carltonbrice Reviews

Resident Alien: 141 Seconds (2024) Season 3, Episode 3

Comedy and pathos

[8/10 · 29 February 2024]

For me personally the two standout characters in this episode were Judy and Liv. Their scenes were poignant and genuine and I didn't see them coming. Those kinds of scenes are all the more effective in a comedy. Those alone made the episode particularly good. It was also nice to have Jay and Asta have some scenes together. And the sheriff finally not being a heel to Liv, showing some sensitivity, was a good character development.

The plot is growing too with the whole supervolcano and Galactic Federation. I hope the writers make it all credible because it sounds strange that the Grays want to destroy Earth if they want to live there. The mystery of the abductions has expanded to the mayor's wife who apparently had a daughter abducted by the Grays. So Liv, the mayor, his wife, the general, the dead alien hunter (whose son was alien abducted) and now Max are tied in.

I wanted to add two more things. First, the past two seasons had some potentially interesting characters who came and went too quickly: Elliot, the Native American archeologist; Liza, the real Harry's daughter; Isabelle, the real Harry's wife; and Sahar, Max's classmate and ally until the writers made her insufferable.

Second, the show would be enriched by combining the sensibilities of Northern Exposure, Dark Winds, and its own dark humor.

In any case, this should make for some good storytelling.

Resident Alien: Lone Wolf (2024) Season 3, Episode 1

May have lost its luster

[5/10 · 16 February 2024]

It was nice seeing Asta, Judy, Nurse Cho, Ben, and Kate. They're funny and likable. The humor of scenes with the main characters wasn't as sharp as in past seasons. It felt off somehow. The scene of Ben being levitated by a Grey and the scene between Harry and Asta at the end were funny and seemed back to true form. The scene where D'Arcy knocked complex listening equipment to the floor because Harry was keeping tabs on Asta's date with the Grey, when D'Arcy was also doing that, was supposed to be funny, but was just stupid.

The characters of the Sheriff and the Deputy are drawn ham handedly and blatantly trying to serve a social agenda, which is not funny or subtle.

The hopeful news is that Sahar might be leaving the show; so maybe Max can return to being the smart kid he was in the start of season one instead of playing the fool to clumsily sermonize the message that girls are just better at everything.

Another plot of interest is the mysterious machinations of the Greys with Ben and the spooky owl staring through the window. Always enjoy getting glimpses of Native American culture even though, in this episode, there is more clumsy and unclever social messaging. It's easy and uncreative humor.

The writers are trying to be funny while also being in their own heads educational. They're not up to the task of doing both.

The Ark: Everybody Wins (2023) Season 1, Episode 12

Strong season finale

[7/10 · 21 April 2023]

This show does grow on me and the episode was more than satisfying with a resolution of the conflict, or at least a truce, between the Garnet faction and the Maddox faction. The surprise, somewhat weird and disappointing to me, was that Proxima b doesn't exist anymore. In a literally explosive episode, the planet blew up. So the exploration and settlement of the planet will never take place, which I had assumed would be the thrust of season 2. For the sake of budget constraints, perhaps, season 2 looks to be shaping up as bottle episodes that stay on the ship or ships. But that means there can be introduction of other arks and new characters. So the sets can be redecorated to represent other arks. Next season, however, Ark 1 may be abandoned and the crew transferred to Ark 15.

It is clearly seen in this episode that Trust (ironically named) and Maddox are two sides of the loathsome coin; however, Maddox is redeemable and Trust is not. May change next season. They truly are, as now officially Captain Garnet points out, the worst of human kind. Not surprising really that there was minimal vetting of the passengers due to the anarchy on earth and the resulting influence peddling and back stabbing.

Despite being an above average episode, this show is plagued by questionable events. The biggest, perhaps, is that the probes sent to Proxima b didn't detect a methane ocean-something hard to miss. When the planet starts rotating, the ocean on the cold side is exposed to sunlight and explodes. Planetary debris heavily damages the forward section. Given that the damaged structures from the first episode weren't replaced, it would be a stretch if the ship is spaceworthy.

