Video Game Review: Super Paper Mario

Super Paper Mario

Wii

It is kind of hard to believe that I have reviewed about 90 games for this blog without managing to review a single Wii title. Somehow, every time I would look for a new game to play all of this system's offerings would slip through the cracks. But once I noticed that I had not reviewed a Wii game I made it my mission to change that fact.

What better game to play than Super Paper Mario? I had owned this game for about 7 or 8 years but for whatever reason had never gotten around to playing it. I always thought it looked good, though. I have been a Paper Mario fan since the days of the Nintendo 64. What I knew about this game coming in was that it carried over RPG aspects from the old Paper Mario games but shifted the game play over to 2D platforming action rather than turn based combat.

When I fired up the game, one of the first things I noticed was that it had come out in 2007. That took me aback for a moment. I have always thought of this as a "new" game in my head. Then I find out it is 10 years old. Jeez! It made me feel super old. When I bought it, I had told myself that there was no rush. I would get around to playing it eventually. But I really took my sweet time getting around to it, didn't I?

The game starts up with a rather lengthy and boring cut scene. Bowser has kidnapped the Princess and is about to force her to marry him. A mysterious new villain named Count Bleck appears and throws everything into chaos. He is out to destroy the whole universe. In order to save his own skin Bowser is forced to team up with Mario, Luigi, and the Princess to defeat this Count Bleck before he can kill them all.

The story is nothing particularly original or exciting. It does get a little better at the very end. But I didn't expect much in that area from this game, as Paper Mario titles are definitely no Final Fantasy when it comes to having an engrossing story line. It is very cutesy and kid friendly. It is a little bit too kid friendly in my opinion. There are a lot of really long cutscenes where the characters just jabber back and forth with each other, seemingly about nothing. Clearly these scenes are meant to be funny, and maybe they are if you are under the age of 10. But to me they just come across as annoying.

And for me that is the main problem I had with the game. It is too obnoxiously slow moving. I wanted to dive into the world and really lose myself in the game, but that didn't happen. I felt as if the constant dialogue and annoying character banter made the game begin to feel like a chore. Again, I am sure a 9 year old would love this game. Hell, I would have loved this when I was a kid. But playing it now: no.

Whenever I am forced into watching a Disney or a kids movie I always sit through it in discontent because I would rather be doing something else. This game's dialogue scenes gave me that same feeling of discontent. I just wanted to get on with it.

When you finally do get to control your character, game play is all right. The shift to 2D doesn't do much to change the essence of Paper Mario. You navigate the game's main city in 2D mode - visiting shops, talking to people, and buying things. To advance in the game you need to collect "Pure Hearts". These can only be found in the game's 7+ main levels.

These levels play out similarly to classic Super Mario Bros. levels. Each level is composed of 4 stages. The first 3 stages are 2D stages with a specific beginning point and an end point you reach to move on to the next stage. The 4th stage is usually a boss fight of some kind.

You kill most characters by jumping on them, but you do learn new tricks and moves as you go along. The ability to pick things up and throw them is a big one. You can switch back and forth between characters at will, depending on what is happening in the story at the time. Also, each character has different attributes you can utilize. For example, Bowser has fire breath attack that can hurt enemies that are invulnerable to jump attacks. The Princess can float across long distances. You will need to learn your characters strengths and weaknesses as you advance in the game.

One of the big twists of this game is that the game isn't fully limited to 2D. You can flip to the 3rd dimension, where your viewpoint shifts and you can move up and down in addition to left and right. Switching to 3D uncovers hidden passages and helps you advance in the stage if you are stuck behind something. Say there is a big wall in front of you that you can't pass when you are in 2D. Simply switch to 3D and you can walk around the wall.

There is a catch though. And it is an irritating one. You can only stay in 3D for a limited amount of time. When you switch to 3D it initiates a timer that counts down. When it runs out, you take damage. So you can't stay in 3D for long. This bugs me because you have to spend a lot of time in 3D and it is time consuming to have to constantly be popping out of 3D to recharge the timer.

There are items in the game that you can collect and use from the pause menu. Mainly there are healing items or items that improve your defense. One of my favorite things about this game is that it gives the classic NES Mario games a nod. There is an item that surrounds you with little NES Mario sprites, complete with classic jumping sound effects. As you move, they move. They act as a shield, taking damage for you. There is also a mushroom that turns you into a giant sprite character from the original Mario game. This character can only be used for a limited time, and it destroys everything it comes into contact with. This looks super cool and always gets you excited when it happens. But really, all you do when you trigger this is run in a straight line from one direction to the other. You don't really maneuver it much.

In between each level, during each level, during each individual stage, expect to read a lot of text. The characters are very chatty, as I had mentioned before. I would be okay with this if the chatter actually advanced the plot, but a lot of it is repetitive nonsense. This really slowed down the game for me and made me lose interest in parts.

Plus, the 2D side scrolling stages weren't very interesting to me either. I felt like the game couldn't decide if it wanted to be a platformer or an RPG. And it only did a mediocre job being both. The gameplay pales in comparison to classic Mario and the story itself isn't that entertaining to begin with. I had an okay time with this game, but I kept feeling it could have and should have been a lot better.

The game does make an attempt to mix things up, I have to give it that. The stages are pretty diverse. There is a big colorful cast of characters. You have different tasks and goals to accomplish in each stage. There's a swimming stage. One of the levels is even laid out like a 2D side scrolling shooter in space. I appreciated the creativity that went into this. The makers of the game get an A for effort. But again, I feel as if the game doesn't do any one thing particularly well.

The whole thing was just mediocre to me. Cute graphics. Nice level design. The game had a little bit of charm with some of the items and nods to the classic NES Mario. But it was too boring. I was never able to get into a rhythm playing the game because of the constant dialogue scenes interrupting the action. And then when I did get to play I was underwhelmed by the game's slow place. You spend a lot of time in between levels in the hub world, looking around for pillars that you have to place Pure Hearts in to. You must do this in order to unlock the next level which contains the next Pure Heart.

But a lot of times the game doesn't give any hints as to where you are to go next. I spent way too much time running around in the hub world, lost and looking for a hint on where to go. And any time it seems like you are making progress, bam - dialogue scene. Everything comes to a screeching halt.

Playing this, all I wanted was to fall into a rhythm where I could just PLAY the game and unwind and have a good time. But this game doesn't have a rhythm. At least not until later in the game. As I began to get toward the end, I started to like the title a little more. But by then it was too little too late.

I know I have been complaining about this game a lot. I didn't entirely hate it. This game does a lot of things right. I will give it that. But even though it is very well made, that doesn't necessarily mean much if it isn't any fun to play. It had its moments, but it was lacking in across the board consistency for me.

Reading other reviews, most people seem to really like this game. I am usually pretty easily entertained. I totally expected to love this. But it bored me. I don't know what to say. To each his own. Not my cup of tea. Insert any other similarly generic statement that comes to mind.

I just was not crazy about this game.

