gkangchs Reviews

Magic Beyond Words: The J.K. Rowling Story (2011 TV Movie)

It's Lifetime! What did you expect?

[6/10 · 26 September 2022]

Factually, definitely Wikipedia-based, which means most likely not completely accurate. Nobody said it was a documentary; it's fictional, which means they were more concerned about an interesting story than depicting her life. The major points in her life were true, like the spousal abuse, single motherhood, conjuring up Harry Potter on a train...

That being said, in terms of entertainment, acting is meh, the script is a joke at times ("liver and tripe"? Really?), but as a writer, it does motivate me to go to my local Starbucks and work on my screenplay. What can I say? It was never a nominee for an Academy Award, but it inspires me.

Ghosted (I) (2017)

What Brooklyn 99 did for cop shows, but dumber...

[5/10 · 4 December 2021]

The comedy aspect makes sense considering the duo casted as our Mulder/Scully characters are from hit comedy shows, and I enjoyed the funny bits. Being a fan of "The X-Files" when it aired and being OBSESSED with "Supernatural", the storylines were expected, but it was too predictable for me. I want to say it's X-Files for dummies, but in a nice way...but once in a while, the acting is just not believable, which is surprising for me because I know the cast is full of talent.

I'm not motivated to watch the second episode. I'm still open to it, but only if I'm not in the mood to think. That's not necessarily a bad thing, since I watch "Family Guy" when I want to wind down with a comedy where I don't have to think, and "Family Guy" is the type of show where you're just there for the laughs and not the brains.

It's definitely more "Supernatural" than "X-Files" in my opinion, and I think the writers intended on this being like "Brooklyn Nine-Nine"; you didn't expect the police department to be a hilarious workspace, but in that show, it is. With the success of B99, I can tell the writers for "Ghosted" were striving for that level of comedy, but as a hardcore "X-Files" and "Supernatural" fan (although that's basically the same show since SPN was based to some extent on X-Files), this is a no for me, but with some flexibility.

The Resident: Now What? (2021) Season 5, Episode 4

DWB Storyline

[8/10 · 21 November 2021]

I applaud the writers for writing the Trevor/Raptor storyline, because I saw--as an audience member who admittedly doesn't come across cops that often, and when I do, as a young, Asian woman, it goes nothing like that-- that Trevor's behavior, as understandable as it is, wasn't justifiable and just adds a point to the cop's disgusting list of why Black people are more threatening in his eyes. It's never fair that the White cop's judgment of a young Black civilian was primarily based on the color of his skin, but Trevor made the situation MUCH worse. I got the sense that Raptor seems to have a lot more experience than Trevor does, so he knew the best way to come out unscathed was to appear non-threatening...which Trevor, naïve boy as he is, did not get.

Ignorant viewers want to give this episode just 1 star because they are blinded by their own lack of experience to such uncomfortable issues, and just don't see that there's a reason why these storylines are written in stuff they watch everyday: it ACTUALLY happens in real life, so what else would it take for you to see that? Turn off the TV as often as you want for the "liberal agenda" or whatever you think the message is, but it won't erase the damage that's constantly being done on the streets. This is why I respect shows like "Grey's Anatomy" and "The Resident". Just because it feels like a religious sermon or political lecture doesn't mean the message isn't important. Listen and learn. That's what Trevor did.

There's Something Wrong with Aunt Diane (2011 TV Movie)

Informative documentary about a tragic story

[8/10 · 21 October 2021]

There's no official opinion this documentary is trying to sway the audience into, which I do appreciate. It states the truth, as documentaries should, and the struggle that the family goes through to find answers to what happened with their loved one.

My issue is with the family and how adamant they are that Diane didn't drink let alone be capable of doing it while driving. Even the victims' families say they forgive Diane Schuler for taking their father or brother away, so why can't the family admit that she may have made a terrible judgment call that took the lives of eight people? Sure, it looks bad, but people make mistakes.

The sister-in-law especially baffles me--I understand the need to protect the reputation of someone you loved, but don't say you need 100 cigarettes after finding out that Diane had, in fact, been drinking while driving--with kids in the car, no less--and go outside and smoke a cigarette on camera and say, "My family doesn't even know I smoke." Well, Diane may have had a regular drink, or at least been drunk that day, and her family didn't even know it. In fact, they REFUSE to believe it. It's not clear if the sister-in-law changed her mind regarding Diane, but hopefully the husband managed to move forward with his life for Bryan's sake.

