Lisa Marie’s Week In Televison: 12/19/21 — 12/25/21

Posted on December 25, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Merry Christmas! Here’s what I watched this holiday week! It’s a short list because it’s the holidays. Next week, I’m planning on getting caught up on a few shows before the start of 2022.

A Very Boy Band Holiday (Thursday Night, ABC)

Erin and I watched this two weeks ago. On Thursday night, we watched it with our other two sisters, Megan and Melissa. It was fun. How can’t you love Joey Fatone holding a bunch of boy banders hostage in a Christmas cabin?

A Charlie Brown Christmas (Sunday Night, PBS)

I watched this with my sister. It’s a tradition! Be sure to read what Erin wrote about this special and why it’s still important.

Dexter (Sunday Night, Showtime)

It was a good episode this week. I wrote about it here!

Kelly Clarkson Presents: When Christmas Comes Around (Thursday Night, NBC)

I like Kelly Clarkson. She’s from Texas and she’s got a helluva voice.

The Love Boat (Sunday Night, MeTV)

On yet another Christmas cruise, there was love and there were laughs. This time, the overly eager crew hired three separate Santa Clauses. It cause a bit of trouble but, in the end, everything worked out for the best because there’s always room for multiple Santas! The other plotline of this episode dealt with a down-on-his-luck comedian who ended up sharing his cabin with an adorable dog, who he adopted at the end of the cruise. Awwwwwww!

The Office (Friday Morning, Comedy Central)

On Friday morning, my sister Megan and I watched the first three of The Office Christmas episodes. My favorite is still the first, the one where Michael ruins Secret Santa. Benihana Christmas is pretty funny as well, though I do think Karen could have tried hard to work with Angela before forming her own rival Party Planning Committee.

Santa Claus is Coming To Town (Thursday Night, ABC)

I watched this classic 1970 animated special with my sisters on Thursday night. It had actually been a few years since I had last watched this and I was surprised to discover that it was a lot better than I remembered. The animation was adorable and the voice acting of Mickey Rooney and Fred Astaire holds up surprisingly well. I’m glad I watched it and I’m even happier that I watched it with my family.

Seinfeld (Weeknights, Comedy Central & Netflix)

A chicken place with a bright red neon sign turned Kramer’s apartment in the Angry Red Planet. This was followed by an episode in which Kramer got the wrong personalized license plates and suddenly became very popular. The 90s were a wild time.

On Thursday morning, Jeff & I watched the episode where Kramer returned to his old job making bagels, Elaine tried to get back a card that she could use to get a free submarine sandwich, Jerry dated a woman whose appearance kept changing, and — most importantly — the Constanzas once again celebrated Festivus!

It was a Festivus miracle!

Happy Festivus!

Posted on December 23, 2021 by Jedadiah Leland

Happy Festivus!

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Saturday is Christmas. But today is a Festivus for the Rest of Us! How will you celebrate Festivus? Will you air your grievances or participate in the feats of strength? Festivus may not be for everyone but, for some of us, it’s our heritage.

If you need a reminder about what Festivus is all about, allow Frank Costanza to explain:

Here’s wishing you a merry little festivus!

TV Review: Dexter: New Blood 1.7 “Skin of Her Teeth” (dir by Sanford Bookslaver)

Posted on December 21, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Occasionally, while watching an episode of the original run of Dexter, I would sometimes wonder, “What if Dexter didn’t kill this latest serial killer? What if he actually did step back and just let the police do their job?”

Well, the latest episode of Dexter: New Blood answered my question for me. Even after he had all of the evidence that he needed to believe that Kurt was not only the sniper but that he was also responsible for the decades-old murder of Iris, Dexter still tried to play by the rules. He extracted a tooth from Iris’s mouth and, seeing that she had bitten her attacker, he gave it to Angela so that she could run a DNA test. He also told Angela about the murder cabin to which Kurt had previously tried to lure Molly. For once, Dexter stepped to the side and tried to let the system do its job.

Why did Dexter do this, despite Ghost Deb literally ordering him to kill Kurt? Dexter’s pursuit of Kurt has been complicated by Kurt’s pursuit of Harrison. With Harrison obviously growing more and more unstable, Dexter didn’t want to have to keep another secret from his son. He didn’t want Harrison to make a martyr out of Kurt. Dexter wanted to make sure that his son would eventually look up to the right serial killer. Good for Dexter!

