The Handmaid's Tale: A Dystopian Nightmare

The Handmaid's Tale, which just began its 2nd season on Hulu (new episodes released on Wednesdays), is hands-down the darkest and most depressing hour of tv you'll watch each week.  The zombie wasteland of The Walking Dead and serial killer antics of Dexter have nothing on this show.  Simply put, the show imagines an America that has been overtaken by an ultra-conservative religious group and renamed Gilead.  In Gilead, women have lost almost all rights, and gay men and women are harshly persecuted, sometimes to the point of being executed.  The central character Offred (Elisabeth Moss), named this because she serves a high-ranking military leader named Fred ("of Fred"), is a handmaid.  Most women in Gilead are infertile (for some unknown reason, probably pollution), and handmaids are the few young fertile women left.  They are raped by their masters during a monthly religious "ceremony", in the hopes that they will become pregnant and bear children for them.  Yeahhhhh, I told you that this show was dark. 

Commander Fred Waterford (Joseph Fiennes), is a surprisingly gentle soul (when he's not raping people, that is); he seems to have actual feelings for Offred (real name June), inviting her into his office and having deep conversations with her during games of chess, unbeknownst to his wife Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski).  Serena is a harsh and bitter woman who resents Offred for her fertility.  A former ultra-conservative talking head and televangelist, she now has to face the irony that her efforts have led to a world where even she has lost most of her rights.  Nick (Max Minghella) is the Commander's personal chauffeur.  June begins a relationship with him, which Serena encourages, because the Commander is actually infertile himself and June having sex with another man is the only way that Serena will get a child.  June does become pregnant towards the end of season 1, and the child is likely Nick's. 

The evil leader of the handmaids is Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd), who doles out harsh punishments on the women when they step out of line: blinding them, handcuffing them to a lit stove, encouraging them to stone one of their own, and threatening them with hanging when they refuse to participate in the stoning.  Besides June, two other handmaids take center stage at different times during the show: Moira (Samira Wiley), June's gay friend who is sent to work in a secret Gilead brothel used by the commanders before eventually escaping to Canada, and Emily aka Ofglen (Alexis Bledel), a gay former college professor whose wife and child escape to Canada, sadly leaving her behind.  In season 2, Emily is sent to the Colonies, a rural area of Gilead where women are forced to work outside in harsh polluted conditions.

The performances are probably the strongest past of The Handmaid's Tale.  All of the actors are strong, particularly Moss as June.  Her facial expressions convey a wide range of emotions, from steely determination to rebel against her persecutors to quiet sadness over the loss of her husband Luke and daughter Hannah (they, like Moira, escaped to Canada while June was captured).  Moss and the other actors speak very little dialogue over the course of most episodes, relying on their faces to do most of the work.  Moira and Emily were fairly minor characters in season 1, but the show has wisely increased their screen time in season 2, allowing viewers to gain more perspective from the gay residents of Gilead, and to see other parts of the country besides the Boston area where June lives.  Dowd as Aunt Lydia has the difficult task of portraying a purely evil character with no redeeming qualities, but she does it so well, never holding back in her performance (she, like Moss, deservedly won an Emmy for her work in season 1).  I'm hoping that the show will give us more of Lydia's backstory in season 2, so that we can see what exactly led her down such a dark and hateful path.

The show is also good at subtly commenting on the current political landscape, explaining that rights can be taken away from people slowly, sometimes without them even noticing.  The harsh and violent version of Gilead depicted on the show didn't come to exist overnight.  Through flashbacks to the beginnings of the group's rise to power, viewers learn that changes came about slowly: women's bank accounts were frozen, and they were forced to get their husband's permission to obtain birth control.  In the past, at the beginning of the group's rise to power, June is portrayed as being very apathetic about politics.  She's just trying to live her daily life, and she can't be concerned with who is in power or what laws are being passed.  I'm sure that many Americans today can relate to this feeling, but the show tells us that we need to wake up soon or our country could eventually deteriorate into a harsh dictatorship like Gilead.  And that thought is far scarier than a zombie wasteland or a serial killer roaming the streets.   

