American Gothic (1995) s01e16 “Doctor Death Takes a Holiday” [1996] D: Doug Lefler. S: Gary Cole, Lucas Black, Paige Turco, Brenda Bakke, Nick Searcy, Jake Weber, John Mese. While Cole is trying to corrupt judge Will Leskin against Weber, guest star Veronica Cartwright is trying to egg Weber into killing Cole. She tells him Cole’s the next Hitler. It’s nice to see Tina Lifford back (for a scene) and Mese and Bakke are cute together, but the script and direction are big whiffs. Probably the worst episode.

The Big Door Prize (2023) s02e09 “Un-Selfploration” [2024] D: Declan Lowney. S: Chris O’Dowd, Gabrielle Dennis, Ally Maki, Josh Segarra, Damon Gupton, Sammy Fourlas, Djouliet Amara. Segarra, Mary Holland, and (especially) Aaron Roman Weiner are all-stars for this episode, the penultimate in the season. Weiner’s got the episode’s best arc (by far), and Segarra and Holland are always on. Dennis realizes O’Dowd’s a condescending prick, and O’Dowd realizes he wants the other woman. The show presents them as equal realizations. There is no PRIZE.

The Big Door Prize (2023) s02e07 “Rehearsals” [2024] D: Satya Bhabha. S: Chris O’Dowd, Gabrielle Dennis, Josh Segarra, Sammy Fourlas, Djouliet Amara, Crystal R. Fox, Melissa Ponzio. No longer satisfied with O’Dowd being the only unlikable one, the episode goes out of its way to put Dennis in the same boat. O’Dowd is a terrible dad to Amara, trying to get her to co-sign his affair, and Dennis tries to ruin mom Fox’s first date with Ponzio. Fun stuff. At least Segarra keeps it together.

The Big Door Prize (2023) s02e08 “Our Town” [2024] D: Satya Bhabha. S: Chris O’Dowd, Gabrielle Dennis, Ally Maki, Josh Segarra, Damon Gupton, Sammy Fourlas, Djouliet Amara. The show’s reached a point where it’s either desperately course-correcting because O’Dowd’s “is he or isn’t he” philandering husband arc is a bust or just poorly perturbing the plot. For no reason, Segarra gets tasked with saving the episode, which also unfairly leverages Fourlas, Amara, and Gupton with crowd-pleasing but thin arcs to compensate for O’Dowd.

Doctor Who (2005) s14e06 “Rogue” [2024] D: Ben Chessell. S: Ncuti Gatwa, Millie Gibson, Michelle Greenidge, Jonathan Groff, Indira Varma, Paul Forman, Camilla Aiko. Gatwa and Gibson head to BRIDGERTON times for some time tourism only to discover a fetching bounty hunter (Groff) already there on a mission: stop a killer alien shapeshifter. Gatwa and Groff spend the episode flirting and bantering while Gibson hangs out around the manor. It’s often very cute (and eventually a Gatwa episode), with a strong finish.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2014) s11e14 “June 9, 2024: Deep-Sea Mining” [2024] D: Paul Pennolino. S: John Oliver. The feature is all about seabed mining and the Bond villain at the center of it. Bureaucracy and capitalism are behind it all, with the mining company able to exploit an already exploited small island nation to get it done. It’s an informative, interesting piece but not really a call to action. The postscript is then is top tier.

Ren Faire (2024) s01e01 “Daddy’s Dyin’, Who’s Got the Will?” D: Lance Oppenheim. S: Jeffrey Baldwin, George Coulam, Louie Migliaccio. Captivating look at the behind-the-scenes of a power struggle for the future of Texas’s (and the United States’s) largest renaissance fair. Baldwin and Migliaccio both think they deserve the (literal) crown of founder Coulam. Beautiful editing and computer color grading–it looks like a narrative drama–make for a fascinating, bewildering, disturbed experience. Good stuff.

Ren Faire (2024) s01e02 “Make Big Choices” D: Lance Oppenheim. S: Jeffrey Baldwin, Darla Smith, George Coulam, Louie Migliaccio. The machinations continue as Migliaccio tries to put together the financing to purchase the festival from Coulam. Meanwhile, we get to see Coulam’s pursuit for romance (with a woman sixty years his junior). And then we also meet Smith, who’s the more capable version of Baldwin (who’s freaking at the sale news). It remains compelling and beautifully produced.

Ren Faire (2024) s01e03 “We’re Done!” D: Lance Oppenheim. S: Jeffrey Baldwin, Darla Smith, George Coulam, Louie Migliaccio. The grand finale does not disappoint, with Coulam–not unsurprisingly, but not to this degree–turning out to really hate women. In particular, his new general manager, Smith. The filmmakers back off too long. When the fair’s trying to find another buyer, they rush it too fast. But still real good; one stranger than fiction moment after another.

World of Giants (1959) s01e03 “Teeth of the Watch Dog” D: Monroe P. Askins. S: Marshall Thompson, Arthur Franz, Carol Kelly, John Gallaudet, Charles Maxwell. The bad guys get the upper hand on Franz, and–as usual–only six-inch tall Thompson can save the day. Some wild special effects, along with Kelly getting the inglorious distinction of being the first lady on the program. Thompson thinks girls are silly! The story’s real, real dumb so the elaborate giant-size sets help.

