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Reviews
Invincible: I Thought You Were Stronger (2024)
Gripping
It was a great finale, the things that were wrapped up were done very well and not rushed at all. I was worried that there would be too much going in this episode but fortunately things were paced very well and nothing got half-baked.
I'm giving it a 9 though because for a season finale it left too much up in the air, it was juggling too much that the beginning of season 3 could've introduced instead. Either that or, this show would easily benefit from having 10-episode seasons, or at least this one.
The edging continues it seems, so with this finale I will have to shelf it in the back of my mind until an official release date is announced for season 3 (to prevent myself from going insane).
Invincible: This Must Come as a Shock (2024)
Neato
I was pretty frustrated to see that this season was split in half with a few months for this episode to drop, but the edging has finally paid off a little. There's still more to come and I can't wait for next week, this show lives in my head rent-free. The characters that die off are fairly disposable ones but I felt the impact of their deaths. Especially Kate, plus way they died was gruesome. Much better than certain character death in Dune 2. This episode starts off as a slow burner and things get moving at a breakneck speed by the last 10 minutes, and the next episode will probably be a heavy hitter as well.
One of the best episodes of the series so far, which is crazy because this show is stacked with them. Now continuing with the edging until the end of the show I suppose because it seems like these major cliffhangers aren't going away.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Visitor (1995)
A Must Rewatch
DS9 has several stand alone episodes such as this that are a real treat to go back to rewatch every now and then. This trek series has the most of these well written, emotional episodes. One that sticks with you, and as someone who has lost a close friend and sibling at a young age, a story such as this really resonates with me to help me keep moving on with my life and focus on what matters, rather than obsessing on what I lost (although there are definitely times for that). What would those lost loved ones say to you if they were able to reappear randomly every decade or so, for a brief moment?
I find the aged appearances of Bashir and Dax quite comical as well, and it looked like they had fun acting in those roles.
It's tough to say that this episode is a top 5 for me in DS9 alone, since this show has such a strong arsenal. If this were an episode in any other trek show, top 5 easily.
Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
Great Ideas, Mid Execution
I've always had a soft spot for this movie, I remember when it came out when I was just 5 years old. One of my earliest memories of grasping anything from the Trek franchise. I truly love the plot, the action scenes, the dialogue isn't half bad, and the Scimitar. I've always loved the design of that ship. Still one of the very best designed ships in terms of aggression, absolutely bad ass. Seeing Romulus is quite intriguing as well, I've always enjoyed that. There are a lot of strengths to this movie I can go on about, tons of costumes and special effects that hold up pretty well to this day considering the budget of the movie.
I'll also note that the set pieces were top notch as well.
I'm a big DS9 fan, I wholeheartedly think it's the best trek show. So the darker tone of this movie doesn't bother me in the slightest. In fact, it's quite welcome. The inconsistencies with Diana and etc are definitely bothersome, but not a deal breaker. Given more care and time, this movie and the main plot had the potential to be incredible.
Now that we have had an actual farewell for the TNG crew with the third season of Picard, this movie is much less of a sting. They still couldn't stay away from being complete buffoons with picard season 3, with all the starfleet ships being in sync with each other (more ridiculous than anything in this movie). This movie is solid, but it does leave more to be desired. Especially after Trek was seemingly being fumbled around during this period of time, it's a shame that this movie wasn't given the full effort it deserved. New Trek for the most part sucks, and I'd still rank this movie higher than the majority of anything we've gotten in the last decade. Far less silly than Into Darkness, far superior to the flustercluck borefest that is Discovery. With a different director that knew more about Star Trek too, would've made a huge difference. I really think this movie got more flak than it deserved, and considering how weak pretty much all the TNG movies were, unfortunately, this one is either the best or second best in my opinion.
This movie was a AAA steak that if cooked right, could've been one of the best steaks ever to eat, but instead it was well done with a little bit of HP Sauce on it.
Futurama: The Prince and the Product (2023)
Who actually likes these
You won't be missing out if you skip this episode.
The original seasons didn't really have these types of episodes, save anthology of interest 1 and 2. But those episodes were bangers so I was fine with them. The revival seasons brought in Naturama which was also a banger episode, although others like the Holiday Special and Reincarnation were absolutely the worst episodes. This episode can join those other two, now making (objectively) the worst trio of episodes of this series.
This new season had a couple decent episodes that I will definitely rewatch, but most were also amongst the worst this show has to offer. The other revival seasons weren't overly great either but they at least had some incredible episodes amongst them to make them worthwhile. So far this revival hasn't offered anything close to the Late Philip J Fry.
