Captain's Log
June is slow for new TV, so we're counting on our readership to deliver the goods
I don’t have that much this week. I didn’t really get the chance to watch anything new until Saturday night. I’ll also be out of town next week when all of my new shows air, so next week’s post may be entirely just a space for reader discussion.
I did catch last week’s Murderbot, “Rogue War Tracker Infinite.” After the ending of the last episode– where a hostile SecUnit installed a combat override module into Murderbot to get it to kill the team, so Murderbot shot itself before the programming kicked in– the team goes back to repair Murderbot and remove the installation. A few things come out here, like Anna Konkle showing up as Leebeebee, the last surviving member of the DeltFall team, who confirms everyone else on her team was killed by the rogue SecUnit (which Murderbot discovered two episodes ago), and, hilariously, seems to be developing the hots for Murderbot.
Meanwhile, during the repair process, the ever-skeptical Gurathin discovers that Murderbot had hacked its governor module long before joining the team… and after some interrogation, including some proof that, yes, Murderbot actually does spend as much time as possible watching shitty sci-fi soap operas, the team ultimately decides to trust it, since it’s already been working to protect them (even at its own expense) despite its autonomy.
And then when Murderbot and Mensah try to manually activate the remote beacon, it explodes before they get there. So someone is definitely sabotaging missions and trying to kill people on this planet… but who? And why?
I reordered these first two sections because I did watch this week’s Murderbot as well, and it felt stupid to write the episodes out of order. “Command Feed” is probably our most gruesome episode yet, between the emergency surgery Mensah has to perform on Murderbot– to remove a fiber from his spinal column to repair the hopper– and an extremely swift, brutal moment of ownage that some might even find hilarious. (I am some.) But the action of the episode reveals two new twists, and as much as the first one changes the stakes, the second one that closes the episode is what I’m really interested in going forward.
Grimsburg gives us “Loosey Goosey,” featuring a murderous goose on the loose (did I do that on purpose? you betcha) and, at least, an initial victim that nobody is going to miss. This was clearly produced early in the season, as Martinez is still talking about being the “new” captain. Anyway, Marvin finds it difficult to work in his preferred fashion or maintain his dynamic with Martinez when she’s the boss. The B-plot involves Stan’s class (with Harmony chaperoning) visiting the mayor’s house for a tour and a pitch on his upcoming re-election campaign (apparently Grimsburg’s constitution states that all voters be under 18).
The actual story ends up being that the goose is the Mayor’s pet goose, who he fed a Limitless pill (“I also gave him some CPH4 pills from the movie Lucy, a few red pills from The Matrix, and everything they took in The Wolf of Wall Street…”) and made super-intelligent, and the goose is lashing out in frustration. It’s kind of a bizarre story even by the standards of this show, but all in all, the episode wound up being pretty fun. Maybe it’s just that it’s fresher than the other two, but I’m enjoying this the most of the Fox Thursday animated shows at this time. (I think it might just be willing to go sharper and meaner with its one-liners than the other two, which of course is a low bar if you’re familiar with Bob’s Burgers and The Great North, but still.)
A couple of my favorite lines:
“Flute, these are the new morning meetings we’ll be having now that I’m the chief. Did you not get the invite?”
“Oh, I got your invite, and then I wiped my butt with it and threw it in the trash.”
“I sent it in an e-mail.”
“Which is why I need a new laptop.”
“Bodies found at the corner of Diane Lane and Picabo Street.”
Bob’s Burgers has “The Place Beyond the Pinecones,” which is entirely focused on Tina’s latest trip with her Thundergirls troop (and their rival troop 257). In fact, other than the beginning and ending scenes, I don’t think we saw the rest of the family at all. Anyway, Tina’s troop is sure 257 will cheat in the contest between the two, so she tries following them, poorly, and gets caught. And then gets lost. And then she and two of the 257 members stumble into a horror movie with a weird “camp” to teach young girls etiquette that seems abusive and horrifying. Tina should probably tell her parents about this place because it really seems fucked up to me. Anyway, solid adventure and actually a little terrifying. Unfortunately, having Tina treat it all like a cool adventure she keeps to herself and not telling her parents that this woman who runs an abusive manners house basically kidnapped her is an example of one of my biggest problems with Bob’s, that it doesn’t seem to take it seriously when people are actually dangerous.
