Scullyfied Simpsons: "Lisa Gets an A" (Season 10, Episode 7)

This grade is wrong, but not for the reason you might think...

Airdate: November 22nd, 1998

Synopsis: Lisa falls ill after being stuffed in a freezer to try and get some ice cream (no prizes for guessing who did it). Rather than study, she gets sucked into a video game, "Dash Dingo". She gets so hooked into the game, she forgets to read The Wind in the Willows... and comes back to a quiz on the book. ("Game over, mate!") Bart gets Nelson to hook her up with test answers, and she passes the test at such a level that the state no longer considers the school absolutely pathetic, and is willing to give them money.

Meanwhile, the aforementioned fridge-stuffer gets a pet lobster at the same supermarket. By "gets a pet", I mean Homer prevents Marge from cooking Pinchy, a lobster that the family brought for dinner.

Review (SPOILERS): Lisa Simpson is one of the more divisive characters in the Simpsons canon. This stems from the trend during the "double digit" seasons to have Lisa as the mouthpiece for the generally leftish writers, with little reasonable dissent or critique of said positions. While I see where they come from, my opinion of Lisa stems from the early seasons of the show - as it should. And while she did have moments where she seemed overtly opinionated, they were just part of her role as a wiser, more mature eight-year old, who still fell victim to the same weaknesses that eight-year olds have.

"Lisa Gets An A", surprisingly, has her fall victim to a trap that students tend to face - that of cheating. Not a bad idea, although does this episode execute it well?

Almost.

Steven Universe Review: "Arcade Mania" (Season 1A, Episode 11)

Before anybody asks, the fact that Onion is watching this shows two things - either Onion finds this unusual, or he's looking for another way to win a prize that, as far as I'm concerned, is above his age level... I think.

Airdate: February 17th, 2014

Synopsis: After failing to capture the spinoffs spawned by a Drill Creature in a cave... Garnet declares them to not be a threat, and calls the mission over. The Gems proceed to go to the local arcade, where Garnet trashes two games before getting hooked onto Meat Beat Mania, a rhythm-based games where the player shakes various meat-based products. And by hooked, I mean she ignores the return of the mini-Drill Creatures.

Review (SPOILERS): Steven Universe is a show that thrives on continuity. It's not noticeable in the first half of the season, but the show's world-building provides a lot of foreshadowing to events that will impact the rest of the series. The first half of Steven Universe's first season is genuinely aided by the power of hindsight - either that, or a really sharp eye. Speaking of which, "Arcade Mania", at first glance, one of the show's more "pedestrian episodes", is very much aided by hindsight. However, this doesn't mean that it can't hold up on it's own merits.

Scullyfied Simpsons: "D'oh-in' in the Wind" (Season 10, Episode 6)

Airdate: November 15th, 1998

Synopsis: While tracking down his middle name, Homer comes across a farm run by two former hippies, Seth and Munchie. Upon learning his middle name, and learning more about his rebellious mother and her interactions with said hippies (she painted a mural with Homer's full name), Homer takes an interest in the carefree lifestyle of hippies, and becomes one... not understanding that Seth (Martin Mull) and Munchie (George Carlin) have moderated their practices, even embracing the capitalist aspects of the 90s.

Review (SOME SPOILERS, POSSIBLY FOR OTHER EPISODES): In hindsight, maybe the 60s counterculture was too good to be true. Intended as an anti-establishment movement meant to get humanity more in touch with Earth and the fellow man, as well as generate social reforms, ironically, not only has it become the defining image of the 60s (to the point of cliche), but arguably became absorbed and moderated by the mainstream itself. Not that this was a bad thing, though. However, there is an irony here.

In many regards, The Simpsons was a counterculture in and of itself, or at least represented a counterculture. After the seemingly conservative, politically and socially stolid 80s, where American morals and archetypes were reinforced, came this show that managed to lampoon (if not subvert) every single aspect of Americana. Unfortunately, episodes like "When You Dish Upon A Star" seemed to represent the show becoming mainstream. Here's where the absorption of the counterculture in the mainstream proved to be detrimental - modern Simpsons episodes seem to run on cliche plots and hackneyed dialogue, attempting to be trendy and cool, and just coming off as a pathetic show that needs to be axed. Soon.