Why Maddox wanted to rule Prox b with only her crew and had to attack Arks 1 and 3, killing every soul on 3, just to get the cure, and maybe kill the Trusts as a bonus, still wasn't realistically explained. It turns out though that Trust is even worse, willing to send 15 crashing to the planet just to kill Maddox and Kelly. Garnet saves the day and rescues the crew of 15 and is in turn rescued by 15.

This Trust is a piece of work. Trying to kiss Cat shortly after his wife (a better character) died. Cat had the moral fortitude to decline. I am looking forward to the development of her character, as her diva-like nature has been crushed.

Annoyingly, once again, this Kelly seems to have superhuman strength, overpowering Jelena and strangling Angus while he just lies there, shocked but still conscious. Another opportunity for a weak male to be rescued by a female, Alicia.

Men seem fragile in this show, morally and physically. Harris, provided oxygen as soon as he passed out, dies. Sasha screams and freaks out when discovering a body in a closet. Then, when oxygen is supplied on the verge of him passing out, he goes into cardiac arrest. Too much contrived drama.

Lane though finally gets into a fight and doesn't embarrass himself; though, why there is a crowbar in the engine room makes zero sense. Also zero sense is why all the corridors and work areas don't have video monitoring. Hiding, other than being convenient, stretches credulity to the breaking point.

As for the cure, even for pseudoscience, it's dodgy that a tiny amount of helium would deactivate spider venom. But it is a good scene in medbay. Once again, though, a woman, Maddox, has to one-up a man by being braver. I guess testosterone is even lower in the 22nd century.

Also. The aliciaminium story line was a big dud and anticlimactic. The deep mystery of a new element not existing on earth and being a sinister mystery out in deep space was too neatly and boringly wrapped up as being Maddox's invention. Boring.

Anyway, it's all hugs among the triumvirate of Garnet, Lane and Brice, with Lane back on the Council. There's even a hint at possible romance between Lane and Garnet. So overall a pretty good ending and very much looking forward to character development and hopefully better thought out science in the fiction.

The Ark: Hoping for Forever (2023) Season 1, Episode 10

Plot Devices a Plenty

[4/10 · 8 April 2023]

Having read and watched science fiction since childhood, I'm a pretty good judge of the genre, so perhaps I'm somewhat harsh, but I don't deliberately inflate or depress the ratings, which is why I seldom assign a 1 or a 10.

I gave this episode a 4 to acknowledge the quite good acting especially of Cat and Helena, two characters I like. It's the actors, not the writing or direction, that makes it watchable.

Lieutenant Lane, dude, why do you fight like a girl? Oh, excuse me, would that he could fight like a girl. On this show, the characters have to be female to fight. Well, there's Felix, but that's another story.

There were three opportunities to subdue skinny pale girl. Lane had a good vantage point in the storage room but got a broken nose and crumbled. Then, while Felix was fighting Marco, both guns were on the floor. Lane was on his feet and could've easily gotten to the guns to kick them out of the way and to kick Kelly in the head. His delay was blatant and contrived. Lastly, in the shuttle, Kelly pointed the gun at Angus and Lane was out of the line of fire and had both hands free. But again, no.

Let's all sing the refrain: "Plot Devices!"

How about that security? Lock down means what? Were the hatches all centrally locked from the inside so nobody could open them from the outside? Of course not. The hatches are just unlocked and anyone can enter at his pleasure.

In the airlock chamber, I counted 5 intruders, and 5 again in space. Where did that sixth body come from?

The best scene was between Helena and Cat. Ms. Wolfe is awesome! One thing though, why was she punching in the code to operate the intercom? Did she know the code? Was it changed? In any case, you don't need to open the door to use the intercom. She could've called the bridge or sick bay to get medical help. But, this show loves door pounding. As soon as Helena lost consciousness, a crew member opened the door. Rather than whisking her to sick bay for resuscitation, or to the Trust's cryopods for freezing, she was just let to die. Lame.

