[S06.E06: You Can't Handle the Truth]

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.

On 11/18/2014 at 9:30 PM, DittyDotDot said:

But mostly, I take great pleasure in Dean beating the snot out of Sam at the end--the dude had it coming, IMO.

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: 

Spoiler

"Sam is soulless."

 What the fuck, CW? Oh wait, I already knew.

[The Twilight Zone - General Discussion]

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:

 

[Star Trek - General Discussion]

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

[Batman: The Animated Series - General Discussion]

3 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

This was the ONLY time Stephanie played Janet. The first time was played by Lynette Mettey, in “Shadow of the Bat” when she’s tell Babs her father is guilty.

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.

[The Venture Bros. - General Discussion]

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

[Batman: The Animated Series - General Discussion]

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.

[S06.E05: Live Free or Twihard]

"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.

[The Twilight Zone - General Discussion]

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

[Star Trek - General Discussion]

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

[Rick And Morty - General Discussion]

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

[Rick And Morty - General Discussion]

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

[Batman: The Animated Series - General Discussion]

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

[Robot Chicken - General Discussion]

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

[The Twilight Zone - General Discussion]

2 hours ago, Annber03 said:

I've always wondered about Henry's marriage to his wife in "Time Enough at Last". She goes so far as to black out entire pages of his beloved books and rips them to shreds, and is so dismissive of and cold to him. Were they ever happy? If not then how the hell did they ever wind up together in the first place? So many questions...

Yeah, I wondered about that too. Like I said in my review for Escape Clause, I just wonder how these marriages come together when one or the other member of the couple is so unpleasant...

[S06.E04: Weekend at Bobby's]

2 hours ago, FlickChick said:

This is S6 and as it progresses, you'll see why Dean called Bobby. Strange things afoot...

Oh yeah, that's true. I miswrote. What I meant was Dean abruptly calling Bobby selfish, considering their history.

[S06.E04: Weekend at Bobby's]

Marcy: "Have you seen "Drag Me to Hell?"
Bobby: "Trying to avoid it."

lmao It's kinda cheesy, but I love that exchange. In fact, I enjoyed the entire episode, Bobby and Mr. X Rufus' humorous camaraderie, Bobby finally getting the appreciation he deserves from the boys (whom, let's face it, were pretty whiny, especially during 4-5, regardless of good reasons or not). I like seeing Kim Rhodes' Jody Mills make a return as well. Certainly one of the few positive female voices of the show that hasn't been killed off. Didn't recognize her well enough to match her with her role in Suite Life, which was the first time I saw her.

Also, let's not forget Crowley. I can see why fans grew to love him. Just the right balance of wit and threat, though I feel the latter might fade away soon with demons. I remember reading a YouTube comment for a season 1 Supernatural clip, where they said "Remember when demons were the biggest threat around? Good times."  Because as Bobby said, they're just ghosts with an ego.

Dean abruptly calling Bobby out of nowhere seemed kinda forced though, gotta admit.

4/5

[So What Are You Listening To?]

Got obsessed with playing PvZ again on mobile, then PvZ2. It's a shame the mobile version of PvZ didn't have this music video (I think), whereas I remember seeing it on the PC version.

[The Twilight Zone - General Discussion]

Time Enough At Last

"Cursed by his own hubris." - Bender, commenting on an episode of The Scary Door parodying this episode

Initially, I would like to say that I could probably relate to the theme of this episode a lot more seeing how I'm always escaping from the real world into fiction. But rewatching this episode, I realized just how obsessed Henry Bemis is with reading (to the point of reading ketchup bottles???), such that he ended up neglecting his work to satisfy his hobby, something even I wouldn't have done. Henry's behavior, however, has reminded me of my days serving conscription in the army, just huddled away in some corner watching anime I've downloaded on some China brand tablet I bought cheaply off the Internet. It was forbidden for us to carry a device like that, but I needed my escape from that place (didn't have the best experience in my camp). And that's why a part of me still sympathized with Henry nonetheless, especially with what ultimately happens to him at the end of the episode. It helps that I have myopia too and I'm forced to wear glasses as well. Just the idea of them breaking forever, never allowing me sight again... it sends shivers.

