Recap Archive

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Television Review/Recap: Game of Thrones Season 2 Episode 4

By
Adam Shaftoe
– April 24, 2012Posted in: TV Reviews

Last week I saw a snarky tweet that said listening to people talk about Game of Thrones is the new listening to people talk about Lost. Before Sunday night’s episode, it seemed like nothing more than sour grapes. After watching Episode 4, “Garden of Bones” I guess I can see where they are coming from, at least on one particular point. Anyway, my take away for this week has less to do with smoke demons and more to do with the fact that the smallest people on this show are among its best actors.

*Spoilers ahead*

Like last week, we shall recap via geography.

Riverlands Battlefield

After two weeks of relative absence from the story, the episode opens in the aftermath of another successful battle for Robb Stark. The fighting itself is implied rather than shown (budgets and all that), but it’s quite clear that Robb is kicking ass and taking names. A conversation with a battlefield triage nurse (or whatever they are called in Westeros) yields information of much greater importance. Robb has zero endgame for this war. He doesn’t want to sit on the Iron Throne, nor does he have plans for anybody else to claim it. It opens the door to an interesting question: Did Robb Stark go to war for a good reason? Sure King Joffrey is a monster, and most of the Lannisters are dicks, but did justice demand the War of Five Kings?

Harrenhal

Harrenhal has turned into the Lannister version of Andersonville prison. Arya and Gendry find themselves stuffed in a pig pen where once a day the Lannisters haul somebody off for an interrogation and a modified Orwell style execution. Each night, Arya sleep talks her way through a litany that names the people complicit in her father’s death. After a few days in the camp, Gendry gets picked to face the terminal inquisition. It’s the ultimate moment of irony when Tywin Lannister arrives at Harrenhal and puts a stop to the wasteful executions. The Lannister patriarch also recognizes Arya as a girl. Arya admits that she is disguised as a boy because it’s safer to travel that way. Forthwith Tywin claims she’s smarter than most of his men and puts her to work as his cup bearer.

I know I’ve said it before but it bears repeating: Maisie Williams is a fantastic actress. If she was just playing Arya as a survivor, that would probably be enough to win me over. Yet she continues to pull off the early onset PTSD that the writers are working into her dialogue.

King’s Landing

Things get ugly in King’s Landing. Joffrey spends most of his screen time caressing a crossbow the same way Gomer Pile caressed his rifle.

First he blames Sansa for her brother’s victories. In front of the court he has her stripped and beaten. Only Tyrion’s timely intervention stops the spectacle from going any farther. In doing so, Tyrion reminds Joffrey that the Mad King did what he pleased, and it didn’t end well for him. As Tyrion helps Sansa out of the throne room he asks her if she still wants to marry Joffrey. Bruised and humiliated Sansa answers that Joffrey is her one true love. To which Tyrion replies that Sansa might outlive them all.

Shortly thereafter Bronn suggests to Tyrion that Joffrey might be more manageable if he wasn’t pent up with teenage hormones. Bronn also wins the best one liner of the episode with the line, “There’s no cure for being a cunt.”

Heeding Bronn’s words, Tyrion sends a couple of whores to the king’s chamber. And that’s when things get creepy again – way worse than Theon Greyjoy deedling his sister creepy. Light girl on girl spanking, at the behest of Joffrey, turns to belt whipping, and then morphs into a beat down with a staff. All the while Joffrey, expertly played by Jack Gleeson, watches and smiles. The little bastard oozes sadism at every turn. Again, it’s a combination of brilliant writing and expert casting.

The final story of note within King’s Landing involves Tyrion’s ongoing battle against Cersei. Cersei, absent from the episode, sends her cousin/lover with a warrant ordering Maester Pycell’s release from the Black Cells. Yet she does so late at night and after a roll in the hay. Whip smart as ever, Tyrion deduces that his cousin is Cersei’s new lover and threatens to go to the king with that information unless the Lannister brat starts informing on Cersei. It’s another brilliant power play from Tyrion, and more top form acting from Peter Dinklage.

Essos

I’m going to be honest here. I really don’t care about the plight of Daenerys Targaryen. I find Emilia Clarke a rather boring actress whose range is limited to being stoic or pitching a temper tantrum. Acting alongside Jason Momoa last season brought out a bit more depth to her personality, but now all she has is that tedious yes-man aka Smithers with a sword. After three weeks of watching Daenerys do nothing, I’m just not invested in the “Mother of Dragons” story arc. This week did nothing to change that.

Daenerys and her motley crew happen upon the city of Quarth. However the city fathers, locally known as The Thirteen, won’t let them in until they see one of Daenerys’ dragons. Daenerys pitches a fit, threatening to burn the city down when the dragons are fully grown. Naturally The Thirteen tell her to bugger off. But then one of The Thirteen decides they should come in; so they do. How very exciting.

The Stormlands

Little Finger arrives in the Stormlands and begins doing what he does best: duplicitous grovelling. First he approaches Renly Baratheon, who tells him to get bent. Though Little Finger does hint that with a few friends in the palace, Renly might find the gates of King’s Landing open to him. In her only scene of the episode, Queen Margaery also tells Little Finger to get bent. In fairness, he was trying to pump her for courtly gossip relating to Renly’s suspected homosexual leanings. Finally, Little Finger arrives in the tent of Catelyn Stark, who uses a knife to tell him to get bent. He does however extend Tyrion’s offer to Catelyn: give back Jamie and get Sansa and Arya in exchange. Baelish also returns the, alleged, remains of Ned Stark as a show of good faith. Though I suspect they could be anybody’s remains given how adamant Cersei was about refusing any accommodation to the Starks.

Meanwhile on the war front, Stannis arrives to have a little chat with his brother. The brothers Baratheon trade insults until Stannis issues an ultimatum demanding Renly’s surrender before the next sunrise. Creepy red haired lady also manages to sneak in a few references to the lord of light, just for good measure. With an army of one hundred thousand men behind him, Renly sees little reason to take his brother seriously.

Later that night Stannis orders Davos Seaworth to smuggle Melisandre, the creepy red haired lady, ashore – presumably into Renly’s camp. Apparently, she is some sort of super weapon. It didn’t make much sense until she got naked (wait for it), showing herself to be spontaneously pregnant (wait for it) and then gave birth to the smoke monster from Lost (there it is).

