Knuckles: Life In The Fast Lane

Summary

Knuckles, voiced by Idris Elba, is back and this time he is patching up father son relationships, or trying to at least.

I was really, really looking forward to this and possibly I went in expecting a bit too much. I thought this was going to be the next chapter in the Sonic universe, I was expecting much more in the way of cameos and maybe even some more games characters being introduced that were more Knuckles centric. Alas we didn’t get that, and maybe I expected too much, this was an incredibly self-contained show and without the opening credits, the villains being vaguely tied to Robotnik, and a brief first episode cameo, you could watch this and not even realise it was related to the wider Sonic universe.

Another odd choice was that the main character of this series isn’t Knuckles, but rather Wade Whipple, Adam Pally. Now there is nothing wrong with Wade he is quite a funny character and you can easily relate to and root for him, but he isn’t the show’s namesake. I expected far more time to learn who Knuckles as a character was, learn more of his back story, maybe through flashbacks to before the Owls attacked, but again no. We don’t learn much more about Knuckles from this show other than he likes grapes. That said I did like Wade’s quest to become a warrior and to defeat his dad, Cary Elwes, who was comically evil.

I also thought the bond between Wade and Knuckles was quite endearing, they genuinely seemed to care about each other, in a sort of human pet way, or maybe even a father and son way.

The humour of the show was good and it was mostly funny, there were a couple of times were they let a joke drag on for too long or repeated an unfunny joke but for the most part it was funny.

A final word I would like to say that no doubt will get me hate, but hey I am not going to stop, is that I liked that this show gave an upfront portrayal of the Jewish Shabat dinner and had a lot of good Jewish representation without reducing the characters to stereotypes or having it be all they are. I think in these politically divided times, I am writing this in May 2024, where antisemitism is on the rise and more and more people seemingly hate Jews, for something that is not their fault, they are not responsible for state policy, it is nice to see positive representation, it shouldn’t be needed to combat all the hate as the hate shouldn’t exist but that is the world we live in.

Overall, a nice, fun self-contained series but one that left me a little disappointed

3.5/5

It is funny

Wade and Knuckles

It provides much needed representation

It sets up new adventures

Cons.

It is not as big in scope as I would have liked it to be

It repeats a few unfunny jokes

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Invincible Season 2 Overview

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Mark picks up the pieces of his life after his dad rearranged this teeth.

I am mixed on this season. On the whole I lean to it being good but it was such a half measure.

I liked that they are finally starting to set up the Mark and Eve stuff, I liked that we got more time with Alen, and I liked seeing the return to Mars and the decimating of the remaining heroes by the Serpent Society. However, outside of that I think that this season missed the mark. It spends far too long try to be deep and emotional and work through its trauma, and whilst the Radiohead and Nick Cave solemn moments in the first few episodes were good I found it got a little self-indulgent by the end. I understand that Mark breaking his no kill rule is a big deal but there is a lot of time in the last episode dedicated to him dealing with it, it feels too much its like cool can we get back to it. They waste time. Nowhere is that truth more self-evident than with Mark and Amber, they spent a lot of time this season with them realising they can’t work out, too much time. Think about all the Spider-Man films you have ever watched how much time has been dedicated to his relationship with MJ or Gwen maybe 5-10 minutes total per film, maybe more in Spider-Man 3, because though it is important to the character it is not what people are here to see. Here we get multiple scenes that go on for far too long and then a drawn out scene of them both having heart to hearts with other people at the same time to make it stretch even more. My point is that it is good to develop your characters emotionally but when it is taking up the same amount of time as them being heroes then you have a problem .

The animation and world building was good, but again it feels like filler. We got the tease of the wider galactic war but didn’t see any of it, you’ll have to wait another 3 years for that. Honestly I was a little disappointed that we didn’t even get Nolan and Alen busting out of prison as a final sting on the last episode. I don’t know what happened if they wanted to stretch the story out more, if they didn’t have time to write further or if it was a rush job, but I left this season disappointed looking forward to the next, and that’s not right it should be I left this season thinking it was epic looking forward to the next.

Overall, a disappointment.

2.5/5

Pros.

Mark and Eve

Alen’s return

Setting things up that will be cool

Cons.

It doesn’t actually progress the story much

It is too emotional and into itself

It wastes time

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Mindy Kaling: The Modern Embodiment Of Hating Your Audience And Then Wanting Them To Watch Your Show

Written by Luke Barnes

This piece will talk about Velma and how the show optimises three key concepts, firstly the idea of the out of touch celebrity, secondly the disrespect of fans, and thirdly the idea of being edgy for the sake of it and then using your gender or race as a shield to hide behind when facing criticism.

