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Reviews
Star Trek: Discovery: Mirrors (2024)
Mirrors
Star Trek Discovery continues to drag its feet for the final season of this show. This was arguably the first big show for Paramount+ and it feels like it is going downhill and down fast.
Michael Burnham will go down as a good TV character, but the rest of the cast really feels forgettable as we saw here. I don't know if that is by design or if the supporting cast is just not intriguing at all.
We need some better premises though and having these interoffice politics at play and acting like things really matter or are a big deal when it comes to who is second chair, who is third chair, it just doesn't matter.
Star Trek: Discovery: Whistlespeak (2024)
Episode 506
"Whistlespeak" actually seemed pretty decent at times. The beginning and the jump made no sense, but they had this far away and far awhen planet and we got to see a race without water to make the ultimate sacrifice. It felt very 90's ish and felt like the kind of thing the old Star Trek would tackle.
But then it just dragged and dragged and it went nowhere. They did not do a good job of selling the impact or any other major implications of what would happen here.
This season is kind of underwhelming here and I just hope they find a way to wrap things up the right way and the just way when it concludes.
All Elite Wrestling: Rampage: Best Friends, Worst Enemies (2024)
April 27
Deonna Purrazzo and Thunder Rosa got a decent amount of time in their match, which is definitely a good sign. These are two of the best women's wrestlers out there right now and I hope this feud continues for awhile because AEW definitely needs more feuds for the women that do not revolve around a title.
Big Bill is just not going to work. You can throw all of these different gimmicks and different partners around him, but he is just a boring big man.
The parking lot fight was okay, but Trent needs to move past The Best Friends. If you want the heel turn to work he needs to break free of them on TV.
All Elite Wrestling: Rampage: Manitoba Massacre (2024)
May 1
Willow Nightingale and Skye Blue have become homegrown stars for AEW so it was good to see them get a main event slot here. The women have not been afraid to get violent in AEW street fights and brawls and this one was nothing different.
AEW Rampage immediately following AEW Dynamite on Wednesdays feels much better and more organic than a random hour on Friday when it feels like people would be tuning in after watching a different company's wrestling show in WWE Smackdown.
Top to bottom the show is still not great, but we'll take these mild improvements in scheduling and in overall pace where we can.
Ghosts: Isaac's Wedding (2024)
Isaac's Wedding
I was surprised that they actually called off the wedding with Nigel and Isaac. Usually shows like this, especially in 2024, will never have a couple like that break up, but here we are.
The stuff with Pete was really awkward and weird though.
This show continues to have about as much buzz as any broadcast sitcom not named Abbott Elementary, but I do not really see why. Week after week there are only a few lines that actually make me laugh. Comedies from the 1990's had almost every line be funny, but even some of the ones on cable have three times as many laughs as you will get from this program.
All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite: Donnybrook in Edmonton (2024)
May 8
Rocky Romero vs. Jay White could be a main event on any show and deserved more time and better placement here. This is at least a slight bit of progress for how AEW is booking White though.
The Orange Cassidy and Trent feud needs to end, as does the idea of teasing a heel turn with Cassidy managed by Don Callis. That would never work.
Adam Copeland getting these long main events is just not working. He is not a draw, he is not interesting and he is not putting forth anything worth caring about. The House of Black is a bore and combining it with Copeland is only going to make matters even worse if this doesn't end soon.
American Idol: The Search for a Superstar: 716 (Adele Night) (2024)
Adele Night
I do not understand hiow Jack Blocker keeps getting through. I just don't get it, but he has his following and continues to go far.
I got nervous with Emmy Russell being the last person to get announced as making the Top 5, but eventually her name was called. Still holding out hope she will win it all.
The Adele songs probably fit a little better than the first round, but the timing of the episode just seemed it off. It felt like there was a much longer break between each performer the first go around then there was the second time.
Not a bad night of performances, but not too many I would consider rewatching.
NBA on ESPN: NBA Playoffs - R1G7 - Magic vs Cavaliers (2024)
Magic vs. Cavs
Even though it is not #1 vs. #8, this felt very similar to the Boston Celtics vs. Atlanta Hawks series from 2008, when every home team won and you wondered if the Hawks would pull off the upset to the recently assembled Big 3 team.
The Magic are a young team and maybe next season they will experience a rise like the Thunder have this season, but the Cavs have the better roster right now. At least with Donovan Mitchell playing the way he has the Cavs can be hard for anyone to beat.
I have not watched that much of this series, but this was a good game. Home team falls behind big and pulls off the comeback. Who doesn't like that?