The Bottom Line

I’ve had my fair share of “Holy shit, I can’t believe they did that” moments while watching Game of Thrones. However, I think the smoke monster baby was my first genuine “What the fuck was that?” moment. Bearing that in mind, I think there’s only one question left to ask, do we get a shadow monster killing spree next week?


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Television Review/Recap: Spartacus Vengeance Episode 4

By
Adam Shaftoe
– February 20, 2012Posted in: TV Reviews

Spartacus and Mira make a final stand...

Capua gives way to Dallas as the Romans pile intrigues upon intrigues in an episode that almost downplays Spartacus’ storyline.

*Spoilers Ahead*

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great episode if you have a taste for Roman intrigue. But as I sat down to write this recap it occurred to me that even established fans of the show might have a hard time keeping track of all the developments that occurred under the roof of the former house of Batiatus. To that end I offer this handy flowchart as a study aid for any who found themselves scratching their heads at the conclusion of Episode 4: Empty Hands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spartacus’ story line is simpler than the Romans so let’s talk about that first. Spartacus, Nassir, Mira, three redshirt gladiators and the newly liberated Naevia are on the run from the mines. A number of Legionary patrols, one of which includes Ashur, are hot on their heels. In a series of gory battles, and I must say that the blood and swordplay are first rate in this episode, the fugitive ensemble gets whittled down to Spartacus, Mira, the wounded Nassir and Naevia. Requisite talk about abandoning the wounded gives Spartacus another chance to flex his noble leader muscles.

In any other character I would be bored of that by now. With Spartacus it seems fitting, perhaps more so as the audience transitions from Whitfield to McIntyre. Where Blood and Sand saw Spartacus going from Thracian to Roman, this season sees him going from Roman to General. So while some might call the constant spotlight on Spartacus’ virtues a tiresome gimmick, I think they are essential materials to his transformation.

That said, Spartacus’ story wraps with he and Mira prepared to make a last stand against the oncoming Roman patrols. But wait, it’s not actually Romans but Agron and the rest of the army come to rescue them. The only other thing that bears mentioning about this part of the plot is that it again demonstrates how this series doesn’t quite have enough production budget to meet the various writers’ and directors’ designs. The ubiquitous grey-blue blur in the background of the woods makes the environment seem less like a location shot and more like a very well designed sound stage. They’re making a good effort with what they’ve got, but the struggle between competing elements of the production is rather evident.

Now let’s turn our attention to some Roman intrigue. Glaber is dealing with the political fallout of pulling his troops out of Praetor Varinius’ celebratory games. Much to Glaber’s disappointment, the gambit is not paying off. Where he expected to find Spartacus a captive of his men, he found Crixus instead. And while Galber still has faith in Lucretia as the voice of divine prophecy, Ilithyia has had enough of both of them.

Viva Bianca and Lucay Lawless anchor the show with intrigue.

Without a doubt the scenes between Viva Bianca and Lucy Lawless are the best points in this episode. In the course of fifty-five minutes Ilithyia goes from mocking Lucretia’s prophecies as words as barren as her womb, to outright making an attempt on her life. Of course, it didn’t help her disposition when she walked in on Lucretia having a roll in the hay with her father, Senator Albinius. More on that in a moment.

Knowing that Glaber will likely never rise above his current office, Ilithyia turns her attentions toward the unwed Praetor Varinius. She suggests a party in his honour at the former Batiatus villa, much to the ire of her husband. Ilithyia soothes Glaber’s anger by reminding him that being seen to work with his co-Praetor will undermine Seppius and reassure the people of Capua that he has the situation well in hand. Thus does Seppius’ sister return as a player within the story. Upon the advice of Lucretia, Seppia turns her attention to Varinius. Yet her inability to make sport of one of the captured fugitives moves his eye to other women. Shortly thereafter Ilithyia catches Varinius alone and makes her intentions known: she will get Albinius to dissolve her marriage with Glaber so they can be wed and thus will come all of the Senator’s wealth and influence when Varinius makes his inevitable bid for Consul. How Ilithyia plans to deal with her pregnancy is not explicitly stated, but considering the downright evil nature of her character I suspect it might involve a tumble down some stairs or the Roman equivalent of a coat hanger abortion.

Content that she has the situation well in hand, Ilithyia goes to find her father. And that’s when we come to the daddy shagging. On the one hand it’s a smart play from Lucretia. Since women can’t hold property under Roman law and her father disowned her for marrying Quintus Batiatus, Lucretia’s long term future is by no means stable. As was said in a previous episode, within the walls of Roman society sex is sometimes the only card a woman can play. Naturally Ilithyia sees this as a power play on Lucretia’s part since a marriage between Albinius and Lucretia would make the latter Ilithyia’s step mother. So Ilithyia does what she does best: slaps Lucretia across the face and threatens to bash her head into the marble floor. The only thing that keeps Lucretia alive is a last minute confession that she only took Albinius to bed to help secure Ilithyia’s divorce from Glaber. This gives Ilithyia pause for consideration. For the first time in the new series she actually thinks that Lucretia might be on her side.

For my money this stinks of Lucretia playing a long con against Ilithyia. The writing combined with Lawless’ acting has been just ambiguous enough to leave a plausible grain of doubt in my mind toward Lucretia’s intentions. Truthfully I’d be disappointed if the season didn’t end with her thrusting a knife into Ilithyia’s back – or possibly her stomach in a moment of “you took my baby, albeit indirectly, and now I take yours.”

What’s to come for next week?

Likely plans to try and rescue the captive Crixus that will once again see Spartacus and Agron butt heads. Perhaps we might see a death match between Crixus and Oenomaus cut short with a Deus ex Spartacus.

Until then…


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Television Review/Recap: Spartacus Vengeance Episode 2

By
Adam Shaftoe
– February 6, 2012Posted in: TV Reviews

Episode two of Spartacus: Vengeance tells two stories: one that is quite expected and proper, and another that struck as a bit of a surprise.

Spoilers ahead.

