The Simpsons - 17x03 - Milhouse of Sand and Fog

    Kirk and Luann get back together, and Milhouse is annoyed that he isn't getting the same attention he used to get.  So he and Bart come up with a ploy to drive a wedge between them, which backfires, and gets Homer and Marge mad at each other.
    When I go back and watch A Milhouse Divided, I find that it doesn't play as wild as many other Simpsons episodes do.  I suppose that the topic of divorce isn't all that funny, but I think it was also the effort that the writers were making in order to make the story feel serious enough that it was communicated that the effects of the story were going to be permanent.  There aren't too many episodes with permanent effects.
    This might be why this episode feels lighter than its counterpart.  The story actually abandons Kirk and Luann by the third act, twisting the story to just focus on Bart, Homer, and Marge, with Milhouse along as comic relief.

Star Trek: The Next Generation - 4x16 - Galaxy's Child

    Geordi welcomes a visit from Dr. Leah Brahms, who he had a peculiar holodeck relationship with.  In the meantime, the Enterprise runs into a spaceship-size creature, which they inadvertently kill.  They help birth a child from the corpse, which treats the Enterprise as a mother.
    There is a real corniness to the Enterprise plot in this episode.  I think we've run into beings that exist in space in the past, but the premise of the baby nursing off the ship seems a little too silly.  The plot between Brahms and Geordi is where the fun is.  Geordi doesn't get too many episodes, so it's fun to see him struggle with being awkward around his crush.  Brahms seems too conveniently cold, and I would have liked to see a little more nuance in her.  For some reason, I wanted to see her part played by Danica McKeller.
    Their big confrontation never felt like the draft was finished.  The words don't hit as firmly as they needed to. 

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - 2x08 - The Mysterious Mare Do Well

    Rainbow Dash starts getting overly prideful in her heroics, but is eventually challenged as the most popular heroine when a masked, silent heroine arrives and outshines Rainbow's efforts.
    I always feel a bit conflicted about Rainbow Dash.  I've never cared for her too much, since she's just too cocky.  While this episode addresses that, I don't feel like she changed that much.  I think the episode that best developed her character was Read It and Weep, which gave her a little more of a personal weakness.
    So an entire episode built around Rainbow being overly self-centered isn't terribly exciting.  Luckily, the heroics of the story help make everything fun.  The music is completely different than the show usually uses, and adopting the cliches of superhero movies (and TV shows) made everything much more fun.  The biggest problem of the episode is just that there isn't enough going on with the other characters to give them many moments.

    Also, the ending is very predictable.  The first time I saw it, I saw the ending coming very early on, even before they started hinting toward it.

The Simpsons - 17x10 - Homer's Paternity Coot

    Homer finds out that Abe Simpson may not be his biological father.  His mother was having an affair with a lifeguard.  Homer tracks down this man and learns about him.
    I don't have too much to say about this episode.  It's good.  I like the opening stuff about Marge trying to avoid paying the toll.  There are a few good one-liners, like Ralph saying "I'm C3-D2!"  There are also some weak ones, like Moe trying to play outside.
    Homer does some good delivery in this episode, especially in his dig at M. Night Shyamalan.

The Simpsons - 21x15 - Stealing First Base

    Bart meets a girl from the other section of his 4th grade class, and they develop a relationship.  Bart likes her, and kisses her, creating a no-touch policy at Springfield Elementary.
    I like this episode a lot, partly because of how nicely they handled the emotional aspects of Bart.  It doesn't hurt that the secondary stories are good as well.  Lisa deals with her rise in popularity as a result of doing badly on a test, and the corresponding drop when she turns out to be as smart as ever.  Nelson takes a blind student under his wing.
    The satire is a little weaker than usual, but broad bans on student touching are a little difficult to be too harsh with.
    There's an appearance by Michelle Obama (although her voice is don't by Angela Bassett) which plays well.  It's short, and it doesn't wear thin, or seem mean-spirited, like their handling of Bill Clinton (which they recognize in the commentaries.  They felt like it was easy to make fun of Clinton, but when they tried to do it with Bush, it just felt bad, since it just reminded them of how bad things were.)
    The conflict within Bart is what sells the episode though.  His girl is absurdly unpredictable, and he recognizes that.  But, having kissed her, he can't get over her that easily.
    There's also a montage, set to the theme from Cinema Paradiso, which is just beautiful.  I think that music would make me tear up regardless of what is set against it though.