World of Giants (1959) s01e02 “Time Bomb” D: Otto Lang. S: Marshall Thompson, Arthur Franz. Mostly real-time action episode has Thompson trying to prevent a time bomb from taking out he and partner Franz’s apartment building. The problem? Thompson’s six inches tall and has to go get Franz from the garage. Decently ambitious effects work keeps things going for most of it, especially since the finale’s a snoozer. Also… animal cruelty. Yuck.

Allez Oop (1934) D: Charles Lamont. S: Buster Keaton, Dorothy Sebastian, George J. Lewis, Harry Myers, Sidney Kibrick. Buster’s a klutzy clock repair guy who falls for fetching lady customer Sebastian. He wants to take her to the circus, not realizing she’s got a thing for the acrobats. The physical stunts–once Buster starts practicing his own high wire show–more than make up for the sluggish beginning. It’d also be nice if Sebastian had anything.

The Ghost Breakers (1940) D: George Marshall. S: Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard, Richard Carlson, Paul Lukas, Anthony Quinn, Willie Best, Pedro de Cordoba. Finely produced but charismatically inert comedy about Goddard inheriting a haunted mansion in Cuba. Hope’s a radio broadcaster who goes along for very complicated reasons. After the first act, pretty much all of Hope’s jokes are just racism. Often at the expense of Best, but sometimes basic racist observations. And they keep contriving Goddard’s clothes off her. Just ew.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024) D: Adam Wingard. S: Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns, Fala Chen, Rachel House. Surprisingly entertaining crossover sequel has Kong and Godzilla teaming up to take on a bigger threat. Eventually. Until then, it’s reasonably compelling Kaiju science fantasy nonsense about the hollow earth. Good pace, solid soundtrack choices, great effects, fun characters. Stevens is a particular delight as the goofy stud monster vet. The end’s thin but whatever; it’s a monster fight.

The Gold Ghost (1934) D: Charles Lamont. S: Buster Keaton, Warren Hymer, Dorothy Dix, Roger Moore, William Worthington, Lloyd Ingraham, Leo Willis. A wealthy fop (Buster) heads west after being thrown over by his intended (Dix). He ends up at a ghost town in Nevada, soon joined by outlaw Hymer. Keaton’s physically able but there aren’t very many good gags. Nothing particularly ambitious as far as set pieces (and the GHOST bit is strange). The ending’s one note too, unfortunately.

Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (1972) D: Kenji Misumi. S: Tomisaburō Wakayama, Fumio Watanabe, Tomoko Mayama, Shigeru Tsuyuguchi, Asao Uchida, Taketoshi Naitō, Akihiro Tomikawa. Often gloriously stylized ultra-violence–and just some glorious stylization–in the tale of an unstoppable, badass ronin who’s also a single dad in feudal Japan. Wakayama’s a sturdy lead in what amounts to a samurai Western. The kid (Tomikawa) is adorable. The first half’s really good. Then there are just numerous sexual assaults before the big finale. Eh.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020) D: George C. Wolfe. S: Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Colman Domingo, Glynn Turman, Michael Potts, Jeremy Shamos, Taylour Paige. Exquisite adaptation of August Wilson’s (fictional) play about (real-life) twenties jazz diva Rainey (Davis) and her racist white management bungling a recording session. One of her band members (Boseman) is an ambitious hothead, which causes more problems. Beautifully directed and photographed. It’s all about the performances: Boseman’s exceptional; Davis’s superb; Domingo, Turman, great. It’s relentlessly serious, so the success is even more impressive. Screenplay by Ruben Santiago-Hudson.

Mad God (2022) D: Phil Tippett. S: Alex Cox, Niketa Roman, Satish Ratakonda, Harper Taylor, Brynn Taylor, Hans Brekke, Brett Foxwell. Decades in the making stop motion epic about a trip through Hell and–maybe–creation. Almost entirely animated, and without any dialogue; lots of revolting visuals (warning: poo), all ingeniously executed. Tippett’s got a fantastic narrative sense when it comes to getting the point across. Unfortunately, the finale’s a philosophical shrug. But it’s a one-of-a-kind experience.

Palooka from Paducah (1935) D: Charles Lamont. S: Buster Keaton, Joe Keaton, Myra Keaton, Louise Keaton, Dewey Robinson, Bull Montana. It’s a Keaton family outing–Pa Joe and Ma Myra head a backwoods moonshining clan who discovers Prohibition is (long) over, and they need to find another racket. Joe decides to turn their other son, Robinson, into a wrestler, with Buster refereeing matches. It ought to be a lot funnier, even if the stunt casting is reasonably charming.

A Serious Man (2009) D: Ethan Coen. S: Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Fred Melamed, Sari Lennick, Aaron Wolff, Jessica McManus. Big, narratively forgetful swing from the Brothers Coen. It’s the late sixties; professor Stuhlbarg is going to have a very weird, very bad time of it. Wolff plays his son and is kind of the protagonist. Ish. It’s got some great moments, but the Brothers fail at regular human emotion. Still solid; they go for the easy laughs instead.

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.

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.