Amph What was the last tv episode you watched?

Maybe the incompetent government banned smartphones?

 

Yeah, it's a very personal decision. There's a tumblr called something like Your Fave is Problematic or something that's dedicated to reminding us that artists are people and every artist you love has done something horrible over the years and every artwork you love has some troubling text or subtext. It's a very personal thing who is okay with you and who isn't. A lot of it does come back to the difference between saying/doing something horrible and having a pattern of saying/doing horrible things. I'm very forgiving in the former case; it's harder in the latter. But Tyson is just repulsive to me on a very visceral level; I can't stand to watch him in interviews or anything like that even. Something about him just weirds me out. But I can watch Roman Polanski's old movies without any problems; I don't even have a problem when he shows up in them (though he is typically playing a total creep, so typecasting? ). There's a coherent philosophy in there somewhere, but it's also just down to who gives you the creeps and who doesn't. I try not to judge on who people keep in their artistic lives. If Tyson still works for you, well, that's fine.

 

Absolutely. I do it on a case by case basis, and I know the "math" may not always add up. Some people have very clearly delineated rules; "I don't support someone whose politics and activism is/are X." "I won't patronize someone who has done Y.", and I absolutely get that. You don't want to reward people who offend your sensibilities.

 

ER... "Freak Show"- there's wonderful drama with Jeanie Boulet & Weaver concerning budget issues, sprinkled with the beginnings of Dr. Romano, Benton dealing with a sick kid from an old, old high school classmate of his (which has implications in regards to medical research), a falling out with Carter & Del Amico, and Dr. Greene's continuing relationship with overly sentimental woman makes for fine season 4 episode.

 

Star Trek S3, Ep. 7 "Day of the Dove" (1968) - Plot; An alien entity who feeds on conflict manipulates a group of Klingons and the crew of the Enterprise into a never ending stalemate.

Season 3 of ST:TOS is somewhat notorious for its slashed budget thanks to falling ratings and a lack of faith from the network. There are some well regarded episodes from the season, however, and "Day of the Dove" is among them (currently sporting an 8.0 rating on IMDb).

There's a germ of a good idea here, but without spoiling too much I believe it's somewhat undermined by the fact that the attitudes of the factions are often created, not simply manipulated, by the alien entity. It sort of robs the story of any real moral lesson. It does give the actors a nice stage, with even Chekov getting a little bit of gristle to chew on. But as usual it's Shatner and his go big or go home style that gives the stakes the weight they might otherwise have lacked. - 7/10

 

And it introduces us to Dax's third Klingon pal for a later DS9 episode.

 

Even more reason to eventually check out some DS9 (the only ep. I've seen all the way through is the "Trouble w/Tribbles" crossover, which I quite enjoyed).

 

I liked Way of the Warrior. Can't go wrong with an attack by a massive Klingon fleet.

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The Blacklist:Redemption s1e7
I've been enjoying this show so far, but I'm not sure about its longlivity. How long can they possibly spin out the mom vs dad with kid caught in the middle plot? The cast is pretty good though, decent production values, and the pacing is fast enough to stop you thinking about the plotting too much.

 

Jabba-wocky

 

Legion S1 Ep5

Crazy show, too trippy for my tastes, but I'm intrigued enough to see it through to the end.

 

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe S2, Ep. 8 "Origin of the Sorceress" (1985) - Plot; When a threat from Eternia's past returns, He-Man and the Sorceress must team up to stop it.

The original Masters of the Universe cartoon isn't known for its great storytelling, but there are some well regarded episodes in its canon, among them are "The Problem with Power", "Evilseed", "Teela's Triumph", "Into the Abyss" and this one, "Origin of the Sorceress". It may not quite stack up against those episodes, but it's a refreshingly serious story (for the genre and era) that sheds some light on the mysterious Sorceress.

But regardless of how cheesy an episode may be, the moment Prince Adam holds his sword aloft and says "By the power of Grayskull!", I'm suddenly 8 years old again, eating cereal in front of the TV, and that's a rare bit of magic in this world and this show has forever earned my love because of it. - 7/10

 

Sense8 season 2 episode 4
I'm enjoying this much more than I thought I would. I remember thinking the first season was patchy but watchable, but this time around I've found each episode pretty engrossing. The cast all have great faces and I think that really helps.

 

Watched the final 3 episodes of the final season (6) of Grimm. I've been a big fan of this show throughout its run, I thought it was a very clever idea, that the Grimm fairytales were actually true and they were people who hunted the monsters that live among us from seemingly the beginning of time.

