I swear an episode in season 4 implied that Bra'tac had been killed. Somewhere along the way I must have misheard a line of dialogue.
Update: It was "The Serpent's Venom", in a conversation between Teal'c, Rak'nor, and Terok. It's from when Terok says, "Not even Bra'tac lasted this long," and later, "He did die, Teal'c." So it wasn't misheard dialogue; it was misleading dialogue. I didn't quite pick up on the "interrogation intimidation" vibe.
Any episode that continues expanding on Teal'c and his deep backstory is a great one in my book.
loading replies
@dgw I thought the same thing about Bra'tac. I wonder which episode it was and what was actually said. Happy he is still alive. Tony Amendola is wonderful.
A decent enough episode and would have given it 7/10 but being it has Clara FINALLY killed off/leaving the show(hopefully there won't be a gimmick to bring her back one last time with the stasis machine or something other before the season ends) I have decided to give it an 8/10. Such an awful companion imho.
loading replies
Huh? what was wrong with Clara? This whole season on the other hand has been sub-par :E
The Season 5 episodes list it's all wrong!!!
"We Love You to DeAth" it'a a special! It's not the 5x13! "How the 'A' Stole Christmas" it's the real 5x13 and not the 5x14! And finally "Through a Glass, Darkly" it's the unaired 5x14 episode and not the 5x13"!
Please fix it!loading replies
It's based on the TVDB. The mods there refuse to change it because ABC Family's episode guide lists "We Love You to DeAth" as episode 13 rather than a special. I suggest complaining to ABC Family about how they label their episodes.
Worst episode of the season so far.
loading replies
@dgw
My bar of 'worst episode' in this show isn't that low. Yet.
This episode is mislabeled as it is about Coach's daughter and nothing to do with Sam's women.
loading replies
@wurlitzer28 Coach's daughter is Episode 5. You must have been watching that.
Creative and enjoyable, with a pleasantly weird alternate-universe/time-shift aspect that never becomes too complicated to follow. It leaves you with the odd feeling of having seen the Voyager crew die, but never really being sure if they were our original crew, or whether that even matters. The exact same thing happens to Harry that happens to O'Brien in DS9's 'Visionary', in that we are left with a version of the character who isn't exactly our own one.
It was also good to see the Vidiians back to being pretty decent bad guys again. There was something chilling about the way they just assessed unconscious people by which organs they could harvest from them. Janeway was a bit of a badass in regards to the solution to getting rid of them.
Having the duplicate Janeways standing so close to each other during their scenes made it look like they were about to kiss, and really made me aware of how shows had to work within the 4:3 aspect ratio back then. I felt a bit more let down that the two versions of Kes didn't really interact with each other at all.
I got quite wrapped up in the ordeal of Ensign Wildman finally having her baby, which certainly ran through a gamut of emotions! Chakotay was as useless as ever, and I noticed that Voyager didn't require his authorisation to concur with setting the self-destruct - I guess Janeway changed that because she knows he'd just mess it up.
loading replies
@dgw I can't remember what I did yesterday, let alone the contents of a review I wrote months ago! :p
Shout by -A
Mockingjay Part 2's biggest mistake is being completely faithful to the book, considering that it is the worst one of the trilogy. They had the chance to make the story better but chose to stick to what they had. Being the final chapter of the story, it has emotional bits, but miserably (and unfortunately) fails to sell them, rushing the scenes which we were supposed to remember the most. However, its political and action turmoils are its best parts and were beautifully developed. After all, piecing the four movies together, it remains a good story.
loading replies
@dgw Really? They're thinking about a fifth one? Are they really that insane (or should I say crazy for money)? That would be awful. I don't even believe Jennifer Lawrence would be up for that — and if she isn't, it would be a problem to promote it with a less known cast. Perhaps if they did a prequel it could be good, though. I feel like Haymitch and Effie stories should be very interesting to see on the big screen.
I only remember the first few seasons from years ago when it aired on TV so I decided to do a rewatch/catch up beng watch.. and man do I regret it.
The last 2 seasons, it's like the writers gave up on the story, Sabrina barely uses her magic & don't even get me started on Harvey.. I wish I didn't do it, because now one of my favorite childhood shows was officially ruined.
loading replies
Very much agreed, I had the exact same experience. The first three seasons are great and the the fourth and fitfh are tolerable. But the final two, are just impossible. The removal of Hilda and Zelda took a lot out of the show, specially compared to the bland characters they were replaced by. I won't be able to finish season seven. Every time I put on an episode, I zone out now.