And even though I mentioned that I'm not much of a reader, I'm knowledgeable enough that Henry's utterance of Keats and Shelley made me geek out a little (one reason why Penny Dreadful was so enjoyable for me). No mention of Poe though, but at least Rod got Shakespeare in.

However, the episode does meander quite a bit before its inevitable arrival at the twist ending so popular you probably knew it before even watching this episode for the first time. We spent quite a bit of time not just understanding why Henry felt the need to escape (from his nagging wife and his understandably frustrated boss), but also wandering around the post-apocalypse landscape with Henry wondering what to do with himself. Remember what I said about food expiring if everyone dies out? Well, in this episode's scenario, there's also the risk of radiation fallout, and yet Henry just gobbled up that cookie left in the open like it was nothing. This scene with Henry restlessly shifting around felt rather anticlimactic and dragged out, especially when I already know what's coming. It's as if Rod was figuring out what to do with Henry after the H-bomb dropped and just padded the scene till the ending. As can be seen from M. Night movies, a good story needs more than just a good twist to function. If you remove the thrill of that twist during a rewatch and the episode doesn't hold up well because of it, then maybe the structure needs some reworking. I've enjoyed previous TZ episodes without a twist, after all, even Walking Distance to some extent because of how well-written they were.

I think I'm probably give this episode an undue and undeserved hard time, but what made me like Where is Everybody's slow build and not so much this episode's second half is probably because I subconsciously attributed Henry Bemis with 1) his obsession with reading and nothing else, and 2) that twist ending also related with his obsession. It doesn't help that Henry is written as a very broad character whose only interesting trait is that he loves to read. That said, Burgess Meredith helped elevate the character a little by playing up the lovable charm of Henry the nerd, so watching Henry wasn't as dull as it could have been.

At the same time, it's because of that second half that shows Henry's sorrows over everyone being killed that makes the twist far more powerful (it's because we saw how despondent Henry was in the face of apocalypse that made us feel for him), so it wouldn't really be fair of me to criticize the episode for that either. I do still believe that it could have been shortened a bit to further heightened the impact of the abrupt twist, or spend that additional screentime building up that theme of the cruel randomness of fate and chance (with the payoff being the ending), but I'm probably just nitpicking by this point.

The way Henry tripped and dropped his glasses was kinda amusing too, albeit quite believable. I can be quite clumsy myself too, but seeing this episode, if I ever find myself in a similar situation as Henry in the future, I'd be sure to watch my step.

As a footnote, it's interesting how a show like Twilight Zone gives us the hard truth about the '50s, whereas a nostalgic piece like say, Back to the Future, only remembers the good times. It's a time of segregation, female depowerment, and a persisting fear of nuclear holocaust. But hey! Chuck Berry and Johnny B. Goode!

3.5/5

[The Twilight Zone - General Discussion]

The Lonely

Before this episode, the show has somewhat played around with the idea of isolation within a contained environment before in Where is Everybody. But it's here in The Lonely where we truly get our first exploration of a lonely man who has been stuck on some prison asteroid for four years (while Walter Bedeker barely survived four minutes in a tiny jail cell). Whether Corry is truly guilty or not is mostly irrelevant because the moral question here, naturally is whether the punishment fits the crime. But for what it's worth, at least Corry has someone delivering books (and then a love-bot) to help him pass the time. It could have been a lot worse for him, like getting imprisoned in a small room experiencing 1,000 years per minute of real time within a simulation (I just can't help myself, I love Black Mirror so much, especially the White Christmas special).

The idea of a robot as a companion in a '60s show is certainly interesting though, considering how real the idea might become in the near future (if it isn't real already, from what I heard). Of course, this being the '60s, such impure relationships wouldn't really be accepted on television yet, but even so, Rod has injected a tragic vibe to the outcome of Alicia here rather than sanctimoniously commenting on how such a relationship wouldn't work in real life. We're meant to sympathize with Corry here in the end, how he has earned his freedom but ending up sacrificing a potential happiness with another, even if said happiness might very well be a fleeting illusion.

