A review of this week’s WandaVision, “On a Very Special Episode…” coming up just as soon as I put a binky in my ear… The title “On a Very Special Episode…” is a nod to Family Ties, our biggest sitcom influence this week(*). The most enduring legacy of Family Ties …
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A review of this week’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine, “Valloweaster,” coming up just as soon as the vests add gravitas… Nine-Nine co-creator Dan Goor likes to say that the annual Halloween heist has a higher degree of difficulty than anything else the show does, because it has to work as a satisfying …
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A review of this week’s Better Call Saul, “Namaste,” coming up just as soon as I give the deep fryer another cleaning… “Yesterday was bad. Today, I’m gonna fix it.” —Kim The main action of “Namaste” picks up the morning after “The Guy For This” ended. Kim and Jimmy are …
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A review of this week’s The Mandalorian, “The Reckoning,” coming up just as soon as I offer you a libation to celebrate the closing of our shared narrative… The Mandalorian has proudly operated as a throwback to a more episodic — and, arguably, more fun — era of television than …
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A review of this week’s The Good Place, “A Chip Driver Mystery,” coming up just as soon as I get ombre highlights… A very odd thing has happened with this show of late. We’re nearly halfway through the final season, which is built around a new experiment where Eleanor and …
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A review of this week’s Watchmen, “Martial Feats of Comanche Horsemanship,” coming up just as soon as we play pirates and owls… Second episodes are hard — especially when they come after memorable, high-concept pilots. Occasionally, a classic pilot will be followed by a classic second episode (Breaking Bad‘s “The …
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In a show that orchestrates the arrival of its opening title sequence to maximize its effect (read: right after says something particularly stupid and/or cutting) in every episode, it’s telling when Succession gets right into it and opens with the theme. Tonight’s episode — “Dundee” — eschews any table-setting, opting …
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A review of “I Hope You Like Missionary!”, this week’s Killing Eve, coming up just as soon as I get a watch with a laser in it… We’re in a very strange point of the story, aren’t we? Over the past half-season, Villanelle has gone from a hounded fugitive, to, …
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A review of “Casecation,” this week’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine, coming up just as soon as I tell you my debate moderator license number… “Casecation” is a high-concept episode with a low-fi premise. It takes place entirely at a hospital, with no subplots but appearances by the whole ensemble, as Jake tries …
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A review of this week’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine,“Four Movements” — which said goodbye to Chelsea Peretti as a regular cast member — coming up just as soon as I say that the party is for malnourished malaria monkeys… In a show that’s been so consistent for so long, Gina‘s always been …
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