The Simpsons: 5 Best Episodes

The Simpsons, the longest running primetime scripted show on tv (airing Sundays at 8pm EST on FOX), is the perfect example of a show that has long since jumped the shark.  For about the past 10 years (at least) it has been pretty unwatchable, and I haven't watched any new episodes at all for several seasons.  Also, the current controversy surrounding the stereotypical and possibly racist portrayal of the Apu character (an Indian convenience store owner) has seriously damaged the show's image.  But many people forget that in its early 90's peak it was the funniest and most original sitcom on tv.  I still repeatedly watch my favorite episodes (most from the show's 4th and 5th seasons, when Conan O'Brien was a writer), and my DVR has over 400 episodes of the show saved for whenever I need a pick-me-up.   Here, I present my 5 favorite episodes.  Let the countdown begin...

5.  Deep Space Homer (1994):  Homer goes to space, because why not?  And the inanimate carbon rod saves the day.

4.  Itchy and Scratchy Land (1994): The Simpsons visit a theme park based on their favorite violent cat and mouse duo. 

3.  The Joy of Sect (1998): Homer joins a wacky cult that ends up taking over Springfield. 

2.  Marge vs. the Monorail  (1993):  Crooked Lyle Lanley builds a pointless monorail in Springfield.  Includes the best song of any episode.

1.  King Size Homer (1995):  Homer gains weight to work at home.  Includes my favorite line of any episode.

MasterChef Junior: Top-Notch Competition in Miniature

Masterchef Junior, currently airing at 8pm EST Fridays on FOX, is quite possibly the most intense reality show currently on tv.  There's no backstabbing and sabotage as on other reality competitions like Survivor or RuPaul's Drag Race.  In fact, the 8-13-year-old contestants on this show are quite the opposite: supportive and helpful towards each other; they appear to be truly bonding and forming deep friendships during their experience.  This is refreshing in the current reality tv landscape, where nobody is genuine and everyone does whatever it takes to win.  The kids are insanely talented, whipping up restaurant-quality dishes and desserts under insane time limitations: Eggs Benedict, chocolate hazelnut cheesecake, steak with cocoa-infused rub, to name just a few of their creations this season. 

Now at the top 7, my current favorite is Mikey, a tiny Italian spitfire who almost got into a fight with judge Gordon Ramsay because he thought that Ramsay was being too mean to another contestant.  The recipient of the coveted "Gold Apron" after winning the last challenge, Mikey will automatically advance to the semifinals in a couple weeks.  Another favorite, 8-year-old Avery, is the youngest contestant remaining, but she has the steely intensity and focus of an adult during each challenge, never wavering from her goal of winning. 

I won't say anything mean about little kids, but on the contrary, bratty sisters Olivia and Remy, both still in the competition, are sweet but bossy.  They take over every team challenge, ensuring that things are done their way.  Which usually works in their favor, as both are pretty talented. 

Ramsay, unlike on his other reality cooking show Hell's Kitchen, actually displays a pretty gentle personality on MasterChef Junior.  When a kid chef-testant sometimes gets overwhelmed during a challenge after making a mistake, Ramsay will walk over to their station, give them a mini pep talk, and get them back on track.  This is not to say that he isn't critical or even harsh during some critiques, especially with the older kids.  He's never mean though, and the kids all seem to admire him and take his criticisms like true champs.  Another regular judge, baker Christina Tosi, is the most gentle and positive one on the panel.  She puts on her false serious face during negative critiques, but she's really a big softy who adores the kids.  Finally, Italian judge Joe Bastianich, returning this season after several years away from the show, is probably the harshest.  He barely has a sense of humor, which seems a bit out of place on a kids' cooking show, but (like the other two judges) he's fair and never mean.  He seems to have formed a sweet bond with little Mikey over their shared Italian heritage.  

The last few episodes of Masterchef Junior have kept me glued to the screen, and I'm genuinely excited to find out who will win in a few weeks.  You may have overlooked this show, thinking that it's just a silly kids' cooking show, but it's the real deal.  Check it out, you won't be disappointed.

Below, learn how to make a perfect poached egg.  You're welcome...

Scandal: Most Shocking Moments

The Shondaland hit Scandal is ending its 7-season run tonight.  In honor of its last episode, here are some of the show's most shocking moments.  This show is still crazier than the real-life White House (for now), and that's saying a lot.  Obviously there are major spoilers in the video links below.

