Summer Shows 2021 Part 2

I have very little time to write the rest of the posts for this blog for the rest of this month as there are some time sensitive posts that I’ll need to get done over time. There are some that I might not get done at all and others that are coming very late. I even plan to do a special apology post that would appear in this blog and apply to all of them.

 

Fantasy Island: Show Description- A woman brings people to an island with supernatural powers where they learn a life lesson under the guise of living a fantasy of theirs. Behind the Scenes- This is a remake of a show of the same name and might be set in the same universe as the new main character is said to be a descendent of the original one. My Thoughts- It seems like a pretty decent show. It is good in enough ways, although maybe not as interesting as I would like. I give it three out of five stars. Long Term Prospects- I don’t know if this will last, although it might. Where to Find- On Tuesdays at 9/8 Central on FOX

 

Family Game Fight: Show Description- Two families compete against each other in various games for the most points and a shot at $100,000. Behind the Scenes- Married couple Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard are the co-hosts of this show that also compete in it with the families. Ellen DeGeneres also created this and is inspired by some of her talk show’s games and her game show, Ellen’s Game of Games. My Thoughts- It seems pretty good and fair. I can’t think of much wrong with it other than the weirdness of some of the games. Long Term Prospects- This will probably last, but just as easily might not. Where to Find- On Wednesdays at 9/8 Central on NBC

 

Here, we switch to returning shows as I get to the later ones that I believe are on. You may notice that there is at least one new CBS show that I’m not including in the reviews and I’ll explain pretty soon why I’m not going to see every new CBS show which isn’t what I used to do. It won’t get its own post like some other subjects do.

 

Stargirl: Status- Currently on the CW at 8/7 Central on the CW. Why I’ve seen it- It looked good and interesting. Noteworthiness- This is adapted from the Stargirl comics by DC comics. Description- A teenage girl gets a cosmic staff believed to be from her father that turns her into a mystic superhero called Stargirl. Notable People- Amy Smart, from movies, is a character on the show. Pros- Very well done in terms of being character driven among nearly all of its stars both big and small, it is hard to think of much that’s bad about it. Cons- I do worry that it has the problems of having to see every episode to understand it. Note to Parents- There are some issues with this, but also good life lessons as well. I suggest that preteens and older can watch, but not too much else. Recommendation- I think that you should watch it and as long as it isn’t a part of Arrowverse, you don’t have too much to worry about regarding it. Prediction- This is renewed for a third season while airing its second. I hope that it lasts long enough, but we’ll see. Reception: positive. Grade: A. New review

 

The Greatest #AtHome Videos: Status- Currently on CBS at 9/8 Central on Fridays. Why I’ve seen it- I used to watch every new CBS show at least once. Description- Various internet videos that have happened since the start of the pandemic are shown. Notable People- Cedric the Entertainer, who also stars in The Neighborhood and has started in Cedric’s Barber Battle, is the host of this show. Pros- What I saw wasn’t bad at all. Cons- I don’t really like TV shows showing us what we can just see on the internet instead. This isn’t something that I care about. Note to Parents- This might be fine. I can’t remember anything too bad. Recommendation- This isn’t worth keeping up with. Prediction- This will probably keep lasting. Reception: average. Grade: D. New review

 