This episode was confusing af. And not in an enjoyable way.
loading replies
@the_argentinian Art and subjectivity are so weird. This to me felt like the best and least confusing episode of the show (I'm only up to here). That's not to say I know what is going on, exactly, but I feel more comfortable with the characters' motivations within the show's framework than I have at the end of any other episode.
How is it that a small base in the middle of the forest has methods to check if they are letting a human or an android into their base? Yet the big base in Boston that even has an EMP available just brings anyone in?
This lapse in thinking through their story points basically makes the climax of the movie, and everything thereafter, null and void.
loading replies
@gamallama plus NOBODY is standing next to the EMP in Boston with a walkie-talkie in their hands, ready to press the button? Only the woman who has just given birth thought about the EMP in the whole city, right?
it was really magnificent, cannot understand how can be IMDB score is low, there are a lot of garbage movies are higher than the movie :(
loading replies
@anjektus_film You're grading the movie based on something it isn't. A movie is never a book, nor is a book ever a movie. As a movie, this is a good flick. As a book, it is a good book. Both are different mediums and therefore different versions of the same story. You can like or dislike both. Nothing wrong with that.
Good cast. Boring movie for me. I just didnt care about the sales people. Every time I watched Jack Lemmon's character I just thought of old Gill from The Simpsons. Pacino seemed cast for his voice and the monologues.
I didn't think the dialogue was all that great. All the character's dialogue was too simular, and as a result nobody had an individual voice. It was all a few steps away from being a gangster flick as they pushed for a tough world of sales.loading replies
Literally all they do is snap at each other with the same attitude and same insults lmao
I really really REALLY wish the show doesn't steer into The Walking Dead direction. All I want is creatures and intense edge of the seat scares.
loading replies
@typongtv The game wasn't mainly about the creatures, so I doubt the show will be. Maybe watch Silent Hill instead?
The shuttle that takes the device from Earth to the waiting Krill ship is numbered ECV-197-1, matching the Orville's shuttle. The question is, is it really one of the titular ship's pods or is it the result of lazy VFX work? Personally, I lean toward the latter; another pod numbered ECV-197-1 is clearly visible in Orville's shuttle bay when the Kaylon pod docks about halfway through the episode, and in later scenes. (Looking at you, Defiant. It's the Sao Paulo all over again.)
I am frustrated by how shallow this episode seems, despite its attempts to seem deep. Getting too far into it would be major spoilers, but let's just say there are a lot of ships critically damaged or destroyed in this episode that go completely unacknowledged. The cynic in me says that "you know why" there's only one casualty we seem to care about. Maybe the next (and final?) episode will address the rest.
Maybe.
loading replies
@dgw Arguing minutia, and focusing on the fighter pilot deaths, I don't think Ensign Asian (Eric C. Sun's character is never named) was a member of the Orville's crew. The Orville was assigned a single Pterodon, and LaMarr was flying it. The others in his formation presumably came from their respective ships. So those ships (assuming they didn't a splode) are the ones holding funerals for those officers. And Union Central would most likely be honoring entire ships lost.
Yeah, this episode was intentionally superficial compared to the others, like one of the many "space battle" episodes of Deep Space Nine during the Dominion War. There were at least 100 people on each of those Miranda-class ships that kept popping like balloons. But it was necessary to show things at an interstellar level for once. I imagine next week's episode will be similar.
As for the reuse of digital assets, The Orville is no better than any other TV show trying to stay within budget. The DS9 finale also made teenaged me upset with all the lazy reuse of CG. The thing that irks me the most about this season of The Orville is how everything magically juuuuust fits in that shuttle bay.
...and who knew that every fear in this movie would become a reality after a tragic terrorist attack in 2001.
loading replies
And the guy's birthday is 9/11...
God, I still hate Lori
loading replies
@dgw Sarah Wayne Callies (Katie), the actress, was also in The Walking Dead, she played Lori there.
I hope to God Felicity is dead or dies!!!!!!!!
loading replies
@witter56 Must hate women in general. Shut up
Poor Laurel, this is all so emotionally tormenting for her. Good episode and ready for Oli to return.
loading replies
@teenwolfpack She needs to be someone else...something else!
