television – Page 23 – PopCult Reviews

TV Review – Watchmen Season One, Episode Six

Watchmen (HBO)
Season One, Episode Six – “This Extraordinary Being”
Written by Damon Lindeloff & Cord Jefferson
Directed by Stephen Williams

Once upon a time, there was a man named Bass Reeves. Reeves was a slave to many prominent men since childhood and eventually became a fugitive, hiding out in the territory of the Cherokee, Creek, and Seminole. When the dust settled from the Civil War, Reeves emerged as an expert in Native relations and was made the first black U.S. marshall west of the Mississippi River. Throughout his 32 years serving in this position, he earned accolades as a skilled marksman and phenomenal detective. At one point, he even had to bring in his own son, who had murdered Bass’s daughter-in-law.

TV Review – Best of Star Trek: The Next Generation Part 6

I, Borg (Original airdate: May 10th, 1992)
Written by René Echevarria
Directed by Robert Lederman

With Jonathan Del Arco listed in the cast for the upcoming Picard, I suspect this episode will be of core importance to the events that go down in that series. No matter how important this episode proves to be, it is one of the best of TNG, once again focusing on questions about humanity and dignity. The Enterprise comes across a crashed Borg ship with a single survivor. This Borg drone is brought onboard the vessel and becomes disconnected from the Collective. A debate ensues about whether to load this being with a virus that could kill the species or allow him to develop autonomy.

TV Review – Watchmen Season One, Episode Five

Watchmen (HBO)
Season One, Episode Two – “Little Fear of Lightning”
Written by Damon Lindeloff & Carly Wray
Directed by Steph Green

Trauma is an element ever-present in Moore & Gibbons’ graphic novel, and it continues to be a significant component of the television series. The trauma in focus here is Wade Tillman’s, the Tulsa police officer known as Looking Glass. It’s revealed in the cold open that Tillman was Jehovah’s Witness who traveled to Hoboken, New Jersey in 1985 as part of his mission work. This puts him front & center for Adrian Veidt’s massacre of Manhattan when he teleports in his hoax intended to unite the world. From Tillman’s perspective, he’s just been duped by a local into stripping down in a carnival funhouse, and he emerges into a world where everyone around him is dead, their brains having leaked out of their ears.

TV Review – The Mandalorian Season One, Episode Three

The Mandalorian (Disney+)
Season One, Episode Three – “Chapter Three: The Sin”
Written by Jon Favreau
Directed by Deborah Chow

My question about the expansion of the Star Wars canon has always been, “Are there interesting stories to tell in this universe outside of the Skywalker saga?” The Mandalorian is becoming the first show to prove to me that there are corners of this world are worth exploring further. It also proves that despite staying masked for what appears to be the entirety of the series, Dyn Jarren is a very compelling character with a clear motivation and viewpoint. This doesn’t mean you will be surprised by a single thing that happens in this episode, it’s evident the arc being told, but it is satisfying and has momentum towards more significant story events.

TV Review – Apple TV+ – The First Episodes

Apple TV+ – The First Episodes

We are living in an age of streaming overflow. So many companies have seen the success of Netflix & Hulu and now want to get in that revenue stream with their own content streams. Just in the last couple of years, we’ve seen services like DC Universe, The Criterion Channel, Disney+, and now Apple TV+. Some streaming platforms as niche and focus on specialty programming while others attempting to cast a wide net and appeal to all demographics. I decided to sit down and watch the first episodes of four shows that recently debuted on the Apple TV+ platform. This service is attempting to focus on original content touching on a wide variety of genres with big-name recognition on the creative side as the selling point. Filmmakers and actors like Steven Spielberg, M. Night Shyamalan, Jason Momoa, Jennifer Aniston, and Oprah Winfrey are all developing shows for the fledgling channel.

TV Review – The Mandalorian Season One, Episode Two

The Mandalorian (Disney+)
Season One, Episode Two – “Chapter Two: The Child”
Written by Jon Favreau
Directed by Rick Famuyiwa

The reveal in the final scene of episode one changed my perceptions of what this would be a show about. Now in this episode, we get a better sense that this is a Star Wars on the Japanese classic Lone Wolf and Cub. Dyn Jarren is facing a moral dilemma about the bounty he acquired, questioning what the deposed Imperials plan to do with this very vulnerable person. He quickly gets sidetracked when he comes upon a group of Jawas stripping his ship. This leads to Jarren seeking aid from Kuiil, the Ughnaught from the last episode, and Jarren learning a powerful secret about his bounty.

TV Review – The Mandalorian Season One, Episode One

The Mandalorian (Disney+)
Season One, Episode One – “Chapter One”
Written by Jon Favreau
Directed by Dave Filoni

So…what’s a Mandalorian? It all began with Ralph McQuarrie, and Joe Johnston’s production art during The Empire Strikes Back. The sketches of armored, hyper-weaponed soldiers were thought to be super commandoes from the planet Mandalore, specialized in hunting down and killing Jedi. Boba Fett was the first character to wear the gear, but the name “Mandalorian” wouldn’t be used until the Star Wars comic book in 1983. As the decades wore on, these people were expanded in the comics, particularly in the Dark Horse published material. These ideas were tweaked and some instances overhauled by the Clone Wars animated series.

TV Review – American Horror Story: 1984

American Horror Story: 1984 (FX)
Written by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Tim Minear, James Wong, Jay Beattie, Dan Dworkin, John J. Gray, Adam Penn, and Crystal Lieu
Directed by Bradley Buecker, John J. Gray, Mary Wigmore, Jennifer Lynch, Gwyenth Horder-Payton, Loni Peristere, and Liz Friedlander

Every year I brace myself for the new season of American Horror Story. These days the feelings associated with this event are annoyance and disappointment. 1984 proved to be no exception to the norm. Once again, Ryan Murphy gave us a mercifully shortened season (nine episodes) that felt so ill-planned and sloppy it made me question why he still even makes this show. Apparently, his preferred method for AHS is to throw a bunch of crap at the wall, pull in actors who he can get for a couple of days without thought to their actual characters, and see if anything works. Regardless of the quality, he releases it on television to the public.

TV Review – Watchmen Season One, Episode Four

Watchmen (HBO)
Season 1, Episode 4 – “If You Don’t Like My Story, Write Your Own”
Written by Christal Henry & Damon Lindeloff
Directed by Andrij Parekh

Lady Trieu makes her first appearance after a brief mention in the second episode, and it is quite a debut. A childless farming couple receives her visit one evening, and she offers them something more valuable than money for their land. Infertility keeps them from bearing children, so Lady Trieu has gotten rid of the middle man and simply combined their DNA and has grown an infant for them. They eagerly sign over the land seemingly just in time as an object falls from the sky, which Lady Trieu asserts is hers now. There are definite signs she knew this event was going to happen before it did.

TV Review – Best of Star Trek: The Next Generation Part 5

Darmok (original airdate: September 30, 1991)
Written by Philip LaZebnik and Joe Menosky
Directed by Winrich Kolbe

This is probably my favorite episode of Star Trek: TNG because it represents the very core ethos that Gene Rodenberry set out to show the world. The most simple description of this episode is two people who do not share a language must find a way to communicate or they die. The story is so beautifully executed, and I would argue it is a perfect episode.