Big Brother: Status- This CBS show airs in three hours of primetime during the summer and on live internet feeds at www.cbs.com. The three primetime hours are basically split into the mostly live show where people are voted out, the show where people get nominated to get voted out, and the show where people compete to possibly change the nominations on the show. Why I’ve seen it- A parody of it on the Talk interested me in watching the real thing. Noteworthiness- There are many versions of it in other countries, most of which work very differently than ours. In case you were wondering, we were not the first country to do this show, although we were the first country to use the format that it has in almost no other country’s version of it. Description- A group of people, normally strangers, but sometimes not, are put into a house where they are recorded 24/7 and competing for a money prize. Notable People- Julie Chen, formally of CBS’s Early Show and The Talk, is the host of this show. Pros- While it may seem similar to other reality TV shows, it is very different to the usual. You can see whatever you want to online since CBS has live feeds of what goes on inside the house. Cons- The live internet feed gets cuts a lot making it seem like the people that air the show is hiding something. Tons of controversies have arisen on the show. The contestants often aren’t nice people. Note to Parents- I’d say that teenagers can watch this. I wouldn’t go with much younger than that as the typical episode can have enough objectionable things in it. You can watch it with them and decide for yourself what it is like and if you want to comment on it a lot to explain some of it, that would work. Recommendation- This show is a pretty good show to watch. My viewing habits- I got into this late and for varying reasons don’t know yet if I’ll watch it again. I might not see it again as it is too much of a time commitment. Prediction- It will probably last a long time, although it just as easily might not. Reception: mixed. Grade: B-.

Big Brother: A Lesson in How Not to Behave

With a lot of reality shows on, most of them teach you how you shouldn’t behave as most of them are about people who they want to cause conflict to make for great TV. I believe that this is a part of every reality show and not just the competition ones. Today, I am talking about just the show Big Brother specifically since the others are not relevant. I could do a post on Survivor in my Survivor blog, but I won’t this time yet.

 

There has been a lot of controversy caused by Big Brother over the years and contestants’ treatment of other contestants has been one of the consistent problems. They’ve even had to expel some players from the game because of that at times in very serious issues with how others are treated. This does not account for all of the expulsions thus far, but maybe around half if not three out of four.

 

What exactly are the issues? Well, people aren’t always nice, which is to be expected in most of the reality shows as stated already. But it is more than simply not being nice that causes issues. They can be bullies or have too many conflicts with other, specific players. There have been racial slurs used and some sexist ones as well. Basically, any type of discrimination has probably come up at least once on the show at some point in time.

 

I don’t want to go as far as repeating what some of the truly egregious things on the show are since that would give these people the infamy they so desperately want for some reason. Just know that there are even issues that the players do with bad behavior even without some of the absolute worse stuff.

 

People may have to lie a lot on the show in order to get what they want. They use other players as pawns, puppets, or however horrible they want to. Some have started relationships on the show even though they were in one before they started the game. Not being nice doesn’t have to be part of the game in the end. Players can be good people without having to sacrifice their chance of making it far or even winning the game in the end.

 

The point is, people who have done Big Brother have acted badly a lot throughout the game. The show will always deal with issues like this, even when they aren’t too controversial in the end. It is a lesson in how not to behave most of the time. And I would hope that people know this.

The Ineffectiveness of Explosions

Only in television and some movies do explosions do nothing more than show destruction but not actually harm people. You see this so many times that it is annoying. Pretty much any time an explosion happens, anyone caught up in them is almost certain to survive them. What’s up with that? Why would there be something as horrific as an explosion going on but people survive them?

It seems like the most common show to use the meaningless explosion trope is Power Rangers. They use explosions a lot and they are always for show. These don’t often even do damage. Often they are shown behind the rangers when they morph the first time and often some other times. We see them so many times that we know that not much is going to happen with them other than seeing something in the background going on that looks cool but means nothing in the end.

Sadly, many other shows have followed that some trope. King of the Hill put some characters in a building that exploded and only one of them died. Of course, that was undermined by having one of them be the main character that wasn’t likely to die at all.

NCIS had the very headquarters that the show took place at blow up, an ending picked with all of the main character’s lives in balance due to all of their contract’s being up for renewal, with all of them surviving and the headquarters being shown as the same later in the future.

Arrow had another season finale cliffhanger where a lot of people were on an island that blew up and most of them were all fine. They even show a point of view where it seems like they were just fucking with the audience by showing what all went on that might have been a flashback after the characters were already revealed to be okay.

