Tom Barren lives in twenty-first century Toronto: you know, flying cars, robot servants, and unlimited power.
Unfortunately, he becomes history’s first time-traveler and bumbles the job thoroughly. He awakes in a dystopia: the twenty-first century that we know. However, the other world wasn’t quite as perfect as it seemed, the new world isn’t entirely as horrible as he initially thinks…..
At this point, Mastai’s light, satiric romp takes several turns, a few of them fairly nasty, before arriving at a conclusion that might be characterized as….
We’ve all been a little bit busy, and we aren’t getting comps, so we’re behind in recent genre movie reviews. If you have a review of your own, a comment to make, or a burning desire to pitch a screenplay wherein the Rangers team up with the Beast to find evidence of life on Mars, this would be the place.
Or you can enjoy the trailer for the Justice League. DC has always rocked the trailers.
I was not filled with glee by the announcement of a Flash Musical Episode. I’m just not the market for this sort of thing, even if it occasionally works. Increasingly, I’m beginning to wonder if I’m still the market for this show. Lots of people loved this singing and dancing crossover with Supergirl. For me, it recalled one of those old albums of a superstar’s previously unreleased material: a few bright moments, some familiar but enjoyable content, and a lot of stuff that should’ve remained in the studio.
This episode serves up a few “star-cross’d” lovers; Winn realizes his new girlfriend may be setting him up, and we may see future troubles with Alex and Maggie. The title more properly refers to Kara and Mon-El, whose herculean effort to hide his real identity finally fails when his parents arrive and want to bring him into their new adventures.
It’s a very CW episode, driven by soapy relationships. Possibly its best point may be that it sets up the next Flash crossover.
Of course, I don’t know how I feel about musical episodes….
This weekend falls between the big ape and SF hopeful Life, so we’ve got another flashback Weekend Review. This time, we’re traveling all the way to 1941, and a film not seen much anymore (it has been plagued by legal disputes). Never mind. Hellzapoppin influenced (and in many cases was referenced by) Mad magazine, the Monty Pythons and every fourth-wall breaking comedians in TV history, Animaniacs, and the Zucker Brothers, among others. It includes a comic vision of hell, a non-Stooge role for Shemp, and a cameo by Universal’s Frankenstein Monster.
The protomolecule still exists, Fred Jones is losing control, and a new character joins the team. His dark past we see beginning with his first appearance.
We’ve upgraded to two more reviews of the continuity-heavy series, one next week and another at season’s end.
The Flash, “Into the Speed Force:” The Flash heads into the Speed Force to save Wally, as he and the rest of the team confront seemingly arbitrary rules of reality designed to force drama, and H.R. continues to be annoying.
Legends of Tomorrow, “Moonshot:” Houston, we have a problem.
Arrow, “Checkmate”: Ollie learns more about Prometheus and, rock-star-like, he trashes the Arrowcave. The ep also features a shoot-out at a hockey arena, but of the deadly variety.
“Evil me, Evil Stein, Evil Mick… I guess that would just be Regular Mick, but still….”
I think Marvel has scooped the news with those early shots of Lockjaw from the forthcoming MCU Inhumans show, but DC features some watchable episodes this week:
Supergirl, “Exodus:” this Alex-focused episode features spy thriller tropes, more Danvers Family intrigue, and a pro-immigration message.
I’m also left wondering if CatCo will be eased out of the series entirely.
The Flash, “The Wrath of Savitar:” This week puts the season’s Big Bad back in its sites. Of course, Wally conceals helpful information from his associates (these guys are worse than the Hoover-era FBI), but Wally later pays a steep price. Will he be lost forever? Then again, will Savitar be the same after having his appendage sliced off?
Legends of Tomorrow, “Land of the Lost:” We’re 70 million years in the past, but the story rips us into a Heroes fight their Evil Doppelgängers ep. There’s something charmingly old school about the way the show puts some of our heroes in the Cretaceous and some in a character’s mind, but has to eschew 90% of the possibilities those premises suggest because the show has a limited budget. Vixen does get a brief T-Rex taming scene, though.