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Reviews
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Subspace Rhapsody (2023)
So so cringe...
Musical episodes are so hit and miss and this one was out in another quadrant. If you want to spare yourself a disappointing, cringy and LONG hour of the best Star Trek series since The Orville (lol, I know I know...), here's the episode summarized: "Hey, there's a weird anomaly...*insert generic technobabble* Let's play music at it! Omg now we're all singing and dancing! *more techno babble* We sing when we're all emotional! Klingons! Oh, no-this whimsical problem might start a war and wreak havoc on the entire galaxy! *more techno babble* It's okay cuz we can fix it with a grand finale but only if the most introverted member of the crew coordinates because character development and what not! *cringy grand finale song magically fixes everything* Have someone start humming at the end so everyone's all like oh, no, did we not fix the thing?? EPISODE ENDS"
I do love this show and Star Trek in general. Discovery was a little disjointed and the last feature film sucked, but I write this review as a fan. Maybe part of my dislike if this episode is that I know that they usually do something lighthearted when the next episode is a bloodbath... I'm always disappointed when you get a boring emotional drama episode-the addition of several songs at the 60 minute run time did not help matters.
We can only hope they see that this episode has the series lowest IMDb rating and never try it again.
South Park: Joining the Panderverse (2023)
Amazing satire dragged down by a clunky Randy B-plot
The Panderverse plot and the diverse women replacing the main characters in the alternate universe had so much unused potential. The culprit? Randy. This "Event" was basically an episode that was a hilarious take on Hollywood's lazy and half-assed embrace of supposed diversity, and a Randy episode where he's frustrated by the changing world. Unfortunately, the Randy storyline was given WAY too much time and just cumbersome. I loved the Panderverse part of the episode but they could have done so much more with it had we not had to keep checking in on Randy and his problems with AI or whatever his issue was (completely forgettable plot). They sort of tied the plots together at the end but the Randy story was so far removed from the much better Panderverse story that it stopped the event dead in its tracks.
Randy needs to appear way less. We have enough cartoons about dumb dads doing dumb things (family guy, simpsons, American dad...). Randy stories are about as exciting as Meg episodes on family guy.
In summary: We could have had so much more fun in the Panderverse but instead we got 20 minutes of Randy getting pissed about billionaires or something (I skipped through his parts when rewatching-makes the episode so much better)
South Park: Spring Break (2023)
I would describe this episode as "bleh"
This was part randy episode, part Mr. Garrison episode. That right there should lower your expectations. What made South Park amazing was that it was told from the perspective of the kids. But the show is often at its worst when they abandon the boys and go with the "dumb clueless dad" approach. Randy episodes are almost always disappointing and although this is also a Mr. Garrison episode, it certainly disappoints (especially as a season finale). I hate trump but the whole Mr. Garrison as the Trump of the South Park universe is getting old. It's honestly just confusing. And the topical humor does not age well.
The only thing connecting the two plots was the fact that it was spring break. I just watched it and I couldn't even tell you the point of the episode. Mr. Garrison saved his relationship with his completely forgettable boyfriend? Randy, in the style of Peter from Family Guy, overdid it and needed Sharon?
When you go down to 6 episode seasons, the episodes shouldn't be this bad.
American Dad!: The Book of Fischer (2022)
An awesomely weird framing of Stan's fragility
Before I get into my review of this episode, I'm afraid I must go on a rant. This is in response to the episode's opening scene.
(BEGIN RANT)
I often cringe during episodes of the newer seasons when the show opens with a member of the family, or the entire family, getting super excited about something really weird that has never been mentioned (or even implied) as one of their passions or dreams, or sharply deviates from long-established personality traits.
A recent example is last season's forgettable Lumber-jerk episode where it opens with Stan getting really excited about getting to see "hot lumberjacks" at the fair. This is not Stan Smith, the archetype evangelical neocon who once kidnapped a baby so it wouldn't be raised by gay parents. Sure, his character has evolved, but not THAT much. And if it has, make the episode a deep dive into his deeply repressed homosexuality and not just a lazy setup for an episode.
It's not that I don't appreciate the weird and abstract (I'm a millennial...if anything, I appreciate it too much) as this show is often at its finest in it's weirder moments. But you gotta work for the weird. When it's dropped on the audience as nothing more than an episode setup, it comes across as someone trying way too hard to be funny or not trying hard enough to be a decent writer.