Having almost all of the only new releases come out on Thursday and Friday night makes it tough for me to stay on top of them. Rick and Morty doesn’t, but I watch that by myself, and I’m usually working on something when I’m by myself, so I haven’t had a lot of time for that, either, including this week. And the Mrs. fell asleep before we could get The Great North, although at this point in that show’s run, I feel like you know what to expect from an episode.
“Homer Goes to College” is one of my favorite Simpsons episodes, even though it’s largely an excuse to put Homer in a college-shenanigans story, and even in the ways in which it feels a little off-brand for the show and character as a whole. Homer’s appetite for fun is obvious here, but his complete inability to process the reality of college when it butts up against the image he has from bad 80s Animal House knockoffs feels like a different level for him, something perhaps that David Mirkin brought over (as this was the second episode produced in his time as showrunner) from Get a Life. It also takes Homer’s love of fun and shenanigans to a Rod Farva-esque level, where he doesn’t seem to understand that, say, rolling the dean up in a carpet and throwing him off a bridge (or hitting him with a car) is not cheeky and fun, but cruel and tragic. Anyway, one of the very best episodes of arguably the biggest pop-culture phenomenon since Beatlemania. Also, uh, wallet inspector.
Also, our Andor rewatch has now finished season 1. I think I’ve seen “One Way Out” five times by now.
Nothing here.
Still nothing for a few weeks. I can keep reminding you It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia returns July 9 until then, if you want.
I didn’t have much to cover this week, so take it away, readers!
About the writer
Captain Nath
Born on the bayou, thriving in the mountains. Writer, gambler, comedian, singer-songwriter, bon vivant, globetrotter, and all-around Renaissance Man with perfect opinions about TV and music. Pronounced with a long A and with the H.
It's a gaming ship.
Tags for this article
More articles by Captain Nath
As the network TV season comes to an end, we take a look back at some canceled shows that shouldn't have been
Captain's Log
I should've saved "season finale season" for the excerpt
Captain's Log
The image represents the spiritual imprisonment this column has me in. Either that or I have a thing for necks
Captain's Log
Hey, you try coming up with something to say besides "good episode" every week
Department of
Conversation
Finished the second arc of Andor, season two. And while there is a lot to like here, some things give me pause. Like ending the arc on a hero shot of Cassian and Bix with an explosion going off behind them. That feels so utterly out of place on a show that in general does not revel in heroics, that even questions them a bit. But that last scene seems to come out of nowhere in terms of Bix’s arc. Adria Arjona is excellent in the role – something I can say for pretty much everyone here – but Bix feels a bit underwritten at times.
And is the death of Cinta a case of “bury your gays,” or just part of the nature of a story where everyone but Mon Mothma is likely to die before we get to Rogue One? I am really not entirely sure how to address character death in general in a story like this.
And as entertaining as “we have to find that bug while Krennick is in the room” was, that was a subplot that we didn’t actually need one little bit. But the uniform episode length of this season probably required a bit of filler.
Don’t let the above let you think I am not still enjoying the show. I am. The main plotlines are very strong, as noted the cast is great, and I am really wondering where things will end up with Syril, who might be the one character who could end up either getting a lot darker or changing sides.
Primal, “Vidarr”
This episode feels a little slacker than usual–not quite as relentless in its pacing–but it more than makes up for it by the end. And the assembled parts are all terrific, with the show’s usual precise sense of characterization through action: the Vikings’ use of force to get the help of the giant vultures (literally choking the life out of them in the process) is a great contrast to the genuine partnership and mutual aid of Spear and Fang. And I love Spear’s riotous, hooting delight at Fang’s pregnancy … a joy that finds its tragic counterpart in Viking Dad letting go and letting himself be swept by the waters when he finds his son’s body. Also in this episode: Chekhov’s demon dream!
