KenJennings

Nichelle was an absolute legend. She blazed trails with unparalleled dignity and grace. Her impact goes so far beyond the role of Uhura. She will not be forgotten.

The Orville really nails these Moclan episodes. It's been an up and down season, but the latest was really good. Especially loved the Dolly appearance!

Since Portnoy left, only one of their releases (Dream Theater) has been a top-10 Dream Theater album. In fact, think I'd put their last three releases in the bottom three places of all their studio work. I'd rather listen to Falling Into Infinity or When Dream and Day Unite all day ahead of The Astonishing, Distance Over Time or A View From the Top of the World.

SNW nailed their finale. My biggest gripe is that they didn't get James Frain to play the Romulan commander. That would've been quite a few layers of perfect fan service. I also didn't really get the "Kirk" vibes I hoped for from Paul Wesley: I thought he could do a bit more to capture the Shatnerisms, lay a few more slices of ham down, and really chew up the scenery. All in all, the episode bordered on a Trek masterpiece though. The Orville had its Tuvix moment tonight. All of the pieces of a great episode with a moral challenge; but then the Captain goes and turns into a monster in the 11th hour. I walked away feeling a bit sick, and truly disliking Ed and Kelly. I get what they were going for, but it was a bad look for those characters; and a really unsatisfying, really unforgiving end to a compelling story.

The Orville wins the night this week, pretty handily. It was their best outing of the season, harkening back to their first season and finally facing the consequences of a long running arc that needed resolution. It was a weak effort from SNW. This episode tried to do too much, was crowded with characters they wanted to touch base with, and absolutely lacked the emotional resonance its events deserved. For the second week in a row, we're starting to see a pacing problem with SNW as it's classical episodic format strains against the boundaries of a modern day, 10 episode, flagship TV season. SNW has all the pieces in place to be great Star Trek, but I fear it doesn't have the time. I wish we could even see something like 18-20 episodes so they could slow down and give these characters time to sink in.

The Orville was a dense, confusing episode- in sort of a good way. It felt like they were trying to make a point, but instead asked a bunch of questions and threw them all up in the air as a total jumble without nailing down a conclusion. I appreciate that they left room for reflection in what easily could've been a hamfisted hatchet piece. SNW remains solid with an episode that brought me back to TNG's "Remember Me". I'm a little disappointed at the quick and sudden wrap up of a major arc, and I hope it doesn't leave a fantastic character with nothing to do going forward. But I have no reason to doubt that the fallout from this will be handled carefully.

Loved the Orville this week. Bringing back the TNG feelings hard. Part The Royale, part Frame of Mind, part Ship in a Bottle, and even a little dusting of The Chase. Best episode of the season so far, and it very much alleviated my concerns about their direction. As for Strange New Worlds... I find myself going into the series every week almost rooting against it... or just doubting they can keep pulling it off. I still sort of hate the formula. But damn it, they keep feeding me crow. Another very good episode, and they are warping along at full song. Great week for my favorite franchises.

And in a week where the Orville leans away from its comedic side, Strange New Worlds embraces theirs fully with a really good change of pace episode. And that tunic! Thursdays are good TV.

The premier of The Orville was extremely cinematic, and visually stunning. But I felt like it was a 45 minute episode extended to 60 minutes. I understand that they were trying to milk the glamour shots and show off the new VFX, but it felt a little slow at times. That being said, the content and theme of the episode was heavy and meaningful. It was a little upsetting to see so many of the Orville's crew acting as they did; but I can't wait to see their transformation and re-enlightenment. It's apparent the Orville is leaning hard into the moral parable side of its identity, and away from the more comedic elements. I just hope they don't abandon those comedy elements completely. 7/10 on the premier. Looking forward to more.

Well, this Thursday we'll get a double dose of this formula as the Orville returns.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/05/29/norm-macdonald-nothing-special-netflix/

Second episode of SNW seems like it's trying really hard to be the Orville. I guess they recognize a successful formula because it wasn't bad. Pike is Mercer. Number one is Kelly. Spock is Bortus. They even have a wisecracking pilot and a tough fish-out-of-water security chief. They're trying to tap into the awkward humor, and sense of serialized camaraderie; while presenting episodic stories. Even the art style, that shepherd ship looked just like a Kaylon ship. Still more looking forward to the Orville, but this weeks SNW was good.

I was pretty 'meh' on SNW. The plot was kind of uninspired and the characters were basically shells of what came before them. I didn't feel moved or motivated by these people in the slightest, and they're trying to shoe horn in canon references without any logical tie in. I like Anson Mount as Pike, but that's about it; I'm more pessimistic about SNW than anything at this point. I don't understand why people are so critical of Picard. I can see that it has pacing issues; but that's present in all nuTrek. The show has a ton of heart, it's done a great job drawing on and expanding existing canon without simply retelling it for new Audiences, and it makes it's arguments with some semblance of finesse. The plot sometimes lacks exposition, which is vastly preferable over constantly retelling and explaining, and its shortcomings give me the greatest gift a Trek show can give- the chance to craft headcanon to explain away the rough edges. In a way, Picard reminds me a bit of Doctor Who. Plot and pacing are always marching to their own beat, but it's less about the nuance and completion of plot details, than about the handling of the characters, emotions and ideas throughout the fantastical, hand-wavey craziness. I absolutely loved season two. And I can't wait for the third.

Picard Season 2 sticks the landing... A few small complaints, but resolves quickly and serves as a fantastic epilogue to the season. Can't wait for season 3 now.

Gilbert Gottfried's skills as a stand up comedian were top tier. His ability to pick up on cues and improvise with the crowd made his material so much less important than his delivery. Gilbert could (and often did) entire sets of street jokes, and killed every time. One of my favorites ever, and another gone too soon. I hope Gilbert and Norm are up in heaven right now cracking jokes about muscular dystrophy again.