Overall:

C-

Video Game Review: Bubble Witch 2 Saga

Bubble Witch 2 Saga

Mobile

First thing's first. Is it Bubble Witch 2 Saga? Or is it Bubble Witch Saga 2? I've read it both ways. The part of me that's been a gamer my entire life is screaming that it should be Bubble Witch Saga 2. But the very website of the company that made the game has it listed as Bubble Witch 2 Saga... which drives me nuts, but I guess that is the way it has to be.

Bubble Witch 2 Saga was the second game that I started playing on my phone, the first being Candy Crush Saga. Everyone who knows me should know that I became extremely obsessed with Candy Crush. I played it quite often. If I had lives in the game to burn, I would be burning them. The game kept me glued to my phone, and turned me into one of "those people" who I had been so judgmental of for years and years.

With Candy Crush it often got to the point where I would use up all my lives and have to wait for them to replenish. Or I'd have to wait a few hours for the ticket I needed to advance in the game. How was I to spend my downtime? Just sit there twiddling my thumbs and staring at the clock? No, the answer was simple. I'd download another game to play in the meantime.

Why Bubble Witch 2, I have no idea. King has a pretty big library of games to choose from. Something about the presentation of the game's advertisements drew me in. It looked interesting. Normally I would never download a sequel of a game unless I had played the original iteration. But for Bubble Witch 2, I made an exception.

And it turned out to be a good decision on my part. I never quite became as obsessed with this game as I did Candy Crush, but it definitely became a suitable alternative.

The premise of the game is simple. Each game's stage is filled with different types of colored orbs. You start each stage with a certain number of turns. Each turn, you get a different colored orb of your own to fling at the other orbs. Match three or more of a color, and the orbs vanish.

It is the way you fling these orbs that drew me in when I began playing. It is not like Candy Crush where you simply move pieces around. No, this game requires precision aiming. When it is your turn to go, you must use your finger to pinpoint where it is you want your orb to go. A line shows you the trajectory of your orb, but if you bounce it off of a wall, you have to figure out the remaining trajectory yourself. So there is definitely a lot of skill involved here.

As you start clearing out orbs, the screen scrolls upwards to match your progress. Each stage has a different objective. Some stages you must clear out enough orbs to make it to the top of the screen. You then have to clear 6 pieces from the very top row of orbs. Other stages have you battling Morgana, the game's antagonist. Morgana jumps from bubble to bubble, each one a different color. You must hit her with the matching colored orb. Take out all of her forms, you pass the level.

The final level type revolves around freeing a ghost that has several orbs attached to him. Once you've cleared all the orbs away, he is free to go and you complete the stage.

The game throws a lot of obstacles your way. Expect to encounter black holes - pieces that get in your way and absorb any orbs you happen to fling at them. Hit a black hole three times and you clear it. There are also frogs, which are annoying as hell. Think of them as the equivalent to chocolate pieces in Candy Crush. If you don't take them out quickly they spawn new orbs which can completely block your path.

Other obstacles include rotating platforms that change the position of the stage's pieces each turn. There are clouds that hide the colors and make things a crapshoot. Vines that have a weak link you must take out to destroy. There are also bat pieces that are essentially orbs that don't go away when they lose their support and fall off the screen. Instead they fly off and reattach themselves somewhere else. So you have to take these bats out individually or they keep coming back.

Last but not least are the zombified orbs that multiply whenever your orb comes into contact with them. These can be a pain too. But when you make five touching zombie pieces they do go away in a puff of smoke. Sometimes you have no choice but to waste orbs on zombie pieces to spawn enough of them so that you can make five in a row and wipe them out to clear the path they are blocking.

The game offers rewards like an extra ten moves to finish a stage with, a fireball piece that destroys anything it comes into contact with, a rainbow orb that wipes out any color it contacts, and a fairy that gives you bonuses as you progress during the stage.

When I first started playing this game, there wasn't much you could do to earn extra things to help you out on your journey, but as the years (wow, I have been playing this for a lot longer than I thought) have gone by, King has introduced a lot of extra bonuses and side games to help you collect items. This has made the game a lot more fun for me, for sure.

My favorite addition is the ability to mix potions. There are 3 potions you can carry along as you play, but you can only use one at a time. One potion gives you 3 inventory slots to hold orbs, rather than 2. This potentially gives you a bigger variety of colors to choose from when making your turn. There is a potion that allows you to see the trajectory of a ricocheted wall shot, which is also very helpful. You will find that aiming and lining up bank shots is one of the toughest things about this game, so this ability is a good one to have. The last potion randomly launches a couple meteors at the beginning of the stage, which clears a certain number of orbs in your way. Sometimes this move is useless, sometimes it makes the stage infinitely more passable.

The game also has a bonus tower, which I rarely play on, which allows you to collect extra items.

The game is a big challenge, and it is fun too. The look and feel of the game is charming. I love the game's musical score. There are a lot of catchy tunes. I think the game's songs are much better than Candy Crush's.

Despite the fact that Bubble Witch 3 is already out, the game is still going strong with new levels coming out regularly. I wonder if they will keep this game going forever?

My interest in the title is waning, though. Which is why I figured I would write this review now before my enthusiasm for it had completely faded. Bubble Witch 3 is brighter, faster paced, and a lot more fun to play. As a result I haven't been playing this much at all lately.

But I have to give the game credit where it is due. Sure, its sequel makes it look slow and feeble in comparison. But I put a LOT of time into this game, and most of it was a lot of fun. The game can be a big challenge, which put me off at times. There were levels I would get stuck on for weeks on end. Some I thought I would never pass. But such is the nature of these types of mobile games.

It is not the perfect title out there, but it was always a go-to title in my mobile rotation. While its glory has faded a bit since its sequel has come out, I still hold fond memories of the game. Time will tell how long Bubble Witch 2 Saga will stick around in my portable rotation, but I can say that it was a great ride.

I downloaded it is a "we'll see" type of game that I could play whenever I was out of moves for Candy Crush. I had no expectations for it whatsoever. But it became so much more than just a side game.

Overall:

B+

What's Dan Watching?

I know that everyone is on the edge of their seats wondering what I have been watching lately. I haven't updated this blog with one of my TV rotation posts in nearly a year now! (I looked, and my last TV show related post was on April 30 of 2016).

I used to have a very structured TV show rotation consisting of about 15 to 20 shows. I'd have a couple shows that I would watch more than others, but for the most part every show in the rotation got their moment to shine. However, sometime in the last year or so I have stopped with the rotations and have been focusing on only three or four shows at a time. As a result, there are several shows that I used to watch that have completely dropped off my radar.

The purpose of this blog entry is to reconnect me with some of those shows I haven't even thought about in nearly a year. What I plan to do over the course of the next week or so is to go through every show that is in my current rotation and every show that was in my past rotation. I am going to watch one episode of each show and post my thoughts on not only that specific episode but the show as a whole.

This is a stream of consciousness type blog entry, so as of right now I don't even know how many shows that is going to end up being. But I am betting on it being a lot. My guess is 25. It could be more, could be less. We shall see.

