Tag: episode 9

Shut Eye: Wheel of Fortune – Clearing Out the Dunoi (Review)

KaDee Strickland, Jeffrey Donovan in Hulu's Shut Eye

The death of Gina, and her subsequent burial in the Haverford’s back garden, starts things off in this episode of Shut Eye. “Wheel of Fortune” brings Nadine back into the mix, briefly, and for a short while Nick is the prime suspect in Emma’s death.

Charlie calls Eduardo to help depose of Gina’s body but he learns that his former friend and patron is now annoyed at the psychic. Eduard finds out that despite the spot on analysis of his son’s ear problem, Charlie is a fraud and it has cost him a fortune.

Eduardo demands that Haverford get him his money back. He also tells Charlie that the body is his problem.

While Charlie cleans and re-dresses Gina’s body, we learn that there is more to Fonzo than his homicidal tendencies.  The former boss of Charlie and Linda loves his daughters and the marriage of Drina and Little Tony is driving him to distraction.

He later tells his 14 year-old daughter that the marriage could well be short lived if While Tony were to suggest she do something disgusting. For the first time in ages Drina smiles.

Nadine discovers that Gina stole her money, with her help, when she goes back to the bank to move the $1.7 from her safety deposit box to an account. She goes to the police who are already interested in Nick because of Emma.

They all pay Charlie and Linda a visit but Nadine leaves frustrated as the couple never took any money from their mark.

Gina’s body is moved and discovered by a woman walking her dog and Linda goes down to identify the body. The police make the scopolamine connection between the dead medium and Emma.

Charlie has another vision, in it Dr. White has a baby. She is overjoyed and brings him a lot of research. The case studies she drops off at his house lost her the professor-ship and all deal with psychic’s.

Linda reacts angrily once again to the news that her husband is having visions.  He decides that they need to “take care” of their mounted numbers of adversaries. White Tony, Fonso and Rita are all putting pressure on them.

Charlie convinces the father of the groom to allow him to perform a magic trick at the reception. He then invites Eduardo to the reception implying that he will be getting his money back.

The trick that Charlie is selling will make the new couple disappear in front of the guests.

With a body count that is pretty impressive for such as short series, it looks like Charlie may be moving toward adding to the list. While it is not clear just what will happen to Little Tony and Drina, it is clear that he plans to turn the guests against one another.

Fonso is already on edge and it will not take too much to push him into another homicidal act. In this episode alone he seemed to come dangerously close to killing his mother.

The last episode, “Ace of Swords” may prove to be a bloodbath. The series is airing on Hulu and all the episodes can be viewed now.

Cast:

The Mick: The Mess – Tough Love a’la Michael Myers (Review)

TheMick_TheMess_scene13-15_JA0158_f_hires1

This week’s episode of The Mick “The Mess” sees things come to a head between Mickey and her sister’s kids. The house is a tip, aka a mess, and no one is cleaning anything up, including Alba who is the family’s housekeeper.

Mickey attempts to take control and lay down the law but she is thwarted by a concerted effort by all three kids. When she forces them to clean the house, they put all the rubbish in Mickey’s bedroom and lock her, and Alba, in the crowded room.

Mickey retaliates with some tough love, a’la Michale Myers (in Halloween) and flings herself out of the bedroom window. She lands on the roof of the car, which Jimmy – who sells Mickey out to party hardy at the Malone’s – is driving.

This act of horror-film superhuman power freaks everyone inside the car out but not enough to keep them from going to the “party of the year.”

TheMick_TheMess_scene9pt2_JA0044_f_hires1
Thomas Barbusca as Chip.

Mickey is flung off the car and after coming to a rolling stop, sits up. Chip is more than impressed as the car full of fleeing family members all agree that the woman is indestructible. Later, at the Malone’s party, Mickey shows up.

With blood on her face and torn clothes, she coldly goes through the party to find the insubordinate kids. First, however, she stomps on Jimmy’s hands after she kicks the chair out from under him. She then grabs Chip, Sabrina and Ben.