1.  Jake shoots James, then waits with him while he dies

All because he had an affair with Daniel Langston, the Vice President's husband, and he threatened to tell the press about it.  Speaking of which...

2.  Vice President Sally Langston stabs her husband in the back

Super Christian Sally was upset that her husband had an affair with a man.  But she was cool with murder...

3.  Olivia's dad poisons President Grant's son

In a bizarre scheme to get the president re-elected with the sympathy vote, which worked.

4.  Olivia beats Andrew Nichols to death with a chair

The former Vice President had previously arranged Liv's kidnapping, and he was threatening her again.

5.  Fitz kills Verna Thornton in the hospital

The ailing Supreme Court justice was threatening to reveal what she knew about Fitz stealing the election.

And my personal favorite, the moment that literally made me jump out of my chair...

6.  The evil Samantha Ruland beats Liz North to death with a golf club

Yikes, poor Portia di Rossi.

There are many many more, including the assassination of Frankie Vargas on election night, the shooting of Huck, Quinn's kidnapping, Olivia's kidnapping, and Olivia's poisoning of Luna Vargas.  I will miss this crazy-ass show.  There will never be another combination of politics and soap opera to match it.

Killing Eve: The Female Version of 24?

Killing Eve, a new drama airing Sundays at 8pm EST on BBC America, is a bit like the female-centric version of 24.  Only in this case, the villain is perhaps more interesting than the heroine.  Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh, of Grey's Anatomy fame) stars as Eve Polastri, a bored American MI5 agent working in London who yearns to be a part of the action.  She's mostly confined to desk duty, but she often likes to speak up and give her two cents during meetings, despite her superiors' obvious annoyance.  When her team begins investigating an assassin who's been taking out high-profile targets all over Europe, Eve's boss Carolyn Martens (Fiona Shaw), a dour and humor-less woman, recruits her to lead the investigation.  Eve is thrilled, but little does she know what she's in for.  The assassin, the ominously named Villanelle (Jodie Comer), is not your typical hit woman.  In the opening scene of the pilot, she playfully smiles at a young girl eating ice cream in a café, then knocks it into the girl's lap and laughs as she walks out.  She also playfully pretends to be dead to surprise and scare her handler Konstantin (Kim Bodnia) when he enters her apartment.  She's twisted, but also quirky and playful. 

Oh is magnetic onscreen, and she manages to convey more depth than what has been written for her character thus far, but the real star of the show is Comer as Villanelle.  She does bad things, but viewers still (in a way) root for her and want to know more about her backstory.  You can tell that Comer is absolutely relishing in the role, with every goofy grin and sly smile.  She's a badass but also a girly girl (as evidenced by her bright pink poofy dress in episode 2), a contradiction of sorts but also a statement about women in the modern world.  The kill scenes, especially in episode 2 (only 2 episodes have aired so far), are unique and extremely entertaining, if you are entertained by violent death on TV.  I am, and you can admit to it too (no judgement).  She takes out one man in his Tuscan villa with an antique hairpin in the eye, in one of the most gruesome death scenes I've ever seen on television.  In the same episode, she kills a perfume magnate with a poisoned fragrance that she lets the woman spray on herself, watching with a silent smile as the woman gasps for air and falls to the floor.  Finally, the European location settings on the show are breathtaking.  In just the first couple episodes the show visits London, Paris, Tuscany, and Berlin, giving viewers a sense of the European style and flair that serve as the backbone of the show.

It's hard to judge the long-term success of a show by just 2 episodes alone, but judging by what I've seen so far I'm hopeful that Killing Eve will become a modern action classic.  The show has already been renewed for season 2, so at the very least it will have a chance.  Eve has the potential to be a more restrained version of Jack Bauer, and Villanelle could easily go on to rival the best TV villains of all time, like the Trinity Killer on Dexter and King Joffrey on Game of Thrones. 