If there is a show I have given up on completely because I don't like it (for example: Trigun) I will not force myself to watch an episode of it. I know I am not going to like it - why waste my time? But if there is something I stopped watching that I am still on the fence about (Dr. Who is an example) I will give it another shot to win my affection. A lot of time has passed, maybe my feelings will have changed?

Without further adieu, we should begin. I am starting this on Sunday, April 9th a little bit before 3 o'clock PM. How many days will it take me to finish this? Only one way to find out:

---

The Vision of Escaflowne

Season 1, Episode 5

Seal of the Brothers

Pre episode thoughts: 

I have never been a huge anime fan, but I have always wanted to like it. My experiences with the genre have been pretty hit or miss. I thought season one of Attack on Titan was fantastic, but I was less than enthralled by Trigun and Dragon Ball Z. And that is all I have ever really bothered to watch.

The Vision of Escaflowne came as a recommendation to me as something I might enjoy. Normally when someone suggests a show to me, I will file the information in the back of my head. Maybe I will watch it, maybe I won't. But just the odd name of the show itself was enough to get my attention. I haven't seen an anime I enjoyed since Attack on Titan, so I decided to give it a shot. Even though I am only up to episode 5 of season 1, I have liked it so far. I don't think it is amazing, necessarily, but it has been decently entertaining and it seems like there is potential for it to get even better.

A quick synopsis of what the show is about: Hitomi, a track star in high school, is pulled into a world full of such things as dragons, magic, and weaponized mechs. The world is at war, and an evil Joffrey-like child ruler is looking to conquer everyone. She teams up with a dragon slayer named Van. He commands a powerful mech named Escaflowne. It is basically up to him and this girl to somehow fight off the child ruler and stop him from taking over the world. There is a little more to it than that, but those are the bare bones details.

In the last episode I watched, Escaflowne had turned into a dragon. Van was riding the dragon and attempting to fight off the enemy force himself to allow Hitomi time to escape to safety. Would he survive this attack or would it be a suicide mission? That's where the episode left off. Now I shall watch the next one and find out what happens.

Post episode thoughts:

Van is defeated and captured by the enemy. Hitomi uses her newfound divining powers to find his location, and a successful rescue attempt is launched to bring him back and recover Escaflowne. Now the heroes must regroup and find out what their next step in this war is going to be.

It was a pretty straightforward episode. Nothing too amazing. We did discover one detail which I guess was supposed to be a bombshell. Van's brother, long believed dead, is among the enemy forces. That's about it. This episode was all about the rescue of Van.

I like the series so  far, but it isn't exactly blowing me away yet. I haven't become too attached to the characters (I don't even remember half of their names) and the story doesn't seem too horribly original. I won't give up on it though. The show is only one season long, and I am already 20% done with it. I just hope it gets better because I really want to get into anime. But with the exception of Attack on Titan, everything I have seen has majorly underwhelmed.

Amazing Stories

Season 2, Episode 12

The Eternal Mind

Pre episode thoughts: 

This is a show I always got super excited to watch when I was a kid. It was like a big event, whenever an episode would air and I'd actually be allowed to watch it. At the end of the opening credits they show a family settling down in front of the TV to watch the episode, and there is a kid lying on the ground, chin propped up by his hands, ready for the show to start. I was basically that kid. The music at the start of each episode got me pumped, along with the AMAZING computer graphics they showed during the credits. OK, yeah they are extremely outdated by today's standards. But in the mid to late 80's, it didn't get any better than this.

This series was on Netflix a few years ago and I started watching it so I could reminisce about old times. While I actually didn't recognize most of the episodes, the few that I did brought back a lot of memories. The show got pulled from Netlfix before I could finish it, however. This caused the series to drop out of my rotation completely, even though I was not quite done with it.

Now I have found an alternate way to watch this show, so I plan to take full advantage and watch the remaining episodes I missed out on the first time. I am not exactly certain where I left off and what episodes I haven't watched yet, so for this blog entry I am picking the episode that sounds the least familiar to me. 

Oh yeah, for those of you who don't know - this is  an anthology series kind of like The Twilight Zone where each episode is its own self contained story. Most of the episodes center around ordinary people being placed into extraordinary, most of the time supernatural, occurrences. 

Post episode thoughts:

This episode is about a scientist who is dying from an unknown ailment. He just so happens to be working on technology that allows him to transfer his mind to a computer so he can live on after death. As a big sci-fi fan I could have told him to save his time, this is a baaad idea.

Turns out, I was right. He finds that life in the computer is not a life worth living, and he urges his loved one to disconnect him from the program, essentially killing him. Since he is the first person to undergo this presumably expensive process successfully, his employers try to stop her from killing him so that they can study him. But they are unsuccessful! 

It is one of those rare television episodes where the main character dying is actually a good thing. Nice episode. There were some good emotional moments when his memories started flashing up on the computer screen. It wasn't a particularly astonishing or original episode, but it kept me entertained. Which basically sums up my thoughts on Amazing Stories as a whole. Usually pretty good, but rarely fantastic.

Iron Fist 

Season 1, Episode 9

The Mistress of All Agonies

Pre episode thoughts: 

I've been a close follower of all of the Marvel series on Netflix. I'd have to say, however, that Iron Fist has probably been the weakest offering so far. I like the premise of the show. I think it has a lot of promise. But the story line seems to borrow from a lot of other sources (Batman and Arrow, most noticeably) and even the show's villains are borrowed from somewhere else (the Hand from Daredevil). 

Iron Fist is all about Danny Rand, a young billionaire who was believed to have died in a plane crash many years ago. Now he returns and finds that his family's company has been corrupted from the inside by the evil organization known as the Hand. They are using the company's nearly unlimited assets for their own nefarious purposes. Anyone who gets in their way is either threatened or taken out of the picture.

Danny learned how to fight the Hand from a group of monks who took him in after his plane crashed. He hooks up with a martial arts instructor named Colleen Wing and also Claire Temple (boy does she get around). Together they are taking on the Hand.

The show is a slow burn. I think that is why so many people seem to dislike it. It takes a long time each episode for things to happen. When things do happen, they seem to lack any kind of coherent direction. I'm on episode 9 now, and I really have no idea where the show is going. Hopefully things tighten up a little bit at the end, especially since this is the last Marvel show before the Defenders series begins. I'd like to see a smooth transition there.

Last episode I watched, Danny and friends went off to China to investigate the Hand. It has been a few days so I am not quite sure where the episode left off, but I am sure it will catch me up quickly.

Post episode thoughts: 

When they were in China, they captured Mistress Gao and brought her home. Duh! How could I forget that? Anyway, this episode focuses on her interrogation, which doesn't go well. All she does is say things that piss her captors off. Even the drugs they use on her don't work. The crew fight off a rescue attempt from Gao's lackies, but Colleen is poisoned and quickly moves to the verge of death. Danny calls up her mysterious "sensei" who comes and teaches Danny to use the Iron Fist to heal Colleen. But this weakens Danny, and he collapses. The episode ends with the sensei's goons loading everyone into their vehicles, presumably to take them all back to their hideout. Claire Temple, however, is left behind.

