Category Archives: TV Show Reviews

TV Show Reviews

Legends Of Tomorrow (Season 4 Premiere – “The Virgin Gary”)

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CW

Premiere Episode Air Date: October 22nd 2018

Reviewed by: Joshua Andre

Legends Of Tomorrow (Season 4 Premiere- “The Virgin Gary”)

Starring: Brandon Routh, Caity Lotz, Tala Ashe, Jes Macallan, Amy Pemberton, Nick Zano, Dominic Purcell, Matt Ryan, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Courtney Ford, Ramona Young, Thomas F. Wilson, Adam Tsekhman

When you’ve helped the world defeat a time demon, surely- you’re due for a rest, right? I mean, you’ve run around history trying to fix time periods and ensure that anachronisms don’t become bigger, all the while trying to locate all of the 6 totems to defeat Rip Hunter’s nemesis, so after all of that is all said and done, you must be exhausted, right? Aruba here we come, right? A relaxing holiday with nothing to do but sunbake and chill for the foreseeable future? Not quite.

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TV Show Reviews

Legends Of Tomorrow (Seasons 1-3)

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CW

Season Air Date:

  • Season 1: January 21st 2016 – May 19th 2016
  • Season 2: October 13th 2016 – April 4th 2017
  • Season 3: October 10th 2017 – April 9th 2018

Reviewed by: Joshua Andre

Legends Of Tomorrow (Season 1-3)

Starring: Caity Lotz, Brandon Routh, Dominic Purcell, Wentworth Miller, Nick Zano, Tala Ashe, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Neal McDonough, John Barrowman, Victor Garber, Franz Drameh, Keiynan Lonsdale, Arthur Darvill, Amy Pemberton, Matt Ryan, Jes Macallan, Courtney Ford, Tracy Ifeachor

If you’re a murderer or a liar or a cheater, or even if you are prideful, lustful, egocentric, narcissistic or even the littlest bit envious; then that is it for you…right? What you are is what you are for eternity, and there is no room for error, no margin for alteration, nothing in the world that can make you, or persuade you to change your behaviour, or change the reason for your behaviour. But is that really the case? Can a person who has made bad choices really change for the better? Can they be a hero to others and inspire, even when they still struggle with their demons and their better judgement? If I were to tell you that everything that I just mentioned above was wrapped up and presented to us in the form of a superhero show, what would you say? Would you laugh and think I was crazy? Probably. But that exactly is what has come to light, with the seemingly frivolous Legends Of Tomorrow being one of my favourite shows of late- a superhero show with tons of action, and a lot of issues being touched upon, including the notion of people changing for the better.

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TV Show Reviews

Supergirl (Season 4 Premiere – “American Alien”)

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CW

Premiere Episode Air Date: October 14th 2018

Reviewed by: Joshua Andre

Supergirl (Season 4 Premiere- “American Alien”)

Starring: Melissa Benoist, Chyler Leigh, Mehcad Brooks, Jesse Rath, Katie McGrath, Nicole Maines, Sam Witwer, April Parker Jones, David Harewood

After reading the recap of Season 1-3 of Supergirl that I recently posted, and from each of the 65 episodes, would you blame Kara Danvers if she felt a bit weary and out of sorts? After all, she’s been betrayed by her aunt and uncle, lost said aunt (because Alex killed her!), lost Mon-El twice (once to time travel, and twice to time travel as well- this time more permanent!), lost her friend Winn (a conscious decision to travel to the future!), and is currently walking on thin ice with her friend Lena Luthor (whom distrusts Supergirl more and more, and is still none the wiser to Kara and the Super being one and the same!). She hasn’t been backed up by Superman in any of her fights, and her last nemesis actually turned out to be a friend with a split personality, who left with her daughter for a fresh start. Does that sum up all of where Kara is at in the beginning of Season 4? Come join me for a bit as I discuss my initial thoughts of the season.

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TV Show Reviews

Supergirl (Seasons 1-3)

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CW

Season Air Date:

  • Season 1: October 26th 2015 – April 18th 2016
  • Season 2: October 10th 2016 – May 22nd 2017
  • Season 3: October 9th 2017 – June 18th 2018

Reviewed by: Joshua Andre

Supergirl (Season 1-3)

Starring: Melissa Benoist, Chyler Leigh, Mehcad Brooks, Jeremy Jordan, Katie McGrath, Chris Wood, Floriana Lima, Odette Annable, David Harewood, Calista Flockhart

When you were younger, what was your preferred occupation? Was it a farmer, an actor, a musician, a fireman, a policeman, an astronaut, a writer, a chef, a biophysicist? Or was it something more outlandish, like being King or the President? What if you found yourself as a superhero, fighting alien life form and protecting the city, the country and the world from anything that could cause it harm? Well if you want to see how that look like, look no further than Supergirl– just started its fourth season, and one of the many superhero TV shows in the DC Arrowverse on the CW. While I plan to later review the 4th season premiere episode (before episode 2 airs tomorrow!), let me first quickly recap seasons 1-3, so that those of you who aren’t caught up with the series, and those of you who would like to, know what’s going on (and I’ll try not to post many spoilers, but it has been a few years since the show started, so I’m sure most of you already know the things I’m talking about!)