A Quiet Place: Silence is Scary

As a horror movie fan, there hasn't been much to celebrate in recent years.  Not much has lived up to the classics of the 70's, 80's, and even 90's: Stephen King thrillers like Carrie and The Shining, and traditional slasher flicks like Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and even Scream.  So I was intrigued when I heard about A Quiet Place, a thriller in which the characters must remain as quiet as possible in order to stay alive.  Produced by actor John Krasinski (The Office) and starring Krasinski and real-life wife Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada and the upcoming Mary Poppins Returns), the film had a modest budget and was a passion project for the actor.  Nobody expected it to be the 2nd highest grossing movie of the year so far (after Black Panther).  But in my opinion, its success is well-deserved.

Krasinski and Blunt are Lee and Evelyn Abbott, a couple living on an abandoned farm in a post-apocalyptic America where mysterious, scary-looking alien creatures have taken over.  The creatures, which are blind, are attracted to sound, forcing the remaining humans to be as quiet as possible or else risk getting snatched up and viciously killed by them.  The couple has 3 kids: preteen Regan (Millicent Simmonds), who is deaf both onscreen and in real life, oldest son Marcus (Noah Jupe), and toddler Beau (Cade Woodward).  The film's opening sequence, in which the family travels back from a scavenging mission in town, sets up the unsettling aura of silence that continues throughout the movie.  They communicate through sign language and some whispering, and when one of them unwittingly makes a loud sound during their hike back home on a bridge, viewers get their 1st glimpse of the killer creatures and learn the high stakes of silence in this world.

When the audience discovers that Evelyn is pregnant, the stakes become even higher.  How is she supposed to give birth in silence without medical assistance, and then how is the couple supposed to keep the newborn quiet once born?  Surely Lee and Evelyn could have found some protection on their trip into town, to avoid the threat of their entire family getting killed by aliens due to a screaming baby (but I digress...). 

The bulk of the film is made up of a collection of thrilling cat and mouse moments between the family and the creatures in the cornfields around them.  Although it eventually becomes a bit unbelievable that the characters survive as long as they do (I won't give away who dies or when), the film presents some truly chilling sequences in which the danger is all-too-apparent.  My favorite scene of the entire movie involved Regan and Marcus drowning in corn in a huge silo, desperately trying to grab onto an old broken door, Titanic-style, to stay alive.  When a creature jumped into the silo on top of the door with the siblings clinging to life underneath, my heart practically beat out of my chest. 

While all of the actors are strong, for me the breakout here is newcomer Simmonds, who gives a subtle and emotional performance.  Regan fears that her dad blames her for past events, but when he reinforces his love for her in the most heartbreaking moment of the film, her pain and love are conveyed by Simmonds perfectly.  Surely she will go on to a successful acting career.  Regan's deafness actually plays a big part in the plot of the film, especially the ending, which I didn't love (although it didn't take away one bit of my overall enjoyment of the film).  Evelyn's birth sequence (and Blunt's portrayal of it) are also quite chilling, albeit a bit unbelievable.  When the character somehow makes her way to the bathroom and begins giving birth in the bathtub, with a creature lurking just in the background, the entire theater collectively held its breath. 

Besides the ending, my only minor criticism of the film is that the audience maybe saw the creatures a little bit TOO much.  In a suspense-filled movie like this, the scares come from what the audience doesn't know, so learning a little less about the creatures' strengths, weaknesses, and appearance may have actually worked to the film's benefit.  I was glad, however, that the film didn't spend any time explaining the origins of the creatures or how they came to arrive on Earth (if they even are aliens, that is).  If the prequel A Quiet Place: Alien Origins comes out in 2 years, then I will be none too please.  Despite my minor criticisms, I can't recommend this movie enough for fans of suspense and horror.  I was on the edge of my seat throughout, and you will be too. 

The Last OG: Tracy Morgan's return to the small screen

The Last OG, airing Tuesdays at 10:30pm EST on TBS, is a comeback of sorts for actor/comedian Tracy Morgan.  Morgan, a beloved comic best known for his stints on Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock, was involved in a horrific car crash in 2014 that left him comatose for 2 weeks and with a traumatic brain injury.  Many thought that Morgan would never come back to show-business, but after a long recovery he finally returned to tv last year with a guest-hosting spot on SNL.  Now he's back with a regular tv gig, starring as Tray, a drug dealer and low-level thug who's just out of jail after 15 years.  Tray's ex-girlfriend Shay, mother of his 2 children, is played by current Hollywood "it"-woman Tiffany Haddish.  Shay has moved up in the world during Tray's prison stint and is now a bigshot in the corporate world.  She also has a new white boyfriend named Josh (Ryan Gaul), who is a bit reserved, the opposite of loud and brash Tray.

