TV: Midterm Report Cards

After much delay, my Midterm Report Cards for Fall TV have finally arrived.  Read below and tell me how smart you think I am or how completely misguided I may be.  **CONTAINS SPOILERS!**

American Horror Story Asylum

American Horror Story, whether Asylum or Haunted House-based, has always been kind of a mess.  That being said, I would watch a full season of American Horror Story set in a pumpkin patch if Jessica Lange was in it; the woman is that damn compelling.  Besides Ms. Lange being awesome, we have a mix of Nazi doctors, serial killers, possessed nuns and even aliens.  It think Ryan Murphy was high one night and decided to make a concoction of all of his favorite genre snacks, threw them in the blender and voila, midnight munchies in the form of American Horror Story Asylum.  One could argue that the horror elements are metaphors for the sociopolitical climate of the 1960s, but that would probably be as pointless as trying to find the critical merits of a Nicholas Cage movie.  American Horror Story Asylum is shock entertainment, which is nothing to be ashamed of – you get what you pay for in this show.  Some of the more outlandish elements of this season were the case of the alleged Anne Frank, the hard-to-watch lesbian/serial killer rape-sex and the murderous Santa.  Though, I do love me some Ian McShane.  God do I miss Deadwood.

Midterm Grade: C+

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Fringe Season 5

 Fox’s cult favorite sci-fi drama Fringe has reached its final season.  The series started off as a “freak of the week” show similar to The X-Files, but gradually morphed into something grander in scale, leading to this season’s dystopian future.  I must confess that I am not exactly an advocate for the direction Fringe has headed.  While everybody loves a good old fashioned Orwellian nightmare future, I don’t think that Fringe‘s vision of a future controlled by the bald-headed and near omniscient Observers offers anything particularly unique.  I miss the days when Olivia, Peter and Walter were crossing into parallel universes and you couldn’t be sure who was who; but maybe I’m alone in that thinking.  I will give kudos to the Fringe creative team for the way they brought our heroes into the future though,  avoiding any embarrassing age makeup.  Other great story beats include the swift addition and subtraction of Etta, Peter’s attempt to become an Observer and most recently Walter’s LSD trip.  For five seasons we have heard so much about how our resident loony genius has experimented with various drugs, but we never really SAW it.  December 14’s episode “Black Blotter” presented us with a drug trip of pixies, dead lab assistants and a Monty Python-like animated sequence.  It was a pretty impressive feat for a network show.  With a short order of 13 episodes, there are only three remaining until the series finale.  I don’t know if that is a good or bad thing yet.

Midterm Grade: B-   

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How I Met Your Mother Season 8

Because of my intense disdain for the show, I really need to place a handicap on myself when writing about How I Met Your Mother.  The most recent season in Bob Saget’s now 8-year-long dictated tale showed the “Autumn of  Breakups,” with Ted, Barney and Robin all in relationships that are framed as failures from the get-go.  I don’t know about you, but I sure do enjoy watching several spans of 22 minutes with characters that I know will be gone in 3-4 episodes.  In other storylines, we have Lily and Marshall learning the wacky adventures of parenthood and Ted consistently being the worst character in the show (even the most dedicated fan would agree with that sentiment.)  Then of course was the two-part midseason finale that had Barney use reverse-relationship psychology to propose to Robin in what could be the most ass-backwards scheme of all time.  Probably not, but still.  Ok, I didn’t try to handicap this report very much at all.  Bite me.

Midterm Grade: C

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Modern Family Season 4

There comes a time when you must say goodbye to a show, for it no longer fills you with the sense of joy or amusement that it once did.  The time has come for me to say goodbye to Modern Family, either now or at the end of this season.  I understand the appeal of the show, I once bought into it, but now it just feels stale.  Modern Family has consistently cleaned up at The Emmys by doing pretty much the same thing that The Office has done for years with the addition of a gay couple and a buxom Colombian.  This year Gloria is pregnant but naturally still sexually desirable, Hayley goes to college for a minute before getting expelled for underage drinking (because apparently THAT’S a thing) and Phil does something good-intentioned but inherently stupid.  Also Cam is overly dramatic and Mitchell is too pragmatic for his own good.  Business as usual.  Modern Family relies too heavily on one-note jokes like “Gloria is beautiful but man is her voice loud and annoying!”, leaving little room for development.  Which is what networks like: consistency.

