Designated Survivor -- the First Two Seasons Were Great

This is another one of my recent guilty pleasures: Designated Survivor. I started watching it when it first came on ABC, and you can read my impressions of the first season here. I caught the second season on Netflix -- and now you can catch the whole run over there.

The first season follows what happens after a terrorist attack takes out the Presidential staff and the entire Congress. Only one member of the staff survives -- the Designated Survivor (which is a real thing, by the way). Tom Kirkman, the director of HUD becomes the next president, but he has many enemies, and often feels underqualified for the position. Still, he chooses to rise to the occasion.

Since he is mostly an outsider, he decides to do things the "right" way instead of how the parties would have him act. And as you may guess, this upsets a lot of people. He describes himself as a moderate and an independent. However, throughout the first two seasons, he often pushes forward what may be considered to be liberal agendas today. And the preachiness certainly pushed away several of my friends from continuing the show. I guess it didn't bug me that much.

The funny thing is -- I think Tom Kirkman, if he existed in real life, would be exactly the type of person I would like to see running our country. So much so, that if Keifer Sutherland were to run for president, I just might have a hard time NOT voting for him. I liked his character that much. And didn't that happen in real life in the Ukraine?

The second half of the first season and most of the second season spend more time on the politics, which I think I may have enjoyed more than the terrorist angle -- though that part was fun as well.

The main thing that irritated me was how poor Agent Hannah Wells gets treated. She's very good and very capable, but for some strange reason, no one takes her seriously. So many times we see her superiors and peers sending her to her room without listening to what she has to say. It's a very convoluted way to build up artificial suspense. Though -- I must admit that it mostly worked. I did like following her character.

I was at first excited about a third season, exclusively on Netflix. I watched the first episode and realized I wasn't even going to try to finish it. The writers changed the formula -- as if some executive said, "I want to see a lot more House of Cards." So, we got introduced to F-bombs and affairs, unexplained changes to people's characters, and really bad writing and ... well ... it just ruined the whole feel and show for me. And it felt ... fake. Eventually I'll get around to watching House of Cards, which is probably good, but it did not fit in Designated Survivor. 

I see that the show was cancelled for good after about 10 episodes in Season 3. Perhaps if enough people tell me it's worth watching I'll finish it out. But for now -- I got a lot of other good shows on my plate. For now I'll just pretend the 3rd season never happened and that it stayed cancelled after Season 2.

I strongly advise watching the first two seasons -- and then you can continue one at your own risk.

Remembering Colony -- Another Cancelled Show

Here is another one of my guilty pleasures -- the series called Colony. It showed on the USA network for three seasons until they decided to cancel it. And funny thing -- I didn't find out about the cancellation until a couple of years later. I caught the first season on USA and then around that time I stopped watching TV in lieu of the streaming services. So, I didn't finish seasons two and three until they showed up on streaming. All three seasons are currently on Netflix.

And big warning -- when I finished the last episode of season three, I was all geared up to watch season 4 and resolve the cliffhangers only to discover that it doesn't exist and will likely never exist. Dang.

First off -- I really love these dystopian shows, like V (Original), Walking Dead, Revolution, Jericho, and so on. So, this show fit in well with me.

Will Bowman (Josh Holloway) and Katie (Sarah Waynes Callies) live in a colony that used to be part of Los Angeles. Aliens have taken over our world and are using us as slave labor, and for some reason the humans in charge are cooperating. Well -- they kind of have to, because it's help or die. But these human leaders turn to a fascist model to control the people.

Will is a detective who helps to keep order in the colony, while Katie is a member of the Resistance. So, Katie must keep her identity hidden from her husband. And Will does what he needs to do, reluctantly, in order to survive. The one thing the two parents have in common is that they want the best for their children. 

One son is lost in another unreachable sector, and so Will decides to go after him.

In all, it turns out to be an enjoyable story. Sometimes the plot gets a little convoluted to set up conflict between the husband and wife, but I was able to overlook that and keep watching.

In the later seasons, it did seem to waffle some with filler episodes, but I think most of the original plot stayed intact. And fun plot twists along the way.

I wouldn't mind if they came back and finished off the story. Just one quick season?

If you don't mind ending on cliffhangers, you may enjoy this dystopian TV show, but if you know that unresolved loose ends are going to bug you -- then stay far away from this addicting show.