Elsbeth: Something Blue (2024)
Something Blue
I am not the biggest fan of Keegna Michael Key, but I feel like this was good casting for this role. He had enough of the snark to play your typical bad guy, but did the rich dude act a little bit differently than normal.
Elsbeth finessing him to do dancing (something he often embraced on Key & Peele) and in turn spill the keys was another way of how she is so much smarter than efveryone else without overtly showing it.
Elsbeth has turned into a show that I look forward to each and every week and I hope the rest of the season is able to keep up this quality. CBS definitely has something with this show.
Elsbeth: An Ear for an Ear (2024)
An Ear
Elsbeth has yet to have a really bad episode, but this one was a little bit uneven for my liking. Gina Gershon never got as villainous as maybe the character should have been, and I feel like they did not get as superficial as they could have with the whole plastic surgery angle.
The Good Wife universe has always been about being over the top when it comes to the superficial elements so I feel like that was a missed opportunity, but so far this show continues to be the kind of mystery I look forward to each and every week. Even the clunkers are better than a lot of the procedurals we get elsewhere.
Elsbeth: Ball Girl (2024)
Ball Girl
Elsbeth is slowly but surely finding its footing and this was the best way the format of her constantly pursuing one suspect can go. I am a tennis fan so that definitely played into my enjoyment, but Blair Underwood was perfectly cast here, as was the ball girl and her overtly teenage slang.
The story was still a little bit shaky and I think people on shows like this discuss killing a little bit too much in the open, but for the most part there are almost no complaints I have about an episode like this. Enjoyable from start to finish, some funny moments and the bad guy faces their justice. That's all you need.
Elsbeth: Love Knocked Off (2024)
Love Knocked Off
We went from one bad sitcom actor in Jesse Tyler Ferguson last week to another one in Retta this week, but I didn't mind this episode at all. Having someone like her actually be the bad guy and the killer, and not the stuck-up privileged woman was a refreshing change of pace.
Overall I am definitely starting to really enjoy Elsbeth. Just like when The Good Wife was one of the few good broadcast dramas on TV, now Elsbeth is one of the few good ones left too. I am not crazy about her always getting the right target from the get-go, but I have to admit I am not bored yet by how the concept has been playing out.
Elsbeth: Reality Shock (2024)
Episode 3
Jesse Tyler Ferguson is awful, so seeing him get "the big name treatment" in this episode was disappointing, but he was not as bad as it could have been. I feel like the whole reality TV angle is way too played out at this point though, and the story did not even seem to make that much sense.
It looks like they are not going to abandon the show's central concept of Elsbeth knowing who it is immediately every time and trying to trap them though. I wish she would explore other characters too, but it feels like that is not the master plan for what the writers have with this show and their goals this year.
The Conners: Manifesting, Marriage Testing and Cheeseballs (2024)
Manifesting
Really weak cold open, although nothing new for this show on that front as that has been the case for a really long time.
The episode was not that bas though. They tried to give us a really serious storyline for Harris and I think that was definitely a positive. The show could use more of that because when they do tap into these kinds of things I feel like we get the best out of the cast and it feels like we actually get episodes that don't leave me shaking my head.
But they never go beyond the 30 minutes to address the problem. I suspect they will rarely mention Harris' issues in any forthcoming episodes.
The Conners: Campaign U-Turn and a Hard Write (2024)
Campain U-Turn
I guess as a fan of old school sitcoms I should appreciate running for the school board and a plot that seems ripped from the TV Gudie episode description of something from the 80's or 90's.
But this was just not that funny. They don't know what to do with Jackie with her seemingly acting more absurd by the week.
I guess the Ben and Dan dynamic was interesting, but there was such a weak payoff in it. I wish we had seen or heard a bit more of Dan's attempt at writing too, but overall there was just not much there to that storyline.
This show is not having a great season, but it is also not as bad as some past years.
The Conners: Fire and Vice (2024)
Fire and Vice
Not sure why there are more episodes of The Conners than a lot of the other broadcast shows that came back from the writer's strike. I guess the lower quality of these makes it easier to churn them out.
It was not horrible, I like the idea of Ben and Darlene growing a little bit and getting back to writing, but the stuff with Becky all felt really forced. We know that she has emotional mood swings and can get overly invested in stuff, but obsessing over the "patients" just seemed so random. I was thinking to myself if I had missed something from a previous episode where this came up, but nope.
NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service: Heartless (2024)
Heartless
One of the advantages of bringing in Alden Parker to replace Gibbs is that he can be in the field a bit more and give us some more interesting episodes and concepts, and we definitely got that here. This had a little bit of comedy thrown in, but definitely had some excitement and some action to it. This is the kind of episode that NCIS should give us a lot more of: there is real danger for one or more of the characters, there are immediate stakes with an early death, and we are left watching until the end.