1923: The Rule of Five Hundred (2023)
Worst episode of 1923
This episode wasn't downright horrible, but there were a lot of straight up goofy, silly things. The writers for all three yellowstone shows have the wackiest ideas sometimes, and just make the most over-the-top nonsense happen for entertainment value. Most of these are just cringe worthy, mainly because these kind of scenes add absolutely no value to the episodes and don't establish anything new. The whipping scene. Yeah. That was literally a complete copy and paste from Game of Thrones. I'd give this episode a 7 if it weren't for that scene. We get it Taylor Sheridan, rich miner man is bad. Now make him into a Walmart brand of Joffrey too. The scenes where people are punching each other are straight up goofy too. Idk. This whole franchise is really the great value version of other, actually amazing shows that get less viewership that tackle most of these issues much better. Longmire. Hell on Wheels. Just to name a couple. This episode truly showcases, to me, that these writers are mediocre at best. At least they finally show Montana in the winter. Just missing the several feet of snow on the ground.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: The Broken Circle (2023)
Uh
After watching Picard season 3 and getting to this, uh, yah nah. The fighting scenes were somehow more cheesy than tos and 90s trek. This episode was pretty half-baked. I really enjoyed season 1 for the most part, but good lord why are the writers and producers allergic to making a consistently good trek show in this day and age? Starfleet personnel once again acting like unprofessional bozos. If this is how the rest of the season is going to be I'm just not going to bother watching any more of this show. A hangover is a punishment for stealing a ship? Yeah that's fair.
I guess you can watch this episode for yourself and make your own call on whether this is what you'd like to see. It's a downshift from the solid start that season 1 brought in, not looking great so far.
Yellowstone: One Hundred Years Is Nothing (2022)
Absolutely Mid
This show is as mid as it gets. I don't hate it, but I don't really like it. As a cattleman myself, I just kinda watch this show because my peers like it so I can talk to them about it, but holy crap there's so much cringe going on here. Characters whispering to each other while John Dutton is speaking in public, people reacting to things at the most ridiculous times and ways. It's comical to me. The interaction with the Canadian mounties, eeuuuggghhh.
As this show continues it feels like the conflict is increasingly forced and obtuse. Everybody in this show is a psychopath because they've all killed, or nearly killed people and just shrug it off in the matter of a couple hours of screen time. It's difficult to connect with any of them. I genuinely don't know what characters to root for because they're all kinda dirt bags. I'm just watching at this point for the beautiful landscapes and people playing cowboy.
Barry: ronny/lily (2019)
Funnier Than Pickle Rick
This episode is perfection. It's crazy. It's wild. It's nuts. Best episode of Barry so far. It just works. The use of the music is spot on, and really fleshes out the feel of this episode. I don't know what else to say without spoiling it. The only people that wouldn't find this episode funny are those like that one friend's mom you knew growing up that would get mad at you for saying the word "crap", and would complain about how you dress or something. This episode was literally tongue-in-cheek, and then some. If for some reason you haven't started watching this show yet (like my brother has been bugging me about lately), do yourself a solid and start watching. This episode is a reward for getting this far but everything before it is exceptional as well.
Star Trek: Picard: Dominion (2023)
90s Trek Vibes Continue
Something that post-Voyager star trek movies/shows failed at was (mostly those TNG movies) was really integrating the DS9 and Voyager arcs with TNG, despite the fact that they all take place in the same universe. This show, further more with this episode, is really driving home that everything that happened in those shows mattered and shapes this era in trek. I'm all for this, I want more of it. I want a new trek show that takes place in this time where previous cast members can make a quick appearance as a higher rank. This season of Picard continues to show us that the trek universe can move forward from Nemisis in a meaningful, well thought out way.
This episode wasn't quite as action packed as previous, but serves its intended purposes very well I thought. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and these writers are nailing this season. I want more. More of this modern trek. I'm sad there are only a few more episodes left, but with the pace slowed down a bit for this episode, it's only going to better from here yet it's looking like.
Star Trek: Picard: The Bounty (2023)
They're actually doing it
6 episodes deep into this season, and for once a modern Trek show can actually hold its quality, and arguably improve upon it. This is exactly the quality of writing and plot advancement I've been craving Post-Voyager. None of the TNG films pulled this off, they were too busy fighting a Romulan clone of Picard or something (I didn't hate Nemisis but uh, yeah). Then we got a prequel show that was alright, but didn't move the Trek universe forward too much but that was okay.
Finally, FINALLY we're actually wrapping up and advancing plots from the TNG, DS9, and Voyager era. Was this so much to ask? These writers are actually using previously well established plot points and are working with them, something that hasn't been done since 2001. DS9 was my favorite series and this season is taking the best aspects of that and combining them with TNG. Spectacular. TNG arguably has the most iconic cast, or second most for sure, so it's about time some competent folks take the best aspects the Trek universe has to offer and grow them further, which I've been wanting for 2 decades now.