While she searches for the missing kids, Alba heads in the other direction to help. She stumbles into a room full of kids and a blue bong. After a hit or more, Alba then shows off her amazing musical pipes by singing “The Lion Sleeps tonight.”

This was an episode highlight, watch this clip and see if you agree:

Throughout the episode Mickey fights for control and even loses Ben, her little buddy, to the “dark side.”  Alba tells her that all the kids went from sweet to evil around the same age. She recommends that Mickey punish them all but especially Ben as he has not changed completely.

Sadly, the youngest child’s older siblings bully him into attending the party and turn him against Mickey. Later, at the party, she and Ben get into a shouting match with the youngster yelling out “Screw you!”

The result is an impromptu spanking in front of everyone. The party goers and the rest of the family, including the injured Jimmy, are aghast.

After everyone returns home, Mickey apologizes and offers to take them all out for a meal. Instead she leaves the lot in the middle of nowhere, takes their mobile phones and tells them to make their own way home.

When the kids return, they grab cleaning utensils and Ben gives Mickey a hug before grabbing a mop and joining Sabrina and Chip in cleaning the house.

TheMick-S1_Ep110-sc16-PM_0358_f_hires1
Jack Stanton and Kaitlin Olson “Screw you!”

The Mick just gets better and better. The horror film look of a bloody and determined Mickey stalking the kids at the party was just brilliant. Once again the humor was very un-pc – the spanking would have given most new parents palpitations – but it followed the storyline.

Earlier, when Alba mentions punishment to Aunt Mickey, she is against the idea. “There is no punishment in this house,” Mickey declares stoutly. Later, when she loses to the three brats who have locked her into the room with all the clutter, she flips her lid and goes after them like Michael Myers sans the James T. Kirk Halloween mask.

After a huge open, where the pilot received over 8.5 million views, the series has settled down to a nice 3.6 million average. While not packing them in, the show is doing well enough against the competition to at least garner half a nod to a second season.

Thomas Barbusca and Carla Jimenez continue to tie for the MVP award on this show although Kaitlin Olson earns major kudos for her performance in this episode.  It should also be pointed out that this ensemble cast is working like a well oiled comedy machine with everyone bringing something to the table.

The Mick airs Tuesdays on FOX and it the funniest non-pc comedy on television. Stop by and check it out on the night or later on VOD or Hulu. It is well worth the trip.

Cast:

Con Man: Back to the Past and Dawn of Girth (Review)

Ep 9 Stan Lee 2

Just when it seems that Con Man cannot bring in any more celebs for cameo’s along comes Stan Lee, aka The Generalissimo, for a quick turn at “Shock-a-Con” in the VVIP room. After last week’s musical theme, this week sees Wray at the big con, the one that Jack has been so desperate for his Spectrum cast-mates to attend.

Wray arrives and upon entering his room finds that Bobbie has been living in his accommodation for three days. She has eaten his complimentary welcome basket, slept in his bed, and left it damp, and basically trashed the place.

Stutter is in his room, camouflaged as a potted plant, and he offers to shoot the last Hemsworth who is up for Doctor, Cop, Lawyer. The rest of the Spectrum cast arrive and Tiffany is still in rehab, Brenda has seven pounds of fat around her neck and Dawn still, seemingly, has the hots for Wray.

He kicks everyone out of his room and just as it seems that he and Dawn will have wild sex, she reveals that motherhood has changed her. She leaves to breastfeed one of the twins. After learning that her children are four years old, Wray asks why she is only feeding one. “The other one was getting hands-y,” she replies.

Wray goes down to speak with Jack who is in the VVIP room. Everything is free, laser surgery, manicures, pedicures, massages, et al, are included for the very, very important people. Wray is stopped by security until Jack clears him.

Once inside the room, Wray learns that another perk of being a VVIP, is to have a lifelike cardboard cutout to fool the con crowd. Wray does not have one as he is only an IP. Jack explains about his agent turnaround and just why he is so keen to have Spectrum made into a film.

