It was the season finale this week for what turned out to be a strong debut for a good summer series. I'll absolutely be coming back to it next year, although I'm very thankful that I don't need to worry about carving room for it too this fall. The finale itself would've worked better with more time. It was entirely too rushed. I like what was there, including all the cameos, but I would've loved the story to have some breathing room.
Fresh Off the Boat “Family Business Trip”
I was a little worried that the show might lose something in the second season without the surprise factor. How foolish of me. The balance of the show is definitely in latter-day Malcolm in the Middle territory. Eddie's the nominal lead (the voice-over helps), but it's more focused on the parents (for good reason. Constance Wu and Randall Park are great). Eddie's brothers are more clearly dileniated now and the other people like the neighbors and Eddie's friends are established enough to get their beats and disappear before the audience tires of them. So happy to have the show back.
Everest
I'm somewhat confused that this isn't a bigger hit stateside. The odd release schedule adds to the confusion (IMAX-only one week, then a nationwide expansion). Frankly, anything released by Universal this year that isn't a big success is a little surprising. It's doing well overseas, so I'm not worried that this will be a financial hit on the studio.
Blackish “The WORD”
I'm torn on the premiere. It was funny, at times (like the discussion of "colored" and "negro" in the office) it was very funny. Most of the episode worked really hard to discuss the topic and all the quirks and philosophies on its use. Then, at the end, it just kind of gives up and basically says "there's no logical way to address the issue". The ending makes sense, but it certainly undercuts the effort the rest of the episode put in, although it was the correct ending. No, I'm not making much sense.
Fear the Walking Dead "Cobalt"
This show just isn't very good. It hasn't built any characters that are interesting yet. Some characters are outright annoying (Nick, Alicia, Chris...any of the kids so far). The pacing is slow without being all that interesting. The show can improve in a hurry. It's versitile like that. I think they are saving an annoying amount of that for the finale and season 2 though.
Scream Queens "Pilot" & "Hell Week"
That's about what I expected from the show. I like the cast enough that I'm good for a few episodes. Emma Roberts is having a great time, although I don't find her barbs nearly as clever as the show does. I sure hope the writers don't determine that that's what the shows about.
The Last Man On Earth “Is There Anybody Out There?”
I've been here before. That was a wonderful premiere, much like how it has a wonderful pilot last year. One moment in particular worries me. When he's giving himself the pep talk before finding the people in Tuscon, he immediately falls back into the same jerk he was at the end of last season. I hope that does mean that when it gets to be more than him and Carol again I don't end up disliking things again.
V/H/S & V/H/S/2
I mentioned these movies while talking to a friend the other day and that was all I needed to inspire me to watch them again. I love these movies.
Girl Meets World "Girl Meets Rileytown"
It's cool that the show is tackling bullying. There was a specific decision to not put a face to the bully and I get the reasoning. They don't want to put a face to the bully because there's multiple kinds of bully out there. Here's the thing. It ended up being pretty toothless. Because it's Disney channel, they couldn't have the recording of Riley be anything too scandalous. They've barely committed to making Riley a social reject. There's token mentioning of it and the hirojuki girl episode, kind of. For the most part, our main characters are a tight click and positioned as pretty high in the pecking order. It's also hard to see the bully as at all intimidating or able to bother Riley in the first place when you consider how easily Riley has the entire school on her side. Again, I like the decision to have this episode, but it's so abrupt, not fitting tonal continuity, and without stakes that I wonder why even bother.
The Bear / Action Jackson / Cadillac Man / Dangerous Liaisons / Under Siege 2
I have this Club 50 project you might've heard about if you've ever been to this blog. I'm getting so close to the end that I've lost all patience. This list above. I call that "My Saturday". that was a long day. Thankfully, many of the movies were better than I expected.
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