TV Round Up: Questions I have about Grimm's first season finale

I finally finished watching the first season of Grimm, I watched the last two episodes yesterday. I thought the finale episode Woman in Black was really good but now I have questions which I hope will be answered in the second season.

And here are my questions:

1. What did Adalind Schade's give to her cat because when it scratched Dr. Juliette Silverton it did something to her? Since Grimm and Police Detective Nicholas "Nick" Burkhardt caused Adalind to lose her powers is she simply out for revenge against him by going after his girlfriend Juliette? Or is it for some other reason? After Juliette passed out Nick took her to the hospital where she was being kept for observation. But near the end of the episode, she opened her eyes and they were all black. So, I was wondering what did Adalind do to her?

2. Whatever she did to Juliette is it going to turn her into a monster or something else?

3. Also, is it something that Rosalee Calvert can find a cure for?

4. Is the lady (who I figure is a Grimm) with the red hair really Nick's mother? Since he was 12 years old, Nick believed his parents were dead and he had been raised by his Aunt Marie. But in the 20th episode Happily Ever Aftermath he found out that they had been murdered. So, if that lady is his mother why now did she choose to reveal that she was alive? And why is she really there? Because it can't be for old times' sake and getting to know her adult son. I also wonder if his father is alive too?

5. Will Police Detective Hank Griffin finally learn the truth of the supernatural world? Throughout this first season Hank has unknowingly been caught up in it, from being controlled by Billy Capra to Adalind using a potion on him to now seeing a transformed Monroe (although he didn't know it was Monroe) out in the woods to seeing Psychiatrist Constantine Brinkerhof transform back to human after he died. In the finale, Hank was starting to unravel because although he doesn't understand some of the things he has seen he does know he's seen something.

I'm really looking forward to starting the second season because with the way the first season ended, I have to know what happens next. Anyone else new to watching Grimm? This is quickly becoming one of my favorite shows.

TV Round Up: My Thoughts on 9-1-1 fifth season premiere episode Panic

I finally watched 9-1-1's fifth season premiere episode Panic and I loved it. I'll write more about it in a review in another post but below are a few things that I didn't like.

Does anyone know why whenever there's a hospital scene, Dr. David Hale is never used for those scenes? It's a waste of his character not to use him. I still haven't forgotten the fourth season episode Breaking Point during the Covid vaccine scene when, TV News Reporter Taylor Kelly was used instead of Dr. Hale. And in this fifth season episode, when Edmundo "Eddie" Diaz had to go to the hospital for his panic attack (which I have thoughts on), why wasn't Dr. Hale used for this scene instead of Dr. Salazar who I had an issue with.

What did you think of the 9-1-1 and 9-1-1: Lone Star season finales?

I wanted to write a quick write up of my opinion to the season finales for 9-1-1 and 9-1-1: Lone Star. I hate to admit I was disappointed with the 9-1-1 fourth season finale, it had been described as being so unexpected. However, everything about this episode was expected. From Eddie Diaz and Captain Bobby Nash not dying to Albert Han becoming a first responder, it was too easy to figure out everything that was going to happen. The writing for 9-1-1 has become so predictable. Meanwhile, I loved the second season finale for 9-1-1: Lone Star, from the dust storm to the 126 station possibly closing, that was fantastic. In my opinion the entire Lone Star series has surpassed the original 9-1-1 series and it's quickly becoming my favorite show. And that's mainly because of the amazing writing. I feel like the writing for Lone Star is allowed to take more risks and chances giving the viewer a more satisfying show.

I find myself enjoying Lone Star so much more because the show hasn't lost the art of suspense and keeps you guessing as to what's going to happen. Sadly, 9-1-1 is really playing it too safe and the show is starting to feel stale and repetitive. The earlier seasons really took chances while these later seasons the writing feels like it coasting along in hopes of not losing any viewers. I do hope the writing will improve for the upcoming fifth season because it's not very challenging. And if it continues like this, I may have to pass on watching 9-1-1 which is too bad because it's a show I've grown to love. It's a good show that unfortunately is suffering from bland writing at the moment.

Until then, I'm really looking forward to Lone Star's upcoming third season because I have to see what's going to happen to the team and their station. I really love these characters, they're quirky and fun but smart and try their best to deal with whatever situation they find themselves in. I loved how everyone was there for Captain Tommy Vega and her twin daughters, it really hits home that the 126 truly are a family. I really love this show.

What did you think of the 9-1-1 and 9-1-1: Lone Star season finales?

TV Round Up: My Thoughts on Grimm episodes 4 and 5

When I'm watching a show that's new to me such as Grimm, I resist the urge to go online and find out any information that I can about the show. I'm currently in the first season, I just finished watching the fourth and fifth episodes and I have so many questions. Do Grimm's have any active powers besides being able to identify supernatural beings? Because so far that's the only power Police Detective Nick Burkhardt who's a Grimm seems to have.

Another question I have is in the fourth episode when Billy Capra who is a Ziegevolk touched Detective Griffin, I want to know if Capra's touch will factor in later on in a future episode? Because in the episode, it was stated that if one of the Ziegevolk's touch you, they can control you. It seemed like for a little while his touch had affected the detective but I don't know if that was supposed to have happened or not.