There is this cartoonishly evil Evelyn Maddox who is made to resemble Cruella Deville. Why does she want to kill all the puppies, uh, I mean, people? The writers didn't even bother to explain it in any but the lamest way.

An interesting idea that was clumsily written is that Ark 3 archives had data on the cure for Klampkins, which can be synthesized from the DNA of the Mediterranean recluse spider. I guess they had a DNA room with the spider DNA, as does Ark 1. So, everyone has to be killed and the arks destroyed to get the cure. Riiiight. Now, why do intelligent spacefarers, all part of a team of arks, have to act like pirates? How about saying, "Good news! There's a cure. You have an ingredient. Let's make the medicine"?

All this blatant absurdity could be avoided and suspension of disbelief made easier with clever writing.

Judging by the personnel on Ark 15, and the fact that the show is made in Serbia, is this a war of East Bloc against West Bloc?

Lastly, my least favorite character, Trust. Yeah, he'll move on just fine. After his wife's death, he's already forgotten her name and called her Helen. Yeesh!

I'll be surprised if the Syfy Channel wants to invest in a second season. But in the last two episodes, I want to see this "super electromagnet" (wow, corny Flash Gordon technobabble) spin up the planet.

The Ark: The Painful Way (2023) Season 1, Episode 9

It's still the water.

[5/10 · 31 March 2023]

First, the water had a fungus, then it had a sedative, but the water may also have stupid. It affects almost all the crew. For the actor portraying Trust, it may affect his acting. His acting is just so without skill or nuance. He reminds me of me if I were trying to act, acting with volume without organic feeling. It feels sterile. It's unfortunate because almost everyone else is pleasant to watch. Brice, usually acted well, in this episode, had an awkwardly overacted scene with Garnet in the utility room/ holding cell. Unpleasant to watch.

Oddly, thinking about how many times a lock was hacked or short-circuited, this one time, nobody was able to get the door open to save Garnet, Brice, and Strickland from suffocation. Instead, they used the TV cliché of pounding on the door and feeling around the edges. When does that ever work? What does someone expect to find on the door frame, a spare key?

Also, unpleasant to watch was the horribly choreographed fight scene between Garnet and Brice and the two crew members. And then on the bridge. Yeah, hitting someone with a plastic Etch A Sketch is going to knock out a brawny man. Too bad the fight choreographers from Wild Wild West and Star Trek aren't on hand.

The funniest scene was Angus frantically pulling up heads of lettuce or broccoli or whatever. Yeah, that'll work. Creating a food shortage will surely restore rationality. Angus is one of the "resident geniuses"?

Then there is the shield against the Aliciaminium, which "can't be tested". Okaaay. How about just turning it on to see if it will stay on? Yeah, how about that? That's a test, isn't it? Since, they're not in a hurry to get to Proxima B, why not take some time to see if the shield will stay on? It's not a battle test, but it's better than nothing.

Another inconsistency is the speed. The NEPS are supposed to reach near light speed. And the Maddox retrofit is supposed to be FTL, and yet it was mentioned two or three times that they're traveling at light. So if the NEPS are working, Prox B is what, only 4 years away? At FTL, weeks or months away? Yet, it's stated they're traveling at light. Ross 128b is 11 light years from Earth, so at light speed, how long is that, from current location, 5 years or more? I think it was said the reroute adds two years. How was that figure arrived at? They were already years away from Prox B, so going to a red dwarf 11 light years away at light speed, as it was said, should be many years. No wonder the crew was upset and Eva knew the ship wouldn't survive.

Kelley is drinking the water too because an engineering apprentice can't fix a loose component in her Ark 3 wrist pad. Doesn't affect her strength, though. Skinny girl can snap a man's neck in a sec. Yup. Women can always out think and out fight men.