Let me lay my cards down on the table for you, I watched the first season of this show I didn’t bother with season two as I knew what to expect and thought I would spare myself for once. I don’t like Mindy Kaling as she is problematic, with the alleged stories of her forcibly kissing someone and writing it off as a joke, as well as her repeated fetishisation of white guys in her various shows. She has also been accused of presenting Indian women as losers who despite being treated badly by white male characters keep going back to them. In many respects she is a bad person. Yet she thinks as a lot of Hollywood celebrities do that they are above you and I, she thinks that through her stupid adult Scooby Doo show watched by a grand total of 5 people that she can tell you how to live your life and that by her messages in the show she is doing something to make the world a better place. How out of touch and into yourself can you be? Moreover, another issue with Kaling and this show is that her Velma character is a self-insert, meaning when a writer doesn’t try and come up with a character of concept but rather puts themselves into the show or film instead. Kaling turns herself into Velma and then plays the character entirely alien to how we have ever seen her before in the franchise. In that frame Kaling’s Velma is a racist, sexist, bully who treats everyone around her like dirt and then uses manipulative tactics in order to force them not to leave her, she is a reciprocal for vitriol.

As with many modern shows they can’t be made without insulting the fans of the IP you are trying to win in order to watch it. Of course anyone that doesn’t like her bastardisation of a beloved franchise rather than be told oh well we’re sorry you don’t like it you can watch the older series or another series if there is another Scooby Doo series airing at the same time, I don’t know if there is, she attacks fans and calls them sexists or racists or bigots, as that is a great way to try and win people over. Anyway the first season was widely hated by the fans and it has only got a second season likely because of a contract agreement for it, it seems that with the fact there has been no publicity at all with this second season it has been sent out to die and rightfully so. Hopefully we get a cancellation notice before too long.

I think at the centre of this whole mess is Kaling, she thought she was important enough to take over a beloved franchise and try and self-insert and to change it fundamentally into something else. That speaks to a level of delusion as surely someone must have told her hey the fans aren’t going to like this, there will be a backlash. I think the issue I have with this is that rather than be like yes we are trying to do something different, yes not everyone will like it but maybe someone will and pressing on, she has to be adversarial from the start and then play the race and gender card to mask her from any criticism. It is perfectly okay for her Velma to be racist, sexist and to treat the rest of the gang like dirt but if you call her out for her own characterisation or writing then you are racist. There is nothing racist about calling someone out for doing a bad job and being a hypocrite. Obviously some people will be racist and take it too far and I condemn them, there is no need to behave like that all it does is give Kaling more ammunition to play the victim and scream bigotry.

God I hope this is the last time I had to talk about this show

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Fallout: Good Actors Locked Underground In A Vault Of Bad Writing

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Lucy, Ella Purnell, emerges from an underground vault to find the world is quite different after a nuclear apocalypse.

For the record I have played several of the Fallout games over the years, so I am very familiar with the franchise. Whilst I wouldn’t consider myself a massive fan I do have some regard for the game series, and so went into this sceptically.

In many senses this is an Amazon series in everything you would think that entails, you have the tokenistic diversity, which could add an interesting lens if it was not just done to tick off a box, the overtly left wing political themes, and of course the quasi feminist stans of the lead with elements of all the modern tropes of both the quirky girl and also the girl boss. It goes without saying that you can have a compelling lead in a TV series that is empowered and a feminist without having to use these tropes see Delores in Nolan’s other show Westworld. No in contemporary Hollywood there are pre-sets for a feminist and empowered woman, and they can only be that and if they aren’t then its sexist. It’s dumb.

It is a shame as Lucy is an interesting character who you do care about and want to go on this journey with, however, her characterisation is just widely off as she flits back and forth between the girl boss trope and the quirky I am so random girl trope as well. In many senses I view this writing as a disservice to Purnell who was great on Yellowjackets, but here she is reduced to acting out tropes. Not too go too off topic but have you noticed that when female directors and writers handle empowered female leads there is much more nuance to them they aren’t tropes, at least not often, and they are allowed to exist as they are. Whereas when its men writing them or directing them no no they can only be girl bosses or quirky I am so random type of girls, not always but most of the time, it is almost as though they are worried if they don’t show women in what they view a correct light they will be called sexist and cancelled. However, by reducing female characters to tropes they are still being sexist without wanting to appear sexist as they don’t take proper time to write them.Apparently a female writer handled some of the episodes but if that is the case then she again is propagating outdated tropes and cliches and limiting her own female lead, perhaps suggesting she has some internal sexism going on.

Anyway moving on, Walton Goggins is also terrific as the rodeo star turned ghoul who has lost his family, you really buy his lack of humanity and how this world has shaped him. As always Goggins does a great job with the material and brings a certain level of gravitas to the role that is sorely needed across the board here. The Brotherhood of Steel guy, Aaron Clifford Moten, is weak and feminised to such a point that at times he seems kind of pathetic, I understand the show wants us to root for him so it has to present him as being someone you root for but this isn’t the way. They try and be like oh what are his motivations what does he want and set up some moral ambiguity there but there really isn’t, it is perfectly clear the character is just self-serving. The key difference between him and Goggin’s character is that Goggin’s character is bad morally as he has been corrupted by the world, however, due to the opening sequence you can still see his humanity and root for him, whereas with Moten’s character there is never a scene that makes you root for or care for the character in anyway.

