drmique Reviews

Star Trek: Enterprise: Singularity (2002) Season 2, Episode 9

Mostly fun...

[8/10 · 17 October 2023]

This is one of the obligatory 1-off episodes to engage the core cast which can be fun (e.g. Tribbles). It reflects a lot of human characteristics we have all encountered, and done cleverly. As the other reviewers note, this covered OC behaviors that "fit" the characters -- Hoshi's desire to cook as her ancestor, Phlox's focused effort on finding what is "wrong" with Travis, and so forth. These are actually real (emphasized) biases that are "fact resistant" and do emerge in human behavior (as we have all seen), taken to the extreme.

The only picky issue is an element of the ending. T'pol finds out that the radiation coming from the trinary system is effecting the prefrontal cortex. Interesting. OK, how does T'pol save the day from dangerous radiation impacting neurological mechanisms ? A cold shower! Really? How is it prevented? A tin foil hat? [no, radiation already pierced the hull...] A cup of warm milk? [Well, it couldn't hurt] I'm just saying...

As Time Goes By: Reunion Special: Part 2 (2005) Season 10, Episode 2

almost but... just another episode... no closure

[6/10 · 3 September 2023]

Great series but the last seems like a "first draft." Of course, fans will accept it the actors and the actors as they are. On possibility is that it seemed as if they had planned for 6-7 episodes, but then were told they only had four. Sort of jumbled and jammed as threads were unraveling from every direction, making sure that everyone had face time. Unfortunately, the last episode ending in a hospital almost seems as a metaphor for the this last series and not very creative at all completing few (if any) arcs. That is, if they were certain that these were the last episodes, there was little (if any) closure to the series. Just another episode.

Monk: Mr. Monk Buys a House (2008) Season 7, Episode 1

Nice story, another stupid final scene

[5/10 · 28 June 2023]

First, the replacement for Stanley Kamel (Hector Elizondo) is a great choice. Also, the final shot tribute Mr. Kamel was very nicely done. The story was clever and fun. The inclusion of Jack Carter was fitting and a nice gesture (he passed in 2015). However, the final resolution scenes were poorly done and, reflecting many of the comments from the final episodes of the prior season, amateurish at best. It was almost as if they had 10 minutes to write the final scenes, but invoked the prior season finale rule of "be sure to make Natalie and Monk turn stupid and don't put too much thought into scene - people will buy whatever we are selling." The clash of skill in writing seems obvious. The "willful suspension of belief" is not a license for laziness.

Kingdom (2007–2009)

Agree that sister was the weakest bit...

[8/10 · 31 December 2022]

Great show and Fry was perfect... except for that sister. The sister character was actually quite difficult to watch (therefore, nicely played) but actually weakened the other characters and is irrelevant to the plot lines. This drew down the attractiveness of the show (2 points) and seemed to reflect a strange choice by the writer(s). It is almost like they were forced to put this character as a foil for Fry (and everyone else). There are cleverer ways to accomplish this that fit the arc of the plot lines without doing damage to the other characters. I wonder how many watchers mumble to themselves, "Just kick her butt out of the house and stop enabling!" Maybe its just me...

Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (1996–1998)

fun stories, poor subtitling

[9/10 · 30 June 2022]

This is a fun series perfectly reflecting the times, but also ahead of those times in some respects (e.g., women's roles). The subtitling (English) is remarkably poor (did anyone pay for this?) and offensive in its failures: dropping key words or phrases (i.e., spoken words are simply skipped), misspellings, wrong words, and impossible words (I have no idea how that happens).

Star Trek: Discovery (2017–2024)

Why the 1960s cheesy bridge pyrotechnics?

[5/10 · 5 June 2022]

The plots are interesting, the dialogue is excellent, the space effects are amazing. WHY oh WHY does Discovery engage those 1060s cheesy pyrotechnics of sparklers and flames on the bridge every time they hit a bump! I am just waiting for the classic "side-to-side" tilt shots from the original show (and the classic "Voyage to see what's on the bottom"). 930 year later and the advance electronics are now flammable? Did you notice that even the bridge crew tries to ignore them! Hey, flame off!

Father Brown: The Red Death (2022) Season 9, Episode 10

Great cast, poor writing

[3/10 · 29 May 2022]

This season scripts have been terrible. The plot are so poorly constructed that they have to insert PARAGRAPHS of dialogue among characters to explain (not show) what is going on to move the plot along. It is as they found gaping holes in the plot and had to insert scenes to repair it. Viewing these a "light hearted" is a kindness. The poor actors, as professionals, will endure... as will us, the poor fans.

Father Brown: The Island of Dreams (2022) Season 9, Episode 7

parody?

[2/10 · 19 May 2022]

This is remarkably bad... therefore, to account for my respect for the series (and the actors) I am assuming that for some reason (e.g., lost a bet, blackmail, a touch of the banshee 2-step) this is a parody, and not a serious attempt at an authentic FB episode, in search of some Razzie award. This review does not contain spoilers as... (the reader can complete the sentence).