Maybe lay off the water and drink moonshine.

The Ark: Every Single Person Matters (2023) Season 1, Episode 8

Back to Banal

[6/10 · 29 March 2023]

The rating of 6 is quite generous but I'll leave it as is. The show often doesn't evince any logic or common sense, and this episode was glaring in that regard.

First off, keep in mind this is set in the 22nd century and everyone is wearing a wrist pad that would track location and movement, and yet they can't find Lieutenant Lane. Instead they form a search party like it was 1950 and waste hours before they remember to use the call logs, which they had used a few episodes ago.

And then, Lieutenant Lane - not the brightest bulb in the bunch. He's accepted a mission hook, line, and sinker from a kid who was probably plucked from juvie. How does a junior officer naively accept a mandate from an ensign? Then, is he contrite? No. Rather than apologize and try to get back in the good graces of Lieutenant Garnet, he's apparently going rogue and will subvert command.

More evidence for his dimness is not catching on to the need to have a DNA archive. He asks why butterflies in space. Did he forget that they're going to a planet where there'll be a need for an ecosystem benign to human existence? A junior officer better be able to put two plus two together.

In the med bay, there was a cadaver who didn't look like a cadaver. Aren't cadavers supposed to have bluish lips and ashen skin? This one looked fresh despite being dead for days. No attention to detail.

Speaking of detail, all the plain white plastic looks blatantly fake. No detail or texture to the equipment. The ship looks like it was made by Mattel.

Eva, the engineer, normally bright, isn't too bright. How is a propulsion system installed without a means to turn it off? Dumbest of all, Trust says they have to go to the engine room and she asks how. An engineer doesn't know how to go to the engine room? The means to turn it off was pure malarkey: pull out a cable, pull a lever, and emit an EMP simultaneously. EMP makes a little bit of sense because maybe that would disrupt the warp bubble. But that also means it's not especially stable. Considering that there are stars between Earth and the closest star (huh), it would be unfortunate to pass by a star that had a solar flare.

Speaking of propulsion, that part was kind of interesting. Apparently, the uranium is converted to negative mass and that mass is then converted to negative energy. Some internal consistency there. But it still looks like they are hurtling through space rather than space folding around them. And when they drop out of ftl, the stars are still moving. This show does that all the time in an Irwin Allen level of disregard for science.

As for the premise for the show, it is that the best and brightest are chosen to carry on the species and yet it seems that half of them are onboard through chicanery, cloak and dagger, or influence, rather than merit. There are only two acknowledged resident geniuses, when, logically, everyone onboard should be a genius, and moreover, genetically flawless. And yet, several people wear glasses. It is anachronistic that so many people in the 22nd century wear glasses. Good luck mankind; you'll need it.

Helena, a new character, is quite likable, but her husband is deplorable, of course. He's a serial cheater and is cheating with Cat, who I had liked. How refreshing if a male character had been made to be strong, dignified and moral. There is rarely a Ben Cartwright on TV anymore. Who do boys look up to? Once, there was a Marshall Dillon for boys and a Miss Kitty for girls. No more.

I'll keep watching to find out what the Juno Project is and to hopefully see Helena kick her husband to the curb.

The Ark: A Slow Death Is Worse (2023) Season 1, Episode 7

Getting intriguing

[7/10 · 20 March 2023]

I agree with others that the show is improving in story and another major factor in improvement is that the characters are likable. The characters that weren't as likable have been offed, although the Irish guy in the first episode was a Dr. Smith character and could have been fun. It appears that the new character from Ark3 will be a wild card and fill in that role of a mysterious mischief-maker.

The creators could try for a little more scientific realism. The EVA suit, for example, has a self-contained helmet that doesn't interlock with the suit in any obvious way and the boots aren't integrated with the rest of the suit, not forming a seal. And would it be too expensive to simulate having magnetic boots for the non spinning parts of the ship? Couldn't the effect of zero gravity in the greenhouses on the root system be mentioned? Stuff like that would make it sound like more mature science fiction.

