When the All-Stars Form Girl Groups, Some Are That Somebody, While Others Need to Try Again... Henny

RuPaul's Drag Race All-Stars, Episode 2: "Super Girl Groups, Henny"

The queens hit the werk room after Jasmine's elimination and it's a familiar scene. Trinity is teary as she wipes away Jasmine's message and she reiterates to the other queens that eliminating one of their own is not easy. Monét is not impressed. I don't understand why other queens shade someone for feeling badly. I assume it's because they think it's just for sympathy? Whatever. It's silly. Gia continues the 2018 Farrah Moan Shade Tour continuing to say that Farrah is not talented, but she does call her a beautiful bitch. So, I guess that's nice?

Comics Corner: X-Men Gold #13-15 & X-Men Blue #13-15

X-Men Gold & X-Men Blue

X-Men Blue & X-Men Gold go full '90's with an epic crossover featuring one of the teams most over the top villains. What brings Mojo to Earth and the two X teams together? Read on to find out. 

On the premiere of RuPaul's Drag Race All-Stars, it's all about brand loyalty and all that jush

RuPaul's Drag Race All-Stars, Episode 1: "All-Star Super Queen Variety Show"

Hey Kitty Girls! Christmas came early and I'm not talking about that regrettable rendezvous you had with that mall Santa. No, it's the premiere of the seemingly annual now "RuPaul's Drag Race All-Stars." Now in season 4. Let's be real, All-Stars 3 started strong but was a dumpster fire by the end. Trixie Mattel made it into the Drag Race Hall of Fame due to a controversial jury vote that left Shangela out in the cold. So, you'd think I wouldn't be excited about another installment 9 months later, but I am. This cast is great and for the most part, they deliver. Let's dive in to this premiere.

Doctor Who For Dummies: Series 5

Doctor Who - Series 5 (2010)

I was going to open this post by saying the only constant on "Doctor Who" is change. That isn't necessarily true. There are a few constants. The TARDIS. Daleks. Weeping Angels. Cybermen. Change is a big part though, specifically the change of Doctors and companions.  Series 5 begins the newest cycle for rebirth. At the end of "The End of Time," David Tennant regenerated into the Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith. With a new Doctor comes a new companion, Karen Gillan's Amy Pond. It's a changing of the guard, so let's take a dive into series 5 of "Doctor Who."

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "Sideshow" & "A Bullet for Bullock"

Batman: The Animated Series

It's time for season two! We are going to dive right in since I have been majorly slacking here. A teeny bit of background. Fox ordered 20 additional episodes of the show while the initial 65 episode order was still airing. These next 20 episodes comprise the second season that began airing back in May 1994.

Comics Corner: Batman - The Court of Owls

Batman

There are some comic characters/teams lend themselves to long, legendary runs by some of the mediums top writers and artists. Daredevil has had Frank Miller, Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev tell his tales. The X-Men have had Stan Lee & Jack Kirby, Chris Claremont & John Byrne, Grant Morrison, Joss Whedon & John Cassady. The list goes on and on.

One character that lends itself to these legendary runs is the Dark Knight himself, Batman. If you can think of a classic comic book writer, they have probably written for Batman, whether it be an extended run or a one off. Everyone from Alan Moore and Frank Miller to Jeph Loeb and Grant Morrison have redefined how comic readers look at the tortured hero. When DC made the surprising and controversial move to reboot it's entire line, Batman was one of the few heroes that remained mainly unchanged. DC wasn't content to just let Batman slide on by.

For the first "Batman" #1 in 72 years, they tapped writer Scott Snyder & artist Greg Capullo. For 52 issues, they crafted a saga that is probably in my top 5 comic runs of all-time. Snyder & Capullo launch their legendary run by introducing a sinister Court that shakes the Dark Knight's faith in his own city.

Doctor Who for Dummies: The David Tennant Specials

"Doctor Who" - The David Tennant Specials (2008-2010)

"Doctor Who" said good-bye to David Tennant's Tenth Doctor a little differently. Rather than have him regenerate at the end of Series 4, there were four specials spread out over 2 years. It makes sense that they would want to extend his departure. Tennant was widely beloved and for a lot of people was their first prolonged exposure to the Doctor. This is also the swan song of EP and head writer, Russell T. Davies, who spearheaded the revival of "Doctor Who." I completely understand why they wanted to have a long good-bye, I just wish these episodes had been a little better.