Titled “A Place in This World” the focus of the episode is split between Spartacus managing his growing slave army and Oenomaus’ life as a pit fighter. The latter includes some flashback sequences that see Jeffery Thomas reprising his Gods of the Arena role as Titus Batiatus.

Thomas’ presence, however, is not as an ailing and intransigent Pater Familias, but rather a mentor and father-ish figure to the younger Oenomaus. Titus seems particularly concerned with giving purpose to the fledgling gladiator. Granted, his actions might be the sort of soft sell that is necessary to convince a slave that fighting in a blood sport is their own choice. He reminds young Oenomaus that as a gladiator he is far beyond the hopeless world of the pits. These words accentuate just how cheap life is as a pit fighter, a fact well demonstrated as present day Oenomaus courts the only exit from life that might come with a shred of honour.

Meanwhile Spartacus and the army of freed slaves have marched south intent on pillaging the estates of Italy’s countryside and tracking Crixus’ lost love Naevia. It’s a bit of a role reversal from the first season. Back then Spartacus was the man obsessed with finding his wife. Now Crixus’ has taken up an almost certainly quixotic quest. Given this show’s propensity for torturing its characters, I don’t think we should expect a happy reunion between Crixus and Naevia when the time finally comes.

Dan Feuerriegel’s portrayal of Agron, who you might remember as the gladiator whose brother died during the escape from the ludus, continues to impress. If Spartacus is the boss of this organization and Crixus is the underboss, then Agron is moving up the ranks to become a solid Capo. The down side is that he’s fairly good hearted human being; if Varro and Aurelia taught us anything it’s that good people end up dead on this show.

Given the episode’s title, I expected a “What are we?” vibe to permeate among the fighting men of the army. This is best seen when Tiberius, a newly freed villa slave, attacks Spartacus out of loyalty to his old master. It was unexpected but certainly not unwelcome to see this question extended to the women of the troupe. Though the series takes some liberties with respect to Roman history, particularly in the realm of Romans boning their slaves – such a social faux pas – it is staying true to fact with the inclusion of women in the band of rebels. Arguably the best scene of the episode opens to Rhaskos, one of Crixus’ brainless Gauls, ravaging a newly liberated female house slave. Mira breaks the two up under the assumption that the act has not been mutually agreed upon. Only afterward do we find out that she had willingly given herself as a means of buying the Gaul’s protection with “The only coin that a woman possesses.” This does not sit well with Mira. Though she joined the rebellion out of love for Spartacus, the growing perception among the others is that their relationship is a similar sort of transaction. The slightest glance from actress Katrina Law tells the audience that Mira will not stand for her gender being reduced to the objects of the fighting men. Expect more to come on that note in future weeks.

Glaber, Ilithyia, and Lucretia are mostly non-players in this episode. The newly minted Praetor unsuccessfully attempts to bargain with Seppius for the use of his mercenaries. Lucretia shifts into the role of semi-mad prophetess as she walks the streets of Capua blessing the masses who see her survival as a whisper of favour from the gods. Ilithyia, still suspicious of Lucretia’s new found piety and amnesia, attempts to plunge a knife into her former friend’s back thus severing the last tie to her murder of Marcus Crassus’ cousin. Only a classic deus ex machina in the form of Ashur’s glorious return stays Ilithyia’s hand.

Having rescued/abducted Oenomaus from the pits, Ashur presents the disgraced doctore before Glaber, Ilithyia and Lucretia as the key to finding Spartacus and the rebels. Now that all the principle characters are back in play, it remains to be seen what sort of intrigues they will cook up. Overall, it’s a perfect ending to an unexpectedly thoughtful episode.

I would note that there seems to be two distinct styles to the fight choreography in Spartacus. Some scenes, usually bigger scale battles, make extensive use of slow motion and CG-blood splatters. It’s all very 300-esque and really not that impressive. Then there’s the one-on-one fight scenes. It is in those moments that the show really shines. Among the highlights are almost no cutaways, masterful deployments of simulated blood, bone, body parts and other expected viscera, and a proper sense of pain and physical toll coming off the actors. Oenomaus’ scenes as a pit fighter are on par if not superior to anything that was seen in the arena last season. On that note, Spartacus revels in spectacle better than most big budget Hollywood productions.

Until next week, citizens.


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Television Recap: Thundercats Week 6

By
Adam Shaftoe
– September 8, 2011Posted in: TV Reviews

Summary Judgement:  Week six adds new depth to the Thundercats mythology while telling the best story the series has seen since its premiere.

I don’t know what the writers were on when they penned this episode, but I want to bottle it and sell it on a late night infomercial featuring Vince the Slap Chop guy.

*Spoilers Ahead*

Titled “Legacy”, this episode answers some of the questions that came our way after last week’s revelation that the ancestors of the Thundercats worked for Mumm-Ra.  While the other cats are sleeping, polishing their guns or babysitting at the foot of the Tower of Omens, Lion-O is inside trying to decipher the Book of Omens’ secrets.  The young lord of the Thundercats suspects that the book isn’t magic, but rather a form of technology in need of a power supply.  After fiddling with what look like input ports on the bottom of the book, the tome zaps Lion-O unconscious and sucks up his soul.

Inside the book Jaga-Wan Kenobi – told you he would be back – explains to a confused Lion-O that the book is a fusion of both magic and science.  Jaga also reveals that clues to the the cats’ future lay in their past.  To find that knowledge Lion-O must make like it’s Quantum Leap and explore the history of the Thundercats through the body of his ancestor, Leo.  Of course, Leo isn’t just any old alley cat.  He’s Mumm-Ra’s number one henchman.

On the bridge of Mumm-Ra’s pyramid-starship, Lion-O, as Leo, uses the Book of Omens to help Mumm-Ra track down the “Warstone” or as it’s known to Lion-O, the Eye of Thundara.  This younger and more vigorous looking Mumm-Ra wants to unite the Warstone, along with three other “magic” stones already in his possession, within the hilt of the Sword of Plun-Darr.  Doing so will forge a weapon of unstoppable power.

