Before we get to the nerdfest that is this week's Tuesday TV Touchbase, I want to touch on the story that Rolling Stone broke last week that The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon is hell on Earth to work for. According to several former and current staffers, it is a toxic workplace owing to the mercurial moodiness of Jimmy Fallon. Some workers confessed to contemplating suicide to escape the torment of working for Fallon.
Jerry Seinfeld tried to come to Jimmy's defense but it seems there was enough truth to the story that a Zoom meeting was called with Tonight Show staffers (the show is current shut down due to the ongoing writers and actors strikes) for Jimmy Fallon to apologize.
Some staffers who attended the meeting commented that he seemed genuinely distressed his behavior had fomented such a toxic environment.
Many years back I cited Jimmy Fallon as a favorite talk show host but that was back in the day when he was still the front man for Late Nite before moving over to The Tonight Show.
Unfortunately my estimation of Fallon has declined over the years both for his actions on screen and off. I find his constant insistence on interjecting himself into musical or comedy bits with his guests a bit off-putting, like he's competing with this guests for attention. And as for off screen, I've read about Fallon's reported back stage bad behavior years before the Rolling Stones report.
Whoops! I'm talking about this way more than I intended!
Let's get to the nerdfest.
This week's Tuesday TV Touchbase maybe the nerdiest touchbase ever!!!
We've got....
A Star Wars show that features an actor from Doctor Who!
A Superman show that stars an actor from Star Trek!!
And a Star Trek shows that features stuff from other shows about Star Trek!!!
Let's kick things off with... STAR WARS!!!!
Star Wars Ahsoka is a live action series that follows on the events of Star Wars animated series The Clone Wars and Rebels which Andrea and I did NOT see but damned if we're not watching this thing anyway.
Why? There's a droid named Huyang who is voiced by David Freakin' Tennant! Of course we'll follow the once and future star of Doctor Who anywhere!
Anyway, here's what we've sussed is going on in this Ahsoka series:
Ahsoka is a Jedi who is out to stop Empire loyalist from bringing back a big bad named Grand Admiral Thrawn who was apparently killed in an epic throwdown with a Rebel hero named Ezra Bridger. But things are never simple in this galaxy far, far away for it seems that Thrawn and/or Ezra are not dead but have been zapped to a galaxy even further, further away.
So Ahsoka, her apprentice Sabine and her friend Alliance general Hera are out to stop the Empire loyalists from constructing a hyperspace ring to jump them to this other galaxy and recovering a map that will navigate them there! (It might be cool if they can save Ezra but apparently Thrawn is a nasty piece of work who needs to stay the hell away!)
By the way, there is a LOT of female energy in this series with Ahsoka, Sabine and Hera as well as two of the trio of Empire operatives are female.
The episode being released today on Disney+ (as well as in select IMAX movie theaters) features Hayden Christensen's return as Anakin Skywalker. (Apparently Anakin was Ahsoka's master during her Jedi apprenticeship or something. Look, Andrea and I got on this ride in the middle. Bear with me!)
Series writer and creator Dave Filoni has George Lucas' skill for dialogue. Which means it can be wooden and clunky. But damn this show does look good and has some awesome set pieces.
Ahsoka fighting space ships in space? Big deal, right? Wrong! Ahsoka NOT in a space ship fighting space ships in space slicing and dicing with light sabers? Hell yeah! She's a frickin' bad ass!!
Where does our nerdfest go to next?
SUPERMAN!!!!
My Adventures of Superman may be my the best re-invention of the Superman mythos ever?!?!?
OK, I'm overselling, I know but this show has both stayed true to the core tenets of the Superman saga while also being different.
1) Clark, Lois and Jimmy are the same age. They are contemporaries with each other. And they are all in on the secret of Clark's other life as Superman. This creates a more refreshing dynamic than the old "Superman must not reveal his secret identity as Clark Kent even to those who would be his friends."
By the way, the voice actress for Lois Lane is Korean so Lois is Korean. Deal with it, haters!
2) This Superman is not fully formed. Over the course of the first season, Clark learns about his powers in increments even has he puts himself in service to the citizens of Metropolis and the world. He's only caught a glimpse of his heritage as Kryptonian and he's not liking what he sees.
3) Baby Kal-El's rocket was not the first visitor to Earth from Krypton. It seems 22 years prior, there was a brief invasion of Earth by Kryptonians that ended for unknown reasons. Now there is an entire government apparatus (Task Force X) arrayed to be ready to strike if the Krytonians attack again. And that red caped dude flying over Metropolis suggests they might be back.
4) Superman is not a warrior. As he will tell anyone who is willing to listen, "I'm here to help." And nothing helps sell the earnestness of that mission statement like Jack Quaid's performance as Clark Kent/Superman. Jack's take on this character channels a good natured goofiness, sincerity and seriousness as needed. If the driving force behind Superman is less about the powers and more about just being a good person and helping people, Jack Quaid's Superman may be the best take on the character since Christopher Reeve.
Sadly, My Adventures of Superman reached the end of it's 1st season a few weeks back. No worries, it has been renewed for a 2nd but what will do for our weekly fix of Jack Quaid?!
It's time for....
STAR TREK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A week later, we got the 4th season debut of Star Trek: Lower Decks which takes place after the crossover with Strange New Worlds (or as Mariner puts it, “that Pike thing we aren’t supposed to talk about"). The Lower Deckers get promotions to lieutenant junior-grade which is an improvement over ensign in the form of allegedly better sleeping quarters and not having to do waste clean up duty on the holodeck.
Boimler hates waste clean up duty on the holodeck!
The opening episode is a homage to Star Trek Voyager with attention paid to moments good and bad and "I thought we agreed never to speak of this again". Of the latter, I'm referring to the episode "Threshold" which I once wrote about here.
The 2nd episode introduces us to the cutest gosh darn alien critter called "Moopsy" who just looks so gosh darn cute and says "moopsy" with cutest gosh darn baby voice and WILL DRINK YOUR BONES!!!! (Yeah, it's like the Pting from Doctor Who.)
Our cast may have been promoted from ensigns to 2nd grade lieutenants but they are still lower deckers still stuck solving weird ass problems while getting the short end of the Starfleet stick.
But the characters are growing, developing into more complex nuanced versions of the Starfleet officers we first met in season 1. Star Trek: Lower Decks is off to a great start for it's 4th season.
Before I wrap us this week's Tuesday TV Touchbase, I want to share this recent Marvin comic strip which spoke to me.
Until next time, remember to be good to one another and try to keep it down in there, would ya? I'm trying to watch TV over here.
No comments:
Post a Comment