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The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992, Brian Henson), the extended version
There’s a lot great about Muppet Christmas Carol: obviously the Muppet performers (their first outing after Jim Henson died—Rowlf is silent in memorial), Brian Henson’s fine direction, Jerry Juhl’s inventive script, strong special effects, Val Strazovec’s production design, Michael Jablow’s editing, the Paul Williams songs (the repetition even helps); but what makes it so special… 📖
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Extras (2005) s01e04 – Les Dennis
The episode starts with Ricky Gervais visiting agent Stephen Merchant—who may or may not have a new hair cut, which may or may not be silly—and then they go off to a theater to get Gervais a proper acting job. Well, the genie in a production of “Aladdin.” But he’s got lines. There’s a lot… 📖
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Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006) s01e03 – The Focus Group
There’s a moment in The Focus Group where now in name only pseudo-“SNL” executive producer Ricky (Evan Handler) makes a crack about Matt (Matthew Perry) not being able to write ninety minutes of television a week by himself. Infamously, “Studio 60” creator and mostly sole scripter Aaron Sorkin wrote forty-five minutes of television a week… 📖
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Batgirl: The Bronze Age Omnibus Vol. 1 (1972)
I’ve been aware of the “Barbara (Batgirl) Gordon becomes a congressperson” storyline in the seventies since Who’s Who in the DC Universe #2 in 1985—I even have an anecdote about buying the issue at age seven—but I’ve never read the arc before or even read about its details. And now I’ve read it. And it’s… 📖
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Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932, Robert Florey)
Murders in the Rue Morgue buries the ledes a little too often. First, it hides it’s Expressionist until we get to Bela Lugosi’s mad scientist lair and then the production design is absurdly Expressionist. There’s eventually a scene with Noble Johnson (who I thought was in white face, but I guess not based on his… 📖
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Doom Patrol (2019) s01e05 – Paw Patrol
Is Diane Guerrero’s core identity—“Doctor Harrison,” who’s got ice-blue eyes like she’s from the “Star Trek: TOS” Shatner pilot or maybe someone in X-Men—supposed to be the far and away best performance Guerrero gives on the show or is it unintentional? But also the best character for her to play? Because Dr. Harrison doesn’t play… 📖
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Doom Patrol (2019) s01e04 – Cult Patrol
No way, Willoughby Kipling (Mark Sheppard) is a real comic book “Doom Patrol” character. Is he a desperate Constantine rip-off in the comic or just in the show? I seriously thought they had to really quick come up with a character when they couldn’t make the Constantine cameo work. Like I thought it was seriously… 📖
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The Alienist (2018) s02e08 – Better Angels
There are enough ups and downs, twists and turns, decisions and take-backs, once it’s clear who’s going to live, who’s going to die, who’s going to marry, who’s going to not, the rest of the episode—when “Angel of Darkness” tries pretending it’s been a hangout series of Daniel Brühl, Luke Evans, and Dakota Fanning and… 📖
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The Alienist (2018) s02e07 – Last Exit to Brooklyn
Rosy McEwen and especially Frederick Schmidt are a lot better this episode. They’re on the run and having couple’s arguments over their new “adoptee.” Schmidt wants to take a reward for the baby’s return—with Ted Levine acting as the go-between, of course, without the good guys (Dakota Fanning, Daniel Brühl, and Luke Evans) knowing about… 📖
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The Alienist (2018) s02e05 – Belly of the Beast
Did I say nice things last time about Lara Pulver, who plays the object of Daniel Brühl’s affection. I need to take them back. She and Brühl go on an Absinthe date and it’s a very underwhelming scene. We’ve just recovered from the cliffhanger postscript and the whole city is looking for Rosy McEwen. Everyone’s… 📖
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Doctor Who (2005) s04e18 – The End of Time: Part Two
I don’t know much about “Doctor Who”’s casting history but I did happen across how this episode is Tennant’s last because he quit. So when he’s going through what seems like an eon of histrionics before becoming the new Doctor—you’ve never appreciated Christopher Eccleston’s exit more—which includes him whining about not wanting to leave…. He… 📖
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Doctor Who (2005) s04e17 – The End of Time: Part One
At least the Ood are doing okay. They’ve gotten Brian Cox to voice their leader even. Sorry, getting ahead of myself. The End of Time: Part One aired a year and a half after the last regular episode, so it probably played a lot different on air than marathoned. Which isn’t going to make Timothy… 📖
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Doctor Who (2005) s04e13 – Journey’s End
Journey’s End opens with one of the series’s biggest cliffhanger cop-outs–and “Who” is all about the cliffhanger cop-out, so it’s actually a surprise. If the opening titles hadn’t already given it away, I guess. This episode reveals the villains’ master plan and features them seemingly defeating Doctor David Tennant at every turn. If writer Russell… 📖