As the ship approaches the planet that houses the Warstone, we peel back another layer of the Thundercats’ mythology.  When Mumm-Ra orders the troops mobilized for the invasion, we discover that the cats aren’t just his henchmen, they are also his enforcers.  Decks upon decks of Mumm-Ra’s ship are filled with pens that contain anthropomorphized animals: lizards, dogs, elephants, vultures even…wait for it…Tiger Sharks.  That’s right, Tiger Sharks, anybody who was born before 1982 knows what I’m talking about.  The cats control the other animals through collars that explode if the wearer steps out of line.  It takes a lot of balls for a cartoon to put the slavery card out there in such a flagrant way.

Despite appearances otherwise, Leo is actually part of a resistance movement against Mumm-Ra.  A well spoken Jackal and a fat Lizard take advantage of a slave riot to gain some face time with Leo and his girlfriend who is very obviously a Shetara ancestor.  The Jackal and Lizard explain that none of the other animals trust the dissident cats.  Pre-Shetara promises that if the animals unite against the loyalist cat guards, the rebel cats, specifically Leo, will deal with Mumm-Ra.

Leo/Lion-O returns to the bridge in time for the second cameo of the episode.  As Mumm-Ra drones on about every animal having its uses, one of his monitors displays an image of MonStar.  MonStar was the antagonist of another Rankin/Bass 80s IP, Silverhawks.  While there are no other overt Silverhawk cameos in the episode, I have to admit that I held out hope that they might show up to fight Mumm-Ra by the end of the episode.  I swear I’ll get giddy like a school girl if the writers somehow work a proper Silverhawk crossover into the show.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But back to the story.

Just in case people weren’t paying attention to the animal UN in the previous scene, Mumm-Ra does some further foreshadowing, reminding Leo that the other animals hate the cats and Mumm-Ra equally.  Shortly thereafter Captain Tigus, Tigra’s ancestor, signals that he has procured the Warstone.  Earger for his prize, Mumm-Ra dispatches Leo/Lion-O to retrieve the bauble.  En route to the hanger deck, Leo/Lion-O and Pre-Shetara detour to a crawlspace where a triad of cats have just forged the Sword of Omens.  Sword in hand, Leo/Lion-O liberates the stone from Tigus, who vocally doubts the success of any rebellion.  In a grand display, Leo/Lion-O joins the sword with the stone – how very inverse Arthurian.

The battle that ensues makes the previous episode’s Mumm-Ra/Thundercat fight look like a garden party.  There was a distinctive anime feeling about the fight as Mumm-Ra pulled a Tekkaman style transformation into an armoured space knight thing.  Though, I could also call it a Silverhawk inspired change since the writers are blending properties within the Rankin/Bass creative gamut.

Having used the Warstone to deprive Mumm-Ra of a second power stone at the start of the battle, Leo/Lion-O carries out his own transformation.  He succeeds in holding his own against Mumm-Ra even when the battle explodes through the hull of the ship and into deep space.  During the course of the battle Leo/Lion-O finds the time to drop the force fields on the animals’ pens and deliver a stirring “Unite under our banner despite the fact we’ve been dicks” speech.  Apparently that was good enough for the slaves as they took to roughing up any cats loyal to Mumm-Ra.

With the combined power of the Eye of Thundara and second power stone, Leo/Lion-O is able to strip Mumm-Ra of his remaining stones.  With Mumm-Ra reduced to his decrepit form, Leo/Lion-O merges all of the stones with the Sword of Omens’ gauntlet.  The victory is short lived as Mumm-Ra escapes into a sarcophagus and the crippled ship falls into the atmosphere of the recently raided planet: a little world known as Third Earth.  As Leo/Lion-O and Pre-Shetara make out through the ship’s plunge into gravity, Lion-O is pulled out of his ancestor and again faces Jaga-Wan inside the book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jaga explains that after the crash the animals formed the basis for the civilization that we saw during the first episode.  Given what we know of Third Earth’s animal hierarchy, it would seem that some hallmarks of the old regime persisted under the Thundercat empire.  Though that can  be explained away as a result of the loss of the three power stones.

Returned to his body, Lion-O now understands that finding the Book of Omens was only the first part of his journey.  His task now is to use the Book of Omens to find the lost stones.  But more importantly, the lessons of the past taught Lion-O that defeating Mumm-Ra will require more than a weapon.  To succeed, Lion-O must unite all of Third Earth’s animals against their common foe.

I’m calling “Legacy” a turning point for the series.  While I enjoyed “Journey to the Tower of Omens”, it didn’t have to do much work to win me over after two episodes that seemed divorced from the overall story arc.  “Legacy”, though steeped in back story, focused the plot and added a definitive richness to the rebooted universe.  Moreover, it seemed like the pacing of the story finally felt appropriate.  Although the philosophy was scaled back, the narrative felt complete without the need to rush a resolution for the sake of closure.  The challenge now is to keep the momentum going without the next three episodes using formula n to find stone x, y and z where n is the number of minutes it takes to “Thundercats, Ho!” the bad guy into submission.

Episode Score: +4.5

Series Score to Date: +3.25


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Television Recap: Thundercats Week 5

By
Adam Shaftoe
– September 6, 2011Posted in: TV Reviews

Summary Judgement:  Finally, Thundercats gets to telling a story that matters.

Week five begins with the Thundercats searching for the Tower of Omens, the mythological resting place of the Book of Omens.  Just to change things up, I’m going to take the pro/con approach to this recap – which I know is a wee bit late.

*Spoilers Ahead*

Pro: With the quest to find the Tower of Omens stalled, Panthro takes the piss out of Lion-O as he fails to gain sight beyond sight from the Sword of Omens.

Pro: Shetara lays some guilt on Tigra for joining Panthro in the Lion-O bashing.

Huge Pro: An awesome flash back from Mumm-Ra offers back-story that isn’t obvious from the previous episodes.  Not only were the Thundercats once a space faring race – a fact in-line with the show’s original canon – but they were also Mumm-Ra’s hired muscle.  Moreover, the Thundercats stole the Eye of Thundara from another race at Mumm-Ra’s bidding.

Pro: Mumm-Ra jumps into his chin sarcophagus, which turns into a high octane dune buggy.  Time for the boss to take care of business on his own.

Pro: Shetara tells Lion-O to open his mind and “relax” so that he can master sight beyond sight.  I wager 300 Quatloos that Shetara is going to have an end-season brush with death after admitting her feelings to Lion-O.

