“E.L._.O.” begins with Gar getting brain surgery. Ew. They’re actually playing with the brain. Yuck! He’s talking and they’re squishing and triggering his anger and tiger changing.
Dick is in solitary for assisting in an escape. He’s delirious and sick. Good news, Ghost Bruce Wayne is mocking Dick again. I love it! Iain Glen is such a badass. He’s trying to lead Dick to understand there’s something going on that he’s missing.
Raven is being called in her dreams to help Dick at a taco place I think or a diner. I love tacos and diners. I’m think I’m hungry and a real cheap date. She’s staying in a crackhouse, but she has a cellphone. Where does she charge it?
This is coming clear as a Heroine story. They are doin it for themselves. Starfire is hanging in Vegas playing video games, drinking, and puking, but on the mend. Dawn is tossing everything ?but a photo post-hank. Yep, she left.
This mission story is still going?! UGHHH. Raven’s mission friend does tarot. *eyeroll* If you’re gonna mess with nonsense from the Dark Ages, why not become an alchemist or apothecary? At least then, you might make gold or treat a rash. Then, Raven is drawn to the Elko Diner.
Starfire is getting lucky. He blew it. Just kept talking and talking, but she did open up to a bit of exposition. Get on the road to Elko already; we know you’re going too.
Dick is recovering and Bruce is trying to make him understand Jericho and admonishing him- Pity party is over! LOVE IT!
Rose and Jason are squatting in some rich person’s home and busting up drug rings. She’s connecting to him and she wants to see the real Jason Todd and he will, but my guess is that her share won’t be so great.
This next scene is pretty cool. Raven, Dawn, Wondergirl, and Starfire all end up in the same Elko diner. Aaaaaand, it’s Bruce! The real Bruce. Bruce is so awesome. He’s bringing them back together. Then, he just leaves! Awesome! Dawn and Wondergirl are like screw Dick Grayson. Raven and Starfire decide to help Dick.
Dick is freezing is in cell and he sees….a RAVEN. He gets the idea for Nightwing….I hope!!!
We learn about Jason Todd. He squatted at a theater and watched thespians do their craft. Rose gets a little closer and then clams up. Damn, the leather jackets in this show are totally badass. They could bring it back.
I thought Jason was soulless. He’s not. He’s just broken and sad.
We are back with Dick in prison. He’s fighting his Ghost Bruce. Slowly, we are seeing Nightwing be born. So cool!!!! He realizes that Jericho IS ALIVE!! He’s hanging out in Slade’s mind. With that realization, Dick can forgive himself and let Nightwing be born!
Rose calls her Dad that she’s done with him and his games. Going against Deathstroke….interesting choice.
Fun, Raven and Starfire bust Dick out of Prison, but…..he’s already gone leaving a note scrawled on the wall: Jericho is alive. AWESOME!!!
Meanwhile at Titans Tower, Gar is home, but he’s being controlled by Cadmus. He’s imagining that he’s home, but They are controlling him. When he hears classical music, he become a tiger and eats an evil scientist.
This episode was a lot of fun; it had been kinda dreary and now it’s got it’s MOJO back!!!
“Fallen” begins with “Inmate: Dick Grayson” Assault on Federal Officer. Plea: Guilty. 7 Years. No Probation. Ouch.
I don’t like his odds in Gen Pop, but who knows? Everyone is trying to call him, but he’s out of touch. Gar let Superboy loose. Wondergirl lost Raven. Dawn lost Hank. This is a downer! Raven is at a mission/halfway house. Crypto is running a meth lab.
The guard at the prison has set Dick up for death. That sucks. His cellmates are Gangbangers gone good. I guess, kinda cliche, but hey why not.
I’m not a fan of the Raven subplot at the mission; so, I’m not covering it. The only thing that I haven’t liked.
Mercy Graves comes in and captures Gar, Krypto, and manipulates Superboy. She convinces him to go back to Evil HQ. Gar is being brainwashed.
Dick is deciding whether or not to help the reformed gangbangers. He does and gets caught. This episode had a lot of potential, but it fell a little flat until the end. Wondergirl returns to the tower. It’s as broken as the Titans. Not every episode can be great.
“Atonement” begins with Dick’s confession. We learn that he told the old Titans that Jericho was already dead when he got to the Church that he died trying to save Dick from Deathstroke. He lied to everyone. Hank, the most direct, decks Dick and everyone leaves…..except Gar. I guess technically Conner too, but he’s unconscious.
This episode is all about admitting fault. No one is clean. This is Rock Bottom.
Then, we learn that Blackfire has sent her “Royal Goon Squad” to kill Starfire and her bodyguard. That must be the most awkward Thanksgiving ever. Blackfire wears the crown now and she killed many many people. Starfire’s hesitancy to wear the crown cost lives.
Dick abandons the Tower, leaving Gar holding the bag. WHAT?! You did this. You don’t get to run off. Oh well. Gar sees his mission as getting the Titans back together. Sure. Why not? He even reads to the unconscious Conner. By Day 3, he’s flagging. Conner wakes up and is a bit confused, naked.
