jwalsh30 Reviews

Stars on Mars: Resupply Mission (2023) Season 1, Episode 5

Life on Mars

[8/10 · 22 August 2023]

Through the first four episodes this series avoided the usual infighting, back stabbing, alliance driven characters and storylines that other reality shows thrive on. I found this a welcome change. The Martian landscape and habitat was movie quality. The celebrities are the usual mix of actors, athletes and TV reality stars, but perhaps a step up from other celebrity reality shows. The "challenges " are Martian missions. These are very well done, interesting and sometimes exciting. Rather than having secret votes when dismissing the contestants they do so as a group focusing more on strength and weaknesses rather than the usual alliance driven voting.

However entering this fifth episode, the personal biases and alliance surface which is unfortunate. I knew things were going too well.

Death in Paradise: Episode #12.4 (2023) Season 12, Episode 4

Help, Police, where are you?

[8/10 · 18 June 2023]

Okay, first I do like the series a lot.

One thing rarely mentioned is how wonderful it is viewing this series on a big screen TV. The scenery is beautiful.

I supposed much of this would be better suited as a review on the main page rather than with this epi but most of my issues are raised in this one as well as addressing some other reviews/comments.

And yes, I understand it's fiction and TV, But really, some of these issues call for some questioning.

Small police force: Assuming there aren't a bunch of officers on the Sainte Marie force that we haven't seen, the entire force consists of commish Patterson, a DI, a DS and 2 others. At least in earlier seasons the others were veteran officers like Dwayne, J. P. and Fidel. Now we have a former delinquent in Marlon, and a Nurse! Most often they are all on one case together. Is there no other crime on Sainte Marie other than the murder they're investigating? And apparently they work 9-5. Who's watching the island when they're all drinking at Catherine's?

No guns: None of the police ever are armed. Okay, for much of their duties, that probably works. But they're always arresting murderers and are fortunate that other than sometimes having the culprit trying to run away, they've never needed guns. If only these dangerous criminals knew how easy it would be to escape custody.

Still, an enjoyable show. Perhaps just taking the fiction part too far?

The Frozen Ground (2013)

Cage and Cusack role reversal

[8/10 · 1 January 2023]

Surprisingly accurate movie version of serial killer Robert Hansen. Alaskan location gives this movie a different feel than the usual "catch the crazy killer" storyline. With the two leads here, you would surely expect the crazy killer is going to be Nic Cage, but no, its nice guy John Cusack. Cage in fact plays the state trooper rather low key but is effective.

You do get angry at just how stupid the local police were at their failure to put two and two together. I suppose this can be attributed to the time it took place in.

The series 'Very Scary People" has this featured in season 3.

Besides changing the names of all the law enforcement characters, two other changes from the factual story. The trick with the bracelet didn't happen. The police did find the trove of items Hansen took from victims which the movie doesn't show. But a very significant addition is the whole scene with the pimp and hit man near the end. The movie must have felt a more exciting conclusion was needed after they had already solved the case.

Phineas and Ferb: Act Your Age (2014) Season 4, Episode 29

Time flies

[9/10 · 4 December 2022]

Okay, first I'll say I really liked this episode. I don't get what the problem was with the negative reviewers. It's a glimpse into the possible future of cartoon characters! Like character development, plot holes and such are something to be concerned with.

That said, I have some questions regarding the passage of time here. In the intro, the show creators tell us that it's set 10 years in the future. 10 years? The boys and the rest of the group are in the summer after graduating high school and Candace is in college. So are we to believe that the boys were just 7-8 years old and Candace 11-12 all along? Or is it that they just finally got out of HS when in their 20's? It's nice to see Ferb and Vanessa together, especially in light of their love connection in Love Actually, but Ferb is quite a bit younger. College woman and high school boy?

But still, this is a silly, fun, cartoon and it is a great episode.

Monk: Mr. Monk's Other Brother (2009) Season 7, Episode 10

Worst shot ever!

[8/10 · 10 July 2022]

That prison guard is the worst shot ever. Shot off dozens of rounds at the house and in the prison yard without ever getting close to anything.

The half-brother story was fun.

Miracle Workers: Dark Ages: Graduation (2020) Season 2, Episode 1

Second season's the best

[9/10 · 13 June 2022]

I like this idea of having completely different stories with the same actors as different characters. First season was good, but I was disappointed that there was just the one story. Second season was the best. Third season was still good, but the weakest of the three. Bring on season four, whatever that may be.

