Culture on My Mind
Narrative Diversions
(Autumn and Post-Strike 2023 Edition)
January 19, 2024

Narrative Diversions is a look at the various pop culture things I’ve been watching, reading, and playing over the last few months. This edition will also cover the movies and television that I did not detail in the Summer 2023 edition due to the WGA/SAG-AFTRA strikes.

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Movies
Summer 2023

The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) – PG
I will admit that I was skeptical about this movie because the history of video game movies has been so tumultuous. As I mentioned when I looked at the history of Mario’s voice in film, television, and games, it’s only in recent years that video game movies really started to take off.

The thing about this one is that everyone at the helm gets what makes Mario tick. This was a delight from start to finish. It was a pure celebration of the joy in the Mario franchise. The story clips along without being weighed down by the legacy, and it is chock full of easter eggs and references that make me want to watch this again and again.

It also gives me hope for future Nintendo properties at the theater, including The Legend of Zelda and Metroid.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) – PG-13
I know that it’s en vogue to dog on Disney and the legacy of Lucasfilm. I don’t do that here. I don’t have a slavish devotion to the brands by any means, but seeing their names on the screen doesn’t turn me into one of those rabid angry fanboys that you find on YouTube.

I’ve been a fan of the franchise since a friend of mine introduced me to Raiders of the Lost Ark in the ’90s. He had it playing in the background while we chatted and I was transfixed by the monkey who stole items. The dialogue still sticks in my mind today when I think of Jacob: “Bad dates.” I caught up on the films and the Young Indiana Jones series later on, and had my first theatrical experience with  Indy while on deployment with Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Silver screen-biased memories aside, I still enjoy that film. While fans find the inclusion of mind-reading aliens hiding in El Dorado to be a step too far, I consider it on par with hunting mystical artifacts with religious pasts. If the cult-like fandom surrounding Giorgio A. Tsoukalos has taught us anything, religious devotion comes in all flavors.

That same out-there sense of wonder combined with a healthy suspension of disbelief allowed me to enjoy a time travel tale based around another religious artifact. It also helps that Dial of Destiny is a story about taking care of loved ones in their twilight years. We all get older, be it through years or mileage, and I found this story to be a beautiful swan song for a Gen X action hero.

Dancing Queens (2021) – TV-MA [Netflix]
I won’t be as verbose about this one. It’s the standard dubbed European dancing film, but this time it also plays with drag queens.

(Somewhere in the bowels of Florida, someone just got triggered and that makes me smile.)

It’s the standard Cinderella story with hidden identities, the runaway revelation moment, and a happy ending where everyone wins. But it also made me laugh quite often with its flamboyant charm. It’s worth the 110 minutes.

Plus One at an Amish Wedding (2022) – NR
This was another random find on Netflix, but it comes more from the “faith and family” side of things. Thankfully, it never got preachy. Instead, it’s a squeaky-clean lather-rinse-and-repeat of the bog-standard romantic comedy formula. The characters had chemistry and it was engaging enough to keep my attention for 90 minutes.

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 (2023) – PG-13
There is a lot of discourse around the idea of “superhero fatigue” these days, but this Guardians installment tells me that people aren’t tired of superhero fare. They just want it to be meaningful and engaging.

Think about it: Marvel’s Phases Four and Five have been bifurcated messes split across the cinema and paywalled streaming-only television series. Meanwhile, DC Comics has thrown a lot of money into CGI-amplified slugfests that were sabotaged by the announcement of an impending reboot. Yet we still have successes with Spider-Man, WandaVision, Loki, What If…?, and others.

People want engaging stories. The fatigue comes from being asked to accept whatever the studios want to throw at us.

(Yes, I know that I didn’t mention anything from DC Comics in my successes category. First, my lists don’t always align with the zeitgeist. In fact, some of my favorites from Marvel’s recent phases would have the internet legions of doom demanding my fandom membership card… if I actually believed in such tripe. Second, I haven’t been really excited about anything from DC/Warner Bros. since Stargirl, Superman and Lois, and 2020’s Birds of Prey.)

I find Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 in the successes pile. It finds our heroes at a major inflection point as they all go on personal journeys and end up saving the galaxy one more time. It was a tear-jerker and I didn’t even notice the film’s length because I was so engaged with the story and the journey. I know that this was the last hurrah for a few of the actors in this team, and I will certainly miss this dysfunctional family.

The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society (2018) – TV-14 [Netflix]
It was the name that drew my wife to this one. It was a beautiful romantic drama that took us on a rollercoaster of emotion from tears to laughter as a World War II survivor tries to find herself as an author in London. Fate draws her to the quirky crew of a book club on Guernsey where she unravels a mystery that helps everyone involved heal from their traumas.

The Whale (2022) – R

This is not a feel-good movie. In fact, it doesn’t pull any punches in its raw portrayals of grief, guilt, and mortality. Brendan Fraser’s performance was amazing as the chronically obese Charlie, a college professor who is self-destructive in his contemplation of his faults. Despite being an English teacher, he fails at communication even though that is his path to ultimate redemption with the people that he’s hurt and wronged. I was nearly brought to tears in the moments when his entire support structure eroded beneath him, leaving him bare and alone with his self-destructive nature.

I also need to mention Sadie Sink, who I recognize best from Stranger Things, and her great performance as Charlie’s estranged daughter Ellie. At one point her mother says that Ellie is simply evil, but the truth emerges in the end that she’s just as traumatized as her father.

The Beanie Bubble (2023) – R [Apple TV]

Based on real events and adapted from Zac Bissonnette’s book The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: The Amazing Story of How America Lost Its Mind Over a Plush Toy—and the Eccentric Genius Behind It, this colorful dramatization of Ty Warner and his brand is funny but not stuffy like a historical drama could easily be. In fact, the main players other than Warner are presented under pseudonyms, almost giving the story a fantasy element that accompanies its disjointed nature as it bounces around in time. I’m not a huge fan of Zach Galifianakis, but Elizabeth Banks is a favorite in our household and her energy was infectious. The movie was an entertaining way to spend date night.

