Discuss and Rate the Last Thing You Watched (non-movies)

[Johnny Novgorod]

9/Jamming With Edward

I never remember anything about this episode other than it introduces Ed (and the twist involving MPU). Like everybody else in the show she gets a hell of an introduction but won't have much to do after her debut episode until much later. She essentially becomes a comedy act with Ein, but has a weird way of interacting with the others. Nobody ever really addresses her, and she never seems to be talking to anyone in particular. I appreciate how relatively grounded her weirdo "antics" are, and how they don't break the seal of realism of the show. No chibi bullshit or tired anime shorthand that usually comes along with these types of characters, thank God.

And we finally get a look at Earth, which has been rendered into a wasteland as usual.

 

[twistedmic]

Side note, John Cena has such an insanely ripped body, seeing him naked or at least shirtless kinda weirds me out. He's so impossibly huge at some point I had to wonder if he's wearing a muscle suit.

Judo Master did say he had a weird, bubbly shaped body.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

Judo Master did say he had a weird, bubbly shaped body.

That made me laugh out loud. Props to Cena for accepting a joke like that. Although he also spends a lot of time talking about his unusually large penis in the show, so I guess it's fair trade.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

Boba Fett Episode 6. Loved the shit out of the episode. Pure fanservice.

And again, I feel so bad for Boba and Temuera Morrison. The way he's been so ridiculously sidelined in his own damn show is genuinely disrespectful at this point.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

10/Ganymede Elegy
The first and best of three Jet-centric episodes that show that unlike Spike he can actually let go of the past. Like Spike, his also involves the betrayal of a woman he once loved, and it's shot like a scene from a film noir too (complete with a broken clock for stunted growth symbolism). All he wants is an explanation so he can let go, essentially, and at first he doesn't get one (Alisa says she doesn't even remember) until Jet hunts her and her boy toy bae (the episode's bounty). Spike is chasing them at first (flashbacks to Asteroid Blues' fleeing couple) until Jet catches up and claims them. Spike, who by Faye's assessment is a hopeless romantic, asks if he's gonna let them go. And I like Jet's reply: "This is the land where I used to be a cop".

So we get some more nice symbolism which is super obvious but also entirely functional to the plot: Jet harpooning the couple's escape hovercraft and revving relentlessly in a tug of war that ends with him confronting them. He's emotionally letting go by not letting them go. He hears out Alisa's reproach (he was too controlling and wanted the freedom to fuck up in life. Objective complete), hands bae to the police, walk out on Alisa without further ado and tosses that clock over his shoulder and into the sea. No bitterness, no hard feelings. Chuckles and moves on.

As a plus I like to see the rest of the crew enjoying some downtime. These vignettes are always funny and a bit endearing. Spike scrubs the Swordfish, Faye works on a tan, Ed fishes what looks like a mini angel from Evangelion. What the hell was that?

* Holy shit, they cash in two bounties this episode. This and Waltz for Venus are the only ones so far where they get any money for their trouble. I like to think they get some money from that chip at the end of Honky Tonk Women too.

 

[Xprimentyl]

The Afterparty: S1:E1-4, Alright / Great

Following their 15th high school reunion, several people meet up for an afterparty at the luxurious home of Xavier, their most successful alum, and as things wind down, he is murdered. Tiffany Haddish *exhausted sigh* is the detective dispatched to the scene to interrogate the remaining party-goers to uncover the killer.

About the only thing interesting about this show so far is that each episode, told to Haddish from the different perspective of each suspect, has a slight bend towards a different genera of film, i.e.: action, comedy, horror, etc., but each maintains an air of humor. Thankfully, Haddish is relegated to "present day" moments while most of the show focuses on the past events. I'll finish it if only to find out how it ends, but it's nothing to write home about. Junk food.

 

[SilentPony]

South Park season 25 premiere.

It was okay. The premise is through not fault of their own, the 4th grade class is forbidden from wearing pajamas on pajama Friday. As a set up, its actually pretty great. South Park is at its peak when something mundane and childish, like pajama Friday, is turned into a great big real world struggle. Unfortunately the episode falls apart, like completely, at one clear exact moment. Basically the adults of the town, in solidarity with the kids, only wear pajamas now, at work, in the town, going out to dinner, etc. And some mook just doesn't want to, he's in normal everyday clothes and he's trying to get into iHop. And the host tells him he has to wear pjs while walking inside, but can change back into his normal clothes once he sits down. And there it is. Pjs are a metaphor for masks. And I hate to be one of them, but from then on out it felt like two rich celebrities berating the world for still caring about Covid, and the personal inconvenience masks pose. Reminds me of Bill Maher, who I usually like, complaining that he's done with Covid, enough with masks, stop the boosters and vaccines, stop the social distancing, its over. Because the fucker's standup dates keep getting canceled and the world wide pandemic in its third year is stopping him from telling Trump jokes on stage. And the only response is to tell them to shut the fuck up, welcome to the new normal. Once it became clear the pj storyline was just a cheap Covid joke, South Park having already done 2 full hour long movies about Covid, it was just lame. Why tell such a weak joke after doing a Endgame level time travel story about Covid just before?
Overall the episode would have been better served not to do the Covid metaphor and just stick with the absurdist plot of adults all wearing pjs and kids plotting revenge against their teacher and principle.

