Change Your Image
glornt
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Holly Hobbie (2018)
aka "Teenage Karen"
I gave this six episodes )about 5.9 more than it deserved), and it never got better than awful. Obnoxiously self-righteous teen who always knows better than her "stupid" parents, defies then regularly, after which the parents "realize" that they were the ones in the wrong. It's insufferable.
I realize that shows aimed at teens tend to prop up the teens, but in this show it's just so ham-handed that it's repulsive.
General Hospital: Episode #1.14763 (2021)
Good news/bad news
All about Alexis. That's the bad news. An entire episode centered around the most preachy and annoying character on the show.
The possible good news -- it has the *feel* of a "farewell" show, which I really hope it is. As long as they don't "promote" Molly or Christina to be the show's new Karen, the show can only improve -- that is, if this wasn't just a tease, which would be a cruel trick. If Alexis really is leaving, and if they keep Molly and Christina as marginal, occasional characters all will be well, otherwise a lot more fast-forwarding is in store (it only took about 15 minutes to watch this one).
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Homeward (1994)
The problem is that the viewers DO get it.
This is two stories: The good part is the further exploration of Worf's family dynamics. Over the course of this series, I have found Worf to be the least annoying regular character overall. However, this brings us to the other story...
The Prime Directive. This, much like the holodeck, a plot device. Want to interject some tension in the episode? Invoke the Prime Directive, the point usually being to explain why the current episode's "violation" of it is a good thing. However, in this case, the "good guys" would have it enforced literally -- only, in this case it really isn't; it is merely an excuse to create tension between Picard and Worf's brother (and, by extension, between Worf and Worf's brother). The PD forbids interference in the "*normal* development of any society"; it is beyond ludicrous to posit the extinction of a society as its "normal development".
This is not a "breaking of the rules", it is an abuse of the rules, a callous application of a rule to justify letting people die. It also goes against the established characters' general behaviors and attitudes. Sure, people can be inconsistent, but in such a clear case of literal life and death, for all of the Enterprise primary officers -- even Worf, against his brother -- to be on the side of fatal neglect is simply not believable, even in fiction.
If anything, this paints the Enterprise crew (at least the ones that "matter") as massive hypocrites. Just recall all the times that they did violate the PD. In all of those cases, there was an existing emotional attachment to someone endangered by adherence to the rule -- a crew member, the ship itself, or one or more of the locals to which a member of the crew had formed some kind of personal attachment. In this case, the only "local" who fit the bill was not really a local, and he was the only one not in danger of being wiped out, anyway. This makes it seem that the PD cannot be violated -- unless one or more of the regular characters has an attachment to the society in question or is placed in jeopardy by following it. Such a rule is not really much of a rule.
Then we have Picard saying "Our plan worked" at the end. Really? "Our" plan? The one that he was furious over having been forced into it? I'm not a huge Picard fan (or of STNG in general), but this is beneath him.
And to put it into perspective, this episode follows one in which Picard actually praises Riker for disobeying direct orders and placing the overall good above concern for his career... and then tells a civilian "Your career is over!" for disagreeing with his illogical interpretation of the PD. These two Picards are not the same man.
And why wasn't Nikolai already in trouble for having helped those people before the Enterprise was summoned? He had already protected them using technology that they did not themselves possess, but this was okay, while moving them to a viable planet was somehow wrong?
On the plus side: no Wesley, no Whoopi, limited Troi/Riker (and how did the empath not detect deception on the part of Nikolai? Apparently, her "sense" only works when the plot needs it.), and none of Data's "Pinocchio Syndrome".
More minuses: Over-reliance on the holodeck, which in this case actually made sense -- until the "convenient" malfunctioning of it here was clearly just meant to add drama; it was just too convenient that it bugged out just when it did, there was no organic reason (sabotage, etc.) for it. Plus, the aliens here are once more just humans with disfigured noses or foreheads. Sure, I understand that there are limitations in makeup for a TV series, so they can't do too much, but... oh yeah, they're an alien *species*, but a human male can impregnate one of the alien women? This is another recurring plot hole that never really gets explained. How is it that there are so many alien *species" that are able to cross-breed? In some cases, we might assume advanced medical/genetic technology, but in this episode, this would not have been the case -- low tech aliens, and Nikolai was not a geneticist or reproductive medical expert. Another plot contrivance that added drama, but at the expense of the "science" part of science fiction.
