American Gothic (1995) s01e15 “The Plague Sower” [1996] D: Mel Damski. S: Gary Cole, Lucas Black, Paige Turco, Brenda Bakke, Sarah Paulson, Jake Weber, John Mese. An unknown (to the characters, anyway) illness comes to town, bringing with it guest star John Mese as a CDC doctor, which is good since it takes Weber out. Meanwhile, Cole’s got a “corrupt the innocent” arc; it ties into the illness thing. Sort of. And all the illness gets Turco ravenous for Cole’s bod. Jumbled, messy, but okay.

The Big Door Prize (2023) s02e05 “Night Under the Stars” [2024] D: Jordan Canning. S: Chris O’Dowd, Gabrielle Dennis, Josh Segarra, Sammy Fourlas, Djouliet Amara, Damon Gupton, Ally Maki. Same as it has been problems abound–O’Dowd’s pursuit of fellow teacher Justine Lupe now affects Amara. She’s already having stupid problems with Fourlas, which get resolved beautifully. They’re the show’s only assuredly successful arc. Some great Segerra and Mary Holland stuff. And, as usual, the show’s got no idea what it’s doing with second-billed Dennis. She’s floundering.

The Big Door Prize (2023) s02e06 “Back in the Saddle” [2024] D: Jordan Canning. S: Chris O’Dowd, Gabrielle Dennis, Josh Segarra, Sammy Fourlas, Djouliet Amara, Aaron Roman Weiner, Crystal R. Fox. The episode starts focused on Weiner, as he makes some changes before putting himself out there romantically. It’s a very cute arc, especially with Fourlas and Amara hanging around and offering support. Meanwhile, Fox meets a potential love interest (Melissa Ponzio) and bickers with her. Dennis does finally show some agency (but at the very end). And Segarra’s fun.

Doctor Who (2005) s14e05 “Dot and Bubble” [2024] D: Dylan Holmes Williams. S: Ncuti Gatwa, Millie Gibson, Callie Cooke, Tom Rhys Harries. Another very anthology feeling episode centers on Cooke, who lives in some social media future world. Russell T. Davies’s script doesn’t bring much new to the familiar sub-genre, but the space bugs trying to eat Cooke are novel. And they create lots of tension. Gatwa and Gibson mostly appear on Cooke’s feeds. Until the gut-punch final twist.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2014) s11e13 “June 2, 2024: India Elections” [2024] D: Paul Pennolino. S: John Oliver. The main story is the Indian election and the show’s third focus on religious bigot, authoritarian President Modi. Some good laughs in a hopeless exposition dump. Good opening with the Trump verdict, good digs in the interstitials, and a great “one more thing” to close it out. Despite the subject matter, it’s a very fun episode. Maybe intentionally.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2014) s11e12 “May 19, 2024: Corn” [2024] D: Paul Pennolino. S: John Oliver. Okay feature story on the problems of corn production in the United States. The episode’s does a great job laying out the history, but when Oliver’s offering solutions… I mean, they don’t say the audience has to be red state voters… but the audience for his solutions has to be red state voters. Some great laughs, though. Great laughs.

World of Giants (1959) s01e01 “Special Agent” D: Otto Lang. S: Marshall Thompson, Arthur Franz. Not very exciting (or even trying to be exciting) story of an FBI agent Thompson getting shrunk to six inches. No jokes please, it’s 1959. Thompson and regular size partner Franz go on a mission only they can do. DRAGNET meets INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN, just without much budget. Though they do the cat bit. Cute cat, I guess.