Hank and Dawn are back in Wyoming and living in a new cabin. Then, Dawn takes Hank, a recovering alcoholic, to a bar. Ok. Not my first choice. Then, they are confronted by the sister of the boy Doctor Light killed. His death is on their heads.
Dick goes to Jericho’s mom to apologize. She does not let him off the hook at all. She directs him to look for forgiveness in the other room. Guess who’s there? Deathstroke. She’s cold blooded!!!! He’s moved back in like a Supervillain parent trap? Deathstroke sentences Dick Grayson to live alone and that if he re-assembles the Titans – they all die.
Then, the comic relief: Gar takes Conner into the city and he takes up Park Goat Yoga. Nah, he thinks cops are bad and attacks them and even the dog gets in on it. Oops.
Hank and Dawn split up. Blackfire has possessed the bodyguard, forcing Starfire to kill him. Then, we see Blackfire. And she is…is EVERYONE on that planet gorgeous? Can I go there?
Dick decides to go to Greenland, but changes his mind and gets himself arrested. Hank goes to a bar and orders a diet coke …. then some drugs. Alan Ritchson really plays the broken addict role well.
This episode worked like a 2nd Act spin around; everyone is at their nadir. Lost. Broken. Such a great show!
Stephen King described his worst fear as a person who has power over you, that is SUPPOSED to take care of you, but doesn’t. “Jericho” is about deceit and the pain and misery that causes, which leads to Dick’s downfall and the death i.e. collateral damage that is Jericho. Taylor/Sutton, Hatfield/McCoy, Titans/Deathstroke there’s always collateral damage, but this is much worse because the team knew Jericho was Deathstroke’s son and were using him from the start. Therefore, Deathstroke calling Dick a con man was accurate.
The story quickly shifts to Slade/Deathstroke. They’re all at a campfire and we learn Deathstroke’s origin story from Jericho. He kills A LOT of people and doesn’t stop snacking. Really. Then, he comes home, changed. His son can speak and it looks like he can have a life, but not so much. He becomes a killer for hire and SPAMS everyone on Linkedin to be his contact. Thugs attack his family to get info from Deathstroke. Oops. They all die, but not before his business leads to his family getting attacked and Jericho losing his voice via severed vocal chords. The backstory from Jericho leads to Deathstroke’s agent.
Deathstroke learns that the Titans are using his son to get to him. Well, I have to admit that I’m on Team Deathstroke on this one. Soon, we learn Jericho’s ability. He’s able to possess people. That’s weird. We flashback to a road rage incident where Jericho uses the power and his dad witnesses it. I feel so badly for Jericho being used like this. Dick is totally blinded by rage and revenge. Dick decides to take Jericho as a Titans member and tell him about how they were pursuing his Dad. It actually goes quite well; Jericho joins the Titans and try to stop Deathstroke. I’d be pissed.
Jericho leaves his mom and she sends Deathstroke to get him back. She’s coooooooold Blooded! Ice water in her veins. Deathstroke’s agent sends him to meet his Dad/Deathstroke. Dick is fine with manipulating anyone for revenge. Deathstroke versus the Titans. Yikes. Not gonna end well for them.
The next scene is one the best fight scene ever! Deathstroke Vs Wondergirl! FIGHT! There’s swords, knives, rope, and Ryan Seacrest hosts. It’s CRAZY!!!
Jericho confronts his dad. He’s wearing the Deathstroke armor without a mask. In reality, he’s naked. All of these capes are their true selves in costume. He says, “You wanted the truth…. This is who I am. This is who I’ve become.” This brilliantly calls back to the episode “Conner” where Eve says to Conner that he is person. “A person is what they do, not what they say.”
I thought I saw the best fight, but the Deathstroke v Robin battle was epic. Deathstroke has like stick-sword-gun! WTF?!!!! Just as Deathstroke is going to deliver the Coup De Gras, Jericho leaps in and takes his father’s sword, killing Jericho.
We cut to the Tower. Hank and Dawn hate Dick now. Their quest for revenge caused Jericho’s death- an innocent kid. To her credit, Wondergirl offers her continuing friendship because she knows that she, Dick, and Deathstroke all held the killing sword. This show just delivers again and again. Esai Morales deserves an Emmy for this performance!
Titans really is Dick’s show. Dick, like Batman, is a detective. In this episode, Dick is trying to track down Deathstroke, but it’s also a journey for Dick to resolve the demons of his past. The rot is insidious and destroys everything. This episode is about facing demons and the rot that grows when they are ignored. Sadly, I’m personally familiar with this. This episode is so realistic with the depiction of pain, loss, and redemption- you might need therapy afterwards.
The title “Bruce Wayne” is a misnomer in the title because it’s actually the psychic break of Dick seeing his mentor Bruce Wayne (Iain Glen) mock him. This is pretty awesome. Iain Glen approaches role with no boundaries. He inserts himself as the greatest foil to mock Dick at every turn, which is nice because Dick is so rigid, seeing this side of his psyche makes him 3-Dimensional. The true test of a leader isn’t just accomplishing the mission; it’s have the team accomplish it together, utilizing all of their strength because that creates a pattern of victory. If you think I’m not correct, how many bands stay together after they get really famous?