Okay/10

I did love that the boys and girls butted heads on cozy wozy vs cuddly wuddly. And the reporter getting more and more German and liking everything to Nazi germany was gold.

Spoiler

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

11/Toys in the Attic
The bottle episode. One of my favorites. We get to enjoy the friction of power dynamics between the lead characters without the distractions of one-off guest stars or the burden of having to advance the main plot. And everybody's really funny in it, which shows how versatile their writing is. Spike and Ed bickering over the nomenclature of whatever's hunting them down like it makes any difference, Faye's overly dramatic Woe Is Me moment as soon as she's in any danger (after not giving a shit), Jet's eyes bugging out as Spike slowly lists all the viruses he may or may not have, Ed's nonsensical "lesson" following Faye and Jet's, Jet trying to accept humiliation with manly dignity, and of course Spike's realization of the nature of the creature are all superb comedic moments. So we get a few foreboding Alien like set-pieces, a super memorable reveal (and ending) and characters flexing their personalities for comedic effect. Love this episode. It's not as silly as the show gets but unlike the purely absurd ones like Mushroom Samba it still works on its own as both comedy and horror send-up.

 

[Hawki]

Avengers Assemble: Season 1 (4/5)

This just about scrapes into "good" territory with its ranking, but if I did decimals, it would more likely be 6.5. Most of the time it's simply okay, but every so often, the writing gets good enough to gain some kudos points, be it in plot or character.

The weird thing about this show is that it feels like the sequel to another show, but if that's the case, I can't find evidence of it. I bring this up because the series starts with the Avengers having done their thing, disbanded, then get back together to deal with the Cabal, including, but not limited to, a guy with a red head, an even bigger head with legs, the Prince of Darkness himself, and an Aquaman and Superman ripoff. It doesn't feel like I'm missing out on continuity, but more on context. Like there's all this "stuff" that's happened well before the series, but stuff that we've never seen.

Anyway, most of the time it's simply cartoon shlock, but is sometimes elevated by certain elements.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

Avengers Assemble: Season 1 (4/5)

This just about scrapes into "good" territory with its ranking, but if I did decimals, it would more likely be 6.5.

That's a confusing rating system you got there!

Anyway, I remember the cartoon as feeling very cheap. Mostly because of the art style, also because of the animation. Especially when you compare it to it's predecessor. I never bothered with it again after it's first season, but the clips on YouTube show that it got pretty weird from time to time.

 

[Chimpzy]

Book of Boba

For something called Book of Boba, it seems very reluctant to actually be about Boba.

 

[meiam]

Book of Boba

For something called Book of Boba, it seems very reluctant to actually be about Boba.

Isn't the actor who play Boba kinda out of shape and wouldn't really be able to do any sort of action scene?

 

[Agema]

The Tourist (BBC)

Australia-set drama about The Man (Jamie Dornan) who is deliberately run off the road in the Outback by a truck and wakes up in hospital with that much overused trope, retrograde amnesia, unable to remember his name or previous life. I think I can safely reveal to you that Dornan's character has been up to something iffy and trodden on some toes, and this isn't a random "The Hitcher" type attack. Events gradually envelop a series of other characters, some of whom may know The Man... It's a fun six-parter about him trying to find out who he was and what on earth is going on. It's got some strong performances from the cast, and a plot that's only slightly absurd and occasionally cliched, with some good detail and involving characters. Nice work.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Isn't the actor who play Boba kinda out of shape and wouldn't really be able to do any sort of action scene?

He had plenty of time to get into shape...and then didn't.

 

[TheMysteriousGX]

He had plenty of time to get into shape...and then didn't.

I applaud him honestly. Shouldn't have to get Marvel Ripped when he's got armor and a gun

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I applaud him honestly. Shouldn't have to get Marvel Ripped when he's got armor and a gun

You don't have to be "marvel ripped" to not have a beer gut for your big action hero role.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

12-13/Jupiter Jazz (Parts 1 & 2)
The show's first two-parter and the high point of the series for me. The characters reach an emotional maturity here that takes their story to a whole new level just when you've been lulled into the complacency of the show's formula. It starts with Faye taking off (again) and Spike and Jet having another falling out (again). I love Spike and Jet's fight at the beginning, it comes across as a realistic argument that keeps escalating out of hurt feelings ("Oh you've been doing me a favor? I've been doing you a favor!") and Jet redrawing lines on the sand just for Spike to keep crossing them sells the dynamic. This is all about Spike dropping everything at the mere mention of Julia, which of course hurts Jet (he got over his old flame a couple of episodes ago) but also speaks to Spike's self-destructive obsession. He's a super cool, laidback dude but watch how unhinged he becomes at the mere mention of Julia, or when someone confuses him with Vicious.