As for the fifth episode, I want to know if Adalind Schade, a supernatural being called a Hexenbiest, is trying to get close to Police Detective Hank Griffin in order to find out more about Detective Burkhardt? I also want to know what Police Captain Sean Renard is planning because he's obviously up to something especially since he sent a Reaper away from the city who was there trying to seek revenge against Detective Burkhardt who had killed a supernatural being in the first episode who was violently attacking the detective's aunt who was also a Grimm. Since Captain Renard is also working with Adalind (or she's working for him), I really want to know what they are up to.

I'm really enjoying this show and I guess to get answers to my questions, I'll have to wait and see what happens as I continue to watch Grimm.

Hetty Wainthropp Investigates Season 1 episode 1

Season 1 episode 1: The Bearded Lady

Review:

This first episode was interesting with Hetty Wainthropp's 60th birthday making her realize that it doesn't mean that she's old. Also that she was going to look for a job since she won't receive a pension (retirement payments) due to her not having worked for enough years prior to getting married. However, her husband Robert will once he turns 65, I'm sure during the time when she got married, women usually quit their jobs to become stay at home wives.

TV Round Up: Beauty and the Beast season 1 episode 1

Beauty and the Beast

Season 1 episode 1: "Once Upon a Time in the City of New York"

I watched the first episode of 1980's Beauty and the Beast TV series and I thought it was very interesting. It follows socialite and attorney Catherine Chandler (Linda Hamilton) who after leaving a party, was abducted by a group of men. They thought she was a woman named Carol and was leaving her a message by beating her and severely slashing her face. Afterwards, the men tossed her out of a van and left her in a park.

TV Round Up: Teen Wolf Series Finale "The Wolves of War"

Episode 6x20: The Wolves of War

Rating: 2 stars

The second half of the sixth and finale season had started out so exciting with Scott McCall and his pack having to deal with the town of Beacon Hills finding out about the supernatural and turning on them out of fear. However, it's so disappointing that the show ends on a spectacular low.

This was one of the most lackluster series finales I have had the displeasure of viewing. It was so underwhelming and made the bad writing and poor plotting stand out immensely. There was so much wasted potential with this episode trying to do too much leaving the story feeling poorly written and rushed. Perhaps if the episode had been stretched to two hours many of the problems could have been fixed.

TV Round Up: Teen Wolf S6 Ep 13: After Images

In this episode, Scott McCall and some of his pack (Malia Tate and Liam Dunbar) along with Brett Talbot's sister Lori Rohr were in the woods trying to track down Brett before the hunters do. They had no idea who was after Brett they assumed it was an amateur hunter but it was much worse.

I can see why Teen Wolf brought back the evil hunter Gerard Argent for 6B because there is nothing worse than the human monster. And this time he has a new protégé, Tamora Monroe, Beacon Hills Guidance Counselor. She has a job were she's supposed to guide and protect students that is unless they're supernatural then she has no problem killing them.

While Scott, Malia, Liam and Lori went from searching the woods to searching the tunnels, Lydia Martin, Mason Hewitt and Corey Bryant were at school trying to see if any of Lydia's Banshee predictions could help find Brett. Needing to be alone to decipher the meaning behind her notes, Mason and Corey left her to go to the school library to study but their studying was interrupted by weird and slightly unhinged fellow student Nolan. In his quest to uncover the supernatural, Nolan stabbed Corey's hand and then exposed the fact Corey had immediately healed to the room full of students. There was no way that Mason and Corey could explain that away. Unfortunately, Lydia was too late in understanding her predictions and now the other students were looking at them in fear as well as starting to question perhaps all the strange things they most likely ignored in the past.

TV Round Up: Shadowhunters S2 Ep 13: Those of Demon Blood

I was so right, last night's Shadowhunters episode "Those of Demon Blood" was awesome. Shadowhunters were being killed and it looks like the Downworlders were to blame. The Clave was issuing out commands and you know nothing good would come from that. And not to mention Jace was now Head of the New York Institute.

To think his grandmother Inquisitor Imogen Herondale really thought he was suited for the job. She must have had her nepotism blinders on to make that terrible decision. I can't believe Simon and Maia were locked up in the Institute, Simon for not leaving the premises and Maia for being accused of murdering a Shadowhunter. I kept wondering why Jace didn't stand up to his grandmother? Yes, I know he just found out that he's a Herondale but he can't roll over and let his grandmother take over his life.

TV Round Up: Shadowhunters (My Thoughts on S1 episodes #10-13 and S2 episodes #1-10)

I finally got caught up on watching all the current episodes of Shadowhunters. This is probably the first time in a long time that I'm actually caught up on watching a new show. I usually procrastinate or wait until forever to get caught up on a TV series or a movie. I still haven't watched Star Wars: The Force Awakens yet but I will eventually. Now lets see, here are some thoughts I had about the remainder of season 1 episodes #10-13 and the first 10 episodes of season 2.