Poker Face, “The Sleazy Georgian”
I think subverting the usual conventions of the first act here creates more confusion than intrigue. Also, I spent a long time convinced that Melanie Lynskey’s character would be revealed to also be a con artist, because “I just happen to have $20k in charity money destined for the National Orphan Fund” felt both hilarious overwritten and hilariously generic at the same time–but nope, that’s just the reality level the show is playing on at this point. And it’s all an excuse for bargain-bin Mamet-influenced con hijinks that aren’t well-executed enough to be satisfying.
Also, Charlie even considering becoming a professional con artist at this point is a move that feels wildly out of character … and the fact that she considers it partly because she buys John Cho’s excuse that they’re only stealing from greedy would-be criminals makes her seem either ridiculously naive or ridiculously self-righteous, being willing to line up to hurt people as long as she knows they’re not innocent paragons of virtue. Like, I like con artist stories as much as anyone, Charlie, and I love a good scheme, but you do get that it’s wrong to rip off people’s savings even when those people are opportunistically looking for a huge payday and maybe aren’t super-likable, right? It’s important to me that you know that. She does get a line at the end about realizing Cho is exploiting people at their most vulnerable, but it’s weird that she needed him driving an orphan-helping woman to suicide to have that epiphany! What the fuck! This may be the episode that breaks my resolution to finish out the rest of the season.
And Charlie’s breakfast coupons make NO FUCKING SENSE.
Uh, John Cho and Melanie Lynskey are both very good, and I especially like Cho getting to turn his charm in a savage, selfish direction. There’s a very specific reveal/bit of payoff at the end that’s nice. That’s it.
Murderbot, “FreeCommerce” through “Command Feed”
Per your write-up, I’m also “some.” And yes, the reveal that Murderbot enjoyed what it did could be a great complication moving forward, especially with it playing less like a gasp-inducing heel turn and more like a reminder that Murderbot’s sensibility and psychology are genuinely distinct from those of the humans around it. Wherever it goes from here, it isn’t–and shouldn’t be–a given that its sense of ethics, self, and feelings will necessarily become more “human.” Murderbot, like David S. Pumpkins, is its own thang. (It occurs to me that this would be a hilariously inapt time for the human to find out that it’s named itself Murderbot, so I hope that happens next episode.)
Dastmalchian is a big highlight for me: I’m a sucker for semi-antagonists who are clearly acting rationally according to the story that they (reasonably enough) think they’re in. Gurathin wasn’t wrong that Murderbot was acting outside normal SecUnit parameters, and he wasn’t wrong that that could be extremely dangerous; trying to suss out the exact problem there only makes sense. And right when they ostensibly get confirmation that the hacked governor module has only led to Murderbot watching a shit-ton of TV–while still protecting them–and Gurathin could potentially start relaxing the teensiest bit … BOOM. HEADSHOT. (Saving Gurathin’s life, obviously, but also traumatizing him in the process.)
Murderbot showing Mensah the episode of Sanctuary Moon to help her out of her panic attack was a really lovely, quietly funny moment: it’s real outreach, borne of empathy and common experience (and features Murderbot revealing vulnerability of its own, referencing often returning to this episode when it’s stressed out), but it’s also spot-on bad SF TV. Great beat: SkarsgÃ¥rd’s matter-of-fact, end-of-discussion delivery of “It’s canon.”
I do not see this throuple ending well.
Andor, “Aldhani,” “The Axe Forgets,” “The Eye,” and “Announcement”
… Okay, I need to stop waiting until the weekend to write these up after all, because my more in-depth thoughts about the first three episodes of this set, which I watched on Monday, feel like they’ve evaporated by now. At least some of you, including Our Esteemed Host, saw the liveblog. It’s a strong arc, and while I enjoyed the heist part, what sticks with me most in retrospect are the moments around that: Luthen’s under-the-radar celebration at hearing the news, the Imperial officers discussing how they’re deliberately choking the life out of a local religious ceremony and planning on banning it next year, Nemik and his manifesto, the rank-and-file Imperial soldiers actually being excited to see the spectacle of The Eye. It all feels like it comes together to build a complex, multifaceted world.
If the main Star Wars trilogies tend to be heroic in the sense of “here are some specific larger-than-life people who accomplish greatness,” Andor carries on–and further develops, as only a TV show can–the Rogue One sense of life being made up a lot of people, with their messy individual actions colliding in various ways. Very much a “what if everyone mattered and had agency?” setup–even when you don’t get the agency part specifically, you still get the script and actors working together to convey the sense that everyone here, even nameless guards and brothel attendants, have stories, lives, and feelings. Honestly, the show could be a lot less good than it is, and I’d still be into it just for that quality–it’s one of my favorite things for art to do.
