adult magazine or late night TV (when there's nothing better on) and forget about, rarely meant for a revisit. At least in something like Mr. Denton on Doomsday, for example, you could sympathize with Al Denton for his trauma of having shot a kid as a gunslinger, so there's a little more meat there. Why does Archie want to hook up with Maggie, for example? One could speculate from what little we've seen in the episode that he merely wants to get laid or perhaps have the company of a woman for a night, but there's not much to go on from there to make me care, especially in a rewatch, and especially because we're quickly forced to care about a different set of scenario: Virgil Sterig the mob boss trying to get even. And then there's this random father and son story out of nowhere. As Emily St. James observed at the AV Club, it feels like Rod was trying to tell too many stories at once and ended up shortchanging all of them. All one could care about is the cool gimmick of the face-shifting powers, and even then, not so much during a rewatch. That being said, you also have to remind yourself what kind of show this is and why some of us are watching it in the first place. This is not Mad Men. The whole appeal of the show is the cool gimmicks happening, so we could get weirded out by the bizarre and the supernatural. As I've mentioned, these stories sometimes work better as pulp material to be consumed and forgotten, and Rod might even have intended them that way, considering DVDs and blu-rays weren't invented yet (not to mention TiVo and DVRs), so you really have to view this show through the production habits from that era. So, as I've mentioned in my reviews for Supernatural, we do have to adjust our expectations accordingly. Archie changing faces into anyone is indeed a cool concept, admittedly. The fact that there isn't a more substantial story to be found isn't restricted to this episode alone, and it's a trait and a trademark of the entire show even: episodes with cool gimmicks and nothing more. Perhaps we ought to be satisfied with that. I really wanted to like this episode though because frankly, I do love the way cool and strange phenomenon or even super powers keep popping up on this show. But perhaps I was disappointed because I was also expecting to feel some kind of pathos or sympathy for Archie's foolishness when I saw this episode was coming up next, but in the end, he's a villain who deserves his fate. There's nothing in the episode that made me root for him, much like Fred Renard in What You Need, making the "tragic and ironic conclusion" feel empty, something to be shrugged at. 2.5/5 Side note: A young Jerry Goldsmith composed the score for this episode. I'm more of a John Williams guy, but I really like his score from The Mummy (the Brendan Fraser version) and Mulan. The synthesizer during the haircut scene was brilliant and cathartic. Third from the Sun Now here's an episode I can get behind with, and it helps that there's 1) a clear and immediate theme we could relate with: fear of nuclear warfare present in the '50s, and 2) a relatable protagonist who's possibly responsible, albeit partly, for contributing to said warfare, our Oppenheimer of the story, ladies and gents (anyone else looking forward to Nolan's film?). The strength of the episode is that the brilliant twist isn't all that the episode has to offer; it's merely the cherry on top of a fascinating and disturbing discussion on whether our Earth would someday share a similar fate. Plus, the moment you saw the UFO, or hell, the strange design of the telephone, the cat's out of the bag, which was the intention, of course, to let audience in on the joke (evidenced by the strange camera choices of Dutch angels and that claustrophobic feel). Good looking for aliens though. My theory is that they weren't from Mars or a distant planet, but an entirely different parallel dimension, and they have merely flew through a portal or some kind of space-warp phenomenon (I have no idea what I'm talking about). And of course, it's not just nuclear anxiety that was relevant to the time of the episode's release, but also McCarthyism that occurred just a little around a decade prior, that fear of people listening in and policing your conversations, that very Orwellian 1984 sort of fear (which was published 1949, in the midst of McCarthyism). This episode has layers in its themes that go beyond Rod's usual trauma from WWII in other episodes, which is what really make it such a strong and compelling entry. As noted by David Simkins on the commentary track (alongside Marc Scott Zicree), we the audience didn't know what time period the Sturka and Riden families were landing on Earth, but presuming it's the '60s, then they also had the Cuban missile crisis to worry about. Talk about out of the frying pan and into the nightmarish fire of the '60s (racial and gender roles issues and the Kennedy/MLK/Malcolm X assassinations on top of the Cuban crisis). Maybe they had an even worse stroke of luck and landed on Earth, 2020... Time to hop aboard on another ship, fellows. 4.5/5 for a very tense (how about that playing card scene? felt like a "bomb under the table" Hitchcock scene more like) and well-written episode filled with fascinating themes we take for granted today (the preciousness of life amidst nuclear warfare, McCarthyism, etc.). A beauty about this whole series is that each episode, at least for the first few seasons, is only half an hour long, so even if there's a dud, you could easily watch it once and skip to the next one. For other anthology shows, however, this proves more challenging, especially a show like American Horror Story where if a season's concept is something you find dull, you'd have to sit through an entire season to know if it's worth watching, or if there's at least something worthwhile to sit through, however little. That's probably just one of the problems that would surface for Twilight Zone as well when it switches to an hour format, along with other contemporary anthology shows that have a similar format like Black Mirror. And the problem with that format, aside from testing the audience's patience with bad episodes, is that they can be expensive to make, so you might only get three episodes out of a very bad Black Mirror season and nothing else. I'm guessing for TZ, it might have been different or found some way to cut costs.