Unfortunately, it turns out that the system doesn’t work. It didn’t work in Miami and apparently, it doesn’t work in upstate New York either. Yes, Kurt is arrested and he’s taken off to jail. But, after he concocts a story framing his abusive father and after the DNA on Iris’s tooth turns out to be just a 67% match, Kurt is set free. However, while he is in jail, he’s visited by Dexter. The two of them, obviously no longer pretending to be friends, find themselves discussing whether or not titanium can melt. Earlier in the episode, a slovenly truck driver gave Harrison an envelope for Dexter. Inside the envelope was a titanium screw, one that Dexter soon learns came from Matt’s body. In short, Dexter knows that Kurt is a murderer and Kurt knows the same about Dexter. However, others may soon be finding out as well. With Kurt out of jail, Molly and Angela talked and realized that there were holes not only in Kurt’s story but Dexter’s as well.

Meanwhile, Harrison finally revealed the truth to Dexter. As Harrison explained it, he has always had nightmares but now he realizes that the nightmares were actually memories of Rita’s murder. (John Lithgow makes a cameo appearance as the Trinity Killer and is quite chilling, despite only being onscreen for a minute or two.) Harrison announced that he was leaving town. Just as Dexter tried to follow his son, he was attacked by the same trucker who gave Harrison the screw. And then …. the episode ended!

This was a seriously good episode, probably the best of the season so far. The episode opened on a properly macabre touch (with Dexter and Angela investigating Iris’s mummified corpse) and it ended on a moment of genuine suspense. In between, Michael C. Hall and Clancy Brown both did compelling work as two guys who have a secret that only they can truly understand. The scene were Dexter and Kurt faced off in the jail was wonderfully acted and directed. As played by Clancy Brown, Kurt is the first Dexter villain to truly feel like a worthy adversary since the Trinity Killer. Indeed, it seems somewhat appropriate that the same episode that featured a flashback to Kurt’s first kill also featured a flashback to Trinity’s final murder.

So, what can we expect to happen next week? Dexter getting attacked by that truck driver would seem to suggest that Kurt has more allies that Dexter imagined. What if Kurt is not working alone? What if his truck stop is actually some sort of serial killer hang-out? It’s possible and it would certainly explain why Kurt was so eager to have Harrison working there. It would seem that Kurt might want to hunt Dexter next.

But here’s the thing — there are three episodes left. Seeing as how Kurt and Dexter know the truth about each other, you have to wonder what they’re going to be spend the next three hours doing until their final confrontation. Next week’s episode is called Unfair Game. Could that be a reference to The Most Dangerous Game, the short story that Kurt seems to be trying to recreate with each of his murders? The final two episodes are entitled: “Family Business” and “Sins of the Father,” which would seem to indicate that Harrison is going to play a key role in whatever happens. Personally, I’m still expecting Edward Olsen to be revealed as Kurt’s partner. Olsen hasn’t been in the last few episodes but he was prominently featured at the start of the season so it just seems like there has to be more to him beyond just being a wealthy land developer.

We’ll see what happens!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 12/12/21 — 12/18/21

Posted on December 18, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Again, I didn’t watch much this week. I was busy getting ready for Christmas and my boyfriend’s birthday and watching and writing reviews for 2022. So, not much television this week! However, here’s a few notes on what little I did watch.

Boxing (ESN, Sunday Night)

Yikes! I’m not sure who was fighting who but everyone certainly did seem angry. I have to admit that I do have an odd weakness for the spectacle of men hitting each other but I also cringe whenever the blood starts flowing. The best thing about boxing is when everyone hugs after the match and you realize that none of it was personal. Awwwwwww!

Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO, Sunday Night)

Larry David annoyed a lot of people. It’s what he’s good at. Now, I haven’t really been keeping up with this season but, as far as I can tell from watching Sunday’s episode, Larry is sleeping with a really annoying local politician because he’s hoping she’ll change the zoning laws and this somehow will allow Larry to fire an actor who he dislikes. And apparently, someone drowned in Larry’s pool and now Larry is being blackmailed or something. (Actually, I kind of got the feeling that maybe Larry killed whoever it was.) I don’t know. It was confusing but it was funny just because Larry doesn’t know when to stop.

Dexter: New Blood (Showtime, Sunday Night)

I wrote about the latest episode of Dexter: New Blood here!