The first thing is I'm glad they didn't draw out the Jace and Clary being siblings plot for too long but couldn't a simple DNA test have solved this issue. Is there no Shadowhunters equivalency of a DNA test available at the Institute? It's like no one had any doubts that Valentine could possibly be lying to them. He's a notorious murderer who is trying to kill all the Downworlders yet they took him on his word that he was both Jace and Clary's father.

It was easy to see that Alec wasn't going to marry Lydia especially not with an episode titled Malec. Lydia and Alec were not marrying for love, it was more for political reasons such as restoring the honor of the Lightwood family. However, the suspense of Magnus showing up at the last minute was perfectly played out as he waited to see what Alec's response would be. And what a response that was. As for the wedding that wasn't, everyone wore beautiful clothes from Alec's suit to Izzy's dress. Even Simon showed up in an amazing suit (that he borrowed from Raphael) but the showstopper was Lydia's wedding dress, just look at all the details. It's so pretty.

I'm not sure what to make of the addiction plot of Izzy getting hooked on vampire venom. I haven't read The Mortal Instruments books, so I don't know if that's in the books or not but to me it felt like a way to sideline a strong character. It seemed like they really didn't know what to do with her character in this first half of season 2 so they introduced the drug storyline. It reminds me of what the Arrow TV series did to Laurel Lance in season 2. Hopefully like Laurel, Izzy can beat her addiction and become an even stronger person and then hopefully avoid getting killed off only to have the actress return as an alternate universe version of the character. Sorry, I had to toss that in there because the Laurel Lance/Katie Cassidy situation on Arrow is ridiculous.

Anyway, I like Maia, she's a headstrong werewolf and bartender. I know going after Clary was probably not the best thing (in S2 E9) but I was so mad when Luke locked her in that storage room.

He knew she had a fear of enclosed spaces and yet he locked her in that room anyway. He's a terrible pack leader, she's right in that he cares more about Clary and the Shadowhunters then he does about taking care of the pack. Yeah, I know he used to be a Shadowhunter but he's a werewolf now and he needs to start looking out for them. I also wouldn't mind if the writers deviated a bit and paired up Maia and Jace because despite being so antagonistic towards each other they have an interesting chemistry that could work romantically. Jace is the sort of person who needs to keep their ego in check to keep it from inflating and Maia's just the girl to do it. They both have dominate personalities and I think a relationship between them would be cool, that is if they don't kill each other first.

Jocelyn's death was a huge disappointment because it had no impact on me. She was in a magically induced coma for most of the first season and prior to that and after being reawakened she didn't come off as an interesting character nor a great mom. Despite telling Clary she was going to be truthful to her, Jocelyn continued to be dishonest and misleading. So when her death occurred I was like, oh well. I feel like the show didn't do a good job of making her a memorable character. She seemed like one of those character that would have been great if the show had put in the effort to do that. They went out of their way to make her appear untrustworthy, ill prepared and a terrible parent.

I still find Clary to be annoying and she's about 98% stupidity with 2% left for rare bouts of intellect. I can't believe in trying to bring her mother back to life she let herself get tricked by the warlock Iris Rouse. Alec went along with her (out of understandable guilt) to see the warlock but while he was trying to question Iris, Clary was so blinded by grief she wouldn't let him do his job of making sure everything was okay. She even brushed aside the blood oath not taking into consideration what that really meant.

For some reason, I like Simon and Clary being in a relationship, it works and they actually have chemistry. Unlike Clary and Jace, who have zero chemistry. I do feel bad for Maureen who really liked Simon and who was pretty much used by him in his attempt to avoid his feelings for Clary. She was friends with Clary and Simon and now she's being shutout of the supernatural world these two are in. I hope the writers bring her back and not in some mean or terrible way.

As far as chemistry goes, I like how Alec and Magnus' relationship is progressing, it doesn't feel rushed. I did like how Magnus stood up for himself in the first episode of season 2 because Alec was acting like a jerk. Everyone at the Institute was doing everything they could to find Jace but he was snapping at everyone even more so at Magnus. But Magnus wasn't going to stay there and be treated poorly which left Alec to have to find him later to apologize. Alec is so romantically awkward that it's nice to see him trying to figure out the whole romance thing, he's truly new to the world of dating and relationships.

For a show I had no idea even existed (I rarely watch the Freeform channel) it's now one of my favorite shows. I wish I could say the same for the CW's Riverdale, I sort of abandon it after a few episodes. It was moving too slow for me and I found both the show and the characters to be boring. Maybe I'll finish watching the first season when it's out on DVD/Blu-ray or on Netflix but for now I'm going to pass on Riverdale which is weird since I'm a big Archie Comics fan. I guess at the moment the show isn't for me.

With that said I'm really looking forward to the return of Shadowhunters on June 5th. I want to see how the second half of the season will be especially with the mortal cup still out there somewhere and someone else now has the soul-sword. It should be interesting.

TV Round Up: Shadowhunters (thoughts on S1 episodes 4-9)

So, I'm already nine episodes in of the first season of Shadowhunters. It's been a while since I've found a show so interesting that I've actually started binge watching it. The last show I binge watched was Schitt's Creek and I totally love that show.

My opinion still has not changed for Clary and Jace, they are still dull and boring and they have zero chemistry.