1x12: Conscience of the King "Logic is not enough." All things aside, I would have liked to explore a story on synthetic food curing famine (still a very real problem today in our world, if more than ever), but with the solution meeting obstacles. That said, I like the idea of a murder mystery on the show, even if it's not so much a mystery as it is a quest to attain proof to convict a mass murderer. As I mentioned before, Star Trek being an episodic show allowed for a wider range of topics and themes to be covered, including different formats and experimentations. It's not quite The Twilight Zone, but similar to it, audiences could expect a broad range of unique stories to be found, asking themselves "What incredible adventures would Kirk and his crew run into this time?" Of course, much like many film productions with a low budget, part of the reason such creative inspirations came about was probably due to the budget constraints. A simple spree murder, one usually seen in low budget slasher movies than sci-fi serials, makes for a nice change of pace in genre within Star Trek, not to mention exploring Kirk's struggle between acquiring justice... or his revenge. Despite being one of the more "talky" episodes, I really liked Kirk and Anton Karidian's exchange. Appropriate to his character, the conversation was very Shakespearean, with Anton questioning Kirk's own humanity in an age when people have long lived in convenience due to the wonders of cold, mechanized technology that could prove easily whether two seemingly different men are the same person. Zack Handlen of AV Club called out on the awkwardness of the episode because it feels like a murder mystery written for a western or a pre-space age setting, because the technology that offered Kirk photographic and auditory records of both Kodos' face and voice means that killing off eyewitnesses is redundant. However, I would argue that the existence of such convenient technology that turns human lives into statistics merely made Kirk's quest all the more meaningful; he had to know for sure whether Anton is Kodos or not because a human life has to be worth more than what a computer determines. Otherwise, he would have been no better than Kodos, a lesson I kinda wish he had conveyed to Riley a little bit in some subtle way (instead of, you know, just shooing him away to the sick bay, never to be seen again for the rest of the episode). Nevertheless, the writing of Kirk's dilemma amidst the ship's technology was a brilliant way of using the show's futuristic setting to put a new spin to its familiar storyline of vengeance and catching a murderer. Arnold Moss delivered an amazing performance as Anton Karidian. His exchange with Kirk only lasted for one scene before he met his end, but boy, was it a memorable one. You don't usually see such serious acting on a sci-fi show like this in the '60s besides Twilight Zone (which is another reason why this show's as special as TZ), and it's powerful enough to make me somewhat sympathetic to his character. Sure, Anton's a mass murderer, but from what he has described, it seems that he was forced to make a decision in a very desperate situation, something Kirk might have been familiar with (and this familiarity was something Anton called out on during the speech). Such ambiguity to Anton's actions is what makes me love this show's writing so far and what lends strength to the episode despite its mundane premise. The tragedy that Kodos' actions, however justified he might think, led to his own daughter's hands to be stained, made this episode all the more poetic and grandiose. I love my Greek tragedies, so this episode easily lands as my favorite one so far. While the Lenore flirtations with Kirk were the weakest part of the show (albeit not a boring one, as Kirk seemed to genuinely enjoy Lenore's company, and not in a "I just want to jump your bones" way either), I quite enjoy how it all turns out at the end with Lenore and her father. It's not all too surprising, but I think that predictability only made it more tragic. While Barbara Anderson's mourning might have been a little dramatic (better suited for a stage play than a TV series), I think it fitted the story due to its relations with Shakespeare and Macbeth, which was why it didn't really take me out of the moment, and instead left me captivated. And I haven't even talked about the nice little moments between Spock and McCoy this episode, which once again establishes their distinctive roles between Spock's intelligence and McCoy's heart as the latter invites the former for a drink (but Spock ultimately declined). It's a nice little moment that shows the mutual respect they have for each other in spite of their polarizing worldviews. 5/5 for this episode. Absolutely brilliant. 1x13: The Galileo Seven McCoy: "Mr. Spock, remind me to tell you that I'm sick and tired of your logic." Spock: "That is a most illogical attitude." Kirk: "Mr. Spock, you are a stubborn man." Spock: "Yes sir." Laughter ensues aboard the bridge. First appearance of the shuttlecraft! No more excuses for not being able to send a small landing party when the Enterprise has some mechanical failure and whatnot. It took a while for the shuttlecraft to be invented due to budget issues, so a couple of the previous episodes seemed amusing in hindsight because the problems there could have been resolved with a small security team (AKA redshirts) sent out on a shuttlecraft. Of course, as shown in this episode, the craft's not perfect either, and it had to be sacrificed this episode. Ah well. This also marked the first episode in production order where Grace Lee Whitney has mysteriously disappeared from the Enterprise (at least till The Motion Picture). This was also the first time Spock was in command of an Enterprise crew, and there's an interesting parallel here between Spock's logic failing to protect the crew and High Commander Ferris' strict adherence to the rulebook that results in Kirk abandoning his crew. The lesson of the day is, of course, that logic and rationality aren't always the highest priority, especially in survival situations. Appropriately, in production order, this episode came immediately after Conscience of the King, where Kodos also resorted to the most rational response (in his mind anyway) of sacrificing half of the survivors for the survival of the other half. Kodos' logic could be argued to have been affected by his emotions as well, his panic and urgency of saving what people he could in a desperate situation (as Kirk eloquently put it, "Desperation is a highly emotional state of mind"). Never did it occur to him or Spock any other possibilities or probability beyond the obvious logic, which is what separates a thinking and feeling man from a machine. Of course, what separates Spock from Kodos is the former's human side ultimately succumbing to the illogical emotional state of saving his crew in a last ditch desperate attempt. By the way, what ever happened to that Ferris with that stick up his butt? Did they jettison him onto Taurus II? lol On a personal note, the planet Taurus II greatly reminds me of the planet Tarith from one of the side missions Mass Effect 2, which is also consumed by a thick mist where dangerous creatures (in the latter's case, fire-breathing insects called Klixens) attack the landing party (in the latter's case, you, the poor sob). Unlike last episode's more theatrical style, this one is more of a character study with a simpler plot, albeit one I greatly enjoyed as well. That said, it means the study forces into existence some plot points that are questionable for the sake of the plot, such as Kirk taking the spare time away from delivering a space plague vaccine to launch a scientific exploration in a hostile environment that had been noted to disrupt their sensors, using a crew that's put together seemingly to justify the "head vs. heart" debate that would ensue between Spock and McCoy plus an accompanying Scotty for reasons instead of the latter two's subordinates. As Spock would put it, "Highly illogical." That's not even counting the fact that Spock was right anyway about placing priority on the ship repair (and their escape) over holding a funeral ceremony. I'm guessing the Enterprise isn't a military ship, because if it is, such subordination and the endangerment of the crew for a ceremony would not have been tolerated. 3.5/5

