Steven Universe Review: "Horror Club" (Season 1B, Episode 15)

Catch, catch the horror taxi. 

I fell in love with a video nasty! 

Catch, catch the horror train. 

The freeze frame gonna drive you insane!

- "Nasty", The Damned. (From The Young Ones episode "Nasty")

Airdate: February 12th, 2015
Written By: Raven Molisee and Paul Villeco
Plot: Steven and Sadie let Lars tag along to Ronaldo's Horror Club - much to the host's displeasure. While watching Evil Bear II, the lighthouse starts acting up - much like a thriller. Investigations lead to Sadie getting taken hostage by the lighthouse. With Lars and Ronaldo having a rather frosty relationship, the conspiracy nut contemplates giving said lighthouse a snack to satisfy it - Lars, to be exact.

Review:

You are reading a review of an episode of a television show - a TV show that lures it's fans in with cute colors, quasi-lesbian aliens, and brilliant songwriting... and attacks them with emotional resonance, psychological terror, and liberal overtones. In one episode, characters mess around at the arcade. In another, characters expose suicidal self-loathing. In another, a kid and his best friend have a very awkward dinner. What type of adventure are we damned to witness for episode 15 of Season 1B? Find out tonight in Night of The Review Nebula 2: Blogspot Takes Up Space on your Data Plan!

Lars, Ronaldo, Sadie, and Steven are our protagonists of the evening. The first one and the third one are trapped in a rather messed-up relationship, and the second one almost killed the fourth one to fuel his own ego. This can either make for a) juicy drama or b) a trainwreck. Which one is it?

Neither, really - although it is damningly dull.

Steven Universe Review: "On The Run" (Season 1B, Episode 14)

"This is where I was made, dude. One day, just - pop! - right out of this hole!" - Amethyst succulently and briefly describes her horrifying, horrifying genesis. 

Airdate: February 5th, 2015
Written By: Joe Johnston and Jeff Liu
Plot: Steven is enthused by his book series, The No-Home Boys, and begins to romanticize the idea of living away from home, especially when he finds out about the genesis of the Crystal Gems. Amethyst is the only one that responds positively to Steven's newfound enthusiasm - albeit because of her own issues regarding where she came from - and the two run away. Steven finds the life on the road to be less romantic, while Amethyst uses the escape as an excuse to take Steven to her birthplace - the Kindergarten. And thus begins a night of an almost unspeakable heartache.

Review:

The last time I reviewed Steven Universe, we got to see a darker, fallible side to Garnet. Meanwhile, in the real world, the United States of America had just voted to experiment with a real life simulation of Tropico 4* a new wave of populism. This review is being posted just after the experiment was launched, what with the inauguration of President Donald Trump. (I still can't believe I typed those last three words as a fact.) How poetic. So, what better way to come back to Steven Universe than by an episode that shines a darker light on another main character?

When you get down to it, Steven Universe's central characters are all a part of tragedies pulled together, each one dealing with their aftermaths. From the start, it's been established that Greg lost the love of his life. Pearl's mental state is on the verge of a total collapse for various reasons (one of which we'll see in a few episodes). Lapis Lazuli was trapped in a freakin' mirror for years. And Garnet and the others, we'll get to during Season 2 (and 3, and 4).

Here, though, we get a look at Amethyst and what happened to her. And damn, if this episode doesn't prove that Steven Universe toes the line of tragedy, I've got nothing for you.

Red Dwarf Review: Series XI Wrap-Up

"Our nomination for JMC Crew Of The Year is starting to look unlikely." - Lister, summing up the whole of Red Dwarf in a nutshell.

Well, almost four months after it's debut in Britain, and two months after it was released stateside, I have completed my look at Red Dwarf XI. Six episodes isn't a lot when stacked against seasons of the other shows I've reviewed, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

So, final thoughts on this season?

Simply put, it was rather good.

Red Dwarf Review: "Can of Worms" (Series XI, Episode 6)

 

"How do I break this to you... you're a moron!" - Rimmer, to the Cat after his date.

"Oh, Rimmer. Go easy on him. Let me handle this. Cat, man, you're a moron!" - Lister, for once, agreeing with Rimmer. Bring on the giant meteor. 

Airdate: 27 October, 2016
Written By: Doug Naylor
Plot: While cutting across an asteroid belt to get back on course, Starbug winds up coming across a largely deserted ship. It's crew - a mercenoid and a prisoner. After some confusion, the crew take out the mercenoid, and the prisoner is rescued. Said prisoner, Ankita, happens to be of the Cat's species. Cat becomes smitten with the very similar prisoner - assuaging his own anxieties regarding his love life (or lack thereof) - and goes on a date with her.

Unfortunately for him, Ankita happens to be a Polymorph who intends to deposit her eggs into the Cat. Ergo, the end of the Cat's first date results in him becoming pregnant - thus becoming the third person on board Red Dwarf to become pregnant, and the second male.

Review:

Well, here we are. The last episode of Series XI. Hard to believe that it's been almost 4 years since I began looking at this silly little sci-fi show - one that is more than the sum of its parts. And, so far Series XI has been rather solid. There've been no truly spectacular episodes, but I would argue that a couple of episodes have been great, and the rest, so far, have been good.

So, will Series XI continue the trend of stable quality? Will it break my expectations and be one of the most spectacular episodes of the series? Or will XI putter to the end?

Well, let's start my analysis with the fact that this episode focuses on the Cat.

Red Dwarf Review: "Krysis" (Series XI, Episode 5)

"Have you ever felt 'I've wasted my life?" 

"You? Sure! Every single day!" 

- Lister and the Cat, summing up a midlfie crisis.

Airdate: 20 October, 2016
Written By: Doug Naylor
Plot: Kryten's hit a rough patch in his duties aboard ship. The trio diagnose him with a midlife crisis - something that becomes readily apparent once Krytie dons a bright red shell (pictured above). To try and remind him of how far he's come, the Boys from the Dwarf go to the Nova III, to analyze a similar mechanoid and see how he's held up all alone... only to come across a mechanoid that has become a connoisseur of and participant in all the finest arts.

Review:

This episode should not work.

I mean, let's face it - it's plot is pretty much the child of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and "Barely Beyond A Joke". I disliked The Final Frontier, and "Beyond A Joke" is my second least favorite episode of the show (third if you count "Krytie TV" as an episode and not as an instrument of torture banned by the Geneva Convention). Point is - is the third time the charm for these plot threads on this blog?

Well, if you count the second half of Gravity Falls season 2, then for the most part, yes.

But what about the fourth time? Does it work then?