Now that that's out of the way, "D'oh-in in the Wind" is, in all honesty, quite an improvement over the aforementioned last episode. (That's not a hard feat, but still.)

Steven Universe Review: "Steven's Lion" (Season 1A, Episode 10)

"Today, Optimum sent a lion to repair my cable. While it didn't improve too much, I did see their Raining Tacos commercial. Four stars. Would recommend." 

Airdate: January 27th, 2014

Synopsis: While looking for a structure-generating Gem in the desert, Steven comes across a magical pink lion. Said lion doesn't eat the kid - rather, the lion follows Steven and the Gems back to the Temple. There, Steven attempts to domesticate said lion like a dog... to less success. However, said lion might have ulterior motives for following Steven to the temple.

Review (SPOILERS): So... Steven gets a pet. Under different circumstances, getting a magical pet would be a sign that your show needs to have a bullet placed in it. However, we're only in the 10th episode, so the conclusion can either be A) fastest shark-jump ever, or 2) quirky world-building. A closer analysis of this episode (ok, even a cursory analysis) would suggest (ok, confirm) that it's the latter.

Steven Universe Scoring System - The Trial Period

Well, Happy New Year, everybody! Hope you had a winter break, and that if you did, it went very smoothly. Mine went pretty well - decompression after what was honestly a rather rough semester. But, I'm back, and hoping to make 2016 a bit more active than 2015.

That shouldn't be too hard - while one show is closing, another one is getting back in gear, and I'm reviewing another show I love. In fact, that last show is the point of this post.

Re-reading my Steven Universe reviews, I feel like using my 1-10 score system for that show has some flaws. As far as I know, under the current system, even the worst Steven Universe episode won't get any lower than a 6 score (and here's hoping that holds.) Now, you could make an argument that it shows just how good Steven Universe is.

Still, I feel like, to accurately measure Steven Universe, I should score it against the standards it has set itself. Therefore, I have come up with a new score system, and I am going to test it out over the next few reviews, see how I like it.

Movie Review: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

"The battle for galactic peace has begun..." (Screencap from Wikipedia, poster by John Alvin.)

Premiere: December 6th, 1991

Synopsis: The moon that provides the Klingon Empire's energy suffers a major disaster, releasing ozone onto the planet. This potentially condemns the empire to a maximum of fifty years, should the planet not reign in it's military expenditures. The Federation is ready to broker a treaty between them and the empire, and sends Captain James T Kirk and the Enterprise out to make a truce. Thing is, Kirk doesn't trust the Klingons - something about them stabbing his son and wrecking his old ship doesn't endear them to him.

Just after a series of awkward talks between the Klingon Ambassadors and the Enterprise (appointed ambassadors), the latter ship fires on the former's ship, killing the Klingon Chancellor. With no knowledge on who did it, Kirk and Dr McCoy stand trial and face life in prison, and the two forces appear on the brink of war.

Review: Well, it took far longer than I expected (again, my apologies), but here we are. The last movie solely based off of Star Trek: The Original Series, and the last film produced during Gene Roddenberry's lifetime (he died a month and a half before the premiere, but got an advance screening two days before he died).

After the utter disaster that was Star Trek V, nobody was sure what to do with Star Trek VI. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that it was the franchise's 25th anniversary, and that TNG had done alright in the ratings so far, Paramount probably would've sunk Star Trek into history. After waffling around as to what the plot would be, the end result is actually a genuinely moving film - an arguably overlooked classic in the Trek canon.

(Warning: spoilers. Proceed at your own peril. Or disappointment. Hey, it's a movie.)

Steven Universe Review: "Tiger Millionaire" (Season 1A, Episode 9)

Still a better ad method than spoiling the results of your competitor's matches.

Airdate: January 20th, 2014

Synopsis: Amethyst messes up a mission by punching the monster of the week, getting gunk all over Steven and earning her Pearl and Garnet's scorn. The night after, Steven manages to track Amethyst down to an old warehouse, where a wrestling league is held. There, she moonlights as the Purple Puma - a ruthless wrestler that's shooting up the ranks. Steven becomes struck by the aura of the whole thing, and becomes her assistant as "Tiger Millionaire" - a ruthless venture capitalist from the jungle.