Bruce is rebuking Dick’s leadership especially with Jason that he led all of these kids into Deathstoke’s hands- “right into their bloodfeud”. We’re learning the depth of Dick’s culpability in creating the feud is unknown even to the other original Titans members. It’d be hypocritical of me to claim that I’ve never taken revenge or wanted it, BUT it ALWAYS leaves collateral damage and we learn more about this feud the collateral damage was EPIC.
The show is great about keeping the subplots going without distracting the A-Story. Eve is trying to find Conner; she frees Crypto to do it. Conner is sick from the kryptonite bullets etc etc and gets all better. Rose is trying to (AND SUCCESSFULLY) seducing Jason and they have CHEMISTRY!!!! We see just how deep Rose’s infiltration has worked. Jason is seeing things. Alcohol is being left for Hawk, orange soda is left for Wondergirl (it’s a thing), photos appearing for Dawn, records are appearing, crosses are all over Raven’s room, and Colonel Mustard is in the parlor with a candle stick. JUST MAYHEM!
I love the detective parts of the story. Dick works the case to find Deathstroke by going to ex-girlfriends and known associates. It’s fun because ACTUALLY how cops investigations. I’ve personally done many investigations and they are always fun! Bonus, you get to see Bruce Wayne dance in burlesque….it’s better than it sounds.
Rose drives a deeper wedge by revealing Dick’s secret to Jason by using her brother Jericho the boy Deathstroke was stalking to get to her dad. Now, if Jason were less infatuated, he might realize that he’s being played by Rose.
Sidenote: Wow! The acting talent of both Chelsea Zhang and Curran Walters is palpable. They play off each other perfectly. It’s Emmy-worthy performances. The cast as whole is like a supergroup. Without even a near-second, this greatest show on tv in 20 years.
We learn that they think Doctor Light killed Jericho. Not so. Dick has blood on his hands- they will drip drip drip the details until the suspense is ratcheted like a suspension wire on the Golden Gate.
Just when Dick realizes that the enemy is in the house, we see just how bad Jason blames himself. He climbs up to the top of the Tower to end his life. It’s almost too believable. It hurts to watch. Right when we think it’s about to end with Jason’s death, we learn brutally as Dick metaphorically undresses himself, revealing that he killed Deathstroke’s son. He is the poison and the rot at the center of the team.
This episode is so great that it should be in a masterclass for acting, writing, and directing. It is so riveting and Breton Thwaites confession is so believable – it hurts.
“Conner” (Dir Alex Kalymnios) is not a flashback as much as a flash-lateral. The previous episode had Jason Todd, a principle, falling to his death. Then, this episode dives right into a muscular naked guy with a dog. Yep, he’s Superboy and the Dog- Krypto and yes, if you talk to the dog he’ll go on and on about The Blockchain. It can be worse than if people do CrossFit and are vegan.
“Conner” introduces Superboy (Joshua Orpin). We get to relax and see some tragic comedy with him and Dr Eve Watson (Genevieve Angelson) play off one another for about an hour. We learn that Eve created Superboy- see what they did there?! Also, that he has the emotional maturity of child, strength of Superman, much of the knowledge and memories of Lex Luthor and Superman because is cloned from both of their DNA strands. As you do.
He ends up saving Jason Todd because why not? Joshua Orpin played well as Superboy and he is a new principal; so, we needed an origin story. I think it could’ve had some more action scenes. Orpin is very good at those and I’m looking forward to seeing him in more of the series. However, he did get hit by some kryptonite bullets; so, it might be short-lived.
Jason Todd has been captured, but why? Why is there a feud between Deathstroke and the Titans? What happened? Why didn’t Dick tell the new recruits any of the details before joining up?
“Aqualad” (Dir. Glen Winter – Dir. of Smallville and Arrow) opens FIVE YEARS AGO with Deathstroke doing a ritual before a mission, not with a sacrifice, but a ritual nonetheless. For him, he showers and trims his facial hair perfectly. Why? Because that’s his ritual. Next, in a series of shots, he is sniping target after target. Lawyer, prisoners who turned State’s evidence, a Judge- everyone connected to his mission.
Esai Morales plays this perfectly calm and that’s how these Men actually are. The ones who I knew who did this sort of work were matter of fact Salt of the Earth types. His character doesn’t say a lot of words because why should he?
We get a hint as to what drives him. We see that he is outside of home with a teenager and mom. The teenager is mute and you wonder why are they targets? They aren’t because if they were, they’d be dust. Obviously, it is his son. Deathstroke had a son and Rose had a brother.
We learn about the unrequited romance between Aqualad and Wondergirl. They’ve wanted each other since they were 12 years old. He wants her, but she has a destiny to return to Themyscira and shoot arrows or something. Side question: what’s the point of Themyscira? Primitive weapons, feta everywhere, and lamb after lamb – doesn’t it get old? So they go there and train, buy why? Is it just The Olympics everyday? The pizza is the worst! Move on.
He wants her to stay and she secretly plans to leave before his fish charms get to her.
Since Doctor Light has been bothering everyone, we get his backstory. He was a physicist turned evil blah blah blah lightning hands. They need to stop Doctor Light because he’s getting a super weapon. All the while, Deathstroke is getting closer to his target.
