discontentThe Plot Against America
There is a slightly disturbing possibility that the plan to destroy Samson won’t work. Darius thinks he is a faultless saint. Grace is panic stricken. Harris wears a very tight suit as the cascading crisis does irreparable damage. The USS Pike is destroyed. There is no high-mindedness, gravitas or depth of feeling.
Darius has blunt insistence on his own brilliance. Re/Syst caused the destruction of the USS Pike. Darius deserves moral damnation. This show won’t acknowledge its mundanity. Grace is apathetic. Amanda was not the commentator on social issues she thought she was. Things complicate the narrative. Neocons are depressingly convincing. Harris shrugs off Grace’s absolutism and the way she’s decided she wants to treat him.
Darius and Grace storm in as the evil POTUS whips out the nuclear football. Darius and Grace have no commitment to a deep moral principle. The baddies beliefs are daft, evil and unjustifiable. The evil POTUS reacts furiously. Things are not intensifying. Claire is nasty and awful. Darius is an undesirable character who deserves odium. There are furious exchanges. Who cares about apocalyptic harbingers?
This is utterly frustrating as Darius negatively affects people. There is colluding. People are angry and condemning. Can the pernicious coup be stopped? There are dangerous judgement calls, people colluding with evil, a pall of evil and Darius wants to kidnap the evil POTUS. Darius is not conducive to reducing stress. Nefarious entities and nagging distrust go on.
Darius is an infuriating deviant. Jillian flips. Darius has criminal pride and no reasoned defence. He’s not an admirable character. I’m waiting for Grace to apologise to Harris. Darius has unyielding determination to annoy. This show is not without its merits, namely the brilliant dignified Ian Anthony Dale.
Nobody is emotionally recognisable. Harris has steadfastness. Has everyone forgotten about the meteor? Harris has unyielding integrity. Darius is insidious and pernicious. Darius is constantly confrontational. Darius builds hate toward himself. The evil POTUS plans a war of extinction. Darius and Liam look for Re/Syst. This was not awe-inspiring. Darius is not to my liking. There is no emotional reality. A merciless confrontation is threatened.
There is no cold hard logic. Darius is intractable. Grace is a glancing presence in this show now. Darius is an incessant cynic. Harris plots. The logic and full implications of what is being suggested are shrugged off. Darius is an ungrateful brat who tantrums. The 6 foot 5 evil POTUS is menaced and slapped around by Harris. Later on Harris ends up in peril. The POTUS shows up. Guns are waved. Grace still doesn’t apologise. Claire tries to kill Harris. Claire shoots her. There is more trouble.
The evil POTUS gets away. Why was he picked as VP? There is panic and people are gathered near the Ark. What about everybody else? Darius hired a former astronaut to pilot the Ark. How does he plan to supply it? Darius is sick which is why he won’t be on the Ark. Grace needs to shut up. She still wants to shag Darius. This was stupid.
Best Lines:
“Ghost key.”
“They’ve denied responsibility.”
“Of course they have.”
“Your recklessness has compromised all of us.”
“It’s not going to come to that!”
“Too busy to have emotions.”
“Contingency shelter.”
“I have skills other than body disposal.”
“This leads to nothing good.”
“You took the government by force.”
“Firing depth.”
“To the bunker!”
Fall Out
Grace fawns over Darius in her dreams. The Ark people nearly die of oxygen deprivation thanks to sabotage. Cabin fever erupts. Why isn’t Harris doing his job? Harris sees the Ark’s garden. The bartender Harris shags will be on the Ark. Someone dies. Darius is made VP. Re/Syst drops a nuke on Kansas and makes threats with an ICBM. They conscript people to stop the meteor. Darius calms crowds with soothing speeches.
Scientists are turned over to Re/Syst. Darius can be VP because he was born in the US. Darius left the Ark people in peril for 5 days. Nobody cares. Claire is now advisor to the POTUS. Tanz is turned over to Re/Syst. Harris makes very serious points. Which are ignored. Does Darius have secret service protection now? Reality has been shattered as the meteor has been made public. Darius shows off his non-Jesuitical logic. Darius wants to build a future. Re/Syst poses an acute safety risk.