There are so many things I don't like about Clary and one is how selfish she is. I can't believe she made the decision to bury Simon so he can become a vampire. All because it was too heartbreaking for her to let him die. She never thought that maybe he didn't want to come back as a monster. Her only thoughts were about how sad she would be without him. I notice that she tends to be selfish a lot and from the moment she joined up with Jace, Alec and Izzy they have been doing everything she wanted regardless of the consequences.

She is part of the reason why the Clave sent in Lydia Branwell to "temporarily" run the Institute due all the unsanctioned activity they have been doing for her. She never seems to care about anyone but herself. She has fleeting thoughts for Jace, Luc and Simon but she mainly thinks about herself, which is why she's one of my least favorite characters.

I think Jace is too blinded by Clary, all his actions revolve around her and their insta-love. I can't believe he blamed Alec for Clary being abducted which would not have happened if she had not left the Institute.

Speaking of Alec, he is so conflicted about his parents and his sexuality. And he's trying to run away from dealing with both by proposing to Lydia Branwell. It's also easy to see he has an attraction to Magnus Bane but he also doesn't want to deal with it. I'm not entirely sure but I do believe Alec smiled for the first time in the fourth episode when he met Magnus. I was like wow that's a genuine smile, he's usually so grumpy and cranky all the time. These two have an easy chemistry.

I adore Magnus he has an electrifying personality and such charming wit. I'm glad he's getting more scenes. I was disappointed that Izzy changed to try to please her disapproving mother, it doesn't seem like her mother truly loves or values her. No matter what, I think Izzy is cool and I don't understand why her mother would be so harsh on her when she goes above and beyond the call of duty to do her job.

I'm so disappointed with the werewolves on this show because they look like regular wolves. I wonder if Twilight is to blame for such lame werewolves, not since the Being Human TV series and the Underworld movies have werewolves seemed even remotely scary. Even the werewolves on the Bitten TV series look like regular wolves. Oh, I forgot even the Harry Potter movies had lame werewolves.

This show really surprised me, I'm already completely hooked and can't wait to watch the last four episodes of season 1.

TV Round Up: Shadowhunters (My thoughts on S1 episodes 1-3)

I was looking for something new and different and supernatural to watch, so after scrolling through On Demand I found Shadowhunters. I know the series is already halfway through it's second season but I never watched it. I'm glad I took a chance because after watching the first three episodes I'm liking what I've seen so far. I do wish the vampires weren't so wimpy, they should be able to put up a better fight before being destroyed.

Something I don't like or should I say who I don't like is Jace and Clary. I know they are the main characters of the show but they are so extremely boring they remind me of Twilight's Bella and Edward. There is nothing interesting about Clary and Jace that make me care about them, she's dumb and he's an emotionless robot. I don't even care that Clary's mother Jocelyn was taken because she should have been ready for this situation. I do wonder what her mother's boyfriend Luc is up to and which side is he really on. I'm on the fence about Simon, he is indeed annoying but at least he's not as boring as Clary and Jace.

There are three characters that I really like, siblings Alec and Isabelle "Izzy". He's grumpy and she's fun and they should be the stars of the series. It's so obvious that Alec has a crush or have feelings for Jace that I don't understand how neither one doesn't see it. It's not often that a character like Izzy who is a sexual person gets to be seen in a positive way. I like that she gets to express being who she is without being called derogatory names. And the third character I like is Magnus Bane. Although he wasn't shown much in the first three episodes, he's very interesting. I'm looking forward to seeing more of him and his magic. If these three are half as interesting as they are on the show then I might be interested in reading the Mortal Instrument books at some point.

Despite a few things and characters I find irritating, I'm going to continue watching the show. It's not bad and I love these posters of Alec, Izzy and Magnus.

TV Round Up: Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds

Did you watch the Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds documentary last night (or at any other time it aired)? I watched it and thought it was both funny and sad.

I love that Carrie Fisher was an all out eccentric, her house was ridiculously quirky with all the wonderful little knickknacks all around and even the clothes she wore fit into that category. But it all went with her personality. I like that this was who Fisher was and didn't feel the need to put on any fake airs.

Debbie Reynolds no matter what age was adorable and inspiring, she loved performing and she gave her all whenever she was on stage. I loved that she had the idea of wanting to create a museum to showcase film memorabilia. I can't believe that they were unable to get one going and that backers didn't think there would be any interest in something like that. However, Reynolds was so right, fans love seeing that kind of stuff and would have gladly paid to see it. I agree that items shouldn't be hidden away in some private collection but available for fans to enjoy. I do hope that at some point a museum will be built and it will be named in honor of Reynolds.

Watching this you could see that they were a close knit quirky family and looked out for each other because both Carrie and her brother Todd took good care of their mom but also gave her space to be independent.

There is quite a bit of humor in this but also something very profound as their past is showed and talked about. And the role of getting older also plays a key point in this documentary because despite how exuberant Reynolds may have been at the time, her health was starting to cause her problems yet that didn't stop her desire to do her stage show.

If you have access to HBO but haven't watched this documentary, I would recommend watching it because it's a candid look into the lives of the Reynolds/Fisher family.