This episode carried that strong momentum that episode 3 brought with it (I was fairly skeptical in the first 2 episodes), and I feel like it is only going to pick up as the season progresses. This gives me hope for what can come yet for Star Trek sequel series, and I will cherish season 3 of Picard as it is airing. This gives me hope that maybe there will be another show like TNG and DS9 with their writing caliber, or something of the combination of the two. If you haven't started watching Picard in general, skip the first 2 seasons and watch this season. Support the living crap out of this show, because this is what this franchise has desperately needed.
Star Trek: Picard: No Win Scenario (2023)
Oh Wowza
We're roughly half way through season 3 of this show now, and this episode is the first to deliver exactly what I've been craving. Strange new worlds also delivered this feeling, but this is genuinely the best episode of Picard so far. If this is an indicator for the rest of the season, then I'm all in. Too bad this is the last season because this is quality content. The changlings being involved in this still is an odd choice and this episode didn't delve into that very much, so the next 6 episodes will have to make sense of that.
This episode felt out of place in comparison to the others, but in a good way. It was episodic and had the formula of Berman Era trek that consistently worked. That being of the core crew members bringing each of their specialty to the table to get themselves out of the corner. In the previous episode, almost every character was a big dummy, so this episode kinda uno reversed that. I thought within the first 10-15 minutes that Riker was a changling, and that could've explained why he unloaded torpedoes that ended up going through the portal and smacking them. The changlings were pretty lack luster actually, more like cartoon villains that posed minimal threat in this episode. However, the heights of this episode made me overlook those flaws, and not that they were a big deal to me either.
Best Picard episode so far in this series, still holding my expectations not too high since there were some very dumb things in the previous episodes that need to be solved and will come back up.
Star Trek: Picard: Seventeen Seconds (2023)
Finally, One of the Best Factions Returns
I'm still confused by the editing and lighting choices, but it's adequate. Boy was I ever pumped to see the Dominion show their faces again, or a break-off group of them anyway. I was hoping more in the ballpark of the Breen or something like that, since one of the actual humanoid races would make a lot more sense to go rogue. The changlings can all link up each other's minds in their lake, so rash decisions like the changlings in this episode made seem out of their parameters to me.
This was a pretty solid episode, but still it baffles me how many silly mistakes the characters make after decades of experience in Star Fleet. A ship that toys with Picard and Riker with a portal gun somehow bamboozled them by making them hit themselves with their own torpedoes? Wow, who would've thought? If they had no idea about the portals sure, that would be unexpected but whatever. The Picard and Crusher scene was well done, other scenes gave us some room to breather before dimly lit scenes bombarded us again.
I am truly happy that these writers are dipping their toes into past, meaningful elements from the TNG/DS9 Era. The execution of it could be better. It just doesn't feel like the writing team took enough time to really familiarize themselves with old trek episodes, but they're doing enough so that we're not rewatching the absolute trainwreck season 2 was. I realize the structure of my review is fairly sloppy, but so is this show. Pretty good, but dear lord do I miss the quality of writing prime of TNG and DS9 gave us. And even Enterprise and Voyager. This is better than Nemisis though.
Star Trek: Picard: The Next Generation (2023)
Not much imagination
The writing, the editing, every plot in this show lacks ambition. Say what you will about Voyager, but we were left with piles of alien races and technologies that could be utilized for endless amounts of stories far greater than anything we've seen in Picard.
This episode was pretty alright, but after the absolute stinker of a second season there's no possible way this season is going to bring any sort of substantially new ideas to the table. Ever since Nemesis and the ending of Voyager and DS9, I think I can speak for many fans that we want to see some kind of meaningful advancement in the the Star Trek universe that would most likely involve remnants of the Dominion, Species 8472, something to do with The Prophets and Captain Sisko. Good grief. The Star Trek universe has endless plot points that have incredible potential but we're stuck with mediocre at best writing and characters. Honestly, this show is a complete waste of time. I'll be watching episode 2, but I'm really just looking forward to the next season of Strange New Worlds. No meaningful timeline advancements, little to no thought provoking writing, but just good enough to watch this episode and think "yeah, it was mildly decent". This is not a show I can imagine many people ever rewatching. I'd rather watch season 1 of TNG, and that was rough.
The Last of Us: When You're Lost in the Darkness (2023)
Strong First Episode
I've only played bits and pieces of the original game at a friend's house back in the day since I didn't have a Playstation, but this seems to match up with what I remember quite well. The game aside, this show has a very strong footing. The acting and special effects are on point. I was initially skeptical about some of the casting choices (I mean, who wasn't), but so far every cast member has exceeded those expectations. The filming sets were very pleasing to the eye, very convincing. For being over an hour long I wasn't bored at any moment either, every minute was utilized thoughtfully. So much happened in the span of ~80 minutes, and I was only left wanting more.
If this quality is consistent throughout the season (unlike Star Trek: Picard), I've got no doubt this could be one of the best shows airing this year.