Midterm Grade: C     

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Parks and Recreation Season 5

It’s either a really good thing or a really bad thing when you can’t remember how many seasons a TV show has had.  In the case of Parks and Recreation it is a really good thing.  NBC’s comedy about the fictional (and wonderful) town of Pawnee, Indiana keeps getting better.  Part of the season had April and Ben Washington D.C., away from their partners in Pawnee; but that wrong was eventually righted.  The fifth season saw Tom grow up (a little), gave walking punchline Jerry a beautiful family and had Ron Swanson date Xena herself, Lucy Lawless.  The differently-quirky relationships of Ben and Leslie and Andy and April are always entertaining and sweet.  Amy Pohler is just the right amounts of insane and sincere when it comes to Leslie Knope.  I say this every year, but Rob Lowe deserves at least an Emmy nomination (if not award) for his character Chis Traeger.  So far this season Chris has been on the brink of emotional insanity, and as awful as that may sound it is hilarious to watch.  Parks and Recreation is the best comedy on TV right now…until Community comes back of course 🙂

Midterm Grade: A

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Saturday Night Live Season 38

Saturday Night Live’s last season had the exits of veterans Kristen Wiig and Andy Samberg, as well as Abby Elliott (cast member since 2008) and sophomore Paul Britain.  The first three of those names were a huge loss to SNL – Wiig and Samberg especially, leaving a large void for the current season.  Out of the 9 episodes so far, only two of them have been great or at least mildly entertaining: hosts Anne Hathaway and Jamie Foxx.  Highlights from those episodes being the Homeland parody, Mokiki: The Legend of the Sloppy Swish and Foxx’s Ding Dong appearance on Weekend Update.  Barring those episodes, the rest of the season has been pretty bad and in some cases cringe-worthy.  One would think that a presidential election would be rife with joke opportunities, but SNL missed the mark for the most part.  Jay Pharaoh took over Fred Armisen’s President Obama, disappointingly making it the first impression that Pharaoh’s uncanny skills could not imitate; also it seems the makeup department doesn’t really know how light or dark Obama’s complexion is.  If SNL wants to improve they need to stop going for the awkward round-about jokes and start featuring heavy hitters like Fred Armisen, Taran Killam and Nasim Pedrad more frequently.

Midterm Grade: D+

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The Mindy Project Season 1

The Mindy Project is the only new show that I have stuck with from the Fall season.  The pilot took me by surprise with the deeply flawed and equally loveable Mindy Lahiri (Kaling’s TV alter ego.)  Like Tina Fey’s Liz Lemon on 30 Rock, Mindy Lahiri is both a successful career woman AND a goofy fun mess of a human being; shocking, I know.  While Kaling’s presence clearly drives the show, supporting characters like oddball nurse Morgan, immature secretary Betsy and uncomfortable cool doctor Danny are beginning to hold their own as well.  The Mindy Project is certainly not the Pietà of TV comedies, with some routine stereotypical setups and predictable “will they won’t they” potential with Mindy and Danny.  But underneath a couple layers of cliche lies an undeniably unique soul due to Kaling’s creative commitment.  Plus when you have been a regular writer and costar on The Office for 8 years like Kaling, you get to call in cameo favors from Ed Helms and Ellie Kemper.  Must be nice.

Midterm Grade: B

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The Office Season 9

The folks at The Office have decided to whip the series back into shape for its final season, with Greg Daniels returning as showrunner.  Perennial everyman Jim has finally decided to take charge of his life and work in a field that makes him happy.  (Like most people do when they’re not tied down with a wife, a house and two kids…oh wait.)  All sarcasm aside, Season 9 is an improvement in every way for a show that has been going downhill for years.  Office pranks are funny again, Pam is annoying me slightly less and Dwight’s weirdness is (mostly) toned down.  You can also evaluate the skill of a writing staff when Oscar having an affair with Angela’s husband feels both wrong and joyously funny at the same time.  My only complaint would be that Andy has taken over the role of manager, which of course means that he must get stupider and stupider.  Teasing us with the notion that Andy’s neglect will cause Erin to leave him for intern Pete will probably just be a cruel joke.  Regardless, your cruelty is not appreciated, writers of The Office.