And even though we didn't spend a lot of time with Corry troubling over Alicia's robotic state, I feel like it's one of the more fascinating moments in the episode, the idea of this chance at happiness being at your reach, but you're constantly reminded that it's not real, merely a façade. Drives you nuts thinking about it for too long. It's not quite a Westworld or Detroit: Become Human situation where it's confirmed there is true sentient life behind those gears and cogs, so the only question here in this episode is whether or not you're deluding yourself loving a robot.

As usual, I personally wouldn't mind being stuck in a prison like this if I have light entertainment to pass the time. The whole idea of loneliness has rarely bothered me (sure, I get lonely sometimes, but my life as a loner has always felt more appealing than dealing with the consequences of my inept social skills), so it's hard for me to feel as much impact from the episode as a normal person would have, unfortunately. If anything, I would die of boredom first, especially when I'm not much of a reader (TV AND FILM ALL THE WAY BABY).

It's amusing to think about how Jack Warden was in 12 Angry Men (amazing film I'm glad I watched) just two years prior to this episode. Alternative headcanon: Corry had a 12 Angry Men situation that ultimately resulted in him receiving his pardon.

4.5/5 Strong ending to a solid structure.

[Star Trek - General Discussion]

1x06: The Naked Time

Did Spock look at the camera in the beginning when he told Kirk, "It's like nothing we've dealt with before"? lmao And I thought Bill was the only hammy one around.

It's no wonder Joey Tormolen was acting strange in the beginning - he's part of the Grape People who bleed grape soda! lmao But seriously, that's some iffy blood effect.

George Takei shirtless and fencing would probably be the second most memorable moment of this episode, but it also reminds me of Ice from The X-Files, which had parasitic worms (that cause the host to become violent; basically the Hinamizawa Syndrome from Higurashi When They Cry) in a similarly frozen setting. Interesting note about George's berserk (credit to Amazon Prime's X-Ray trivia): writer of the episode John D.F. Black came up with it, but left the weapon of choice to George between a samurai sword or a fencing foil; George chose the latter because he speculated that by the 23rd Century, people would stop being so racist be more open-minded and associate with cultures beyond their own ethnic background. He was right, and it happened no sooner than the 21st Century, if not the dawn of it.

The most memorable moment of this episode, however, is of course Spock's weeping. I guess my usual "SMUG IS AN EMOTION" joke just wouldn't have the same impact after seeing such emotions from Mr. Spock here. Apparently, Leonard improvised the entire scene too in a single take at the end of a production day, resulting in countless fan-mails demanding more emotional Spock.

Gotta say though, beginning from The Cage, it always feels like there's at least one episode where a woman is being ogled or interacted with in a lecherous way (and of course, Kirk has to suppress his lust for Yeoman Rand again, that temptress whose only purpose seems to be make everyone horny so far). I hope that won't be a pattern I'd need to bring up every episode.

Finally, accidental discovery of time-travel FTW! Too bad this wasn't a two-parter like it originally was and we'd have to wait for another episode to see whether the Enterprise would put their new discovery to use (possibly the originally intended second parter, Tomorrow is Yesterday, which has a title that practically shouts "TIME TRAVEL!").

Last time, I spoke of how The Man Trap had a similar "danger aboard the Enterprise" plot going on, and how the similarity left my mind wandering, perhaps out of boredom. I wasn't aware that this would be a recurring form of plot structure for the series (as evidenced by this episode having the same plotline) because I had assumed that a space-faring show would take place more often groundside on colorful and unique alien planets rather than the confines of the ship. Ah well. I don't really mind to be honest; I would simply need to readjust my expectations for the show.

I guess it's due to budget reasons that these early episodes were largely confined to the ship. But because of that, and the lack of an obvious and visible external threat like all the previous episodes, a lot of the episode's strength comes down to the actors/actresses' performance, resulting in some very well-acted and engaging moments. It's not quite a bottle episode, but it has similar traits that would encourage such strong performances to happen.

4.5/5

1x07: Charlie X

"You smell like a girl."

Seven minutes in and Rand's already treated like a sex object, having her bottoms slapped around. Long siggggh... I'm probably not gonna make it through Perv Trek this show if I keep picking apart these moments, especially considering Gene Roddenberry's reputation as a womanizer. lol Let's move on.

