Week of 11-9-22
There’s times when I think I’m really enjoying Sventoonie even better than Svengoolie. There’s something to be said for blowing through some of these old Public Domain movies and encapsulating them into a half hour show with host bits rather than trying to present the whole thing and watch the same old movies again and again (it’s one of the things that really burned me out with online Horror Hosts like you see on the Monster Channel). Indeed, it worked way better for Bucket of Blood and Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. The quick summary and visit on those was everything I needed to feel satisfied, almost like watching the movie without actually watching a movie (I have similar feelings about movie trailer compilations). It’s even better though last week, because the subject was Night Tide… A killer mermaid movie that I’ve never seen. And yet, I still feel like I’ve pretty much seen the whole thing. The show makes good use of jaws parodies and general schtick , a
nd it’s just in enormously fun to watch. On the other hand, you have nights like this week where they screen clips of Brother from Another Planet. It’s another one I’ve never seen, and now I feel like I must go seek it out. I absolutely have to know what this is about! Again, the real beauty of these kind of shows. I’m gonna actually be pretty sad when I finish up this quickie season.
Stargirl remains solid. Actually, you kind of expect them to be better than solid, you’d expect them to be really good considering we’re entering the end of the series. But this week really felt more like part two, a good follow up from last week and the attack on the elder icicles. Seth Greens Thunderbolt continues to be the high point of the series for me. I feel like they’ve gotten into the right groove with him now. They don’t overuse him… That character could get annoying really fast if overexposed. On the other hand they don’t underuse him either… The way they did all of last season. He is a genuinely good character, and watching him and the two boys kind of do their own mini Scooby gang thing… The young All-Stars instead of the JSA, it’s really been fun. For me that’s the perfect B storyline. A group of young burgeoning superheroes to balance out the teenage jSA that really keeps the show together. Like I said, solid. I will admit though, we got some killing at the end that really took me by surprise. It shouldn’t, considering that since this is the end of the series, anything goes. But still, I was a little shocked and sad. You never know when they’re going to kill off the character that you like.
Speaking of solid, the only comic book worth mentioning this week really was Amazing Spider-Man #13 which resolved the current goblin story nicely while setting up more stuff happening down the line. They are still maintaining that interesting feel with all of the supporting characters, and that’s really the thing that’s been keeping me coming back to this book during this run.
Solid is also the word to describe Nailed It. I know I’m using that description a lot, but average television is still better than bad TV, so I’ll take it. I only have a minor quibble with this particular season. As much as I like the fact that they’re going Halloween this time around, I wish they pick different subjects. Look, I’m familiar with the Witcher, and I’ve heard of the umbrella academy. I don’t watch either of them. Yes, I Realize it’s basically cross series promotion on the same network, but only having a passing familiarity with these series makes me wish they had picked something with a wider familiarity. Do Dracula and Frankenstein instead of 
just hitting your other network shows. With that said, there’s not a whole lot to complain about. Really if that’s my biggest beef, then I’d say the show is still doing pretty good. Honestly, I wish they’d have longer seasons and more of them. This one’s been a perennial favorite in our home since the kids discovered it and it’s really the only context I enjoy Nicole Byer in!
Speaking of my kids, I recently noticed something strange. My younger daughter is obsessively watching the 100. My older daughter just finished seven seeds and is considering going back to the hunger games. My wife is watching a series called the society. Basically they’re all watching TV shows set in fairly post-apocalyptic settings where the kids are left on their own to try and build some sort of a society. They’re all nihilistic and depressing. I on the other hand and obsessively watching Star Trek Prodigy. It’s also about a bunch of 
kids left to their own devices, but in the best traditions of Star Trek, it’s hopeful and optimistic!
The Trek Culture channel over on YouTube made an interesting observation this week. They pointed out that this weeks episode actually acts as a great jumping on point… A good introduction to anybody who has been watching the series. You’re absolutely right about this. Aside from the opening where Jayne was still trying to get information about the lost Protostar from a semi catatonic diviner, the story is actually. A nice straightforward adventure for the crew of the Protostar. It begins with some narration from Dahl, explaining that the Protostar has a weapon hidden on it, one that is designed to infect Starfleet if they ever come in contact with them, or even open up a hail. Until they can figure out how to get rid of it – a task that is driving Jayne come mad – they’re going to continue to try and Explore space, and help people. To that end, they’re answering a distress call (And doing it in uniforms by the way. As much as I’m not a big fan of these uniforms, I’m so glad to see they they are staying in them most of the time now. Uniforms are a PART of the Star Trek aesthetic, even if this current production team seems to hate them.).
