The LEGO Movie 2 Is Awesome, Obviously

As you’d expect, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part is awesome. There, that’s the zero spoilers review. Go see it. (Then keep reading this. It also contains non-LEGO musings.)

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Netflix V. Gotham: Dawn Of Bombogenesis

So there was no blog last week. I failed you, & the world didn’t stop spinning as it was supposed to! My work on an extensive custom project was derailed by bombogenesis. (R.I.P. Dick Miller & the Marcal factory.) Extreme cold makes me go into hibernation mode because I’m half-Scarren. I could’ve run something else, but my anti-creativity levels also rose. I’ll probably end up writing over fifty-two posts this year anyway, so this wasn’t a big loss. We’re back now False Spring has sprung with the Year of the Pig, cake sniffers!

Super Bowl commercials were equally uninspired this year aside from Houses Lannister & Targaryen uniting to make those obnoxious Bud Light bastards dilly dilly dead. (Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical doesn’t count but was probably superior.) Why don’t the football teams also put aside their differences to form one mega-team? As I understand sports only marginally better than Bitcoin, I shall devote the rest of this essay on the merits of Netflix originals & Gotham again. It was either that or random feline thoughts. (Those will return eventually!)

Supergirl Vs. The Xenophobic World

So Supergirl begin season four by being more upfront about its politics than ever before. It’s had a dodgy time of this previously, yet it’s strangely working for the most part now. While we’re having a slow news week, I figure I’d check back in on all the recent happenings so that my eventual review of the DC TV season finales isn’t even more protracted this year. (I also realized My Crystal Fishbowl would be a keen name for a Mysterio fansite.)

When it began on CBS, Supergirl was the DC TV show about feminism by default. On top of its star having to be a role model for an entire gender, it didn’t help that most of the  issues it dealt with were superficial & the scifi was uninspired. At best it was a blander version of The Flash. (Although it did give Silver Banshee a better Venom arc than the Venom movie gave its lead.) In moving to The CW, the writers discovered something more substantial to hinge upon: Supergirl represents the immigrant experience better than her more famous cousin. After several showrunner shake-ups behind the scenes, now it feels like there’s a reason for this series to exist beyond the cast’s charm. It’s even turning past bugs into features!

I Can Put Mysterio In A Headline Now!

Now that I’ve finished slagging off Doctor Who, I resume my habit of having no discernible topic! There’s a mishmash of potentially spoilery Punisher, Gotham, & Aquaman musings below. But first let’s chat about Mysterio again because the time is finally ripe!

Send Doctor Who To The ER!

The start of Chris Chibnall’s Doctor Who tenure wasn’t my cup of tea. Rather than being a fluke, it turns out “The Woman Who Fell To Earth” was in line with how the rest of his his first series/season would go. I felt both RTD & Moffat overstayed their welcomes as showrunners, but not in their debut seasons! After a string of blogs discussing things I’m excited to recommend like Gotham’s swansong, writing this one felt like a chore. I kept putting it off because writing it was a bummer. A comprehensive essay of how Doctor Who squandered fantastic opportunities is no fun. Lots of SPOILERS for the latest season follow.

I will concede the Pting was cute.

The End Of Gotham Begins

This may be my most punctual review ever as I had nearly a month’s head-start to get it done! In December I attended “Meanwhile, Back in Gotham: Preview Screening and Discussion” at The Paley Center. The last time I went to an advance screening of a season premiere it was for Doctor Who season six (in reboot numbering), & I got Steven Moffat to sign my sonic screwdriver. (PHRASING!) This time I was unable to obtain any autographs & it cost more, but I did avoid stress induced vomiting connecting to writing a monograph whilst waiting on line for hours. So I’m counting it as a success!

The two times I’ve attended NYCC, the Gotham panels were always on another day. Last year’s didn’t even announce there’d be one until the week before when all the tickets were sold out. With the series ending, this Paley Center event seemed like my last opportunity to see them. They finished filming literally the day before. I feared the entire cast would be executed after the finale wrapped (That’s what they do for TV shows. The trend of reviving long dead shows is due to conceal a spate of zombieosis.), yet they did not fall into a pit of fire or revolving blades beneath the stage. This cast has excellent camaraderie, although I’ll never be able to tell whether it’s genuine or the thespians are contractually obligated to keep up appearances. It’s pretty surreal to hear them discuss how they’re all suddenly unemployed.

Is Elseworlds The Best Of All Possible Worlds?

This Elseworlds crossover does double duty as the midseason finales for The Flash, Supergirl, & Arrow. As befits the Freaky Friday conceit, the typical airing day of the shows have been scrambled. Fortunately The Flash had its 100th episode last week so it won’t have to celebrate that too, unlike the Arrow third of Invasion!  Although this year’s crossover is missing its Legends of Tomorrow component, I’ll still be discussing “Legends of To-Meow-Meow” below. If I make any errors in my SPOILERIFIC review, it’s because reality got warped again.