The way this episode brings together a bunch of characters from different previous episodes feels so rewarding. That's the thing that used to always make Stargate stand out so much for me compared to much of the Star Trek shows, the sense of continuity and consequences. It's great to see Ska'ara again (I wish the show had used him more) and the return of the Nox with Lya. Plus, we get to see the cool new Tollan homeworld which looks suspiciously like a university campus! It works, though.
loading replies
@dgw Stargate would throw in call backs to the smallest little things from previous episodes. I always loved it, the characters grew and learned and talked about what they had been through before, and it added so much more meaning.
[7.4/10] The A-story here is a little Chang-heavy for my tastes. I know he’s supposed to be annoying/terrible, especially early on, but his jerkassery and racism makes me really just want him off my screen. But I like it as a Jeff story. Jeff hangs out with Chang to soothe his Spanish teacher after a marital separation and reap the benefits of exemptions from Chang’s draconian assignments, only to realize that he’d rather reunite Chang and his wife and get everyone in class off the hook, than have to continue being Chang’s friend just to reap those rewards. It’s a nice instance of Jeff “kind of” doing the right thing for the group.
The B-story, with Troy and Abed trying to recover their lab rat despite Troy’s rodent-phobia’s is a lot of fun. I like the emotional throughline of Troy having to learn to make sacrifices for his friends rather than the other way around, and the American Tail references worked for me hook line and sinker. Plus, Donald Glover’s line read for his remark about Abed dropping the subject was hilarious. It’s a good physical comedy/noise-making episode for Glover in general.
The C-story was good too! It’s rare that we get a Pierce/Shirley story at all, let alone one that doesn't just devolve into sexual harassment. Pierce’s public speaking tips are fun, and the pair have a good comic energy. Shirley embracing Pierce’s tips at the end, right down to a hilarious “Heeeeeeere’s Brownie!” reference, and succeeding, was a good beat.
The more marginal stuff in the episode is all good too. I like the running gag about Pierce thinking Jeff’s ability to get laughs comes from his chair. People pointing out Jeff’s fake outrage and argument tactics is superb. The Dean’s “go green” efforts are a hoot, right down to the “This better not awaken anything in me” line. And the montage that connects Chang’s salsa dancing, Shirley’s presentation, and the meaningful “Somewhere Out There” duet is very well done.
Overall, too much time with Chang, but otherwise a very nice episode.
loading replies
@dgw It's one of the better Pierce side-stories I think, if only because, in the end, it's about him helping someone instead of just being a crass jerk.
[7.3/10] You know, it’s a shame that the show more or less stopped giving Shirley that much to do, because she’s such a treat in the early going here. The way that she and Jeff bond over gossip, get in too deep, but hilariously rag on Vaughn is a hoot from start to finish, and it’s packed with some real pathos of Jeff trying to be a good friend to Britta and Shirley being unable to resist her natural pot-stirring nature. Their friendship is an interesting one, and I wish the show had explored it more outside of this and foosball.
I am, as is my wont, less into the Jeff/Britta will they/won’t they stuff, but Vaugn is a great comic creation. The actor does a great job at making Vaugn both inherently ridiculous but so earnest in his faux-hippie lifestyle that you feel bad for him when he gets his feelings hurt. His triple greeting and propensity to take his shirt off are great gags, but when he says silly things like “this is the least tight thing that’s ever happened to me” or “some worries” it manages to be both absurd but also contains just enough pathos to make it land.
Then you have the great story of Annie roping Troy and Abed’s into Prof. Duncan’s waiting game experiment. It’s a great outing comedically, as Duncan’s Britishness and petulance come to a head at the same time Troy’s childlike extravertedness does. But it’s also really the start of Annie and Abed as a pairing, and the understated meaning in Abed sitting through all that just because Annie said she was his friend hits the same mixture of prettytouching and a little insane that is the fuel this show runs on.
Last but not least, there’s Pierce, who’s to the side and mostly inoffensive here with his “ear-noculars” that actually come into play!
Overall, another good outing early in the show’s run.
loading replies
@dgw I deleted the extra one. Thanks for the heads up!
If you're gonna put a sequence in slow-motion, maybe film it with a high frame-rate camera?
Fun episode, but goodness are there a lot of technical plot goofs. Stuff that people who actually work on oil wells wouldn't miss. And I'm still trying to figure out who owns the land rights, since MacGyver's friends say their "lease" is up soon. Wouldn't the mineral rights (and therefore the right to extract oil from the property) go to the lessor, not the lessee?