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "Mask of the Phantasm"

Batman: The Animated Series

It's Batman Day! Every year, DC sets aside a day in September to celebrate their most popular superhero. Sorry Superman, but you know it's true. Remember how they decided to make you all angsty and broody in the new shared movie universe? You know why they did that. And sure, Batman Day is a made up holiday to celebrate a fictional character and maybe get you to buy some of his merchandise, but you know what, there are a lot of made up holidays we celebrate: Valentine's Day, Donut Day, Easter. Why not celebrate the Caped Crusader? 

I can't think of a better way than by talking about the best Batman film of them all: "Mask of the Phantasm." Fight me, "The Dark Knight" fans. The film was originally planned for a direct-to-video release but due to the popularity of B: TAS WB execs decided to release the movie in theaters on December 25, 1993. Sadly, due to limited promotion and the rushed decision to release it in theaters, the film did poorly at the box office but received glowing reviews from critics. The film gained traction and a cult following when it was released on home video and routinely lands on lists of best Bat films. The plot is inspired by Mike W. Barr's "Batman: Year Two" storyline but they created the Phantasm to replace that stories original villain, "The Reaper."

Comics Corner: X-Men Blue #7-12

"X-Men Blue"

"X-Men Blue" continues with it's own tie-in issues to the Marvel-wide "Secret Empire" crossover, but goes about it a little differently than Gold. Then, Beast's dabbling in the dark arts gets the rest of the OG X-Men in deep.

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "Read My Lips" and "The Worry Men"

Batman: The Animated Series

Oh my gosh you guys. We did it. We made it through the 65 episodes that comprise the first season of B: TAS. It's been a ride and we aren't done yet. I just wanted to acknowledge this milestone. I didn't make it through them quite as fast as I would have liked, but it feels good to have accomplished this and to have revisited so many amazing episodes. Let's finish this first season.

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "His Silicon Soul" and "Fire From Olympus"

"Batman: The Animated Series"

One of my favorite things about B: TAS is that it doesn't run things that are popular into the ground. It gives them time to breathe and brings them back when the time is right. That is the case with the first episode that will be reviewed today and I couldn't be happier.

Also! Warner Bros. just announced that they will be releasing the complete series on blu ray for the first time ever!! It's full of awesome special features and it includes both movies: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and SubZero. If you have been on the fence about buying the series, now's your chance.  Check it out on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Batman-Complete-Animated-Limited-Blu-ray/dp/B07FSRBWXK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1532992697&sr=8-1&keywords=batman+the+animated+series+blu+ray&dpID=51hPsSbwtJL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch ( I should probably also say I wasn't paid in any way to endorse this.)

Without further adieu...

Comics Corner: X-Men Gold #7-12

X-Men Gold

"X-Men Gold" continues telling modern day X-stories with a '90's feel in the next six issues of the series. In these issues, the Gold team play their part in the Marvel-wide "Secret Empire" crossover, Kitty and Peter take a trip to Washington and an old enemy returns to challenge the team.

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "Blind as a Bat" and "The Demon's Quest" Parts 1& 2

Batman: The Animated Series

Yowza. I have been super lax here. I'm determined to get back to it. So, I won't spend a lot of time blathering on. We've got episodes to criticize! Here we go.

Doctor Who For Dummies: Series 4

Doctor Who - Series 4 (2008)

I've been enjoying "Doctor Who." A lot more than I initially thought that I would. It's been far from perfect and there have been a lot of growing pains in the first three series. It's easy to overlook a lot of those because of the performances of the principals, especially David Tennant's Tenth Doctor. But, things like that can only be overlooked for so long and I was a little nervous that "Doctor Who" would never live up to the potential and greatness that it sometimes showed. Then series 4 came along. It is by far the best I've seen so far and the apex of Russell T. Davies work on the series. A lot of that has to do with the stellar work done by the Doctor's newest companion, Donna Noble played by the effervescent Catherine Tate. Let's take a deep dive into series 4 of "Doctor Who."