The Pretender did this season finale cliffhanger not once but twice. They showed people caught up in an explosion and they are completely fine without the need to even be hospitalized. In fact, they skipped what even happened most of the time and just went to the next thing.

Honestly, if I wanted to see fireworks, I would watch that. If explosions are to be done on TV, they should mean something and not just be a showy thing that ultimately means nothing in the end. Why would explosions be ineffective if they are supposed to mean something?

On Accents

You might be watching a show at times and then start to wonder when you watch the special features or see the actors and actresses from it on talk shows why they sound different. This happens a lot. I am specifically referring to accents. A lot of the time, an actor or actress is forced to do an American accent even when they are not American and don’t normally sound like that.

Ironically, the first show that might have made someone use an American accent when they don’t have that voice normally was the British show Doctor Who. One of the characters on that show was Peri. She was an American on the show, although played by a British actress. Not only did she have to use an American accent on the show throughout her whole filming of it, but even in interviews, they wanted her to keep up appearances so people wouldn’t know this long term.

At first, this was an outlier. But it started to become more common decades later. You see, the people who did the show House wanted an American to be the lead of the show. Hugh Lorie, a British man, learned about the role and auditioned using an American accent. He was hired for the lead. I don’t know at what point they learned that he wasn’t American. It might have been too late for them to change the casting decision, but they did learn at some point. Still, he might have been the best person for that role in the end, even if it wasn’t that nice a person. 

The concept of someone having to change their accent is still quite common today. I didn’t even know for sure what Rowan Atkinson actually sounded like for quite a while as he had at least two different voices in roles that I heard him do. Some may even have different accents for the same character on the same show that they play. It would all depend on what’s going on.

But is this a problem? Should people be forced to do different accents than the one that they naturally have? Why can’t a character simply be British? The show Dollhouse was weird with this since they had one British actress always using her real accent and a different actress that was not American using one unless she was being her true self and not her programmed self. You’d think that it would be simple just to say that a character isn’t American and that would be okay. But this is something that just keeps happening and I am not sure if it is an issue, but that’s what just keeps going on.

One Franchise, All Night

Something new will be happening with the CBS schedule this upcoming season in the fall. It is something that has happened before on other networks and will probably happen again and keep happening. I’m not entirely sure about this, but I think that CBS might be the last of the major networks to embrace this type of format that all of the other networks have done at least once at some point. The only thing that I’m not sure about is if ABC has done this or not.

Now the CW did this at one point with their Arrowverse shows and other shows like it. Most recently, both 9-1-1 and 9-1-1: Lone Star aired back to back on the same night on Mondays for a while. But both CW and FOX air only two hours of primetime instead of the three that you see on others.

What really made things seem very different was when NBC announced that the Chicago franchise of three different shows all set in Chicago were airing on the same night. This would be a first for the big three networks. It may seem like a weird thing to do. After all, one is more likely to check out all of the shows at some point and you wouldn’t want them to get fatigued at all in any way. Plus, you could help the ratings of other shows if you had them leading into other shows. It didn’t seem like it would be that great of an idea, but it worked and is still what is happening.

CBS will be doing this as well. They are going to air all three shows in the FBI franchise with the newest one being added to it when it airs on Tuesdays. They are putting what remains of the NCIS franchise on Mondays now instead, outside of the new show that will be starting.

It may seem strange and it is. I’m not sure how much I will like or want to do something like this in the future. But it keeps happening and we’ll have to see just how much we get like this in the future. I can only hope that I can like it and it works out for me to see them if I do like all of these shows.

Summer Shows 2021 Part 1

I will be splitting this post into two different parts to ensure that I can get some of this done in a more timely manner than last year and this will hopefully be all that needs done in the near future. I will not cover some shows that I’ve already reviewed normally that aren’t typically on during the summer. Now let’s get to these reviews.