It was neat to see Nana Visitor in this role seven years before she walked into Deep Space Nine's operations center, but I do wish the writing had left her a bit more to chew on instead of just "oh, what would I do if my man died?" That sort of one-dimensional female character is unfortunately very '80s (pre-2000s, if we're being honest), and MacGyver so far has been pretty full of them. I think the most fleshed-out female character in the show up to this point was the young girl in 1x03 "Thief of Budapest"…
loading replies
@dgw The absence of a high-speed camera is downright professional compared to their "breakdown" on the way back from the strip mine. Did no one on the writing staff know enough about automotive design to realize that if the "Lincoln" spring (is that even a term? I've always just heard it called the throttle return) broke the failure condition would be WOT (Wide Open Throttle, a/k/a "Pedal to the Metal") rather than loss of idle? Or did they just not want to use up that piece of plot tension up so soon, preferring to save it for 60 seconds later when there's a shallow creek around to arrest their momentum after the brakes give out?
Rewatching this show on Amazon Prime Video has been enjoyable, partly because it's made me feel lucky to have been a kid when MacGyver was on the air. Even more than being entertaining, it was inspirational to me back then, providing an image of a guy who could be a nerd without also being a "wuss." If this show had started airing even three or four years later I might have started seeing through their story/science gaffes and found it too corny for me to use as fuel to becoming an engineer myself.
Riker calls for emergency attention from security, so who shows up? Worf, with Geordi. Neither has a phaser. La Forge isn't even part of the security division—at this point in the series, he's the helmsman. But Dr. Crusher happens to bring along a phaser when called to a medical emergency onboard the ship… because that makes sense. (We'll try to ignore how Worf and Geordi play along with Admiral Quinn's lies about what happened to Riker. That's also bad.)
That chair Remmick is sitting in looks an awful lot like the one used for Admiral Jameson in "Too Short a Season". That's because it was the same prop, redressed.
Not a nitpick, but doesn't fit into the review proper, either: I had no idea Captain Rixx was a Bolian. This is the first appearance of the species in Star Trek, and I guess I'm used to the later makeup design—which uses a much more saturated blue. Bonus trivia: The Bolians were named after Cliff Bole, who went on to direct a total of 42 Star Trek episodes across TNG, DS9, & VOY. He also directed on numerous other well-known shows like MacGyver, The X-Files, Baywatch, and Charlie's Angels.
Some background information on what was happening in the television world at the time explains why this episode wasn't as good as you might think it should be. After all, it's clearly meant to be a taut thriller about the possibility of Starfleet being seized by aliens. It's obviously meant to be part of a larger story arc—that started several episodes back, when Quinn gave Picard that warning.
The writers' strike of 1988 was ultimately responsible for this letdown. This "Conspiracy" plotline was meant to be intertwined with the Borg, who were to be introduced at the start of season two. But the writers' strike delayed the rest of the Borg storyline several months, and this piece of it was dropped. That's why nothing ever comes of the "homing beacon" Data reports.
It's too bad. Aside from it being entirely too easy for Picard and Riker to win against the "mother creature" (in Remmick's body), I enjoyed this one. It's not perfect, but "Conspiracy" as part of something bigger would have been better than what ultimately happened: treating this like any other incident-of-the-week—essentially, pressing the "big reset button" and pretending like these events never occurred.
loading replies
@dgw So no one source in particular, I see. I started Star Trek when there was no internet so books, documentaries and even convention visits where my main source of info. Much easier today now. I am surprised that even after decades I still find bits and pieces I didn't know.
Really enjoy reading your comments - keep them coming.
Pretty good for SyFy. Some good episodes, some filler episodes -- reminiscent of Galactica. Makes me appreciate the 10-second skip ahead function of my 4th-gen AppleTV remote... there's some entertaining stuff, separated by a lot of filler -- 10 second skip-clicks are a perfect companion for "The Expanse", unless you're arthritic -- then you'll wish there was an option to increase incremental skipping. The only parts I'd never fast forward through are any with Shohreh Aghdashloo... she hypnotized me as Dina Araz, the unsuspecting Iranian mother-of-a-terrorist in season 4 of "24" -- seeing her in a scifi role borders on orgasmic. She's a drag queen icon waiting to happen, something immediately apparent with the line, "get him a proper scotch please, Lagavulin"... ;-)
loading replies
@chaztv filler episodes!!? you clearly didn't understand all story parts then, if you believe that!