Finally, if you are a fan of the games then don’t watch this. It is at times wildly out of synch with any of the lore, and it doesn’t care about that which in an off itself is a problem. Many praise this show for caring so much about the games but if it did then it would have stuck to the lore, it has set dressing to pay lip service to the games and to get that praise but where it counts this series doesn’t care about them at all. The general road movie let’s explore the world style plot to the series narrative is fine it goes exactly how you would expect it too and unlike the first season of Westworld there are no real twists, there are a few things that it thinks are twists such as the raiders leader actually being misunderstood, but in contemporary Hollywood you could see those sort of reveals coming from the opening minutes of the series.

Overall, Purnell and Goggin’s try their best to elevate what is otherwise a very hollow adaption of a game series. For season two they need new writers.

1.5/5

Pros.

Purnell

Goggins

Cons.

It is preachy

Maximus is awful

The plot is stupid and obvious

It doesn’t care about the lore

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Spy X Family Season 2: Overview

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A spy, an assassin and a telepath pretend to be a happy family this time with added cruises.

I think this second season is even better than the first, in many senses the series really hits its stride here and gets into what you want to see from it.

The world building on display is solid and we get to find out a lot more about the lives of the characters we met in the first season and though there isn’t as much high stakes action as in the first season I think the character work here is stronger and that makes up for it. Also Yor’s fights on the boat more than match any of the action scenes we got in the first season.

The family boat trip is easily the best part of the entire second season, not only do the a and b storylines work really well together, it feels like an epic event as it spills out over so many episodes, and the final of the mini arc where they get to enjoy a nice family day out at the island is one of the most wholesome things I have seen on tv in a long time.

Overall, a fantastic follow up season with my only real complaint being that it is a lot shorter but hey at least we are getting a film fairly soon.

4.5/5

Pros

It is wholesome

It ups everything that worked from the first season

It has great action

The boat mini arc is my favourite so far

It is a lot of fun

Cons.

It is too short

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Spy X Family: Season One Overview

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A spy, an assassin and a telepath pretend to be a happy family.

This is one of the best animes I have watched in a while, and easily replaced some of my favourite animes in my all-time ranking. I would put it up there with Way of the Househusband, and Demon Slayer for sure.

I think what works so well about the first season of Spy X Family is how wholesome and sweet it is, but rather than have it be so soft that there are no stakes and nothing to care about and move the story forward, you have the action and the comedy elements as well which provide for a nice contrast. I think the three areas mesh well together as the healing aspects, action and comedy work together to create a well rounded package that does have something for everyone.

My one criticism of the first season would be that some of the B stories drag. Often you get an episode with an A and B story that both work well together and that provides the contrast I was talking about earlier, but sometimes you just get a random tacked on feeling B story that doesn’t add much and just feels like a way to pad out an episode which can then hamper even the most well done A plot.

Overall, a delightful time and an anime that I would say truly for everyone.

4/5

Pros.

The wholesomeness

The action

The comedy

The character work

Cons.

Some weak B-Plots

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Flying Witch: Anime Overview

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A new witch moves to town and gets lost frequently along the way.

I discovered this series as I was looking for a replacement after Way Of The Househusband and this fulfilled the same sort of wholesome and at times comedic sensibility. I would argue it is far more wholesome than comedic and more often than not it is just a good show to watch if you are feeling down as the relentless positivity will make you feel better.

I liked most of the characters though I would say the lead herself is quite bland. I think blandness on the whole is an issue for this show as though it is very wholesome and that is nice the problem arises from the fact that there are no real stakes or drama or threat of any kind and that doesn’t lead to the most interesting of stories.

However, something this series does well is its worldbuilding which feel unique and special in a way I have not seen from other animes. There is such a sense of wonder here as the supernatural crosses over with the regular that it is a shame the show didn’t get picked up for more seasons as there is far more exploring to be done in this world, ah well that’s what the manga is for.

Overall, wholesome and inoffensive but lacking enough punch to keep you engaged.

3/5

Pros.

It is wholesome and sweet

The wider cast of characters are quite entertaining

The worldbuilding is well done

Cons.

The lead is bland

There are no real stakes and that makes caring about things hard

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Echo Series Overview: Who Cares

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Echo, Alaqua Cox, has an origin story before the Fantastic Four and the X-Men.

