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Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Real Me (2000)
Not an improvement over the Dracula
If the previous episode was awful, which it was, this is where the creative team went above and beyond scraping the bottom of the barrel. Or is that below?
I know the way series 5 unfolds, and I know who / what Dawn is. But to make her this annoying and obnoxious right out of the gate? She was introduced for Buffy to protect her and keep her safe. Every time she is on screen increases the viewer's instinct to throw her to the vampires and make them feed on her. Joss, was this your intention to make her instantly unlikeable? Or is this the scope of Michelle's acting ability that you do not want her to survive the episode?
Harmony siring her own gang of vampires is the only thing worth watching here. So far, 2 x 45 minute episodes can be distilled down to about 12 minutes of watchable television.
Lost Girl: It's Your Lucky Fae (2015)
Fae Scrappy Doo
This is where it's time to switch the series off. The introduction of Mark, Dyson's estranged son, marks the death knell. I guess having Kenzi leave meant that someone young had to be brought in to replace the streetwise, living by their wits, orphan, street hustler. Where Kenzi had charm, style, wit and personality, Mark has none of those qualities. In fact, Mark has no qualities whatsoever. He is just a moody, self-absorbed young man who blames everyone and everything else for his own failings. It is such a struggle to watch the last few episodes of this once good show.
Highlander: The Ransom of Richard Redstone (1997)
Unfunny slapstick
It is getting to the stage where half the episodes can be skipped because they feature some slapstick storyline. They aren't funny, and they are so tiresome to sit through.
Poor heiress in need of funds to save the family chateau kidnaps a rich arrogant and obnoxious American. That's Richie's cue to enter the story. He's drugged, handcuffed and held prisoner. When it's discovered that he's just pretending, there's lots of angry indignation. She even tells Richie "how could you do this to me, I trusted you". Did she forget that she conspired with a family friend to hunt, lure, and demand money from him?
Ridiculous plot, ridiculous characters. It's no wonder this was a shortened series and series 6 was half it's normal length before being cancelled.
This wasn't Highlander. At least it didn't have canned laughter and the characters breaking the fourth wall by gurning at the camera. It's even more jarring that it followed the moral quandary posed by the previous two episodes. Bad, just bad.
Hustle: The Father of Jewels (2010)
Sean's tantrum
I was never a fan of the introduction of the brother and sister to replace the departure of Danny and Stacie. Emma came off as bland and Sean was always a petulant child that wanted his own way all the time.
This episode just highlights how tiresome Matt di Angelo and his character is. He wants to charge in and run a con on the father that abandoned him and his sister when they were toddlers. His recklessness risks bringing the team down. At every stage the team had to rein him in and course correct his angry tantrum.
The only thing to recommend this episode is Eddie coming to the rescue and using his WWII knowledge to save the con, and the day.
What If...?: What If... Thor Were an Only Child? (2021)
Fratboy Thor
Essentially, this episode is just your stereotypical high-school kids through a party while their parents are away. Except, the writer left out any charm, wit or comedy in the whole thing. This sort of thing belongs back in the 1980s.
There are a lot of comments out there that after the last couple of episodes we needed something upbeat and fun to counteract the grimness of zombies and Evil Strange. That in itself is a valid opinion; this however, is not the way to go.
The whole premise behind this misstep is Odin returned Loki to his real family. But he still kept the name Loki, and not whatever his Frost Giant parents named him. This single act had the domino effect of turning the entire MCU cast of non-Earth characters in frat-boy douches that live for partying from one planet to the next. Jane becomes a love struck teenager and gets a Thor tattoo after a few minutes in the Thunder God's presence. Surtur tries making out with the Statue of Liberty and Loki turns the St. Louis Gateway Arch into a giant catapult. Korg hospitalises Fury so he could cannonball into a Las Vegas fountain. Captain Marvel as a party pooper. And yes, Thor had to repeat this several times. The only thing worth watching in this whole episode is the final 15 seconds. Vision in Infinity Ultron armour, now that is a What If...? I want to watch.
Do yourself a favour, skip this episode and pretend it didn't happen. And tell Marvel, or Disney, that this is not what we want. And certainly not what we deserve for our Disney+ subscription fees.
Death in Paradise: Tour De Murder (2020)
Tragedy
The side plots of tis episode are what hold this episode up. Jack and Anna's blossoming romance is rather sweet, and seeing JP take initiative and make a good judgement call show this series upping its game.
However, the main story, the murder, was tired and ridiculous. A rather busty woman taking on the identity of a young athletic male cyclist was too silly to be taken seriously. DI Mooney pointed out that it was the minor details that led to the murderers being caught. Not once did he mention that not one of the 30 odd competitors, plus spectators, plus race officials, etc. noticed that one of the men had a very sizable bust. He even went on to say that she had the same build as the boy she impersonated.
On the plus side, Ruby was not the annoying screw up she has been in all previous episodes. Maybe the arse kicking the commissioner gave her after last week's mess has finally done some good.
Death in Paradise: La Murder Le Diablé (2020)
Not a great start
I've been a fan of Death In Paradise since the very beginning and have (for the most part) enjoyed all the episodes. We've had some great actors as guest stars, some great stories, beautiful scenery. But the introduction of Dwayne's replacement has seen the series spiral downwards. The character of Ruby Patterson is truly irritating and pointless. Every scene with her detracts from the enjoyment of the show. Since her introduction, I have lost all enjoyment of the show. Get rid of her and replace her with Harry the lizard. He's far more of a valued member of the team.
Pandora (2019)
Nothing to recommend
I had high hopes for this. Halfway through the first episode, I hated it. Every teen angst cliche? Check. Lazy bored acting? Check. Poor production values? Check.
It's like nobody involved in the entire series gave a damn how it turned out. The characters have no likeable qualities. It is so easy to hate everybody on screen. And it's a shame, but I do. They are all horrible entitled brats.
I am really struggling to write a cohesive, well thought out and comprehensive review. I just can't. Everybody concerned should be ashamed. And apologise to their viewing customers. Absolutely nothing to recommend this show at all. Do yourself a favour and avoid at all cost.
MacGyver: Hook (2017)
I don't get it...
This is the episode that introduces the Colton family of bounty hunters. And what an introduction. My reaction was WTF???
Jack & Mac are hunting a bad guy. The Coltons have him. Jack and Mac try to recover him (Deckard) to testify against an even worse bad guy. In the process, Mama Colton and her kin threaten, kidnap and imprison the good guys. All this 'after' they've identified themselves as government agents hunting a fugitive.
The resolution of the episode? Deckard in federal custody, the team and the Coltons laughing and joking together and proclaiming that everything is all good. They become the best of friends. No ramifications at all. And to top it off, MacGyver agrees to pay Mama Colton $4 million dollars for the bounty.
This episode really pissed me off.
Death in Paradise: Wish You Weren't Here (2019)
Losing its sparkle?
Has the series run out of steam? The introduction of the new character Ruby is a huge mistake. Thankfully, she wasn't as annoying and unlikeable as her first episode last week, but I'm still having difficulty finding any redeeming quality to her. Her first outing had me fuming at the screen and had to watch the episode in several blocks as she was so irritating. So close to giving up on the show, and I've been a big fan from the word go. She brings nothing to the show. There's no rapport with the other characters. Every time she opens her mouth I get the impression the others hold their breath and count to 10 before responding.
Tobi's character JP on the other hand, really shone this episode. with Florence only appearing for seconds before disappearing for a romantic weekend, JP really stepped up and did a fantastic job of acting detective.