TV Round Up: Preacher

There are times when all I want to do is go out while other times I just want to stay in and nest. And the latter is just what I did yesterday, I spent a good portion of the day doing absolutely nothing except relaxing and watching a few TV shows and movies.

One of the shows I watched was Preacher, I can't believe I'm just now getting around to watching this. For anyone who has xfinity, it's still available On Demand until September 29th.

I know this show is based on a comic book series which I have not read and I heard complaints from fans that this show wasn't good. However, I was happily stunned (perhaps ignorance is bliss) by how good this show is. Although, it is weird but in a good way. Dominic Cooper (Reverend Jesse Custer), Ruth Negga (Tulip O'Hare) and Joe Gilgun (Cassidy) are so much fun to watch. All the characters on this show are completely flawed and extremely messed up.

I did say this show is weird right, the Preacher is filled with all this supernatural strangeness coupled with mystery as dysfunctional Reverend Custer returned to his small Texas hometown to not only save himself but his town. Then you have Tulip out there seeking vengeance while Cassidy is a strange mystery most of the time.

I have got to stop waiting until forever to watch shows I'm interested in seeing. Why do I do this to myself? I could have been watching the Preacher all summer. I don't binge watch show (not enough time) but I would consider the Preacher to be binge worthy. It's really one of those shows I can't stop watching. I only have a few episodes left to watch, I really can't wait to see how this crazy season ends.

Side Note: Congrats to Preacher on getting renewed for a second season.

Anyone who watched or is watching Preacher, what do you think of the show? Please no spoilers for those (such as myself) who have not seen all the episodes.

Video: Ahsoka vs the Inquisitors (Star Wars Rebels)

Star Wars Rebels

Season 2 Episode 8: The Future of the Force

It's been a while since I've talked about Star Wars Rebels and all I can say is, Ahsoka steals the show.

This clip above shows one of the best scenes of the series. I'm so glad I found this clip online because I still have this episode on my DVR and I'm really reluctant to delete it. This is by far the best part of the entire episode.

This clip right here of Ahsoka fighting the Inquisitors is one of the reasons why I still watch this dull and boring animated series. I also like the ruthless Inquisitors, they add a little something more to the show. Especially the Seventh Sister Inquisitor.

Just look at that fight, Kanan could barely hold his own against them and I just love how the Seventh Sister took out Ezra (who is my absolutely least favorite character out of this entire series). But it's safe to say that the Inquisitors have absolutely nothing on Ahsoka who totally won this fight.

TV Round Up: K.C. Undercover and Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir

There are a lot of shows that I enjoy watching but for some reason I have yet to even mention on my blog. I'm going to start with two of my favorite Teen shows: K.C. Undercover and Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir.


K.C. Undercover    Sundays 8:00 PM EST  Disney Channel

Although, the first season of K.C. Undercover premiered January 2015, I never wrote anything about it. With this season winding down, I figured I would finally post a little something now.

What is this show about?

It's about the Coopers, a family of spies taking down criminals. It's set in Washington, D.C. and mainly focuses on high school student and overachiever K.C. Cooper (played by Zendaya). On the first episode, K.C. was not only recruited by a secret organization to be a spy but she also found out that her parents Craig and Kira (played by Kadeem Hardison and Tammy Townsend) had been leading a double life as spies in the same organization. Sometime later on in the series, K.C.'s younger brother Ernie (played by Kamil McFadden) eventually became a spy. The family also has a advanced android that masquerades as K.C.'s younger sister Judy (played by Trinitee Stokes).

K.C.'s always trying to balance her life as a spy and high school student but she doesn't get a lot of help from her best friend Marissa (played Veronica Dunne) who seem to cause more trouble for K.C. than any of the criminals.

I like this show because it's not only well-written but it's fun. K.C. and her family are always involved in some kind wild adventure from undercover missions to family vacations that have them trying to find a missing hotel guest. I also think the action scenes are pretty good too.



Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir   Sundays  12:00 PM EST   Nickelodeon

I stumbled onto this show last week and instantly loved it. And thanks to a mini marathon on Teen Nick last Saturday, I was able to get caught up on all the current episodes.

What is this show about?

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir which is set in Paris, France follows two College Francoise Dupont high school students Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste who are the superheroes Ladybug and Cat Noir.

At school Marinette has a huge crush on Adrien and always gets nervous around him whenever she tries to get to know him. Her best friend Alya is always there trying to cheer her own and boost her spirit. However, both Marinette and Alya have to constantly deal with Chloe Bourgeois who takes every opportunity to either be mean to them or to upstage Marinette since she also likes Adrien. Meanwhile Adrien is the most popular student at school and a model. Although he lives a life of luxury he lives with a very strict and distant father. But his best friend Nino is always trying to look out for him and make his life a little more fun.

As Superheroes Ladybug and Cat Noir, they have been tasked to stop the one who is turning people evil. Something that I found interesting is that when they are superheroes neither Marinette and Adrien know that the other is Ladybug and Cat Noir. And while Marinette has a huge crush on Adrien but as Cat Noir, Adrien has a huge crush on Ladybug.

This is a cute and adorable superhero show but it also has great action packed scenes. I like the characters and the fact that there's this big bad that Ladybug and Cat Noir have to stop.