The night of battle occurs and they wreck Doctor Light. Post battle, Aqualad and Wondergirl consummate, but she leaves without a word that very night!!!! Aqualad pursues and is accidentally killed by Deathstroke.
Dick uses the Bat-surveillance to determine the shooter is Deathstroke, which sets in motion their plan. They decide to get Dick to know the boy that was surveilled by Deathstroke.
This episode serves as half of the bridge. We know why the Titans hate Deathstroke, but not why he hates them. What makes these flashback episodes fun is that they keep their focus. We learn their side of the revenge, but Deathstroke’s revenge is a totally different story and can’t be rushed.
The following episode “Deathstroke” doesn’t reveal his motive, BUT it does show his magnificent bastardness! Esai is so Stone Cold! We can see Curran Walters really embody Jason Todd.
The entire episode is about how Deathstroke is setting up the pieces for maximum revenge against Dick Grayson. Rose is constantly pitting them against one another with perfect psy-ops. Deathstroke furthers that rift by offering a trade of Rose for Jason. Why? Because he wants the team to be constantly conflicted. This is from his military training: Infiltrate, Alienate, Isolate, and Destroy. Rose infiltrated, she is working to alienate them from one another, once isolated- attack.
Dick tries to offer himself in return for Jason. This is NOT going to work for Deathstroke. He wants Dick to suffer. The dead no pain; it is the survivor that lives with remorse and pain. Deathstroke wants Dick to be helpless as sees everyone he cares about die.
Deathstroke goes full Bond villain by having Jason on a scaffolding that will blow up and cause him to fall with Dick watching into a pit of alligators and maybe a shark. Why? Because THAT’S DRAMA!!!! He does get Jason to fall and have Dick helplessly watch. Then, CUT TO BLACK?! WHAT?!
This episode is great not just because the performances are great, but because it makes you desperate to know WHY is Deathstroke going to all this trouble? Thank you again and sorry for the wait.
Let me tell you about my week. On Sunday, I started to feel slightly congested. The left side of my face hurt a little whenever I smiled. Since I’ve been vaccinated, I wasn’t terribly worried about it being COIVD or anything like that but still, I did think to myself, “I hope this isn’t a sign of things to come.”
On Monday, I woke up feeling a bit more discomfort, especially on the left side of the my face. After making sure I still had my sense of taste and smell, I thought to myself, “Well, it is allergy season.”
By Tuesday, I was in the throes of a full-blown sinus infection! AGCK! I’m talking fever, fatigue, pain, the whole thing. Fortunately, the really bad part of it only last two days. By Thursday, I started to feel better and, as I sit here typing this on Saturday, I would say that I’m 99% over being sick. That 1% is still there but I’m definitely read to move on.
Anyway, as a result of being ill and medicated, I spent a lot of this week in bed and not a lot of it watching television. (The DVR, however, is now almost full so I’ll have a lot to get caught up on over the next few days.) Here’s some notes on what little I did watch:
Allo Allo (Sunday Night, PBS)
Uh-oh, Rene’s been captured by the Communist Resistance! Even worse, LeClerc has been captured alongside him. Now, Rene and LeClerc are bound on a circular saw table and it’s up to Edith, Yvette, Mimi, and Michelle to rescue him. I think Rene may be doomed. We’ll find out next week, I guess.
The Bachelorette (Monday Night, ABC)
Since this season began, there have been rumors about Greg leaving the show right before the finale so I can’t say that I was shocked when, this week, he left the show right before the finale. Greg left because he was upset that Katie refused to say that she loved him while she still had two other men competing for the final rose. Uh, Greg — what show did you think you were on?
Anyway, Greg has left and I imagine Katie will now settle for Blake. It’s funny how often this show seems to end with The Bachelorette settling for her second choice after her first choice either leaves the show or suddenly proves himself to be not the man that she thought he was.
Big Brother (Every Day 24/7, CBS and Paramount Plus)
I’m having a really difficult getting into this season but I’m still writing about the show over at the Big Brother Blog!
Love Island (Weeknights, CBS)
Despite having sworn off this amazingly shallow show, I did watch an episode on Sunday night because I was too lazy to change the channel. That’s right, I admit it. I’m lazy! Anyway, this episode featured the women dancing in lingerie while the men made goofy faces. I like dancing in lingerie so maybe I should have applied to have been on this show. Oh well. Missed opportunities and all.
Moone Boy (Sunday Night, PBS)
While the town of Boyle celebrated St. Patrick’s Day, Fidelma got married and gave birth at the same time! Unfortunately, Martin also got his heart broken when he traveler girlfriend mysteriously disappeared, leaving behind a note that explained that she and her family had left town because “that’s what we do.” Poor Martin!
Open All Hours (Sunday Night, PBS)
Arkwright pretended to be ill in order to get the attention of the local nurse while Granville continued to dream of murder and destruction.
Silk Stalkings (Weekday Afternoons, ZLiving)
On Thursday, I came out of my daze long enough to watch two epiosdes of this show on ZLiving. I have no idea what the plot of each episode was but there were a lot of undressed people, a lot of gunplay, and John O’Hurley appeared in one of them as a wealthy murder victim.