It was a pretty good episode. I liked the scenes with Mistress Gao. She is a good villain, and really flexed those villainous muscles in this episode. The whole poison thing made the episode tense because they were fighting against the clock for Colleen's life. I expected their to be some kind of affiliation with the sensei and Stick from Daredevil. Maybe future episodes will reveal this connection. Or maybe I am way off with my suspicion.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention perhaps the episode's biggest twist: Harold Meachum is still alive. I totally called it that he would come back, by the way, so this doesn't surprise me at all. I knew his story wasn't over. But apparently he has come back a little mentally unhinged, as evidenced by the brutal and senseless killing of one of his personal assistants.

For once I wasn't completely bored watching Iron Fist. Solid episode, and hopefully the last four of the season are just as good.

Cheers

Season 1, Episode 5

Coach's Daughter

Pre episode thoughts: 

I just started watching Cheers about two weeks ago. As you can see, I am now up to episode five. I really enjoy the show so far, and it is a nice change of pace from the kind of stuff that I usually watch. Whenever I have a half hour to kill or I am feeling like watching something a little lighter in tone, I know I can count on Cheers to deliver.

I grew up in a household that loved this show, so I have always been familiar with Cheers. The smirking guy at the end of the opening credits is my favorite. All you need to know about it is that it is a comedy set in a Boston bar. It revolves around the bar's staff and its regular customers. It is not trashy like It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. There is just something really down to earth and charming about this series. There are a lot of well fleshed out characters that you instantly feel like you know, even if you are just stepping into the show. 

Cheers is definitely a classic and I am glad I started watching it. I know that there are at least 9 or 10 seasons, so it may take me a while to finish this. But that is okay, I am willing to take my time and enjoy the ride.

Post episode thoughts: 

As expected, this was a good episode. Coach's daughter comes to visit him at the bar and introduce him to her new fiance. The fiance is an absolute pig, though, and everyone at the bar thinks he is terrible. Coach is urged to get his daughter to change her mind. He takes her in the back room and they have a very heartfelt conversation. She said she was not beautiful and that if she would not marry this man, she would never get married and have kids. 

It was actually a very touching conversation, and nearly made me tear up. He gets through to her, however, and she calls the wedding off. The bar applauds her decision as her arrogant ex-fiance storms out in a huff. 

So far the trend I am noticing with Cheers is that the characters make it go. Everyone seems so normal, and they are always dealing with normal problems. But the show's writing is so good that it doesn't get boring at all. It is always interesting and always very funny at the same time. Great episode and I can't wait to see more.

Star Trek: Enterprise

Season 1, Episode 10

Cold Front

Pre episode thoughts: 

I started watching this show over a year ago. It might even be closer to a year and a half or two years now. As you can see I am only up to episode 10. It's not that I dislike the show, it just hasn't really sunk its teeth into me yet. Plus, I started watching Star Trek: The Next Generation from the beginning right after I started this show. So this series has taken a back seat to TNG for the time being. 

The good news for Enterprise is that I am up to season 6 of TNG. So it probably won't be too long before I finish that. Maybe then I will finally return to Enterprise. But then again, chances are that I will turn to my attention to a rewatch of Deep Space Nine instead.

I do intend to dive deeper into Enterprise eventually. I am intrigued by the time period of the show. And I haven't seen any of these episodes, so I am eager for something new (new to me anyway) from the Star Trek universe. I just wish the show was a little bit better. I still can't muster enough to energy to remember these characters' names, much less to care about them. 

Maybe this will be the episode that changes things, though. Maybe.

Post episode thoughts: 

This was not the episode where my feelings changed. I mean, it was all right. But I feel as if I have been away from the show for too long to remember why this is supposed to be a relevant episode. I recognize the alien antagonist from the first episode. But I don't remember who he is or what happened in that first episode.

He comes from another time period, or something? All I know is that in this episode, a "temporal security agent" from the future comes back in time to the Enterprise, looking for this alien. Why the alien is there, I don't know. But he gets away in the end. I have a feeling that this was supposed to be an important episode, that this whole time traveling alien thing is going to be an ongoing story throughout Enterprise's run. 

I just wished I remembered more from that first episode. But I am not about to go back and watch it again. I will probably just read some episode recaps when I am bored at work or something. I don't know. 

But I wasn't really impressed with the episode overall. This was Enterprise's big chance to reel me back in, and it did not accomplish that task.

The Twilight Zone

Season 1, Episode 10

Judgment Night

Pre episode thoughts: 

The Twilight Zone is a show I have been watching off and on again for several years. I started on season 2 simply because season 1 doesn't have the traditional Twilight Zone theme song that we all have come to know and love. And I am petty like that. I simply couldn't watch the Twilight Zone without hearing the theme song every time! 

But once I finished season 2, I decided to come back and watch season 1 before I got any further. And I have been on season 1 for quite some time now. This show simply is not a priority to me. I will watch an episode once in a great while, but that is about it. The show is very hit or miss for me too. Some episodes are solid while others are really, really bad and turn me off to the show.

I find the pacing of the show to be pretty boring too. Maybe it is just an age thing with how different TV used to be back when this show originally aired. I don't know. But I will continue to watch the Twilight Zone at the snail's pace I am going. Eventually it will look like I have started to make a dent... maybe once I get through season 1 and can jump straight to season 3. 

Anyway, let's see what this episode brings.

Post episode thoughts: 

It took me a while to finish this episode because I kept falling asleep and I had to watch the ending like five times before I was able to properly finish it. Not to say that the episode was boring. If you know me at all, you should know that I can never stay awake when I am trying to watch something late at night, which is exactly what happened tonight.

The episode is about a bizarre man on a ship with a bunch of other people. He is paranoid that the ship is going to get attacked by a German U-boat. But at the same time, subtle hints are given to us to make us believe that the man is a German himself. We don't really know what's going on. The ship is indeed sneak attacked by the Germans and sunk to the bottom of the ocean, everyone aboard killed.

We then see a clip from after the battle, where the main character returns as a German commander, who is talking with one of his subordinates. The subordinate didn't like how innocent women and families were killed in the attack, and that there was a special hell for people like them who would attack the innocent. This hell would be to suffer the same fate as those that they had killed in an endless loop - over and over again.

And then the revelation hits us that the German commander is stuck in such a hell, destined to be killed in the U-boat sneak attack time after time after time.

It was a pretty good episode, I thought. The whole episode really kept you guessing as to what was going on. I think the ending was dark and very satisfying. I enjoyed it. This is prime Twilight Zone. If only all episodes of this show were as good as this one.

Batman: The Animated Series

Season 2, Episode 6

The Laughing Fish

Pre episode thoughts: 

When I was a kid, this show was the thing that dreams were made of. Batman was my favorite superhero, and I was a big fan of all the major villains - most of which got a lot of airtime on the show. This was one of my favorite cartoons and was always something I would make time to watch if I was home while it was on.