TV Round Up: Gotham s2 ep #6

Episode #6: By Fire (watched On Demand)

Rating: 4 stars

I must be hitting rock bottom with superhero/comic book TV shows if I'm going back to watching Gotham. But sometimes rock bottom isn't so bad because for some reason today I decided to watch Gotham but the only episodes available On Demand were 6-10.

It surprised me that I ended up liking this episode, it's still pretty bad at times but no where near as bad as the first season. What I saw was a huge improvement in quality and it was exciting and totally wacky. What I love is that they brought the crazy back to Gotham. This city is supposed to be filled with chaos and madness.

This episode had Selina Kyle helping out Bridget Pike a.k.a. the new Firefly. Bridget has lived a life of abuse from her brothers and finally free she was taking her life back. From clips of the previous episode, she had been forced to burn down Wayne Enterprise buildings and in the process of being apprehended by the police she mistakenly killed one of the officers. This lead to James Gordon trying to find her but with no leads it wasn't until after Selina and Bridget were caught on video after a heist that Gordon tracked down Selina. Selina reluctantly gave Gordon the information but she did not want anything to happen to Bridget which Gordon gave his word to that.

Also in the episode, Penguin was trying to find his mother and sent one of his minions Butch Gilzean to infiltrate Theo Galavan's stronghold. Edward Nygma accidentally killed Kristen Kringle after she learned the truth about what happened to Officer Dougherty. The whole thing with Edward and Kristen feels like they stole a page from the Mad Hatter's playbook instead of the Riddler's. The Hatter is usually the one obsessed with a woman and willing to kill or do anything to get her to love him. Also, Bruce was meeting with Galavan to discuss the possibility of working together to deal with the problems within Wayne Enterprise.

I had no idea I would find this episode so much fun to watch, I have to say that it's sad that watching an episode of Gotham was actually better than watching an episode of Supergirl, I never thought that would even be possible. A character I found wickedly fun was Tabitha Galavan (played by Jessica Lucas), she had me wishing she had been cast to play Catwoman. I'm sure at some point she will either become a mentor to Selina or at least inspire Selina to forgo her shotgun and take up using the whip.

Even though I missed the first five episodes (and nearly all of last season), this show is easy to follow along. An issue I have with this show in general is with young Bruce Wayne. He continues to be a low point to this show. Both the character and the actor don't fit into this show, perhaps it time for Bruce and Alfred to go overseas to start him on his path to becoming Batman.

Maybe the episodes I missed will be re-aired during the break but until then I'm just going to get caught up with the remainder of this season.

TV Round Up: Supergirl ep #2

Episode #2: Stronger Together (watched On Demand)

Rating: 2 stars

I had such high hopes for this second episode but it was boring, the writing was awful and the acting was not the best either. Most of the time Kara appears very dumb, whiny and weak.

In this episode, Kara was down because after making a costly mistake in trying to prevent a fire near an oil tanker, she instead caused an oil spill. After that National City news reports were starting to call her a menace and leading the call was business mogul Maxwell Lord. The DEO also doesn't have any confidence in her being able to handle any situation she finds herself in.

To make an effort to become more competent, Kara asked Cat Grant for advice about what Supergirl should do to be a more effective superhero. Then taking that advice she enlist both Jimmy and Winn's help in becoming a better superhero. I don't mind Kara getting advice because she definitely needs it, but it would have been better if she did everything else herself. Everything that both Jimmy and Winn were telling her she could have easily figured out for herself.

There was another alien on the lose, this time it's an insect man who after killing a man is now being forced by Kara's evil aunt Astra, who is another Phantom Zone escapee to lure Supergirl into a trap. At this point, Kara was still unaware that she even had an aunt let alone one that was the leader of all the escapees. 

Also in this episode, Cat Grant wants an interview with Supergirl and she wants to make sure from now on they scoop the Daily Planet on anything Supergirl related. I take back what I said about Cat Grant in my last review, I really don't like her and the way she's written doesn't leave any room for likeability. I get the feeling that she only hired Jimmy for his connection to Superman and not for being a first rate photojournalist. Cat giving a thinly veiled ultimatum to Jimmy to get her that interview with Supergirl was a very slimy business move.

The DEO was trying to capture the alien insect man by setting a trap but Kara's sister Alex ended up being captured and taken to Kara's evil aunt Astra. Kara of course got upset that the DEO didn't involve her in their plan, she then went to go find her sister. She found Alex but was then ambushed by her aunt where they met then proceeded to fight. On a side note, that fight scene in the air looked almost amateurish, it looked like both Kara and Astra were dangling on a string as they fought. They really need to work on improving that. Back to the fight, her aunt got away but not because Supergirl defeated her, no it's because Hank Henshaw stepped in with a kryptonite blade. Supergirl didn't even stop the insect guy, Alex did. So that makes her 0 for 3 in stopping the villains (for the series so far). Not that it matters but her aunt is putting her evil plans to take over National City on hold since she didn't expect humans to have weapons (i.e. kryptonite) that could stop them and that Kara was much stronger than she anticipated. Which to me just seems like bad writing since Kara was losing the fight between the two of them.