Still, it's not the worst thing they ever did, just wildly inconsistent.
Atlas of Cursed Places (2020)
Two stars for the unintentional comedy content, one for some of the scenery
Host Sam Sheridan is no Josh Gates (not setting the bar very high here), but where Josh makes bad jokes that are sometimes funny, this show relies more on the incorrect usage of big words: "Apocryphal" in a context clearly indicating that "Apocalyptic" is probably what he meant, "Hydrocarbon" rather than "Radiocarbon" dating, etc.
Interestingly, and possibly tellingly, there are (at least at the time of this review) no writing credits for this show. Is Sam just winging it without a script? Net Geo describes him as an "author and adventurer", which for me makes his poor word choices even funnier. But hey -- he must be tough and cool, because he has tattoos! Plus, he uses mild profanity, too -- what a rebel!
Ragging on the host, while fun, isn't the entire point of my review. If you are entertained by unintentional comedy, you may find this show worth watching.
I did have to dock it one star for the inclusion (in at least one episode) of Michael Schermer, "professional skeptic"; this guy's such an arrogant tool that he brings down any show in which he appears. Also annoying is how the host acts like an enthusiast of the episode's topic, only to "turn skeptic" himself at the very end. Skepticism is fine, but be consistent -- poke holes along the way, don't just say "there's probably nothing to it" after spending 40 minutes (of air time, not to mention travel and production time) chasing down inconclusive (in either direction) leads. If Schermer becomes a regular guest, I won't be sticking around; otherwise it's mostly harmless, silly fun.
Longmire: Help Wanted (2015)
Major boo-boo in this one.
Longmire's looking to hire a new deputy, but he really needs two. Vic wants to drop the case because "nobody got killed"??? Really? She thinks they only need to investigate fatalities? She should be looking for a new job.
Also, the "mystery" was pretty easy to figure out fairly early on, not a great episode.
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Deja Q (1990)
All 5 Stars are for Worf,
Who has the proper attitude toward Mister Annoying. No, I don't mean Wesley... this time. In fact, Wesley doesn't appear in this episode, so one of the stars is actually for his absence... but then taken back for the presence of Whoopi; so yes, all 5 stars are for Worf, after all. Unsurprising, really, as Worf is consistently the least annoying character on this particular ST series. Geordi is also mostly okay, too, but then he has the unfair advantage of much less screen time than the other regulars in most episodes.
It's such a shame for a Wesley-free episode to be marred by the inclusion of both Q and Whoopi; I wish they had gone with Plan B for this installment. Short of another episode with "Space Rednecks", or Troi going into heat again, it would've almost certainly been a better choice.
If only Q had followed Worf's suggestion on how to prove he was human... (best line of the episode, by the way)
Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Price (1989)
As the Enterprise Turns
Some interesting and entertaining elements here (wormhole, Ferengi), but the episode is marred by the predominance of soap opera elements in which Troi becomes even more annoying than her usual Captain Obvious role.
On the plus side, there's not much Wesley and no Whoopi, so the episode gets double what it would otherwise deserve.
If you like soap operas... well, it's not even good soap opera, so I still can't really recommend it.
Expedition Unknown (2015)
This was a fun show before the "Josh Gates at Home" quarantine nonsense began
My rating is an average of before and after the "quarantine" episodes began, so I'm going to split my review in half.
Before "Josh Gates at Home": This was a fun, silly show. Let's face it, new major discoveries are not going to be presented to the public via an entertainment-oriented TV program. They just aren't, so any disappointment over this "shortcoming" is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of this show. It is fun, Josh cracks bad jokes that are often funny because they're bad, they have travel problems, Josh gets in troubles that are obviously contrived. It's the live-action version of an educational cartoon. My main disappointment is that (probably due to misguided voice training) he sounds less like Kermit the Frog than he used to, which is a shame. Overall, though, I give it a 9. I do have to dock it one point for the occasional ignorant swipes at the Catholic Church.