“Announcement” is my favorite episode so far:
* I really like the conflict between Luthen and Mon Mothma. Mon is committed to the Rebellion and willing to risk her life for it, but she’s focused on doing as much good as she can without doing harm; Luthen not only sees harm as an inevitable side effect of revolutionary action but welcomes it as hastening the inevitable and making the Empire’s stranglehold more obvious to a complacent populace. (Now I’m wondering if we’ll get any scenes between Luthen and Saw, because it feels like Saw could get behind that.) That’s a real and potent dilemma, especially when they’re forced to work together and Mon is obviously horrified at his near-glee at what’s coming to pass.
* Luthen and Kleya putting a hit out on Cassian because he can identify Luthen (but isn’t solidly within the Rebellion, and therefore can’t be trusted) is an A+ pragmatic, dramatic move.
* I love that Cassian thinks the money will let him escape into safety and hedonism (the latter of which almost seems to be boring him), but the Empire’s boot can come down at any time–yes, it happens partly because his own awareness of what he’s done makes him paranoid enough that the stormtroopers can tell he’s jumpy, but it also happens because they no longer need any reason beyond “eh, he seems jumpy” to throw him in prison for six years. His fake ID is still holding up! But even in an ostensible paradise, one bit of bad luck is enough to ruin him. In contrast, Maarva’s decision to stay on Ferrix could easily end just as badly, but at least it won’t blindside her when it does, and at least she’ll have a sense of commitment and purpose in getting there.
* The flashbacks to Clem’s death are heartbreaking.
* Syril continues to be really interesting to me, especially now that he’s taking on more and more of a Javert-like role, obsessed with correcting a specific, situational injustice but unable to process the mass injustice around him that created it, because the second is orderly and the first is not. But at the same time, he doesn’t fit the Imperial mold as well as he’s supposed to, since he’s driven by actual, if warped, principles. (Authoritarians can’t always trust how someone with principles will apply them.) He creates intriguing symmetry/contrast with …
* Dedra, who is also fascinating to me. She also calls attention to herself by getting conspicuously involved in preventing/addressing anti-Imperial action, but she’s 1) a lot more effective than Syril, and 2) possibly less dangerous to the higher-ups because it feels (at least for right now) like her actual defining motivation is loyalty to the system itself, which is easier to predict. (And Partagaz rewards her, because he can appreciate competence and intelligence, so it also helps that she’s in a position where her skills matter and under a boss who cares about that.) But she and Syril are both slightly socially awkward and driven to pursue their purposes even when they’re allowed and encouraged to ignore them, which makes them good counterparts to each other.
* Mon Mothma using her party as a recruitment tool to enlist an old friend into the Rebellion is one of my favorite scenes thus far, especially in the moments where Genevieve O’Reilly lets the mask of elegant composure to reveal the electricity underneath. I love getting into the upper-level espionage of her using her front as a tolerated Senate “ineffectual do-gooder.”
Just read the book and should give this a shot though the show sounds like it’s not as deftly plotted as the novella. Still, glad it’s nailing the idea of Murderbot not just being inhuman by definition but also using TV as a comfort object, which is too real being autistic.
Yeah, the way Murderbot relates to TV is another one of those “well, maybe those online self-assessments were right” moments for me personally.
I should probably read the books at some point, but sometimes I have trouble going from one version of a story to another if I’ve already gotten emotionally attached. My wife listened to the audiobook of the first one last night, though, and she was also very enthusiastic about it.
“Maarva’s decision to stay on Ferrix could easily end just as badly, but at least it won’t blindside her when it does, and at least she’ll have a sense of commitment and purpose in getting there.”
Again, you’re more right than you yet know.
Ah, as of the prison arc, we’re already getting signs that she’s essentially preparing to die on her own terms anyway. If she’s already thinking about that when she tells Cassian to go on without her, it makes the scene even more poignant and gives it even more hard-edged clarity.