Something that annoyed me about this episode, besides the lackluster writing, was near the end. Alex took Kara to a sort of Fortress of Solitude at the DEO that Alex and Hank created for Kara. First Winn made her a costume, now Alex and the DEO give her a secret base. What's next, a guide book on how to use her powers?

The only thing I liked about this episode was the ending. It had Cat Grant sitting in her car pretty much threating Jimmy about getting that interview while she was unaware that Supergirl had picked up her car and flew away with it. Supergirl landed the car and then told Cat she was granting her that exclusive interview. She only gave the interview to keep Jimmy from being fired which showed that she cares about her friends. At this point, I don't understand why Jimmy doesn't quit and find a better job since Cat is only interested in taking advantage of his connection to Superman (and now Supergirl).

This show is starting to lose me as a fan and if the third episode continues in this fashion then I'm going to be dropping this real soon. I'm really starting to get tired of Kara's self-esteem issues. She shouldn't constantly need so many pep talks as well as the need for other's approval.

For a show that is supposed to be about Supergirl, why are there so many references to Superman? This show should be able to stand on its own but the weak and lazy writing leans too heavily on the Superman references. Well, I guess this situation doesn't get any better in further episodes since that is a large complaint from many viewers. It certainly doesn't seem as if it's going to improve especially since according to the latest news the show is already looking to cast a young Clark Kent/Kal-El for future episodes. Why can't they just focus on Supergirl?

Another thing they need to lay off on, is all the Girl Power and Feminism. I'm all for girl power but it was so heavy handed in this episode (and not to mention the Pilot). Why not just show a confident, intelligent young woman who is learning and growing with each heroics she attempts instead of constantly telling viewers the trials, tribulations and hardships of being a woman and a female superhero. From what I hear this also doesn't improve in further episodes either.

This show needs some comic book writers to come in and make some much needed improvements to the writing. I will be watching the third episode but my enthusiasm is just not there.

TV Round Up: Supergirl ep 1

Episode #1: Pilot (watched On Demand)

Rating: 3 stars

I finally decided to watch the first episode of Supergirl and guess what, I thought it was good.

I figured I would start with the things that I liked first such as: the show was light-hearted, had good pacing and good action scenes. So far I get a Smallville, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and an Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt sort of vibe from it. Out of all the characters that were in this episode there were only three that I liked: Kara Danvers, Cat Grant and James Olsen.

I like Kara Danvers. Despite having a very similar dorky personality to Barry Allen on The Flash and Felicity Smoak on Arrow, I found that out of the three, she's the only one that I find likeable. I don't think it will take me too long to get use to her personality, well at least I didn't find her annoying. I do wish she was more confident and would stand up for herself. Case in point, I wish Kara would have stood up more to her sister. In the scene after Kara saved the plane, she had been so happy but her sister Alex showed up and squashed her enthusiasm. Alex would not be alive had Kara not rushed out and saved that plane so instead of Alex being happy for her or even grateful towards her, she was very callous.

I heard a lot of bad things about this version of Cat Grant (and that trailer certainly didn't help) but I didn't find her as jarring as I thought she would be. Yes, she's a clone of Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada but she isn't truly unlikeable. The writers have chosen to make her a sterotypical high-powered cold business person whose only drive is to succeed at any cost. I wonder how the character would have been if she was given Cat's signature ditzy personality.

Now as for James "don't call me Jimmy" Olsen I've been hearing a lot of complaints about him but surprisingly I like him. From a first glance, he doesn't have the traditional dorky personality mostly associated with Jimmy Olsen but I don't get a sense that he's as cool as many of the complaints have stated. He kind of reminds me of the Jimmy from Smallville who also wasn't extremely dorky. I just see a guy who has moved away from Metropolis to build a new career in another city. I do wish he had not given Kara credit for taking the photo of Supergirl, he's Jimmy Olsen, a world class photographer. He should have taken the credit for it. All the so called complaints makes me wonder if most of them have more to do with the actor's ethnicity than anything else. It's certainly not the portrayal.

Good things aside, there were a few things that I didn't like such as:

- The public believing that aliens don't exist thing. So what do they consider Superman then? How can Superman have existed all this time and no one believes in aliens. Are there no other aliens or heroes for that matter operating throughout the world?

- The constant comparisons to Superman.

- Too many people on this show know that Kara is Supergirl.

- Kara's overbearing sister Alex. Besides being a liar, she works for the DEO which is an organization that goes after aliens. Her sister is an alien why would she work for them? I really wish she wasn't on the show. I don't like how she treats Kara as if she were a child. Kara's an adult and can do whatever she wants.

- The Department of Extra-Normal Operations (DEO). I don't understand why they would go after Kara just to tell her to stop trying to be a hero. She doesn't need their permission if she wanted to go after the Phantom Zone escapees, she would just do it. Side Note: Wasn't there a similar Phantom Zone escapees storyline already featured on Smallville?

- Potential villain-to-be as a comrade: Hank Henshaw. Will he eventually become a villain or stay a military man?

- The villains are lame.