Con: Thundercubs making kissy faces at Lion-O and Shetara.

Pro: Lion-O saying, “We weren’t kissing, I was just trying to get my sword to work.”  Everybody say it on the count of three, “That’s what she said!”

Con: Shetara’s subsequent info dump “The Book of Omens was hidden so that it might never be found.”  Why go to all the trouble of writing a book if you are just going to abandon it in a tower and let everybody who built said tower take the secret of its location to their graves?

Con: Tigra bitching and moaning. “We have to just get lucky and hope that we stumble on to it?”  I wouldn’t normally have a problem with Tigra being a naysayer except for the fact that Snarf stumbles upon the entrance to the Tower approximately eight and a half seconds later.

Pro: Before getting to the resting place of the Holy Grail tower, the cats must endure a series of ordeals that would haunt Indiana Jones’ nightmares.

Con: Once again Lion-O uses “whiskers” as a curse.  That’s like me saying “beard” as a swear.

Pro: The Thundercubs actually do something useful when they pick a lock that saves the cats from plummeting to their doom.

Pro: Only the penitent cat shall pass.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pro: Ghost Jaga, still residing within Mumm-Ra’s lantern, messes with Slithe.

Pro: Mumm-Ra torturing ghost Jaga within the lantern.

Con: Upon entering the next ordeal room, the Thundercubs screw things up and almost drown Panthro in the process.

Pro: The writers created some decent tension by threatening to kill off one of the core members of the team.

Pro: Panthro’s inability to swim leads to his saving the day, despite the cubs reverting to their past state of uselessness.

Con: The cats fourth challenge is by far the episode’s most blatant lift from Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade.

Pro: Lion-O finally figures out sight beyond sight after a little more hand holding from Shetara.  The Tower of Omens reveals itself and the cats pile on in.  While the cats are busy patting Lion-O on the back for his brilliant leadership skills, Mumm-Ra walks in and sets the stage for an epic battle.

Pro: Mumm-Ra calls Jaga, “Nothing but a vapour in a jar.”

Pro: Panthro kicks Mumm-Ra in the face before talking about himself in the third person.  “This old bag of bones is no match for Panthro.”

Pro: Mumm-Ra does the “Ancient spirits of evil” speech.  Upon transforming he shoots lasers out of his mouth and knocks Panthro into a wall.  Also a pro, bad-ass Mumm-Ra looks like something out of H.P. Lovecraft’s nightmares.  It’s now a race to see who will get to the pinnacle of the tower first and claim the book.

Pro: Mumm-Ra is not quite the wiener that I remember from the 80s.  He easily dispatches both Shetara and Lion-O during a battle at the top of the tower.  The old bag of bones also gets a great piece of dialogue.

Mumm-Ra: You are much like your father.

Lion-O: What do you know of my father?

Mumm-Ra: Only that I killed him.  Ha ha ha ha.

Pro: Mumm-Ra tortures Lion-O, Emperor Palpatine style.

Con:  In a move that screams “Oh, no.  We wrote ourselves into a corner” Jaga, still inside the cursed lantern, makes like the Matrix of Leadership and lights the Thundercats’ darkest hour.  Jaga’s supernova act somehow drives Mumm-Ra away.

Pro: Shetara cradles the shattered ruins of the lantern.  Apparently, saving Lion-O came at the cost of Jaga’s soul – I suspect he will be back later in Obi-Wan Kenobi form.  Still, he’s dead for now so add one more corpse to the show’s impressive body count.

Pro: Lion-O opens the Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy Book of Omens to reveal…nothing.  There’s nothing written in the book.  Promise of things to come next week? I think so.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall this was a great episode.  After two back-to-back episodes that seemed to aimlessly unfold, this one had a real sense of purpose about it.   If I weren’t a week late writing this recap, I’d say that Thundercats has finally left me with a “can’t wait for next week” feeling.

Episode Score: +4

Series Score to Date: +3


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Television Recap: Thundercats Week 4

By
Adam Shaftoe
– August 23, 2011Posted in: TV Reviews

Summary Judgement: A Panthro and Grune focused episode that offers a lot of back story and some fantastic voice acting.  Too bad it only moves the overall plot about 3 inches.

It’s a tough call on this week’s Thundercats. Though it’s hard to go wrong with Clancy Brown and Kevin Michael Richardson voicing Grune and Panthro, their back story is a little predictable.  Yet, the pedestrian story of one friend betraying the other didn’t bother me nearly so much as the fact that it got in the way of a much more interesting conflict between Lion-O and Panthro.

*Spoilers Ahead*

Week four opens with the Thundercats standing around a disabled Thunder Tank.  Despite last week’s rescue, Panthro displays little outward respect for Lion-O’s capabilities as a leader.  Indeed, the General seems more concerned about Lion-O standing on the tank’s samophlange than he does bending a knee to his sovereign’s authority.  In this opening movement we are introduced to two things: the episode’s quest and the episode’s theme.  The former is rather straight forward; get more “Thundrillium” to fuel the Thunder Tank.  The latter explores the question of rank attained through experience versus a title gained through inheritance.

Though Shetara once again comes to her king’s defence, reminding Panthro that he is obliged to obey his monarch, Panthro doesn’t care.  The old soldier even goes so far as to marvel at how the cats got this far without “adult supervision”. Begrudgingly, Panthro agrees to let Lion-O, Tigra and Shetara join him in search of more Thundrillium at the lizard controlled Cloud Peak Mine.  This journey sets up the first of three flashbacks in the episode.  But before they leave, the team seals up the cubs inside the Thunder Tank’s crew compartment without their delivering a single line.  I should love this episode for that fact alone.

The first flashback devotes plenty of screen time to exploring Panthro and Grune’s youth.  Friends through the vicissitudes of war, Panthro is depicted as a good soldier, willing to fight for king and country, while Grune fights only for personal gain.  Beyond Grune’s natural dispensation toward being a dick, nothing particularly relevant comes out of the sequence.

Back at mine’s entrance, Lion-O and Panthro once again come into conflict over how to proceed.  Lion-O favours a direct assault on the mine’s two guards while Panthro insists on waiting for cover of night.  It’s really quite clever to see Lion-O demanding loyalty, as is his royal right, only to have Panthro answer back with “You’ll have my loyalty when you show me you can do more with that sword than carry it around.”

