Archive for category Series Issues

Series Issues: Preacher’s Season 2 gets On The Road

Posted by The Editor in Preacher, Series Issues, Uncategorized on June 27, 2017

Spoilers. SPOILERS! *Genesis voice*

preacher-s2e1-on-the-road

(Source: AMC)

If American Gods is surreal art, then Preacher has to be surreal gone gonzo. I could’ve sworn that I had covered their first season, but that must’ve been a dream. A really weird one. We’re back on the hunt for the Almighty God, and the trio have barely but a hint as to where to go.

That hint is Jesse’s priest colleague and religious scholar Mike, another preacher with an even more unconventional approach to preaching. He has a woman tied up in a cage, demanding to use a phone. It looks really bad for the show to have a woman hostage until you learn a few things. She’s there because she’s addicted to social media. She’d rather stay in the cage that have her parents call for her. Still looks sketchy as hell, but we don’t watch this show for role models. Or style. Or heroism.

Wait, so why watch it at all… You know, what? Better not dig too deep here.

Someone’s after our roguely sinful trio, and they’re not here to talk. A literal gunslinger from hell is hunting Jesse, and so far his only weakness seems to be a lack of transportation. Guess the horse did not get a return fare. The cowboy has a few skills though. His bullets reach far and cause more harm than a shotgun. He just tends to shoot from way too far away, making a mess out of whomever and whatever is standing nearby. That includes a fully armed group of police officers, who prove to be no match for The Saint of Killers.

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(Source: AMC)

At least they do get some sleep in Mike’s sole guest room. They also manage to fit in one bed. Don’t make it awkward, Cassidy. It’s awkward enough already.

Mike does help them out with a strange tip. A woman named Tammy, a manager of a strip bar up the road, once claimed to have met him. That guarantees a visit to the aforementioned bar, where we learned God always came back for the jazz. Not a lot to go on, but there you go.

Jesse and the gang do get some downtime in their chase / being chased journey. It’s enough for Jesse and Tulip to get reacquainted in a motel room (finally!). The cowboy never seems to be far away though. And he seems to be immune to the Genesis voice.

Highs/Lows/HolyBulletsFromHell:

  • The cowboy’s name is The Saint of Killers. His aim might seem to be lousy – IF he’s actually aiming for Jesse. On the other hand, he’s firing from several miles away. You don’t want to be in his sights if he gets close.
  • We get a little bit of an easter egg. While Jesse talks about his folks being married and his mother, the small plastic treasure chest in the nearby fish tank opens in a rather remarkable fashion, music score and all, without anybody in the room reacting to it. We’re supposed to take note of that and wonder what’s behind it.
  • “They pretty much grow dumbass crazy here.” Tulip is talking about Texas, but she might as well be describing the show itself.
  • Tulip hates how often Jesse resorts to using the Genesis voice, although to a casual observer (the audience) we’re just waiting on him to bust it out at every hurdle. I mean, the police officers that were taking them in seemed like a pretty justified reason. So does it seem to be the case for the strip club matron.
  • However, Jesse even uses Genesis to make his way across a gathered crowd. Thanks to a sign explaining they’re gun enthusiasts (exposition sign!) we can expect… Nothing, they just seem to be talking shop and just distracted. Jesse doesn’t even try speaking up first. Tulip might have a point.
  • Father Mike’s reaction to her prisoner pleading to post something on Instagram: “Do I need to call your parents?”
  • Of course all of them share the bed. Technically one could at least sleep in the car, but then we don’t get that shot.
  • It took me a while to recognize that it’s Cassidy in the computer monitor trying to feel up the stripper and fighting the bouncer.
  • “You’ll feel so naked and terrified, you’ll shit yourself,” is the biggest reveal about God that Tammy spits out to Jesse.
  • Tammy dies of a bullet – but it’s not the Saint of Killers. It’s from Cassidy’s struggle with the bouncer. Coincidence in this show should get billing as a main cast member.
  • I know I shouldn’t be reviewing this show as Fantasia AND Game of Thrones both start next month. But for now, we’re going full steam ahead.