In defense of this episode, however, Charlie being a horny 17 year old kid (albeit played by someone in his 20s) is at least more understandable from a storytelling point of view (our Gen Z/Gen Alpha teenagers in real life from the TikTok generation aren't any better to be honest). A god-like being who's also a teenager with hormones is indeed a terrifying notion, probably more so than if the god is a younger child, a preadolescence or an infant even (like Toy Story with Sid Phillips). But still, you know what would've fixed the problem? Just give Charlie some weed (or whatever form of space-weed that's available in the 23rd century). Or feed him an entire library of "entertainment" tapes to keep his libido in check.

The objectification aside, I like how Rand was able to handle herself in the face of a horny god (instead of just becoming a whimpering damsel in distress). I like how she had to act like she's talking down to a naughty child.

It's not exactly Robert Daly (of the USS Callister) we're dealing with here, but that trick removing a female crew member's face makes that similar moment in Black Mirror feel like a nice tribute in hindsight. This was probably Robert's favorite Space Fleet episode (assuming that fictional show within the show has a similar "Charlie X" episode too), with him rooting for Charlie. To be fair, I've behaved in similar ways before in the past, being overly sensitive to cruel remarks, and it doesn't help that I have a bad temper either. I tend to try and stay away from conflict though after those arguments rather than keep lashing out at people here in some petty revenge like Charlie did here.

Nice highlight on Uhura and her singing. Wonder if Zoe Saldana ever had the opportunity to sing in her Uhura role (I never saw the reboot sequels after the first film)?

4/5

[Batman: The Animated Series - General Discussion]

2x01: Sideshow

I swear, Batman's got a guardian angel or Lady Luck watching over him, the way Croc's tossed boulder misses his unconscious head by inches before the tranquilizer finally took effect. Either that, or it's plot-convenience, but I'll just pretend it's Bruce's luck.

I've never been a DC guy and have never read any DC comics, period (unless you count Watchmen), so Killer Croc's inclusion in Batman's rogue gallery has always befuddled me. The Man-Bat I get because at least that's a reflection of Batman's persona, a symbol made literal. But Killer Croc, at least in the two episodes of TAS up to this episode, has been portrayed as a dumb thug like how the Rhino was portrayed in media (in spite of him having some semblance of intelligence in his first outing, The Amazing Spider-Man #41). However, I've learned that Waylon Jones has more substance to his character in the comics, but I guess I won't find out any time soon what that is. Furthermore, I've learned that Croc was a Gerry Conway character... which makes a lot more sense (big Spidey fan here who read all the classic comics).

That said, I still like this episode for it is and appreciate the pathos of Croc succumbing to to his baser instincts (something Bruce trains to keep under control with discipline) and ended up destroying his one shot at happiness. Even if Batman has found him, if he had just stifled his killer instincts, the geeks might have accepted his lies and continued to let him stay.

And for all the deviations the show might have from the original version of Croc in the comics (before the retcon), I could respect how the writers committed to that change and stuck with it this episode, doing everything they could to sell the idea that Croc's more of an animal than a man with bad skin, from his "crocodile teeth" to the way the nature scene (as Batman chases Croc through the woods) was devoid of music, as if to imply Croc was blending in with nature. The final line where Croc admitted to Billy, perhaps in remorse even, that he couldn't help his animal instincts, was just the cherry on top of the nice characterization of Croc as a man torn between animal and man.

3.5/5

[Robot Chicken - General Discussion]

6x01: Executed by State

Currently watching season 6. That Starbucks logo bit killed me. lmao

What a way to open the season. Nice.

The vegetarian bit is a bit iffy and just feels like an anti-vegan ad, but I like the joke that watching The Wire makes you feel special (I only finished season 3 recently).

The Roadrunner bit was good and the Coyote's plan was a nice clever spin on Roadrunners' usual fake tunnel schtick, but the erection joke felt rather random.

Pixar Lamp's a good one.

The Marvel acapella is pretty cool. Can't believe they got Stan Lee on the show.

And finally, after a series of hits-and-misses, the final part of the episode is easily one of my favorite, if not my all time favorite Robot Chicken bit:

Let's face it: Andy was a weird kid who didn't play with his toys the right way.

4/5 for the episode. Great stuff throughout.