Community: Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television (2015) Season 6, Episode 13

Poorly written series finale

[5/10 · 8 September 2021]

I always judge writers by how they write their series finale. For example, "Superstore": perfect. They opened doors to various futures for each character. You can tell the writers genuinely cared about their audience, and gave us the satisfying ending we deserved to see with each individual character. "Supernatural", on the other hand, not so good. As a lifelong fan of that show, I felt insulted by their pathetic attempt at tying up loose ends.

My stance on the series finale for "Community" is more on the neutral part of the spectrum. The 4th wall was broken so many times it got a little tacky. I enjoyed Shirley's surprise return, even if it was in someone's fantasy of how season 7 would've looked. Yes, you read that correctly: this episode literally consisted of each character sharing how they saw the next season would out. It was cute at first, but since they had to share EACH character's wishes, it got old pretty quickly, which is baffling, considering how they managed to make that sperm thermos (spermos, I'm sorry, it was calling me) in Pierce's funeral episode hilarious each time it was presented to each character.

The meta dialogue was too on point. It's one thing for Abed to go along with the fact that they were part of a TV show, since that's just what he does, as an imaginative filmmaker, but everyone else got a say in their ideal next season. See? Climbing that 4th wall a little too extremely.

IMHO, this show died when Troy left, and I know it was the actor's choice to exit the show, but the end of his final episode pinpointed the moment when this show was screwed.

And speaking of "screwed", not one, but TWO F-bombs were utilized in this episode. Not that I'm complaining; it's one of my favorite words in the English language, but it was a shock when I heard the dean say that specific word, and then Britta, later in the episode. Again, I love that word, but wasn't this show on TV? They probably censored the word when it aired, but why use it after all this time? It just goes to show how lazy the once-genius writing became; I'm a writer, so I took one or two writing classes in college, and I've learned that if you're going to use expletives, you use them wisely.

Tl;dr I finished the series just because there was one more season to watch. This taught me that I should get in the habit of not finishing a TV show if it starts going downhill. That being said, what the hell did I just watch?

Community: App Development and Condiments (2014) Season 5, Episode 8

Black Mirror

[8/10 · 6 September 2021]

I know pretty much everyone on here compared this episode to "Black Mirror", but I also thought of the episode of "The Orville" where the entire globe (an AU of our world) depended on your reputation based on a rating system. If you're lower than a certain point, you're pretty much screwed for the rest of your life.

I'm still watching this episode, but I thought I'd point that out. Other than that, it's not the same without Troy, but I looked into why he left and understand his choice.

Community: Basic Lupine Urology (2012) Season 3, Episode 17

I'm in the middle of watching this episode and it's already my favorite!!!

[10/10 · 5 September 2021]

I used to watch a lot of "Law and Order", and won't change the channel if I see it airing on TV, so this episode brought me back. All the cliches that happen during each "L&O" episode was so spot-on, I actually felt like I was watching it again, down to the Chinese food in the middle of the night while solving the "order" portion of the case. Yet it still kept the classic "Community" humor. I don't often give 10 stars, but this one was well-deserved!

Superstore: All Sales Final (2021) Season 6, Episode 15

Going out with a bang!

[10/10 · 7 July 2021]

Most writers BS the series finale, having that sense of "what's the point if we're not getting renewed?" As a viewer and a fan, you get a sense when writers get that way. Can't say the same for the "Superstore" series finale. I love how it didn't really end with an ending, but rather opened up a new chapter for every character. It's like they gave the characters and fans the ending we all deserved.

Whodunnit? (2013)

Reboot?

[10/10 · 12 June 2021]

I enjoyed this show, mainly because of its unique concept: CSI reality show without having to actually kill the contestants (duh...). I wish it'd had more life (unless that was the original plan to just make it one season long), so if there's any chance for a revival, I'm there!

Rugrats (2021– )

TV-Y7

[6/10 · 31 May 2021]

I feel like when a reboot happens, you have to go with your gut on their true demographic: do they want to attract old fans of the original show, or gain new followers with the regenerated show. These reviews I'm reading are by fully grown adults who grew up with the original like I did, but looking at the animation...I don't think this show was geared toward us oldies. I think by "Y7", they truly mean the new generation of "Y7", so your nostalgia will be short-lived.

Grey's Anatomy: Look Up Child (2021) Season 17, Episode 14

Filler episode for the end of Jackson Avery's time on Grey's

[10/10 · 7 May 2021]

If you don't care for Jackson, then you can skip this episode in its entirety, for sure. All you need to know is he left for Boston with April and Harriet to lead the Avery Foundation, and try to use that money for the community. April and Matthew split up because he couldn't get past April leaving him at the altar, and adding the death of his first wife was too much for him.