Umbrella Academy: Imaginative Show

I would have missed this show entirely if it weren't for Netflix's insistence that I watch it, and now I present one of the best sleeper shows: The Umbrella Academy.

All around the world, 43 children are born on the same time on the same day from women who weren't pregnant at the beginning of the day. Seven were adopted by the mysterious Sir Reginald Hargreeves. Each of these children, except for one (evidently), has different superpowers. Sir Hargreeves raises them and trains them, preparing for an upcoming evil so they can save the world.

But as time passes, the family falls apart and each child develops his or her own failings. One is already dead, and one has disappeared. 

When Sir Reginald dies, the remaining children reluctantly come together to attend the funeral. As such, the first two episodes are a little depressing and slow -- while each character is introduced -- but then it quickly picks up speed.

They come to learn that the world will end in eight days and only they can stop it -- and nobody has any idea what it is or how it will happen. And yes -- this show does depend on time travel -- and yeah -- it's not a strict treatment of timelines by any measure -- but then it again, it's only a device, and so it's easy to sit back, relax, and enjoy the story.

On the most part it's well-written, good acting, fun music, lots of energy, and lots of messed-up people. Sometimes I think the writers work a little too hard in pushing the kids in the wrong directions, but hey -- we humans do make stupid decisions sometimes. At least the characters seem consistent.

It also has crazy assassins, a talking monkey, and lots of things blowing up. What is there not to like?

The one question that has yet to be answered -- what ever happened to the other 36 miracle children? This story has so much untapped potential.

So -- if you have Netflix, give it a try. There are two seasons out, and in another year or so season three will drop.

WandaVision: A Visit to the Past

Here we are -- the beginning of Marvel's "Phase Four," and it all starts with a TV show -- WandaVision. Officially, I believe this is the first TV show to belong to an official "phase." Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and all the Netflix shows evidently don't count for reasons I don't fully understand.

Instead of doing a long stretched-out TV show lasting several seasons, they gave us more of a mini-series -- nine episodes. It's kind of like a movie on the small screen with more time to flesh out the plot. And overall, I think it was a huge success. It does require a subscription to Disney+ -- and yes, it's all a big money machine, but they can take my money as long as they keep it interesting.

The first episode of WandaVision pulled me in immediately. It features Wanda and Vision starring in their own 50's show -- much like The Dick Van Dyke mixed with a little Leave It to Beaver. I was laughing, as it plays fun at all the tropes and issues that permeated most of the shows of the time.

The second episode moves on to the 60s, and so on. At the same time, the audience is trying to figure out what's really going on. Who's watching? Why is Vision alive again? Who is the influence behind it all?

Toward the end of the first episode, there's an awkward moment as Wanda and Vision try to remember their past, only to note that they can't, letting us all know that something is very wrong.

One of the biggest successes comes from all the funny Easter eggs that persist throughout the whole show -- inside jokes -- hidden meanings -- all kinds of things for Marvel fans to pick up on. It also manages to bring in characters from older movie series -- Ant Man, Thor, Captain Marvel, and so on. All to remind us that this show really does belong in the official Marvel universe.

It also sets the stage for future stories to take up the mantle -- a very successful formula in a franchise. Though, I understand that this show relies heavily on a known comic book series -- so some people already knew what was going to happen, and most likely know what's coming next.

Like all Marvel products, it's nowhere near my favorite show of all time, but it was very good in what it does. I may forget the details five years from now, but it was fun while I watched.

If you're a Marvel fan, it's worth catching this -- it does look like "required" watching so you can understand what's happening in later shows and movies. I know -- I usually hate that type of thing, but this time I'm really enjoying the new format. So, give it a try.

The Good Place: Series Overview

This week's review is a mostly-spoiler-free recap of The Good Place -- the entire series. (All four seasons are currently on Netflix right now.)

Eleanor Shellstrop is dead, and is introduced into the Good Place. She's given a soul mate, a place to live for eternity, and anything she could possibly want. However, there's one small problem. Eleanor knows she's a terrible person, so she wonders how she could qualify for heaven. She learns early on that another woman named Eleanor Shellstrop -- same exact name -- died the exact same time as she did, only the other Eleanor got sent to the Bad Place.

So, Eleanor is a mess. She wants to stay in the Good Place, but she also knows the other Eleanor deserves her spot. She tries to hide the truth from Michael the caretaker, while at the same time trying to become a better person with lessons from her soulmate, who also happens to be a philosopher.