Disregarding Panthro’s suggestion, Lion-O charges into battle only to be ambushed by a couple dozen lizards.  Panthro saves the day without much fuss and the episode transitions to another flashback.  This time an older Panthro and Grune are standing before King Claudus.  Therein, Claudus informs the duo that neither will be appointed General of Thundara’s army.  Instead, they will be charged with seeking the Book of Omens.  Once again, there’s nothing new to this information save for the fact that Grune feels he is being unfairly passed over for promotion.  One travel montage later, a sequence that includes a scene of Panthro and Grune eating what can only be described as a Pig-Rat, and Grune and Panthro are sitting in the rain.  Under a leaf canopy, Grune confesses his suspicion that the quest is a pre-emptive exile from Claudus, who has become fearful of Grune’s ambitions.  For his part, Panthro is surprisingly stoic in light of this statement.  A few nights later, Grune hears a voice calling out to him with the promise of ultimate power.  After leading Panthro through the desert for three days, the two cats come upon Mumm-Ra’s pyramid.

The episode’s third act begins with Grune entering Mumm-Ra’s pyramid.  Inside the Technodrome pyramid, Grune finds a sealed sarcophagus built into the Leno-esque chin of a large, rather freaky looking, statue of a head.  It’s no real surprise when Grune throws open the…chin, and out shambles Mumm-Ra.  Now freed from his prison, Mumm-Ra demands the Sword of Omens, an object he claims was stolen from him long ago.  Panthro refuses to help and as a result is sucker punched to the bottom of Mumm-Ra’s pyramid.

It’s never explained how or why Panthro was unable to return to Thundara and warn of his former friend’s betrayal before Grune showed up with a conquering army of lizards.  Neither is any light shed on how he came to possess the Thunder Tank and its pew-pew laser of doom.  With half the episode dedicated to flashbacks that explained things I already put together on my own, addressing the actual plot holes never comes up.

The episode’s endgame is predictable and disappointing.  Inside the mine, Grune and Panthro face off against each other.  Grune beats a hasty retreat and leaves the battle in the hands of a transformer – seriously a transformer – named Driller.  You can guess the rest from there.  Thunder Thunder Thudnercats, Ho. Lion-O swordfights the transformer, and Panthro suddenly recognizes Lion-O’s capabilities as a warrior.  Before the mine collapses Shetara grabs a handful of Thundrillium and all is well that ends well.

It’s hard to say if this week’s episode is any better than last week’s offering.  Some will call the flashbacks filler.  Others will likely suggest they are necessary to give Panthro a strong introduction.  I would have rather seen the flashbacks curtailed and more time given to the Panthro/Lion-O leadership struggle.  Remember, Tigra has been nothing but reticent about his brother’s leadership.  Why not legitimize his hesitant obedience by adding Panthro as stronger dissenting voice?

Overall, I’m starting to feel that the show is caught between worlds.  The writers literally wrote the Thunder Kittens  out of this week’s story.  That tells me they are content to ignore the younger audience.  At the same time, each episode has approached big themes of leadership, themes that would work great in any one-hour drama.  But with only 22 minutes per episode and very little carryover happening from one story to the next, none of these themes are being resolved in a meaningful way.

It’s not awful, but it’s a pattern that is becoming very unsatisfying.

Yeah yeah, I know what you’re going to say.  “Shut up, Shaftoe.  It’s just a cartoon.  Isn’t there anything real you can write about on a Monday.”

Until next week…

Episode Score: +2

Series Score to Date: +2.5


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Television Recap: Thundercats Week 3

By
Adam Shaftoe
– August 15, 2011Posted in: TV Reviews

Summary Judgement: Not the best episode to date.  The very existential build-up is spoiled with simple optimism and a grand Deus ex Thundercat.

*Spoilers ahead*

“Song of the Petalars” isn’t the worst twenty-two minutes of television that I have seen.  While it stands out as the weakest of the four episodes to date, it’s still a decent attempt at story telling.  It’s also the most existential piece of North American animation that I have seen in quite some time.

The plot picks up with General Slithe and the lizard army in pursuit of the Thundercats.  Only a day behind the cats, Slithe orders his troops to triple their pace.  Meanwhile on planet “lets break the tension from the previous scene” WilyKat dares WilyKit to kiss some sort of giant frog thing.  The scene is annoying, obnoxious and I can’t imagine it appealing to anybody who has a mental capacity greater than that of a parsnip.  Away from the noise of the cubs, Lion-O is pensive bordering on nihilistic as he ponders his next move.  Shetara, in a supportive and potentially romantic gesture, lays her hand upon Lion-O’s reminding him that he has her support and that all the Thundercats have hope for a better tomorrow because of him.  Thus do we learn the theme for this week: hope.

Before anything else can transpire, Snarf, like some sort of insane Pokemon, alerts Lion-O to the approaching lizard army.  Rather than fight a suicidal battle, Lion-O orders a retreat.  Tigra does not like this idea.  Indeed, Tigra reminds Lion-O that “Thundercats never retreat” and that hope is born of action.  Defiant Lion-O then rebukes his brother by pointing out that their father took action and he died for his trouble.

Escaping into a dome-like bramble patch, the cats come upon the Petalars – a race of pint size bipedal plant creatures.  Unaware that the Thundercats are watching them, the Petalars have gathered to witness the birth of a new seedling while one of their elders withers and dies.  Turning to the seedling, the elder plant says that, “Life is a precious gift, and not one you can keep forever.”  Then she dies.  How very apropos.

Remember the 80s, when nobody ever died in cartoons?  I’ll give Thundercats top marks for not holding back on the realities of life.

Using the Sword of Omens as a machete, Lion-O carves a door into the Petalars encampment.  Although the tiny plant creatures are terrified at first, one of their youngest, Emmerich, is overwhelmed with curiosity.  Through Emmerich, the Thundercats learn that the Petalars are not native to the brambles.  A great wind fell upon their native “garden”, casting the entire Petalar civilization adrift.  Having spent generations living in the Briar Woods, the Petalars are searching for the legendary Cliff of Winds so that they might find a way back to their garden.  Thinking that the cliff might offer a way out of the Briar Woods and away from the lizards, the Thundercats join with the Petalars.