Darius makes more speeches. Public panic is ignored. Darius is triumphal. Harris vigorously opposes Darius. This was ridiculous. Zoë’s back. HOW? The professor shows up. Aaron Douglas guest stared. The evil POTUS wants another coup. This annoyed.
Best Lines:
“Couldn’t possibly be your fault.”
“Been VP on far less.”
“Slick graphics.”
“You’re a loud writer.”
Detente
Liam is a narrative problem. Re/Syst makes threats. Harris wants the evil POTUS found. Jillian works for Darius in the White House. Re/Syst has set up a travel ban. How then did Zoë get back to the USA? Darius wants to build a railgun to shoot the meteor off course. Darius demands a stealth plane to take him to Iceland. Liam lies. Jillian meets an old friend. There is a standoff in Iceland.
We see a shirtless photo of Harris. Nice. Harris refutes assertions. Liam’s a tool. The US is a pariah state apparently. A dude shoots Darius. He lives because he has a bullet proof shirt. Liam has no obligation to sense. The evil POTUS goes on TV and claims he is the real POTUS and that the POTUS is evil. A woman claims she invented Tess and that Darius stole it and is a lying thieving harasser. Claire’s brother wants to know what happened to her. This was unnecessary.
Best Lines:
“Incinerated by a space rock.”
“Devastating consequences.”
~
The Sword Part 1
This reboot of the 80s classic cartoon sees Adora serve the evil Horde loyally. Her BFF is Catra. Where is Clawdeen? There are hints of where Adora came from as well as a callback to her old outfit. Shadowweaver lurks and still has no feet. She raised Adora. There are mentions of Brightmoon. Angella and her daughter fat Glimmer lurk. Does He-Man exist in this reboot? Catra and Adora have never been outside the Fright Zone but sneak out. Adora encounters a sword, Glimmer and Bow. She also meets, sorta, Light Hope and hears of Greyskull. Adora learns the Horde is evil and she transforms into She-Ra with flat boots and biker shorts. This was okay.
Best Lines:
“Treacherous Whispering Woods.”
“Queen of the princesses.”
“Vicious violent instigators.”
“Don’t give it to them.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You will.”
“That is low even for you.”
“Oh! No! Betrayal!”
“Don’t be brain damaged.”
“What tone?”
“What’s Greyskull?”
“Weird stuff out here.”
“Your army is called the evil Horde!”
“Who calls us that?!?”
“Everybody!”
“For the honour of Greyskull!”
“See the world and conquer it!”
The Sword Part 2
Adora shakes off being She-Ra. Bow does the pee-pee dance. What are the First Ones? Adora encounters Spirit. She likes the pony. The Horde show up and attack villagers. Adora bonds with Bow and Glimmer. Adora and Catra have a parting of the ways. Catra knows Adora is She Ra. This reboot is okay. Where is the theme song? Me likey!
Best Lines:
“Mysterious ancient ruin.”
“Princesses are monsters!”
“Bug thing.”
“You don’t have parties in the Fright Zone?”
“How is your life this sad?!?”
“It’d be funny if she weren’t such a terrible person.”
“Weird little identity crisis.”
“Whoosh! I’m in a tiara!”
~
Constantine 1x05
Danse Vandou
Chas lurks and Emmett Scanlan of ‘Hollyoaks’ guest stars. Constantine, Chas and Zed go to New Orleans. Constantine annoys with due vigour. There is chaotic thinking. A cop (Scanlan) is anxiously mulling and has no friendly sentiments. There is elemental violence, no heightened tension and this is the first truly decent ep. There is no total rationality.
Constantine lived a bad life and he is relentlessly brutal and unflinching. Zed hangs out with Constantine to feel part of something meaningful and important. This has no real creative ability. Constantine is not unemotional and sober. This was revered or dark. People have discontents. The annoying cop has resentment of Constantine and is recalcitrant. Constantine is morally compelled to annoy.