Tokyo Olympics (Every day on every network)
On Sunday, I watched the BMX freestyle competition. Go, BMX Bandits, go!
And that’s it! Seriously, I loved what I saw of the Olympics this year but, once that sinus infection it, I pretty much stopped watching because I was in a bit of a daze. I hear that the U.S. performed slightly below expectations, despite the fact that U.S. athletes won the most overall medals and, as of right now, we’re in 2nd place behind China as far as gold medals are concerned. Usually, as a patriotic American, that would bother me but this year …. eh.
Fortunately, there’s still one more day of coverage to go and I plan to watch as much as I can on Sunday!
Upstart Crow (Sunday Night, PBS)
I loved Sunday’s episode, largely because it dealt with the production of one of my favorite of Shakespeare’s plays, Julius Caesar! It was very interesting to see the show’s version of how Julius Caesar went from being a comedy about Caesar taking a vacation in Kent to being one of Shakespeare’s best historical plays. Of course, along the way, we also had time for Shakespeare to prevent an attempted coup in the theater company and for Kate to once again call everyone out for their foolishness.
My viewing this week was pretty much dominated by Big Brother and the Olympics.
Allo Allo (Sunday Night, BBC)
This week brought us yet another bizarre episode, this one featuring Herr Flick dressing up as a gypsy to uncover a plot to kill Hitler while Rene dressed up as a fireman to steal the plans to invade Great Britain. Trying to keep track of it all proved a bit difficult but at least Crabtree was there wish everyone a “Good Moaning.”
The Bachelorette (Monday Night, ABC)
The men tell all! The Men (or Women) Tell All is one of the franchise’s greatest traditions, a chance for the rejected to have their say before the finale. Often, it’s a highlight of this season. This year, without Chris Harrison or a similarly experienced host around to guide the conversation, it was pretty dull.
The main things that I learned from watching the men tell all is that 1) none of the men were that interesting this season and 2) The Bachelorette needs to hire a real host to replace Chris Harrison because neither Tayshia nor Kaitlyn have proven themselves to be up to the job. Their inexperience when it comes to interviewing people was obvious during this week’s episode. Whenever any of the men said anything that was the slightest bit unexpected, Tayshia and Kaitlyn just giggled and then move on to the next topic, without asking any follow-up questions. It reminded me of those terrible reunion episodes that used to end every season of Dance Moms. When The Bachelorette is remind me more of a low-budget Lifetime show than America’s number one dating show, that’s a problem.
Big Brother (All Week, CBS and Paramount Plus)
You can read my thoughts on Big Brother at the Big Brother Blog!
Dragnet (Weekday Mornings, MeTV)
On Monday morning, Dragnet got started with an episode in which Friday and Gannon investigated a man who was pretending to be a policeman and a fireman. Though the man was doing good deeds, it was still a crime and he still got sentenced to probation. This was followed by an episode in which Friday and Gannon searched for an aspiring starlet who had gotten caught up in the world of …. smutty films! It turns out that the only thing that Friday and Gannon disliked more than marijuana advocates was the adult film business. Unfortunately, it all ended in tragedy.
Tuesday started off with a rather silly episode in which Friday and Gannon investigated two rival gypsy families. One of the families offered Friday a bribe. Oh, that was a mistake! This was followed by a far more dramatic and effective episode, in which Friday and Gannon investigated a case of child abuse. It was an angry episode about an important subject and, for once, Friday’s moralistic outlook felt appropriate as opposed to out-of-touch.
The first of Wednesday’s episodes found Gannon and Friday interrogating a mob associate on a rainy night. The entire episode was just the interrogation and it was actually handled pretty well. Though the 60s Dragnet was best known for its scenes of Friday lecturing hippies, the best episodes were the ones where Friday and Gannon just did police work and avoided commenting on current events. This was followed by an episode where Friday and Gannon attempted to find a man who had threatened to commit suicide. Again, this was a well-handled episode, one that was sympathetic to those who struggle with depression and anxiety.
Thursday, on the other hand, got started with an episode that featured the type of thing for which Dragnet is best remembered. A bunch of smug hippie teenagers wanted to start their own island nation and they were robbing Los Angeles stores in order to get the supplies to do so. Fortunately, Gannon and Friday were on-hand to lecture them about their civic duty and their lack of practical camping experience before sending them all to juvenile hall. This was followed by an episode in which Friday interviewed police academy applicants and then he and Gannon investigated one applicant’s background, mainly to discover why he had gotten a divorce …. wait, what? It should be noted, though, that investigating the divorce did lead to the discovery of evidence that the applicant should be not be allowed the enter the police academy. Anyway, this was one of those Dragnet episodes were the emphasis was meant to be on how professional the LAPD was. Not everyone can join the department, the episode said, especially not divorced people.