In the last year or so I have been rewatching the series from the beginning. I am now up to season 2, episode 6. This is a cartoon that has definitely aged more gracefully than things like Ninja Turtles and the Real Ghostbusters. Perhaps it is the show's darker and more serious tone.

I am pretty sure I know what episode this is going to be just from the name of the episode. This makes me happy because Joker episodes were always my favorite. It looks like I am in for one right now.

Post episode thoughts: 

This was the episode I thought it was. How exciting. In this episode, the Joker manages to turn all the fish in the water into Joker-fish. These Joker-fish have big smiles and makeup on their faces like he does. The Joker attempts to start charging royalties on all the fish being caught since they share his face. It is a crazy scheme, but it fits well with the tone of this show.

What I like about Batman: The Animated Series is that a lot of times the villains go out of their way to launch these big wild schemes, even if the result doesn't bring in any money. They just want to cause a lot of chaos. And that makes them unpredictable and fun to watch.

Which is what this episode was. I liked it a lot. This is a shining example of what made the series such a fun one for me when I was a kid. Plus, it never gets old seeing Batman fight a shark. Never.

Criminal Minds

Season 2, Episode 13

No Way Out

Pre episode thoughts: 

It seems like I have been watching Criminal Minds for a reaaaaally long time, at least a couple years. And yet I am only to episode 13 of season 2? That surprises me for some reason. I am really taking my time watching this show, huh? And to think that there are currently 11 seasons available on Netflix. I might be watching this show for the rest of my life. It is actually quite daunting to think about.

But I am in no rush. Maybe at some point the show will catch on with me and I will start watching faster, but for now I am okay with only watching one episode every blue moon. I am reading the description for this episode:

"Gideon and Morgan go head to head in a standoff with a prolific serial killer who is curiously calm when they corner him in a diner."

And it sounds like it could be a good one. Let's hope it is.

Post episode thoughts: 

Every time I watch Criminal Minds I am impressed by its quality. There are always solid performances, tense standoffs, and enemies that make you squirm in your seat. The production level of the show is high as well, and each episode seems more like a small movie than it does an episode of a television series.

This was a solid episode as well. The investigators have cornered a serial killer in a diner (Lundy from Dexter and the dad from Fargo!). We don't really know what is going on at first, but a series of flashbacks show how the team was investigating his murders and the clues led them to this point. 

The killer is a school bus driver, and his kids are missing. Despite hopeless odds, the killer manages to convince Gideon that he will show him where the kids are located as long as they go to the scene alone. Alone meaning Gideon, the killer, and the woman that the killer loves. The kids end up getting rescued but the killer and his woman escape. I have a feeling we will be seeing them again.

I had fun with the episode. I like how they flipped the script a little and showed us things out of order. I also enjoy how they are setting up this serial killer as someone who is going to be a thorn in their side for episodes to come. That's what the show needed. Not just a bunch of one and done cases, but a recurring villain who will pop up a few more times and keep the viewers coming back. I haven't seen any further episodes of the show, so I don't know if that is the direction they are going with this guy. But I hope it is. 

Criminal Minds is not a show I plan on dropping from my rotation. It might take a long time to watch the whole thing with how many seasons it has. But I'll get there eventually.

Xena: The Warrior Princess

Season 1, Episode 4

Cradle of Hope

Pre episode thoughts: 

This was a show that I liked as a teenager. Not necessarily because of the story line (I couldn't even begin to tell you what happened on this show) but because it seems like every time I would tune in, the episode would be loaded with beautiful women everywhere I'd look. So I did loosely follow the show in the mid 90's. 

Fast forward to today. I started Xena last year on a weekend when I was sick. I had been planning to binge watch that weekend and see how many episodes I could make it through. But for whatever reason I stopped after only three. I think one of my main concerns was that it seemed like I was missing something as far as the story line goes because I didn't watch Hercules first. The first few episodes made it clear that something life changing happened to Xena while she was on Hercules. She used to be a villain but now she is not. And the purpose of this series is all about her redemption.

I had considered going back to watch Hercules - but let's be honest. Do I really need another show in my rotation? No. I'm going to stick with Xena. The series has been really corny so far, but I expected that. I did see a few episodes when I was younger, after all. But corny and entertaining aren't mutually exclusive. 

Let's see if this episode will respark my interest in the Warrior Princess, or if she will once again take a back seat to all the other shows I am currently watching.

Post episode thoughts: 

I entered this episode with low expectations, but was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The episode reminded me of the tale of Moses from the Bible. There is a foretelling that a newborn baby will take over the kingdom when he comes of age. The mother gets scared and sets the baby afloat in a river. This baby is eventually recovered by Xena. 

Xena and Gabrielle encounter Pandora after discovering the baby. She has lost her box and is now panicked and constantly worrysome about it being opened. So Xena not only has the baby to take care of and all the soldiers that want it dead, but she also has to get Pandora's box back for her.

Xena arranges a meeting with the king. She sees that the king is a good man, he is just getting some bad advice from one of his corrupt counselors. Since the king's wife and child had died before the events of this episode, Xena offers to give the child to the king to raise as his heir. But the king's corrupt henchman shows up and says that it is a trick. A big fight ensues. In the end - the king takes the baby. Pandora gets her box back and stays with the king to help raise the child. Happily ever after.

I thought it was a fun episode. I definitely am interested in watching more Xena after this. This is not a show I plan to give up on, but just like Criminal Minds - I will take my time watching it. Maybe once I sift through all the other stuff I am watching I can come back to this and watch it more quickly. For now, an every once in a while episode viewing will have to do.

Battlestar Galactica

Season 3, Episode 5

Collaborators

Pre episode thoughts: 

I love Battlestar Galactica. I have seen the show in its entirety at least 3 or 4 times. I thought I was done with the show after my last viewing abut 4 years ago. But early last year in 2016 I started playing a BSG online role playing game where I was Saul Tigh. So I started watching the show again to observe all the characters' behaviors, in particular that of Saul. This would help me brush up on how to talk and act when playing the online game.

I thought I would breeze through my rewatch of the show. But for some reason, I didn't get pulled in like I thought I would. Perhaps it is because I have seen the show so many times that its magic had lost its hold on me. Whatever the case - over a year later I am still only on season 3. 

The last episode I watched was when they escaped from New Caprica and lost the Pegasus in the process. So this will be the first post-New Caprica episode when they are a Galactica led fleet again.

Post episode thoughts: 

This was a solid episode as it dealt with the survivors of the occupation coming to terms with what happened on the planet. An independent tribunal is called into action to judge crimes committed against humanity during the occupation. Anyone found guilty of collaboration with the Cylons is executed. 

The episode dwells on the subject of justice vs revenge. There are a lot of emotional outbursts during the meetings. When Gaeta's loyalty is called in to question, it looks like he is about to be executed when he reveals that he was the one feeding information to the resistance via the dog bowl messages. 