The need for negative energy for a Miguel Alcubierre-type ftl drive was a nice touch. It'd be nice if they explain how the negative energy will be provided.

Others have pointed out that plot devices are necessary to move the story along, which is true, but Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle also have plot devices, but they do a good job of making sure those plot devices stay within science or projected science. This show should strive to do the same.

The Ark: Everyone Wanted to Be on This Ship (2023) Season 1, Episode 1

Entertaining Enough

[6/10 · 3 February 2023]

The reviews have been quite harsh and overly much so. It's almost seems like a conspiratorial vendetta. Admittedly, the show isn't great; but it's not terrible. Since it's on Syfy, the budget was likely a constraint. The sets and props look plasticky and flimsy, not the solid and tactile look of, say, Alien. It sort of looks toy-like. And the opening was reminiscent of a Saturday morning live-action show.

Nevertheless, the concept of a fleet of Arks exploring known space is intriguing, but not original. It has the potential to have several, intersecting storylines as the show tells the story of other Arks.

As for not being original, that's true. It has the feel of a YA novel, so it's not going to satisfy people over 20. It's good for someone 10 to 15 despite a few mild curses and a slightly provocative shower scene.

The show is chock full of cliched characters such as the vapid blond narcissistic Valley girl type, glasses-wearing, overly talkative geeky types, a glib sinister type, and a navigator with a charming brogue. It's a mishmash of Harry Potter, Lost in Space, Space 1999, Starlost, and those post Armageddon shows from the 1970s. The writing, characters and sets are at about that level, except for Starlost, by Harlan Ellison, and Space 1999, which both had good dialog.

The characters seem out of place in a dead serious mission, but is expected for a YA story; and girls who must save the day is a must have. There's a gratuitously condescending scene between Garnet and Brice. "Nobody stepped up." Uh, no. All three lieutenants are pulling their weight. Again, "What the hell did you do?" Uh, the navigator put the ship back on course. So, quite a bit. Writers have this fetish of women grinding their heels into a man's manhood. Those aspects make it harder for me to take the show seriously. Also, it seems like it's going to be a bit of Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys mystery.

So if you're a junior high schooler, or a gender studies major, you might like this. I'm going to watch the next episode anyway. I want to know a whole bunch of stuff that didn't make sense: what damaged the ship, how compressed suits compensate for muscle atrophy, why they couldn't access command overrides to unlock the doors and flight logs, why a leak plunged the O2 levels but went back to normal even before repair, why they weren't warned of falling O2 until 18.2%, why the geodomes were't already growing plants to scrub the air, why they need hyper sleep if the journey is only six years, and why they haven't already used ftl to shorten the time. Since they have artificial gravity, they could've been minding the ship, training, learning, rehearsing, and exercising before arrival.

Annabelle (I) (2014)

Run of the mill and ho-hum

[5/10 · 5 January 2023]

This could have been a terrifying movie, but was instead a torment to watch. The producers would have done better to hire a good writer and lead actress. The dialog was banal and unnatural. And there's always that infuriating trope of the patronizing man who dismisses a woman as hysterical. Really? Can't come up with anything better than that? Guess not, when a bargain basement writer is used. And the actress. I couldn't shake the feeling I was watching Paris Hilton. Everything was awkward, from how she moved around like she had chronic fatigue syndrome, to her dull, listless expression. Her dialog, which was bad, was made worse by her flat delivery.

I liked the effective use of period music though, and the tie-in to the Manson cult was potentially interesting but undeveloped. The writer didn't have the time, ability, or interest to add layers to the cult that the antagonists belonged to. The only likable, effective characters were the secondary characters of the priest and the bookstore owner, largely because they could act.

I thought that the kids at the base of the stairs and the noise from the apartment above would lead to something creepy and unsettling, but they didn't. And the drawings floating down the stairs were never explained. It was just thrown in there without being tied in.