2x04: Avatar BATMAN. IN. EGYPT!!! AKA that one Batman episode crossed over with Indiana Jones, with a dash of Scooby-Doo when Batman pulled a Velma impression on Ubu when he unmasked him. Not that it's a knock on the episode, but I found it amusing. "Jinkies! It's old man Ubu!" For a moment there, I'd thought the cloaked Ubu to be the return of Phantasm, considering the similar design in their silhouette . Then again, I already knew that she wouldn't appear in the DCAU again till the Justice League: Unlimited episode, Epilogue. Corporeal gods are often disappointing, especially when you take a look at how weak those supposed god-like beings can be in CW's Supernatural (in fact, Thoth Khepera would fit in easily in that show, being a generic mummy/zombie creature Sam and Dean kill every Tuesday). Even Star Trek's Gary Mitchell and Charlie Evans proved to be far more superior in their capability than Thoth, the supposed "goddess of immortality" who's easily killed by falling debris. Then again, I guess this variation of Batman isn't quite ready to fight someone on the level of Darkseid yet. I liked Talia's betrayal though. It didn't come off as cheap because of course Talia would betray Batman to ensure he escapes the from arms of the law. She's even remorseful for it. And it also made sense that Batman didn't disarm her, even though he could have easily. 3/5

Christ, as if I wasn't afraid of the dentist already (and Corbin Bernsen's The Dentist horror movies definitely didn't help). I get that Dean's upset about Sam, but giving Cas a hard time wasn't going to help, especially after the latter had already told the former in a previous episode that he didn't know what's going on. First calling Bobby selfish, now this. Sheesh. That said, Castiel would make Batman envious of his stealth hi-bye. Damn, that Sammy almost got me fooled. Goddammit, he had me when he supposedly told the "truth" to Dean, and I ate it up and teared up a little when he said he had Dean's back, but I had a suspicion something was still off and he wasn't saying the whole truth, especially if he's not human. I read from Reddit that quite a handful of people hated Sam (partly because Jensen Ackles is more popular than Jared Padalecki), with the reasons given being he's a self-entitled whiny little brat with victim complex, not to mention how most of Dean's suffering was because of Sam. And boy, this episode sure doesn't do Sam any favors. Seriously, I rooted for him in early season 1 because he provided a nice balance to Dean's seemingly more pragmatic counterpart, only that it turned out that Dean was the more compassionate one down the seasons while Sam's the more emotionally messed up one who gave into aggressive urges often throughout the first five seasons. And when he's not being insufferable, Dean's just a far more interesting protagonist. I feel for Jared, but that's just how it is. Still, I'm glad we're upping the stakes in season 6; from demons to angels to freaking goddesses. Yeah, I'd say demons are the least of the Winchesters' problems. To be fair, I believe the Winchesters have faced gods before, especially in season 5. Though to be fair, they were nerfed down at the time, so. And Loki is just Gabriel, so that didn't count. 4/5 for the episode for an excellent MotW. It's suitably disturbing especially with such a heavy subject like suicide. Next episode promo: What the fuck, CW? Oh wait, I already knew.