Shortly after, Laura Roslin retakes office and issues a general pardon to everyone for anything that may have happened on the planet. The tribunal is disbanded and the executions are put to an end. But not everyone is happy with this news.

Solid BSG episode. It is definitely a moment in the series that sticks with you when you think back on it. I am not sure if my interest in the show has been that rekindled by this episode. But hey, the show is only 4 seasons long and I am already a few episodes into season 3. It probably won't take me too horribly long to finish this show. I predict I will be done by the time winter rolls around again.

Friday Night Lights

Season 2, Episode 2

Bad Ideas

Pre episode thoughts: 

Speaking of shows that have taken me a long time to watch, here comes Friday Night Lights. I started watching shortly after I moved into this apartment about 3 years ago. And here I am only on season 2. For those of you who don't know what this is - it is a drama series centered around a small town high school football team. It is mainly character driven with the coach and his family being the main characters, while the players and all their acquaintances act in a supporting role. 

I watched the first episode of this season several months ago. I can't really remember what happened when I left off, but I am sure it will call come back to me quickly. I remember Tyra almost getting raped. And Landry hitting the rapist over the head with a pipe. Did he die? I guess that is something that will be addressed soon.

Post episode thoughts: 

He did die. My memory must be really bad. 

A lot of things happened in this episode. The coach has to deal with a player on his team who accepted gifts and violated NCAA rules. The coach's wife has a breakdown. His daughter is on the verge of breaking up with Matt. Lyla's dad throws a party and gets drunk and makes an ass out of himself. And then there is the whole Tara/Landry dead rapist thing going on.

I consider this to be a good episode. I thought it would take me a while to get back into the show, but right away the episode grabbed my attention. I found myself caring about the characters and what would happen with all the story lines going on. 

I could see Friday Night Lights rejoining my regular rotation at some point. Mainly because the show has done a good job connecting us with its characters. I want to know what happens to everyone. And that will keep me coming back. Even if it is very slowly, it will keep me coming back.

Mad Men

Season 3, Episode 1

Out of Town

Pre episode thoughts: 

I had high hopes for Mad Men when I first started it. I had just finished Breaking Bad. I had always heard how Mad Men was popular around the same time Breaking Bad was. Both shows won a lot of awards. I guess I assumed that the show would be more eventful with all of the attention it was getting.

But the show is an extremely slow burn. Extremely. Slow. It seems as if half of the episodes nothing really happens. It is just office people living their lives. Yeah the set designs and costumes are nice. The 60's is very faithfully replicated. I get that. It's cool. But that isn't enough for me. Every episode seems like filler. I keep waiting for something exciting to happen, but then it doesn't.

It has been a good year or so since I finished season 2. I don't really remember what is going on. I know that a lot of people have different things going on with one another, but none of them are interesting enough to stand out in my mind. Hopefully this is a good episode where things start happening. But I've learned through watching this to not get my hopes up too high.

Post episode thoughts: 

Well, this episode pretty much summed up my thoughts on Mad Men as a whole. Slow, boring. Uneventful. Mild character intrigue, but not enough to keep me interested. 

The episode really struggled to hold my attention. I kept catching myself doing other things while trying to watch. That is never a good sign. I could only tell you the bare bones minimum about what I just saw. Lots of office politics. Some people lost their jobs, others got promotions. Dom sleeps with another woman (of course). People's mouths move and words come out. 

This is a prime candidate to disappear from the rotation forever. I have given it 2+ seasons now to improve, but it hasn't. Time to move on from Mad Men, I think.

House of Cards

Season 4, Episode 1

Chapter 40

Pre episode thoughts: 

I'm a full season behind on this show. If this episode catches my interest, I'll probably finish this season just in time for season 5 to come out. If not - it could be a while before I come back to it.

I feel as if I want to like this show, but I usually wind up bored when I am watching it. I slogged my way through season 3 a few months after it originally came out. But I haven't come back to it since. I don't even remember how the last season ended. I do remember Stamper hitting Rachel with his car, but that's it. Is Claire running against Frank for president now? I think so? But all the other details and story lines have escaped me.

I don't have high hopes that this is going to pull me in right away. I am not discounting it, but this show usually bores me and my tastes haven't changed since the last time I watched an episode of this. So I am expecting to be a little bored.

Post episode thoughts: 

I was correct. The episode did nothing to sway my opinion of this show. In fact, I was quite bored most of the way through it. Which is normal for me when I watch House of Cards.

I only slightly liked this better than Mad Men, if only because I am more interested in seeing what Frank Underwood is going to do next than I am Dom Draper. I get the feeling that eventually he is going to get his comeuppance. It is just very, very slow in getting there. I understand that there will be political drama in a show about politics and the presidency of the United States. But it is overshadowing the personal drama that originally made the show so interesting for me. It is all becoming a bit much. I couldn't even tell you what they are talking about half the time anymore.

The very basic gist of this episode is that the Underwoods are at odds, and the American people are beginning to notice. To avoid a political crisis, they bring in Claire's mom and use her cancer as the reason they have been separate lately. A lot of other stuff - mainly around that reporter guy in jail. But I don't know what is happening there. Or with any of the other story lines.

I may keep going with this show, if only out of pure curiosity as to where they are going with all this political stuff and what will happen to Frank. But it is not my favorite show, not by a long shot. And I don't think it ever will be.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Season 6, Episode 1

The Unknown

Pre episode thoughts: 

I just finished season 5 last week. I am kind of excited because this is the final season of Clone Wars. I know that this was the season that Netflix made. So I am curious to see how that will affect the direction of the show. Will there be a clear ending? Will it segue right into Revenge of the Sith? I really don't know.

All I can tell is that based on my observations reading the episode descriptions for season 6, it seems like there are some new characters that are going to be introduced. Will the focus of the show shift away from Anakin and Obi-Wan and move over to someone new? That would be a curious choice, as this is the show's final season. But I am interested to see how this is going to go.

Post episode thoughts: 

1 down, 12 to go! No, the series didn't shuffle Anakin and company off to the side, as I was worried. Anakin leads a battle against the Separatists when one of the clone troopers turns on the Jedi and kills one of them. This causes the Republic to lose the battle and have to retreat. Palpatine is worried about why the clone would do that. He doesn't want them to malfunction and go in to action too soon, ruining his plans in the process.

He orders the capture of the clone. Anakin leads the counter strike to get him back. The majority of the episode covers that battle. Now that he is back in custody, the Republic must study him and find out what went wrong. 

And the episode leaves off there. I thought it was a decent episode. As I know the series is coming to a close, I am looking for things to start getting serious. And they did in this episode. Even though we know that the clones turn on the Jedi eventually, this is the first time that the series has given any indication that the clones could be dangerous. In fact, many of the episodes so far have centered around the heroics of the clone army.