As the story continues, it surprises with believable continuations, a compelling over-arching plot through four entire seasons, and a very satisfying conclusion. Angels, demons, a magic robot, dead people everywhere, the Good Place, the Bad Place, and even a Middle Place make for a hilarious and intelligent heavenly comedy. It also comes with a heavy dose of philosophy (real philosophy -- but watered down) that makes you think while Eleanor totally breaks every philosophical concept.

The writing is tight, the music is hilarious, and the shots are all gorgeous. But what makes it all work are the six main characters.

Eleanor Shellstrop -- as I mentioned before is trying to stay in heaven. Sometimes she's known as Fake Eleanor.

Chidi Anagonye -- Eleanor's soulmate. He is a philosopher who studied how to be a good person his entire life. However, he is notorious for not knowing how to make decisions -- lest he make a bad one. He really wants to help Eleanor, but sometimes he thinks that she is just a terrible person beyond anyone's help.

Jason Mendoza -- a monk who has taken a vow of silence. Small spoiler near the beginning -- he's really in the same boat as Eleanor -- another case of mistaken identity -- he's not a monk, but really someone who loves video games, music, and crazy living. Possibly my favorite character of the whole series (most like me).

Tahani Al-Jamil -- a rich benefactor -- nearly perfect, and Jason's soulmate. You can imagine what happens when she learns who Jason really is. And she has her own baggage -- a family on Earth who never appreciated her.

Janet -- a magic robot thingy -- "I'm not a girl" -- she can conjure up whatever anyone desires. She can also answer any questions, such as what Mr. so-and-so is currently doing on Earth. There's also a Bad Janet -- same actress -- pretty funny stuff.

And last, but not least, Michael, the Caretaker. This is his first assignment, and his biggest desire is for it not to fall apart. He must often answer to his superior, but when things start going wrong, he starts worrying, and he tries to fix things before his superior comes to visit.

Lastly, I should mention that this shows currently earns an 8.1 on imdb.com. I believe it should be higher -- I think a lot of the more intelligent material and dialogue goes over a lot of heads, but there is plenty of Good Stuff for everyone. Michael Schur did an awesome job with this series. Some individual episodes are rated 9.5 or higher -- in particular the season finales.

I'm sad it came to an end, but the overall story is a good length, and well executed. So, give it a try, and enjoy it.

Trouble in Taos: A Visit to the West

Looking for a funny tale set in the west? I may have just the book for you. Trouble in Taos: Or the Lowdown, Dirtiest, Boring Gunfighter is a story of the most famous gunslinger from Taos, New Mexico. Turns out the city is real, but the gunslinger is fictional.

And I should mention -- the main reason I chose this book in the first place is because I'm actually in this book -- or at least a fictionalized version of me. I'm in there, somewhere, proselytizing to the drunks in the bar, chasing them away from drink. The author, Headley Hauser, did not ask me to review this, nor has he given me any freebies. He probably doesn't even know that I picked up a copy of his book after so many years!

When I review books of friends, I tend to limit myself to 4 stars out of 5 to help offset any natural bias I may have. But this time, I just enjoyed this book greatly. As a self-published book, it really stands out among its peers. I would give it 4.5 stars, which rounds up to 5 on Amazon.

In a way, this book reminds me of the movie, The Life of Brian. After a series of misunderstandings and coincidences, Slimy Beach becomes a notorious gunslinger. But all he wants to do is to excel at his real job: an outhouse digger -- and he is very good at his job. He knows exactly where to dig such that the people can't smell it from their house, and won't pollute any of the water sources. But dagnabit -- people keep trying to kill him!

The story is told by his long-time friend Walter Bego, who is an artist of some type. He's really good at woodworking, and a funny character by himself. He tells the tale from his 80s. Along the way, he mentions the things he's doing in the early 1900s -- getting used to the newer technology. He picks up a book called "Slimy Beach, the Tornado of Taos," which is complete trash, but nonetheless, Walter reads to us some excerpts, and then corrects practically everything in there -- he tells what really happened with his friend Slimy.

Hauser also throws in some actual history in there as well. Some other famous gunslingers make appearances. Taos, and (I'm surprised to learn) even several of the places in Taos are real. So, while you get in a funny story, you'll get in some history, too.