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "Harley and Ivy" and "Shadow of the Bat" Parts 1 & 2

Batman The Animated Series

In this post's episodes, sisters are doing it for themselves. B: TAS shifts focus to it's female characters and the results are pretty great. We get two debuts. The first is an iconic pair that continues in the comics today and a character that has become as well recognized as Batman and Robin themselves.

Comics Corner: X-Men Blue 1-6

X-Men Blue

"X-Men Blue" is the counterpart to "X-Men Gold." In case you didn't know, Beast decided to bring the five teenage original X-Men to the present. This is the third series the five original X-Men have headlined and if you haven't been following them, allow me to catch you up. These aren't you father's OG X-Men. Cyclops found out about his older selves possession by the Phoenix Force and subsequent murder of Charles Xavier and vowed to be better. Iceman came out of the closet. Angel gained fire wings. Beast started dabbling in the occult. Marvel Girl gained a power up and did some morally ambiguous things in regards to using her powers to freely read minds and manipulate people. She's working on that. In the final issue of their previous series, the X-Men returned to their own time only to find that they were still there?

In the "X-Men Prime" one shot, the OG X-Men decided to appoint Jean their team leader and strike out on their own. This is where we find them when "X-Men Blue" begins.

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "Zatanna" and "The Mechanic"

Batman: The Animated Series

Sometimes it feels like B: TAS takes place in a vacuum. A place where no other DCU heroes exist. It's just the Dark Knight in his never ending battle with his various rogues. That's fine. The early '90's were a simpler time. There didn't need to be all the interconnectivity that we see now. But it is nice to see some familiar faces from outside the Bat universe and that's just what happens in the first episode we deal with in this post.

Comics Corner: X-Men Prime, X-Men Gold, #1-6

X-Men Gold

I've been an X-Man fan for over twenty years. I connected with them immediately when I first started watching "X-Men: The Animated Series" back in the fall of 1992. For a kid living in the country in Iowa who already knew that he wasn't like the other boys, there was something about a group of people hated and feared based solely on a genetic quirk they couldn't control that really hit home. 

It wasn't a huge leap from the cartoon to the actual comics and I still remember the first X-Men comic I bought from a spinner rack in one of our local Hy-Vees. It was "Uncanny X-Men" #303 and it prominently featured Jean Grey, my favorite character from the show and still my favorite X-Man to date. What a great first comic to pick it up. It deals with the death of Colossus' (Piotr Rasputin) sister Illyana from the deadly to mutants Legacy Virus, an AIDS like disease with no cure at the time. There's no big action scenes, just a lot of talking and it was still enough to keep a ten year old's attention. The majority of time is spent between Jean and Jubilee, at the time the youngest X-Man, talking about the helplessness one feels when confronted with the death of a loved one. It's so good and if you are a comic fan or an X-Man fan, I'd really advise tracking down a copy. 

Thanks for allowing me to wax poetic, but my point is that I've followed the X-Men pretty faithfully from then until now. Through the good (Grant Morrison's run, Joss Whedon's run), the bad (the majority of the '90's and early '00's) and the indifferent (the majority of the '00's). Marvel loves to reinvent and restart and the X-Men are not immune to that. After a war with the Inhumans, the less said about that the better, the X-Men went back to their roots. They split the team into two, Blue and Gold, a call back to the early '90's, put two prolific X-Women into leadership roles for the first time and let them loose.

In today's comics corner, we'll take a look at the first six issues of X-Men Gold.

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "Mudslide" and "Paging the Crime Doctor"

Batman: The Animated Series

There are a lot of great things about B: TAS. We've talked about a lot of them, but one thing I haven't mentioned is how it was willingly to use some of it's villains sparingly. Sure we get a lot of episodes with the Joker, but when a villain has a particularly impactful debut, the show isn't afraid to give that character some breathing room. A great example of this is Mr. Freeze. We are over fifty episodes in and he's only been seen once. The same can be said for Clayface. Well, it could be until the first episode we deal with in this blog post.

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "Off Balance" and "The Man Who Killed Batman"

Batman: The Animated Series

One of the many great things about B: TAS is the inspiration it takes from the source material. The writers of the show aren't afraid to take classic Batman tales from the comics and adapt them to fit the format of the show. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the show's introductions to the al Ghul's, the first of which we meet in the first episode this post deals with.