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Movies
Autumn 2023

The Little Mermaid (2023) – PG
There was a lot of tempest in the teapot over this live-action remake from a certain sector of the internet, but based on the scores half a year later, it seems that the “anti-woke” campaign fell flat.

Indeed, no version of The Little Mermaid will ever compare to the spectacle of the 1989 animated masterpiece, but this one has heart of its own. Halle Bailey does phenomenal work as Ariel, bringing the character’s wide-eyed innocence to the spotlight with her own unique flair. The other standout performance was Melissa McCarthy as Ursula as she channeled Pat Carroll and Divine while adding her special touch to the character.

It’s a beat-for-beat copy of the original Disney adaptation with some new musical numbers, but the performances and minor changes do enough to set it apart and allow it to breathe. I really enjoyed the movie. I also have to laugh at the detractors who thought that calling back to the source material was enough to justify their stand against a woman of color playing the title role. The original story was first published in 1837 by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. While the country is diverse today, Denmark is historically noted by fair-skinned people with blue eyes and blonde hair. Of course, a story written by a Danish man for Danish children is going to represent the norms of the culture. The argument that a woman of color can’t play the character today is silly at best.

Note how the detractors didn’t fully embrace the source material, which is quite dark, and offered the little mermaid a chance at a good life in exchange for killing the prince. Spoiler: She refuses and dies, becoming an immortal spirit instead. The spirit element holds true for the historical mythology of Black mermaids as well, as explained by Professor Jalondra Davis.

Also worth noting? Disney has included diverse characters in this franchise since the early ’90s. Most notably, Gabriella was a mute mermaid who communicated by sign language.

As always, the “anti-woke” crowd can go pound sand.

Elemental (2023) – PG
This movie flew under the radar, but it is a wonderful tale about immigration, work, and love. It’s a personal story for director Peter Sohn, and while it meanders a bit, it’s still quite touching and beautiful overall.

John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023) – R
I have a soft spot for this increasingly ridiculous action franchise, but this is a good place to let it rest. As the creative team continued to amp up the threats to super-assassin John Wick, they also increased his seeming invulnerability leading to several points in this movie that challenged my suspension of disbelief. Given the ending of this film (and the negative reviews from my friends of the current spinoffs), I’m happy to leave this story behind and wait for the next creative venture for Keanu Reeves.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) – PG
I was highly impressed with this sequel. It improves on the first movie in nearly every way, including the graphics and the characterizations. I also loved the ratcheting tension as the mystery gets unraveled, especially including the massive multiverse chase with all of those Spider-Beings. The cliffhanger that sets up Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse truly works, and I’m eager to see how they wrap this up.

Haunted Mansion (2023) – PG-13
It’s a greatest-hits version of the famous Magic Kingdom ride with additional humor and loads of CGI. The villain is a character with very little screen time in the actual ride, but I felt like it worked with this typical Disney joyride. The story does flounder a little bit in the third quarter, but it wraps up just fine with the normal Disney happy ending. It’s kind of shallow but still fun.

A Man Called Otto (2022) – PG-13
Tom Hanks plays the “grumpiest man in America” and the audience grows to realize that there’s always a path to understanding people. This was a hard movie to watch because it doesn’t pull any punches with triggering situations, but it is a fascinating look into grief and love. It had us in tears by the end of the film.

The Flash (2023) – PG-13
Warner Bros. put Batgirl through the shredder for this steaming hot mess of a film. The Flash doesn’t know what kind of tone it wants to maintain. It bounces from whimsical slapstick (including a hospital rescue with some of the worst CGI I have seen) to serious drama (with the bog standard time travel trope of going mad while trying to make history absolutely perfect).

Ezra Miller started this tale at a disadvantage with me. They have enjoyed considerable clemency from WB regarding their numerous arrests and accusations of grooming and abuse because of the studio investment in this Elseworlds retelling of Man of Steel, and it highlights the differences between Warner’s DC films and Disney/Marvel’s cinematic universe. Miller never recovered from that disadvantage, and I never found a reason to care about this film or its place in the superhero genre. Especially since WB had already announced that their DCEU was coming to an end before this one premiered.

Michael Keaton was fine in this story, though I wonder how his character would have been different/better in Batgirl. The 1990s Batcave was beautiful. I adored the new vision for Supergirl, and it is a shame that Sasha Calle won’t get to don the cape again. The Bat-cameo at the end made me laugh out loud.

Those were the highlights. I can’t find anything redeeming about the rest of this bloated and meandering mess.

Barbie (2023) – PG-13
The polar opposite of The Flash in character development and analysis of the human condition, this film was a hit in our house. It doesn’t pull any punches as a tribute to the legacy of Barbie that explores both good and bad parts of the doll’s history. It also packs a good deal of bold social commentary while taking a meta approach to how role play with the brand intersects with real life. It was well-written and well-directed.

No Hard Feelings (2023) – R
This Jennifer Lawrence vehicle certainly tried, but it couldn’t shake the ick factor that hung around its neck. The entire premise (which feels like it was ripped from the pages of an ’80s/’90s/’00s teen sex romp) revolves around a 32-year-old woman posing as a twenty-something hired by a 19-year-old high school grad’s parents to help him have sex before going to college. Her payment is a used car, which she can then use to make ends meet.

Yeah, it’s as creepy as it sounds.

There’s a slight bit of redemption in the final act, but Lawrence’s character never comes across as endearing or appealing. There’s even full-frontal nudity meshed with a strange fight scene on the beach. It’s friggin’ weird, man.

The positive is that the cast truly had a ball making this comedy, and it shows in their performances. I just couldn’t get past the ick factor. Watch it if you have an hour and forty-five to kill, but otherwise, just fire up one of your favorite ’80s-’00s high school sex comedies instead.