Star Trek: The Next Generation - 4x15 - First Contact

    The Enterprise negotiates an awkward first contact with a new civilization, which is about to reach warp capabilities.  Riker is undercover, and trapped in a hospital.
    This is a good episode, but it has some really big weaknesses.  The writing is much more campy than usual.  It's unusual, in that it almost seems to treat the story as happening from a completely neutral point of view.  We don't view the Federation as being clearly right, but just as a party to the events.
    The real highlight - Riker getting the moves put on him by a lady who has always wanted to have sex with an alien.  That lady is played by Bebe Neuwirth!
    This episode is important though.  It spells out the procedures that the Federation uses for introductions to new civilizations.

Bob's Burgers - 1x05 - Hamburger Dinner Theater

    Bob's wife is enamored with dinner theater, and she persuades Bob to let her put on some a murder mystery in the restaurant.  The kids get involved, and a robbery happens at the end of the show.
    I don't feel as compelled to keep watching this show, but I enjoy it.  I just don't feel like I should keep watching episodes all the time.  But the description of this episode was so much fun that it seemed to be worth it.
    It's a good one.  I don't care for Bob's wife, Linda.  Her nasally voice would be grating, but hearing her try to sing everything was very likable.  I've also started to notice that most of the female characters have very strange designs.  The look like giant worms, almost like Richard Scarry.

Bob's Burgers - 1x03 - Sacred Cow

    As Bob is approaching his 100,000th burger made, a documentary filmmaker tries to make an example out of Bob by having a live cow live outside the restaurant.  Bob comes to really like the cow, and helps rescue it when it gets stolen.
    Like most of these early episodes, it's a lot of fun, but the show hasn't hit the stride it needs to.  Tina is still very likable, but Louise is still too much of a terror to make the team entirely likable.  This episode is a little more plot-heavy, and that works well.  There were a lot of gags that I really liked, and I especially liked the really surreal dream sequence at the end.  I was amazed that the show was able to get away with showing a person kissing a cow.

Futurama - 7x13 - Naturama

    The characters of Futurama are portrayed in the context of a nature documentary, first in a sequence about salmon, then about tortoises, then seals.
    I had some mixed feelings about this one.  For a three-part episode, it's a surprisingly novel approach.  The first segment plays fairly well, and it moves quickly.  It focuses heavily on Fry and Leela, and has plenty of nice, quick gags.  The second focuses on the Professor and Mom.  Then the third focuses on Kif and Amy.  And that's where it goes wrong.  The last segment isn't right.  The first has the legitimate romantic angle.  The second is a funny romance, one that we aren't terribly invested in, but it has comedic value.  This third one is not a relationship that I feel invested in.  Kif is a good guy, but Amy doesn't have much character to feel strongly about.
    The character designs are great.  The first act has the cute designs, but I was especially happy about the Professor as a tortoise.  And I liked seeing Leela as a bird.  Something about a cyclops bird seemed very…right.
    I'm glad that Futurama is trying more things, but the show feels like it lost direction once Fry and Leela got together.  I suppose I should get used to "more wacky, less egghead."

    (A note - I forgot to write anything about 31st Century Fox, the second-to-last episode of this season.  I did watch it, but it was weeks ago.)

The Simpsons - 22x12 - Homer the Father

    Homer gets obsessed with an 80s sitcom called Thicker Than Waters, and Bart wants to get a mini-bike.  When Homer doesn't come through with the bike, Bart agrees to sell nuclear secrets to China to get the bike.
    I don't care too much about the Bart storyline, although I think it nicely augments Homer's story.  There's something I really like about Homer's story.  There's something very charming about getting obsessively interested in old TV shows that are so far off the air that no one cares about them anymore.  It's a surprisingly positive pursuit for Homer.
    I suppose it's a pretty clear why this would resonate with me - I'm the one watching a forgotten Ray Bradbury show, Night Gallery, and Mission: Impossible episodes.
    The Bart story stretches the credulity of this episode.  It's still enjoyable, but it's the sort of episode where a toned down Bart story could have resulted in a really classic episode.