And When the Sky was Opened At least those malaria patients would have beds. Guess some entity, be it God or the Devil, deemed those three soldiers expandable compared to malaria victims. I mean, c'mon, it's malaria. lol One of the challenges I discovered writing these reviews - and not just for The Twilight Zone - is that not every episode can be worth talking about. Some just have a cool moment or twist, while others have great suspense built up throughout the episode (like Where is Everybody?). This challenge becomes greater rewatching TZ episodes because it's a show where its main appeal is often the twist, though sometimes you have decent half hour explorations of the human condition, but the half hour format doesn't really allow enough time for meaty discussions like that. Since I already know most of these twists, my reviews would really comes down to me either making some joke (one only myself found humorous) to compensate, talk about the cool camera shots, the historical context behind the culture of America during the episode's airing, or more often, talk about themes, tragedies, or fears the episode has touched on. The fear of suddenly disappearing into mid-air with nobody to remember you, however, can be hard to discuss even if you've seen Infinity War because I doubt that's something most people would be able to relate with. While I did have fears of dying alone with no one to remember me, it's still not quite what this episode is touching on. It really doesn't help that the episode lingered on Colonel Forbes' (Rod Taylor) quest to search for Colonel Harrington (Charles Aidman) for just a little too long. He discovered that his friends has mysteriously disappeared, and the plot spends the next few scenes repeating the same plotline of Forbes screaming and searching, offering the audience no answers, while also not really giving us much to feel bad about towards both Forbes and Harrington's disappearance (like delving into their family background, or perhaps showing Forbes saying goodbye to his girlfriend because he knows he'll disappear). Thus, the plot drags a little, and there's not much to talk about here other than how the fear of space travel at the time (moon landing's still a little way away) might have inspired the episode, that disturbing action of delving into the unknown pitch black vastness of space. But again, it's hard to logically connect that fear with what's happening here, people mysteriously disappearing. My first thought was a higher deity like God or Death, but the episode offered no explanation or emotional connection on why such an entity might want to erase these men. What really doesn't help either is that there's very little substance to Forbes' character for me to talk about or relate to. When there's a fleshed out personality with wants and fears that I could relate to or are related to the plot (or even the twist), there's at least something more meaningful to I could work with. 2.5/5 What You Need Here's an episode I could talk more about in length. The idea that there's a man out there who could offer you anything you'd need in your life is a fairy tale fantasy one might dream about. Tales of genies and wish-fulfillments are tales as old as time, but this wasn't quite that, as Pidott (Ernest Truex) merely peddles in what you'd need, not what you'd want, and sometimes, that can be a more fulfilling gift, not to mention a nice spin on the usual wish-fulfillment plot device. But of course, what Fred Renard really needs is perhaps a trip to the shrink or some chill pills, because what an unpleasant this man is from the get-go, wrangling Pidott like a ragdoll. There are some people could never be satisfied right up till their old age, and Fred displays the kind of mean-spiritedness that comes with such a grouch, even pushing him towards murder. The twist that Pidott is the true protagonist of this tale and Fred the antagonist is brilliant, and it's one of Rod's more clever ways of shaking up the format and audience expectations through his adaptation of Lewis Padgett's story. The way Fred meets his untimely fate is sudden enough too even during rewatch that the suspense never stops. Honestly though? Fred only has himself to blame. I get being cautious, but $240? Come on. Even in 1959, that can't be much (maybe 2.5k with inflation). But even if he becomes a millionaire, he probably wouldn't have been happy. He should've taken Pidott's advice about what he needs and used that money to see a therapist to gain that serenity. Interestingly, this story was featured on a sci-fi anthology series preceding The Twilight Zone, titled Tales of Tomorrow. In it (and the original Padgett story), instead of a peddler, the man offering what people need does so from his shop. Even though TZ's version is better written and executed, especially when ToT's version has a clunky exposition at the end about playing god, I kinda like the ToT version a little more just because it has a theme I could emotionally care about, playing god and manipulating your destiny and fate, even if it saves your life. As I mentioned, TZ is usually about the twists and the suspenseful atmosphere carrying us there, and TZ excels at that. But in the act of doing so, it doesn't spend too much time exploring the kind of principles or philosophies Pidott stands for (unlike the ToT version), and Fred is an unlikable character we're just waiting to see punished, despite him being an effective threat that keeps us engaged. Both versions are appealing for their own reasons, but I like that the ToT version leans more towards being a morality tale that leaves us pondering whether the peddler/shopowner was in the right for messing with people's fate. Plus, I don't like how in the TZ version, the woman was given an opportunity for love, but the ex-baseball player (a man) was given a new job. Ugh, '50s gender roles! I think that Fred Renard being an easy villain was part of the problem too because had he been more sympathetic, his desperate need for an easy way out more relatable, then his desperate quest to get something valuable out of Pidott would have been more a lot more engaging, his ultimate fate all the more tragic (perhaps instead of intentionally murdering Pidott, it could be changed to a manslaughter), not to mention having the more profound message of easy solutions not being the answer to life. As it is, especially during a rewatch, while it is fun to see Fred testing out Pidott's talent for future sight, it's just not nearly as gripping a tale and leaves me waiting for his karmic retribution. That being said, 4/5 for the TZ version and 3.5/5 for the ToT just because the former is better written and more succinct; the ToT version clearly shows its age from the clunky writing and poor pacing. However, I might want to check out Tales of Tomorrow someday as it also features other classic stories like Frankenstein and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Okay, yeah, never mind. Turns out that the actor from the Frankenstein episode was drunk while filming the show, and all the other episodes from the show are full of campy and just downright bad writing that's a product of its time. May be best leaving this relic alone... Side note: Because of Fred Renard's skepticism towards Pidott's gifts, Zack Handlen of the AV Club called him "an asshole version of Dana Scully." LMAO 🤣 Side side note: Stephen King wrote a similar short story later on titled I Know What You Need. A Kickstarter indie film adapted the story and was set to be released. Here's the trailer from 2022:

1x10: Dagger of the Mind It's fascinating the range of topics this show has delved into over the past 10 episodes. In spite of certain dated elements, repeated storylines of "hostile threats aboard the Enterprise!" and just not utilizing the episodes' themes to their full potential, TOS so far has touched on humanity's bestial instincts, the preservation of an endangered but dangerous creature, fear of the unknown, and we even dealt with teenage hormones, just to name a few of the themes in previous episodes. And this episode, we've got the ethics of brainwashing dangerous prisoners to subdue them... No, wait, that's not it. Perhaps the theme is not to have work relationships in case it gets awkward? Or maybe it's the loneliness a mind can get when it's... devoid of thoughts? Well, whatever it is, Dagger of the Mind is unfortunately one of those episodes that isn't quite consistent with its theme, ending up meandering on several subplots and not developing all of them enough to make any of them engaging. Helen's Christmas party was amusing, but it feels kinda out of place in an episode about the utilization of brainwashing treatments on a penal colony, not to mention how Helen was written to be this naïve woman too trusting of Dr. Adams, our antagonist, and his machine when it's clear from the very start that there's something fishy about him and his colony (though to be fair, the episode had a decent attempt easing my suspicion at first by having Dr. Adams allowing Kirk to report back to his crew in the beginning). This results in Helen not being the easiest character to care about, so any supposed romance between her and Kirk was soured. Plus, c'mon, it was one drink at a party. Also, you'd think by now that Kirk would wise up and bring more than one crew personnel to his missions after what happened with Dr. Korby. Even in broadcast order, What are Little Girls Made of came before this episode. Sure, Dr. Adams requested for a small number of personnel groundside, but couldn't he have brought someone who could train to fight and protect them just in case, regardless of Dr. Adams' supposedly wholesome reputation Kirk had put trust in at the beginning? But I guess that's rather nitpicky. Ah well. 3/5 1x11: Miri "Bonk bonk on the head!" - Famous Words For some reason, Prime's subtitles listed them as "bunk bunk" instead. AFAIK, "bunk" isn't usually spelled as a sound effect the way "bonk" is. Quite a few unintentionally funny moments this episode: I like how Spock acted confused when Kirk handed him the tricycle at the beginning. "What am I supposed to do with this Earth-based antique?" Shatner had his hammy moments in the series before, but I legit laughed out loud when he shouted "NO BLAH BLAH BLAH!" in a serious manner. McCoy's blemishes had a fade-out effect that left his face with perfect skin, no scarring. The wonders of 23rd century medicine, ladies and gents. Also, this episode commits the cardinal sin of mistaking a vaccine with a cure. Ah well. It's a '60s show. Like some, I also had an initial knee-jerk reaction towards Kirk getting too comfy with what's presumably an underaged kid in a romantic way (though Miri's actress, Kim Darby, was 19 at the time), but as I kept watching, I felt that the crush Miri had on an adult was essential to show her one-sided adolescent sense of infatuation, with Kirk and Rand's relationship being the contrasting juxtaposition being displayed to show what adult love, and possibly what a real relationship looks like (obviously, a relationship that didn't last long). It was important to the episode's theme of puberty in teenagers in a sense. So, whatever discomfort one might have felt watching Miri flirt with Kirk (and seemingly vice versa when he called her pretty) could be presumptuous or just reading too much into the scene. At most, he was probably just playing along with a child's harmless fantasies. I blame it on Bill's inability to sell that well enough with his performance that Kirk comes off like Humbert Humbert. That Kirk seductive smile when Miri sharpens the pencils... brrr. Due to budget constraints, maybe, the episode ended up using a planet that looks exactly like Earth, but this ended up with Spock oddly pointing out that it has the same breathable atmosphere like Earth even though we've seen plenty of times the Enterprise crew landing on breathable rocky planets that all looked the same (minus The Naked Time maybe). Plus, Spock's calculation that it's '60s Earth seems off since it looks like a western town, and Google says western America occurred during early 19th century to early 20th century. Also, it's a shame that no part of the episode was dedicated to the existence of a parallel Earth, especially since this is the series' first parallel Earth that looks, smells and breathes the same as normal Earth. Of course, none of these should have been noticeable enough if the plot of the episode kept me distracted and entertained, and it did to a certain extent (I didn't really pay attention to the above flaws till after the episode). I liked the threat of the virus constantly harboring over the crew (nice change of setting that isn't aboard the ship or some villain's evil lair) and even how McCoy was seemingly killed off for a moment, which would have been ambitious writing but would have been highly unlikely unless DeForest Kelly resigned from the show. Plus, no red shirt.😏Still, I liked the fake-out, plus Kirk's way of handling the children with kid gloves, patiently telling them about their fate instead of losing himself to anger under the virus' influence. Fun fact: the BBC apparently blocked this episode from syndication due to, and I quote, "unpleasant subjects of madness, torture, sadism and disease." Go figure. That's like half of the episodes I've covered so far. 3.5/5