 

Wellington Paranormal: Show Description- A mockumentary, police investigate supernatural cases. Behind the Scenes- This is a show from New Zealand airing in the US. My Thoughts- While the type of humor isn’t for everyone, I quite enjoy it and recommend it. I give it three out of five stars. Long Term Prospects- Whether it lasts doesn’t rely on US viewers. I hope that it can and think that it might if the ratings here are good enough too. Where to Find- On the CW at 9/8 Central on Sundays

 

The Republic of Sarah: Show Description- A town called Greylock near the US border with Canada wants to keep out certain executives and others from affecting it so they declare independence at the behest of a woman named Sarah. Behind the Scenes- I think that this is a Canadian show airing in the US, but that might not be the case. My Thoughts- There’s a lot to see in this show as it covers a lot while also seeming a bit realistic in some ways too. There are some issues with the plot, but it is good outside of that. I give it four out of five stars. Long Term Prospects- I have no idea if this will last or not, but think that it might. Where to Find- On the CW at 9/8 Central on Mondays

 

HouseBroken: Show Description- Some pets have adventures. Behind the Scenes- There isn’t anything to say here. My Thoughts- This show was dumb and didn’t have much to it. I give it two out of five stars. Long Term Prospects- I say that this probably won’t last as nothing would point to a renewal. Where to Find- On FOX at 9/8 Central on Mondays

 

Small Fortune: Show Description- Contestants have to do tasks with miniatures or similar things to it. Behind the Scenes- This follows a long line of game shows that have premiered within the last year due to smaller production costs. My Thoughts- The tasks seemed dumb and the show didn’t seem worth it. I give it two out of five stars. Long Term Prospects- I have no idea if this will last or not. Where to Find- Not currently on the schedule

 

Crime Scene Kitchen: Show Description- Contestants have to figure out what food was made based on clues left behind and then make it themselves. They are judged on accuracy, presentation, and taste. Behind the Scenes- Joel McHale, formerly of Community and current host of ABC’s Card Sharks, is also the host of this show as well. My Thoughts- This show has done the impossible: make me like cooking shows. It is actually interesting for a change as I like seeing what all is made and how all it works. I give it three out of five stars. Long Term Prospects- This could last, but I don’t know for sure if it will or not. I would guess that it sadly won’t. Where to Find- Not currently on the schedule

 

Kids Say the Darndest Things: Show Description- Kids are filmed saying strange things in various ways. Behind the Scenes- Many versions of this show have existed on TV from time to time. It wasn’t too long ago that a version of this was on ABC. My Thoughts- This show is pretty funny and quite good. I give it four out of five stars. Long Term Prospects- This will probably last in the future even if CBS doesn’t bring it back again for a while, some other network will at some point in time. I think that it will stay for now. Where to Find- Not currently on the schedule

 

Loki: Show Description- After thinking that he escaped from The Avengers, Loki finds out that he is a time variant being recruited by the very people hunting him to capture another version of himself. Behind the Scenes- This is part of the MCU. It also stars Owen Wilson from various movies and Tom Hiddleson reprises his role as the most famous anti-hero from the MCU. My Thoughts- This show is quite interesting, even if some of the episodes didn’t have as much to them as others did. Long Term Prospects- This is renewed for a second season already. If it lasts beyond that is unknown and only relates to what the master plan of the MCU winds up being. Where to Find- Streaming on Disney+

 

Here, we switch to returning shows. I’ve decided that this time, I’m only giving you the new reviews of shows that I haven’t already covered. Anything else has already been covered or will be covered again in the future. Let’s get to it all.

