Last Week in Pop Culture #24

Around the Web 
Two reviews from me at Sound on Sight this week, as I wrap up a pair of crossovers: The X-Files Conspiracy #2 and Guardians of the Galaxy #13.

Also, I slightly tweaked and updated by To Better Know A Hero post on Captain American, which you can find here.

The Simpson: The War of Art 

This wasn't the funniest or most groundbreaking episode, but I'll give it credit for being relatively original plot-wise, covering some ground it hasn't covered before, which is a pretty rare accomplishment here in the 25th season.

Last Week in Pop Culture #23

Around the Web

This week, I've got a slightly revised and updated version of my To Better Know a Hero post on Black Widow up on Sound on Sight. Check it out before you see Captain America: Winter Solider.

The Simpsons: The Winter of His Discontent

This felt like the warmed up leftovers of two plots (Homer embraces the lifestyle of the elderly, Bart is befriend by Nelson after helping him out) from two previous episodes ("The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons" and "The Haw-Hawed Couple"), with an extended parody of The Warriors tagged onto the end.

Last Week in Pop Culture #21

Around the Web
Couple reviews from me up at Sound on Sight: Guardians of the Galaxy #12, and the Transformers portion of IDW's X-Files crossover.

The Oscars

Putting aside my bitterness over losing my Oscar pool by one point, this wasn't a terrible show, though it wasn't a terribly good one either. Ellen turned in a perfectly cromulent monologue, then became far too obsessed with going out into the crowd (which, I know, is her schtick). Some of that material worked, some of it didn't. The pizza thing mostly did, largely because, as fabricated as it may have been, the reactions to it felt genuine. There's something undeniably entertaining about seeing people like Meryl Streep and Brad Pitt fishing around for change or Harrison Ford's excitement at the prospect of pizza, just like regular people!

Last Week in Pop Culture #19

Around the Web
This week, I've got one review up for Sound on Sight, looking at All New X-Men #23, the third part of the "Trial of Jean Grey" crossover, as well as a feature on Cyclops and Jean Grey, part of February's "Best Comic Book Romances" theme. 

Once Upon a Time: The New Neverland

One of the benefits to moving the action back to Storybrooke, even though the whole Pan storyline hasn't completed, is that it gives us a chance to see the characters decompress while they think the threat is over, something that rarely happens.

It was genuinely kind of sad that nobody cared Regina came back, and I'm glad Snow wasn't a bitch about it and stuck up for her. 

I'm also glad Emma knew fairly early that something was wrong with Henry - obviously, with only two episodes left, they couldn't drag this out very long, but that works to the show's advantage.

I'm still confused about the Hipster Darlings...like, they were once younger than Wendy, right? So now they're older than her (since she's been in timeless Neverland), but they're not *that* much older. Why not? Whatever. That's probably the last we'll see of them. 

How awesome would it be if Henry had gotten stuck in Pan's body so that Jared Gilmore was done playing Henry? 

I've seen better animated figures than Medusa in video games. From 1995.

Last Week in Pop Culture #18

Around the Web
Two reviews from me this week, one for Ms. Marvel #1 (which was mostly excellent) and Wolverine #1 (which was mostly not).

Super Bowl XLVIII
Boy, that game sure did suck, didn't it? 

New Girl: Prince

I'm not the world's biggest Prince fan (despite being Minnesotan, I basically have no strong opinions on him), but I love the idea of casting him as some kind of impish relationship guru with magic powers and butterfly familiars, and in general appreciate that, as much as this was still Prince, the show made a character out of him, rather than just dropping him into their big post-Super Bowl episode for the sake of having an attention-getting guest star.

Last Week in Pop Culture #16

Around the 'Net
You can find my review of All New X-Men #22, the first part of the "Trial of Jean Grey" crossover, for Sound on Sight here, and my review of X-Files Conspiracy: Ghostbusters #1 here. 

Once Upon a Time: Think Lovely Thoughts.

How dumb is Henry? Wouldn't it be awesome if he was just dead now, and we were done with his character? 

I'm fine with the idea of Peter Pan being Rumplestiltskin's dad (they were obviously connected somehow), but the reveal would have been more effective if, once again, it didn't occur in the same episode in which we first meet Rumple's dad. And also if his desire for immortality/childhood had been more firmly established prior to their arrival in Neverland, whereas before then, he just seemed kinda shifty and irresponsible.

That said, I really like the idea that Neverland is just some place Pan dreamed up as a child before eventually going there to rule it, and the casting department once again outdid themselves in casting Rumple's dad and young Rumple.

Last Week in Pop Culture #6: All Halloween Edition

TV and movies make a big deal out of most of the major holidays, but Halloween, arguably, gets the biggest inflation in scope from "real life" to "fiction". Once you've outgrown trick-or-treating, there isn't a whole lot to the day. I celebrate it by going to a party (in costume, of course), listening to appropriately-themed music in the weeks leading up to the holiday, and watching suspense/horror/Halloween-themed movies and TV shows.

Yet while Christmas remains my favorite real world holiday, Halloween is probably my favorite when it comes to fictions about the holiday itself, as the stories, imagery and sensations on display in fiction are so much larger and impactful than they are in real life. And as much as there are some Christmas movies I love, and some fantastic Christmas-themed episodes of favorite TV shows, I have much more fun plowing through the fiction of Halloween every October than I do that of Christmas in December (in part because there's plenty more real world stuff to do associated with Christmas).

Anyways, here's my thoughts on some Halloween-themed TV shows I watched last week.

Sleepy Hollow: John Doe

So the lost colony of Roanoke is lost because the Horseman of Pestilence (aka Conquest) infected it with a plague then sent it forward in time so Pestilence could be unleashed on the modern world, but the colony was protected by the ghost of Virgina Dare, who gave the water healing properties, at least until one of the colonists was lured out by the Horseman and pierced the time barrier, entering the modern world and bringing the plague along with him?

Goddamn, I love this show.

Last Week in Pop Culture #2

Real life got in the way this week, leaving me little time in the evening to watch TV, so I've quickly fallen behind on several shows. But, let's talk about some things I have watched!

The Simpsons: Homerland
Not a terrible episode, but I probably would have enjoyed it more if I was more familiar with Homeland. I know the broad strokes (solider brainwashed into being a terrorist, crazy CIA agent, Mandy Patinkin has a huge beard), but that's about it.

Also, if you haven't heard, Fox announced that Simpsons will be back for a 26th (!!!) season next year.

Last Week in Pop Culture #1

Welcome to the first "Last Week in Pop Culture" post, the latest evolution of my weekly "Last Week in TV" posts. Of course, this post is jam-packed with TV stuff, as a ton of new and old shows premiered in the previous week. Enjoy, and be sure to let me know what you think of the new format.

The 65th Annual Primetime Emmys

In brief:

The good - NPH's middle number, the salute to choreography (which was just fun to watch), a break in the Modern Family cast's stranglehold on the supporting comedic actor Emmys (I like the show but it's far less consistent these days, and there are better shows/performances out there), and the relative unpredictability of the wins in general.

The bad - NPH's opening number/bit, the largely-superfluous and time-sucking Elton John and Carrie Underwood performances, and the numerous "In Memoriam" tributes independant of the main "In Memoriam" tribute (which were appropriate, but did make the whole show seem sadder, and ate up more time).

Also, with nearly every winner getting played off (only Merrit Weaver escaped that fate, since she didn't stick around long enough for the orchestra to cue up), and nearly every one ignoring it, the end result was simply having the ends of acceptance speeches feel like they were being underscored for dramatic value, which was mildly amusing.