The Love Boat (MeTV, Sunday Night)

There was a definitely lack of Christmas cheer on the Christmas cruise but luckily, Mickey Rooney played an angel who brought everyone together, taught the children how to sing, and saved the marriage of Donnie Osmond and Maureen McCormick.

Mom (Friday Afternoon, Paramount)

I swear, have the people on this show ever met anyone who they didn’t automatically accuse of being an alcoholic? On Friday, Paramount showed a quartet of depressing Christmas episodes. Yikes!

Seinfeld (Comedy Central, Sunday Night)

I watched three episodes on Sunday night. Jerry learned how to express his emotions and George sold computers. George lost his keys in a pothole and Jerry had a panic attack after a toothbrush fell in a toilet. (Ewwwwww! I don’t blame him.) And then George killed his fiancée with toxic envelopes. Unfortunately, Jerry had just gotten engaged so the tragic end of George’s engagement was a bit awkward for all involved. Line of the episode: “I can’t be with someone who reminds me of me! I HATE MYSELF!”

The 70th Miss Universe Pageant (Fox, Sunday Night)

Miss Paraguay should have won. Also, Steve Harvey needs to get some new material. I mean, Steve — we know you announced the wrong winner a few years ago. We’ve moved on. The only person who keeps bringing this up is you.

SERIOUSLY, STEVE, IT’S OKAY!

Survivor (CBS, Wednesday Night)

I wrote about the season finale of Survivor here! This was an okay season. I was happy to have Survivor back but Jeff Probt’s new happy and enthusiastic persona didn’t really work for me. Of the final three, Xander probably should have won but the jury was a bit bitter so congrats to Erika on her victory!

TV Review: Dexter: New Blood 1.6 “Too Many Tuna Sandwiches” (dir by Marcos Siega)

Posted on December 13, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

AGCK! HARRISON BROKE THAT KID’S ARM!

Listen, a lot of interesting and important things happened on the latest episode of Dexter: New Blood. Angela broke up with Dexter after revealing that she knew that Dexter was lying about his identity. Dexter now has all the evidence that he needs to know that Kurt is a serial killer. Kurt is continuing to bond with Harrison, to the extent that he’s now becoming as much of a father figure to Harrison as Dexter is. The scene where Dexter and Harrison went to therapy together was classic, cringey Dexter. Harrison and Audrey’s relationship is getting serious. Hell, even Molly had something important to do this week. There were a lot of good and memorable moments to be found in the sixth episode of Dexter: New Blood.

But what we’re always going to remember is Harrison coolly and efficiently snapping that kid’s arm. Maybe it was the “crack” sound effect or that the show cut away just as the bone snapped but that totally freaked me out. I’m just hoping the bone didn’t piece the skin. God, I’m cringing just thinking about it.

Yes, Harrison definitely has some issues. That’s been clear since the first episode. With each subsequent episode, Harrison has gotten a little bit more openly violent, a little more openly insolent, and a little angrier. Harrison is a time bomb and you have to wonder just what exactly Dexter is going to do about this. Because his son seems like he’s going to snap eventually — ugh, snap. Snap just like that kid’s arm….

The obvious solution would be for Dexter and son to go into business together, working as a team to take down murderers. But is it too late for Dexter to do for Harrison what Harry did for him? Dexter was raised for an early age to hunt down evildoers. Harrison has developed his “dark passenger” without the benefit of guidance. The entire town should be worried.

As for the rest of the episode, it was a good one. It didn’t get bogged down in improbable coincidences like the previous episode and the story is definitely moving forward. Dexter now knows that Kurt is a serial killer and, as a result of following Molly, he now knows where Kurt takes his victims. But how long until Kurt figures out just who exactly Dexter is? It’s going to happen. Either Harrison is going to tell him or Kurt will figure it out on his own by listening to Molly’s podcast. It’s obvious already that Kurt is going to do what he can to break up Harrison and Dexter …. in fact, he’s going to break up their uneasy relationship just as surely as Harrison broke that kid’s arm! OH MY GOD!

Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter get and deserve a lot of praise for their work on Dexter. Clancy Brown is doing good work as Kurt but that shouldn’t be a surprise, seeing as how he’s Clancy Brown. But I have to say that the actor who is really taking me by surprise is Jack Alcott. In previous episodes, Alcott has done a great job maintaining a balance between making Harrison sympathetic and making him petulant. I mean, Harrison has been through a lot so it makes sense that he would not be the most emotionally stable character on the show and Alcott has done a good job of capturing Harrison’s unpredictable nature. But last night, Alcott was briefly terrifying. The look of pure hatred that went across Harrison’s face before he broke his opponent’s arm was genuinely scary. And, of course, only Dexter and the audience noticed. I’ll be interested to hear what Ghost Deb thinks about all this.

This was a good episode and I look forward to seeing what happens next week. Will Harrison face any consequences or will he get away with yet another act of violence? And how long until Kurt and Dexter have their final confrontation?

We’ll know soon enough!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 12/5/21 — 12/11/21

Posted on December 11, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I’ve been busy Christmas shopping and getting ready for 2022 so not much TV for me this week. That’s a good thing, right?

A Very Boy Band Christmas (Monday Night, ABC)

Merry Christmas, Joey Fatone! I watched this with my sister Erin and neither one of us makes any apologies.

The Bachelorette (Monday Night, ABC)

I lost interest in this season a few weeks ago but I did watch The Men Tell All on Monday. It was messy and yet somehow dull at the same time. Some of the men were earnest and some them were sleazy and some of them were just dumb but none of them were particularly interesting and the show really needs to get a real host because Tayshia and Kaitlyn have no idea how to lead an interview. At one point, one of the men served another one of them with a defamation lawsuit. “It’s getting heated here,” Tayshiya announced, “so let’s take a break to cool down.” Uhmm …. no, don’t cool down. NO ONE WANTS TO SEE ANYONE COOL DOWN! That’s not what the Men Tell All is all about. Later, Olu (rightfully) called out Chris for accusing him of having a low IQ. It was a dramatic moment but again, the two hosts has no idea how to capitalize on it. Instead, it was just time to bring out sleazy old Jamie. And don’t even get me started on the obviously staged bit with the streaker.

Anyway, I haven’t really been following this season but, judging from the Men Tell All, Michelle made the right decisions about who to send home.

Dexter: New Blood (Sunday Night, Showtime)

I reviewed the latest episode of Dexter: New Blood here!

Fear The Walking Dead (Sunday Night, AMC)

I wrote about the mid-season finale here!

King of the Hill (Thursday Afternoon, FXX)

I watched several episodes of this classic sitcom while doing a little Christmas shopping. Some people feel that the show went downhill after Tom Petty joined the cast as Lucky the redneck but I always found Lucky to be funny. What can I say? I’m a Texas girl.

Parking Wars (Weekday Mornings, A&E)

I watched a few episodes on Monday. Everyone wanted to make sure the viewers knew that they were doing their jobs. It reminded me a bit of Frances McDormand in Fargo. “There’s no need to get snippy, I’m just doing my job.”

Survivor (Wednesday Night, CBS)

I wrote about the latest episode of Survivor here!

Talking Dead (Sunday Night, AMC)

Happy holidays, Chris! Thank you for your service.

The Walking Dead: World Beyond (Sunday Night, AMC)

I guess it’s over. I watched the series finale and I enjoyed it about as much as I could reasonably expect to enjoy that finale for any show to which I haven’t paid much attention. Annoyingly, the story didn’t really end. Yes, a few characters died and a few escaped to live a new life but the walking dead are still wandering about, the paramilitary folks are still doing their thing, and the scientists are still trying to figure out what’s going on. The episode ended with hints that the zombie virus is evolving. That’s an interesting idea but it’s hard not to regret that the show itself didn’t do much with it when the show has the chance.

TV Review: Fear The Walking Dead 7.8 “PADRE” (dir by Michael E. Satrazemis)

Posted on December 9, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The seventh season of Fear The Walking Dead came to its mid-season conclusion on Sunday. We learned a few thing as the show went into the hiatus.

We learned that PADRE is not a person but instead, it’s a place. It’s some sort of secret government installation that has the resources that can be used to rebuild the world. It was created by Senator Elias Vaszquez, just in case something like a zombie apocalypse happened. Unfortunately, Sen. Vaszquez is now one of the walking dead and no one is quite sure where Padre is actually located.