12 more episodes to go and The Clone Wars will be in my rear view. Hopefully this last run of episodes is epic and the series ends on a high note.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Season 9, Episode 1

The Gang Broke Dee

Pre episode thoughts: 

I often go back and forth as to whether or not I actually like this show. When I first started watching it, I thought it was crude and outlandish and totally unlike anything I'd seen on TV. I liked it a lot. But after 8 seasons of oddball situations, recycled jokes, and too dumb to be realistic characters, I find that I don't enjoy the show nearly as much as I used to.

Yes a lot of the show's charm is in its crudeness. But it has gotten old for me. On the flip side, however, I haven't watched an episode of this in over a year. So maybe now that I have had a break from it for a while I can be ready to find it funny again.

We'll see. I will give it a shot. My prediction is that I will be mildly amused but not too crazy about the episode.

Post episode thoughts: 

I liked it better than I thought I would. It was a pretty funny episode. I think I was ready to dismiss it because I have this idea in my head that all this show is is potty humor. 

But it was good. In the episode, Dee hits rock bottom. She is drunk and hung over and mumbling a lot. The guys try to cheer her up by getting her back into stand up comedy. She goes up on stage and gives a horrible performance, but the audience loves it.

Being a trainwreck becomes her schtick. She gets famous and a talent scout asks her to perform on Conan O'Brien. She gets there - and right when she is about to come out on stage the gang reveals that it was just a trick to cheer her up and make her feel better. She is not famous, she's not going on Conan.

Sucks for her, but good in a way. Her friends have snapped her out of her doldrums. Funny episode with a good set up at the end for the big twist. This still isn't my favorite comedy series in the universe but I think I underestimated it coming in. It is better than I remember. Or I just lucked into a good episode. One of the two.

Wentworth

Season 1, Episode 5

The Velvet Curtain

Pre episode thoughts: 

Of all the shows in my rotation, this is the one I am watching the slowest... by far. I started this probably a year and a half or two years ago. I am only to episode 5. Let that sink in for a little bit. At my current rate, it will take me 5 years to get through season 1.

I don't know why I am watching it so slowly. I have been entertained by the show every time I have watched it. So it's not that I don't like it. I think I just keep forgetting about it. Like "oh, I can watch that later!" but then later never comes. Maybe now it has finally come.

I don't remember where I last left off. It has been a looooong time since I watched episode 4. All I know is that this show is about a women's prison. Lots of power struggles among the prisoners. The main struggle is between an old lady and a lesbian, if I remember correctly. The main character is stuck in the middle of all of it. I expect that I will like the episode. But will it be enough to reel me back in and pick up the pace a little bit?

Post episode thoughts: 

So, it was a decent episode. I am not sure if it was enough to get me hooked on the show, though. The main theme of this episode seemed to be sex and masturbation. The head honcho lady of the prison has taken a liking to Frankie, and has allowed these fantasies to carry over to her home life. Prisoners also take on the subject of masturbation and how it is not wrong to love yourself. Lol.

By the end of this episode most of the major characters had either gotten it on with someone, talked about getting it on with someone, or fantasized about getting it on with someone. 

I am terrible with names, but there was another story line going on at the same time. It involved the janitor lady and her continued plunge into self destruction.

I was a little bored by the episode. As I said, it was decent but not enough to get me hooked on Wentworth. But I am not going to give up on it completely. Once I finish with some other shows I am into, don't be surprised to see me come back to Wentworth at some point.

Agents of Shield

Season 3, Episode 1

Laws of Nature

Pre episode thoughts: 

Oh, wow. It has been so long since I have watched an episode of Agents of Shield. I am not sure where the show left off at the end of season 2. They were... uh... fighting a group that hates humans or something? And Sky's mom is one of the bad people? 

All I can remember are the vaguest things. I was never too big into this show. But the fact that I like the Marvel universe and I like seeing how all the shows and movies fit together will keep me watching. I am hopeful that this episode will be a good one. I am not too heavily invested in anything right now and it would be awesome if this could become a go-to show in my rotation. It has had two seasons to accomplish that, however, so I am not too overly optimistic.

Post episode thoughts: 

Color me pleasantly surprised. I was a big fan of this episode. I almost forgot I was watching a TV show and not a little mini Marvel movie. 

It was a lot of fun. Even though I couldn't really remember what happened last season, the episode did a great job of reeling me back in. Most major events evolved around Shield's battle to bring in inhumans. They are being targeted by a mysterious shadow organization and have been disappearing from all over the globe. Shield and this group go toe to toe in this episode.

There are other side plots too. Like Fitz trying to find out what happened to Simmons. Even though I don't remember quite exactly how last season ended, it is coming back to me a little bit. 

Now that I have started this show back up again I would be surprised if I didn't watch more of it.... and at a faster rate too. I was entertained by this episode. And it is nice and fun too. A change of pace from all the other slow grind style shows I am watching. This is exactly what I needed right now.

The Real Ghostbusters

Season 1, Episode 3

Mrs. Roger's Neighborhood

Pre episode thoughts: 

This show got put on to Netflix a little over a week ago. No one was more excited than me. I loved this show as a kid and I watched it whenever I would get a chance. Which most of the time, as I recall, was at my grandmother's house in her den. So thoughts of the show bring back warm and fuzzy memories.

It turns out that the show hasn't aged particularly well. I have only watched the first two episodes so far, but I haven't been amused by either one. It is really silly and the jokes are bad. It reminds me of how I felt when I started rewatching the Ninja Turtles. I loved that show as a kid but found it insufferable as an adult. Eventually I wound up giving up on it completely.

Hopefully that doesn't happen here. I would like to see my opinion on the show change. My 6 year old self is very disappointed that I have not been having a good time with the series so far. We shall see how I feel after this one.

Post episode thoughts: 

I insulted this show dearly when I compared it to the Ninja Turtles cartoon of the '80s. It is nowhere near that bad. Nowhere.

I actually thought this was a pretty fun episode. It captured the spirit of the old Ghostbusters films, even if it is a little corny at times. The Ghostbusters are called out to an old woman's house. Ray drives her to the Ghostbusters headquarters for safekeeping while they check out her house. While the Ghostbusters are gone, the woman reveals herself to be a ghost and attempts to free all the ghosts from the vault below the team's HQ.

The episode was short and simple. It was a lot of fun and not as painfully bad as the first two episodes were. Or maybe I just didn't give the show a valid chance when I started rewatching it. Either way, I had fun. I don't think it will ever be a legitimate rotation breaking show, but with me about to finish Clone Wars it could become second in line to Batman: The Animated Series as my go-to cartoon.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Season 6, Episode 5

Schisms

Pre episode thoughts:

Compared to everything else in my rotation, I have been watching Star Trek: The Next Generation at lightning speed. I started my rewatch of the series (yes, I have already seen the whole thing from beginning to end) about a year and a half ago. And now here I am on episode 5 of the second to last season.

The show is even better than I remembered. I have always loved The Next Generation, but I don't think I have ever loved it as much as I do right now. It is absolute perfection in every sense of the word. The stories, the effects, the music, the drama, the acting, and most of all: the characters. They almost feel like family. I am going to be sad in a couple months when this series is over.