Anyway, the gist of the two episodes is the crew breaks up and Spike, Jet and Faye all wander the streets of icy Callisto on their own searching for someone while dealing with their depression and self-doubt. And Callisto is a great stage for it. It looks like a half-abandoned frontier town that burnt through its version of a gold rush and now people waste away in cold back alleys under perpetual snowfall. Even the gas mask hoods look depressed. I love the broody mood and the atmosphere of the dingy bars and the warmth of Gren's apartment (Faye going up there is a great sequence). Gren's story of what looks like WWI trench warfare abroad in Titan is also fantastic world-building. We don't know what the war was about or who they were fighting against, which feeds the pointlessness of it. His story with Vicious, whatever you make of it, reminded me of some of the stories in Hemingway's In Our Time.

Jupiter Jazz is a great checkpoint for their story of Cowboy Bebop. We see Laughing Bull again, from episode 1, bookending both episodes (with the touching reveal that his first scene was actually the ending moment of Jupiter Jazz) but also setting up the final two episodes of the show. In the end all three main characters make up (by pretending like nothing happened, to everyone's comfort), but there's a sadness about what everyone's just experienced that you feel is never going to wash. And 'Space Lion' is my favorite track in the whole show, I think, closing the last few minutes of the episode memorably.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

You don't have to be "marvel ripped" to not have a beer gut for your big action hero role.

The dude is 60 years old. I'd say he's genuinely in better shape than I thought he would be. Not everyone needs to be Tom Cruise, pumping a whole pharmacy's worth of drugs into their bodies to look half their age.

Anyway, as TheMysteriousGX said, Morrison's fitness shouldn't have to matter when he's got a whole suit of armor and a helmet. Why they decided to have 95% of his action scenes in the show so far happen with him out of his suit is beyond me. And even then, the action scenes without Morrison don't look very good. His goons fighting Evil Chewie looked fucking awful.

Only when Mando pops up do we get a fight scene worth anything. Which really makes it feel like they sucked out all the budget from the previous episodes so we could have The Mandalorian Season 2.5.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

The dude is 60 years old. I'd say he's genuinely in better shape than I thought he would be. Not everyone needs to be Tom Cruise, pumping a whole pharmacy's worth of drugs into their bodies to look half their age.

Anyway, as TheMysteriousGX said, Morrison's fitness shouldn't have to matter when he's got a whole suit of armor and a helmet. Why they decided to have 95% of his action scenes in the show so far happen with him out of his suit is beyond me. And even then, the action scenes without Morrison don't look very good. His goons fighting Evil Chewie looked fucking awful.

Only when Mando pops up do we get a fight scene worth anything. Which really makes it feel like they sucked out all the budget from the previous episodes so we could have The Mandalorian Season 2.5.

Body armor, helmets, and guns don't make meal team six look any less silly.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

14/Bohemian Rhapsody
Back to the daily hustle. The Bebop catch a whole bunch of bounties at the beginning, for a change, but they're all more or less worthless. They're really after the mastermind behind a series of assaults on the gates that act as toll booths for interplanetary travel (people have been hacking the gates for cash). It's not a super exciting adventure, most of it boils down to doing some research and catching up on backstory. The most amusing part of this is Ed playing online chess (inadvertedly) with the bounty, but this doesn't connect to anything in the plot. It serves no purpose (like tracking the guy or using it as a distraction) and it doesn't really matter who wins. This is something of a trend in certain episodes, like in Pierrot Le Fou: much is made of uncovering the truth or identity about someone, but ends up having no effect on how the story plays out. But I get ahead of myself.

*The ending is unexpectedly bittersweet for such a by and large 'light' episode. The last scene gives me the sniffles.

15/My Funny Valentine
Faye's backstory episode. We find out who maligned her, having already crossed out Spike and Jet, but in Faye's case it's mostly played for laughs, maybe because she's the least hung up about it. Fair enough. The central conceit of this episode is that Faye spends the first half narrating her backstory (she randomly decides to tell the dog about it) and then by COMPLETE coincidence Jet brings in the guy in question halfway through the episode, conveniently setting up the emotional pay-off to all the melodrama we JUST found out about. This seems like a bit too much. I would've preferred they introduce Whitney in an earlier episode and let Faye confront him later.

This is like a sloppier version of Ganymede Elegy, which in the same episode introduces and pays off Jet's hangup about the old flame that ditched him. But with Jet there's just not that much backstory to go through, and the plot doesn't really rely on happenstance like this one. Jet starts his episode looking for closure, whereas Faye spends half her episode reminiscing randomly and only at the end (by pure coincidence) decides she wants Whitney to answer for his actions. And by the end Faye seems about the same as ever, not really touched or bothered by anything she's just done. Only Jet seems to understand the importance of what just happened.

(Counterpoint: Whitney just isn't that important, and not the key to Faye's actual trauma about being displaced from her own time. In which case this is about erasing any significance to Whitney's hold on Faye's life. Power to her. But in that case you need him to loom larger in her life by showing up earlier and building him up properly if this is about diminishing his importance)