Review: Full disclosure - I'm not really a professional wrestling fan. Don't hate it, don't really follow it. Most of the info and jokes about wrestling here, I got from brief skims from the TVTropes and Wikipedia pages. All I know is that WWE Smackdown airs on SyFy - by far, the most insane and idiotic programming move that doesn't involve scheduling Dilbert after Shasta McNasty. (Nice job, UPN.)

So, this episode... in an actual sci-fi show. Easily among my favorite episodes from the front end of the first season.

Steven Universe Review: "Serious Steven" (Season 1A, Episode 8)

Who designed this? Who? Who?

Airdate: January 13th, 2014

Synopsis: A massive accident at Funland (the amusement park where Steven and Connie almost got flattened by a roller coaster) weighs heavily on Steven, as two weeks later, they go to the Strawberry Fields, which used to be a battle site for the Gems. Characterized as Steven's first "serious" mission, Steven tries to prove himself worthy to Garnet. This can only end badly, especially when a pyramid that they walk in flips over, thanks to Steven.

Review: Fans who started watching new episodes in Season 2 (y'know, half of the fandom, up to and including myself) might be a bit put off when they first see this episode. You see, we're still in the part of the show where Steven is more like that kid that the Gems happen to have on their backs. With the gems treating this as his "first serious mission", Steven has a hell of a lot of weight on his shoulders.

Most impressively, he's hanging out with Garnet this time. A tall order for the ten-year old, indeed.

Scullyfied Simpsons: "When You Dish Upon a Star" (Season 10, Episode 5)

This is as close to a mockery as Alec Baldwin gets. It's all downhill from here.

Airdate: November 8th, 1998

Synopsis: While parasailing at Lake Springfield, Homer literally crashes into Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin's house. Rather than call the cops or the paramedics, they befriend the idiot. Apparently, the two hang out at the Summer house to try and escape the press. Homer quickly becomes their personal assistant, yet has to check his impulses that could expose them to the media.

Review: While we have seen Homer's character begin to slip over the past season, in my opinion, Season 10 had three key episodes that cemented the change in character from "lovable everyman" to "obnoxious Creators Pet/Jerkass Homer". These include "Homer Simpson in Kidney Trouble" (cementing his callous actions as practically normal), "Viva Ned Flanders" (cementing his omnipotence and role as centerpiece in the town of Springfield), and today's example in how to tarnish the legacy of the most treasured sitcom in American history, "When You Dish Upon a Star". Here, we focus on Homer not only meeting up with celebrities, but also becoming their assistant... despite damaging their house.

And that's just the start of the episode's problems.

Gravity Falls Review: "Weirdmageddon II - Escape From Reality" (Season 2, Episode 19)

It may be better than perfection, but is it better than life?

Airdate: November 23rd, 2015

Synopsis: Dipper, Wendy, and Soos venture into Mabel's bubble prison... the happy land of Mabeland. Pop music fills the air, 80s cartoon characters thrive, lawlessness rules, and waffles guard Mabel's office. Thankfully... waffles guard Mabel's office, so the trio are able to get in. There, Mabel all but bribes Soos and Wendy with their desires, leaving Dipper to try and avoid any sort of temptations brought on by the bubble.

Review (SPOILER-TASTIC): The announcement on the Friday before "Escape From Reality" aired that Gravity Falls was to reach it's denouement after two seasons was, let's face it, not that shocking. There had been speculation from the moment Season 2 was announced that the show wasn't long for this world (DisneyXD's scheduling made it seem longer than it was), and Alex Hirsch's tumblr post this past Friday simply served to put whatever speculation there was to rest. In fact, it's actually a good thing at the end, because we don't get to watch the show rot into a charade of guest stars and recurring "marriage trouble" episodes, nor do we get to see it smash a mirror, screaming "How's Annie" with no word on what the hell is going on.

Kudos to Hirsch.

Anyway, before we go out, we get a second (and last) penultimate episode of the season that delves into the mentality of one of the central characters. Last season, it was Stan. This time, it's Mabel.