Wray, touched that he old friend confided in him, begins to tell Jack about his journey only to find that Moore has departed and left  his cardboard cutout on the chair next to Wray.

Ep 10 Alan and nathan cut out

“Dawn of Girth” has the last remaining Hemsworth queueing up to get Wray’s autograph. He claims to be a huge fan of the actor. It is a ruse set up by Hemsworth to point out that Wray is a science fiction actor.

Girth appeals to the crowd and amid their cheers maintains that Wray could never convincingly play a cop, doctor, or lawyer. The “lost” Hemsworth is hoping that this puts him in the lead for Doctor, Cop, Lawyer.

Bobbie’s plan is for Wray to “sex up” the female star of Doctor, Cop, Lawyer, who is rumored to have co-star approval on the upcoming show. As the stars of Spectrum participate in group photos at the con, sans Jack who is represented by his cardboard cut-out, Bobbie keeps reminding Wray that he needs to have sex with Finley.

Dawn, who previously decided that she no longer found Wray irresistible, suddenly changes her mind. As the group gets smaller and smaller, Dawn goes on the attack.

Some of the standout moments in this episode had Stutter (Henry Rollins) as a plant and then part of the damp bed. The unhinged co-star is also selling guns, aka pieces of art, at the con and Wray accidentally causes the thing to go off.

The season two finale is rapidly approaching and the reunion of Wray with his old Spectrum co-stars promises to end things with a bang. (Pun intended.) Wray learns in episode 10 that Jack has not nailed down all the funding required to make the film.

As Wray tells his friend earlier, just seeing his old co-stars has made him feel crazy, and he worries for his own sanity. If Jack cannot get the film funded, he may well join his old pal/co-star on the “loony list.”

Con Man continues to be brilliantly funny and it is going to be interesting to see where the Doctor, Cop, Lawyer thing goes. Will Bobbie manage to get  Wray the part or will Finley Farrow opt for Girth Hemsworth?

Ep 10 Mindy

Guest stars Ricki Lindhome as Janey Carney, Josh Dean as Rico Java, Liam McIntyre as Girth Hemsworth, Laura Vandervoort as Finley Farrow.

Agents of SHIELD: Broken Promises – Aida and the Terminator (Review)

MALLORY JANSEN

Agents of SHIELD “Broken Promises” was a season four highlight. Not because of the main storyline, which was, to be fair, damned cool, but because of the underlying story of Nadeer and her brother and because of the Mack and  Yo-Yo interchange throughout. References to Aida and The Terminator were funny and spot on.

The May android plot line is solid and entertaining. The only problem with this is that we keep waiting for Phil Coulson to suddenly shout “Gotcha!” Phil is one smart cookie, he was the head of SHIELD after all, and he is pretty intuitive.

Sure Grant Ward managed to slip past the old Coulson radar but besides being a deep undercover agent for Hydra, Ward was a psychopath. Android May did ask about the Darkhold’s location a few too many times. So much, in fact, that it seemed Phil was going to rumble the robot’s secret.

It came as no real surprise that Radcliffe was a rotter all along. He always has been all about himself. His exposure to the book was just the nudge needed to turn the scientist back into a villain.

The fact that there are, obviously, multiple Aida’s running around was a tad surprising though. Just as surprising was the decapitation of the android in this episode.

The best bit of the episode hands down however was Mack and Yo-Yo with their running dialogue about how stupid it was to build Aida at all. Counting down a list of their favorite apocalyptic robot films was brilliantly comic and so appropriate to their characters.

“Someone needs to make Radcliffe watch all the “Terminator” movies.

“Even Salvation?”

The underlying story of Ellen (nee’ Rota) Nadeer and her brother Vijay was  perfect. The fact that the poor guy had no idea that he had changed after emerging from that chrysalis was perfect.

Once the Watchdog’s start trying to kill him, though, Vijay learns what his powers are. His sister, who has a heart of stone, lies to her little brother and then plants a bullet in him once they are airborne.