Midterm Grade: B+

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The Walking Dead Season 3

I think Robert Kirkman often wakes up in the morning and slaps himself in the face in awe over how popular The Walking Dead has become.  After a heavily-criticized second season, the zombie apocalyptic favorite returned better than ever.  Fans of the comic series got to see popular characters like samurai sword-wielding Michonne and the villainous Governor (who is a little more likeable on TV.)  Our plucky band of survivors definitely took their share of losses right off of the bat.  A highlight of the season so far was Lori sacrificing her life so that her child could be born, in one of the most gruesome scenes not involving zombies to date.  I also give Andrew Lincoln props for so convincingly portraying Rick’s despair at the end of that episode.  Everything happening at Woodbury with The Governor, Andrea and Merle is also Grade A Walking Dead meat.  Seeing how another group of survivors lives has always been an interesting aspect of The Walking Dead comics, so it’s nice to see that depicted onscreen.  The only real complaint I have is what could be called “The Case of The Black Man” on The Walking Dead.  When Rick’s gang was clearing out the prison T-Dog went down for the count, but was quickly replaced by another large black man, Oscar.  In the mid-season finale we were introduced to comic book fave Tyreese, so naturally  Oscar was taken down by one of the Woodburians in the crossfire.  I get that we needed a casualty at “The Battle of Woodbury,” and that it couldn’t be someone so vital, but really?  One black man in, one black man out?  For shame The Walking Dead.  For shame.

Midterm Grade: A-

Retroactive Review: Dollhouse

Dollhouse was a short-lived television series that aired on Fox from 2009-2010.  It was the second Fox series attempted by creator Joss Whedon, the first being the western/sci-fi drama Firefly.  Like Firefly and most of Whedon’s creations Dollhouse had a fervent cult-following, even leading to a campaign to keep the show on the air before it even premiered.  The Dollhouse was essentially a designer brothel that pimped out pretty people to the highest bidder.  The dolls (or actives) were desperate volunteers who committed five years of their life in service of the Dollhouse in exchange for some personal freedom they sought.  The actives had their memories wiped and were regularly “imprinted” with whatever identity and memories that the Dollhouse’s clients ordered.  It was heady stuff to say the least, and it’s impressive that Fox aired the series as long as it did.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum Eliza Dushku starred in the lead role of Echo, the number one active in the Dollhouse.  Week after week we saw Echo go through various “engagements” as she was imprinted by technician Topher Brink (Fran Kanz), protected by handler Boyd Langton (Harry Lennix) and watched carefully by house operator Adelle DeWitt (Olivia Williams.)  Outside the Dollhouse we followed FBI Agent Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett) on his mission to uncover the Dollhouse conspiracy and rescue the damsel in distress.  All that is really just the tip of the narrative iceberg that is Dollhouse.  The series also saw plenty of cameos from frequent Joss Whedon collaborators like Amy Acker, Alan Tudyk,  Alexis Denisof and Summer Glau.  Eliza Dushku gets the job done well enough in the leading role, but in a show that required actors to regularly play different characters, it certainly had its breakout stars.  Enver Gjokaj and Dichen Lachman played Victor and Sierra, the resident “dolls in love.”  Enver Gjokaj in particular was very impressive, especially when he was called upon to portray cast mate Fran Kranz’s Topher.

I had a crush on these two for very different reasons.

The series is a testament to Joss Whedon’s talent for circumventing traditional television conventions and storytelling.  It’s a morally murky show that has you questioning who you should actually be rooting for: who is the hero and who is the villain? It is not a perfect show, with uneven pacing (especially near the end because of impending cancellation doom.)  Another notable flaw is that despite her best efforts, Eliza Dushku does much better in a supporting role than she does with top billing, (see Faith Lehane.)  In spite of an abrupt ending Dollhouse is impressive because like its protagonist Echo, it was constantly changing identities and growing because of it.  If nothing else, it is a great study on the subject of individuality, personality and technology.

