Amph What was the last tv episode you watched?

The Venture Bros. S5, Ep.5 "O.S.I. Love You" (2013) - Plot; Suits are sent to investigate the escape of two high profile super criminals from O.S.I. custody.

I always enjoy an O.S.I. (think an askew G.I. Joe meets an oblique S.H.I.E.L.D.) themed episode, and this one is quite fun. Cutting back and forth between various accounts leading to the escape of two members of the show's rogues gallery, it gives all of the characters a humorous little section of turf to occupy. - 7.5/10

 

The Big Bang Theory

 

I'm watching a NatGeo series called Parched, about the increasing dangers to fresh water supplies around the world. It is refreshingly candid about how serious the problem is and how irresponsible states and corporations are with fresh water. One episode was about the poisoning of water in the U.S. by chemical and petroleum industries, and another about armed conflict regarding water (focusing on Syria, Israel/Palestine, and China/India).

And then the ads. "Oh hey, this sucks, huh? Well, buy this thing and it will get better! Insatiable consumerism driven by profit-seeking companies and capitalism generally is a major driver of ecological destruction, but buying this thing is good!"

 

The opening episode of the MST3K relaunch. It'll be released on Netflix on Friday, but I'm a Kickstarter backer, so I got an advance preview. All I'll say is that it was a good start for the revival.

 

Star Trek Voyager Episode: Collective

After Chakotay, Neelix, Paris and Kim get captured by a Borg vessel, Seven must negotiate their release, only to discover that there are only five Borg adolescents in control of the cube. The episode features the first appearance of Icheb.

 

Miami Vice S2, Ep.16 "Florence Italy" (1986) - Plot; When a young prostitute is murdered, the evidence points to a young race car driver in town for the Miami Grand Prix.

Miami Vice and auto racing would seem to be a marriage made in Heaven (or at least Hollywood), but not so here. Saddled with a paint by numbers plot and a wooden performance from guest star Danny Sullivan (a real life driver who should've stuck to racing) leaves this episode nowhere near victory lane. - 5/10

 

Parks and Rec Season 5 Episode 11 "Women in Garbage"

April and Leslie wind up doing a garbage route to show women can do anything that men can do.

 

Stranger Things S1, Ep.3 "Holly, Jolly" (2016) - I began watching Stranger Things last October, but even though it's totally in my wheelhouse (Retro 80s setting with a with tone and style that's sorta like a mix of Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante and Steven King), and had all of the hype that was seemingly justified by a strong opener with a solid follow-up, I bailed. But I sit here now, with my brain gears grinding over work stress and a myriad of things caught up in the orbit of all that entails, and I crave comfort food; But not reheating something I've eaten dozens of times before. I want new, but familiar. That's where Stranger Things comes in. I remembered enough from the first two episodes that I felt comfortable jumping right back into Ep.3 w/o a refresher, so here goes.

The episode unwinds slowly, sneaking up on you. We get a look at the various characters as they deal with more personal arcs as well as the story at large. It's good stuff, but there's no big reveal... until the last two minutes, when a major bombshell drops and the totality of all of the careful craft hits you. This is a show where, so far, all of the ingredients come together. - 8/10


Rogue1-and-a-half I do plan to get back to X-Files here shortly. Vacation starts in a week and a half, and because I had to push it back a week, my plans to go on a Caribbean cruise w/my Brother and his family got squashed. Totally cool, though, as I'd much rather stay here in Ohio and binge watch 90s genre dramas . But I do plan on sneaking in some Mulder and Scully time during that week.

 

Stranger Things S1, Ep.4 "The Body" (2016) - The key to a series like this is to hook you and then reel you in slowly, and that's exactly what they've done here. Every question that gets answered raises two more. It's the sort of thing that can get exhausting over the course of a standard 22-25 episode network run, but in a more abbreviated format it can be insanely addictive.