The Simpsons - 22x06 - The Fool Monty

    After Mr. Burns is told that he has a short time to live, he announces his impending death, and is bothered by the celebration it brings.  He attempts to commit suicide, but winds up a child-like simpleton.  The town decides to take revenge on Mr. Burns by passing him around and doing what they want to with him.
    There's something very pleasing about seeing this blank template of Mr. Burns.  They draw his eyes very well.  He has a great E.T. moment when he hides among stuffed animals in Bart's closet.  He thinks his name is "Oatmeal" and he has one of my favorite lines of the episode - "Oatmeal accept premise."
    I love seeing Homer walk him through a construction yard, set to Powerhouse.  That sequence is blocked wonderfully.
    I think this had fairly middling reviews when it came out, but I like this episode.  The only thing that feels a little out of place and dated is Smithers going to work for Dick Cheney.

Mission: Impossible - 5x20 - Kitara

    The military has captured a black rebel freedom fighter named Kitara.  The IMF gets involved to get Kitara out of holding, and free up the gold he has hidden.  In order to accomplish this, the IMF plans on turning the military leader into a black man.
    There was a series of Bloom County strips that had Oliver creating an "electro-photo pigment-izer" which was mostly a flash bulb that would turn the subject black.  His goal was to hit a South African apartheid leader with it.  Of course, those strips were during the 80s.  This was the 60s.

    It's a typical, well-handled episode.  The audience is rarely given enough information to know how things will play out, or what the team has planned for.  So we usually can't tell if something has gone wrong.
    The racial angle is the interesting one.  The episode aired in 1971.  At least some of the reviewers felt like this handling was a little too heavy handed.  I suppose the biggest problem is that it brings out certain racial distinctions more than it should.  We see that he doesn't look like a convincing black man, because his face doesn't look right.  The photo that gets doctored shows a substantial difference, and just calls attention to all the ways that blacks legitimately are different.

Star Trek: The Next Generation - 4x13 - Devil's Due

    The Enterprise helps out a civilization that is dealing with the reappearance of their equivalent of the devil, who is coming to collect on a 1,000-year-old contract which would enslave their population.  Despite her unusual powers, Picard doesn't buy it.
    This episode is a bit more campy than usual TNG is.  And there's a good reason for that - the script was re-purposed from a script written for Star Trek: Phase II, which would have starred the original series cast.  With this in mind, there are some passages that make much more sense - like the female lead trying to seduce Picard.  Yes, Picard is attractive, but not in the way she was playing it.
    Part of what sells the episode is actually the Klingon equivalent of the devil that appears.  It's brief, but seeing that costume and mask is very entertaining.
    We get to see Picard and the devil face off in an "arbitration" with Data acting as the judge.  (Perhaps Spock would have been the judge in the original?)
    This is a pleasing episode, but it doesn't work as well as other TNG episodes.  Maybe I've just gotten used to a little more science being used.

    Interestingly, one of the other TNG episodes that was adapted from a Phase II script was The Child, which opened the second season, and it's a really bad episode.  Not just that the episode centered on Troi, but it was campy, melodramatic, and it introduced Dr. Pulaski, who was a serious problem until they softened her later that season.

Star Trek: The Next Generation - 4x14 - Clues

    While investigating a planet, the Enterprise encounters a wormhole.  Everyone, except Data, passes out.  When they come to, Data says that they've only been out for about 30 seconds.  Gradually, odd things crop up that suggest that they were actually out for a full day.
    I like this episode quite a bit, but this time through, I felt like the ending cheated a little.  I'm a little tired of all-powerful aliens manipulating things.
    But the mystery of the episode works out pretty well, even if we know what direction it's heading.  We know Data is lying - but we don't know why he's lying.
    Again, Guinan adds nothing of value to the episode.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - 1x20 - Green Isn't Your Color

    Fluttershy models some of Rarity's designs when Photo Finish comes by to take pictures.  Photo Finish takes Fluttershy as the talent she wants to develop, and Rarity gets jealous.  Fluttershy doesn't like the pressure of modeling.  Both of them confide their secrets to Twilight, who wants to share the secrets to get everyone's problems resolved.
    This is a fun episode, and it has a few really good touches.  It's nice to see Spike's interest in Rarity get brought out.  And Pinkie Pie has some really Warner-Brothers-Cartoon stuff going on.
    Lots of unique designs appear.  I don't care much for pony fashion, but new characters, unusual lighting, and seeing the main characters get spa treatments is great.