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TV Show Reviews

Carter (Season 1)

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Bravo/WGN America

Season 1 Air Date: May 15th – July 17th 2018 (Bravo); August 7th – October 9th 2018 (WGN America)

Reviewed by: Joshua Andre

Carter (Season 1)

Starring: Jerry O’Connell, Sydney Tamiia Poiter, Varun Saranga, Matt Baram, Kristian Bruun, Brenda Kamino, Joanne Boland, John Bourgeois, Denis Akiyama

Hands up if you can name all of the genres of every TV show there ever was, and be completely right? As in, say every single genre there ever was in terms of TV shows…nope, me neither. But you have to agree there are a lot of them. Lawyer shows (Suits, The Good Wife, Bull, The Good Fight, For The People, Law And Order, Damages, Boston Legal, The Practice, The Guardian, The Grinder, Ally McBeal, Fairly Legal, Rake), medical shows (Grey’s Anatomy, The Good Doctor, The Resident, House, The Night Shift, Doc Martin, ER, Private Practice, Hart Of Dixie, Royal Pains, Body Of Proof), superhero shows (Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends Of Tomorrow, Smallville, Agents Of Shield, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, The Gifted, Heroes, Black Lightning, Cloak And Dagger), teen dramas (One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl, 90210, Veronica Mars, Pretty Little Liars, The Vampire Diaries, Riverdale, 13 Reasons Why, Teen Wolf, Glee, Roswell, Dawson’s Creek) and family dramas (Parenthood, Packed To The Rafters, Brothers And Sisters, This Is Us, The Fosters, Switched At Birth, Gilmore Girls, Fuller House, 7th Heaven, Touched By An Angel) are probably the most common scripted shows on TV right now- yet there is one genre above all, I reckon, that will continue to keep going, even if all the others fail and collapse.

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TV Show Reviews

God Friended Me (Pilot)

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CBS

Series Premiere Date: September 30th 2018

Reviewed by: Jonathan Andre

God Friended Me (Pilot)

Starring: Brandon Micheal Hall, Violett Beane, Javicia Leslie, Suraj Sharma, Joe Morton

If you were to pick one new TV show this 2018/19 season that has the most applicable nature and is the most relevant to today’s technologically driven interconnected society at the moment, I’d say it has to be God Friended Me. Sure you have Manifest that delves into the ‘what if people returning on a flight land at their destination 5 years into the future and adjust to life and all the changes within the time frame’, or A Million Little Things, that touch on the notions and ideas of what it really means to have great friendships and how well we really know each other, when a character in the show, the most well-to-do one, kills himself without warning (and everyone else is left to pick up the pieces); but when everything is said and done, God Friended Me is perhaps the one that’ll have a lot of people talking. A story about religion? Check. Technology? Check.

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TV Show Reviews

A Million Little Things (Pilot)

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ABC

Series Premiere Date: September 26th 2018

Reviewed by: Jonathan Andre

A Million Little Things (Pilot)

Starring: James Roday, Allison Miller, Romany Malco, David Giuntoli, Christina Moses, Christina Ochoa, Grace Park, Stephanie Szostak, Ron Livingston

