Today’s Tuesday TV Touchbase will focus on 2 diametrically different TV shows.
One is Creature Commandos, an animated series on Max set in the DC Universe, written and produced by DC’s new movie/TV guru, James Gunn.
The comics version of Creature Commandos debuted in Weird War Tales#93 and was a collection of various expies of classic monsters such as Dracula, the Wolf Man and Frankenstein’s Monster.
The TV version of Creature Commandos connects to James Gunn’s Suicide Squad and Peacemaker projects and is assembled by Amanda Waller as a workaround orders she cannot use human operatives so she will employ monsters.
Which is not quite true.
The water breathing fish creature Nina was a human girl whose lung defect led her scientist father into turning her into a fish person. She has never hurt another person and committed no crimes so how she came to be at Belle Reve under Waller’s control seems more than a little unfair.
Speaking of unfair, the Weasel (who survived the assault on Corto Maltese in the Suicide Squad movie) is an accused kid killer. Weasel was a friend and protector of children but stupid, irrational and fearful adults labeled him a kid killer instead.
My favorite member of the Creature Commandos is G.I. Robot, a mechanical soldier created during World War II with the sole mission of killing Nazis. This is still his sole reason for existence long after WWII ended.
- "I cannot appreciate a landscape that is devoid of dead Nazis."
- "Will there be Nazis? Miss Waller promised there would be Nazis."
- "It has been oh so long since I have killed Nazis."
- "I wish I could see the boys of Easy Company again.... and kill Nazis with them."
The Creature Commandos are sent to Polokistan to stop an invasion being led by the supernatural entity known as Circe who is out to kill the Princess. Then Circe convinces Waller that the Princess is (or will be) instrumental in starting WWIII and so the Creatures go back again, this time to kill the Princess.
Much like the Suicide Squad movies, it seems that Waller’s Creature Commandos cause more problems than they solve.
Creature Commandos will be back back for a second season.
As I write this, a second season seems unlikely for the next show in today’s post.
Brilliant Minds is a medical drama that evokes the medical series House with a genius doctor at the core and a fledgling group of interns trying to keep up.
Except....
Unlike Dr. Gregory House, Dr. Oliver Wolfe has all the genuine warmth and sincerity of Mr. Rogers delivered with the calm measured tones of painter Bob Ross.
Wolfe can be a dick at times, particularly when he's faced with a particularly knotty problem and all his brains cells are focused on that and not on social niceties, a problem exacerbated by his face blindness condition.
The show spends time convincing us that the interns are interesting and sometimes succeeds. Dana and Ericka are well rounded and held my interest. Meanwhile, if Van and Jacob were not "the black guy" and "the white guy", I couldn't tell them apart.
Dr. Wolfe has a boyfriend and intern Dana gets a girlfriend so Brilliant Minds is quite gay friendly. Which in the current social and political climate does not bode well for this series.
After thinking his father was dead for the last 3 decades or so, Wolfe is gobsmacked to learn his mentally ill father is indeed alive and needs his help for a life threatening condition. What that is will have to wait until season 2.
Which right now does not likely appear to be in the cards for Brilliant Minds. Which is a shame. It is an engaging, thought provoking show that deserves a chance to tell more stories.
Next week on the Tuesday TV Touchbase:
The finale of season 7 of Outlander.
Warning: a long running character dies and I am so pissed about that!
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.
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