I have to make special note of the performances here, all uniformly excellent, but particularly those of Wynona Ryder, David Harbour and Charlie Heaton. They really help to ground this rather fantastical premise and give it a human face and a beating heart. - 8/10

 

The Venture Bros. S5, Ep.7 "Bot Seeks Bot" (2013) - Plot; The O.S.I. attempt to infiltrate the Council of Thirteen via a date between their robotic agent and one of the council's villainous cyborgs.

Lots of little rewards in here for longtime fans, but more smiles and chuckles than outright laughter. - 7/10

 

DS9 Emissary. The Sisko is on my iPad.

 

DS9 Past Prologue. Garak+everything=better

 

DS9 A Man Apart

 

Stranger Things S1, Ep.5 "The Flea and the Acrobat" (2016) - Though the kids get the lion's share of the media spotlight, this episode was a nice showcase for the grownups of Stranger Things. Wynona Ryder and David Harbour are particularly good here, and there are a lot of really nice character moments throughout. Many of these characters started out as deceptively simple archetypes that have since been revealed to be much more. With the bigger mystery starting to come into focus a bit, it's now about how much you care about these characters and seeing them through the rest of this journey. As of now, I find I care quite a bit. - 8/10

 

DS9 Babel and Captive Pursuit

 

prison break season 5 ep 2 and wentworth season 5 episode 2

 

Adventure Time S3, Ep.5 "Too Young" (2011) - Plot; Princess Bubblegum finds her throne usurped when her age regresses to the point where she's no longer old enough to rule.

Several years ago I binge watched the first two seasons of Adventure Time and was utterly charmed by it, but for reasons even I don't know, I never returned to it. Picked this episode at random, and while it's not a classic, it does encompass much of the quirky charm that makes the series so likeable. It also has a rather mature pathos for Finn's ultimately unrequited love for Princess Bubblegum. - 7/10

 

I fell asleep during Better Call Saul last night. I had the good sense to record it though.

 

The Magicians s2e9

I still consider this one of the more watchable fantasy series on tv right now.

 

DS9 Q-less.

 

Anything with Q is great.

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The Venture Bros. S5, Ep.3 "SPHINX Rising" (2013) - Plot; Gary attempts to resurrect SPHINX as a crime fighting organization.

Gary (formerly Henchman 21), The Monarch and Dr. Mrs. The Monarch make everything better. Throw in a little Shoreleave and you've got a reasonably solid episode. The titular characters have been, at best, side players in S5. I think they'd do well to actually do something with Dean's emo arc and use Hank's exuberant incompetence to greater effect. - 7/10

 

Feud: Bette and Joan: Episode - Abandoned!
- This is a wonderful series about old Hollywood rivals Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. In this last episode, there's a pivotal moment between the two megastars where they reveal their insecurities about themselves towards each other in an argument, which was layout earlier in the episode where Bette tells a story of how she over heard her male co-star said that she was sexually undesirable and Joan saying her talent as an actress will always be undermined as she got her start as a dancer/showgirl. So, every time they look at each other those insecurities surface.

13 Reasons Why: Episodes 1 and 2
- So far, I find this a very intriguing Netflix story of a high girl that committed suicide and is able to haunt the people involved in her life. I like this kind of story telling where you get a real good juicy foundation of the story that unfolds through some voice over narration to provide context and backstory that provides a perspective on the present time where the characters undergo a transformation and turmoil. It's like if Wendy Cooper of the Wonder Years killed herself and Kevin Arnold was faced with that reality.

 

Anything with more than a mention of the episode title, like a mini-review, is great, too! And required, too!

 

Yeah. Everything is better with Q. Its too bad that he only showed in DS9 once. Q and Garak would have been entertaining.

Last episodes I watched were

DS9 Dax. I realize that its early in the show's run, but this whole episode really felt like it was reaching. The whole could have been cleared up in five minutes if Jadzia had just trusted Sisko.

Tron: Uprising. Beck's Beginning and The Renegade Part 1. Gorgeous looking show. Like The Matrix mashed up with an iPad. It's a shame that Disney cancelled this.