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Doctor Who (2005) s04e11 – Turn Left
Welp, figured out what Catherine Tate was doing while last episode filmed and David Tennant was on his own… she was filming this episode, with Tennant now the Superman III Margot Kidder. Tate goes to a fortune teller (Chipo Chung, in a particularly inglorious return to the show after she was a major supporting character… 📖
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Doctor Who (2005) s04e10 – Midnight
Midnight is kind of great. Also kind of not. It’s a strange episode for a couple obvious reasons. First, the Doctor (David Tennant) doesn’t have a companion with him when he needs one. He and Catherine Tate are on a pleasure planet resort and she wants to sunbathe not go on a tourist outing. It’s… 📖
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All Rise (2019) s02e05 – The Perils of the Plea
It’s a Christmas episode and a two-parter, which is weird because when we get to the conclusion—which has a miscarriage of justice and most of the cast mad at each other—it doesn’t seem like there’s anywhere for it to go. If “All Rise” manages to roll back said miscarriage of justice, it’ll be impressive because… 📖
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All Rise (2019) s02e04 – Bad Beat
So the episode synopsis for Bad Beat said something about Lindsey Gort being missing and I got real hopeful she was leaving the show—the cast is way too big anyway and she’s obnoxious—but she gets back pretty quick. Wilson Bethel’s all worried about her but she just went to her place, which she’s been keeping… 📖
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Doctor Who (2005) s04e09 – Forest of the Dead
During this episode I made two very unfortunate observations. First and more unfortunate but less damaging… Euros Lyn has really not been keeping up with the latest “Who” narrative devices. It just feels different. When it shouldn’t. It’s weird. But not too damaging to the episode overall. It’s a lot, it’s not a surprise Lyn… 📖
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Doctor Who (2005) s04e08 – Silence in the Library
Silence in the Library is writer Steven Moffat’s first episode since last season’s big deal killer stone angels episode starring movie star Carey Mulligan. No movie star guest star for Silence, rather “she made it in Hollywood on ‘ER’ and now she’s back in the UK” Alex Kingston. I mean… it was pre-streaming. It was… 📖
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Doctor Who (2005) s04e07 – The Unicorn and the Wasp
Again, not going to look into it, but I’ll bet there’s some kind of story with the Susie Liggat-produced episodes. She does like three a season, then nothing until the next season. And they sometimes more involve women, sometimes not. This one seemingly more involves women because the done-in-one companion is Agatha Christie, played by… 📖
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Doctor Who (2005) s04e06 – The Doctor’s Daughter
It’s the most successful “Doctor Who” in a dozen episodes (ish) and succeeds by giving Freema Agyeman her own arc, Catherine Tate pure supporting to David Tennant, and another potential for Tennant. So apparently the show needs four leads. If they could keep up this level of success. And The Doctor’s Daughter is a great… 📖
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Doctor Who (2005) s04e05 – The Poison Sky
Despite some good acting and fine direction, The Poison Sky is unambitious for even an unambitious “Doctor Who” two-parter resolve. A lot of the plot hinges on teleportation and maybe teleportation really is just one sci-fi genre shortcut too many. “Who” can’t handle it. And then this episode’s (relatively) out of nowhere cliffhanger is a… 📖
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Doctor Who (2005) s04e04 – The Sontaran Stratagem
Based on the teaser—which spoils Freema Agyeman’s return—I wasn’t looking forward to The Sontaran Stratagem. Mind you, I also didn’t know the Sontaran were a return alien race from the original series so maybe if I was a Sontaran fan…. They’re all right, though they’re functionally really similar to the rhino guys without being adorable.… 📖
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Fargo (2014) s04e02 – The Land of Taking and Killing
If last episode was a big Miller’s Crossing homage—though there’s a big Miller’s nod here too—when this episode opens with a prison break, I had to wonder if it was going to be all Raising Arizona nods or if it was a one-off. Seems to have been a one-off. I wonder if Noah Hawley’s going… 📖
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Doctor Who (2005) s04e03 – Planet of the Ood
“Doctor Who” is sometimes a tad British. So when we find out this episode David Tennant didn’t realize the Ood were a slave race the last time he encountered them (season two) even though Billie Piper had a whole subplot about it… and saying they’re just too British assuming positive intent. There’s the much darker… 📖
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Batgirl: The Bronze Age Omnibus Vol. 1 (1971)
After a cliffhanger resolve with Gil Kane pencils (Vince Colletta inks, which shockingly is an improvement over previous Kane inkers on the Batgirl backups), Don Heck takes over the pencils with Dick Giordano on inks. Can Dick Giordano inks save Don Heck pencils? It’s not terrible. Even after Giordano leaves and the Batgirl strips are… 📖