Final Grade: ★★★★  4/5 Stars

Rent It? Joss Whedon and sci-fi fans – Yes   

DVD Review: Batman The Dark Knight Returns Part 1

The latest in DC Comics’ straight-to-DVD animated movies is Batman The Dark Knight Returns Part 1.  The movie is an adaptation of the first half of the 1986 limited series Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, written by Sin City scribe Frank Miller.  If you’ve never heard of The Dark Knight Returns let me assure you, it is the reason Batman has been cool for the last 25 years.  Along with Alan Moore’s Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns is responsible for the more serious and adult tone we see in today’s men in tights.  So does the animated adaptation stack up to the original?  Let us see.

The story begins with a middle-aged Bruce Wayne who is ten-years-retired from being Batman and now spends his days thrill seeking and drinking.  The city of Gotham (and the country) is in a state of unrest, with gang violence soaring in a media-polluted culture.  Commissioner Gordon is approaching retirement, Two-Face has become rehabilitated and the Joker has vanished just as Batman has.  Bruce can’t avoid his destiny forever though, and is once again called back to his cape and cowl.  This isn’t a slender and young Batman, but rather an old brute in a batsuit with the immense strength to punch through walls.  Batman takes on the new gang in town: The Mutants, along with the help of a new Robin named Carrie Kelley.  The media and the general public debate on Batman’s return and what it means for their city, but as the old man says: “The war goes on.”

The Dark Knight Returns: Page vs Screen

Warner Bros.’ DC Universe Animated Original Movies have consisted of movies that take inspiration from a handful of comic book stories (Wonder Woman and Green Lantern: First Flight), as well as those that are direct interpretations of the comic books of the same name (All-Star Superman and Batman: Under the Red Hood.)  Batman The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 falls into the latter category.  Though it is true to the script, I found the animation of this adaptation (and DCU Animated Films in general) to be missing something.  The animators did a great job and definitely took some inspiration from the material, but the style is more homogenized cartoon than the muted dark pallet that colored Miller’s gritty and abnormal-looking characters.  Voicing The Dark Knight this time out is Peter Weller (RoboCop), who plays the sardonic nature of an old Bruce Wayne well, but lacks what I can only describe as the “Clint Eastwoodyness” of the character.  Ariel Winter (Modern Family) sticks the landing as Carrie Kelley, mainly because she is a teenage girl in real life, so yay method acting.  Though he wasn’t featured heavily, I enjoyed David Selby’s version of Jim Gordon, but then again, Jim Gordon can’t not be awesome (mostly.)

Miller’s media crazy dystopia kinda sorta happened, didn’t it?

Batman The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 is a faithful adaptation and a good story and it was cool to see the middle-aged hulk Batman kick ass, as well as Miller’s cynical commentary on the media.  In spite of this I found myself asking the question “why?”  Why do we need a panel-by-panel translation of a classic story?  Making live-action interpretations of super-heroes can still be impressive, but near exact copies that render good comics into TV screen flip books seems unnecessary.  I’m all about reaching new audiences though, so if you happen to be someone who refuses to pick up a comic book then sure, watch the movie instead.  Watch it for no other reason than that in Part 2 you’ll see Superman and The Joker, voiced by Benjamin Linus himself, Michael Emerson.

Final Grade: ★★★½  3.5/5 Stars

Batman The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 is in stores now

Comic Books: DC Comics Zero Issues Week 3

After a slow second week it is now the third week of DC Comics’ Zero Month.  There are a handful of books I want to cover this week, so I will skip the banter and dive right in!