After the isolation nonsense: "Nonsense" pretty much covers it. No travel, Josh (or his producers) think that he's a big enough draw that people want to watch him chat with second-tier "celebrities" (so maybe they don't think he's such a major star, after all) and basically to ads for movies and other TV shows. Maybe some do; I don't. I give it a 1 only because zero isn't an option. Josh says he has a degree in archaeology; okay, fine. But an actor being in a movie about earthquakes, for example, doesn't make him an expert on what happened at Pompeii (not an actual example from the show as far as I know, as I've quit watching this hot mess).
Put them together, and you get a 5. And yes, I realize that there are far more episodes from the "before" period, but the "after" show is so awful that each of its episodes weighs down the good part.
Babylon 5: The Ragged Edge (1998)
Filler episode? I think not.
First of all, the show needed a break from the "Telepath War" storyline; this is the only sense in which this might be considered "filler".
In addition to being a break from the telepath soap opera, however, this episode advanced the ongoing mystery of who is behind the "raiders". Despite Garibaldi's mission failure, the alliance leaders learn something very important, and in a very interesting way. This was well done.
If anything, it's the G'Kar subplot that, while entertaining, would more properly be considered filler than Garibaldi's mission, but even here, a possible turning point in the way the Narn look at other species is hardly insignificant.
Overall, this was an excellent episode. It is likely that coming after the end of an intense mini-arc some may see it as "filler", but it definitely advances the main "raiders" story line as well as providing insight into one of the show's main characters (and species).
Enterprise: Unexpected (2001)
Some silly fun, bit no pregnancy
What Trip had was a parasite, not a pregnancy. As explained in the show, the "embryo" contained none of his DNA, only that of the female alien (in which case, why does this species even have males?).
Also, Trip did not "have sex" with the alien; she simply implanted a self-"fertilized" egg within his body via his fingers.
There was also an interesting take on Vulcan ethics. Vulcans don't lie, but Klingons are known to exaggerate, so "exaggerating" (i.e., lying) to Klingons is acceptable? Ooookayyy...if you say so, T'Pol. Even Spock, who is only half-Vulcan, would have raised an eyebrow at that. What a fascinating rationalization.
And how about an alien species that is so advanced in terms of holography but needs help from a "mere human" engineer to make its engines work, and they conveniently just happen to be of a type that a human engineer can make sense of.
The Klingons here are portrayed with an even stronger "Kill everyone" attitude than in the original series, which makes it hard to understand how they even achieved interstellar travel. Surely, such a people would have destroyed themselves before achieving spaceflight. Makes me think that what the Klingons really lacked in their development was the invention of Pepto-Bismol; much of their belligerence could just be permanently upset tummies. "You talked me out of killing these people, and we got a really cool toy out of the deal, but next time I see you I'll kill you!" are not the words of someone with a settled stomach.
Yep, a whole lot of things here just don't make sense, but as I said above, it's some silly fun, not a documentary on exobiology, engineering or the ethics of a fictional species.
Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
Well, the scenery was very nice...
Unfortunately, That's the only positive comment I can make. The mustache and its mustache, the intrusive political "correctness" throughout, some more blatant than others, Poirot as a comic book superhero and simultaneously a buffoon as well as a clone of Monk, etc.
Branagh is no David Suchet -- now that was a man who looked, sounded, and acted the part. Suchet's Poirot was what I pictured when reading the books. Branagh's Poirot is a bad parody of Christie's character.
And the cast in general -- did someone say "great cast"? I think rather that it is a "big name" cast, and one that proves that big names do not guarantee great acting. Again, the made-for-TV Poirot series with David Suchet et al put this entire farce to shame.
Except for the scenery. That was very nice.
Alien News Desk (2019)
Very disappointing. Perhaps professional writers would help.