Deadwood: The Movie (2019 TV Movie)

Advanced aging is distraction

[6/10 · 13 May 2022]

We've moved 10 years ahead. The actors appear 13 years after the series ended. So why do most of the characters look like they've aged 20-30 years? As for the movie itself, it's so-so. We get updated on some characters, but still no real conclusion.

The X-Files: Red Museum (1994) Season 2, Episode 10

Red Museum and music query answered

[8/10 · 3 April 2022]

I always preferred the stand alone. This one is all over the place but still good.

Wisconsin setting explained by having a cow connection.

To kirkh-26247...the music is Bad Medicine by God's Children.

Would have been cool to see a Picket Fences crossover.

True Blood: At Last (2013) Season 6, Episode 4

A new low

[4/10 · 18 March 2022]

It's 2022 and I've seen the series several times. The first time I stopped after season 5 when the numerous plots and subplots got out of hand.

This ep featured one of the two times that the vampire killings were too much for me. And that includes the wiping out of a wedding party and frat house. The first was Bill killing Jessica. But at least in that case he was forced. Jessica killing the Fairy sisters in this episode was the worst of all. What makes it the worst is that Jessica is a "good" character which is much worse than a villian doing the killing. The other thing is that up until then, the sisters were presented as cute and funny in humorous scenes making the scene more shockingly detestable. I would have quit the series again if it wasn't so near the end.

Girl in the Shed: The Kidnapping of Abby Hernandez (2022)

Toned down to drivel

[2/10 · 27 February 2022]

The emotional and psychological abuse are toned down so much that it almost appears like a friendship. There is no indication of sexual abuse at all which completely removes the harrowing experienced the victim endured. The only point of interest was the mother's ordeal in dealing with the FBI. Taming the experience so much does such a huge disservice to such a frightening abduction. How could the real victim have been involved with this presentation?

Lost: Exposé (2007) Season 3, Episode 14

I liked this one. Really I did.

[9/10 · 10 February 2022]

I'm surprised "Expose" has an overall rating of 8 considering it's tradionally poked fun at.

Now, does any review written more than 10 years after a show has ended really need to classify it with "spoilers"?

Anyway, I always liked this episode. Viewers agreed with Artz (before he blew up) that there are others....not those others...on the island besides our group of heroes. TV logistics says that we can't have 40+ characters on a show. So there's our group plus some random people in the background. "Expose" shows us that these random people also have background stories too.

Enter Nikki and Paulo. Perhaps trying to make them somewhat relevant only to kill them off was sorta weird, but we finally got to see that there were other folks with their own stories to tell.

So I liked this one. Really, I did.

Lost: Two for the Road (2006) Season 2, Episode 20

Always hated Michael

[3/10 · 7 February 2022]

Michael was the most annoying character on the show. Incessant yelling, rudeness to all, pushy, bullying, narrow minded and caring for no one but his own needs. So to top it off, he's a traitor and murderer. After this, every second of screen time with Michael when rewatching is worse than the first time.

Other than hating any scene with Michael in it, the epi was good.

Frankie Drake Mysteries: A Family Affair (2021) Season 4, Episode 10

Unfinished finale

[5/10 · 10 December 2021]

What they did here is a perfect example of why a series should never end with a cliff hanger. The risk of cancelation and unfinished story lines leaves the audience unhappy. If a show is headed for cancelation, let them produce a real series finale. Season ending cliff hangers are unnecessary unless your show is so bad that you don't expect viewers to return for another season.

Frankie Drake Mysteries: Sweet Justice (2021) Season 4, Episode 8

Super hero to the rescue

[4/10 · 24 November 2021]

Was this a joke as we near the end of the series? A masked super hero? Hanging a person tied to a chair that's going to be lowered into the boiling vat of candy? The villan giving the warning to Frankie, "you're next". Ridiculous. This had to be an homage to the Batman series of the 60's.

Sydney to the Max: Pie Hard (2021) Season 3, Episode 20

Spin-off?

[2/10 · 20 November 2021]

The cousin has made the show unwatchable. She is annoying, and didn't this precociousness thing play out like 20 years ago? It's clear that Sydney has outgrown the role and a younger character was needed. Or maybe this is setting up a spin-off.