[S06.E03: The Third Man]

I was kinda annoyed at first to have Lisa's first scene being Dean making out with her in bed when it's been established that Dean's gonna leave Lisa and Ben temporarily. This is because I was concerned that Lisa might only return for the sake of sex scenes like this (aka fanservice).

But then we got Jared Padalecki working out. Half-naked. GENDER EQUALITY, FOLKS. lmao You got me, Supernatural. Can't complain now. Jared's packing too. Nice pecs. He's no Jensen when it comes to looks (which isn't even a knock on Jared since Jensen could easily make the "Hottest Men Alive" list), but damn. Also, I just found out about the Walker reboot with Jared in the starring role. Goddamn. Good for him (though I couldn't stop laughing at all the Sam jokes in the comment section for Walker's trailer). "Take off that hat, Sammy. You look ridiculous."

This episode grossed the heck out of me at times, but I kinda respect the increased level of violence they allow on the show, because damn, having someone literally turned into an explosive meatbag of blood splattered across the floor and child-torture aren't something I could see Broadcast Standards & Practices approving, even in 2010.

And I don't really mind the idea of an angel civil war as well, which I'm actually on board with because it's refreshing focusing more on angels (whom we only had about two seasons' worth of highlight prior to season 6) instead of worrying about your more generic demons every episode. We didn't really get to see much of Raphael last season, so I'm hoping they'll do something interesting with him this time, along with how his traditionalist views would clash with Cas'.

I also like the plagues because I always tend to like it whenever the plagues are involved. There's just something wicked fun and epic about those biblical plagues, twisted as that makes me sound, and I like them even more when done with a unique spin on it like in this episode. But I do agree - Moses' stake was underused this episode. Where are the other plagues, man? I want to see darkness and flies too. The boils' a classic though, or as Jonathan put it in The Mummy (1999): "Last but not least, my favorite plague: boils and sores."

But even if it's underused, I wouldn't mind seeing those angel nukes become the new MotW. Like I said, now that we're done with your typical demons, I don't mind tapping into the more biblical lore as the setting this time. They've got quite a lot of material to mine from the Old Testament.

I kinda accidentally learned about what Sam's deal is... something to do with a lack of a soul? Yikes. Guess a little Marvin Gaye wouldn't help. *ba dum tss* But yeah, I'm hoping we don't get dragged into another moping contest again because I had enough of the Sam and Dean conflicts in season 4.

Next time, we've got Crowley. Woot. Heard he's a fan-favorite down the later seasons. Can't wait. I liked him in season 5.

Oh, and almost forgot, Castiel remains the most awesome thing of the show so far, but like that needs to be said, pfft. C'mon.

3.5/5

[The Twilight Zone - General Discussion]

Walking Distance

If The Time Element represented Serling's trauma from his experience in WWII, then Walking Distance (and arguably Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine) is representative of his nostalgia for a simpler time during his childhood, wishing he could go back again rather than deal with the exhausting drama and horrors that would plague the '60s, giving him no rest after living through the war of the '40s.

This episode is one of those where the protagonist has literally walked into the eponymous Twilight Zone (as opposed to having strange events happening around his starting location and secondary characters). Be it time-travel or an alternate dimension, it's quite an endearing and heartfelt tale cherishing the simple pleasures in life one takes for granted as a child. You'd end up incapable of moving on if that yearning persists, perhaps even living out in your adult years things you wanted to do as a kid but never got to (speaking from a personal experience, naturally).

To be honest, the episode wraps up a little too perfectly to really engage me, especially because the pacing of the plot slouched a little after the meeting of his parents before the ad break (something Serling pointed out in his college lecture commentary track as well as he severely criticized his younger self). It's nonetheless a quite well-crafted episode in my opinion, just not one that stands out too much in my mind.

That said, I found it amusing that the young lad with the roadster just randomly called out to the adult Martin, practically a stranger, out of nowhere to show his new set of wheels. It helps though that the sequence in the past is implied to be a dream sequence (something Serling admitted in the aforementioned lecture that he didn't intend for the script to turn out that way, people ignoring adult Martin's strange behavior). I also like the end, when Martin walked into the diner again and random teenagers start dancing to rock & roll music as if to tell you "Hey, it's the 1950s/60s again!" I had flashbacks to Back to the Future (which also has a Marty!) watching that scene and hearing that music.