Premise: Two cartoon aliens talking about how stupid humans are, without touching on much of the real stupidity, instead opting to engage in what I guess the writers think (erroneously) is clever social commentary.
I have seen teen-produced sketch shows on Nickelodeon that are better written than this, which sounds as though it was written by college students whose self esteem greatly exceeds their talents. Will Forte has been in some funny things; either someone tricked him into doing this, or his previous work in actually funny shows has just been lucky.
The fundamental problem is that as comedy, it just isn't very funny, and as social commentary it is too glib and shallow . It seems to be trying to do two things at once, and failing at both of them. The writers (hopefully new ones) should pick one and stick to it -- preferably the comedy stuff, as it is a cartoon.
Sorry -- I wanted to like this, but there's nothing here to like. If you want a glimpse of humanity as seen from an external viewpoint with humor, there's always ALF, Third Rock From the Sun, and Mork & Mindy, which were all much better, and not so grating on the nerves. The second star is because, while it was painfully bad, it wasn't overly offensive. I don't see this becoming a long-term gig for anyone involved.
Hooten & the Lady (2016)
More, please!
This show is just good, clean fun -- even the theme music tell us so! -- which probably annoys many viewers, but those who prefer trash have pretty much everything else on TV now, anyway, so please just let us enjoy this one.
And it's not as simplistic as a casual, one-time viewer might conclude. While there is no byzantine season-long story arc whose sole purpose is to show how "clever" the writers are, and each episode pretty much makes sense as a standalone story, there is development of the characters and the situation. The two main characters are still getting to know each other, and there are more adventures to experience. There is the question of whether the Lady will actually marry the British dweeb, too, but this doesn't intrude much into the actual adventures.
I've just watched the season finale, and while I'm afraid it may also be the series finale, I very much hope it is not. After all, we need to find out about those bears, and there are already enough (meaning: far too many) shows for people who need overly convoluted plot lines to make them feel smart.
Note about the rating: While this is not on my all-time top ten favorite shows list (yet -- 8 episodes just isn't enough), this rating is based on comparisons within the genre; in this context, it is right up there with my favorites. The closest among current shows that I watch would probably be The Librarians (another show that I'm not sure will be back), but without the magical elements, and a smaller team (a couple of nice contrasts).
The Flash: Duet (2017)
So many sharks jumped in only one episode! Impressive; just not in a good way.
Okay, I'm not a fan of musicals, but if I was, I'd take off extra points for its being a BAD musical. So... Barry's "love of musicals" is established by a one-off scene; nothing that came before this potentially series-killing train wreck of an episode gave any hint of it (with the possible exception of Barry's generally wimpy personality). As I was unaware that this was to be a musical, however, it just seemed like a random bit of strangeness further establishing Barry's nerdiness.
Then Supergirl comes through the Stargate in a Supercoma, and Team Flash needs to help her out. Fine, so far. I like Supergirl, even if her CW character is basically just a female Barry Allen, making this an uninspired combo. I'm okay with a detour from the season story arc (an overblown concept in my opinion, anyway). Could be interesting. Then Alternate Reality/Dream World kicks in; still not a problem. SG is singing, doesn't seem to know why, and Barry is equally puzzled. Still not a problem. Other characters come in as different people. Okay, still kind of fun.
Then it all descends into Magical Nonsense, and the Duet has to play out a weak plot of several musicals mashed together, with a Very Special Bow to rainbow flag political "correctness" for no apparent reason other than to set up a very lame joke (if that was meant to be a joke), and Kara doesn't even get to click her red heels together before Instant Resolution, and the Big Reveal... that it was all just a Lesson About Luuuuuuuuv.
I normally give shows three strikes before putting them on Ignore; this stinker earned Flash two strikes, and even a foul ball will count as strike three. Too bad; perhaps CW should hire writers more interested in entertaining their audiences than in indulging their own fetishes. Arrow has already become practically unwatchable (flashback = fast forward), and that other spin off show lost me in either the first or second episode.