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "What Is Reality?" and "I Am the Night"

Batman: The Animated Series

Oh my gosh you guys. I have been slacking. Things have been crazy the past couple of weeks. I'm ready to jump back into this. Here we go.

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "Almost Got 'Im" and "Birds of a Feather"

Batman: The Animated Series

This is it! I know a lot of you have been waiting for this episode, since it is arguably the most famous B: TAS episode. I'm pretty excited too. So, let's not waste too much time and just get right to it.

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "Day of the Samurai" and "Terror in the Sky"

Batman: The Animated Series

When you're a kids, sometimes it's the little things. For me, it was Batman's motorcycle helmet. I was kind of obsessed with it. I really wanted one and it made no sense. Even as a ten-year-old, I had zero want to ever ride a motorcycle. One of my mom's friends was decapitated while riding one, but that didn't matter when it came to Batman's shiny accessory. It turns out that time changes some things, but not this! It makes an appearance in one of the episodes I watched for this blog post and I'm still kind of obsessed with it. I still don't want to ride a motorcycle.

The Truth Is Out There X-Files Rewatch: Season Four

The X-Files: The Fourth Season

The fourth season of "The X-Files" premiered on October 4, 1996. The season found the show getting even more popular. It shifted from Fridays to Sundays, which was a huge deal. In the '90's, Sunday night was the big night on Fox. It was the night that "The Simpsons" and "Married... With Children" aired. These were some of the networks most popular shows and with the fourth season "The X-Files" officially joined them. It was also chosen as the program to air after Super Bowl XXXI.

The fourth season of "The X-Files" gave the two leads some meatier stuff to tackle. This is the season that introduced the Scully cancer storyline and it ended up winning Gillian Anderson an Emmy. The mythology episodes continued to be tight and the Monster of the Week episodes continued to be a mix of scary, funny and frustrating. Just like we've been doing with the previous seasons, let's take a look at the mythology, the best MotW and the ones you can skip if you're trying to binge in a hurry.

Doctor Who For Dummies: Series 3

Doctor Who - Series 3 (2007)

Time flies when you're having fun and also when you're the Doctor. Series 3 deals with the aftermath of Rose's departure and how the Doctor deals with it. It shouldn't be too surprising that he deals with it by offering someone else a trip on the TARDIS, despite. his initial protestations that it's going to be a short trip. I know that opinions are mixed on Martha Jones' stint in the TARDIS, but I think she acquitted herself well. She's also the first African American companion the Doctor had taken on, so that's a pretty big deal. Let's take a deeper dive into the fourteen episodes that comprise series 3.

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "Tyger, Tyger" and "Moon of the Wolf"

Batman: The Animated Series

Due to the versatility of it's villains and the talent of the writing staff, B: TAS could be a different show each week. One week it could be a straight up superhero romp, the next a gangster story, or maybe a hardboiled detective noir. It sometimes even dabbled in science fiction monsters, two of which we will be looking at in today's blog post.

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich" and "Joker's Wild"

Batman: The Animated Series

Today we have made it to the fortieth episode of B: TAS. That is pretty phenomenal. The time has really flown by, hasn't it? It's also a testament to the quality of the series that forty episodes in and we are just being introduced to one of Batman's classic rogues, The Riddler. Fun fact: The Riddler was the first villain in the 1960's Batman series. Let's find out how he fares in his debut B: TAS appearance.

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "The Strange Case of Bruce Wayne" and "Heart of Steel" Parts 1 & 2

Batman: The Animated Series

It's always fun to watch B: TAS continue to do new things and introduce new characters. The two episodes we deal with in todays blog post do both. The first episode finds three classic villains working together and maybe my favorite two-parter in the show's history introduces the civilian identity of my all-time favorite Bat-character.

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "Night of the Ninja" and "Cat Scratch Fever"

Batman: The Animated Series

One thing that B: TAS struggled with was trying to introduce antagonists outside of the comic book source material. They didn't always fail, but for ever Rupert Thorne there was a Sewer King. Sometimes it doesn't matter, because the villain is just a means to an end. Sometimes it matters very much. In this post, we will be dealing with one of the most memorable original villains that B: TAS ever introduced.