There, you're up to speed for this week (See? Told you it was filler.)

Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life: Summer (2016) Season 1, Episode 3

The musical was SUPPOSED to suck...

[8/10 · 26 April 2021]

To those of you who complain about the episode because of the 10-minute musical they put us through, you were SUPPOSED to hate it. Coming from a musical lover who usually loves Christian Borle and Sutton Foster's work, I hated it too. Good. They did their jobs. It wasn't supposed to make sense, hence Lorelai's reaction. Don't knock the entire episode for those 10 minutes. They WANTED our "WTF" reaction.

Station 19: Learning to Fly (2021) Season 4, Episode 7

Not a political statement; just stating truths

[8/10 · 19 March 2021]

If all you think about is politics when you watch this show, you're completely missing the point. No, don't stop reading. Just LISTEN, for once: forget politics-racism isn't political, this pandemic isn't political-and LISTEN to the message. That's all these writers want to do: teach viewers what it's like in someone else's perspective, coming from THEIR mouths, b/c we have severe tunnel vision when it comes to what other people go through; WE REFUSE TO PROCESS TEACHABLE MOMENTS when it SOUNDS "political".

We don't get an authority to what Black people go through when it comes to police brutality, unless we are Black. Anti-Asian violence has gone up since the pandemic started just because it came from China.

It is up to us to open our minds just a little bit and then we'll have our sense of humanity to realize we need more people to ACTIVELY listen and not talk about what we claim to know.

Insomnia (2018)

Hunger Games for adults

[8/10 · 29 January 2021]

A majority of the cast did a fantastic job (I won't name names, but some performances were laughable). It's basically "The Hunger Games", but with a TV-MA rating, but I appreciate. I came to the show for Dylan Everett, just to see him swear-I mean, REALLY swear-stayed for the intriguing plot.

Call Me Kat: Double Date (2021) Season 1, Episode 2

An improvement from the pilot

[5/10 · 9 January 2021]

CHEYENNE JACKSON SINGING!!!!! Mayim Bialik's voice is good too, but Cheyenne Jackson was on Broadway. He's got the pipes! <3

That being said, this episode was an improvement from the first one.

I'm still iffy about them waving goodbye to the audience after every episode... Who thought of that...and why?

Call Me Kat (2021–2023)

I love everyone involved...the project however...

[4/10 · 9 January 2021]

This was a pretty weak pilot, and my standards are typically very low. It's not that I don't think the cast and crew are talented, because they are. When I first heard Mayim Bialik finally had her own show (and that was literally all I heard), I imagined it'd be based on her life as an actress with a neuroscience degree (or just the neuroscientist aspect). Probably just my own fantasy, but, trying to say this from the most humble part of myself, wouldn't that have been a better premise than this Kat's Cat Café stuff?

That being said, I'll probably still end up watching this show, but just as background noise when I'm writing my own stuff or something...tips on what NOT to do...

Supernatural: Carry On (2020) Season 15, Episode 20

Didn't Make Sense

[6/10 · 20 November 2020]

I won't spoil it, so my only revelation will be "the characters did what was very...uncharacteristic of them." No logic. "Inherit the Earth" was a more fitting ending. Don't get me wrong, I bawled at the one significant scene where the characters didn't behave like themselves, and it's the first time I've ever cried while watching a fictional show...but that's the only purpose that scene served: the feels.

Supernatural: Last Holiday (2020) Season 15, Episode 14

Skip it-it's only filler.

[4/10 · 14 November 2020]

This was the first episode that aired since the end of their pandemic hiatus, which wasn't supposed to happen obviously, so it had to air a week after the previous one had, I assume, but I still feel inclined to say this episode was a huge waste of a first episode back. Storyline-wise, it was nice to see the Winchesters have a grandmother-figure, but honestly, you could do without it if you wanted to stick to the plot of trying to defeat Chuck. From a writer's POV though, I get that they had a certain amount of time to fill in (hence, "filler" episode), and only so much story to make up. I'd put it under the "Changing Channels", "French Mistake", "Fan Fiction", etc. category, so if I want to watch something funny, I'll watch it for sure. These silly episodes, even "X-Files" did once a season, but it happens more often during "Supernatural", not only because it's a sillier show, but there's sooooo much time to fill up.