I was worried for a moment when the Book of Fischer leads off with Steve announcing he has found his first gray hair and couldn't be happier. He apparently has always wanted "that silver fox look." (Yeah, we get it...what a weird thing to happen to a 14 year old and for that 14 year old to be happy about it... *insert canned audience laugh track*)
Basically, they needed to get Stan and Steve to the barbershop to hit the main storyline and this weak irony was their vessel of choice for Book of Fischer. Booo!!
I'm sure there were plenty of ways to compel someone like Stan to take Steve, the boy they should have named Tristan, to his first proper men's barbershop.
The drawn out point I'm trying to make is "random" and "irony" are fun in small doses, but it's been happening a lot in recent seasons and at the expense of the characters core personalities.
(END RANT)
Okay, I'm sorry I had to say that to people from the AD production team reading this (because I KNOW you do lololol). I actually really liked this episode.
Let's continue:
Once we get through our cringy setup, we end up at the local barbershop and Stan is excited to demonstrate his ability to "chomp it up" with the fellas (Principle Lewis, Tuttle, the local news producer, and the barber).
And unless this is somehow your first time watching AD, Stan is the exact opposite of how he perceives himself. Steve delivers this bitter dose of reality and Stan unravels in unhinged fashion, reminiscent of early-season classics like "Homeland Insecurity" and "Failure is not a Factory-Installed Option."
The best Stan episodes are ones where he retains some of his original personality quirks and is hilariously insecure and reckless. Book of Fischer manages to deliver us this Stan, who nearly gets Steve, Tuttle and himself killed in the process.
Now had this been the sole plot of this episode, I would have knocked its score down to a 5 or 6.
But this episode is "the Book of Fischer," and the writers cooked up a welcome and delightful framing device in the form of Jeff's diaries.
Early in the episode, Jeff is getting on Hayley's nerves with his child-like commentary and over sharing. When Hayley confronts him, Jeff admits that he has to tell her things right away or he'll forget because he smokes too much pot.
The solution is Jeff starts a diary. Jeff begins documenting everything, including the events Stan and Steve are involved in. Of course Jeff being Jeff, he eventually becomes distracted and leaves his diary in the kitchen freezer and forgets all about it moments later. This is the setup for a delightful plot twists. (See AD writers-random worked here because you worked for it!)
In the latter half of the episode, we learn the story about Stan and Steve is actually being told to a group of children in the distant future and being read to them from the Book of Fischer, which has become a sacred text for a religion that coalesced around Tuttle.
There's something hilarious about Jeff's nonsense and Stan's major personality flaws being interpreted through the lens of organized religion, where every detail takes on significance. It was a risk for the writers to take this path but they stick the landing, providing us with a fun glimpse of a future where Tuttle and the Smiths are religious icons, while also pointing out the obvious plot holes and absurdities of the Book of Fischer's origins (which of course is a riff on today's religions).
To top it off, we're treated to a brief cameo from future Roger, who is still alive and well in 1000 years' time.
All in all, Book of Fischer had a rough opening but recovers beautifully. It manages to blend the characters' core personalities with a delicious helping of the absurd...at least it does from around the two minute mark.
American Dad!: Family Time (2021)
AD Producers: You should minimize your appearances in the show
Family Time was a solid episode, which in the post-Fox years, is any episode with a 6 or 7 rating.
But let's cut to the chase and identify the two main issues that keep these episodes from achieving "classic" status...
1. In the event someone from the AD production team actually reads these, and can understand my reviews here are earnest and from the heart, please think about the point I'm about to make because it's the number one thing you're doing to hurt the quality of your episodes:
Stop with the "what if Roger was a (enter something random)" plots/subplots.
Roger is not in the main plot of this episode and at first, the reason why seems promising: he's jaded and overwhelmed by life. He doesn't know who he is.
I think the writers are projecting here. THEY don't know who Roger is. And so, he goes for a walk and becomes a flower.
And I'm not saying this was a terrible little secondary storyline. It had its funny moments. But it makes me suspect they've forgotten that Roger's best personas, even the absurd ones-like being a termite or a racing greyhound-are organic to the storyline.
In the case of "Family Time," it felt more like a half-hearted attempt to fill up 21 minutes of run time. The best secondary plots tie back into the larger plot-that's about the only time these abstract Roger personas work.
2. I say this with the utmost respect to the producers of American Dad: Please stop giving your alter-egos leading roles in episodes. American Dad already has several "awkward misfit loners" At its disposal (e.g., Klaus, Dick, Tuttle).
The more we see of these once ancillary characters who are graduating to secondary characters (Weitzman, Parker), the more it makes us miss the amazing secondary characters of seasons' past. I'm sure there are a lot of inside jokes things you find hilarious but I promise you the average fan would trade one of their organs for a proper appearance by Reginald or even donate plasma for a visit by Debbie or Vince Chung.
