The Stop Button

Beacon 23 (2023) s02e07 “Free” [2024] D: Nick Copus. S: Stephan James, Natasha Mumba, Noah Lamanna, Ellen Wong, David Tompa, Tenika Davis, Ben Cain. Thank goodness for Wong because otherwise the show’d be completely derailed? They skip last episode’s cliffhanger for two episodes ago and set the show up for cancellation after next episode’s finale. It’s an interesting flex: not playing chicken with renewal, instead proving why it’d be a bad idea. But Wong’s awesome. And Mumba’s still good. Poor James, though.

Beacon 23 (2023) s02e08 “Disintegration” [2024] D: Lewin Webb. S: Stephan James, Lena Headey, Natasha Mumba, Wade Bogert O’Brien, Ellen Wong, Tenika Davis, Eric Lange. The finale mostly just provides chum to the shark the show’s jumped. Everybody comes back in one form or another, and when the show doesn’t seem excited to have Headey back for the only time this season… well, if they didn’t know she made the show, no surprise they screwed it up. Good special effects? Wong? Otherwise, big stinker.

Crashing (2016) s01e05 “Episode 5” D: George Kane. S: Damien Molony, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Jonathan Bailey, Louise Ford, Julie Dray, Adrian Scarborough, Amit Shah. Hilarious, weird, uncomfortable, and gross penultimate episode sets up the characters for a grand finale (of some kind or another). While everyone’s still recovering from drunken debauchery, their communal living comes under threat. Series best performances from Bailey and Scarborough, the latter doing it quietly, the former loudly. And guest star Lachie Chapman turns the extra up to eleven.

Crashing (2016) s01e06 “Episode 6” D: George Kane. S: Damien Molony, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Jonathan Bailey, Louise Ford, Julie Dray, Adrian Scarborough, Amit Shah. Good last episode resolves all last episode’s resolutions, which all had cliffhangers. Bailey, Dray, Scarborough, and Shah come out best. Waller-Bridge and Molony’s will-they-or-won’t-they occupies all their time, even when Ford’s chasing them around. Literally. Some really good laughs and some rather heartfelt moments. Also, some near-grating ones. Though the punchline’s choice.

Doctor Who (2005) s14e04 “73 Yards” [2024] D: Dylan Holmes Williams. S: Ncuti Gatwa, Millie Gibson, Jemma Redgrave, Angela Wynter, Michelle Greenidge, Aneurin Barnard, Sophie Ablett. A companion “solo” episode sends Gibson on a bewildering situation involving a missing Doctor, and a mysterious woman who haunts her from… seventy-three yards. It’s okay? As a showcase for Gibson, it’s fairly one note. The script keeps implying supernatural forces in the situation, limiting her potential. The end’s a yawner, too. This season’s lovable but damned bumpy.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2014) s11e11 “May 12, 2024: Opioid Settlements” [2024] D: Paul Pennolino. S: John Oliver. Excellent opioid settlement money spending feature. It’s a call-to-action episode, which are hard as the world burns. Stupid or evil politicians are mispending the cash, but it’s not too late. Also a great bit about airborne fentenyal overdoses (e.g. they’re still bullshit). The opener is fun from Eurovision and the British government being shirty even for them.

My Life Is Murder (2019) s04e03 “Location, Location, Location” [2024] D: Kiel McNaughton. S: Lucy Lawless, Ebony Vagulans, Rawiri Jobe, Joseph Naufahu, Ilona Rodgers, Benedict Wall, Jess Hong. Lawless investigates smarmy weasel realtor Wall for killing a competitor. Possibily in a haunted house. Good guest stars for Lawless and Vagulans to pester. Wall and Rodgers in particular. Rodgers is the nosey neighbor who bonds with Lawless. No character development or the whiff of any to come, which works for the show. It’s breezy. And Lawless’s infectiously extra.