‘…A few years ago I was working on a gig — the first of my career, and it was not a great fit, so I would take these walks at lunch just to try and psych myself up for the afternoon. On one of these lunchtime walks, I ran into a buddy of mine, and we both lit up: “Hey dude, this is great, we should have lunch!” It wasn’t an L.A. thing, we both really meant it. He said, “I’m really busy this week, but how about next week?” I said, “Yes, we’re doing it!” And then he killed himself. It was shocking. We weren’t as close as the guys in the show are, but his death had such an impact on me, because our lives were so similar on paper, and I just couldn’t understand how our endings were so different. I remember being at the funeral, thinking about JFK Jr. on the airplane and how he’d lost sight of the horizon — that speech, which Maggie (Miller) gives in the middle of our pilot, wasn’t actually written for our show. I wrote it a few years ago, just to try and understand how I had lost my friend. Those couple of years after his death were so formative for me, and I thought it was an interesting idea for a show: a group of friends whose lives are forever changed after the friend whose life is the most together, on paper, takes his own life. To me, the show is really about Rome, who almost did something, almost took his life, and instead reaches out for help and makes a change…’ This above quote is not only the basic premise of the new network ABC fall drama, A Million Little Things, but also the story of what really happened to one of creator DJ Nash’s friends not too long ago- which has since become the basis and inspiration behind this new TV drama, that seemingly has many ties, both in a thematic and inspirational sense, to the NBC hit show, This is Us. A Million Little Things, which debuted on Wednesday to basically low ratings, is a story of a group of four friends, who unlikely meet up for the first time in an elevator of all places. Over ten years, through their shared love of ice hockey, have bonded together, some friends beating cancer, others getting married and having kids, while indeed others even becoming sober. Through it all, these friends have stuck together, when out of the blue, the friend that is seemingly the most successful, decides to kill himself. The show starts with this finite act, and the aftermath the suicide has, not only on his immediate family, but also on his friends and other people he knew, as well. The show is titled A Million Little Things, for a purpose, a reference to a line in the pilot that states that friendship is a million little things, the things that seemingly are the small things we do for people, that have the most impact in the end.

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TV Show Reviews

Manifest (Pilot)

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NBC

Series Premiere Date: September 24th 2018

Reviewed by: Jonathan Andre

Manifest (Pilot)

Starring: Josh Dallas, Melissa Roxburgh, Athena Karkanis, J.R. Ramirez, Luna Blaise, Jack Messina, Parveen Kaur

‘…I’ve tried to lean a little more heavily into the underlying themes I think are kind of relevant to the world right now. The show is ultimately about the possibility of redemption. The possibility of a second chance, being able to explore inside of ourselves and figure out: “What would I change about myself, if I had the opportunity to do that?” And, also, hopefulness about the idea that maybe there’s something bigger than all of us. When so many people are on all sides of the political spectrum and are feeling a great sense of frustration about our lives in big and small ways, that maybe there is something bigger out there guiding us, that will allow us to be a better version of ourselves. I’m hopeful it’ll connect with a lot of people…’ With this above quote by NBC’s Manifest creator Jeff Rake, taken from an interview with The Hollywood Reporter not too long ago, Manifest is indeed shown to us as, I reckon, one of this season’s most anticipated new shows, from any broadcast network, and at any time (inclusive of mid-season shows as well). With the pilot episode now having debuted a few nights ago to critical and commercial acclaim that translated into a big break in ratings; we are left to wonder whether such a show like this, a heavy serialised one at that, can survive in this particular global political climate. Manifest shows us a lot about the human condition, and brings issues of hope, redemption, do-overs and second chances, all to the fore, as this drama, with actors Josh Dallas and Melissa Roxburgh, is arguably one of my favourite new pilots I’ve watched in years, ever since Legends of Tomorrow in the beginning of 2016.

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TV Show Reviews

Take Two (Season 1)

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ABC

Season 1 Air Date: June 21st – September 13th 2018

Reviewed by: Joshua Andre

Take Two (Season 1)

Starring: Rachel Bilson, Eddie Cibrian, Xavier de Guzman, Aliyah O’Brien, Alice Lee, Jordan Gavaris

Oh Andrew Marlowe, what have you done? You’ve gone and created a Castle clone, and expected the show to just do well, on the basis that Castle did. You’ve gone ahead and filled up Take Two with Castle-like similarities and minimal characterisation, and you’ve also decided to air Take Two in the summer.

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Articles, Features, TV Show Reviews

Message Mondays: What “ONCE UPON A TIME” Has Taught Me Over The Past Few Years!

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ABC

Season Air Date:

  • Season 1: October 23rd 2011 – May 13th 2012
  • Season 2: September 30th 2012 – May 12th 2013
  • Season 3: September 29th 2013 – May 11th 2014
  • Season 4: September 28th 2014 – May 10th 2015
  • Season 5: September 27th 2015 – May 15th 2016
  • Season 6: September 25th 2016 – May 14th 2017
  • Season 7: October 6th 2017 – May 18th 2018

Reviewed by: Joshua Andre

Once Upon A Time (Season 1-7)

Starring: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Lana Parilla, Josh Dallas, Colin O’Donoghue, Jared S. Gilmore, Lee Arenberg, Emilie De Ravin, Robert Carlyle, Sean Maguire, Michael Raymond-James, Rebecca Mader, Andrew J West, Dania Ramirez, Alison Fernandez, Meghan Ory, Eion Bailey, Raphael Sbarge

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