Star Trek: The Next Generation - 4x12 - The Wounded

    Picard is tasked with finding and bringing in another Starfleet ship, whose captain has been destroying things in Cardassian space.  The Enterprise brings some Cardassians along to monitor their work.
    The title, and the basics of this story don't sound compelling to me, but the story was handled really well.  We don't get a clear answer as to how justified the rogue captain is in his actions.  He can't offer proof, but he offers an argument that Picard finds worth consideration, but Picard is willing to turn a blind eye to poor actions from the Cardassians, in hope that he can preserve the peace. 
    This episode also develops Miles O'Brien, who has been used occasionally for awhile, but hasn't had a spotlight.  It's nice to have an episode that develops these secondary characters a bit.

Star Trek: The Next Generation - 4x10 - The Loss

    The Enterprise gets caught in some weird space thing, which seems to cause Troi some problems, and she loses her empathic abilities.
    Troi is seriously one of the least likable characters on the Enterprise.  I didn't mind her at all when I was a kid.  I didn't find her attractive either, I didn't even consider that they might be using her as a sex symbol.  As an adult, when I watch TNG, I'm struck by how completely useless she is to the episodes.  She exists to reiterate the subtext that the audience is already aware of.  "He's hiding something."  "He's angry."  She's a waste of time and effort on the show.
    So it makes sense to give her an episode to develop her personality a little.  Except this episode just proves that she doesn't belong on the Enterprise at all.  She's startlingly unstable, and seriously unqualified as a counselor.
    After Troi loses her empathic abilities, she starts getting really… bitchy with everyone.  She gets offended for no reason.  The idea is that she feels like she's suddenly at a disability because she can't pick up on emotions anymore.  I can understand that the situation might be disagreeable to her, but it's hardly new.  There are many species that she has difficulty understanding, several life forms she can't read at all, and she deals with Data on a regular basis.  This isn't because she's upset on a personal level.  Her behavior is because she's a jerk.
    The other storyline, which involves some strange 2-dimensional space creatures having sucked the Enterprise into their field, is strange, but it also just doesn't seem to matter.  They bring the Enterprise to the brink of being sucked into a black hole, but it never feels like it matters.  Most of the story is dedicated to Troi, and she still isn't written well.
    And I seriously don't like Guinan much.  But usually I can just ignore her.  This time,  I couldn't stop staring at her lack of eyebrows.  And after a bit of research… it looks like Whoopi shaves her eyebrows.  Wow.

Ray Bradbury Theater - 3x05 - The Pedestrian

    In some sort of future (I think) where everyone remains inside all the time (at least at night?  They have jobs, and there are stairwells at their buildings, so there must be some need to go outside) a man persuades his friend to take a walk with him at night.
    The first half of the episode has the guy getting his friend, and then they wander around, looking at grass, dandelions, and so forth.  The second half has them getting caught by a helicopter, answering questions, and the main character getting taken away.  That's the end of the episode.
    It isn't much of a story.  Kind of a slice of life, and some world building, but nothing too interesting.