The best part of the show, which has aired 2 episodes thus far, seems to be the pop culture references.  In the pilot, when Tray tells of the night that he was arrested in 2002, he's sure to point out that this was the night of the first season finale of American Idol (he was rooting for Justin Guarini, while Shay was a fan of Kelly Clarkson).  In the much superior 2nd episode, Tray has an extended conversation with his new coffee shop boss about Hannibal Lector; he's amazed that she has never seen The Silence of the Lambs or its sequels.  Another high point is the hilarious culture shock that Tray experiences when he comes back to his old neighborhood.  Instead of street gangs and drug dealers, his old Brooklyn neighborhood is now full of hipsters and responsibly sourced coffee shops.  In probably the funniest scene of the series so far, Tray starts talking to 2 young black men, thinking that they're street thugs like he once was, but in fact they're a gay couple waiting for their friends to pick them up for brunch.  Haddish is underused on the show so far, and her character's new buttoned-up persona doesn't allow many opportunities for her personality to shine through.  Other minor characters, like Cedric the Entertainer as the leader of the halfway house where Tray is living, and Malik Yoba as Wavy, Tray's new coffee shop boss and old friend, who he took the fall for with his arrest, are fine, but Morgan is the real star and center of the show.  The show certainly isn't perfect, but the funny moments are pretty damn hilarious. After some time to find its footing, it could really be something special.      

Riverdale: Teen Drama with a Dark Side

I'm pretty late to the party, but this weekend I started watching Riverdale, the latest hit teen drama currently airing its 2nd season Wednesdays at 8pm EST on the CW.  It's loosely based on the popular Archie comics, which have been around since the 1940's: the characters are all there on the tv show, but it's set in the present day and closely resembles other modern teen dramas.  I have to admit that I don't know anything about the comics except for the names of the main trio of characters: Archie, Betty, and Veronica.  In the CW's reimaging, Archie (KJ Apa) is the redheaded jock and aspiring musician, Betty (Lili Reinhart) is the blonde girl next door who pines for Archie, and Veronica (Camila Mendes) is the dark-haired vixen and new girl in town.  Archie's best friend is Jughead (Cole Sprouse), a seemingly homeless tortured soul.  Rounding out the central gang of teens are Kevin (Casey Cott), friend to Betty and Veronica who also happens to be gay, and Cheryl (Madeline Petsch), the bad girl leader of the cheerleading squad to which Betty and Veronica belong, the aptly named River Vixens.  In a clever move by the CW, the adults on Riverdale are mostly portrayed by 80's and 90's teen icons.  Luke Perry (Beverly Hills 90210) is Archie's dad Fred, Madchen Amick (Twin Peaks) is Betty's mom Alice, and Robin Givens (Head of the Class) is Riverdale's mayor Sierra McCoy.  The other adults are Marisol Nichols as Veronica's mom Hermione and Skeet Ulrich as Jughead's dad Forsythe.  The show also features the teen band Josie and the Pussycats, a popular part of the comics; Josie is Mayor McCoy's daughter and is played by Ashleigh Murray.  The central mystery of season 1, of which I've seen just 4 episodes, is the death of Cheryl's brother Jason, whose waterlogged body (with a bullet hole in his head) is found by Kevin after disappearing on July 4th during the previous summer.