The Marvels (2023) – PG-13
There are a lot of reasons why this Marvel entry failed at the box office, including the Hollywood strikes that prevented Marvel’s typical publicity blitz and the political backlashes against Disney and female-driven fare. But if you look at the reactions from people who actually went to the film, it’s apparent that quality is not the problem.

I loved this title, from the chemistry among the three lead women to the short, tightly-paced runtime. This film is swimming in personality and joy, and it was able to tell its story without being too saddled with the MCU’s history.

The negativity being dumped on this film comes from the typical ass-end of the internet that hates everything about women in comic books, Brie Larson overall, and anything “woke” (which they have trouble defining beyond buzzwords). If you’re a Marvel fan, I highly recommend this film. Our group had a ball with it, and it ranks among the top of Marvel’s cinematic offerings for 2023. Judge it on what you see, not on what some YouTuber with an agenda (who might not have even seen the film) has to say.

Best. Christmas. Ever! (2023) – TV-PG [Netflix]
No. It’s. Not!

Okay, look: Heather Graham, Brandy Norwood, and Jason Biggs give their all for this movie, but it cannot overcome the schmaltzy script and contrived plot devices. There are moments of humor driven by the child actors, but the rest failed its overall potential.

It’s the very definition of cheesy Christmas movie, but even my cheesy Christmas movie-loving wife had a hard time making it through 82 minutes.

Family Switch (2023) – PG [Netflix]
The “Freaky Friday” Flip is a well-worn trope, and this iteration combines it with the ever-popular Dysfunctional Family trope to help everyone learn a lesson from Rita Moreno. The actors all do great work, both in their own roles and their swapped roles. The only dodgy combination (for obvious reasons) is the baby-dog swap due to questionable CGI and quite shallow slapstick humor. Otherwise, this Freaky Friday spin is mostly harmless.

The Family Plan (2023) – PG-13 [Apple TV+]
We were pretty entertained by this story about a secret agent hiding in a form of witness protection. It does good work with Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Monaghan carrying the bulk of the film, but the kids shine as well. It was fun to spot some local Atlanta-area locales posing as places across the country. The cheesy and fun plot also resolves well in the end.

Genie (2023) – PG [Peacock]
Completing this trio of fun films, the story of a dysfunctional family driven by a workaholic father who finds a genie fits the bill. It plays with the genie and unexpected consequences tropes quite well, eventually resolving in a happy ending with all the threads tied off. Melissa McCarthy shines as the fish out of water genie, and Paapa Essideu is quite engaging as Bernard. It’s a fairy tale comedy worth the 90 minutes.

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Television
Summer 2023

Resident Alien – Seasons 1 and 2 [Syfy via Peacock]
I love Alan Tudyk and this concept, and the cast of this comedy is pretty amazing. It’s also nice to see a comic book adaptation from Dark Horse Comics. Sadly, I feel like this comedy got a little stale in the sophomore season as the main conceit – the alien outsider sent to destroy the planet learns the value of humanity – got lost in a plot without focus.

It’s still worth the watch for the cast and their antics, but I’m not that excited for the eventual third season.

Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets [Hulu]
Do you want the definition of cult? Look no further than this family, their beliefs, and how they sold the ideology to the American public through reality television. There is a pile of disgusting and disturbing behavior beneath the surface of the shiny façade, and it shows just how much the “good ol’ boy” privilege network and piles of cash will hide it from the world.

Ted Lasso [Apple TV]
As a soothing balm in contrast to that last title, Ted Lasso is just beautiful. I adored every minute of this show and the stories it told, both about optimism and recovery from trauma. The characters all have room to shine, and the ideals of redemption and potential spoke to me. Loudly. It was tough to set this one down every night.

Like The Good Place, I want a complete Blu-ray set on my shelf so I can watch this over and over again at any time. I’m not a soccer (football) fan, but I am a fan of AFC Richmond. Binge this show. It’s a life-changer.

Bless This Mess [ABC via Hulu]
This is a lesson in getting through the first few episodes because this series is dumb as a bag of hammers, but the writing and production values didn’t engage until the finale of the first six-episode season. I was ready to give up on this mindless mess until “The Estonian Method,” after which everything gelled. The characters became likable and the jokes actually got funnier. Strangely, it hit that mark when it actually embraced the absurdity and dialed it to eleven.

This isn’t spectacular by any means, but if you want to watch some really ignorant city folk try to be farmers by watching YouTube and living in a deathtrap of a house, go for it. Just know that the series ends on a bit of a cliffhanger.

Secret Invasion [Disney+]
Trainwreck.

Okay, okay, look… I liked the basic conceit of this series, and there are a lot of elements that I liked overall, but the show left way too much potential on the table as it tried to figure out what it was. It literally went through an identity crisis, starting as a sci-fi political thriller but receding into a pile of abandoned plot threads as characters passed the “stupid ball” back and forth. Even Nick Fury, who is supposed to be ten steps ahead of his opponents, ends up on his back foot way to often in this show, and his arc is cut short by yet another CGI slugfest instead of restitution for his sins.

It’s a stepping stone in Marvel’s Phase Five, but it doesn’t provide many answers. In fact, it opens up more holes than anything else, and it leaves the world worse than when the show started. It also fridges main characters whom we have adored for years. The end of the first episode is unforgivable.

I’ll give one bright spot amid this show’s narrative fog: Olivia Colman nailed it.

Otherwise, this was disappointing, and should have spent more time on the drawing board to find cohesion.

Good Omens 2 [Amazon Prime]
I adored this follow-up to the first series. The basic thread of love was a fine exploration, and the ending broke my heart as a result. It’s a great parable about love, religion, and the friction that exists between the two. As someone whose background includes a religion that constantly forces people to choose between faith and love of those who don’t believe, this story spoke to me on a different level.