We learned that Will, who we met in the first episode of the season, was the senator’s aide. Will had managed to retain his idealism, even while the world was changing around him. When Alicia said that she sometimes forgot that the dead used to be the living, Will said, “Maybe that’s why I’m here. To remind you.” Wow, someone certainly had a high opinion of himself. Anyway, as we all know, Strand eventually threw Will into the moat and Will lost a good deal of his face and came back as a walker. Alicia came across Will at the end of the episode and put a blade through his reanimated brain.

And that’s lead us to the other big thing that happened during this episode — ALICIA RETURNED! I would probably be more excited about this if I felt like I really knew Alicia but, as I’ve mentioned in the past, this is the first season that I’ve really watched this show. I do know that Alicia is one of the few remaining links to the show’s first season. So, the fact that she’s back, has amputated an arm, is turning into a walker, and ended the episode by declaring war on Strand is a big deal.

As for this episode, it was …. well, it wasn’t bad. It managed to neatly link together everything that we’ve seen and heard since this season began. Hopefully, now that Alicia has declared war on Strand, the rest of the season can play out a bit more straight-forwardly. (Keeping track of all of these flashbacks and trying to keep everyone’s chronology straight in my head has been a bit of a struggle.) It’s hard not to feel that the first 8 episodes of the seventh season were basically just an extended prologue for something bigger. On the one hand, dragging a prologue out over 8 episodes is exactly the sort of narrative trick that burned me out on The Walking Dead in the first place. On the other hand, the episodes were largely well-done and well-acted and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested in seeing where this all goes.

Fear the Walking Dead will return on April 17th, 2022!

TV Review: Dexter: New Blood 1.5 “Runaway” (dir by Marcos Siega)

Posted on December 6, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

There was a lot of coincidences in the latest episode of Dexter. In fact, I would argue that there were perhaps more coincidences than were necessary.

For instance, I can accept that — having killed his latest victim — Kurt would just happen to drive up on Harrison while the latter was trying to run away from home. And I can accept that Kurt would possibly see Harrison as being a kindred spirit. It’s not just that Harrison and Kurt both have homicidal tendencies. It’s also that they’re both people who feel like they’re on the outside of normalcy looking in. Harrison probably reminds Kurt of himself as a teenager and, by mentoring Harrison, it’s possible that Kurt can try to fix the mistakes that he made while raising Matt. Either that or he just wants to make Harrison his new partner in his side hustle, murdering hitchhikers.

I can accept all of that. I mean, this is Dexter that we’re talking about. Dexter requires a certain suspension of disbelief in order for the show to work. If you spend too much time focusing on the chances of two serial killers actually ending up in the same small town in upstate New York, you’re never going to have time to appreciate Dexter’s sense of the macabre.

However, the show also asked me to believe that Angela and Molly would just happen to be in New York at the same time as Angel (David Zayas) and that Angel would just happen to be talking about the murders previously committed by the man that Angela now knows as Jim Lindsay. I mean, it was good to see Angel again and I’m glad he’s still wearing the hat but his sudden appearance was a bit too convenient. It was also very convenient that, earlier in the episode, a drugged Harrison told Audrey that his father was using a fake name and that Audrey later told Angela, at the exact moment that Angela was having her first doubts about Jim/Dexter. The episode ended with Angela printing out an old obituary for Dexter Morgan, one that featured Dexter’s picture.

From the start of Dexter: New Blood, it has been obvious that Angela was going to learn that Jim was actually Dexter. We all knew it was going to happen but I was hoping that Angela would learn the secret as the result of her own investigations, as opposed to just happening to attend the same random conference as someone from Dexter’s past. Audrey very easily could have just told Angela what Harrison told her and Angela could have then done some investigating on her own. Having her randomly stumble across the truth felt like a bit of a disservice to the character. It felt like the type of groan-worthy plot twist that far too often popped up during the final seasons of the show’s original run.

So, yes, I was a bit disappointed. A lot of this episode felt like filler. Dexter returned to his serial killer ways to take out a drug dealer but, in another coincidence, Logan showed up to arrest the dealer before Dexter could actually do his full ceremony. (Interestingly enough, the same thing happened with Kurt when his latest victim refused to run when he ordered her to.) So, Dexter had to force the man to overdose on drugs before making a hasty retreat. That was probably for the best, considering that Dexter still hasn’t found a good place to dump the bodies.