Emmerich quickly takes to emulating Lion-O, wanting to be both a great leader and a warrior.  Though a little cliché, Lion-O encourages the boy to enjoy his childhood, stating that he will miss it when it’s over.  Shortly into a lesson in sword play, Emmerich and Lion-O are attacked by some sort of hybrid toucan/pterodactyl thing.  Grabbing Emmerich, the beast flies off into the distance.  Lion-O makes chase as the boy falls to the ground.  When Emmerich emerges from the brambles, he meets Lion-O not as a boy, but as a teenager.

A confused Lion-O turns to Shetara, who then drops a philosophical bomb on the audience.  She quotes Mr. Spock an anonymous Thundercat philosopher: “Time is relative.” The Petalars live out their entire life in the course of a single day.  As the march to the Cliff of Winds continues, the camera pans through the growth of new seeds and the withering death of elderly plants.  It’s all very circle of life, but in a much more forthright way than one would expect from a “children’s” cartoon.

Meanwhile, General Slithe and his army have tracked the cats to the Briar Woods.  Despite clear cutting through Third Earth’s forests with mech’ mounted rotary saws, Slithe’s forces are unable to slice through the Briar’s thick vines.  Impatient for his victory, the General dispatches a team of lizards into the Briar to try and flush out the cats.

Pondering the Petalars short lifespan, Lion-O muses on how anybody can ever make a difference in the world with kingdoms and empires constantly rising and falling.  A slightly older Emmerich offers his wisdom to Lion-O, stating that life offers many chances for a person to make their mark in the world.  It’s a bit of a cheap answer to an age old philosophical question.  Despite the cop-out, Lion-O seems stirred by the words.

As the troupe of plants and cats approach what Emmerich believes to be the entrance to the Cliff of Winds, Slithe’s recon squad strikes.  The bushwacking lizards quickly overwhelm the cats.  Calling upon his fellow Petalars, Emmerich rallies his people to the cats’ aid.  Armed with pollen power, the Petalars blind the lizards, allowing for a truly epic moment that sees Lion-O backhand a lizard with the Sword of Omens’ pommel. A few more lizards get the piss knocked out of them before anything cold blooded is left to rot as the cats continue onward.

When Slithe’s team does not return with the cats in tow, the General deems his lost troopers expendable and orders the Briar Woods burned to the ground.  What a dick.

Inside the woods, the cats and plants continue through the brambles. Having followed an ancient Petalar map to the supposed location of the Cliff of Winds, they find yet another dead end.  Enter Lion-O’s pessimism.  “Maybe there is no Cliff of Winds.  Maybe the map is a lie.  But why?”

Paging Admiral Adama.  Admiral Adama to the false hope ward please.

When Emmerich suggests that the map was created to give his people hope, Lion-O rebuts with another hard question, “Is that all hope is, an illusion?”  Good question, Lion-O.  Unfortunately, there’s no time to explore that idea with the flames from Slithe’s arsonists closing in. However, the fire produces an unexpected result; its updraft creates a wind that is strong enough for the Petalars to take flight.

As one might expect, when it is Emmerich’s turn to take to the sky Lion-O finds him transformed into a withered old husk.  Saddened, Lion-O apologies for not being able to get Emmerich home.  With his final words – so many final words in this episode – the old plant tells Lion-O that life is about the journey, not the destination.   And then he dies surrounded by tearful Thundercats.  Upon witnessing the death of his friend while the remainder of the Petalars take flight for their voyage home, Lion-O reverses his previous policy of tactical withdrawal and orders a very suicidal attack on the Lizard army.

How the hell does, “Life is about the journey” translate to “go ahead and get all your subjects killed.”  Was the Book of Omens replaced with the Zapp Brannigan book of leadership when I wasn’t looking?

““Thundercats don’t retreat”, Lion-O proudly proclaims before an obligatory thunder, thunder, thunder, Thundercats HO!  Yes, they don’t retreat, except for when they do.  The change in mood is all a little too convenient.  While Emmerich’s life and death have all the emotional gusto of a Russell T. Davies’ written episode of Doctor Who, the existentialism went away far too quickly.  At least in last week’s episode Lion-O was able to see a clear line between a good leader and a pathological one.  This week felt too convenient.

Anyway, the cats proceed to mix it up with the lizards.  They’re holding their own until the ‘mechs open up on them with energy weapons.  Huddled together, Tigra and Shetara offer a cursory pre-death salute to Lion-O’s courage.  Right, courage, that’s what constitutes leading one’s team to their death.

Seriously, why did the two of them think this battle was a good idea? What about the Book of Omens and Jaga’s last orders?

Just as the lizards are about to make their kill, one of the ‘mechs explodes, then another and then a third.  A silhouetted vehicle, which is obviously the Thunder Tank, devastates the lizard army.  The mystery vehicle comes to a stop in front of the cats.  Concealed in shadow, the driver stands alone.  One last very stupid lizard jumps on to the side of the vehicle before attacking the driver.  Without flinching, the driver nunchucks the lizard right in the face.

““Who are you,” asks a nonplussed Lion-O.

““The name’s Panthro.”

So on the positive side Pathro’s back.  On the downside, the episode could be looked at as a bit of a throwaway that resolved itself with a Deus ex Thundercat in the 11th hour.  How would I have done it differently?  All the elements of a solid story were there.  The writers simply needed to change the order around so Panthro saves the day at the start of the episode and Lion-O is left exploring hope in the complex way that he first approached the subject.

Episode Score: +2

Series Score to Date : +2.75


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Televsion Recap: Thundercats Week 2

By
Adam Shaftoe
– August 8, 2011Posted in: TV Reviews

Summary Judgement:  This week’s Thundercats sees Herman Melville giving Lion-O his first lesson in leadership.

*Spoilers Ahead*

After its rousing premier, I feared that this week’s Thundercats would take a very sudden and decidedly kid-friendly nose dive.  To my infinite delight, this was not the case.