Of course, the solution’s hand was tipped early in the series and the main story seemed a bit sparse, leading to the tangent tales from the past to amplify things. But overall, I really enjoyed the ride.

How could you not with Michael Sheen and David Tennant?

The Witcher – Season 3 [Netflix]
I put this season on the same level as Season Two, neither of which holds a candle to the first season but are still fun fantasy action dramas. It will be interesting to see how (if at all) the change in lead actors is addressed.

I’ve seen a lot of fans who think that Netflix or the showrunners have done Henry Cavill wrong, but I’m not a Cavill “stan”. It will be interesting to see what Liam Hemsworth does with the role.

Hijack [Apple TV]
A tense and enjoyable thriller, but there are a lot of characters playing with the stupid ball near the halfway mark. Daniel the detective and the airplane’s pilot, for example. I also wasn’t a fan of some of the dangling plot threads at the end. I did enjoy how they basically played this series in real time, though, airing enough episodes to cover the time of the flight.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Season 2 [Paramount+]
I adore this series because of how willing it is to experiment and explore. Putting Star Trek‘s first musical episode and an animated crossover next to compelling stories about PTSD, war, and relationship stress is a bold move that pays off because it makes me care about these characters. The musical stood out because Trek is no stranger to silliness, and it’s good to see the actors having fun with their roles.

I also don’t worry too much about the dreaded c-word – continuity! – because Star Trek has never (never!) been that concerned about it. Continuity is truly a fan-driven drama and not something that I feel concerned enough about to argue instead of the philosophical meat of the franchise.

If anything, I’d like these seasons to be longer, but that’s purely selfish because I don’t want them to end.

Silo – Season 1 [Apple TV]
This set of episodes did really well with keeping momentum and intrigue as the mystery was unraveled. The ending was shocking and offers a lot of potential for what comes next. I’m also really interested in the book series that inspired the television series.

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Television
Autumn 2023

I am Groot – Season 2 [Disney+]
There’s not much to say about I am Groot except that it is adorable. I love watching little Groot having little adventures in the universe, and I think the only downside is the prevalence of scatological humor in these episodes.

Gaslit [Starz]
This docudrama about the Watergate Scandal is not a feel-good miniseries at all, but it does shine a light on some of the lesser-known greed and darkness surrounding the corruption in the Nixon Administration. This was a series that we could only take an episode every one or two days. Powerful but intense.

Star Wars: Ahsoka – Season 1 [Disney+]
I’m a sucker for all things Ahsoka Tano and this show is no exception. I loved diving into the continued mythology of the Force and Ahsoka’s path concerning it. Hardly a missed beat along the way and I’m eager to see what comes next.

Family Law – Season 2 [CW]
The second season of Family Law redeemed Jewel Staite’s character for me as she continues to grow and evolve. Finally free of her community service, she’s able to challenge her boundaries and stand up for herself without threat of repercussion. There are a lot of strong and relevant stories in this season, and I’m on board for another set from this team, which will apparently debut in the US in mid-January.

Viper
Sometimes I play catch-up, and this is one of those titles. For reference, I watched this in syndication when I was a teenager, and while I recognized the B-movie plots and cheesy humor, the technological side (both on the show and behind the scenes) kept me engaged. I mean, it was all about a transforming supercar that defied the laws of physics in the same vein as Knight Rider.

It originally ran for four seasons, starting on NBC in 1994 before getting canceled and revived. It ran for three more seasons in syndication between 1996 and 1999 before being axed for good. It ran on my local stations as late-night Saturday programming, and I usually flipped over to it while I did my homework.

It certainly hasn’t aged well, especially considering its dependence on “might makes right” police storylines. Much of what Team Viper did was outside the lines of normal police protocol, and many of their missions wouldn’t stand up in court. In that regard, it’s like the Batman effect: The police are so ineffective at their jobs that a shadowy force has to step up instead. It becomes hand-wavy if you think about it too hard.

On the other hand, I do miss Heather Medway on my television. I enjoyed the balance that she brought to the show, especially after Dawn Stern left.

I might have to write more about this childhood touchstone.

Star Trek: Lower Decks – Season 4 [Paramount+]
Lower Decks is one of my favorite recent Star Trek series, and the fourth season keeps ramping up the quality in both animation and story. The gentle pokes at the legacy of Star Trek are also great fun, and it helps that the show is laughing with fans about those touchstones rather than at the audience. It doesn’t bully fans, and that’s important while parodying some of the franchise’s sillier moments.

The Wheel of Time – Season 2 [Amazon Prime]
I know that this show is a controversial one among Wheel of Time fans, especially since it doesn’t hew to the Robert Jordan novels that inspired it. That said, I really enjoy watching it. The show is a parallel universe for my wife (a fan of the novels) and an easier-to-digest version of the story for me (someone who couldn’t get through the novels). I’m also a big fan of Rosamund Pike, so that helps.

It also motivates me to pick up the novels again. Maybe I’ll do it again one day.

The Morning Show – Season 3 [Apple TV+]
The Morning Show keeps getting wackier. This time, they tackled the Elon Musk mindset and the January 6th insurrection, and there was a lot of great character development as our main characters tried to navigate love and loyalty. It ends in a good place that opens a few doors for Season Four, and I eagerly await what they do next.

Loki – Season 2 [Disney+]
I wondered how the Loki team would top their efforts in Season One. Yeah, they did it, with recursive storylines, the ever-present threat of Kang the Conqueror (who is likely getting a new face in the near future), and some answers to questions that we’ve had about the TVA regulars for quite some time. 

Oh, yeah… and some of that god with glorious purpose stuff. I really liked how this version of Loki ended up, and I’m okay if there are no more seasons left here. This particular version of Loki, spawned from an alternate timeline in Avengers: Endgame, has ended up in a good place. This was easily one of my favorite recent offerings from Marvel Studios.