There being a few occasions when it lost its way in the middle of its run just a little bit and got a bit muddled when they started to add in more people that knew Nicks secret, the different organisations in Black Claw, Verrat and Hadrians Wall, plus on top of that you had the change in identity of Juliette to Eve. However there were still a lot of very good episodes and the central core of the recurring storyline of the quest to reunite a set of 'keys' that held the details of a secret map was an interesting one, and indeed lead to them finding a magical 'stick' in season 5. To be honest I didn't expect that discovery to end up as it did with the final 3 episodes and I wasn't much of a fan of the parallel world or hell or whatever it was they went to, espeically as it introduced a villain that we had no affinity to as we'd never seen him before. Its almost as if that aspect was a little rushed.

The ending was a happy one and I thought that was handled well, especially how they passed the torch in case they wanted to resurrect the series at some point down the line. Overall I really enjoyed this and I'm pleased it was able to give given a finale.

 

Stumbled into Nova Chinese Chariots Revealed and started watching Food: Delicious Science, but tapped out after they moved on from chocolate.

 

Binge-watched S1 of Gotham when it hit DVD and loved it, flaws and all. Had planned to do the same w/S2, but, life.

Gotham S2, Ep. 1 "Damned if You Do" (2015) - Plot; After being dismissed from the Gotham PD, Jim Gordon reluctantly seeks help from Gotham's new crime king, the Penguin.

Strong opener goes back to the "Gordon needs the Penguin's help" trope, but if it ain't broke. Robin Lord Taylor has done an excellent job evolving from the sniveling outcast to the big bird, and previously wasted Erin Richards clearly relishes her new role as a criminal femme fatale. - 8/10

Gotham S2, Ep.2 "Knock, Knock" (2015) - A new threat rises in Gotham in the form of the mysterious Theo Galavan and his Maniax.

Does an excellent job of balancing and inter-weaving its various story arcs, giving each enough room to breathe on their own and yet serve the story at large. James Frain's Theo Galavan is an excellent addition to Gotham's increasingly colorful rogue's gallery, and his Maniax, led by what may turn out to be Gotham's most notorious villain, really up the stakes. A tough loss to the cast is offset by the addition of Lucius Fox in what should be a more prominent role. - 8/10

 

i started binging master of none season 2 last night and now i only have two episodes left. it's so good.

 

Walking Dead, Season 7 Ep. 1

Brutal.

 

Gotham S2, Ep.3 "The Last Laugh" (2015) - Plot; Gotham's wealthiest citizens are taken hostage by members of the Maniax and ultimately saved by mysterious billionaire Theo Galavan.

Another exceptionally strong episode with a nice, tight focus. Gotham is at its best when its building on the story at large and not focusing on one-offs and a villains of the week. Speaking of villains, we lose one here, and it's a doozy. I was convinced he was going to develop into

Spoiler

the Joke

, but the coda seems to indicate he was merely the inspiration. But if I've learned one thing from comic books, no one ever stays dead. - 8/10

 

Gotham S2, Ep.4 "Strike Force" (2015) - Plot; Gotham gets a hard driving new Commissioner who tasks Gordon with helping him to clean up the city once and for all.

Once again there's a lot going on here, but its exceptionally well balanced and everything dovetails nicely into the larger story. Of particular note is the addition of Michael Chiklis as the tough talking Nathaniel Barnes. Chiklis is great and his presence adds another jolt of energy to a season that's already firing on all cylinders. - 8/10

- Chiklis, who plays a Police Commissioner here, played the title role on the ABC series The Commish for five seasons.

 

I started watching "The Mars Generation" documentary on Netflix, but with the SpaceCamp kids acting like dopes and saying things like "come at me, bro" and using the word "science" like a verb (thanks, Ridley Scott and Matt Damon) I had to turn it off.

 

Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations: Osaka. I much prefer this show over the original, Andrew Zimmern is more relaxed which permeates the places he visits. Less gross animal parts and such to wade through too. These wind up being a nice little travelogue of the specific city through food, though you do get some touristy locations in on occasion. Osaka looks like a fun place to visit. Travel Channel schedules a block of these on the weekends and just as I am really getting into it, they segue into a different program.

 

One and a half episodes into American Gods. Watching this is torture. Aimless slow-motion 'arthouse' shots, repetitive scenes, intrusive music and slow forward plot progress. The acting is the best thing about it so far, but as good as Ian McShane is, he can't be the sole point of interest. I found the book dull as well (dropped it about half way through), so I guess this the source material. Does it get better? Is it going to get less obnoxious?

 

Gotham S2, Ep.5 "Scarification" (2015) - Plot; As Theo Galavan's race for the Mayor's office heats up, his family's connection to the Waynes is revealed.

Commendably keeps a lot of plot plates spinning with most of the threads weaving together into the story at large. The Nygma/Kringle stuff would seem superfluous if not for the fact it's building the foundation for Nygma's ultimate turn down the road. - 7/10