This is supposed to be a prequel to the Conjuring and could have added richness to the franchise. Twas a shame that a promising idea was wasted on a threadbare effort.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law: Mean, Green, and Straight Poured into These Jeans (2022) Season 1, Episode 5

Lower the bar and be happy

[4/10 · 18 September 2022]

If this show is thought of as a sitcom in the vein of Mork and Mindy or Laverne and Shirley, viewers can idly kill time and not invest any emotion. If the bar is Jessica Jones or Marvel's Agents of Shield, then a hollow feeling will gnaw at the pit of the stomach. If one has lived in Los Angeles, Titania might resemble Angelyne, the Queen of Billboards.. Think of Angelyne on steroids and you'll understand Titania. So a bit of merit might be found if this episode is trying to comment on crass commercialism and form over substance. Intentionally or not, this show is form over substance, like a seventies sitcom or Charlie's Angels. If you have no newspapers or magazines lying around or no board games to play with your family, then this episode might satisfy your sweet tooth...for a moment.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law: Is This Not Real Magic? (2022) Season 1, Episode 4

Just make it a mockumentary

[3/10 · 11 September 2022]

Breaking the fourth wall once is cute; breaking it over and over is desperate. The audience is reminded that these are card-board characters where there are no stakes. At least in a good mockumentary like The Office, the characters and their emotions feel real, with some gravitas. The episode was chuckle-worthy due to the bimbo-trope of Madisynn, and so slightly more entertaining than previously. Other reviewers have pointed out the absurdity- due to lazy writing- of a secret society of wizards trying its case in an earthly court. DC had the common sense to make League of Assassins autonomous with their own justice system. Even more absurd was a women with diminished capacity being thrown into another dimension, endangered, and then testifying while still with diminished capacity, and there being no consequences for any of that. It was just a trivial case of magical infringement. I suppose the show tries for some lazy social commentary on the dating scene, but that was full of platitudes. Aren't stereotypes supposed to be bad? A lot of hay has already been made about dating apps. So, how about characters being given enough self-awareness to buck that trend and do something that's not that? Would viewers suffer severe anxiety if there were men with moral fortitude? The creators think so. The writers and creators, like their characters, lack the capacity for independent, creative thinking. So viewers are "treated" to one cliché after another.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law: The People vs. Emil Blonsky (2022) Season 1, Episode 3

This is what elevator music would look like

[4/10 · 2 September 2022]

I laughed, I cried, I gasped...not once. This is a show that could be watched while doing the NY Times crossword puzzle. It's a 5¢ carnival with funhouse mirrors and clowns. There was no Matt Murdock...again. But there was the acting talent and razor sharp social commentary of Megan Jovon Ruth Pete's butt - hardly a satisfactory tradeoff. I assume the cameos are there to hide the paper-thin story telling. 50% of the humor is using Ms. Walters' male colleague as a piñata. Real shallow. If Jennifer Walters were the granddaughter of Barbara Walters and Barbara were a recurring character, it might be more interesting.

The Orville: A Tale of Two Topas (2022) Season 3, Episode 5

An acting class by Ms. Palicki

[8/10 · 1 July 2022]

The acting talent of Ms Palicki was never more apparent. Her face is beautiful and virtually every muscle of her body, not to mention her voice, is used to express her emotion. As always, I enjoyed her, Ms. Jerald and Mr. Jackson. The Isaac character will eventually win over even Ensign Burke. As with his protection of Dr. Finn's sons before, his protection of Topa was inspirational to watch. His honesty is funny and instructional at the same time. In a way, the episode was, I thought, a push back against current trends. Perhaps Bill Maher and Seth MacFarlane are both old school liberals.

Wrapping up, an added delight was the archeological story and adding an extra dimension to Ensign Burke. Since the civilization and the people are gone, I don't think it was colonial tomb raiding. The planet looked uninhabited. I hope that story line is picked up again.