Upload – Season 3 [Amazon Prime]
I expected this to be the final season, so when the story kind of meandered all over the place, I was worried about how it would wrap everything up in eight episodes. As it turns out, this season ends with a cliffhanger opportunity for a fourth installment. As of this writing, a renewal hasn’t been confirmed, but this series continues to explore some strange territory in a world where life and the soul don’t seem dependent on having a physical body. Combined with some poignant and timely social commentary, this is easily one of my favorite science fiction properties on television.

The Buccaneers – Season 1 [Apple TV+]
My wife loves period dramas, so this remake of a miniseries based on an unfinished novel was quite appealing. The story revolves around a group of young American women who travel to 1870s Britain in search of fortune, titles, and (hopefully) love.

The positives here all revolve around the agency of the women, including the desire to find love overriding the draw of fame and fortune, as well as how to deal with domestic abuse in the very patriarchal nineteenth century. The negatives center on the ever-present period drama trope of miscommunication. It’s frustrating when the conflicted characters don’t sit down and talk. Instead, there are a lot of assumptions and prejudice-driven interpolations where there should be heart-to-hearts between these supposed best friends.

The modern soundtrack is anachronistic but catchy, and I’m admittedly invested in these characters despite my frustrations with their choices. I was also quite happy to see Christina Hendricks on the screen again.

What If…? – Season 2 [Disney+]
What If…? Season One was amazing, and Season Two continues that quality. I loved seeing Captain Carter take a major role, and the zany Die Hard parody for Christmas Eve was hilarious. The crown jewel this season was Kahhori and her episode that was primarily voiced in the Mohawk language of Kanien’kéha and Spanish. I hope to see her in the MCU again.

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Books

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Mission Gamma: Twilight – David R. George
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Mission Gamma: This Gray Spirit – Heather Jarman
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Mission Gamma: Cathedral – Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Mission Gamma: Lesser Evil – Robert Simpson
I have been enjoying the Deep Space Nine revival “season”, but the Mission Gamma miniseries was a set of hits and misses for me.

Twilight had the hard job of setting up the miniseries, concluding the Gateways crisis and launching an exploratory mission to the Gamma Quadrant. I mean, truly getting Star Trek back to boldly going! I really like the adventure with the Vahni Vahltupali and the inner conflict for Thirishar ch’Thane and his responsibility to the Andorians. I was also pleased with the circumstances on Deep Space Nine itself, between Kira’s personal faith crisis and the goal of finally admitting Bajor to the Federation.

This Gray Spirit also caught my attention as it carried the story threads forward with a plot concerning a dispute between species that enraptures Shar. The heart-breaking ending for him was hard to get through. Powerful but difficult. Cathedral started to slip a bit for me with a mysterious artifact that enabled the old de-evolution trope. It did have one hell of an ending, though, which drives Lesser Evil on the Alpha Quadrant side. Unfortunately, the Alpha events far outweighed the been-there-done-that Borg story around Prynn and Vaughn that undoes everything they’ve worked so hard to mend. That development was frustrating.

Thankfully, the Sisko elements on Earth helped bolster the last two books.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Rising Son – S.D. Perry
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Unity – S.D. Perry
In general, I liked this pair by S.D. Perry, but I favor the latter over the former. I feel like this “season” of adventures could have spread Jake Sisko’s story throughout the various books rather than compressing it into Rising Son. That said, I did enjoy the spirit of Star Trek that the story embodied by having Jake seeking out new worlds alongside the mystery of former-Kai Opaka. It’s not a spoiler… she’s on the cover.

Unity really tied everything together for me, though, including a plot about the parasite species that were introduced in The Next Generation‘s first season. Benjamin Sisko’s long overdue return was also a great way to end this effective season.

Star Trek – Starfleet: Year One – Michael Jan Friedman
In what is an alternate universe approach after Star Trek: Enterprise, this tale explores the beginnings of Starfleet after the Earth-Romulan War. I enjoyed seeing the dichotomy between the explorer captains and the military captains, and I appreciate how well Michael Jan Friedman wove them together to solve a conflict in the Star Trek manner.

Star Trek: Destiny – Gods of Night – David Mack
Star Trek: Destiny – Mere Mortals – David Mack
Star Trek: Destiny – Lost Souls – David Mack
I won’t tell you the overarching plot of this trilogy, but the whole thing is chock full of great character development mixed with frustrating and heartbreaking scenarios. I really liked how Erika Hernandez, the captain of the Columbia NX-02 from Star Trek: Enterprise was the central character, and I really appreciate the imagination that set up the origins and explosive conclusion to a major galactic threat that I had really ceased caring about on television.

Oh, and Captain Ezri Dax is pretty badass.

Reads in progress:

• The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (32%)
• Star Trek: Typhon Pact

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Stage

MJ: The Musical – Broadway in Atlanta
It’s a jukebox musical about the life of Michael Jackson as he geared up for the 1992 Dangerous tour. It’s full of history and pop, but because of the time in which it is set, it doesn’t touch on the darker parts of his legacy. The portrayal of Michael Jackson was really good from all of the actors who played him throughout his life. It’s a good story and production, but I preferred Tina more.

The Wiz – Broadway in Atlanta
I haven’t seen the 1978 film – the ironic timing with this production following after MJ: The Musical is not lost on me – but this revival of the 1974 production that inspired the film was fun. It was a great interpretation of The Wizard of Oz, and I was tapping my toes along with the music more than once.

Annie – Broadway in Atlanta
Speaking of musicals and their related films, this was another fun experience. The lead in our production was a pitch-perfect match for the orphan character, and the pup playing Sandy was having a blast. Story-wise, this one did fall apart a bit with the dispatching of the villains, but otherwise, it was a good time.

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Games

Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch
I haven’t invested a lot of time on the gaming front as 2023 wound down, but what time I did spend was devoted to Hyrule. I left everything with a save point right before the final battle, so all I need to do now is work up my armor and supplies before saving the world.