Quite a handful compared Gig Young's own personal life with Martin Sloan, an inevitable comparison due to how Gig died (and what he did immediately before he died). I find that rather tasteless to be honest, even though I understand why such comparisons were made. We like to act like we know the personal lives of celebrities like they're out bestfriends (or in some cases, our worst enemies we'd scorn over the Internet)... but they're not. The only people who could and should make such comparisons are Gig's friends and family, or at least people who really knew him at one point outside television and film. It is rather tragic though, I'd admit - and not just his fate, but his wife's.

4/5

Escape Clause

You know, whenever I see an unpleasant character like Walter Bedeker, who despite his churlishness and self-centeredness, managed to marry to someone pleasant and the total opposite, I just couldn't help but wonder how people ended up in these marriages. I suppose you could make a case that Walter's perhaps a more caring and even charismatic man in the past.

I've dreamed of immortality before, but then I quickly realized (thanks to fiction) that it comes with the consequence of aging and falling sick without dying. But Twilight Zone cleverly acknowledged this by offering Walter the benefit of being immortal, ageless and invulnerable. Those three can mean very different things, and it's usually not often that someone like the Devil (or more likely, the Djinn from Wishmaster) would offer all three without any hidden trick.

And that makes Walter's actions seem all the more foolish. What a f-ing waste. There's things I would've done in his place, obviously (like riding a rollercoaster, for one thing, not having to worry about my heart or my anxiety condition... or dying from a coaster accident like Final Destination 3), but this man just received one of the best deals of all time and squandered it. Sigh. What an idiot. And it can be a wonderful thing to dream about if you're a loner with no attachment to anyone in the world, so your friends and family dying wouldn't bother you the least. The only consequence I could think of is that the Earth might someday implode or something and you'd be left floating across space dusts. No Netflix, no video games, no nothing. Just space and dusts. Then I might consider using the escape clause.

Hell, I would even take a Groundhog Day kind of scenario where I would be reliving the same day forever ("I'm a god!"), but watching a different episode of old TV shows everyday. With thousands, if not more TV shows than I could watch in a lifetime, it would be like what Henry Bemis felt like in Time Enough at Last (before the cruel twist, I mean).

Walter's foolishness doesn't end behind bars either, because think about it: Sure, Walter is trapped behind bars, doomed to be imprisoned forever. But here's the thing, Walt... people break out of prisons. What's a few hundred years attempting to break out of prison (or just wait for the law to go lenient on you down the road, after you serve a hundred years of a life sentence) compared to eternity? All he had to do was just wait around and an opportunity would show itself. And the fact that he became impatient and ended up using the clause suggests that the Devil knew just what kind of man he was and counted on this petty little man committing some kind of crime and ending up becoming bored to death behind bars.

Despite the seemingly grim description of the ending, it's actually a whimsical episode much like One for the Angels (which also featured a supernatural entity associated with the afterlife), further evidenced by the bouncy music score. It's also amusing that the guard attending to the imprisoned Walter burst into the hallway immediately upon hearing the 'thud' when Walt collapses. Like immediately, almost as if he has super hearing. Why didn't we get an episode about that guy? lol

I quite enjoyed this story, probably more than Walking Distance and the other whimsical episode, One for the Angels, mostly because immortality is just such a fascinating concept that I always like exploring, and I love stories about the Devil tricking people too (currently watching Supernatural season 6, but Thomas Gomez's take on the Devil is naturally more jolly than Mark Pellegrino's sinister demonic force who wouldn't bother with such a contract or game; I could see Tom Ellis' Lucy fooling around with such a clause though). Some might consider immortality a curse, but I consider tales of people living forever an escapism. No heaven, no hell (at least not any time soon), just Netflix and the Internet forever, or at least till humanity dies out in a couple million years, give or take.

4.5/5

[S06.E02: Two and a Half Men]

1 hour ago, MAK said:

I went even further, I kept calling Rufus Captain Fuller!

I literally thought "Mr. X survived and settled down in Jarden" watching the first episode of The Leftovers, season 2, where he showed up as Virgil.