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Doctor Who (2005) s04e02 – The Fires of Pompeii
It’s a big episode of “Doctor Who,” at least in terms of getting some of the show’s time travel “rules.” At least in the current series; I’m not sure about the original (though David Tennant implies there may be different rules between now and then). When Tennant and Catherine Tate find themselves in Pompeii, the… 📖
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Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016, Taika Waititi)
I kept waiting for something to go wrong in Hunt for the Wilderpeople. The first act is this exceptionally tight, efficient narrative—but with time for montage digressions as director (and screenwriter) Waititi gently examines lead Julian Dennison as his life goes through a pastoral upheaval. Dennison is a tween on the edge of teen and… 📖
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Fargo (2014) s04e01 – Welcome to the Alternate Economy
“Fargo,” season four, is firmly planted in traditional American literature. Sure, it’s got a female, Black teenage narrator (E'myri Crutchfield), but… female, Black teenage narrators are traditional American literature too. The episode opens with Crutchfield giving a history lesson, though most of the history plays out onscreen and not specifically in her narration. Her narration… 📖
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Doctor Who (2005) s04e01 – Partners in Crime
Despite the previous season taking place over four or five days (as they play out in the show’s present), this episode doesn’t rush Doctor David Tennant reuniting with perfect companion (and pre-last season companion Freema Agyeman) Catherine Tate. Tate was the previous year’s Christmas special; a fill-in between Billie Piper and Agyeman. But now it’s… 📖
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Doctor Who (2005) s04e00 – Voyage of the Damned
Voyage of the Damned opens with a repeat of the previous season’s cliffhanger, the Doctor (David Tennant) on his space and time vessel, the TARDIS, and it crashing into something and a Titanic life preserver landing on him. Some of it’s reused footage, but I think once we get the third, “What,” exclamation, we’re into… 📖
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The Alienist (2018) s02e04 – Gilded Cage
I did go into this episode somewhat hopeful. It’s not the same writer as last episode, but it’s the same director (Clare Kilner). Sadly, outside some good direction to Luke Evans, who still has zippo to do in the show—though he gets a subplot about supporting Black female reporter Brittany Marie Batchelder at the New… 📖
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All Rise (2019) s02e03 – Sliding Floors
Despite writer Damani Johnson never having written an “All Rise” before, this episode feels very much like a regular episode. Simone Missick’s not worrying about bringing about Black child into the world, she’s having fun avoiding FaceTime calls with her mom, being a supportive friend to Wilson Bethel (who only needs the support because he’s… 📖
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Absolute Beginners (1986, Julien Temple)
Absolute Beginners, the David Bowie song, is so good Absolute Beginners, this Julien Temple directed musical film adaptation of Colin MacInnes’s presumably autobiographical novel would have to be singular to be better than the song. Okay, singular in a good way. Because I suppose Beginners, which Temple stages as a Technicolor stage production, is singular… 📖
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Frasier (1993) s02e15 – You Scratch My Book…
It didn’t occur to me to chart writers when I started this “Frasier” rewatch but then I naturally did it anyway. Writers, directors, guest callers. Joe Keenan writes this one, which has Shannon Tweed guest-starring a pop psychologist who loves Kelsey Grammer’s work—and even more, reads David Hyde Pierce’s, which is an aside but more… 📖
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All Rise (2019) s02e02 – Keep Ya Head Up
This episode feels more like the first episode post-pilot rather than first episode post-second season premiere. They’re leaning into the social distancing more, but also less masks and more spit shields so you can see the actors acting. And the show’s seemingly more committed to its 2020 direction, with J. Alex Brinson somehow all of… 📖
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All Rise (2019) s02e01 – A Change Is Gonna Come
“All Rise” had some late first season (no pun) rises the Coronavirus shutdown seemingly stalled or hurt. For example, after witnessing cops lying about assaulting people, D.A. Wilson Bethel seemed ready to leave for the other side—possibly with Ryan Michelle Bathe, a newly introduced third Musketeer for Bethel and Simone Missick. With the Zoom-only season… 📖
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Extras (2005) s01e03 – Kate Winslet
I can’t imagine Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant had to take notes “Extras” but thankfully some little angel plopped between their shoulders and whispered the right things in their ears for some course correction. No more is Ashley Jensen marriage and man hungry, now she’s got a regular man, John Kirk. So then Jensen’s subplot… 📖