American Dad!: Echoes (2022)
A wasted subplot spoils a potentially good episode
Sometimes you have to end the world to create a great American Dad episode. This includes the GOAT "Rapture's Delight," written back when the Smith Family had actual personalities and hadn't been reduced to their most obnoxious traits. Then there was the epic 200th episode-one of the best anniversary episodes of any series ever. (200 Rogers...what more needs to be said?)
Sadly, their latest attempts to end the world (Brave N00b World) and now, "Echoes," come nowhere close to capturing the glory of these classics.
It KILLS me to write that. I remember watching the pilot back in college and the Smiths immediately dethroning the Griffins as my favorite MacFarlane family.
With 22 episode seasons, every show is going to have a few misfires. With the latest season of American Dad, the good episodes were so rare that they became the misfires.
On paper, we should love this episode. Their end of the world episodes are great more often than not. There were a handful of decent jokes but the episode's protagonist, Steve, points out exactly what was wrong with the story when he wonders where Roger is at, remarking he'd be perfect in this situation.
He would have been. Instead, the writers decided to remove Roger and Klaus from the main story and forced them into a B storyline that was poorly executed, asinine, predictable, and stopped the main story dead in its tracks. Instead of having Roger team up with Steve or diving deeper into the family dynamic while Steve confronts the end of the human race, they waste precious time on his subplot. Roger's storyline ended precisely how we knew it would in this mess of an episode.
The fact that they felt they needed a secondary plot to fill up the 21 minute run time is a good sign they no longer know how to write for the main characters. The main characters have been completely reduced to their worst qualities that they don't even seem to care what happens during the episode. Neither does the audience.
Roger's best personas are organic to the story and emerge from the events at hand. In recent seasons, the writers seem to have forgotten this. "Echoes" is a prime example of, "What if Roger did (blank)" persona that has no connection to the plot and fails to connect with the viewer.
"Echoes" completely fails to live up to the standard of past "end of the world" episodes and makes even a diehard fan start to wonder if maybe it's time we end the series instead?
American Dad!: The Grounch (2022)
What a mess-do the writers of American Dad even like the show?
Id compare this latest season to watching someone you love die of cancer. They have their good days (Gold Top Nuts, Smooshed) but then you get to Echoes and the Grounch and you know it's time to say goodbye.
American Dad has always done amazing Christmas episodes but this isn't a Christmas episode. It's a "Christmas episode." It's two barely connected plots (another Stan does something crazy/not very funny sex joke they stretched out to 21 minutes) with Christmas decorations in the background.
This was truly one of the very worst episodes of the entire series. It was so cringy and disjointed. I've been watching this show since the pilot and I never thought I'd say this but if this is the best they can manage then it's time to let the show die.
The characters have all become empty shells of themselves, a copy of a copy of their worst traits (Stan's arrogance, Francine being a drunk, etc.). The characters have become so shallow and soulless and that it's destroyed everything about the smith family that made the show charming.
The only thing worse than watching a great show get canceled is watching it slowly wither away into garbage at the ends of a writing team that seems to not give a (bleep).
American Dad!: Gold Top Nuts (2022)
Best and weirdest episode in a long time
In the same vein as Blood Crieth Unto Heaven and Rabbit Ears, Gold Top Nuts is one of those brilliantly weird and bold episodes true American Dad fans will love.
I have to admit, when I read the episode description, I did not expect the episode to veer off in such a bizarre direction. The Smiths are pissed an each other as they travel home from a terrible budget vacation that Stan purchased. The budget flight crashes and they wash up on the shore of a mysterious abandoned island. Their frustrations carry over as they try to pass the time but then, the episode takes an unexpected and philosophical turn when they lose their memories. Unlike your typical amnesia episode, where characters try to figure out who they are and what they should be doing, the Smiths take a much deeper approach, looking for a higher meaning in their surroundings (an abandoned lighthouse). Their only connection to civilization is a VHS recording of an 80s commercial for Gold Top Nuts, which forms the foundation of their entire belief system and culture.
Eventually, Stan accidentally destroys the VHS and they are forced to flee. Rather than ending the episode on a "and then they were rescued," the writers went a step further and look at the aftermath of their ordeal.
This episode would have been a brilliant two-parter. My only gripe is that they had to push things along too quickly in order to hit that 21-minute limit.
They've been trying too hard during recent seasons, especially with Roger's personas (I love Roger but his absence until the very end didn't hurt the episode in the slightest). And as they pointed out in the last episode, there's been too much Snot. Gold Top Nuts was a brilliant departure, showing us that the AD writers are still willing to take the occasional risk with abstract concepts.