A cat is seen. Papa Midnite lurks. The dead are raised and need to be put back down. Constantine is in peril and yells about the rising darkness. Why did Zed change her name? There are bad southern accents. Constantine utilizes people to his own ends and tries to bend others to his will. Pain is laid to rest. What did Zed see about the cop? Apparently the cop will become Spectre. Who?
Best Lines:
“That’s a choice.”
“A psychic connection between you and the map.”
“Ex human.”
“Someone will betray you.”
“Death by scissors.”
“Street wizard.”
“Put these spirits back down.”
“Magpie of magic.”
“It won’t end well.”
“Ta for that.”
“Sip cautiously.”
~
Arrow 7x04
Level Two
The rude Oliver is grimly welcomed. Oliver has considerable pride and doesn’t care about the people he killed and maimed. People are not favourably disposed toward Oliver. Facility wants Diaz. Oliver doesn’t care about his shameful betrayals of Tommy and Laurel. Felicity has no cold eyed logic or careful consideration. She’s not truly decent. She needs to be severely condemned.
Is the bad future with Slade’s son going to happen as William and Roy lurk in a bad future? But is it the same bad future? There is no meaningful discourse. I’m unimpressed. Felicity is shaped by dogma rather than reason. The Glades lot want the vigilantes back. This was boring, bad and obvious. The new Green Arrow shows up. The system is unfair and damaging. Dinah and her porno lips have issues.
The other man in the lifeboat who papa Queen killed was his bodyguard. Oliver never cared about the bodyguard. A shrink points out that papa Queen was a bad father and a murderer. When did Black Siren learn enough law to pass as a DA? An ex-vigilante DA to boot? Felicity went to MIT - now she’s just dick drunk on Oliver.
Renee’s dumb. Dinah wants an assertion of control over the city. Calm is not restored. Oliver is not credible. Emotive subjects are discussed. Oliver is advocated to loudly. Dinah is cynical and undemocratic. There is no semblance of accountability or responsibility. Where is Slade? What happened to Star City in the bad future? There is no superior capability. Dinah is a fugitive in the future. Roy lurks.
There are ill-informed opinions, consternation and indignation and no mature reflections. Dinah makes anguished arguments. Felicity has miserable ideas and is wrong and delusional. Felicity can’t act. Class war will soon come to Star City, which is dangerous territory for this show. Oliver and Felicity are thankless. There are allegations of bias and incompetence. Oliver’s aggressive behaviour was left unchecked for too long.
Where is Oliver’s stepfather? There is verbal aggression, jostling, overt physical aggression and facilitation of violence. There are terrible acts and polarised opinions. This show and everyone in it is morally dodgy. People are free to make poor choices but are not entitled to have them celebrated by others especially if they impact other people. This ep is an impediment to joy. Zoë’s the new Black Canary in the future vigilante resistance. Where’s Renee? Felicity is dead. YAY!
Best Lines:
“I don’t need redemption.”
“Only punks forget about their community.”
“Put his sins on you.”
“Provides them their legacy.”
“Broke the law. Again.”
“Star City fell when The Glades rose.”
~
Star Trek 2x11
Friday’s Child
Sense is aggressively unravelled by this ep. The gang go to Capella IV which doesn’t seem to meet First Contact criteria. Kirk’s anxiety hardens into dread as Klingons show up. There are unpleasant incidents. People are motivated by self interest. Kirk tantrums in no uncertain terms.
This ep was woefully insufficient. Kirk sort of mentions the Prime Directive. Kirk wants preventive measures against Klingons who pursue an ideological goal. There is a serious threat to good order and discipline. There is a philosophical shift and a stroppy pregnant woman. There is no huge trauma and this is not harrowing or traumatic.
