Reviews of television shows
“When I was a boy I dreamed of two very different lives.” “Only two? I wanted hundreds.” The strangest thing about many early Farscape episodes is that the character they’re about is often not the character that they follow. “Thank … Continue reading The Wonders I’ve Seen: 1×06, “Thank God It’s Friday, Again”
The Metal Clan As the title of the third season has so helpfully reminded us, one of the driving themes in The Legend of Korra is change. This is a show built on the inherent premise that it is different from … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “The Metal Clan” & “Old Wounds”
The Earth Queen The Avatar is having a bit of a legitimacy crisis. It’s an idea that’s been haunting the entire background of The Legend of Korra, but doesn’t start to bloom into a full theme until now. In a world … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “The Earth Queen” & “In Harm’s Way”
“Whatever your crime, exile from your own kind is atonement enough.” CN: Discussion of sexual assault. It would be unfair to say that, five episodes in, we’ve finally hit the true Farscape, because bad and uneven episodes are as much … Continue reading The Wonders I’ve Seen: 1×05, “Back and Back and Back to the Future”
A Breath of Fresh Air How one defines worth in the world of long form entertainment is a tricky thing to considered. So much of our current discourse around things like television shows or video games is hinged on a … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “A Breath of Fresh Air” & “Rebirth”
Darkness Falls In my prefatory paragraphs about the The Legend of Korra I made note that the response to the show was similar to the response to The Last Jedi. A mixture of indignation at changes to the world’s lore, and for some, awe … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “Darkness Falls” & “A Light in the Dark”
Night of a Thousand Stars I remarked in the article on “A New Spiritual Age” that the final act of this season is mostly gobbledygook slathered over with an amazing coat of paint. If the first half of this narrative … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “Night of a Thousand Stars” & “Harmonic Convergence”
The Guide In the post about “Beginnings” I speculated that the season might have been helped if the story of Wan had been placed earlier, allowing Korra to have a clear goal to pursue rather than dither about in malformed … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “The Guide” & “A New Spiritual Age”
After Lost concluded and many people complained how unsatisfactory the ending was, one of the creators —- I’m not sure which, if it was Carlton Cuse or Damon Lindlehof —- mentioned that it wasn’t the mystery that was important to … Continue reading El Santo watches Siberia, or the sublime bliss of leaving a mystery unsolved
Am I the only species in creation that doesn’t thrive on conflict? “Throne for a Loss” isn’t a good episode that lost its way—probably, the best version of this episode was always going to be a little dry—but it definitely … Continue reading The Wonders I’ve Seen: 1×04, “Throne for a Loss”
Part One I don’t think there’s a cure all solution to fix this season of television. The production was too distraught and the resulting story too messy to find a panacea for the myriad of issues that plagues the screen, … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “Beginnings”
Peacekeepers Throughout the entire Avatar franchise the show has hewn pretty closely to a few basic rules to keep its characters looking consistent with one another. There’s the general art design put forward by Bryan, but there’s other things as … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “Peacekeepers” & “The Sting”
Part One One of the fascinating things about Korra as a character is that she has a full and (semi) functioning family. In most fantasies of this sweep and scale our hero is severed from filial ties in one way or another, … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “Civil Wars”
Rebel Spirit Alas we have arrived at the moment I’ve been dreading since my commitment to writing about Korra, for as much as I deeply love the show there is no way to sidestep an important fact: the second season just isn’t … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “Rebel Spirit” & “The Southern Lights”
Never. Swallow. A dentic! If “I, E.T.” was Farscape establishing its Planet-of-the-Week framework, “Exodus from Genesis” lays out the boundaries for a Farscape Ship-in-Trouble episode. Moya has been infested by a swarm of extremely large bugs; the temperature is rising … Continue reading The Wonders I’ve Seen: 1×03, “Exodus from Genesis”
Skeletons in the Closet If you will allow me a bit of ostentatious pontification, I would like to submit a proposal to why the season one finale of The Legend of Korra is odd and discombobulating, beyond the fact that it was … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “Skeletons in the Closet” & “Endgame”
Out of the Past As the first season of The Legend of Korra barrels into its final act, the strain of the pacing and meting out of the plot really starts to grip the series. Once again this pair of episodes are … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “Out of the Past” & “Turning the Tides”
The Aftermath One of the most common critiques lodged against the first season of Korra is that of its breathless pacing. In Bryke’s ambition to construct a tightly wound mini-series they didn’t allow enough time to stop and consider what was happening … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “The Aftermath” & “When Extremes Meet”
The Spirit of Competition Ah yes, here we are, the episode that, to some, breaks The Legend of Korra. After an exciting opening act, introducing the viewer to a changed world with new characters and ideas, the show takes a … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “The Spirit of Competition” & “And the Winner is…”
You’ve learned that you’re not alone in the universe, that space travel is possible, that a zillion of your empirical facts about science, religion are wrong… or completely suspect. I do understand. I’m not exactly what you expected, am I? The pilot of Farscape … Continue reading The Wonders I’ve Seen: 1×02, “I, E.T.”
The Revelation If the first two episodes of The Legend of Korra were all about situating the viewer in a transformed version of The Four Nations, than this duo is about properly setting off the main narrative machine of the season. Now … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “The Revelation” & “The Voice in the Night”
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