Well, regardless, I wouldn't have minded a DA antagonist nonetheless. On the police force side, we have someone like Bullock, but Janet served a nice counterbalance to Batman in law and order from the courtroom.

1x04: The Incredible Mr. Bisby Ugh, Hank's drool went into Dean's mouth! Christ. lol I like how Bisby was smart enough to overcome Brock Samson (even though Brock's whole deal seems to be he's invulnerable, including effects from hundreds of tranquilizers shot by Monarch's henchmen), albeit through Mandalay's aid. Glad Brock isn't a one-note cliche like that. Also, something I didn't mention before, I like Patrick Warburton in such a badass role for a change as I only know Patrick's voice from goofy roles like Kronk in The Emperor's New Groove and Mr. Barkin in Kim Possible. Also that one Funny or Die sketch as a president of the United States who has never watched Rocky (and ending up finding it overhyped when he finally did). "You knocked me out and put me in a bag to bring me fifty yards?" I really like how the show plays around with conventional tropes like the quoted joke here where the villain would randomly knock the hero out to show a secret lair, or how Mandalay, usually the brute like Jaws from James Bond, ended up with a "I just work here" excuse and walked away (or how Monarch ended up caring for the boys like a father in the first episode). There were quite a lot of these clever subversions in past episodes to keep me engaged and keep the show refreshing. Also, having my issues with Disney, I can't say I shed any tears for him being made fun of through Bisby here. Pretty sure Mandalay is a jab at some of the more problematic Disney productions in the past that didn't age well (Song of the South merely being the most well-known one, not the only one). 4/5

2x03: Trial I guess this episode definitively shuts down any doubts whether TAS' Batsy is responsible for his rogue's gallery's existence. It's a tired cliche anyway. Batman was no more responsible for Jack Napier's descent into Joker than Spidey was responsible for Eddie's transformation into Venom. It's like Janet Van Dorn said - they were responsible for Batman's existence, not the other way around. Speaking of Ms. Van Dorn, she really grew on me quickly over the course of the episode, swiftly earning my respect as she laid down the hard truths about Bat's rogues gallery and manipulated the villains to fighting each other (mostly Harley and Joker and getting Ivy to lose her shit). Even more impressive is how she got the villain juries to spit out a "Not Guilty" verdict (the Joker deciding to kill them anyway makes sense, so it's not a cop-out). Too bad this was Stephanie Zimbalist's final time as Janet on TAS because she provides a nice balance to the character of Batman on the legislation side of Gotham (now that the only notable DA had a gruesome facelift). Plus, as far as Batman antagonists on the side of the law go, she's a more positive force of balance than Amanda Waller (though the wall's a much more interesting opposing force). I read that this story was going to be the plot for Mask of the Phantasm, which in my opinion, would've probably made that movie even more interesting for me (though I did like Phantasm). A whole movie cross-examining Batman's rogues gallery and questioning whether Batman is responsible for his villains? I know I said it's a cliche (usually in the comics), but for a big-screen story, that made more sense, not to mention how it's rarely been done before for superhero movies (except Batman movies) at the time of Phantasm's release, the psychological question of whether the hero is responsible for the villains' existence. Finally, I like that Bruce also bears the sentiment that he hopes to rid Gotham of the need for Batman and give up the cape someday. Unfortunately, that might not be possible if Batman Beyond is taken into consideration (or the alternate universe Dark Knight Returns for that matter). Hell, even Nolan believed that Bruce needed to pass on the legacy instead of abolishing Batman altogether. But one could hope. I heard that Batman Inc. is a thing. 4.5/5 for a strong episode and Janet's great characterization.

