Television Reviews

Zero Day – Episode 1

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Zero Day – Episode 1
  • IMDb: link

The opening episode of Netflix’s Zero Day introduces us to former President George Mullen (Robert De Niro) who after a cyber attack is tapped by the current President (Angela Bassett) and given extraordinary powers to uncover those responsible. Presenting Mullen as the last politician who successfully bridged the two parties, the political thriller early on feels like a cautionary tale of the potential of abuse of power even in the best hands, with the problems of Hollywood not knowing how technology works and relying on “something bad happening involving computers” to be our boogeyman. Presenting Mullen as an unreliable protagonist in the first episode who is either being gaslight or is suffering from early-stage dementia (or possibly both) simply muddies the water before the show ever gets off the ground to very mixed results.

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Shifting Gears – Valentine’s

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Shifting Gears – Valentine’s
  • IMDb: link

On Valentine’s Day, the main storyline involves Matt (Tim Allen) visiting his wife’s grave and making a new friend (Nancy Travis). While the episode doesn’t set up Travis as a romantic interest, the interactions between them (first at the mausoleum and then at the pharmacy) does build on Matt learning how to move on after his wife’s death. Sadly, neither of the B-stories have much to offer in terms of Riley (Kat Dennings) fretting over a dance video which is really just an excuse for Dennings and Seann William Scott to dance badly, and Georgia (Barrett Margolis) getting sick when left alone with Carter (Maxwell Simkins), both feel very much lazy paint-by-number sitcom filler.

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The White Lotus – Same Spirits, New Forms

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: The White Lotus – Same Spirits, New Forms
  • IMDb: link

Mike White‘s HBO anthology returns for a Third Season relocated events in the exclusive White Lotus resort chain’s Thailand location. After opening the episode with a tease of things to come at the end of one week, “Same Spirits, New Forms” focuses on the arrival of the spoiled guests to the resort. Social satire mixed with psychological drama, one thing I say for the premiere, White has me rooting for the death of nearly every member of this group as soon as possible.

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Pretty Little Liars – Spirit Week

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Pretty Little Liars (Original Sin) – Chapter One: Spirit Week
  • wiki: link

Starting out with two suicides in the first 5 minutes and closing the episode with a grizzly murder, the first thing you notice about Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin is how strongly it leans into the freedoms offered on HBO attempting to be a bit more bloody and bold than the original. However, I find the set up for the episode a bit confusing. We get a young girl, ignored at a school dance by a group of popular girls, committing suicide in 1999. Flash-forward 22 years at that appears to be the catalyst for the mayhem that will occur, although our new “A” targets only one of the women from that party (our second suicide) and instead targets the rest of their daughters for reasons yet to be revealed.

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Reacher – Persuader

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Reacher – Persuader
  • IMDb: link

Adapting a different novel for each season, every season of Reacher has been a bit different. That continues in the kick-off of the show’s Third Season where Reacher‘s (Alan Ritchson) good Samaritan schtick gets him in hot water. Saving a young man (Johnny Berchtold) from a kidnapping attempt, things go downhill quickly with our hero having few options and delivering the kid to his wealthy father (Anthony Michael Hall). The rest of the episode involves flashbacks to the days leading up to Reacher’s save, where we learn not everything we’ve seen is exactly as it seems, and Reacher agreeing to work for the wealthy rug importer (but that’s not the only thing he’s importing).

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