Television, week of 3-15.
I don’t know how to talk about Star Trek Picard without just going back into gushing. That tends to get tedious really quick, so all I’ll say is.. wow. We discover that the changeling infiltration is far worse than anyone had imagined. Remember back in the middle of Deep Space 9? The episode homefront? It was a two parter with Sisko back on Earth, and the paranoia wrapping up as to how Many people might the changelings have already replaced, and how high up the fleet might be compromised. Turns out, there were only six changelings on Earth at that time, and what they really managed to do this stir up paranoia. Well, decades later, all of our greatest fears from that episode have in fact, come true. The changelings are everywhere, And they’ve evolved to the point where traditional blood screenings don’t show them. Trust no one.
By the way? Trust no one? It’s not just Doctor Crusher telling Picard that… it’s…
No.
I’m not gonna tell you. I want you to watch this episode and if you’re a TNG fan, You are going to plotz.
So, remember last week when I was talking about The Mandalorian? When I was describing how Baby Yoda is essential and this theory is head really
refocused? Well just throw all of that out the window. This week we’ve got a very good 10 minutes at the beginning, and an OK 10 minutes at the end, the problem is the 35 minutes in the middle which have nothing to do with anything. This week’s episode bookends the restoration of mando, tying up loose ends. By the way, I heard more about living water on this episode than I have anywhere since my day is back at Moody Bible institute. The main story however, the middle section, is all about the evil mad scientists that was going to do unspeakable things to baby yoda when mando 1st picked him up and delivered him to Moff Gideon’s people. I suppose it’s an interesting enough story, but it’s really not the sort of thing you can get away with in a short season. I’m not sure where this belongs. Indeed, it feels more like a comic book supplement or a novelization spin off then something that should be a part of the series proper.
Really, I don’t know what it is about this week, because the Flash is doing the same thing! We ship off Barry and Iris to one last romantic getaway before the baby comes. Their friends are gonna throw baby shower and all that kind of stuff but first, they have to contend with a young woman who was previously dead, but brought back to life during Crisis. When she was brought back, she discovered she has good luck powers, except recently they’ve gone awry. Now she’s at the center of a police investigation, her fiancee is in a coma and the local gangsters are trying to kidnap her because of a elaborate plot involving gambling debts and The local underground casino. Flash isn’t in this at all. In fact there’s no costumes in this at all, 
it’s like we’re back in the early 2000s when The CW still wanted to make super hero shows like Smallville and Birds of Prey, but were too ashamed of them to actually make them look like super hero shows. All of this should annoy me. The problem is, the story is just so cute and quirky, I chuckled all the way through it. Look, this is still a definite skip if you’re binging the series or trying to do a speed run, but it is the sort of thing that can get away with in the middle of a full season of network TV. Of course, The Flash isn’t getting a whole season, so i’m still not sure what they’re thinking here.
Finally, it’s the return of Superman and Lois. I feel like they’ve done some tweaking on the S on the costume perhaps? It looks a little different. But not as different as Jonathan Kent does! Oh man, this new actor is just all kinds of throwing me off. They’re not even really dressing him the same as the previous iteration. At least some blonde highlights in that hair probably would have helped.
The episode telegraphs sets up a bunch of storylines that we’re gonna be seeing this season. A weird and cringe love triangle with Lana’s ex husband and Lois’s boss, Health problems and a pregnancy scare for Lois, and the continued weirdness in Sarah and Jordan’s relationsh
ip. That’s the one that annoys me the most. She wants space, and he’s supposed to be just wait around for her and be okay with that. To me it feels very much like Sarah is stringing him along, and it’s a little ugly. It makes me suspect that they’re prepping to dissolve her relationship with him and put her with a lesbian POC like they were setting up last year. Part of me is also betting it’s gonna be John Henry’s daughter. I just don’t like any of that. It’s an ugly way of treating both Sarah and Jordan. But perhaps I’m overreacting, I’ve been burned enough times that I spent a lot of the series just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Like Picard, It’s been so good that I have a hard time believing they haven’t jumped the shark yet! Perhaps I should just unclench and enjoy myself while I can. The villain this time around was good, with a nice old fashioned look to him. “Ugly” Bruno Manheim is in the mix, and anytime you give me one of Kirby’s contributions to the Superman cast, it’s almost always brilliant.They don’t skimp on the action either. We get some good rescue action, and a spectacular knock-down-drag-out with Superman and the villain of the week. It’s everything that I ever asked for in a Superman show. We’ve got compelling hero action, and a great supporting cast of characters. Not to mention that the 
actress playing Clark and Lois are still knocking it out of the park. Tyler Hochen and Bitsy Tuloch may well become my definitive actors for these characters. They’re just that good.
I also fell down a rabbit hole this weekend. Remember a while back when I mentioned the film Nintendo Quest? Well there’s an entire series featuring Jay Bartlett, the protagonist of that documentary, and his action figure quest. You see, he’s trying to amass a collection of highly sought after action figures to auction off for a London hospital. It’s absolutely riveting. It’s the thrill of all the toy shows I go to but for a better cause. It’s familiar faces and spectacular settings – taking us all the way to Power Con (The ultimate He-Man convention in Anaheim CA – I 
desperately want to go and I know I’ll never be able to afford it!). I actually passed on this early on because it didn’t capture my imagination enough. Things looked different on this Saturday afternoon and I was channel flipping. It’s amazing and I can’t recommend it enough!
Wow! I’m not used to having this many programs to watch all at once! Kind of nice for a change. Can’t wait to see what happens next week. In the meantime, I’m gonna head back and finish my DVR of history’s greatest heists. I’ve never actually heard of the Museum of Natural History robbery before!
Argo City Comics 