This is a remake of an episode from the original series; like many remakes, it's inferior to the original. While this one has its moments, some disturbing content--especially implied sexual relations between Data and a human woman--messed this up for me. The language was actually rather clean...until the last scene or two; then they fouled it up.
Content Concerns:
Sex: Implied sex between a male-type android and a human woman; Data is stopped short before making a crude joke. 2/5
Nudity: A woman is seen wearing an outfit that displays her midriff, her back, and a bit of the lower part of her chest. 3/5
Language: Four or so d-words; one or two h-words; two or three misuses of God's name. 2/5
Violence: Sci-fi action violence throughout. 3/5
Drugs: It is said that the reactions that the crew has are like being intoxicated. 4/5
Frightening/Intense Scenes: Plenty of emotional intensity; the ship nearly gets destroyed; Geordi is seen without his visor. 3/5Score: 3/5
loading replies
@ithinkdifferent "Content Concerns" for ST:TNG? Seriously?
When Jeremiah Danvers is rescued from Cadmus, OHMYGODYAY Alex and Kara are thrilled to have their father back. Aww, good for them I'm so happy for them! The Danvers arrange a family dinner to celebrate Aww, that's gonna be so cool to watch but things go awry when Is it Mon-El again? a suspicious Mon-El starts to question Jeremiah about his sudden return. Ffs Mon-El, can't you please be any good for this show?
loading replies
@skuzzyfox What does James do other than just brag about how cool Guardian is ? Doesn't even do anything with Cat's job.
Plus Mon-El was right. The dad was a spy. Kara and Alex just didn't want to see it. Especially Alex.
3 things needed to be achieved in this episode to ensure the success of the season finale and the build up to an epic season 2.
1) Ellie is the strong element on the equation, she is truly special and not a clever little girl. She is a natural leader and powerful women (super clear during the talk in the cell and when she grabs that cleaver, cleverly );
2)that Bella Ramsey can be adult, raw, fearless and agressive . Her face covered in blood, the knife cuts and the fire behind makes it very visual
3) and finally that the the relationship with Joel is of love and dependence. They would do anything to save the other. When they meet at the end we can see it in their eyes.Thats why this simple episode needed an amazing performance and we got it. Truly incredible and remarkable with so many small references to the game and one HUGE one: Troy Baker :)
7 days counting to that episode on the hospital and the inevitable moment where we will see Abby for the 1st time.loading replies
@carlosluislopes
"cleaver little girl"
I don't know if that typo was intentional, but she is indeed a clever cleaver girl.
I think I might just prefer season one of The Orville to season two.
Every episode lately feels like it's own short story, too much so.
We had two episodes in a row that dealt with dating someone in a situation where romantic feelings might be deemed unacceptable socially.
And we don't see as much of the captain. In season one, it was more centered about his struggles. Now he's seen as much as everyone else. But that said, this was a good episode.
loading replies
@dewdropvelvet I actually like that it's not the Captain Ed show as much in Season 2. But I do agree about the constant romance drama like there's other types of drama out there.
Haha this movie is so unexpectedly bad, you think it's one kind of movie then it just does a hard 180 into insanity. I wish I didn't have the twist spoiled because I would of loved to have seen this unfold and had the big WTF moment.
loading replies
@nmahoney416 I didn't know what was going to happen, and up until Henry's death I didn't have a problem with the movie. But holy shit the second half of this is a dumpster fire. I was laughing out loud at several scenes. Props to Trevorrow for trying something risky but he fell on his face in spectacular fashion
I felt like this season was all over the place, Niska wanting to be treated like a human, Leo looking for the few awaken synths, Mattie fixing the blond cute just for him to be insignificant to the long story, Tobis girlfriend and lets not even start and the little girls synth behaviour supposed "problem" that came and went just like that. They were trying to do a lot of things in just 8 episodes i couldnt feel a connection between each storyline. And the fact that they went global just at the snap of a finger didn't help and that what happens to a lot of shows, you can't go global just like that, it's a process...
In the end they made it come to an end, yes it all came together but I don't think this ending can justify the fail that was this season.
I loved the first season, i watched it twice, and was really excited for this second season, but it ended up being a sad and bland disappointment :(loading replies
@goncaalo And lets not forget the complete waste of time that was Mia's relationship with the guy from Nashville.