"Oh these aren't vampires, man. These are douchebags." 😂😂 "This is a national bestseller - how it that possible?" I ask myself the same question about the Twilight saga, Dean. But hey, teenagers. I love that they even referenced Taylor Lautner here. lmao I didn't even watch New Moon (or even seen Taylor in many things) and I got the reference. Best line in the episode might have been "Oh god, I'm Pattinson" by Dean. LMAO I fell asleep watching Twilight midway... at the theater. Never bothered with any of the sequels. That scene with Edward and Bella in the forest, "I know what you are." "Say it out loud." "Vampireeeee." Christ, the freaking cringe! Glad Pattinson has moved on to greener pastures like becoming a more respectable bat persona. "I know who you are" "SING IT" "THE BATMAAAAN Na na na na na." So obviously, I have no love for Stephenie Myers' legacy, which means I was glad to see Sera Gamble butcher the hell out of those ridiculous books and their sexism that regresses the movement back to Gone with the Wind when rape was a desired thing by women in that movie. Vampires weren't my favorite of the Universal Monsters Trio (Dracula, The Wolf Man, Frankenstein). The werewolf's always been cooler and scarier because of his bestial nature tearing your throat out (plus, An American Werewolf in London's werewolf is a freaking beast that will make you wet your pants), and Frankenstein's monster is a tragic reflection of humanity's ugliness. Dracula, at least the Bela Lugosi kind, never scared me, and vampires lack the pathos that come with the creature's lore (even the wolf man is a tragic figure), especially their association with Satan and evil. We wanted Wesley Snipes to kill those things, not sympathize with them. Interview with the Vampire and Anne Rice might prove to be the exception as she gave them the humanity they much needed (then Buffy and Whedon came along to expand that lore and the rest is history), but even though I loved that film (not nearly the Prince Charming with a Volvo Boris is selling), I still couldn't take them seriously, especially with how easy they can be killed by a teenage Slayer (plus, Annie might have inadvertently inspired Stephenie Meyer to create mopey vampires, sooo). They're next to zombies as some of the most boring monsters ever created. Sorry for the tirade, but I just don't care much for vamps. If it makes you guys feel any better about Sam's spoilers, I saw it somewhere else on Reddit already about his soullessness. Goes to show how easily a decade old TV shows can be spoiled. lol But the important thing is that I still don't know why he's soulless, so that's something for me to find out at least. The Alpha could go either way, if it's anything like "The First" from Buffy. I liked Buffy's concept of "the first of all evils where all evil came from" (even if it cheapens the idea of evil), but I feel like it was underused despite the hype. I feel like the same thing might happen here with the Alpha, underusing the concept, which would be a shame. Ah well. Interesting that Skinner/Samuel isn't in on the whole "Sam acting soulless" schtick. Makes me root for Mitch even more. Yay. Hilarious episode nonetheless. 3.5/5 Next episode sees Dean learning the truth about Sam maybe? Sooner than I expected. I thought we'd have to wait till mid-season, like these plots usually go. If the truth does come out next episode, it's yet one of the many changes to the plot structure I'm liking from Sera Gamble so far.

Perchance to Dream Great, two of my worst fears coming together - nightmares and rollercoasters. The latter I could avoid by not going to rides altogether, but the former represents a sense of not being in control, which is one of the causes for my anxiety condition. The feeling of lying in bed, not being able to do anything about your nightmares, I remember nights when I had anxiety about such fears. In fact, it goes further than that, and I was worried about sleeping because the act of sleeping feels like you're becoming unconscious for 8 hours, even if physiologically speaking, the human body isn't technically unconscious while sleeping - that doesn't make the feeling of unconsciousness any less real. And while it's just a TV show, this episode expresses well enough what that kind of somniphobia could mean, how it might even mean you might die in your sleep without even knowing. That's really what I meant by the feeling of unconsciousness while sleeping, because I doubt Edward Hall felt anything from his heart attack when he died during sleep, or even aware of the pain. But I do love the twist. It's been a long time since I've seen this episode (or season 1 of the show for that matter), so I kinda forgot how it ended. That is one weak-ass window. I doubt you could do the same for windows today because most of them, especially in office buildings like the one in the episode, have been designed in accordance with safety standards, so they must be made of much tougher material nowadays. Also, the fact that Edward sees the psychiatrist's secretary in his dream greatly reminds me of Playtest, which actually disturbed me a lot more than this episode with its ending, but that's not a knock on it or anything. I like both for different reasons. Maya being a Cat Woman seems kinda niched and an inspired choice though. Though I haven't seen the movie, I wonder if it's related to the '42 horror film, Cat People (Adam West and Catwoman wouldn't appear on-screen for another 7 years). If it is, then it seems that Edward might have subconsciously borrowed horror elements from multiple sources (like the famous *in Brad Dourif's voice* SOMEONE'S IN THE BACK SEAAAT!!! urban legend) in his imagination during the nightmare. After all, the mention of Maya, the recollection of the urban legend, all of that happened only after he fell asleep in the psychiatrist's chair, not before. Interesting trivia related to Suzanne Lloyd, actress of Maya, from her interview on the TZ blu-ray: 1) She had a guy cancelling their date after seeing the episode. "I didn't know you were that kind of a woman." lol What an ass. 2) The other men who came up to her and remember her from the show didn't remember Maya as a murderess, but I can see why, considering that Maya didn't technically murder Edward nor did she really do anything to him other than act sinister and scare him a little. Rod's description of the next episode made me think of the Titanic, though I could be wrong. A Night to Remember came out in '58, just a year before Judgement Night was aired, after all. 4/5 Judgement Night Well, so it turns out I was wrong, that this isn't about the Titanic at all. Ah well. What it is about is a rather fine example of the show being too preachy at times, focusing more on its message (in this case, "look at all the evil things Nazis have done and how this man deserves the Hell he's in") than telling an engaging and entertaining story. But in spite of my complaints about these things, I don't really blame both Rod and Jordan for being preachy because they were expressing the things they feel strongly about on-screen, and they were very justified in feeling that way. But of course, my review isn't really about them or a judgment of their character (or even their writing skills, really); it's a judgment of the episode and its script. To be fair, even though I knew the twist was coming just about five to ten minutes into the episode rewatch, I didn't really mind the expositional way Lt. Muller was telling Carl Lenser (and the audience) how they're going to be judged by God. It's a very lazy "telling instead of showing" way of storytelling I'd usually have a problem with, but in the case of this episode, I kinda forgave Rod for it, partly because of Rod's sentiments regarding WWII, but also because there's a certain catharsis to hearing those words uttered by Muller, that they shall be judged for their evil acts, that there's a karmic reckoning waiting to avenge the innocent, and that Carl could count his Nazi ass on it. It's probably satisfying in a way for the audience of 1959 to hear those words, especially for those who have lived through the war just somewhere around 15 years ago and witnessed the cruelty of it. You can't really judge an episode like this in a vacuum without considering its historical context. Interestingly, Wikipedia listed White Bear as an episode of Black Mirror similar to it. While I agree with that as it has a larger similarity with this episode, for me, probably because of how it's my favorite BM episode of all time, I once again thought back to White Christmas instead, which actually has a "Mr. Potter" in it too (not to mention being the poor sap who is stuck at the crime scene of his murder for 1000 years per minute). 3.5/5