What they discover is an unknown planet populated by people with very familiar names like Keurk and Suoo-looh, wearing a stitched together facsimiles of original series uniforms. Turns out, the shuttlecraft Galileo somehow got lost and crashed here with a supporting character from a single episode of the original series, Ensign Garrovick, from the episode “Obsession.” Garrovick accidentally First Contacts them… mostly to warn them away from the forest where fuel is leaking from the shuttlecraft . It’s a fun episode, and good storytelling. There’s a lot of ‘member berries in this one though, and I know that’s something I’ve complained about in the past. The thing is, it works here. This is a story that is built around all those callbacks. It’s designed around the exploration of a society that came into contact with Starfleet, but nobody knew. 100 years later, these characters are the stuff of legend, passed down through oral tradition… Well, oral tradition with a theater kid twist. It makes these callbacks feel organic. 
We have a crashed shuttlecraft, images of the bridge, and all these characters being able to imitate the motions and the controls of the Enterprise. At no point do I feel like it’s just ‘member berries for the sake of “hey remember this?? You love this!“ It’s not patronizing, like watching Mariner on Lower Decks suddenly whip out a batlith to cut someone’s arm with just because it’s random and funny and “remember Klingons? You love Klingons!“ This works. It just feels right, Especially considering it doesn’t happen every week.
I was crushed to learn that the Big Bad B Movie show with Leopold and Lenora has met its end. Change of management means no third season, but you can still catch Lenora on her YouTube show up on the found footage fest channel. Check out Lenora’s Midnight Rental and see what you think.
We’ll be back with more television and comics next week! (Probably).
This weeks alternatives
I haven’t done a TV blog in weeks because first off, Superman and Lois is on hiatus. The Flash has been solid. Good stuff, nothing extraordinary,… Just a good solid average TV week in and week out. Remember when television was like that? Of course it’s taking a few weeks off too. Falcon and the Winter Soldier actually started out in that same mold, solid entertainment, but then got a little more woke than I prefer towards the end. So all in all, I haven’t had much to talk about. I’ve been seeking elsewhere for my television entertainment.
The Food That Built America has come on my radar with a vengeance. It’s a documentary series on the history channel and in it’s second season, that has absolutely shocking marvelous stories about very familiar food. Nathan‘s hotdogs, white castle, Hershey, but the one that really pushed me over the edge and made me a devotee was the McDonald’s versus Burger King episode. See, if you watched Michael Keaton in The Founder, you know how McDonald’s started, but this episode really tells the second part of the story – how it expanded and the birth of the Big Mac as a reaction to Burger king’s Whopper. You get some amazing insights as to both McDonald’s and Burger King, moreover, it’s fascinating to see the development of such familiar comfort food as white castle, and hotdogs in general. Hershey’s Chocolate and all sorts of other things that just seem a part of normal every every day life. Seriously, I’m riveted.
The other television I’m obsessing over is the Big Bad B Movie Show. That one may take some explaining.
The Big Bad B Movie Show is a horror host show, much like Elvira or Svengoolie on MeTV. There was a time when every city had their own unique horror host. It’s an art that’s slowly fading away, but in Cleveland, we don’t let go of things quite so easily. We had Big Chuck and Lil John right up through the 90s, and there’s something in the water here that grows horror hosts at a faster rate than any other state in the union. So the newest crop are Leopold and Lenora… And they’re brilliant. The most significant thing about Leopold and Lenora, is that they’ve found a fairly original formula to do the whole horror host thing with, and that’s no mean trick. Leopold is a hipster doofus, and Lenora is a glam airhead counterpart. They’re both brilliant and hilarious. I’ve watched sketches that involve terrible children shows… “So kids, come on let’s start with grabbing the kitchen knife!” And Gwar as a personal injury firm, as well as terrible horror scopes, parodies on the purge, and the worst imitation of Vincent Price I’ve ever seen. It’s all glorious. If I have any complaint, it’s that they also incorporate other local (Somewhat opportunistic) horror hosts the mummy in the monkey, eating up one hosting segment that would be better served by Leopold and Lenora. Nevertheless, the big bad B-movie show is easily one of the best horror host shows in decades… And I should know. I am a bit of a horror host groupie, and yet I can’t sing the praises the show enough. I’m enjoying every second of it.
Well, perhaps not every second of it, they are still stuck with public domain films… Which means they’re showing the same set of movies that every other Internet horror host Joe’s. It’s really the one weakness of the series, but on the other hand, I don’t mind watching Robot Monster and the Last Man on Earth quite so much with these companions to join me. You can watch Leopold and Lenora on the Channel 19 news app, available on fire stick… Or do a web search for WUAB TV Cleveland, and you’re sure to find The Big Bad B Movie Show. It’s absolutely worth your time, and is now the highlight of my week.
Argo City Comics 