Batwoman #0 – Writer: J.H. Williams III, W. Hayden Blackman Artist: J.H. Williams III

Batwoman’s last arc “To Drown the World” was a big disappointment for most readers, with its unconventional narrative approach split among several characters.  Thankfully, like last month’s #12, Batwoman #0 is return to form for the title.  J.H. Williams III is an impressive writer/artist combo (with help from W. Hayden Blackman.)  The way that Williams changes his style for Kate Kane scenes and Batwoman scenes always makes me do a double take to see if it was two different artists.  The story is a great one-and-done issue that lends new readers a little of back story while establishing Kate’s complicated relationship with her father.  Well done.

Final Grade: ★★★★★  5/5 Stars

Catwoman #0 – Writer: Ann Nocenti, Artist: Rafael Sandoval

Catwoman #0 is another example of a book I dropped after issue #1, picked up the zero issue a year later and will drop once again.  Having Judd Winnick off of the book and placing a female writer behind the wheel was a good forward step, but this book feels all over the place.  Now I will admit there could have been things that I wasn’t familiar with, having not followed the series in a while, but the plot was complicated.  Selina Kyle was searching for Selina Kyle’s past on a database only to find Selina Kyle doesn’t exist.  That’s pretty much the heart of it.  The art by Rafael Sandoval was sub-par, possibly channeling former series artist Guillem March.  Ann Nocenti has yet to impress me on Green Arrow or Catwoman.

Final Grade: ★★ 2/5 Stars

Green Lantern New Guardians #0 – Writer: Tony Bedard, Artist: Aaron Kuder

This has got to be the oddest zero issue that I have read yet, mostly because it was merely a prelude to the Green Lantern-book event “Rise of the Third Army.”  The issue deals with a lot of fallout from Hal Jordan’s dissapearance in Green Lantern Annual #1, most likely to introduce Carol Ferris into the mix of New Guardians.  The art by guest-penciller Aaron Kuder was pretty weak, however I was glad to see Carol Ferris in a Star Sapphire costume that didn’t make her look like a swimsuit model.  Green Lantern New Guardians #0 promises some  big things on the horizon for Kyle Rayner, but ultimately the issue felt like a filler.

Final Grade: ★★★  3/5 Stars

Justice League #0 Writer: Geoff Johns, Artist: Gary Frank

I didn’t hate the concept of the Shazam back-up stories in the past couple issues of Justice League, but it was nice to see a full issue dedicated to the character this month.  After months of character development we finally get to see Billy Batson become the world’s mightiest mortal: Captain Marvel…I mean Shazam.  This is a more modern version of the hero for our cynical 21st century, no longer a bright-eyed and earnest boy-man.  It’s a logical step, but I do kind of miss the ridiculously small cape.  Gary Frank is great as always, really nailing the emotion in Billy’s surprise and fascination at his transformation.  There’s a back-up story about Pandora that is the “vague for vagueness’s sake” approach we’re used to with the character, which I could have done without.

Final Grade: ★★★★ 4/5 Stars

Nightwing #0 Writer: Kyle Higgins, Tom DeFalco Artist: Eddy Barrows

I’m a big fan of Dick Grayson as a character, but have never found his solo Nightwing stories to be that compelling.  I really dug Nightwing #0 though, probably because it was a lot of nostalgic retread on the origin of the first boy wonder.  The beginning and end of the story have little nods to what we’ve seen so far in Kyle Higgins’ run, as well as whats to come.  The meat of the issue is dedicated to Dick Grayson’s origin as Robin, which is something we’ve seen before, but certainly benefited from a 2012 touch up.  Eddy Barrows’ pencils aren’t perfect, but he’s getting better and better every issue.  This is a great story that provides a clear-cut distinction between the styles and methods of Bruce Wayne and his surrogate son Dick Grayson.

Final Grade: ★★★★½ 4.5/5 Stars

Red Hood and the Outlaws #0 Writer: Scott Lobdell, Artist: Dwayne Turner

Jason Todd has had a rough go of it since his debut in 1983.  Fans didn’t like the second Robin as much as Dick Grayson and ultimately voted for him to be killed at the hands of the Joker.  In recent years after a silly resurrection he’s had a different kind of problem: bad writers.  I’m certainly no fan of Scott Lobdell’s work, but I thought I’d try out the zero issue.  Everything about this issue feels wrong, from the sloppy art to the lousy and unlikable characterization given to Jason.  The nail in the coffin is the “back-up story” where Lobdell details how the Joker sets the events in motion that make Jason become Robin,which has got to be one of the most ridiculous things to ever happen in the character’s 39 year career.  Which is saying a lot for a guy whose original resurrection was due to a whiny Superboy punching a wall.  Awful.