Terrance and his minion chuck the poor chappy overboard and as his “lifeless” body sinks to the ocean floor another chrysalis forms over his body.

Senator Nadeer may soon regret her act of coldblooded murder.

As far as character dynamics go, the new uneasy relationship between the current head of SHIELD and “Quake” played out beautifully in this episode.  Jeffrey proved once again that superpowers or no he is not above being a little…peevish.

“You are the weapon. The public was turning against you. Now? They look up to you.”

“You’re welcome!” He tells Daisy during their little talk. Mace does have superhero qualities but he is not above trying to force a little credit for making Quake into a more public friendly persona.

“Broken Promises” ends with Aida 2.0 talking with her creator. Phil is still apparently unaware that the Melinda May he is talking to is an android and Vijay is currently undergoing another transition.

Agents of SHIELD has taken things up a notch with this latest episode and the second half of the season should be really exciting. The series airs Tuesdays on ABC.

CAST:

Guest starring Manish Dayal as Vijay Nadeer and John Pyper-Ferguson as Terrance Shockley 

Fresh Off the Boat: How to Be an American – Jessica & Ferris Bueller Times 3 (Review)

RANDALL PARK, CONSTANCE WU, ZACHARY KNIGHTON

In Fresh Off the Boat “How to be an American” Jessica finally gets naturalized, the three boys plan a Ferris Bueller day off and Louis learns a lot about Jessica he never knew.  Most importantly he learns why she made him ask for her hand in marriage five times.

At the start of the episode Louis has to take Jessica down to the office of immigration for an interview in order to get her papers in order. Once there, the two take a trip down memory lane. Which includes the way they first met after getting food poisoning from the octopus they both ate at the same restaurant.

Doug, the interviewer, reveals that, among other things, Jessica’s first job was as a teacher and that she has a criminal record.  She reveals that her student visa was about to expire so she applied to be a teacher. Louis is shocked to learn his wife worked in a profession she hates.

After a long process of revelations from Jessica, she finally gets the approval she needs to become a citizen.  Along the way, Louis learns that his wife did indeed fall in love with him “at first sight.”

Meanwhile, Eddie has talked Evan and Emery into taking the mini-van out for a spin. Evan tells his brothers that AAA gives its members 5 percent off entry fees and the boys run in the house to get their suits. When they return the empty van has rolled into the street and they are locked out.

AAA comes to open the van for them and the technician tells the three to set the van back the way is was before. Grandma Huang has caught the boys trying to take the van without permission and blackmailed them into helping her organize her perfumes.

Fresh Off the Boat continues to showcase its performers and allows them to make the most of the comedy on offer. Constance Wu is still the obvious hero of this show, her “audition” to Doug’s “brother” for a special ability visa was hysterically funny.

Randall Park’s reactions to the secrets revealed by Doug (played perfectly by Zachary Knighton) were spot on and once more we can see just why Park and Wu are one of the best double acts on television.

The three Huang children were all brilliant in this episode. Hudson Yang continues to make Eddie a rap-star wannabe who wants the world to belief his first words were “thug’s life.” Lee Chen and his high pitched screams were laugh out loud funny and Forrest Wheeler plays his middle child with effortless aplomb.  These three are beyond perfect together.

Lucille Soong is still making Grandma Huang a comedic force to be reckoned with and the writers continue to make her a fascinating character who is slowly becoming one of the best things about the show.

Park and Wu have the perfect chemistry to make them a match made in heaven. Jessica with her determination to appear unromantic and Louis who is romantic enough for the both of them are just brilliant in this episode.

When Jessica takes her oath, all shining eyes and huge smile, the Huang family watch from the back of the room, it is a real tearful moment.

Fresh Off the Boat is in its third season and shows no sign of losing its comic touch. The series airs Tuesdays on ABC.  Do not miss this one as comedy shows just don’t get much better than this.

Cast:

Guest starring Zachary Knighton as Doug

Verified by MonsterInsights