But for now I am going to enjoy it while I can. I know I have seen this episode before (I have seen every episode of the show before) but the name of the episode doesn't ring a bell. I'll be sure to fill you in on my thoughts when I am done watching the episode. Which for you - should be any second now...

Post episode thoughts: 

Done! Fast, huh?

Really good episode, as I had anticipated. This episode finds certain members of the crew experiencing bizarre things. Riker goes to bed and wakes up seemingly an instant later in the morning. Geordi's visor malfunctions. Data disappears for over an hour. Worf becomes frightened of a pair of scissors.

They find that there is an alien species that resides in subspace. This species has been pulling members of the crew over to their universe while they sleep at night to examine them. The crew rigs up Riker so that the alien's sedatives won't work on him. When he is taken, he awakens and activates a homing beacon which the crew uses to locate the enemy vessel and seal them away in subspace. Riker escapes in the nick of time.

Classic TNG. Nice setup with all the mysteries happening aboard the ship. It really piques your interest as to just what exactly is happening to the crew. Good performances all around, plus a satisfying ending. I liked it a lot. 

Oh yeah! And this is the episode where Data recites a poem about Spot.

Felis catus is your taxonomic nomenclature,
An endothermic quadruped, carnivorous by nature;
Your visual, olfactory, and auditory senses
Contribute to your hunting skills and natural defenses.

I find myself intrigued by your subvocal oscillations,
A singular development of cat communications
That obviates your basic hedonistic predilection
For a rhythmic stroking of your fur to demonstrate affection.

A tail is quite essential for your acrobatic talents;
You would not be so agile if you lacked its counterbalance.
And when not being utilized to aid in locomotion,
It often serves to illustrate the state of your emotion.

O Spot, the complex levels of behavior you display
Connote a fairly well-developed cognitive array.
And though you are not sentient, Spot, and do not comprehend,

I nonetheless consider you a true and valued friend.


Oh, Data

Survivor

Season 34, Episode 7

"What Happens on Exile Stays on Exile"

Pre episode thoughts:

Well, here you have it. The only current show in my rotation that I actually watch live on TV (well, by live I mean watch online the day after it airs). The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones are a couple of other shows like that but they are in their off seasons right now so they don't make the list.

What can I say about Survivor? I have been an avid fan since day 1. I can't say I have never missed an episode (I have), but every one I missed I have been sure to find and watch at some point online.

This season has been a good one, even though a lot of people I like have been voted off already. I am always a fan of "All Star" type seasons with returning players. Sandra the queen got voted out last week. I avoid spoilers at all costs, so I have no idea what is going to happen this time around. There was just a swap, so there likely won't be another one. And it is too early for the merge. I am guessing it will stay a team game.

I just hope Tai doesn't go. He is my favorite. Please don't go, Tai. Tai for the win!

Post episode thoughts:

Just like a lot of people I am kind of shocked by this episode. Jeff Varner, one of my favorite castaways this season - a real champion of the people - was super paranoid he was going to get voted off. At tribal council in a last ditch effort to save himself he outed Zeke as being transgender. 

I was not only shocked that Zeke was transgender but shocked that Varner would do such a thing outing him like that on national TV.

Why did he do this? To show people that Zeke was capable of keeping a secret and being deceitful - therefore proving him untrustworthy. But this completely backfired on him. Everyone rushed to Zeke's defense, even Jeff Probst, and rightfully so. It was Zeke's secret to keep. It had nothing to do with the show. It wasn't Varner's right to out him like that in front of millions of people. It was not only a shitty thing to do but a stupid one as well.

I am pretty sure that Varner realized after he said it just how bad a move it was. I will admit that it made me tear up a little bit when I saw the reaction, how everyone came rushing to Zeke's defense. Zeke in his 2 seasons playing Survivor had proven himself to be a strong capable player. And that is what he wanted to be known for. Not for being a transgender individual. 

So I could feel his pain.

And I am very disappointed in Jeff Varner as well. I had heard rumors that Zeke was outed this episode, but I NEVER in a million years would have thought that the outing would have come from Jeff, a gay man himself. I have always admired Jeff and his passion for the game, his willingness to do or say anything to stay alive. But this crossed a huge line. He should have known better. I am sure I am not the only one to feel this way as well.
On a side note: I rarely discuss anything political on this blog or on my Facebook page in general. But I know that a lot of older people and a lot of conservatives watch Survivor. I hope that this episode helps to open their eyes a little bit to transgender people and the way they are treated and thought of in this country. Zeke is a kind, strong, hard working, dedicated, forgiving, and perfectly normal guy. Not some perverted monster hiding in a bathroom stall waiting to jump out and attack children. 

Zeke already has a lot to be proud of, but if his appearance on Survivor has helped to change the opinion of just one close minded person in this country, then I think even he would agree that this unfortunate incident was all worth it.

TO BE CONTINUED...

That's right, I am pulling the ole to be continued on you guys. If you go back and read my original thoughts, I thought there would be around 25 shows total to recap. Turns out there is about 40.

Seeing as how I am at the 20 mark exactly right now, I figured that this would be a good stopping point. Of the 20 shows, I have decided to cut the following from my rotation (for now):

Mad Men
Wentworth
House of Cards
Amazing Stories
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia

That cuts my rotation down to a more manageable 15. I MAY return to some of these shows later. Like Wentworth - I am not ready to give up on that one yet. But I am also not quite ready to devote much time to it either. So I am shelving it for now. House of Cards. I want to know what happens eventually. But I'm not ready for the time commitment of sitting through 12 plus more hours of the show at the moment.

So these shows can wait until I am ready to come back to them.

I am also close to being done with:

The Clone Wars
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Vison of Escaflowne (it's only one season)
Iron Fist

Survivor has short seasons, and since I am watching live I can only watch 1 a week. And once I get going a bit more on Battlestar Galactica, it won't take me too long to finish the last season and a half.

So of these 20 shows, I will be down to about 9 or 10 left in a couple months. THAT is when this blog entry will continue. I will watch an episode of the remaining 20 shows in my rotation, recapping each one. I will probably make some more cuts there too.

Just in case you are curious, the remaining 20 shows are:


Jack Taylor

Ash vs Evil Dead

The 100

Bates Motel

Hell on Wheels

Chuck

How I Met Your Mother

Raising Hope

Ultimate Spider Man
Aquarius

Archer

Street Food Around the World

Diners Drive Ins and Dives

Attack on Titan

Deep Space Nine

Rectify

How to Get Away with Murder

Dr Who

Buffy: The Vampire Slayer

X-Files


So basically I won't touch any of these shows until I have cut the first 20 down to a manageable number.

This isn't even counting the shows I am between seasons on like Game of Thrones, Walking Dead, Big Brother, American Horror Story, Orange is the New Black, and a few others I am probably forgetting right now. I watch way too much TV.

Is this blog entry OCD enough for you? God I hope so. I hope you enjoyed every OCD second of it.

Until next time.