That will do for now.

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Series Issues: Doctor Who brings the World Enough and Time

Posted by The Editor in Doctor Who, Series Issues on June 26, 2017

 

Spoilers might be upgraded.

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(Source: BBC One)

There are great episodes of Doctor Who that you can’t ever call favourites because they go dark. World Enough and Time falls into that category. It starts off light and campy with Missy breaking the fourth wall. We’re basically lured into a false sense of security, thinking this one is all about silliness and fun. And then one of our beloved characters gets shot and we realized we’ve walked right into a pitch black trap that tugs at the heartstrings.

Yes, this a great but dark episode. It’s very well crafted and the payoff is great. Now, in case you haven’t noticed, the better the episode the less recap it gets from me. I feel that it’s only fair since a great episode speaks by itself.

I think very much like the Doctor, I wanted Missy to show some signs of redemption. But more important than that, I didn’t think I’d have to worry about the other travelers onboard the TARDIS. I didn’t think I’d have to worry about Bill. You see, the scuffle on board this ship was a red herring. This ship comes from Mondas… And this episode is about the very birth of the Cybermen.

The Cybermen are more of a nightmare that a lot of the other enemies of the Doctor because they’re built from people. The transformation is hailed as irreversible. You can’t turn a Cyberman back to a regular human being. You also can’t unknow the fact that inside, there’s a person in perpetual pain, a silent traveler inside his own body turned to machine.

To add just about another challenge, the huge ship orbits a black hole. Time is happening faster on the part of the ship that is further away. The Doctor has managed to leave a memory imprint on Bill’s mind: Wait for me. But this imprint is a cruel reminder through the years that Bill waits for the Doctor, already her heart a piece of technology. The first of many upgrades she will get. Her apparent benefactor, a lowly maintenance guy, is not what he seems to be. Or rather, he’s exactly what you thinking he is.

The Master is back. Or rather, he’s back in time. Now that he’s joined forces with his future self, Missy herself, the Doctor is at its worst disadvantage. We’re going into the finale with everything on the line, and the chance that neither the Doctor nor Bill will make it alive in one piece… or any original ones.

Highs/Lows/Upgrades:

  • ARGHHH! I didn’t want Bill’s life on the line here. I know the Cybermen’s rule is you don’t go back to human if you’re upgraded to a Cyberman, but will there be a caveat/exception this time? Or are we losing Bill this season too?
  • Missy is funny, but we’ve forgotten she’s got evil in her. And now beside her too!
  • Missy insists that the Doctor’s real name is Doctor Who. “It’s on all the screens.” Fourth wall trolling at its finest. Or worst.
  • I hate to have real life but in, but we all know that Peter Capaldi is leaving the show. So we’re getting a regeneration and a new face. I was hoping Pearl Mackie would stick around as Bill, but that one is in the balance now.
  • I waited. My GAWD, that finger pointing hurt. Guilt in its purest form. It almost feels like a betrayal. Knowing what he knew, why couldn’t the Doctor just freakin’ RUSH down for Bill?
  • We were all expecting the Spanish Inquisition here. Meaning, the whole delayed reveal of the Cybermen when we all knew they were the Cybermen might seem pointless. Still, it was well made.
  • John Simms returns as the Master without us losing Michelle Gomez as Missy. The result is an evil alliance through time, but still something we all wanted to witness.
  • The Genesis of the Cybermen is a known unproduced story of Doctor Who. The Master names it at some point, which makes me think that was going to be the original name of the finale. Whether or not some of the original plot elements will be used is unknown.

That will do for now.

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Series Issues: Finale Thoughts as American Gods Comes to Jesus

Posted by The Editor in American Gods, Series Issues, Uncategorized on June 18, 2017

You should believe in spoilers coming your way.

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(Source: Starz)

American Gods might have been taking the last few weeks to set the stage and show you what world is it you are living in, but this week the cards get put in the table with Come To Jesus.

But first, a story. Mr. Nancy (Orlando Jones at its campy best) is a tailor. The best possible career for someone that works the threads. He’s making Mr. Wednesday and Shadow some new suits when he talks about an Old Goddess. It’s a little history and a lot of passion with the tale of Bilquis.