The best part of Riverdale is its overall mysterious and dark tone, which makes it feel deeper and more serious than your typical teen show.  The show's creator Greg Berlanti, a veteran writer and producer of other hit teen shows like Dawson's Creek and Everwood, has described it as Archie Comics meets Twin Peaks, which is actually pretty spot-on.  Without the mystery element the show wouldn't be nearly as interesting to me, so I worry that once Jason's murder is solved the story may fizzle out a bit, as it did on Twin Peaks when Laura Palmer's killer was revealed early in season 2.  The acting is very uneven, but the main trio of Apa, Reinhart, and Mendes more than holds their own onscreen, which is really all that matters.  Apa makes Archie believably popular without being a jerk, while Reinhart portrays Betty as the perfect girl-next-door (although not nearly as innocent as Joey on Dawson's Creek), and Mendes is a convincing vixen who is actually pretty friendly and supportive to her friends.  Refreshingly, the show hasn't thrown the trio into a love triangle (yet), although it has started to explore Betty's feelings for Archie.  Veronica seemed interested in Archie at first, but once she found out that Betty had feelings for him she started to back off.  My biggest problem with the show so far is Archie's relationship with his music teacher Geraldine Grundy (Sarah Habel).  Habel is the most bland and untalented actor on the show, and I'm finding it hard to believe that Archie would even want to be with her.  The character is pretty, but for some reason the show makes her seem like a shy bookworm by putting her hair up and giving her glasses.  I'm just waiting for the big moment when the hair comes down and the glasses come off, and she's revealed to actually be beautiful, a la She's All That.  The show needs to ditch this story ASAP, plain and simple.  I'm hoping that Riverdale also fleshes out the Jughead and Kevin characters more in future episodes; so far they have both done a lot with their limited time onscreen.

This show definitely seems like it could be the next teen hit and a worthy successor to Dawson's Creek, The OC, and Beverly Hills 90210.  As long as it tightens its writing a bit and some of the weaker actors step up or ship out, then I'll be watching at least through the current season.

My 4 Favorite TV Shows Right Now

Periodically I'm going to update you on my favorite tv shows of the moment.  By right now, I mean shows that are currently airing seasons or that I'm currently in the middle of watching.  So as much as I love a certain time-jumping weepie (This is Us) and a crazy action series about first responders (9-1-1), both of their seasons have now concluded and thus they are disqualified.  Be warned that my descriptions contain spoilers about the shows.

1.  Survivor: Ghost Island: My favorite reality show for 18 years now is probably always going to make this list.  Even in a just-okay season like the current one, each episode always manages to entertain me from start to finish.  The Ghost Island premise is genuinely interesting: contestants find idols and other relics from previous seasons, in which former players misused them, in an attempt to "break the curse".  In the process viewers are treated to flashbacks of some of the best moments from past seasons.  It's a great way for the show remember past players without allowing fan-favorite Survivors to keep playing the game 3 or 4 times (the multiple All Stars and Fans vs. Favorites seasons were starting to get old).  This season has taken a little longer than usual to heat up, but the last couple of episodes have really started to grab my attention, with the intensifying feud between clever Dominic and conceited Chris, and this week's satisfying blindside of jerk Bradley.  The show always tends to get much better after the merge (which is coming next week), when all of the tribes come together and the game turns into an individual contest.  Lately the players are really starting to step up their strategic games, and their personalities (which at first seemed rather bland) are starting to come out, so I'm expecting the season to finish strong.

2.  Unreal:  This is one of the most original scripted shows on tv, and its 3rd season is a welcome return to the creative highs of season 1, after a rather disappointing season 2.  The show follows the behind-the-scenes manipulations of Quinn and Rachel, producers of Everlasting, a fictional reality dating show meant to mirror The Bachelor.  The things that they do to generate high ratings and create viewer buzz are truly shocking, this season including publicly outing a possibly gay contestant, and giving another contestant cocaine to make him host another reality show that Quinn is planning with underling producer Jay.  Season 2 tried to offer comments on racism and police shootings, but it instead ending up being a meandering mess, while season 3's shift to a female central character has proven to be refreshing.  This season's plotlines reveal that sexual harassment is still widespread in America, especially in the entertainment industry (a timely story considering the current harassment scandals, and the "Me Too" and "Times Up" movements).  But none of this takes any focus away from the soap opera dramatics that viewers love.  It also helps that the Everlasting contestant characters are a bit more fleshed out this year.  I have never been a fan of The Bachelor, but this show actually makes me care about which fictional guy will win the "bachelorette's" heart.

