Gotham S:01 E:01

Posted on by Bubbawheat

Episode: Pilot
Original Airdate: 9-22-14

It’s time to start the biggest superhero and comic book TV seasons in many years if not ever and Gotham is the first one out of the gate, though I’m probably one of the last ones out of the gate to get a post written about it. Based on the trailer, and what the show was going for I had high hopes for this show. I thought it could be an interesting take on the superhero trend, something along the lines of how Lois and Clark focused more on the relationship between the two rather than the superhero aspect. This show is supposedly going to take a closer look at the Gotham PD side of the equation rather than the supervillain side of things. And since this takes place when Bruce Wayne is still a boy and there is no such thing as Batman there should also be no such thing as supervillains yet. Instead, they are all still merely criminals before crossing the line once the door has been opened for the overly theatrical. Though it wouldn’t surprise me if they delve into some early theatrics later in the season, especially if they start struggling in the ratings department. Overall, I initially liked what I saw, but as I started reading other people’s negative reactions, I started to see more of the holes in the show and am actually a little glad that I have waited so long before writing this.
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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S:01 E:22

Posted on by Bubbawheat

Episode: The Beginning of the End
Original Airdate: 5-13-14

It’s been an up and down year for this show for many people, although coming from a fan I always thought that it started good and only got better as the season went on and the finale was the icing on the cake. There’s plenty of surprises, some more surprising than others, with the typical mix of drama, humor, and action, all ramped up to the maximum. And now that we’ve come to the end of this season, next year there’s a lot more superhero and comic book shows so I may be doing things a little bit differently but we’ll just have to wait and see. Next week be sure to come on back as I take a look back at this first season as a whole. But for now, let’s get back to the episode at hand.
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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S:01 E:21

Posted on by Bubbawheat

Episode: Ragtag
Original Airdate: 5-6-14

Gearing up to the season finale next week and the show decides to actually slow things down a little bit and take a look into Ward’s past and his relationship with Garrett. While I didn’t really care too much for almost any of the flashback scenes, there were still enough fun to be had in Coulson’s team and with Rayna to keep me interested in this episode throughout and from the look of things, it has the season finale ready to go out with a big bang even if it doesn’t seem likely that they’ll be making the gravitron callback this season, instead saving it for a second season which is still up in the air as far as I can tell.
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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S:01 E:20

Posted on by Bubbawheat

Episode: Nothing Personal
Original Airdate: 4-29-14

Ran a little late on this episode’s roundup because I didn’t have internet until the other day, but I’m mostly moved in now and back into the swing of things so I am ready to get back into the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and its run up to the season finale. Things are getting much more complicated with Ward’s alignment change, the dissolution of S.H.I.E.L.D. as an organization and the entire disruption of Coulson’s team. Agent Triplett is starting to fit in a little bit more, but things are also not going quite so well between the remnants of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the US government. And on top of everything else, Deathlok makes another appearance and so does Maria Hill.
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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S:01 E:19

Posted on by Bubbawheat

episode: Light in the Darkness
original airdate: 4-22-14

Quick recap: The cat’s out of the bag, Hydra’s out in the open and Agent Ward is in with them, but the rest of the team doesn’t know it yet. S.H.I.E.L.D. is more or less dissolved except for a handful of scattered agents still loyal to Nick Fury and the ideals that he stands for. The Fridge has been opened and dozens of criminals both insane and superpowered have been released into the wild and Coulson’s team is one of the few groups out there willing and able to stop them. It’s almost an excuse to turn the show back into a freak of the week except instead of doing that, they tie the most wanted fugitive directly into the past of the show as someone that Coulson has dealt with in the past and it is finally a chance to meet the mysterious cellist that he has mentioned a few times. Meanwhile there are still trust issues within the team, not just towards Ward who the audience knows isn’t trustworthy, but also still between Fitz & Simmons, Coulson & May, and Trippett & Fitz. All in all it adds up to another great episode.
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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S:01 E:18