1x08: Balance of Terror Before it was revealed whom the alien threat was, even though the Amazon Prime's premise stated it to be Klingons Romulans, I was reminded of the Predator/Yautja with their similar invisibility ability and plasma weapons. Though I'd presume the Enterprise could easily surpass any technology the Yautja have to offer. It's easy to see why this episode was highly rated, considering its intriguing topic of breaching a treaty to attack an unknown alien force, and the bigotry against Spock (nice to see both sexism and racism still haven't changed much in the 23rd century). But the biggest reason is probably our first space vessel battle with the Enterprise (in production order), showing the NCC-1701's teeth. It's a very well-written battle that lasts for almost the entire episode, rarely leaving me bored with Kirk and the unnamed Romulan Commander going back-and-forth in their strategy, not to mention the intense standoff where each ship had to go "silent" like a submarine. Now I want to see a Death Battle video between the Enterprise and the Normandy-SR2 from Mass Effect. 😂 The NCC has a bigger gun, I think, but the Normandy's shield isn't one to be scoffed at either, not to mention its speed and maneuverability. But I digress. You gotta love how the Romulan Commander and Kirk have a mutual respect for each other, making the former's fate all the more tragic. I guess that's two times Kirk has beaten a Vulcan in chess. Mark Lenard did a great job portraying the reluctance of the Commander in going through with the battle, but had to because of his sense of duty. Both the Commander and Kirk have angst regarding their responsibility to the crew (and the deaths that would incur from war), but of course, unlike Kirk, the Commander has no McCoy to lean on and to remind him to survive, regardless of their duty. Poor Tomlinson and Angela, but the couple here did raise a death flag by getting married... at the start of an episode. Come on, we know the rules of the flags: if you're going to be a new secondary character, never get married. The new recruit soldier who has a wife and kids always, always exists just to be killed off in these stories. It gets worse if you utter these words, "We'll get married once we get through this." COME ON. Why did you say that?! 😂 You might as well have been wearing a red shirt! Also, how many times is it by this episode that we get a helmsman who's unreliable or has some emotional baggage that affects the mission? It's as if Kirk deliberately promoted these people to helmsman just to create these unnecessary drama aboard his ship. If they're not becoming egocentric godlike beings, they're racists with baggages from war. And his one bigotry just happens to be directed towards the only other alien race aboard this ship at this point of the series. I guess I shouldn't be too harsh on the plot-convenience, but it's worth pointing out nonetheless. Plus, Tomlinson was probably deemed by Spock to be less valuable than the racist, which is kinda amusing there in an ironic and morbid way. Regardless, a strong episode that's easily memorable. 4.5/5 1x09: What are Little Girls Made of? When Kirk asked for the security men and two red shirts were beamed down... I gasped. lol Congratulations, Mathews; you've started a tradition. Most people would associate Ted Cassidy with his role as Lurch from Addams Family, but when I saw Ruk, my first thought was Jaws from James Bond. Here comes the brute because that's the only force strong enough to stop Kirk. But Ruk is smarter than your typical brutes like Jaws (the whole reason he rebelled was because humans are dangerous dumb dumb lacking Ruk's intellect, full of "feelings" and not worthy of serving), so maybe the comparison is inaccurate. But outside of your typical immortality theme that I kinda wish this episode explored more, there's not much to talk about here because it mostly consists of Kirk trying to escape but being stopped by Ruk so that Korby could play armchair philosopher musing about how humans could be perfected by turning into heartless robots (before realizing his imperfection in spite of that and short-circuited). Andrea similarly short-circuited because Kirk seduced her... Sigh, the writing sometimes, I just... Almost forgot - Kirk hit Ruk with a penis-rock. An euphemism for how powerful Kirk's manhood is (that it could short-circuit robots)? 3/5