 

Dead Pixels: Status- Currently on the CW at 9:30/8:30 Central on Sundays. Why I’ve seen it- I tend to watch a new CW show at least once now. Noteworthiness- This is a British show that airs in the US. Description- A woman and her friends play a game and have some issues in both their game lives and their real lives. Pros- It has some different aspects. Cons- There could have been better ways to air this, such as better edits given the constant use of swears and other content that is censored in the US. Plus, this seems too similar in some ways to The Guild, but not nearly as good. Note to Parents- This is not something for young kids, but teens and older can watch. Recommendation- I think that people should avoid this show. My Viewing Habits- I only watched the first episode and that was it. Prediction- This could keep lasting, but I don’t think that it will. Reception: positive. Grade: F. New review

 

In the Dark: Status- Currently on the CW at 9/8 Central on Wednesdays. Why I’ve seen it- I tend to watch a new CW show at least once. Description- A blind woman deals with various struggles in life such as the death of a man who was close to her. Notable People- Comedian Ben Stiller is an executive producer of this. Pros- There aren’t any shows about blind people and this changes this. Cons- I do not think that there’s enough in the show for it to work as far too much of it was just too weird. I want to like the focus given on a minority character, but can’t as she’s too much of an asshole. Many think that it is wrong for a non-blind actress to play a blind character. Note to Parents- A lot of this show relates to crimes and there are lesbians in it or were at one point. Recommendation- This isn’t worth keeping up with at all. My Viewing Habits- I only watched the second episode and that was it. I have more contempt for it than any other CW show still on the air. Prediction- This had the most inexplicable second season renewal in CW if not television history given its low ratings. I would say that from the fourth season onward, it will probably be more likely to end than last. Reception: mixed. Grade: F. New review

 

Roswell, New Mexico: Status- Currently on the CW at 8/7 Central on Mondays. Why I’ve seen it- I thought that it could be interesting. Noteworthiness- This is a remake of a show of the same name. It is also adapted from the Roswell High book series. Description- While I’ve seen a lot of the show, I don’t know how to say what all it is about. I know that it involves aliens in some way and other mysteries. There’s a romance and some of it has related to high school at one point. Pros- The show has interesting dynamics. A lot of the plot is worth coming back to. Cons- It can seem boring at times. Note to Parents- There is a lot in here that is bad for the young kids, but teens and older are good to watch this if they want to. Recommendation- Take it or leave it. I think that it is worth watching and do, but don’t think that I would lose much if I wasn’t able to see it anymore. My Viewing Habits- I’ve seen a lot of this and watched it from the beginning, but haven’t seen all of it. Prediction- This probably won’t last beyond its fourth season, but could last as long as the CW wants it to. They are odd with their shows. Reception: mixed. Grade: B-. New review

You Can Have Your Own Review Opinions

While I need to get certain time sensitive posts ready that I need to put a lot more effort into while also probably postponing things that should be time sensitive that should be published at some point, I am going instead to just do a rather quick post. Hopefully, Saturday’s post can be on the first round of the summer shows from this year. That would have been today if there were just more time for it.

Anyways, the actual post that I want to talk to about are based on a highly flawed reasoning that I see from time to time from YouTubers and possibly others. Basically, I largely ignore a lot of what critics say about a movie or other thing as I often disagree with them but often simply don’t care. Other times, I am blissfully unaware that some people don’t like something that I do or vice versa.

What’s the point of this post? Well it’s simple. If you don’t like something that others do, you are not wrong about that. The opposite is also true. I get annoyed at just how people like Doug Walker would tell people that, for instance, because he doesn’t like Jim Carrey’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas that others who like it are wrong. That can’t possibly be true or right. No one can be right or wrong about whether they like a movie or show or video game or book or CD or music group or person or whatever else it might be. Even Lee from CinemaWins is convinced that some people are wrong about what movies are better than others. That simply can’t be the case. I’m allowed to hate Gone with the Wind or Amadeus or like Baby Geniuses or Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. 

While you don’t have to agree with anything I post, I am allowed to have the opinion about it that I do. I’m neither right nor wrong to like or hate any of the shows that I’ve seen. You can disagree with me, but you can’t tell me that I can’t hate a show like Mom or like a show like Bad Judge just because you have a different one or something like that. I don’t want to hear this close-mindedness again.