Classic Coverage looks back on the episodes of past shows from a modern perspective.
It’s been noted before that The Simpsons’ satire is less about specific problems (like how The Wire is a brutal point-by-point takedown of structural flaws in the Baltimore police, school, and newspaper systems) and more about general principles. This, I … Continue reading The Simpsons, Season Six, Episode Twenty-One, “The PTA Disbands!”
Alas, mes amis, your faithful chronicler is under the weather this week, so a much-abbreviated writeup (which honestly, is about what this episode deserves). The Good: Poirot and Our Man Hastings play Monopoly constantly during this episode, appearing to do … Continue reading Poirot (Classic): S02E04 “The Lost Mine”
“Tomorrow is Yesterday” Season 1 Production Order #22 Airing Order #19 Directed by Joseph Pevney Written by D.C. Fontana Story by Michael O’Herlihy We had quite the range in quality last time with the episodes “Arena” and “The Alternative Factor” (which honestly … Continue reading Star Trek: TOS – S01E22/23 “Tomorrow is Yesterday” and “The Return of the Archons”
I wonder how many sitcoms before this had a plot centered around a horny dog. This show has cycled through a lot of showrunners, so it’s fascinating to me how the show feels like it’s always building on what came … Continue reading The Simpsons, Season Six, Episode Twenty, “Two Dozen And One Greyhounds”
In a cold open, a shady character robs a jewelry store in a crowded marketplace. The next day, as Poirot is bemoaning the lack of criminal ingenuity, Japp recounts the crime to Poirot and Hastings as the three of them … Continue reading Poirot (Classic): S02E03 “The Veiled Lady”
This is the first, best, and arguably only good future-set episode of The Simpsons. This is one of those concepts that can only work in either animation or extraordinarily goofy live-action comedy. Our favourite four-fingered freaks are perpetually frozen in … Continue reading The Simpsons, Season Six, Episode Nineteen, “Lisa’s Wedding”
Poirot and Hastings take a weekend vacation to the town of St. Looe (“Queen of the Cornish Riviera”), and while complaining about the service at the Hotel Majestic meet young woman Magdala “Nick” Buckley (Polly Walker). She’s the owner of … Continue reading Poirot (Classic): S02E01/02 “Peril at End House”
Season 7 Directed by Timothy Combe Written by Malcolm Hulke Last time, Doctor Who took its first steps into reinventing itself in colour and more relevantly to the plot as an Earthbound show. It was an effective serial both on its … Continue reading Doctor Who (Classic): S07E02 “Doctor Who and the Silurians”
This episode is the biggest example people use to say that Matt Groening isn’t necessarily right about everything Simpsons, because he famously hates this episode to the point of taking his name off it and refusing to do the commentary … Continue reading The Simpsons, Season Six, Episode Eighteen, “A Star Is Burns”
The Green Lantern Corps are a mainstay of the DC universe. They’re a simple concept: light rings, willpower, good…most of the time, anyway. Those rings are formidable in the right hands. Even the toned-down DCAU versions still stand up against … Continue reading Justice League, “Hearts and Minds”
To Boldly Sew is a recap of DS9 episodes, with a specific focus on the fashions of the many aliens and other characters that make up the series. Feel free to discuss matters of plot and general Star Trek things in … Continue reading To Boldy Sew: Star Trek Deep Space Nine S02E02: “The Circle”
“Arena” Season 1 Production Order #20 Airing Order #18 Directed by Joseph Pevney Written by Gene L. Coon Story by Fredric Brown Now here’s a blast from the past. It’s been just over two years since I last wrote one … Continue reading Star Trek: TOS – S01E20/21 “Arena” and “The Alternative Factor”
The relationship between Homer and Marge’s two sisters is a cultural cliche that’s taken on a life of its own. It’s the cliche of a man hating his mother-in-law transferred to his sisters-in-law, and I often find it’s a reflexive … Continue reading The Simpsons, Season Six, Episode Sixteen, “Homer vs Patty and Selma”
One of the challenges of developing a Justice League show is finding credible threats for the league. Some of this is accomplished by toning down the league’s powers; it also helps to allow Superman or J’onn a sick day here … Continue reading Justice League, “Tabula Rasa”
We start here. There is another entire season of Justice League, but this is where I feel the show becomes something great. And what happens in this season forms the foundation of the storylines that would drive Justice League Unlimited, which everyone … Continue reading Justice League, “Twilight”
Pie magnate Benedict Farley delivers a speech at the opening of his new factory, while his trusted secretary Hugo Cornworthy, his wife Mrs. F and his daughter Joanna look on. Farley, who looks like he just walked straight out of … Continue reading Poirot (Classic): S01E10 “The Dream”
To Boldly Sew is a recap of DS9 episodes, with a specific focus on the fashions of the many aliens and other characters that make up the series. Feel free to discuss matters of plot and general Star Trek things in … Continue reading To Boldy Sew: Star Trek Deep Space Nine S02E01: “The Homecoming”
Ordinarily, my Australianishnessism is something I lean into in these essays to mark myself as someone commenting on America from the outside; my conception of America largely comes from shows like The Simpsons, making me a true test of the … Continue reading The Simpsons, Season Six, Episode Sixteen, “Bart Vs Australia”
Hastings and Poirot are visiting a movie studio at an invitation from Hastings’ friend director Bunny Saunders. His latest picture – some sort of colonial desert romance – stars Valerie St. Clair (Niamh Cusack) and Ralph Walton (Gawn Grainger). Val … Continue reading Poirot (Classic): S01E09 “The King Of Clubs”
To Boldly Sew is a recap of DS9 episodes, with a specific focus on the fashions of the many aliens and other characters that make up the series. Feel free to discuss matters of plot and general Star Trek things in … Continue reading To Boldy Sew: Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Season 1 Review
Season 7 Directed by Derek Martinus Written by Robert Holmes The show had been avoiding proper story ending cliffhangers for a while, but “The War Games” left us on a heck of a doozy. The Doctor was mid-regeneration, a punishment for … Continue reading Doctor Who (Classic): S07E01 “Spearhead from Space”
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