Doctor Who for Dummies: Series 2

Doctor Who - Series 2 (2006)

I finished Series 2! I'm super excited and proud of myself. The more I watch, the more into it I'm getting and the more I just want to plow forward. That's not something I ever thought I would say about "Doctor Who."

I have a lot of feelings about Series 2 that I've trying to get sorted out. I think overall, I liked it, but I liked Series 1 a little more. Sacrilege! I know! I think that your overall enjoyment of series 2 is based on how emotionally invested you are in the relationship between Rose and the Doctor. As someone who is not super into it, that definitely could have colored my opinion, but I don't think that's totally it. There are a handful of great episodes, but I don't think any of them stack up to the highs of series 1. Let's go into that a little more in depth.

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "Robin's Reckoning" Parts 1 & 2 and "The Laughing Fish"

Batman: The Animated Series

I needed a little B: TAS break after the flaming garbage pile that was "The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy." I know that every show has stinker episodes, but sometimes they can stop momentum. Luckily, these next episodes are back to the quality level we've come to expect.

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "Perchance to Dream" and "The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy"

Batman: The Animated Series

I feel really badly that it's been so long since I've posted one of these. I hate it. I was planning on getting to a three B: TAS blog post a week schedule after the new year. Life happens. Specifically, the stomach flu. I will spare you the gory details, but it's time to get this party started again. 

Doctor Who for Dummies: Series 1

Doctor Who - Series 1 (2005)

I love sci-fi, fantasy, superheroes. I'm sure you've gathered that from my blog. Or if you're a friend of mine, my home, my Facebook page, me in general. I'm sure I've mentioned this in a previous posts, but one of my biggest nerd blind spots is "Doctor Who." I mean, I'm aware of it. I have tons of friends who are super into it and have been pushing me to watch for years. An I have tried. God knows I've tried. I've probably watched the first two episodes of the rebooted "Doctor Who" five or six times in the past few years, but haven't gotten any further. Everyone kept telling me, I could skip Christoper Eccleston's Ninth Doctor and jump right into David Tennant's Tenth, but I'm not good at starting something in the middle.

So, what finally got me to finally watch this series all the way through? Well, it is Jodie Whitaker. Whitaker is taking over as the new Doctor when the 11th series of the reboot starts up sometime in 2018. She's the series first female Doctor in over 50 years. It's historic and I want to witness that, but I want to witness it in context. To be fair, I'm not really interested in watching any episodes prior to Eccleston's run, but I think that's OK. So, these are some general thoughts and impressions I had as I made my way through series 1 of "Doctor Who."

The Truth Is Out There X-Files Rewatch: Season Three

The X-Files: The Third Season

The third season of "The X-Files" premiered on September 22, 1995. This was really the season that the show started firing on all cylinders and showed audiences what it could do. The ratings were the highest they'd been so far and the show was nominated for and WON Emmys. The series was nominated for 8 Emmy Awards and won 5. I think one of the things that propelled the third season ahead of the previous two is that the show finally found it's sense of humor. Episodes like "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose," "War of the Coprophages," and "Jose Chung's From Outer Space" proved that the show could be funny, sometimes even poke fun of itself and still be suspenseful, scary and unsettling. A lot of this is thanks to writer Darin Morgan, who penned the aforementioned episodes and sadly, left the show after this season, not returning until the revived tenth season. Thankfully, the shows other stable of regular writers saw the returns on this episode and weren't afraid to incorporate humor and sometimes even ludicrousness into future scripts.

Before we start, I just want to say, that this is the first and only season of "The X-Files" I would recommend watching all the way through. I'll still list the mythology episodes, best MotW episodes and any you could probably skip, but even the ones. you could skip are good enough that if you didn't, it would be fine. Each episode has something worthwhile in it, something that distinguishes it and makes it worth your time. Here we go.

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "Dreams In Darkness" and "Eternal Youth"

Batman: The Animated Series

Happy New Year blog readers! I'm excited to continue on our journey through B: TAS in 2018. On the off chance that you are watching along, these two episodes close out the "Volume One" DVD's and open the "Volume Two" DVD's. We've also gotten to the point where we are going to start repeating villains (I mean, besides Joker), which is kind of cool. So, here we go!