The book has a good mixture of action, humor, story-telling, and plot. It comes to a satisfying conclusion -- and also make sure to catch the funny forewords and epilogue material. Plenty of laughing out loud. And I really loved their horse -- it was definitely messed up.

Isle of Dogs

Who could pass up a quirky stop-motion animation by Wes Anderson? Not me! When I saw it come up on the one of our streaming services, I was quick to check it out.

After a deadly pandemic of canine flu, Mayor Kobayashi decrees that all dogs of the city must be moved to the nearby Trash Island. But what people don't know is that Kobayashi just hates dogs, like his father did, and his father, and so on back for generations. And now Kobayashi plans to create a no-win situation for all dogs and dog-lovers.

But then, Kobayashi's ward, Atari, enters the island in search of his own bodyguard dog. Five mutts help him along the way, all the time running from Kobayashi and his tech.

I was pulled in instantly with the Japanese music -- pretty intense -- and the overwhelming depiction of Japanese culture -- it almost felt like I were actually in Japan. I loved every minute of it.

Though -- a warning -- it does live up to its PG-13 rating. Though it looks kind of like a kid's movie, it may scare smaller kids. As you may tell from the trailer, the dogs are made to look really scrawny and suffering from malnutrition, so if you're a pet lover, it can certainly sadden you.

I love the movie's pace and dark humor. It's nearly difficult to predict what's coming next and Wes was really good at catching me off guard.

My only complaint ... in the title, the word "Isle" is on the Chinese character for "dog," and the word "dog" is on the "isle" character. My OCD goes bonkers every time I see it.

If you can find it, check it out. It was a pleasant surprise from 2018 -- something different, and I'm glad I caught it.

12 Monkeys -- The TV Show

After a Christmas hiatus, it's time for me to get back to my weekly reviews. This time, I'm finishing out the TV Show 12 Monkeys that I caught on the SyFy channel, which ran for four seasons and completed as planned in 2018. This overview will have minor spoilers, but nothing that bad.

Near the beginning of the show, I previously reported on the first four episodes. I complained that the show was different than the movie (still one of my faves). In the pilot episode when Cole scratches a watch from the past, that same watch in the present develops the very same scratch in front of a couple of witnesses. This cannot really happen in any kind of "real" time-travel situation -- there's no reason for "present" people to just now see a scratch form on a watch that had been there since the scratch was delivered in the past. This type of thing only makes sense in "Audience Time," or -- as the audience watches.

At first this was a disappointment and a gigantic departure from the movie, but as I reported before -- if you divorce the show from the movie, it actually becomes a good show on its own. The first few episodes were a little shaky, but then it gets really good.

The plot? Cole is sent back in time to try to save the world from dying from a dangerous plague. There he tries to meet up with Cassie, the scientist who originally sent the call for help -- though she hasn't done it yet. And along the way, they meet up with Jennifer Goines -- an insane girl who has a knack of accurately predicting the future. (She's basically the same character Brad Pitt played in the movie, if that helps.) Add in a lot of plot twists and interesting supporting characters and you get a fun show.

The first season closed out very strong and made me excited to watch for more. One new plot point introduced in this show is the concept of the Red Forest, which is some kind of time paradox meant to destroy the world.

Somewhere around the second season, the plot seemed to get weak to me. At least I think it was the second season -- when the time storms started threatening the 2040s time compound -- getting closer with each episode. Perhaps it was just me being a purist -- the idea of a "time" storm carrying itself out in "real time" just sounds stupid. The whole concept of "hurry up in the 1900s so we can save the 2040s" just doesn't work -- I'll let you think about this on your own as to why it doesn't work -- but then again, maybe not -- sure it's "Audience Time" and the writers are just trying to build tension -- maybe don't think about it that much. It was enough to make me temporarily stop watching, but something pulled me back -- something made me want to see how it all ended. Season 2 did have a very strong season closer.

I believe in the third season, things started coming back together and the heroes were making actual progress, and I was able to overlook the "Audience Time." The fourth and final season was very satisfying. I might go ahead and watch this show again. The plot is very convoluted, and that's probably what attracted me. In some cases, it really got the feels going.

I see that the whole show is available on Hulu -- so if you have that service, try it out. You just might like it.

Review: The Ride of My Life

Disclosure: This is review of my friend's book. He didn't ask me to do this, and he didn't give me any freebies. I just liked it and think it deserves to be reviewed.