The story begins with a camera pan over the ruins of Thundara.  Lizards are looting the city for its valuables while WilyKit plays a sad little song on her ocarina.  With quiet reverence Shetara, Tigra and Snarf preside over the funeral pyre of the fallen King Claudus while Lion-O carves the Thundercat crest into a wall as a memorial.  Although Jaga’s final words to Lion-O were to seek out the Book of Omens, the newly minted lord of the Thundercats hungers only for revenge against the traitor General Grune and Mumm-Ra.  Rather than follow instructions, Lion-O orders an expedition across the Sand Sea to Mumm-Ra’s lair.

Fans of the original series will remember when Lion-O’s inexperience as a leader led to quiet chiding from the other Thundercats followed by a good laugh then a lesson in fire safety.  Now, when Tigra questions Lion-O’s judgement stating that he is obviously angry, Lion-O snaps back with a rage fuelled “I should hope I’m not the only one.”  The new king is desperate to prove himself worthy of his father’s legacy, a father who Lion-O envisions would have already dealt with Mumm-Ra were it Lion-O or Tigra on the funeral pyre.

Meanwhile, WilyKit and WilyKat are busy stealing Thundercat plunder back from the lizards and scavenging through the battle damaged remains of Grune’s army.  When the cubs stumble upon Lion-O and company, they serve their only useful purpose within the episode: stating for Thundercat and audience knowledge alike that they hadn’t seen any other cats alive in Thundara.  Methinks that there will be an upcoming episode with cats pilloried for the delight of lizards.

Naturally, the duo is desperate to join their sovereign.  While Tigra and Shetara are willing to shelter the cubs, Lion-O refuses, insisting that babysitting must take a back seat to the mission.  Of course, the cubs follow the cats despite Lion-O’s objections.   I’m pretty surprised with the range of emotions that are coming off Lion-O in this episode.  Overnight the young prince has replaced his compassion with a sense of pragmatism befitting an absolute monarch.

Exhausted, low on supplies and having lost the lizards’ trail, the Thundercats arrive at the shore of the Sand Sea.  Once again, Shetara and Tigra recommend giving up the chase and focusing on the Book of Omens.  Lion-O insists that they press on, despite obvious fatigue and oncoming starvation.  Soon after, the cats discover a bounty of food sitting suspiciously atop the Sand Sea. In a fashion befitting Han, Luke and Chewie on Endor, the cats’ meal is interrupted and they are snared aboard the airship of Captain Cornelius Tuna.  Seriously, does everybody on Third Earth have post-industrial technology except the Thundercats?  How the hell did the Thundercat empire last as long as it did when even pirates have energy weapons?  It would be like the Romans trying to maintain their empire in contemporary Europe.  Swords and bravado don’t count for much when the Germans have cruise missiles and tanks.  I know, probably best not to ask such questions.

Moving on.  Tuna and his crew of bipedal Fishmen plan to make a meal of the Thundercats until the Ramlak attacks Tuna’s ship.  The Ramlak for all intents and purposes is the white whale Moby Dick.  This monster, that looks like a cross between a squid and a punk rock Ficus tree, consumed the oasis that Tuna and his crew called home as well as turning Tuna into a bitter old peg-leg bent on revenge.  During this encounter with the Ramlak, the Thundercats prove their worth in battle and are adopted into the crew.  Therein, Lion-O finds a new father figure in Captain Tuna.  I know, Captain Tuna sounds like a discount seafood brand but bear with me, the character isn’t as awful as his name.

Oh and while all this is happening, one of the Fishmen is trying to fatten up the cubs so he can eat them, despite the captain’s orders otherwise.  The cubs are oblivious to his ill intent and foil him without trying.  Fortunately this scene only lasts for about a minute.

Like Lion-O, Captain Ahab Tuna is driven by revenge.  Despite the singular nature of his quest, he manages to teach Lion-O a thing or two about being a leader: namely that everything a leader does must be for his crew, despite the fact that the crew will never appreciate the leader for his efforts.  A surprisingly realpolitik summary of the burden of command.  Tuna forgets this lesson when the Ramlak strikes again.  With his ship split in half and most of his crew overboard, Tuna is unwilling to give up the fight.  Lion-O refuses to leave the crew to a sandy grave, instead reminding the captain of his lesson: leaders have a duty to their crew.  Alone, the captain takes up his harpoon gun and utters the immortal phrase, “For hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee”.  Battered, the Ramlak retreats from battle dragging the captain along with him.

Now aware that a quest for revenge leads only to death, Lion-O tends to the crew that Tuna was willing to abandon.  Just when all seems well, the Ramlak returns for a dessert of Lion-O a la mode.  Sea monster or no, the Ramlak is more plant than whale.  Lion-O and the Sword of Omens have little difficulty pruning a gaping hole through the beast.  In addition to killing the Ramlak, this action also spills the water from the Fishmen’s oasis, restoring their home to its previous glory.

With Tuna and the Ramlak dead, Lion-O sets aside his anger and orders that the Thundercats seek out the Book of Omens.

The episode’s final scene takes place within the pinnacle of Mumm-Ra’s pyramid.  Therein we find out that Jaga survived the battle at Thundara.  He has spent the intervening time being tortured by Mumm-Ra, who also wants to know the location of the Book of Omens.  Recognizing that Jaga will never willingly submit the book’s location, Mumm-Ra encases the old cat’s spirit within a cursed lantern that will point will point the way to the fabled tome’s resting place.

For twenty-two minutes of animation, it was not a bad piece of storytelling.  Shetara and Tigra felt a little too much like scowling scenery as Lion-O went about his mad quest.  However, he is their king, so, really, what else are they going to do but obey?  For my time, the thundercubs remain the most annoying part of the show.  When the central plot is a nod to Moby Dick, I suppose there has to be something that will appeal to the children watching the show.  Yet that doesn’t change the fact that their voice actors are dreadful.  Hopefully next week will see a bit more conflict between the lizards and the Thundercats, if only to get more of Clancy Brown’s voice in the show.  Also, when the hell is Panthro coming back?  Grune said he was dead, but I keep seeing promotional material featuring the wizened old soldier.  Thundercats without Panthro would be like Transformers without Ratchet or He-Man without Man at Arms.

Episode Score: +3.5

Series Score To Date: +3.25

 


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