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Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

Culture on My Mind
Narrative Diversions
(Summer 2023 Edition)
September 8, 2023

Narrative Diversions is a look at the various pop culture things I’ve been watching, reading, and playing over the last few months.

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Movies and Television

As I mentioned back in mid-July, I stand with the members of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA as a creative who has seen fellow creators treated like garbage since they weren’t seen as valuable human beings. To that end, I will mention the films and shows that I have taken in during the last few months, but my thoughts on them will have to wait until the strike comes to a satisfying conclusion.

Remember that no one is forcing me to do this. I choose to do it because it is the right thing to do in support of my family and friends in the industry, those who create for themselves, and those who share their art with the world.

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Books

Star Wars: Heir to the Empire – Timothy Zahn
Star Wars: Dark Force Rising – Timothy Zahn
Star Wars: The Last Command – Timothy Zahn
I originally read this series in 1994. I received them alongside the second edition of the Star Wars trilogy anthology, and I was amazed at the time that they were a continuation of the films. Notably, despite the timeline authorized by Lucasfilm (but not necessarily by George Lucas himself), they were the only books to be deliberately marketed as such in the former Expanded Universe.

The trilogy definitely holds up nearly twenty years later. I enjoy Timothy Zahn’s recent canon trilogies about Grand Admiral Thrawn that accompany the character’s appearances in Star Wars Rebels, and those stories do not detract from this original adventure in the least. Thrawn is still just as menacing and really puts the heroes through their paces. It’s no wonder that he is such a force in the modern era of the franchise.

If you have never read this trilogy and are a fan of Star Wars, give them a shot.

The President’s Club: Inside the World’s Most Exclusive Fraternity – Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy
This is a fascinating history book that explores the role of former Presidents of the United States as mentors and guides for sitting Presidents. There was a lot that I didn’t know about how this very exclusive fraternity works and some of the challenges they have collectively tackled.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Twist of Faith

• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Avatar, Book One – S.D. Perry
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Avatar, Book Two – S.D. Perry
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Section 31: Abyss – David Weddle and Jeffrey Lang
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Gateways: Demons of Air and Darkness – Keith R. A. DeCandido
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Gateways: What Lay Beyond – “Horn and Ivory” – Keith R. A. DeCandido

It’s no secret that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is my favorite Star Trek series, and I was excited to find out in 2001 that there were continuation novels. I remember reading and enjoying the two Avatar books by S.D. Perry, but I fell away afterward as my college studies and naval training took up my time. I recently picked up the Twist of Faith omnibus and enjoyed the five collected stories that follow the crew in the aftermath of “What You Leave Behind”. I’m also eager now to read the Gateways series and the rest of the Deep Space Nine series, especially to find out how Ezri and Kira’s lives progress from here.

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Stage

Wicked – Broadway in Atlanta
This is the third time I have seen this musical – once in Memphis and twice in Atlanta – and it’s definitely one that I’ll go see every time I have an opportunity. I really like the extra dimensions that it adds to the classic Wizard of Oz movie while incorporating elements of the books. It’s also far better than the original Wicked novel. I was not a fan of that read at all.

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Games

Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch
I’m finally to the point when I can dive into the final matchup against Ganondorf. That’s where I left it before finding an Xbox Series X and changing gears a bit. I’m also eagerly awaiting what comes next in the coming months for this experience. Rumor says… maybe a DLC package?

Star Wars: Jedi Survivor – Xbox Series X
I really loved Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order, and this sequel is a great improvement on it. The characters have all gone their separate ways and are forced to find each other when a threat from the High Republic era challenges the galaxy. Despite having fewer planets to visit, this game improves by encouraging exploration and questing. It’s fun trying to decide between the main story or the various side missions.

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Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

Culture on My Mind
Narrative Diversions
(Spring 2023 Edition)
June 9, 2023

Narrative Diversions is a look at the various pop culture things I’ve been watching, reading, and playing over the last few months.

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Movies

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) – PG-13
This is the first Dungeons & Dragons movie that I have fully enjoyed, and that’s probably because it doesn’t take itself too seriously. In fact, it plays out like many of the campaigns that I’ve played over the years, mixing humor and heart with a story that’s easily understood. The sword and sorcery are organic, but they don’t overwhelm the humanity within.

It also acts as a love letter to the brand and its history, including a hilarious nod to the classic D&D cartoon from the 1980s.

Tetris (2023) – R [Apple TV]
This is based on the true story of Tetris, and despite some obvious Hollywood liberties, it tracks very closely to that complicated tale of getting this popular Soviet computer game to the Western world. I was engaged from start to finish, comedy, drama, and thriller included.

Ghosted (2023) – PG-13 [Apple TV]
As the polar opposite of Tetris, this spy flick channels those of the 1980s and 1990s with its absurdity and ridiculousness, but flips the typical gender roles with success. It doesn’t take itself seriously at all, and it includes a ton of cameos that add to the fun. Don’t expect a straight spy thriller here. Instead, come in expecting a B-movie with plenty of gunplay and slapstick humor mixed with some less-than-believable rom-com elements.

Peter Pan & Wendy (2023) – PG [Disney+]
As someone who grew up on Disney masterpieces, when people ask why the Disney classics need a remake, this will be one of my examples. Unfortunately, those reasons are also why this movie is getting review-bombed on IMDb by the usual suspects who hide like cowards behind terms like “boring,” “poorly written,” “woke,” and “not faithful to the original.”

Peter Pan is one of those evergreen properties that has been done and re-done seven ways to sunset. This version tracks pretty closely to the 1953 animated Disney classic, but it steps up in ways that the Disney original could not 70 years ago: Wendy takes on a much more substantial role in driving the plot, gaining a ton of character development over the typical mother role; Meanwhile, Tiger Lily is played by a legitimate Cree actor and this interpretation drops the stereotypical red skin and feather motif for a realistic representation of Native people; The Lost Boys include girls, minorities, and an actor with Downs Syndrome, and while they don’t have the staying power of the Lost Boys from Hook, they certainly don’t simply fill space; Finally, Peter is allowed character growth while being vulnerable about his past in Neverland.