Final Grade: ★  1/5 Stars

Wonder Woman #0 Writer: Brian Azzarello, Artist: Cliff Chiang

Brian Azzarello’s Wonder Woman has been very unique compared to past incarnations, and his zero issue is no different.  The book reads like a story out of the Silver Age of comic books, with wacky editor’s notes and absurdly grandiose exposition.  At the same time however, the book very much feels a part of the epic that Azzarello has been weaving since last September.  It’s a self-aware story that highlights Wonder Woman’s strength as well as her compassion.  I’m glad to see series artist Cliff Chiang pencilled this issue instead of a fill-in-artist.  And I am almost positive that Chiang drew the god of War, with his bald head and long stringy goatee, to look like Azzarello.

Final Grade: ★★★★★ 5/5 Stars

TV: Weeds Series Finale Thoughts

***SPOILERS FOR WEEDS SERIES FINALE***

Smells a little stale, doesn’t it Nancy?

Ding Dong the Witch is Dead.

And so it was that after eight seasons and 15 in-story-years later that the saga of the Botwin family came to a much needed end.  Television finales get a lot of grief from viewers because their favorite show didn’t end the way that they, as a person who sits on a couch and watches, would have liked.  People want closure with their make-believe people and the make-believe problems they have, it’s a principle that this country was built on.  So does Weeds bring the closure?  Ummm…sure.  For the past two seasons the show has had almost no stakes whatsoever, and it became a bunch of ridiculous people doing ridiculous things.  The series finale is no different.  I found no reason to care about what happened to any of these characters except perhaps the zen-master/chef Andy.  The only true feeling that Weeds has managed to evoke from me recently is my utter dislike for Nancy Botwin as a protagonist, mother and human being.  So…good job Jenji Kohan?  It’s times like this that I wish jumptheshark.com was still around to catalog the many leaps Weeds has taken over the years.  (Aside: Did you know that if you type in “jumptheshark.com now it just leads you to TV Guide’s homepage?  How very depressing.  If I were to travel back in time and warn my 14-year old self, he would be crushed.  End of Aside.)

Remember these guys? He’s still fat and he’s still gay! HILARIOUS!

Weeds’ two-part finale picked up not where the previous episode left off, but seven years in the future (The third time jump in two seasons.)  It was full of a bunch of  “where are they now?” questions that you didn’t even know you cared nothing about.  On Team “Happy and Fulfilled” we have Silas and Andy.  On Team “Full of Moral & Personal Regret” we have Shane and Nancy (who is now thrice widowed.)  And then there is Doug, the token buffoon who season after season becomes even more of a token buffoon, as mandated by TV comedy rules and regulations.  Except now he decides to rekindle his relationship with his son that everyone totally remembered existed.  And in this curiously framed finale, the writers also saw it fit to reveal to Nancy’s son Stevie that his father was a drug lord (and Antonio Banderas impressionist.) This revelation added a whole extra layer of plot that could’ve been better served over the course of the season.

I don’t set out to tear a creator’s work apart, I tend to avoid that kind of criticism.  This was a show that I used to really like however, so I followed it to its end.  When it started out Weeds was funny, borderline absurd and mildly dangerous.  I remember a time when I did care about what happened to Nancy and the gang.  It was a time where a family lost their patriarch and a suburbanite widow entered a world that she knew nothing about to make sure that family stuck together.  Unfortunately that show is barely recognizable in this series finale.  Maybe series creator Jenji Kohan is satisfied with how Weeds ended.  Me? Not so much.  What do I know though, I’m just a person who sits on the couch and watches.

Weeds Series Finale Final Grade: ★½    1.5/5 Stars

In the future everyone’s hair is slightly different. Except Kevin Nealon’s, who is doomed to be permanently balding without actually going bald.