Bureau’s Breakroom’s Television Table – Week beginning 2021 May 16

As it would be a Direct Contradiction to their timeline, Supergirl is off the table this week so that Superman & Lois can step in to delve into their family drama.  The Legends also bring the drama as they join a reality-TV singing show.  Batwoman fights those suffering from drug addiction.  Black Lightning exposes his weakness.  The Flash leaves us on a cliffhanger that seems to imply cast changes for next season.

If DC isn’t your kinda thing (and judging from the references on DC’s shows, it’s not their thing, either) Marvel does have a release this week, with Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K.  This is the show about the giant head in a chair, maybe in the style of (and by the folks who made) Robot Chicken.  There’s a lot of names associated with it, but I think it’s a toss up whether this will be a hit or just another on AIM’s blunders.

In more adult fare, The Nevers gibes us their season finale, revealing True’s back story.  The Good Doctor has Claire meeting her idol.  The Handmaid takes a vow.  The Blacklist might actually reveal some background info, unless the FBI can stop an assassin coming for Liz.

[Edited to add] The Underground Railroad and The Bad Batch have been added.  Be sure to comment when I miss a show, I won’t know something is out unless it’s already in my radar.

[All synopses (and titles) from Trakt.tv below the cut, except when there really aren’t any. (If a show’s synopsis is a spoiler to you, do not click Continue reading →)]

The Underground Railroad – S01 – Follow young Cora’s journey as she makes a desperate bid for freedom in the antebellum South. After escaping her Georgia plantation for the rumored Underground Railroad, Cora discovers no mere metaphor, but an actual railroad full of engineers and conductors, and a secret network of tracks and tunnels beneath the Southern soil.

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow – S06E03 – The Ex-Factor – The Legends find themselves in 2045 trying to defeat an Alien warrior which leaves Zari no choice but to enter a popular singing competition. Ava has finally had enough of Rory’s behavior and with the encouragement of Spooner, gives him some tough love. Sara finds herself struggling after being attacked but someone familiar helps her to keep searching for refuge. Meanwhile, Zari and Constantine have a much-needed conversation with each other.

The Nevers – S01E06 – True – [Season Finale] After Amalia’s origin story is revealed, a long-awaited reunion crystallizes the Orphans’ mission.

Batwoman – S02E14 – …And Justice For All – Batwoman is faced with a new challenge when Gotham’s Snakebite addicts become ravenous for more than the next fix.

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist – S02E13 – Zoey’s Extraordinary Goodbye – [Season Finale] Zoey must face a difficult goodbye.

Black Lightning – S04E12 – The Book of Resurrection: Chapter One: Crossroads – Jefferson realizes that sometimes, an admission of weakness can be a show of strength. Meanwhile, Tobias is focusing on an end game.

The Good Doctor – S04E17 – Letting Go – Dr. Claire Brown and the team must face hard truths about what lines they are willing to cross when one of Claire’s idols becomes her patient.

The Flash – S07E10 – Family Matters, Part 1 – Iris is pushed to the limit as she seeks to uncover the mysterious truth about Psych; Barry initiates a new training system, that could potentially backfire, with devastating consequences; Joe and Cisco make life-altering decisions.

Superman & Lois – S01E06 – Broken Trust – Clark reconsiders his decision to let Jordan play football. Meanwhile, Lois’ continued investigation of Morgan Edge requires her to trust an unexpected ally.

The Handmaid’s Tale – S04E06 – Vows – [No Description Given]

Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K. – S01 – The megalomaniacal supervillain M.O.D.O.K. has long pursued his dream of one day conquering the world. But after years of setbacks and failures fighting the Earth’s mightiest heroes, M.O.D.O.K. has run his evil organization A.I.M. into the ground. Ousted as A.I.M.’s leader, while also dealing with his crumbling marriage and family life, the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing is set to confront his greatest challenge yet: a midlife crisis!

The Bad Batch – S01E04 Episode 4 – [No Description Given]

Love, Death & Robots – Volume 2 – Terrifying creatures, wicked surprises and dark comedy converge in this NSFW anthology of animated stories presented by Tim Miller and David Fincher.

The Blacklist – S08E18 – The Protean – The Task Force springs into action to stop an elusive assassin on Liz’s trail.

My Hero Academia – S05E09 – Early Bird! – [No Description Given]

11 replies on “Bureau’s Breakroom’s Television Table – Week beginning 2021 May 16”

  1. Amazon also dropped The Underground Railroad last week, based on the novel. It’s historical drama with fantasy. I may do a review of the first episode.

  2. Anyone keeping up with The Bad Batch? Seems more of the same as the clone wars series. Too bad Disney is not releasing episode details a week ahead of time.

    • Yeah, figured I’ve give it a shot as I enjoyed most of the other animated Star Wars series. Not really formed an opinion yet other than noting that the graphics budget could do with a raise as there’s not exactly a lot of static background detail (things like long corridors “white out” rather quickly), let alone animation, which feels a bit off given the quantity of background detail in most of the other productions.

      Still trying to figure out where they might be taking the overall story. I’m taking it as a given that our heroes will end up taking a stand against the Empire, and that stand presumably relates to the future of the clones, Jango Fett’s genetic samples, and whatever the Kaminoan’s have planned for Omega. How that fits in with Tarkin and Rampart’s goals (given clones rather than conscripts still seem to be around by ANH), and how – or even if – Saw Gerrera might fit into all this, I currently have no idea.

      • I started Clone Wars, or Rebels, or whatever that first show was that I was told to start with. Rosario Dawson’s character in The Mandalorian made me want to see where she started, but I only made it about halfway through the first season before the fact that it was aimed at young elementary school kids was too much.

        • I guess all the animated shows are mostly aimed at young kids, but do occassionally touch on more adult themes – and it’s Star Wars, so I’ll put up with some juvenile level writing. Even so, I see it more as 25min of light entertainment that I let wash over me rather than something I take too seriously; I’d be *very* hard pressed to remember any particular story lines from the older shows, for instance. Clone Wars definitely had its moments though, so I’m hoping for a least a little more of the same from Bad Batch, but it also predates Disney’s involvement in the franchise, so it’s not much of a hope given Disney’s traditional core demographic is indeed young kids.

          As for Rosario Dawson’s character (Ahsoka), I think she initially got to be a fan favourite in Clone Wars more because she was the honorable Jedi of the show that you knew wasn’t going to ultimately fall to the dark side, and as Anakin’s padawan was also a PoV character for that fall. My feeling is that Clone Wars was supposed to be Vader’s pre-origin story, but somehow morphed into Ahsoka’s story given how well liked the character was, so it was all but inevitable they’d figure out a way to bring her back. If you’re still interested in the backstory, I’d just skim through her entry on Wookiepedia or one of the other lore sites, but be warned – it’s as improbably eventful as you might expect!

          • The thing about The Clone Wars is that the first few seasons were not that great but the latter seasons were both great story telling and world building. Rebels had the same situation while the less said about Resistance the better.

            This story looks more like a Clone Wars 1.5 than a new series. I honestly hope it continues showing more of the Empire taking power and things like the instigation of “The Tarkin Doctrine”. The part I am not sold on is Omega. It looks like a way of trying to humanise the clone troopers but the “Ochre Aussie” accent is driving me nuts. (Outside of one part of Australia, none of us speak like that.)

  3. Amazon also dropped Solos. Many of the reviews have not been kind, but the idea of an SF anthology series with actors of that caliber means I have to see at least two episodes and decide.

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