Oh, dare I mention it, Tinker Bell is played by a Black actress. *gasp* How woke!

Despite the hue and cry from the tiny corner of the internet that supposedly rejects “cancel culture” while actively trying to cancel anything they don’t like, none of these changes negatively impacted the story. In fact, I fully believe that this version of Peter Pan is a great way to tell this classic tale in a manner that modern-day children will get. Unlike Pinocchio, this live-action remake had heart and kept me engaged throughout. The child actors did a phenomenal job as well.

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Television

Quantum Leap – Season 1 [NBC]
This revival series has an interesting road to walk. In an era of television where spectacle seems to reign supreme and stories need to aggressively hook the viewer instead of building slowly over time, Quantum Leap chose to take the path of its predecessor. It hearkens back to a time when good heroes traveled from place to place and did good deeds along the way in a subtle fight against the wrongs in society. Television shows like The Incredible Hulk, Knight Rider, and the original Quantum Leap don’t really exist anymore, but their messages are still so important because one person can make a difference.

I loved how this revival took the basics of the original and modified them just enough to help them fit into the modern day. The concept of the Waiting Room is gone due to advances in technology and anyone can communicate with the Leaper in the Imaging Chamber. I also loved seeing more of an ensemble cast fleshing out the team at home that helps Ben solve his problem of the week.

The big difference is that this version also runs a season-long story arc in addition to the moral of the week format, and I really got into the mystery as it developed.

Quantum Leap isn’t about macho guns-blazing action and big CGI spectacles. Quantum Leap is about finding the good in life, embracing family, and acceptance. The original run was very progressive for its time, and this revival hits the mark in so many ways. I really hope that Scott Bakula can fit in somehow in the future.

Shadow and Bone – Season 1 [Netflix]
I generally don’t like many fantasy shows because I have a hard time following them, but this one was a bit easier to get into. There are still a lot of easy shortcuts and plot-armor moments to move the plot, but I recommend it and I’m even considering reading the books that the show is based on.

The Mandalorian – Season 3 [Disney+]
This season was divisive among fans, but I had a great time with it because of how it expanded the current continuity and teased things yet to come. The underlying thread of the Mandalorian people – the modern Star Wars equivalent to both the Romani and the Jewish diaspora, which were parallels drawn early in Season One – fighting for their true home is a powerful turning point for their people, and I don’t put much stock in complaints that Din Djarin was “upstaged on his own show” by Bo Katan. Season Three was a logical extension of the Mandalorian story.

I’m also a really big fan of this “Filoni-verse” concept where everything in this time period is connected. Marvel tried it once in the early days of the MCU, but Ike Perlmutter was Ike Perlmutter.

Star Trek: Picard – Season 3 [Paramount+]
The third and final season of this show went down the road that Patrick Stewart had feared since the show was announced. He signed on for the role because it wasn’t a Next Generation reunion, yet here we are.

Season Three gave fans that reunion and answered the question posed by Star Wars fans about what the sequel trilogy could have been with original heroes on one last adventure. That answer is fan service in lieu of a coherent plot, exchanging the soul of boldly going for a bumper crop of “member berries”. The ten-episode run was like a bowl of candy and lacked any amount of the philosophical meat that has defined Star Trek since 1966. Seasons One and Two were narrative dumpster fires, but they at least tried to tread new ground before getting bogged down with navel-gazing. Season Three was nothing more than TNG‘s greatest hits designed to allow the most popular Enterprise crew to ride into the sunset for (checks notes) the third time.

Fun? Yes. Disappointing? Definitely. At least it has generated plenty of interest in the “Star Trek Legacy” idea.

Alaska Daily – Season 1 [ABC]
This series is a slow-burn drama about a disgraced veteran journalist who finds a career revival while investigating the disappearances and murders of native women in Alaska. It’s a great vehicle for Hilary Swank and addresses a real-world concern with reverence and honesty. I loved the characters and the show, but it was recently canceled by ABC.

The Diplomat – Season 1 [Netflix]
Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell had a ball with this political drama that balanced tension with humor sometimes flirting with the absurd. The chemistry among the cast is good but the plot does get a little muddy from time to time. It also ends on a cliffhanger to tease a second season (which recently became official).

The Good Doctor – Season 6 [ABC]
Like most long-running fan-favorite television dramas, this one has become more about the characters than the plots. Those characters continue to grow and change with minor speedbumps along the way. Those bouts of friction can seem contrived but also (to some degree) believable because humans are far from rational. 

This season also contained a backdoor pilot for The Good Lawyer, which I hope gets a series pick up because it was one of the episodes I enjoyed most.

The Company You Keep – Season 1 [ABC]
I tuned in for Milo Ventimiglia, Sarah Wayne Callies, and William Fichtner. I stayed for Catherine Haena Kim and the family drama. The romantic collision course storyline evaporates in lieu of political and criminal intrigue, which betrays the initial hook but carries the show fairly well. The characters are engaging and the theme music that kicks in when the family starts their cons makes me tap my toes every time.

It was recently canceled by ABC, so one season is all we get.

The Rookie – Season 5 [ABC]
The Rookie: Feds – Season 1 [ABC]
If you want a set of police procedurals with a high level of accuracy, these aren’t your shows. The big draw for the pair is the characters and their relationships. We started watching The Rookie because of Nathan Fillion, but the rest of the characters are easy to invest in. Both shows are quite predictable, but they have heart. I also appreciate the bits of social commentary that they add about modern policing in America.

Not Dead Yet – Season 1 [ABC]
It’s the story of a woman in search of a better life who also sees dead people. The situations and characters make me laugh, and Gina Rodriguez really sells this show. I can’t stand Lauren Ash’s character Lexi, but that’s more of a feature than a bug for this dysfunctional work family. It’s getting a second season as well.