3.  Roseanne: Although it has only aired 3 episodes so far, the reboot of Roseanne is already a massive hit for ABC, and for good reason.  Most of the original actors have returned, and all of them, especially John Goodman as Dan and Laurie Metcalf as Jackie, have seamlessly slipped back into the roles that made them famous 30 years ago.  The writing is as sharp as it was during the best seasons of the original, and the show's return to focusing on the struggles of working-class Americans is refreshing, after the complete derailment from these values during its "final" season 20 years ago.  The new characters of Darlene's children seem to fit right into the Conner family, with the standout being Ames McNamara as gender-fluid or possibly gay Mark (named after his deceased uncle).  There were calls to boycott the show after its first week after old photos of Roseanne Barr dressed as Hitler and baking cookies that resembled children resurfaced on social media (this was actually for a satirical magazine, and Barr herself is Jewish).  Some controversial social media posts by Barr, which suggest a possibly anti-transgender and homophobic point of view, have also been shared.  However, I'm choosing to take the show for what I'm seeing onscreen, not for what Barr has done in the past or may currently be doing outside of the show.  The show's Mark plot is anything but homophobic (I take it as Barr making amends for past anti-transgender statements), and as long as the show remains sharply funny and not offensive, then I'll continue watching.

4.  Scandal: Shonda Rhimes' hit, about scandal fixer Olivia Pope and D.C. political machinations, has gone through many ups and downs in its 7 seasons, but the highs have been edge-of-your-seat must-see tv.  The show came alive when it shifted much of its focus away from a case-of-the-week format and more towards the Oval Office and President Fitzgerald Grant, Olivia's sometime lover.  The will-they-or-won't-they chemistry between Liv and "Fitz" has rivaled some of the best romances in tv history.  Even Fitz's ex Mellie, now president, is truly electrifying onscreen and more than holds her own as the new Commander in Chief.  Season 6 was a true rollercoaster ride; the show experimented with its format while unraveling the mystery of President-Elect Vargas' assassination (he was shockingly killed by a sniper on live tv while giving his acceptance speech).  Much of season 7, the show's final season, has been a disappointment, with Olivia taking an uncharacteristic turn towards the dark side and betraying her friends, but the past few episodes have returned the show to its former glory days, with a captivating plot about Vice President Cyrus Beene trying to take down Mellie and grab the Oval for himself.  There are only a few episodes remaining, and I'm expecting (and hoping) that the presidential power moves will result in more than a few bombshells and possibly even a few major character deaths before the show wraps for good.  Will Olivia and Fitz end up together, or will she settle for Chief of Staff Jake?  I can't wait to find out.

The Crossing: Sci-Fi TV at its Lamest

The Crossing, airing Mondays at 10pm, is ABC's latest attempt at finding a sci-fi hit.  Following the success of Lost in 2004, the major networks have repeatedly tried to replicate its mainstream appeal and healthy ratings, with mostly failed results.  There were one season failures like The Event, Surface, and Invasion, and slightly more successful multi-season shows like Fringe and Heroes.  The Crossing will likely fall into the first category, if it even lasts a full season at all.  The show opens with hundreds of people washing up on the beach of a small Pacific Northwest town-why do strange things on tv always seem to happen in the Pacific Northwest?  Most of the people die from drowning, but 47 survive.  Encompassing a wide range of ages and ethnicities, they soon begin to tell Homeland Security agents a bizarre and unbelievable story about how they ended up on the beach: they are from 180 years in the future, refugees from a war-torn America who traveled back in time to escape their horrible lives.  What?!  😮  They claim that a mysterious entity named Apex is responsible for the war, but so far the show hasn't revealed anything about them.  One survivor named Reece (Natalie Martinez) even seems to have supernatural abilities; in one scene she escapes a warehouse by swiftly taking down 3 police officers, leaping off the ground, and crashing through a high window.  She may or may not be part of Apex.  The show's main protagonists in law enforcement are local sheriff Jude Ellis (Steve Zahn) and Agent Emma Ren (Sandrine Holt).  The other survivors are mostly a bland mix of people, with one small girl named Leah (Bailey Skodje), who lost her mom during their journey from the future.