6x01: Solaricks Holy shit, what a premiere. After the lackluster season 5, I wasn't expecting much from season 6 and was prepared to go through the motions, but this episode more than surpassed my expectations. In the earlier seasons at least, Rick and Morty has rarely placed much value on continuity. But season 5 changed that, and this episode really built on that foundation by revisiting the past and rewarding those who have been watching since season 1, reminding us that there were real consequences and you can't always just hit the reset button by portaling away to another dimension. We get season 1 Cronenberg world all tied up nicely by the end of the episode's post-credit scene, and we even see season 2 Jerry and his family again (kinda glad to see Jerry gets one over his unpleasant family from season 2 while still retaining his rather pitiful clumsiness by bumping against the door on his way out). And of course, we finally get full details on Rick's original dimension, and we even have some spare time to flesh out Beth and Space Beth's relationship with Summer. While I admit that I've enjoyed the nihilism of the show in the past, I'm even more glad to see these solid moments of character building and emotional catharsis in the show, and it's probably what will keep me watching for the long term. And what better way to keep the audience emotionally rooted than having the one that made the show possible in the first place finally appear: Prime Rick, whose existence and actions led Rick to escape his universe and ultimately become the drunken and self-loathing gramps at the start of the show. Prime Rick's return feels like a long awaited story arc finally coming to a close after so long. Can't wait to see how it all unfolds. 4.5/5

Was gonna start season 6, but then I discovered the existence of Summer's Sleepover along with other shorts I've missed, like Bushworld Adventures which I just watched. 4/5 for that one. I like how it exaggerated Rick's tendency to be aggressive and abusive to Morty. Of course, the entire episode looks like it was done with MS Paint, which reminded me of the intro from Gintama done entirely with Paint as a gag. lmao But that ultimately led me to the "pilots" of the show, The Real Animated Adventures of Doc and Mharti... The first episode's certainly interesting... in a cursed way. Looking back, after the whole Justin Roiland controversy, with the comedy here seemingly about Doc being a creepy grandpa who hangs out with a kid so much he must have molested him, it kinda makes sense why his sense of humor went that way. Ah well. 3.5/5 for the five pilot episodes. The anime style shorts were great though. I wouldn't mind watching a Samurai Rick anime starring the badass Summer here. 4/5 for Samurai & Shogun 1 and 2. I can't believe Studio Deen was involved in this, considering their reputation for shoddy animation in their adaptations. Rick & Morty vs Genocider and Summer Meets God fall under the Evangelion side of mindfuck, so I barely understood much, but there's some very solid animation here. 3.5/5 for Genocider and 4/5 for Summer Meets God. That ending of SMG makes it worthwhile. Rick and Morty: The Great Yokai Battle of Akihabara: Easily my favorite of these anime shorts for obvious reasons. I like the reference to Akihabara's decline from a tech center to an otaku center. It could've been another whacky mind-trip into weirdness, but instead, it feels like a nice tribute for Japanophiles. 5/5 Rick and Morty in the Eternal Nightmare Machine: Holy fuck. I never knew I needed a game like this, even though I suck at beat 'em ups. lmao Such an awesome trip for gamers. 4/5 Vindicators 2: Last Stand Between Earth and Doom: Christ. Nice little mini series that sort of justifies Rick killing off the Vindicators... and make it more horrifying that Supernova survived. I like that Supernova in the opening title card has a smirk that gradually increased in size and width with each episode, before becoming a full-blown evil grin. Christ, that sociopath. 4/5

2x02: A Bullet for Bullock "I wonder how Gordon puts up with this.," - A hilarious moment from Harvey Bullock, after Batman pulled one of his iconic Batman Vanish I would think that non-comic book readers might have mistaken Arnold Flass as Harvey Bullock in Batman Begins (at least until they mentioned Flass' name, but even then, the human memory can be a finicky thing). Or Hell, Max Eckhardt from Batman (1989) for that matter. And it's really not hard to see why people would make that mistake, given their similarities for corruption (and similar body shape). Plus, it's sometimes hard to remember the names of secondary characters, especially for an '89 movie released before you were born. But in Bullock's defense, he's probably the least corrupted of the trio, with the other GCPD officers defending his good name. And on TAS, he's been shown to have his good side too as a servant of the law, which naturally turned around my initial negative impression of him over time. And as Harvey pointed out, one might easily make the presumption that he and Batman are similar in their own ways, given their tendency to "bend the law" to serve the greater good ("I didn't have time to observe the rules of the road, Alfred," or Bruce's tendency for B&E without warrant, and let's not even get into confessions under coercion or threat being inadmissible in court, which is practically Batman's entire legacy), but of course, Bruce doesn't think so this episode, probably not having too much love for Harvey's police brutality. I laughed though when Harvey called out on Bruce's "attitude problem" after he was rudely yanked into the Batmobile. It's acts like this that I can't help but enjoy the parodies of Batman's brooding persona trying to act more terrifying than he needs to be in certain situations. "Passenger ejector seat." Dexter could learn a thing or two the next time Dee Dee asks "What does this button do?" Of course, Harvey's a jerk who probably deserves Batman's roughhousing (though not so much the attempted murder), but man, what a slob too. I can't stand the sight of creepy roaches with their twitchy antennae and little legs, so I always keep my room relatively clean even though I'm lazy af as well. Nivens would love me. I'm watching this episode in production order, and it's listed as episode 2 of season 2 on both the production order list and Wikipedia. But HBO Max not only has it as an episode from the 4th season, but it has that new(er) The Adventures of Batman & Robin intro and end titles as well (even though Robin isn't a recurring character yet), which caught me by surprise. Ah well. I quite enjoyed this one. Always nice to see Batman stories with a cool detective noir atmosphere from that nice jazzy score, plus the amusing buddy cop shenanigans with Bullock. Nice to focus on the secondary characters from the GCPD every now and then. Jeffrey Jones voicing Nivens, who claims that no jury would convict him... YIKES. That didn't age well fast. 4.5/5

6x02: Crushed by a Steamroller on My 53rd Birthday A few nice bits here: Lonnie Peppers with Rosemary, Satan, Joseph, Mary, and God appearing on a Maury-ish show where Satan and Joseph are not the father. Can't believe they went there. lol The G.I. Joe in Afghanistan bit was not bad, but the fart joke's kinda meh. 3/5