Posted on by Bubbawheat

Episode: Providence
Original Airdate: 4-15-14

I think it’s time for a quick recap, obviously spoilers if you haven’t caught up to this point in the show, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. continues the course laid out by the events in Captain America: The Winter Soldier where the agency has crumbled due to a long-gestating Hydra infestation, but Coulson’s team is still intact for the most part. His trust in his longtime friend Melinda May has been dealt a blow after finding out that she had been reporting on their goings on to Nick Fury in secret, his trust in his other old friend and newcomer to the show Agent Garrett has been shattered after finding out he has been the Clairvoyant the entire time and is a high ranking member of Hydra, his trust in Agent Ward is in doubt as his loyalties are in question as he appears to be siding with his former SO Garrett, and finally his trust in Garrett’s current recruit, or at least current before his turn, Tripplett is being withheld due to his affiliation with Garrett. And on top of all this, S.H.I.E.L.D. Itself is in question as it is unknown what facilities are held by Hydra and what are held by those loyal to Nick Fury, and the US government is starting to come in, take everyone out of the picture, and ask questions later. To make a long story short (too late), things are continuing to ramp up towards the season finale and I’m enjoying most every minute of it.
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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S:01 E:17

Posted on by Bubbawheat

Episode: Turn, Turn, Turn
Original airdate: 4-8-14

Once again, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has a tie-in with a currently released Marvel movie, and once again I was able to catch it so I was aware of the connections, and this time around it’s not just the fact that they’re cleaning up in the same location that the movie’s climax took place in. This time around the movie changes everything and going into the episode with that knowledge actually takes away some of the tension that the show tries to present. There’s also a few extra references, like knowing the fate of Nick Fury, the allegiance of Agent Sitwell, and who is the driving force behind the Clairvoyant whose identity goes through plenty of twists and turns in this episode and leaves you guessing until the very end. Things are changing and this episode brings a major shake-up which the show really needed. Fair warning: spoilers abound.
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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S:01 E:16

Posted on by Bubbawheat

episode: The End of the Beginning
original airdate: 4-1-2014

Thankfully we’ve seen the last multi-week hiatus for this show and it will now be running straight through till the finale and things finally seem to be ramping up to full speed with yet another tie-in episode to a current release movie. Unfortunately, unlike the Thor crossover and like most of this country, I have yet to see the new Captain America movie which I have heard from those who have seen it that there are events happening in some of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Facilities at the same time that the show is taking place. But I can say that it doesn’t take much away from the episode. This episode finally brings out the clairvoyant, and while I won’t spoil who it is, I will say that I was right when I thought it would end up being a woman. There’s a few questions answered, still several left unanswered, and all wrapped in a nice mix of action, drama, and tension.
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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S:01 E:14

Posted on by Bubbawheat

Episode: T.A.H.I.T.I.
Original Airdate: 3-4-2014

It feels like it’s been forever since there’s been a new episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I also just read that this episode has had the lowest ratings of the season which is disappointing because I think the show has been getting much stronger these past several episodes. It’s unfortunate that it’s been hurt by both a weak starting few episodes which lost a lot of viewers, and these past two months which have been strewn with frequent hiatuses. Two weeks off, one week on, three weeks off. I almost think it would have been a better idea to have just taken six weeks off so there could have been a continuous string of new episodes. There seems to be a lot invested in this show so I hope that there are strong streaming numbers that help this show get to a season 2 because guest star Bill Paxton sure didn’t bring any viewers.
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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S:01 E:13

Posted on by Bubbawheat

Episode: T.R.A.C.K.S.
Original Airdate: 2-4-14

After a couple weeks off, S.H.I.E.L.D. Is back and even though it’s starting to feel cliched to say this, but this was once again their best episode yet. It combines one of my favorite formats of storytelling with plenty of action, comedy, and a gut punch of an ending. There’s callbacks, teases, and honestly the weakest part of the episode was the Stan Lee cameo. It’s also a little frustrating that there’s only one quick episode before yet another hiatus due to the Olympics, but hopefully this will be the last one before this show finishes out the season strong. On the villainous side of things, I’m actually not entirely sure I like the direction they are going, but hopefully things will pick up on that front as things start ramping up to the finale.
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