Still, there were a few intriguing moments in this episode. I’m liking the idea of Harrison having to potentially choose between two serial killing mentors and Clancy Brown continues to give a strong performance as Kurt. And, regardless of how she discovered the information, I’m looking forward to seeing Angela confront Dexter.

One final note: I still don’t think Kurt is working alone. I think Olsen is somehow involved. It wouldn’t surprise me if Molly was somehow involved too. Seriously, if Molly isn’t secretly a killer then she’s just an extremely annoying character. On a show like this, it’s always better to be a killer as opposed to just annoying. Either way, we’ll see what happens!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 11/28/21 — 12/4/21

Posted on December 4, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I spent most of this week working on Christmas stuff but I did watch a few shows.

Bar Rescue (Weekday Mornings, Paramount)

I watched three episodes while I was trying to wake up on Wednesday. Jon Taffer and “the experts” yelled at a lot of owners and reduced their employees to tears but I guess it’s all worth it in order to make sure that alcoholics have a fun place to hang out. The third episode that I watched was actually filmed in my hometown and I totally recognized the bar that Jon was rescuing. (I don’t drink so I’m usually the girl at the bar who gets weird looks for asking for a glass of water.) Jon described my hometown as being upper middle class. Thanks, Jon!

Baywatch Hawaii (Prime)

On Friday, I watched episode 14 of this show. There were three subplots, all of which were repeats of storyline that had previously happened on the original Baywatch. An all-nude protest went wrong. Sean flirted with the new boss. JD and Jessie bickered about their relationship. Despite being top-billed in the credits, David Hasselhoff was only in the show for a minute, boarding a plane back to Los Angeles. It’s hard not to feel that the Hoff just wasn’t that invested in Baywatch Hawaii. For that matter, neither am I. This show only lasted two seasons and it’s still taken me a month and a half to even make it through the first half of the first season.

I then watched Episode 15, which was weird. Basically, it started with Jessie getting lost in an underwater maze. Once she was rescued, suddenly it become about Jason and Allie working together on the beach and Jason being haunted by the death of a previous lifeguard. And then Dawn went on a date with some strange guy who insulted her by assuming that he knew everything about her. I know where Dawn’s coming from but still, none of these random stories really seemed to go together. One gets the feeling that this episode’s script was a combination of scenes that had been cut out of previous episodes. Again, it’s hard not to suspect that the people in charge of the show just didn’t care.

Dexter: New Blood (Sunday Night, Showtime)

I reviewed Dexter here!

Dude, You’re Screwed (Friday Morning, Discovery)

So, I guess the idea behind this show is that three ex-military guys toss some someone in a hostile environment and then they watch to see if that person can make it back to civilization without dying in the process. On the episode that I watched, they stranded some guy in Tanzania and then watched as he spent two days being chased by lions and trying to run in 98-degree heat. Luckily, the guy did make it back to civilization. He met some local hunters who were on the verge of killing him for trespassing before the hosts showed up to whisk him away.

It was kind of a fun show actually.

Fear The Walking Dead (Sunday Night, AMC)

I wrote about the latest episode here!

It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia (Wednesday Night, FXX)

Yay! The Gang’s back and they’re as terrible as ever! Two new episodes aired on Wednesday, featuring the gang fearlessly taking on the brave new world of the 2020s. In the first episode, they discussed what they did during 2020 and what they spent their PPP money on. In the second episode, they made Lethal Weapon 7, while trying to avoid remaking the mistakes that they made with Lethal Weapon 5 and Lethal Weapon 6. They’re a terrible group of people and I love them. They’re what this country needs right now.

Killer Cases (Wednesday Night, A&E)

The latest episode of this A&E true crime series took a look at the murder of Mollie Tibbets. On the one hand, I feel like shows like this are terribly exploitive and insensitive. On the other hand, I always end up watching. So, I’m as much of a hypocrite as anyone.

The Office (Everyday, Comedy Central)

I watched two episodes from season 3 on Thursday night. The thing is …. Jim knew that Andy had anger issues so hiding his phone and then repeatedly calling it through the day was really a dick move on his part. Bullying is never cool, Jim!

Survivor (Wednesday Night, CBS)

I wrote about Survivor here!

Talking Dead (Sunday Night, AMC)

Oh, hey, this is back! Chris Hardwicke did his best to try to make Walking Dead: World Beyond sound interesting. I respected him for trying.