- Kara's fighting skills are awful. The thing about most Supers is they do have awful fighting skills but since they are so powerful they don't need to be great fighters. However they can normally easily take down lame villains like Vartox in no time. It was embarrassing that Supergirl was saved by the DEO from the villain in her first fight against him. She is one of the most powerful beings on the planet (or make that the universe) and she couldn't stop Vartox. Even in her second fight with him, she really didn't stop him either. He ended up killing himself, so she didn't even get the victory of stopping him.

- The annoying Winslow "Winn" Schott, Jr.. This is another character that I really don't like and I still can't fathom why Kara would even tell him her secret. That guy is a jerk and not to mention is the son of one of Superman's villains (I wonder if that will be focused on in this series). I feel like she didn't need any help from him (or her sister for that matter) to figure out the whole superhero thing. I can't believe he helped her figure out her costume which is something that she could have easily figured out and that would have been a great learning experience for her.

- Kara working as the lowly assistant to Cat Grant. It would have been so cool if Kara had been a freelance writer or did anything else other than working at Catco. Kara really doesn't have a lot of ambition or confidence. When did being "normal" mean settling for anything mediocre. Why didn't she ask Cat for more responsibility or even a chance to write an article. Why does she just put up with Cat's treatment towards her?

- Although this is a minor issue, I do wished that Clark had taken Kara to his parents Martha and Jonathan Kent to be raised in Smallville. Because then the Kents could show up from time to time. It also would have at least made it seemed as though Clark actually cared about her and didn't just drop her off with strangers then took off. She has had zero contact with her cousin since she has been with the Danvers and why relay messages through Jimmy, that doesn't speak too highly of Clark.

- The Pep Talks. Kara shouldn't need that many pep talks to go out there and do what she has to do. She has too many people influencing her.


Despite all the problems, I did enjoy watching the first episode and I will be watching the second one. I do hope the show will get better and not worse.

TV Round Up: Vixen episodes #3-6

Vixen animated series  CW Seed (cwseed.com)

I'm disappointed that Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow, Gotham and the upcoming Legends of Tomorrow all have live action shows but Vixen only got an animated series. If you can even count it as a series since the six episodes range in time from a little over 3 minutes to less than 7 minutes per show. They couldn't even bother to make it a half hour or an hour per episode.

Something else that annoyed me about this whole thing is that they had to feature The Flash and Green Arrow characters instead of letting Vixen star in her own albeit diminutive series. Yes, I know it's connected to the Arrow/Flash universe but they didn't need to show them for that to work.

Something that I do love is how Mari/Vixen is written in the series but there is just not enough screen time for this show.

Now that my rant is over here's my review for the last four episodes:


Episode #3:

In this episode, Mari was talking things over with her foster dad while trying to figure out her new purpose now that she knows what her necklace can do. She demonstrated a few of her abilities to her dad but before she could make any decisions about what she was going to do, The Flash and Green Arrow show up unannounced and unwelcomed at her dad's home. Not waiting around to find out what they want, she invokes the power of the cheetah and runs off.


Episode #4:

This episode picks up right where the third one ended with Mari attempting to get away from Green Arrow and The Flash. As both "heroes" chase her throughout the city and not to mention Green Arrow was shooting arrows at her, they claimed they only showed up just to talk. Really, who shoots arrows at someone just to talk.

This episode would have been better without those two idiots showing up as well as the presence of Felicity. Oh and stupid Green Arrow didn't even believe Mari when she told them she wasn't in Central City when the particle accelerator exploded instead he had to contact Felicity and have her tell him the exact same thing Mari said. How ridiculous is that? Thankfully she told those two idiots off before she took off.

With most of the episode wasted on that nonsense, Mari trying to seek additional information about her necklace went back to the university to see Professor Macalester. Unfortunately for her it turned into an ambush with a mysterious woman and her two goons showing up to take the necklace.


Episode #5:

In Mari's attempt to get away from the mysterious woman, she was shot but when she woke up she was in for a huge shock. For one thing she was no longer in Detroit but in Africa and two she found out who the mysterious woman was, Kuasa her older sister. While there she found out the truth about the necklace and why her sister wanted it. Although the necklace had bonded with Mari that was not going to stop her sister from trying to get it.


Episode #6:

In this last episode, Mari had to go up against her sister to get back the necklace. During all of this, she discovered who she really was and now knew what she wanted to do which was to go back home to Detroit and be the hero of her city. But talking that over with her dad didn't last long before those two idiots showed up again, seriously they didn't need to be on this show. Of course Oliver was doing that same old spiel he gives to anyone trying to be a hero, that they're not trained. Who made him the authority on who should or should not be a hero? He really is just as off putting on this show as much as he is on his own show.

I loved that Mari wanted to figure things out for herself instead of immediately joining up with the Arrow/Flash brigade. Although I do wish she was the one who came up with her code name instead of Cisco.


I really do want a full length Vixen series, be it animated or live action but I definitely only want it to focus on Vixen and building up her world. Episodes #1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 were rather good but episodes #4 and the ending of #6 spent way too much time showing The Flash and Green Arrow which took away from the focus of the show, which is Vixen. There was no point in Cisco, The Flash, Green Arrow and Felicity (at least it was only her voice) even being on this show.

Overall, these six episodes are fascinating to watch and if you have not seen them yet, please give them a chance.