The first of Friday’s episodes featured Joe and Gannon investigating a case of embezzlement. It turned out that the embezzler had a gambling problem! Joe and Gannon were not sympathetic. Such are the wages of greed, I guess. This was followed by an episode with Joe attempted to teach patrol officers about the importance of maintaining good community relationships, even with people who don’t like the LAPD. On the one hand, the show made a good point by directly addressing the fact that cops need to treat all people fairly. On the other hand, a large part of the episode centered around a young black activist learning that the cops weren’t so bad after all. In other words, this episode was the epitome of the type of well-intentioned, middle-of-the-road storytelling that tends to drive activists on both sides of an issue crazy. Still, everything worked out in the end. The activist agreed to pay a traffic fine and the cops agreed not to charge him with resisting arrest.
And that was it for this week!
Moone Boy (PBS, Sunday Night)
As the Moones somewhat reluctantly prepare for Fidelma’s wedding, the peace in Boyle is upset by the arrival of Travelers. The Travelers don’t really do much but, because they’re Travelers, everyone gets a bit paranoid about them, regardless. Martin, of course, develops a crush on one of them. Meanwhile, Dessie asks the priest to be his best man, which leads to “Stag Mass.” It was a funny, if somewhat messy, episode.
Open All Hours (PBS, Sunday Night)
Arkwright and Granville got a van, one with a mattress in back, so that they could pick up hitchhikers. It was a disturbing episode. It’s always been pretty obvious that Granville is one step away from losing it and going on a rampage but this week’s episode suggested that Arkwright might be a bit on the unstable side as well.
Tokyo Olympics(All week, Every Chanel)
On Sunday morning, I watched Spain defeat Serbia in water polo! Because I’m rooting for Spain, I was happy to see the win but water polo still seems like an amazingly silly sport. I then watched a bit of the handball match between Norway and South Korea. Who knew handball could be so intense!? After the handball, I surprised myself even further by getting totally caught up in fencing. I think the reason I liked the fencing is because the uniforms made all of the competitors look like characters from The Purge. That said, I definitely cheered a bit when Lee Kiefer won the gold!
While I didn’t get a chance to watch much of the Olympics on Monday, I made up for that on Tuesday morning by tuning in and watching Japan defeat the United States at softball. And I have to admit that it didn’t really bother me, watching the U.S. lose this event. Japan is hosting the Olympics this year. Softball is reportedly a big sport in Japan and, indeed, one reason why softball was an Olympic event this year was because Tokyo already had a softball field. Japan winning the Gold just felt appropriate. After I watched the softball medal ceremony, I found out about Simone Biles withdrawing from the Games. As I said on twitter at the time, “mental issues” can mean any number of things so instead of judging, the proper response from the beginning was to wish Simone the best for whatever she may be dealing with. Of course, most people did the exact opposite and this week has pretty much been dominated by people offering up terrible takes on Simone Biles, the Olympics, and the pressures of competition.
The over-the-top reaction to the Simone Biles news temporarily turned me off of the Olympics so I didn’t watch on Wednesday. However, I returned on Thursday. I watched the U.S. vs. Turkey in Women’s Volleyball and I have to admit that I soon found myself rooting for Turkey, whose team had more natural talent than the American team. That the American team still won felt like it had more to do with luck than anything else. After the indoor volleyball, it was time for Women’s Beach Volleyball, which featured Canada vs. Brazil. I have to admit that, ever since I finally watched Top Gun last year, it’s been impossible for me to take Beach Volleyball seriously. Jeff and I also watched a bit of Olympic golf.
On Friday night, it was time for more running, more swimming, and more medals! There was also some women’s soccer which …. bleh. I really hope we don’t win the gold this year. I’m sick of being expected to care about soccer.
Saturday, I watched a bit of volleyball and a bit of boxing and a little basketball. I have to admit that basetball has never appealed to me so I ended up watching golf instead. I never though it would happen but golf is winning me over. It’s such a refined and, most importantly, quite sport. No squeaky shoes or yelling, just the sound of golf swings and polite applause.
2021 U.S. Senior Women’s Open (Golf Channel, Sunday Afternoon)
I also like watching golf because I like seeing what all of the courses look like. They’re all very nice and green.
Upstart Crow (PBS, Sunday Night)
Shakespeare and the crew (including the “Artist Formerly Known as Marlowe”) tire of the London fog and head up to Stratford. With everyone getting sick of being stuck indoors together, Shakespeare is inspired to write a romantic comedy. When his wife informs him that his idea for the play (featuring mistaken identities and, of course, a wedding at the end) all sounds like “much ado about nothing,” Shakespeare informs her that he’ll soon have another hit on his hands. Yay, Shakespeare!
The Olympics are here! I know what I’m going to be watching for the next two weeks.
Seriously, don’t ask me to explain it. I just get excited about the Olympics. Admittedly, I do usually prefer the winter games to the summer games but still, I’m just glad that the Olympics are finally being held. This is the year that I discovered that badminton is an Olympics sport and I have to admit that I’m kind of upset that I didn’t know that earlier. My sisters and I used to play badminton all the time. WE COULD HAVE GONE TO THE OLYMPICS!
Anyway, here’s my thoughts on what I watched this week:
Allo Allo (PBS, Sunday Night)
“I have the spy camera! It is disguised as a potato!”
Allo Allo opened with Rene escapes from the Colonel’s dungeon and then being sent on a mission to take photographs of a safe. As usual, it was overly complicated and funny. I think what I like about this show is that some of the humor is very complex and very clever and then an equal amount of the humor just comes from silly things like Crabtree and his greeting of “Good moaning,” regardless of the time of day. It’s a mix of sophistication and stupdity and it’s a good combination.