New Amsterdam [NBC]
I missed this on the last post. Again, it comes down to characters and how they deal with conflict. Max wears his heart on his sleeve and has to manage his people while facing constant rejection for his out-there ideas. The show really fired on all cylinders with relationships and commentary on American medicine, but it really faltered after Max moved to London and continued to stumble in the final season. Even so, the finale was a tearjerker and I miss this series overall.

I also want to see the lost episode that was pulled due to COVID-19. 

Sweet Tooth – Season 2 [Netflix]
Season One was amazing in its purity and innocence. Season Two picks up after the cliffhanger with intrigue and character drama leading into some great action in the last few episodes. I enjoyed the season but I feel like they spent way too much time with the kids being confined. The season felt so much better once the zoo was left behind.

Season Three will be the final one.

Schmigadoon! – Season 2: Schmicago [Apple TV]
Season One was hilarious. Season Two brought more of that while changing the tone to parody the darker side of Broadway musicals. While the ending serves as a good series finale, I really hope that we get a third season.

Star Wars: Visions – Season 2 [Disney+]
Another solid set of “what if” stories from the Star Wars universe, though I engaged more with this season than the previous one. Given the franchise’s origins in Akira Kurosawa films, it lends well to the anime genre.

Night Court – Season 1 [NBC]
Despite what the trolls on the internet say, this is in the tone and spirit of its predecessor. I binged the original series on Amazon before diving into this one, and they flow quite nicely together. I had a good time with the dumb humor and I hope that Season Two only continues to improve (just like the original did).

Secrets of Sulphur Springs – Season 3 [Disney+]
I love the easy-to-digest concept but shows starring kids are always racing the clock. This younger-audience time travel show doesn’t hold back in how it plays with characters spanning vastly different times all fighting against a single threat. The story over the last three seasons has been coherent enough, even if the details become murky in the long stretches between the seasons. The big problem comes from trying to tell a story that takes place within a few months or so while the child actors are obviously growing and aging.

The resolution also rankled a bit when it embraced the easy heaven/hell tropes to wrap things up. That bit came out of nowhere.

Shrinking – Season 1 [Apple TV]
It’s a story about grief and mental health, and it’s told in a quirky and often hilarious manner. Harrison Ford played himself, but he did it all too well. This was touching and had my wife and I rolling in laughter.

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story [Netflix]
Grey’s Anatomy – Season 19 [ABC]
Station 19 – Season 6 [ABC]
Aside from being Shondaland productions, there are good reasons that I linked these three together. First, they are shows that I pay half attention to as my wife watches them. She does the same with my CW superhero shows, and we spend time together in the meantime. Second, they are thematically similar in their soapiness, sincerity, and messages.

On the Seattle side, the stories and characters are often shared between Grey’s and Station 19, but I found that the firefighters have the more powerful character dramas while Grey’s did a better job of tackling conflicts in modern medicine and politics. My wife and I agreed that Grey’s Anatomy has slipped quite a bit in quality – the COVID-19 arc where Meredith spent the season in a coma-fever-dream state was terrible – but hopefully things change with next season’s new showrunner. I give the show a ton of credit for lasting two decades.

Station 19 and Queen Charlotte both did well with stories about mental health, and I admit that the finale for the Bridgerton spinoff had me in tears. Admittedly, it’s a historical drama that takes a ton of liberties for the aesthetic that makes Bridgerton successful, but it made me care for this version of King George III. While the clip-show episode in the middle of the set brought the dramatic momentum to a screeching halt, it was important to provide context for the king’s character. Station 19‘s arc with Maya and Carina also got to me emotionally.

I appreciate shows that do mental health stories well.

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Books

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin – Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Tom Waltz, and Andy Kuhn
My TMNT was the cartoon series from the ’80s and the live-action films from the ’90s, so when I have the opportunity to explore versions of the Turtles outside of those childhood experiences, I take it. This limited series tells a story of an apocalyptic future where one of the Turtles is left standing and seeks vengeance against the Foot Clan for his family following their conquest of New York. It was pretty powerful and a great read. It’s also prompting me to check out the fifteen collected volumes from IDW that are available on Kindle Unlimited.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection Volumes 1-14 – Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Bobby Curnow, Sophie Campbell, et. al. 
Following my reading of The Last Ronin, I dove into the available IDW collections on Kindle Unlimited. These collections chronologically assemble the mainline and additional side stories, and they explore the lean green fighting machines as reincarnations of Hamato Yoshi and his four sons from feudal period Japan. These stories have plenty of fighting, a lot of metaphysical and ethereal stuff, and great opportunities for April, Casey, Splinter, and characters new to me to take the spotlight. There are a lot of wacky storylines too. I got hooked and have really enjoyed reading them.

Reads in progress:

• The President’s Club by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy (43%)
• The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (32%)

Those in-progress titles haven’t budged due to the lean green ninja teens. I did finish Star Wars: Heir to the Empire, which has only gotten better as we both have aged. I’m continuing with Dark Force Rising and The Last Command as palate cleansers.

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Stage

A Soldier’s Play – Broadway in Atlanta
This is not a feel-good story, but it is an important one to tell in the vein of Greek and Shakespearean tragedies. It’s a loose adaptation of Billy Budd, but it also discusses a lot of racial themes centered on the World War II time period. My wife got chills by the end and I cried based on my family’s history with the military. Powerful stuff.

Moulin Rouge! – Broadway in Atlanta
I had no idea what to expect since I’d never seen this production or the movie version before. It was beautiful and bonkers if not a bit predictable. I’d definitely watch it again, and the movie version is now on my watch list.

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Games

Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch
I’ve been getting lost in Hyrule and this story since it was released. People who claim that this sequel is nothing more than Breath of the Wild DLC have no idea what they’re talking about. I’m loving it and wish that I had more time to spend on it.

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Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.