The Ride Of My Life by Nick Bowen is a break from my usual science fiction. This time it's a coming-of-age story with some Christianity mixed in.

Larry is in high-school, and because of his cleft palate, he's subject to bullying. He tries to avoid the bullies, reason with them, and nothing works. He always gets beat up. So, his parents have an idea. They could let Larry read his deceased Grandfather Bill's journal.

At first Larry resists the journal -- why should he read about a person he had never met? However, when he acquiesces he's pulled in to the story.

Grandfather Bill writes about how he was a kid in high school with his own cleft palate and bullies, how he befriended a new poor kid, Jason, and how Jason changed his life. One day when Bill visits Jason's trailer, he sees a picture of Jesus, and you can imagine what comes next.

The whole book reads like a series of vignettes -- almost like a collection of short stories with one common thread -- Bill and Larry learn how Jesus can make your life better. Each vignette concentrates on some aspect or parallel of Jesus' life. Overall, it's a good collection showing boys becoming great men, and also exploring through allegory the traits of Jesus.

The vast majority of the book concentrates on Bill's stories, but Larry also applies what he's learning into a few adventures of his own.

My only complaint is that I wish each of the vignettes could have been fleshed out more -- some seem to be quite short. In some instances, I think the stories could have been layered in -- have several things going on at the same time. But then again, it's written like most journals, which tend to be short in real life.

I love the stories themselves and the characters. Even the bullies are interesting and believable. Sometimes I wonder from all the detail if Nick, the author, is relaying actual stories from his own life.

It's a good read, and fast, and gives plenty of warm fuzzies. If you love stories about coming-to-age and Christianity, this should be a nice relaxing book, from which you may actually learn something.

Review: The Midnight Sky

During the pandemic, we now get to watch some theatrical movies from home, and this time I caught The Midnight Sky on Netflix. The trailer's pretty good, so I had to watch -- it looks like good hard sci-fi.

Overall I have good reactions to the movie. I understand where it was going, and I like the ending. But the science turned out to be pretty bad. More on that in a minute.

Disaster has struck the world, and nowhere is safe. Everyone is going to die. Augustine (played by George Clooney), a scientist, is stationed at an arctic observatory. He's got a terminal disease and no one waiting at home, so when his team decides to evacuate, he stays behind alone to hold down the fort. However, he doesn't know that someone else got left behind.

At the same time, Aether, a spacecraft, is returning from K-23, a habitable moon of Jupiter that Augustine discovered. He decides that he needs to contact the spacecraft and warn them to stay away from Earth.

The movie has pretty imagery and cinematography. Most of the acting is top notch, with Clooney carrying most of the cast. The music is okay.

But then there's the science, and what feels like a convoluted setup so we can have the good scenes. 

You may already have questions after reading just my synopsis. "But wait ... why should Augustine need to warn Aether to stay away? Don't they already know what's going on?" Good question! It turns out that when you're too far away, you can't talk to Earth. You have to be within range.

Yeah ... what? We can still currently talk with our ancient Voyager probes that launched into space decades ago. I know there's that square-inverse law thingy, but believe me -- we already got this. We've been able to send and receive signals anywhere in our solar system for a very long time. You may remember receiving pictures of Pluto a few years ago. Well, if you believe this movie -- such a feat would be impossible!

And while Aether is traveling back to Earth, they suddenly go off course -- with no explanation. Does our solar system have hidden gravity wells? And then they must do fancy calculations to get back on course, and go through ... get this ... uncharted territory!!! Ugh. We've got every major asteroid in our solar system mapped. I believe we've got the whole thing covered. There exists no uncharted territory. And when asteroids attack, they look more like big rocks slowly bouncing off the ship rather than super fast piercing all the way through the hull. Also, any moon of Jupiter large enough to support our kind of life would have already been discovered as well.

But hey -- I got to be nice. At least they did get gravity right. That is, it's facing in the right direction, and we even get to see a character changing directions in the middle of the spin. That's a step in the right direction.

Then again, if you don't know that much about science, this stuff probably won't bother you. I was able to turn off the science alarms and enjoy the movie -- the story and the imagery. It's not one of my faves, but at least it kept my attention with no boring parts, and some good story.

So, while you're stuck at home, give it a try. You may like it -- you might not.