The Walking Dead - 2x01 - What Lies Ahead

    After leaving the CDC, everyone goes on a road trip to Fort Benning.  Sophia winds up getting lost in the woods, and everyone looks for her.
    I have a lot of concerns about this TV series.  After watching the first season during broadcast, I found that I liked the show much more when I watched it on Blu-ray.  With this season, I couldn't finish watching it during broadcast.  I've picked up the Blu-ray, and I'm hoping that it'll be better this time through, and compel me to finish watching the season.
    This episode was a real mix.  I love the first half of the episode.  Stopping on the road, letting the dead wander by, even the scene with T-Dog getting cut was really good.  Then, once Sophia gets lost, the episode starts to lose the edge it had.
    There's a long scene between Andrea and Dale, which exemplifies a lot of what I don't like about this show.  In the comic, both of these characters are excellent.  Some of my favorites.  In this, their personalities are just a mess.  Andrea is far more pushy, and…she's just not the same character.  Dale isn't the same either.  In this, he's much more weak-willed, and when he talks up, he's annoying.
    I liked the scene in the church, but then they have to give people monologues where they talk to God.  That seemed like a cheap shortcut to developing characters more fully.
    And the episode ends on a nice cliffhanger, with Carl getting shot.  This happens in the comic as well, and it's a pretty good device to introducing Herschel and his group.
    I often think that this episode represents what Darabont had started to achieve in his work on the second season, and it indicates that AMC made a massive mistake by letting him go.

Star Trek: The Next Generation - 4x11 - Data's Day

    Framed as Data sending a log of his day to a researcher, we see a few plots unfold from Data's perspective.  Miles O'Brien is getting married, but his wife is getting cold feet.  Data needs to learn to dance in preparation for the wedding.  A Vulcan ambassador is onboard, and is acting strange.
    This is lots of fun, like any Data-heavy episode.  It's giving the fans plenty of what they want - Data being puzzled by human behavior.
    The subplot with the Vulcan ambassador is a little strange.  I felt like it was needlessly complicated, and padded out a little more than it needed to be.
    It's lots of fun to see Data learning to tap dance.  Whenever the camera goes to the overhead view, it's pretty clear that we're seeing a double.

Star Trek: The Next Generation - 4x09 - Final Mission

    Picard, Wesley, and another guy wind up marooned on a desert planet when their shuttle malfunctions.  The Enterprise is delayed by their efforts to address a distress call that involves some radioactive garbage.
    This was pretty fun, although a little annoying with the number of inconvenient solutions.
    The Enterprise has a hard time using the tractor beam on this freighter of radioactive garbage, since the radioactivity is too high.  After trying, and failing with another solution, they use the tractor beam anyway, and deal with the radiation for as long as they can.
    Why not separate the ship?  Let Data handle the radioactivity, and then the rest of the ship can go off and look for Picard?
    The Picard/Wesley story is fairly enjoyable too.  The other guy is so awkwardly impulsive that it feels a little fake.  And the solution that Wesley comes up with is just ridiculous.  He punches a bunch of buttons on his tricorder, and suddenly, everything works out fine.  I think Star Trek episodes require a solution, not some hocus-pocus hand waving.
    The last bit of conversation between Wesley and Picard made me realize that I think they could have provided a good dynamic if they had been more casually friendly.  If Picard had taken more of a fatherly role, and joked around with him.  That probably would have made Wesley more palatable as well.

Star Trek: The Next Generation - 4x07 - Reunion

    The Enterprise picks up a Klingon ambassador, and Picard has to help decide who will become a new leader on the Klingon Council after a death.  After a bomb is detonated at a meeting, an investigation is in order.
    Another Worf-heavy episode.  I don't care too much for these ones.  I think I enjoy Worf in a comic relief role, I just don't feel as invested with him on a personal level.  This episode does a decent job though.
    Despite the summary I just gave, the most interesting element is that Alexander, Worf's son, is introduced.  At the conclusion of the episode, Alexander is sent to live with Worf's adoptive parents, which was an interesting choice.  Alexander comes to live on the Enterprise about a full season later.
    The other storyline is irrelevant to me.  I don't care much about Klingon politics, and their adherence to rituals seems pretty silly to me.

The Simpsons - 22x21 - 500 Keys

    After Maggie locks herself in the car, the family goes through a drawer filled with keys.  They each have a separate adventure.  Homer winds up piloting the Duff blimp.  Marge chases down a toy that wanders around town.  And Lisa finds a key to a strange room in the basement of the school.
    Another solidly good episode from the 22nd season.  Even Marge's storyline is fun, in a strange way.  Homer is plenty entertaining.  And Lisa's story is engaging, and really pretty good.  The only complaint I have is that her story seems like it should take up more than a single day.
    There are a few good gags with Chief Wiggum too, riding a blimp, as well as being unable to pick up things on the ground.