A standout of the season, even though I know they can still give us even better than this one.
NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service: Prime Cut (2024)
Prime Cut
This season of NCIS has definitely been hit and miss and this episode was much more miss. They tried to go for some kind of Yellowstone episode with the setting of the ranch and introducing some Southern characters, but it really missed the mark. By the time the reveal of who the bad guy was came I don't know if anyone really cared.
NCIS appeals to an older audience and does not ever really go too detailed or too in depth with their premises. Even as a slightly younger viewer I am okay with that for the most part, but I want a little bit more originality than this. I know the writers can do better than this.
NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service: Reef Madness (2024)
Reef Madness
NCIS wraps its strike-shortened season with an okay episode.
They tried too hard to create this powerful episode, but I never really believed any of these castmembers were in danger so it was hard to buy in that much. They tried too hard to create this powerful moment with Alden seeing the ghost of his dead sister, but this is not the kind of stuff that works well or translates to a CBS kind of audience. Save this for HBO and Showtime.
It was not bad, but overall this season was a little bit uneven. I feel like they definitely could benefit from adding another female agent to the mix. Kensi from NCIS: LA would be perfect.
AEW Collision: Dynasty Fallout (2024)
April 27
Swerve and Castagnoli had a solid match, but it feels like this is the kind of thing they could have built up for. These are two of the best wrestlers and the biggest names in the company and this could've been a PPV level feud.
Rush's return will hopefully add to the program, but I just doubt they will ever push him. Remember they had those vignettes for Andrade and all of the cartel stuff, and it ended up going nowhere.
The Acclaimed vs. Grizzled Young Vets was okay, but I just don't know if the latter will catch on in AEW. It doesn't seem like there is a fit for them right now in the division.
All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite: From Winnipeg (2024)
May 1
On my birthday I was hoping for a good episode of AEW Dynamite and instead we get simply more of the same.
The Chris Jericho Learning Tree gimmick could work, but they need to embrace why it worked for Brian Myers in Impact. Funny backstage segments. They need those, but Jericho doing the same thing in the ring won't change anything.
The rest of the show is just the same old thing. They have such a deep roster and now finally people like Claudio Castagnoli and Brian Cage are getting on TV, but the writing needs to improve. There is not a single feud worth watching or that has me intrigued right now.
Ring of Honor Wrestling: ROH on HonorClub #62 (2024)
May 2
I think that ROH is the best weekly show on TV by a wide margin at this point, and they accomplish it with not the deepest roster in the world.
But this Jacksonville show was a bit of a throwaway. It was difficult to watch with the daylight and the camera, but there were way too many squash matches. Over half of the card should not be squash matches.
They are building up Queen Aminata well though and this should be another good match for Athena in the near future, before Aminata likely heads back to the main AEW roster.
The Infantry have been the breakout team the last six months and hopefully they get pushed soon too.
Elsbeth: A Classic New York Character (2024)
Episode 2
It kind of dragged a bit early on as they introduced the character and the setting and gave some of the worst vibes of Only Murders in the Building that we have seen.
But once it got going it was fun. I just worry about the show becoming repetitive with Elsbeth immediately knowing who did it and pursuing the big name celebrity guest star throughout the episode. That format can get a bit tiring.
This is clearly CBS' version of Poker Face, but that didn't use the same format and style every week. Shaking it up slightly is what made it work. I hope we get one episode where Elsbeth is wrong or she at least is confused early on.
All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite: Dynasty Fallout/Coast to Coast (2024)
April 24
An uneven episode for sure, but there were some decent things.
Willow Nightingale is still awkward in these in-ring promos, but this feud with Mercedes Mone is not working. After Double or Nothing they both need to move on to their own things.
Chris Jericho using Brian Myers' gimmick from TNA feels tired. We all knew what Big Bill was going to say when he came out and it seems like Jericho is rebuilding yet another stable.
Tony Khan is akward as a character, but the main event final segment was certainly funny. Let's see where this goes, but they've successfully rebuilt Jack Perry as a top heel now.
Ring of Honor Wrestling: ROH on HonorClub #61 (2024)
April 25
Ring of Honor is definitely my favorite weekly TV show when it comes to wrestling, but this was an underwhelming episode. Blake Christian getting all of these main events when he is not a regular is a slap in the face, and feels like it is done to appease GCW and nothing else.
Leila Grey getting back in the rotation is a good move.
Acknowledging Maria's relationship with Mike Bennett was important and there could be a good dynamic at play if they start a feud with Griff Garrison and Cole Karter.
Overall, kind of underwhelming show though. They can't all be great episodes but let's move on after this one.