Upstart Crow (Sunday Night, PBS)

After being absent from PBS for a few months, Upstart Crow returned on Sunday. PBS aired the show’s three Christmas specials, though not in chronological order.

As such, the first Christmas special that was aired was actually the show’s third, from December of 2020. In this special, Will and Kate were stuck in Will’s London home, under quarantine due to the Bubonic Plague. As Will tried to write a “Scottish play,” they discussed how the world had changed due to the plague. Needless to say, it was a pretty obvious and heavy-handed commentary on the UK during the Coronavirus lockdowns. The episode was both hopeful and angry. It had its funny moments but overall, it was a rather dark episode. Then again, December of 2020 was a rather dark time for many people.

This was followed by “A Christmas Crow,” which was the show’s fist Christmas Special. Airing long before COVID (or, for that matter, the episode the featured the death of Will’s son), A Christmas Crow was an enjoyably light-hearted “look” at how Eighth Night became Twelfth Night. Emma Thompson appeared as Queen Elizabeth I and was funny, sympathetic, and somewhat terrifying.

The final Christmas special shown was “A Crow Christmas Carol.” Still mourning the death of his son, Shakespeare met a mysterious stranger (Kenneth Branagh) who told him a story about a miser who changed his ways after being visited by three ghosts. Shakespeare and his friends attempted to pull the same thing on the villainous Robert Greene in an attempt to get Greene to change his ways. The highlight of this episode was, not surprisingly, Kenneth Branagh’s effectively creepy cameo as the Stranger.

Walking Dead: World Beyond (Sunday Night, AMC)

Eh. Who knows? There was a lot of death and paramilitary stuff going on. The show briefly had my attention a few weeks ago but the last few episode have just been kind of dull. It’s nearly over.

TV Review: Fear The Walking Dead 7.1 “The Portrait” (dir by Heather Cappiello)

Posted on December 4, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The latest episode of Fear The Walking Dead featured Morgan taking baby Mo to Strand’s tower, in order to try to find medicine for her. Normally, Strand would have sent Morgan away and laughed about it but Morgan was lucky enough to show up while Strand was having an existential crisis about his role in the brave new world of the Walking Dead.

In short, Morgan got to enter the tower and he stayed there for a while before Strand ended up having one of his trademark changes of heart. After nearly tossing Morgan to the Walkers, Strand changed his mind on the condition that Grace and the baby would stay at the tower while Morgan went back out into the apocalyptic wasteland. Morgan then hooked up with Dwight and his “moral outlaws” and then they all ran into some Stalkers who are apparently different from the other Stalkers who have previously appeared and then there was a big explosion …. or something.

Look, I don’t know. To be honest, I had a hard time following what was going on after Morgan left the Tower. That could be because this is the first season of the show that I’ve really watched. But, I will say that, when Fear the Walking Dead works, it works precisely because it captures the confusion of trying to keep track of who is who in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. It does a good job of capturing the paranoia that would go along with the end of the world. If The Walking Dead and Walking Dead: World Beyond is occasionally a bit too neat when it comes to depicting its characters as being good or evil, Fear The Walking Dead is a bit more chaotic.

As for this episode, it kind of reminded me of one of those old episodes of Lost where Jack or Kate would end up spending a week with The Others and you would kind of end up thinking that, regardless of how you felt about The Others as a moral force, you’d really rather live in their little village than in the caves with Jack and the skeletons. I wouldn’t necessarily want to live under the rule of a dictator prone to arbitrary rages but, at the same time, the Tower does look nice and Strand is keeping people alive (or at least, he is until he randomly decides to them off the top of the Tower). One could easily imagine the Others living in the Tower and telling a disbelieving Morgan, “We’re the good guys.”

For me, the highlight of this episode was Colman Domingo’s performance of Strand. Domingo, who has recently gotten some deserved attention for his performances in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Zola, is charismatic enough to be believable as a leader while also frightening enough to be believable as someone who could get his followers to go along with his often contradictory impulses. I actually felt a bit of sympathy for Strand as he realized that he would always be viewed as a fearsome ruler as opposed to a benevolent monarch. Of course, the rest of the episode was dedicated to reminding views as to why exactly Strand is so feared.

Anyway, it was a good episode. Colman Domingo and Lennie James dueling each other to see who could control each scene was entertaining to watch. The next episode is called Padre, so I guess we’ll finally get some answers as to who exactly is out there.

We’ll see!