I am a big comics fan, and I like some other people knew of Echo long before she appeared in Hawkeye, I had remembered her from the pages of a Daredevil comic I had long since read. Within said comic she was a side character, important to the plot sure but a bit player overall, it was Daredevil’s book. Then you get around to Hawkeye a show that didn’t really need to exist, but that aside the clear breakout character of that show is Kate Bishop, Hailee Steinfeld, she should have been the one to get a spin off. In both of these cases Echo was a side character, no one at the end of that series said I wanted more Echo, no one, but hey Disney pushed ahead with a Disney + series. Was it because it was good optics for Marvel studios to be like we are so progressive look at how inclusive our projects are we are up lifting this disabled minority character and giving her a platform aren’t we magnificent, I’ll let you decide.

Anyway they dropped the series all at once because they had a lot of faith in it, not, Disney claim it broke records but then they always say that don’t they. Anyway, the series as it was had moments of interest, I liked seeing a superhero story take place outside of New York and I like the Native American Mythology that was woven into the series, both of these things helped to give the series some flavour.

However, I think the single biggest problem with this series is the lead, Cox cannot act and is not a believable action hero either. Whether she is hearing a touching personal speech about how loved she is, or being punched in the face she has the same look of being irritated throughout. I don’t know if this was poor direction or instruction for her but the character she looked angry all the time even when she wasn’t supposed to be it was jarring to say the least. Moreover, I just don’t believe her as an action hero taking down guys three times her size, it pushes the boundaries of believability to such a point that it is laughable.

Again the violence wants to be shocking but it just isn’t, it is still tame and boring and if this is what r rated Marvel looks like then its just more of the same we have already grown to hate. In the comics you get blood it feels real, here it just feels like watching a soap opera.

Overall, if I was Disney I would stop all these Disney + shows they are really truly hurting the brand, do you think Agatha later in the year will get people to care about the MCU again, let me tell you it won’t.

1.5/5

Pros.

It is only 5 episodes

It has a unique flavour

Cons.

Cox cannot act

The series didn’t need to exist

It is dull

It adds nothing to the MCU

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Loki Season Two Overview

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Loki, Tom Hiddleston, is back as the multiverse’s repair man.

This was much better than the slog that was Secret Invasion but even so I am left questioning is this what we have come to? What I mean by that is that this is fine, but can’t we hope for better?

I think the last few months has seen Marvel and Disney realise that they need to make less and better shows and films, because cranking them out just because you can is not getting audiences to care. I liked the first season of this show, but did I think it needed a season two no. Again they try and do some stuff with Kang, Jonathan Majors, which now seems doomed to be scrapped, and make Loki some sort of multiversal God but is any of it needed does any of it fill you with the same excitement as when you watched the first Avengers film, no. Maybe I am burnt out perhaps that is it, but for me all of this recent Disney + Marvel stuff has been like did we really need that.

I think that instead of being a mark of quality Marvel shows on Disney + are just fine and filler until the next big film which you actually care about, a drastic overhaul is needed.

Overall, whilst season two has a few good moments I think that it is diminishing returns and I think the show as a whole cannot reach the same entertaining hights it did in the first season, they should stop putting Marvel shows on Disney + as the watering down of the brand is clear to see.

2.5/5

Pros.

Owen Wilson

It has a few good moments

It can be entertaining when it wants to be

Cons.

It is filler

It doesn’t need to exist

A lot of it is for the cutting room floor

Sylve is incredibly irritating and doesn’t stop shouting at Loki for the whole season

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Demon Slayer: Swordsmith Village Arc

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The Demon Slayer gang head for the Swordsmith Village to rest and repair following the battle in the Entertainment District.

I think that in some ways this is a step up from the Entertainment District Arc and in other ways a step back or a continuation. I liked the story more here I thought it had a lot of good moments such as Nezuko being able to move in the sun, and the introduction of the love Hashira Mitsuri Kanroji who is a scene stealer. Moreover, I thought the threat of the demons themselves were felt more accurately here as the scale of their attack felt larger, in the last arc it was an entire district sure, but here it is the whole village doing battle against the demon attacks which makes the scope feel more epic.

However, I didn’t like that again their was more filler, you could argue that what I call filler is actually backstory for the characters and what not, but I would say a lot of it is largely needless and doesn’t inform much of how we see the characters going forward. It just feels like they don’t want to get on with the main storyline quick enough so they have to pad it out in order to meet the episode count. I also thought the other new Hashira was quite dull and the arc spent a lot of time trying to give him more of a personality but even then you still didn’t like him, one could argue that it is a poor story telling decision to centre so much of your season around an aloof character and expect audiences to them like them or not want to skip through it.

Overall, though it had some cheer worthy moments this is another step backwards and if the filler issue doesn’t get addressed one could foresee that the next arc will be an even further slip in quality.

3/5

Pros.

Some cheer worthy moments

The scale of the final battle

The love Hashira

Cons.

The other Hashira

Far too much filler

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