The show definitely has an interesting premise, but so far it hasn't done much (really anything) to hook me in and bring me back for more episodes.  The acting is lazy and boring all around; there are no compelling characters like Lost's Sawyer, Jack, or Kate for viewers to invest in.  The writing isn't much better.  The show's dystopian future elements could potentially become more interesting in future episodes.  Last year's breakout Hulu hit The Handmaid's Tale used its depiction of a future war-torn America as commentary on the current state of American politics and the potential erosion of civil liberties.  I wouldn't give The Crossing credit for presenting any such intellectual parallel yet, but it hinted at it ever so slightly in the pilot, with the refugees expressing relief at the fact that their "new" America offers more possibilities for them.  One survivor says, "This is the America of old.  Everyone has rights here no matter where they're from."  This seems like quite a stretch for anyone struggling for civil rights in the divided America of today (the LGBTQ community, immigrants, African Americans, and other minorities), but the line hints that things could get much worse in the future if we continue down our current path (maybe a little too political for a network sci fi show, depending on your point of view). 

The one aspect of the show that I can praise, without hesitation, is the cinematography.  The underwater shots are eerie and beautiful, reminiscent of the recent Oscar winning film The Shape of Water.  Also, the beautiful shots of the refugees sitting on the beach, looking out at the waves, were certainly a throwback to Lost.  While the pilot of The Crossing didn't come close to matching the special effects and production values of the Lost pilot, its director and set designers definitely knew what they were doing.

While there is a chance that The Crossing could pick up steam in future episodes, overall I can't recommend it.  I've seen too many other network sci-fi shows quickly fizzle out in less than a season, with mythologies that end up being overly complicated or incomplete (even Lost fell into this trap for many fans, although not me).  It's hard to imagine this show being any different, but I hope that it proves me wrong.

More Shocking TV Moments

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about some of the most shocking moments in tv history, those scenes that made viewers gasp in disbelief and yell at the tv.  Well I've been watching tv for a loooonnnng time, so since then I thought of some more crazy moments.  Of course there are spoilers ahead, and links to clips of these shocking moments are below my descriptions.  Here we go...

1.  Carter and Lucy are stabbed, ER (2000):  This episode started off typical enough.  And it seemed like it would end the same way.  The nurses threw a Valentine's Day party, and one person complained that the music was too loud.  So loud, in fact, that nobody heard when Dr. Carter was stabbed in the back by a mentally ill patient upon entering his room.  As he screamed out in agony, he knocked over a metal tray, causing a loud clanging sound (which still nobody heard).  And in the final shot of the episode, as Carter lay gasping for breath on the floor, viewers saw that med student Lucy was lying bloody on the other side of the patient bed, looking much worse off than Carter.  The entire scene played out to the song "Battleflag" by Lo Fidelity Allstars, an addictive thumping ballad that I downloaded soon after the episode ended.

Lucy and Carter are stabbed

2.  Kimberly blows up the building, Melrose Place (1995):  This scene was the epitome of addictive 90's trash tv.  Michael's unstable ex Kimberly had been stalking him since their breakup, and her crazy behavior culminated in her blowing up the apartment building in the explosive season 3 finale.  The special effects were laughably bad (especially now), and the building was miraculously rebuilt just a few episodes later, but this scene lives on as a campy classic from the 90's primetime soap era.

Kimberly blows up Melrose Place

3.  The Red Wedding, Game of Thrones (2013):  The HBO hit is known for featuring a constant stream of gory character deaths, but this scene is still considered to be the most shocking and traumatizing for most fans.  Robb Stark, his pregnant wife Talisa, and his mom Catelynn were attending the wedding of Robb's uncle Edmure at the home of Walder Frey, a former enemy of the Starks.  Robb had previously gone back on a marriage pact with one of Frey's daughters, but he hoped that was in the past.  Little did he know that Frey (with the support of Tywin Lannister) secretly planned to use the wedding as an opportunity to take out as many of the Starks as possible.  Robb was a little nervous about attending the wedding, but by the reception everything seemed fine and everyone was having a good time.  But suddenly the lights went dim and dozens of men pulled out knives, stabbing Talisa in the stomach until she collapsed.  Catelynn grabbed Frey's young wife and held her at knifepoint, threatening to kill her unless the men let Robb go.  Frey shrugged off the threat, stating that he would find another wife, as his men stabbed Robb in the chest.  Catelynn then slit the throat of Frey's bride, before Frey's men slit Catelynn's throat.  Not even Robb's direwolf Grey Wind made it out of the episode alive.  It was a shocking massacre that wiped out three major characters in mere minutes and laid down the gauntlet for Thrones as the best show on tv.

The Red Wedding