The Bachelorette (ABC, Monday Night)
And now we’re down to four! The highlight this week was Katie sending Andrew home, then changing her mind and asking him to stay, just for Andrew to turn her down. And that’s why Andrew will probably be the next Bachelor.
Big Brother 23 (CBS and Paramount Plus, 24/7)
You can read my thoughts on the show that everyone love to hate over at the Big Brother Blog.
Court Cam (A&E, Wednesday Night)
More courtroom drama! I complain about this show, some would say nonstop. And yet, it is addictive. Or, at the very least, it makes for good background noise. It’s one of those shows that you don’t really have to pay too much attention to. Each 30 minutes episode is full of so many little stories that it’s basically tailor-made for people with ADD like me. That said, I still stand by my claim that this show is a sign of the decline of civilization in general. We live in dangerous times. Or actually, I guess we just live in increasingly stupid times. Dangerous is such a dramatic word.
Dragnet (MeTV, weekday mornings)
Monday’s two-episode block of Dragnet 1968 started with an episode in which an ex-con called the police to let them know that someone had solicited him to commit a murder. The solicitation happened as a result of an ad that the ex-con put in a “hippy newspaper.” Joe Friday went undercover as the ex-con to catch the killer. Somehow, he was able to do this despite the fact that there is absolutely nothing about Joe Friday that suggests that he would even know what a hippy newspaper was, let alone put an ad in one. Episodes of Dragnet where Friday goes undercover are some of my absolute favorites because it’s not like Friday puts any effort into changing his behavior or his style of speaking. He just takes off his tie! He’s still obviously a cop, no matter what he claims. This was followed by an episode in which Friday and Gannon investigated the murder of a real estate agent. Interestingly enough, for a show from 1968, the victim and all of the suspects were black but no mention of race was made during the episode. Instead, the emphasis was on Friday and Gannon treating everyone exactly the same as they treated white suspects. I imagine that was a deliberate decision on the part of the producers, as Dragnet always went out of its way to present the LAPD in the best light possible.
Tuesday started with a somewhat silly episode about a gang of dogs that had been trained to snatch purses. For those who love campy Dragnet, the highlight of the episode was Friday and Gannon interviewing a victim who was also a hippie and who carried a gigantic flower with her and who explained that she “like(d) the fuzz because you’re all flowers too.” This was followed by an episode where Friday and Gannon once again went undercover, this time to bust a con artist who was responsible for a pyramid scheme. Uniquely, this episode ended with a lengthy and rather dull courtroom scene.
Wednesday started off with Friday and Gannon pursuing another set of con artists. This time the con involved impersonating police officers and selling people cards that were said to extend special privileges. Soon, Los Angeles was full of swindled people tearing up traffic tickets. Fortunately, the LAPD were able to get the fake cops off the streets and once again, Friday and Gannon took of their ties and went undercover to make the arrest. One of the con artists was played by G.D. Spradlin, who would later go on to memorably play Sen. Pat Geary in The Godfather, Part II. This was followed by an episode where Friday and Gannon investigated whether a patrolman had taken a bribe. As usual, the emphasis was put on the police force doing things by the book.
Thursday stated off with a Christmas episode, in which Friday and Gannon worked hard to recover a stolen statue of Jesus. This is actually a classic episode, one that is aired by the retro stations every Christmas season. The statue was recovered and no one went to jail. This was followed by an episode in which Friday and Gannon searched for a drug smuggler whose plane had crashed in the San Fernando Valley. Many people went to jail at the end of that episode.
Finally, Friday’s episodes started off with Joe and Gannon investigating the disappearance of two little girls. It turned out the parents of the girls were divorced, which led to Joe giving their mother a lot of attitude, as if it was solely her fault that her daughters were missing. And indeed, the show ended with the girls being recovered safely (it turned out that they had just run off to see their old dog) and a hearing in which the father was given “reasonable visitation rights.” It was an awkward episode that didn’t really sit well with me. Fortunately, it was followed by a much more enjoyable episode, in which Joe and Gannon investigated a cult leader who was giving his followers LSD. It was Joe Friday vs. the counter culture! Brother William, who thought everyone should embrace LSD, was well-played by a distinguished actor named Liam Sullivan. For 20 minutes or so, Brother William and Joe Friday debated whether or not drugs should be legal. “How many times have you taken LSD?” Friday demanded. “Several hundred times!” Brother William exclaimed, “and look at me! I’m as sane as you are!” In the end, no one learned anything but Brother William did eventually got to prison.
Fasten Your Seat Belts (A&E, Wednesday Night)
Hey, who doesn’t love chaos at airports and on airplanes, right?
Actually, hold on. Both of those things would totally make me and a lot of other people nervous. The last place most of us would ever want to be would be on an airplane where someone is losing it during mid-flight.
Regardless, Fasten Your Seat Belts is a the new, ultra-cheap reality show that features footage of people acting up on airplane and in airports. It’s basically like watching YouTube for 30 minutes, except for the fact that Robert Hays (star of the Airplane! films) is the host. I guess if you’re into YouTube videos of people acting like jackasses and inconveniencing their fellow travelers, this show might be for you.