People act disproportionately. There is no immediate and serious risk. There is a chaotic lifestyle and no compelling reason to care. There is no positive benefit to this. There are serious concerns and McCoy is patronising and violent. One does not meaningfully engage with this. There is inconsistent animosity and Kirk’s a jerk. There is a fake baby and this ep gets derision. There is bad acting and the baby in this ep would appear in novels as an adult.
Best Lines:
“Offers things of value for our rocks.”
“Learned to want it.”
“Liquids for the sick.”
“Earth Federation.”
“Empire made up of conquered worlds.”
“Little weapon potential.”
“Revenge Captain?”
“Why not?”
~
Babylon 5 1x13
Signs And Portents
Morden arrives on B5 - why didn’t he ask the humans what they wanted? Even the dullest intellect could see Morden was evil. What became of the Raiders? Morden’s persuasion is founded on what appeals to the emotions. Morden has a depth of commitment to the Shadows that went unexplained.
Gerrit Graham and Ed Wasser guest star. There were unanticipated consequences to Morden’s question. This was low budget. Londo’s choice in this ep would define his reputation in later years. Darkness was the way that lay ahead. Londo wrecks his reputation from this ep on. Morden oozes sleaze. The dispiriting consensus in that Londo is an ass. Morden is inquisitive. Delenn’s not virtuous. Morden is very badly received, apart from Londo. G’Kar shows his vehemence. G’Kar is entitled to his rage. Was Morden under psychological coercion from the Shadows? Londo’s fundamental moral shift begins here. There is seriously bad acting in this ep.
What was the glowing triangle on Delenn’s head? What is changing on Centauri Prime? Londo and Morden’s uneasy relationship begins here. Poor Morden would end up miserably unpopular. There is a vision of the destruction of B5. The B5 fighters fly standing up? Neither Kosh not Delenn warn anyone about Morden or the Shadows? The Centauri whine about their dying empire. Morden cultivates Londo. People lack in humanity
How do ships make their own jump points? A massive raider ship shows up. There is exposition and B5 has blast doors. How did Kosh’s encounter suit get damaged? There is a twist, the raiders are wiped out and a Shadow ship shows up. How did the Eye get back to the station? The Eye looks like a piece of Argos tat. Sinclair and Garibaldi chat in a urinal. The Minabri wanted Sinclair and only Sinclair to ruin B5, which doesn’t explain how Sheridan got the job come season 2. This was mediocre despite Morden and his sheer malevolence.
Best Lines:
“I want us to be what we used to be!”
“Babylon will fall!”
“Without support you would be dead within a day of trying.”
“Maximum burn.”
“I would be killed by Shadows.”
“They’re here.”
“2 hours until they can reload the Cobra bays.”
“6 light months away.”
“Long range firing pattern.”
“What will be or what might be?”
~
Z Nation 5x06
Limbo
This season has gone to the dogs. Where do the good guys get their fitted leather jackets? Murphy runs a dive bar in the apocalypse. He also dresses like a pimp. People re-enact scenes from ‘Friends’ in the dive bar. There is also a Hit The Head game. There are errors of fact and probability. Murphy ruins everything again. Addy shows up.10k does nothing of note. Addy likes Dante. Why? Why is Dante running and lying and hiding? Why should I care? Where is Pandora? A stupid woman dies. This was terrible. Where are Red and Sun Mei?
Best Lines:
“Go go strippers.”
“Hiked 2000 miles in flipflops.”
“Chainsaw wrestling.”
“Moby prick!”
“I’m down to my last sock. It’s not on my foot!”
~
Hawaii Five-0 2x11
Pahele Trap
Joe causes trouble by adducting the head of the Yakuza from a courthouse at gunpoint in front of his son (Ian Anthony Dale). Oddly the police aren’t looking for him. Steve has no problem with Joe keeping said Yakuza man in the boot of his car. WTF?
~
Trust 1x10
Consequence
Paul Sr is awful and won’t speak to his traumatised son. Paul II won’t go to his son’s wedding. These are all awful people. The twins are bitches. The fallout of the kidnapping goes on. Balthazar Getty is born. Yawn.
Best Line:
“A very nice clinic.”