You can’t help but be fascinated about Bilquis. She starts off strong, living off orgies and the kings who would take her down. But through the ages she’s not only forgotten, but finds herself down on her luck. “Anger gets shit done,” proclaims Mr. Nancy. Persecution against hedonism, againsts carefree love and against freedom of thought does her in. She’s forced to leave her homeland. She soon forgets herself and ends up homeless in the street. She watches her temples get demolished by followers of fanaticism.

Until Technical Boy hands her a phone, the internet, and a way to still instill lust. And then we understand how she survived. That puts her, somewhat reluctantly, on the New Gods side. Old Gods made New.

american-gods-s1e8-come-to-jesus

(Source: Starz)

That is also what they want of Ostara (Kristin Chenoweth), the Goddess of Easter. But before Media, Technical Boy and Mr. World can pitch the thought, we get to watch Shadow and Mr. Wednesday have their turn. Chenoweth plays Ostara with the flare of a celebrity, an over-the-top ostentatious hostess. Well, I thought she was overdoing it until Media arrives. That being said, let’s not go there yet…

Mr. Wednesday and Shadow are not the only ones calling on Ostara. As it happens, a very familiar ice cream truck arrives at her mansion. Mad Sweeney is calling upon Ostara’s gift of Resurrection for Laura Moon. Ostara is less than thrilled of having a dead girl in her fancy party in the beginning, but she does come around to helping Laura. That is, until she senses something in the way she became deceased. Laura’s death was arranged by a God. You can imagine which one.

Before the end of the party, Media will make her entrance. Gillian Anderson plays an southern belle that might just overplay Chenoweth’s very own. With Technical Boy and Mr. World joining in, it’s time for the Old Gods and the New Gods to have their first confrontation. It will definitely not be their last.

And Laura Moon would like a word with her husband.

Finale Thoughts:

  • I wasn’t sure about Kristin Chenoweth as Ostara. Seems she ended up being perfectly casted as the Goddess of Easter.
  • I can’t wait until Bilquis meets Mr. Wednesday, or Shadow for that matter. However, I really want her to step away from the control of the Old Gods. Technical Boy is out of his league thinking he can boss her around.
  • Media is going to be the real antagonist to beat.
  • Laura Moon is close to falling apart. Does she get a chance to be resurrected? Forget the book, does that need to happen? In my opinion, not quite yet. Perhaps a partial reprieve from death.
  • It was a little unwise for Mad Sweeney to take Laura to the one goddess that could reveal that Laura’s death was his own doing. Laura wastes no time in running up Sweeney up the wall, but she doesn’t want the lackey – she wanted to hear Wednesday’s name.
  • We get Wednesday’s name in a reveal that could be considered the worst kept secret. He’s Odin.
  • The Easter bunnies, the faceless men in top hats, the crazy colors… Holy crap, I was expecting Willy Wonka to show up around the corner. A very technicolor episode if there was one. Yes, I know I should say hi-def instead.
  • The very sensible explanation from Ostara regarding Jesus. Everyone sees him differently, therefore there are several versions of him.
  • Shadow Moon gets to talk to Jesus Prime about belief. That being said, this scene is literally the only reason to use Jesus in the title. Ostara gets cheated out of her own episode. I think the episode use the name as clickbait, because he’s a background character at best.
  • Shadow has a new vision in which he crawls out of a sea of skulls and finds the white buffalo with fire for eyes.
  • When Mad Sweeney gets pressed (and almost crushed) by Laura, he reveals how they wanted Shadow to have nothing left to care in the world. But was really Shadow a completely random choice, as unimportant as Sweeney says? In this world where perception is truth, he’s now a crucial element of Wednesday’s plans.
  • The confrontation happens as Mr. Wednesday makes a show of power. Laura finally catches up with both Shadow and Mr. Wednesday after learning the truth about her own murder. The gloves are off between the Old Gods and the New. And of course, you know, this means war.

That will do for now.

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