Hell’s Kitchen (Fox, Monday Night)
For me, the funniest part of any Gordon Ramsay show, from Hell’s Kitchen to KitchenKnightmares to that motel hell show, is when everyone sits around and talks about how attractive they find Chef Ramsay to be. It happens at least once every season. This week’s episode of Hell’s Kitchen featured Chef Ramsay talking to all the chefs one-and-one and then all of the chefs talking amongst themselves about how sexy they found Chef Ramsay to be. Eventually, Keona was sent home but Ramsay told her to keep her head up high and to keep growing as a chef and, the show seemed to be saying, who couldn’t appreciate those words coming from someone as amazingly handsome as Gordon Ramsay?
Hunter (ZLiving, Weekday Mornings)
Hunter is an extremely 80s cop show about a 7 foot detective named Hunter who shoots criminals in Los Angeles. His partner is Dee Dee McCall, who is just as quick to shoot as Hunter is. This is one of those shows that always appears to be playing on at least one retro station. I’d never actually watched a full episode until Monday morning, when I used two of them for background noise. The show looked fun in a silly 80s cop show sort of way — a lot of tough talk, car chases, and gunplay. At one point, Hunter casually tossed a man off a roof and then said, “Works for me.” That pretty much sums up the show.
Moone Boy (PBS, Sunday Night)
Martin wanted the latest game system but his father couldn’t afford it and was sure that “this whole computer thing is just a fad.” (Remember, Moone Boy takes place in the early 90s.) To raise the money himself, Martin got a job as a “golf ball hunter” at the local country club. Eventually, Martin got struck in the head by an errant golf ball and his imaginary friend, Sean, was briefly transformed into a 1920s style golf pro. Meanwhile, Martin’s father reached into the past and remembered his time as a table tennis champ to win his son’s respect. It was a sweet and funny episode, as most episodes of Moone Boy tend to be.
Open All Hours (PBS, Sunday Night)
Apparently, PBS has re-started Open All Hours, showing the very first episode this week. Arkwright looked about the same but Granville was obviously much younger this week than he was last week. That said, even at a young age, he still seemed like he had been utterly defeated by life. Poor Granville. No wonder he’s always trying to figure out a way to kill Arkwright.
Perry Mason (MeTV, Weekday Mornings)
I was back at the office on Monday and I needed a little background noise while getting my desk organized so I turned on MeTV and I watched an episode of the old, 1950s Perry Mason. This was the one with Raymond Burr as Perry. Unfortunately, because I was working and organizing while the show was on, I couldn’t pay much attention to it but I did see that Perry did manage to not only win an acquittal for his client but he also exposed the real murderer, who just happened to be sitting in the courtroom when Mason announced his name! He confessed and everything! Yay!
Rachael Ray (Channel 21, Weekday Mornings)
On Monday, I turned over to Rachael Ray for background noise while I was at work. She discussed how to make the perfect hot dog. It all looked very complicated but I will say that, if I was one to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, I would probably totally trust Rachael. She seems to know what she’s talking about.
Silk Stalkings (ZLiving, Weekday Afternoons)
This is a cop show from the 90s, an exercise in pure style that followed two beautiful cops as they arrested beautiful (and often half-naked) people for committing ugly crimes in Florida. On Monday, I watched two episodes. The first one was about killer frat boys and somewhat inevitably featured William McNamara as one of the bad guys. The second featured an investigation of murder among the rich, famous, and unclothed. It was a fun, largely because nearly everyone in it was oversexed and naked for the majority of the episode.
Tokyo Olympics (NBCSN, Saturday Afternoon)
I watched badminton and a bit of beach volleyball. I noticed that professional badminton moves a bit more quickly than what I’m used to. Still, I think if I had made the Olympic team, I could have adjusted at brought home the bronze.
Tokyo Olympics Opening Ceremonies (NBC, Friday Morning and Night)
I caught the final half of Friday’s opening ceremony during the morning broadcast and the first half when NBC reshowed it later that night. I can’t help it — I love the Olympics, though I prefer the winter games to the summer games. I was really upset when they were cancelled last year so I’m glad to see them back this year. As for who I’m rooting for — my father’s side of the family is Irish, my maternal grandmother was born in Spain, and one set of great-great grandparents came to this country from Italy. And my best friend was born in Israel. So, I’m cheering for Ireland, Israel, Italy, Spain, and maybe the United States. I don’t know. The U.S. has been getting on my nerves lately.
Upstart Crow (PBS, Sunday Night)
While trying to write a new comedy called The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare struggles to come up with a big issue that could set the play apart from other plays. Christopher Marlowe, who is sleeping on Shakespeare’s couch after having faked his own death, is of no help. Things start to look up when the intense actor Wolf Hall joins the theater (“I’m a member of the Wolf Pack!” Kate exclaims) but the ever sneaky Robert Greene plots to ruin Shakespeare’s new play by tricking Wolf into making an ill-thought political statement. This was another funny episode, featuring a great turn by Ben Miller as Wolf Hall.
Through the Shattered Lens 