Major bonus points for the attention to detail they've demonstrated during the last couple seasons. The short gag toward the end where Klaus crashes the orange pickup truck he won last season into one of the Sidewinder dump trucks he's obsessed with...lololol.
Also bonus points for bringing back Trish and the Sizzle, although Trish has had too many mimosas.
I have a good feeling about how this latest season is shaping up. We got through the early episodes, which are typically the weakest, and now that it's back from the break, we've had a Wheels and the Legman episode and this absolute gem.
In summary...Gold Top Nuts isn't an all-time great but it's absolutely a great episode. Only a Tiffany's boyfriend won't love it.
American Dad!: Plot Heavy (2021)
Scott Pippen saved this episode
Having Scottie Pippen guest star was what kept this episode from a lower rating. The setup to this episode felt a little forced. It's always off putting when the family is all super stoked about something really weird and random like grave plots. I know the writers were trying to be weird and random but it's all just so out of character. They basically just needed a setup so Stan could reach his emotional turmoil and the main story could begin, but it just falls flat. Like they were trying too hard ti be random and weird. Thankfully, "world famous author" Scottie Pippen appears as himself, which just cracks me up. I love that they not only got Pippen to voice himself but they made him such a delightful weirdo.
I guess that's why they called his the Admiral.
Yellowjackets (2021)
Finally-a Lost clone done right!
My first reaction to reading this show's premise was "Great, another Lost close." After watching the pilot, my reaction was "Hell yeah-there's finally a good Lost clone!" This show has managed to capture all the best elements of Lost but with a better balance between past and present. Unlike the ever-growing list of other Lost clones (e.g., Terra Nova, I-LAND), Yellowjackets has the cast and story to back it up.
The comparisons to Lost are many-a plane crash in a mysterious place, weird people with weird secrets, a continuous story arc told in two timelines, mysterious/spooky things lurking in the dark, etc. However, Yellowjackets manages to stand on its own with a great cast and intriguing story.
This show has a lot of potential-I'm hopeful they can even one-up Lost by sticking the eventual landing.
American Dad!: Comb Over: A Hair Piece (2021)
Absolute waste of a potentially great episode
Roger's lamest personas are the ones that make you wish that the family would stop playing along and instead slap him and tell him to snap out if. This usually happens when they try way too hard with Roger's persona. Everything about this episode's persona was a mess. Instead of being a real follow up to the classic episode chimdale, it turned into 15 minute joke about Rod Stewart?
There were exactly two funny scenes and sadly, both happened in the opening minutes of the episode (Stan telling it how it is and then his hair surgery). The rest is just a lazy Stan and Roger story.
American Dad!: Klaus and Rogu in Thank God for Loose Rocks: An American Dad! Adventure (2021)
The most disappointing episode since American Fung
I wish the writers of this episode would tell me "like you could do any better" just so I could come up with literally any other plot and write a better episode. This is the first time in my life I know I could win!
I at least hope the AD production team is ashamed of themselves for this wasted matchup. The Reddit community was so excited for this episode and it failed so hard. They destroyed Rogu's established personality all for some lame basic jealousy episode at a dude ranch.
Boooo American dad writers! BOOOO!!!
Hellier (2019)
I want to believe...and then I watched Hellier
Imagine your standard nonsensical paranormal investigation TV show and then stretch it out into a 5-hour long fake documentary...and then after a painfully slow buildup, you end it all with a message of "there's no closure and we shouldn't worry about that."
That, in a nutshell, is the experience of Hellier.
Basically, you'll spend all five episodes watching a gang of boring white people/paranormal "investigators" Google stuff and have phone calls with people. And apparently every coincidence is actually something called synchronicity, which they reference nonstop and act like it's something incredible deep and profound because "there's no way that's just a coincidence!"
If you're hoping for some cool, exciting alien action, you will be incredibly disappointed. The closest you get are a couple long, boring scenes where one of them is in a "spirit box", which is really them listening to rotating radio signals while blindfolded and having conversations with themselves. (Because that's obviously how ghosts/aliens would communicate...) If you're confused and bored by that description, then you now understand the gist of this show's climatic scene.
Hellier is frustrating and boring pseudo-scientific garbage. I promise you, absolutely nothing interesting happens in the entire show, unless you actually enjoy watching gullible white people google things and make phone calls, while convincing themselves that the things you don't actually see on camera are actually significant and profound.
Please don't make the same mistake I made by watching this and hoping the slow build leads to exciting alien action. It doesn't. Terrible. Just terrible.