So that’s what happened to the teleporter. All this time, I assumed the Monarch and Gary would’ve kept it to themselves for their own plans, but it turns out they handed the discs over to the Guild. Which makes sense; after spending last season trying to circumvent Guild protocol, the Monarch has spent season 7 being…
Oh man, this is a good one. The whole season I’ve been reluctant to go above an “A-,” my standard “this is terrific, but I’m not completely convinced” grade I use when I’m hedging my bets. But I’m going all out “A” on this one. Objectively, I’ll try and explain why, but it’s probably best to be up front right here: I…
Last week, Doc Venture (along with Billy and Pete) invented a teleportation device that could revolutionize the world, and the Monarch and Gary somehow managed to steal it. This week, that—doesn’t come up at all. Which isn’t a problem! “The Terminus Moderate” is an excellent episode, one of the best of the season so…
Tonight’s Venture Bros. asks a simple but unexpected question: what happens if Doctor Venture actually came up with something good? One of the core principles of the series has always been Rusty’s basic ineptitude. He may walk the walk and wear the speedsuits of super science, but he’s never been able to live up the…
Seven seasons in, and it’s impressive how the show still manages to feel fresh when introducing information that feels like it should’ve been established ages ago. Which sounds like a backhanded compliment, I guess; but it’s not like I ever needed to see the inside of Guild Headquarters or learn about the Big Villain…
I’d be hard-pressed to imagine something closer to the platonic ideal of a late-season Venture Bros. episode. All “The Inamorata Consequence” is really missing is some obscure, vaguely janky film references; the closest we get is a discussion about the true nature of James Bond’s gun in From Russia With Love. (Not, I…
After the tightly-plotted highs of the season’s three part opener, “The High Cost Of Loathing” slows things down… a bit. The episode is still jam-packed with stuff, following the adventures of the Monarch, Hank, Dean, and Rusty as they go about their various routines, intersecting in some places and not intersecting…
The big moments are easier than the smaller ones, at least when it comes to storytelling. The beginning and ending of a story are when writers are able to make decisions that have lasting impact; decisions that either tantalize us with possibility or satisfy with a strong resolution. Which makes season finales…
Well, that was unexpected. It was clear the conflict with the Allfather and his plans for Genesis was going to have to come to a climax soon, but I didn’t think it would happen before the opening credits. And yet, in “Schwanzkopf,” Jesse manages to take care of the fat man and his plans handily. It’s a welcome burst…
I’d assumed the second part of the season seven Venture Bros. two-parter (which is arguably only a “two-parter” because the first episode ended with “To Be Continued”) would explain how Wide Wale got ahold of the Monarch in his Blue Morpho costume; but I hadn’t expected the whole episode would be focused on the…
How much wacky is too much wacky? That’s a decision each woman and man must make for themselves. For me, I think I started checking out on tonight’s episode when we learned the first step in the Featherstone/Tulip/Jody soul heist scheme: a fake presentation on sexual harassment in the workplace to give Tulip a chance…
It’s been two years since Venture Bros.’ last season finale, and, well. Things have happened, haven’t they? Boy have they happened. So there’s some immediate comfort in just how little has changed on the show. “The Venture Bros. & The Curse Of The Haunted Problem” picks up more or less where season 6 left off. Rusty,…
It bothers me that this episode is called “Hilter.” Episode titles are rarely that important; sometimes shows can get clever with them ), sometimes they can be funny or exciting on their own, but as a rule, I don’t consider the title when it comes time to review something. And I’m not really considering it here,…
There is one very good storyline in “Les Enfants du Sang;” one perfectly decent one; and one that looks cool but doesn’t really mean much of anything. I’ll leave it to you to decide which one is whi—oh, right. Review! I’m writing a review.
Oh hey, a pretty good episode! One with a clear arc, some fine set-pieces, a decent sense of wackiness, and legitimate forward momentum. Last week, I went off on how the show has more or less buried itself, its various problems stemming from some basic misunderstandings on how stories are supposed to…
Serialization can do wonders for TV shows. It can pay off emotional investment in characters, allow writers to tell more complex, nuanced stories, and, when done effectively, can create something incredibly powerful over time. But it can also create problems, and the one we’re stuck in now with Preacher is probably…
If Preacher’s third season (what little there is of it so far) is struggling to convey the real menace of Angelville, you can consider “Gonna Hurt” as something of a corrective. Last week, Jesse made his big play to get out. It was, and I’m being kind here, a stupid mess. (Jesse’s plan, I mean. The episode wasn’t…
For all its faults, when the Preacher source material was on, it was on, and the storyline the show is currently adapting is one of the comic’s highpoints; maybe the high point. It was a crucial moment in establishing Jesse’s character, in creating stakes going forward, and in showing us that for all its cynical…
Given how season three ends, it seems reasonable to assume that The Expanse did its best to get to the ends of two books this year instead of just one. That’s an understandable goal; whatever you think of the trip it took to get to the final minutes of “Abaddon’s Gate,” those final minutes are pretty clutch, providing…
