Monsters of Television

“If I had real eyes, I would cry right now.“

So that’s that, the final episode of Sym-Bionic Titan. While the episode description that circulated was about Lance and Illana (somehow) returning to Galaluna and facing off against Modula, the episode served to tie up the plot threads from the past two episodes as the show finished what would’ve been its first season, not its only season. I ended up not reviewing the previous two episodes due to time and health issues, but it’s probably best to address them both here in relation to the finale, since all three are really a set of episodes that should, ideally, be watched together.

Seen in that way, as one chain of episodes as opposed to three individual episodes, the final run of Titan is actually fairly strong, even if “A New Beginning” isn’t too much of a finale and isn’t very aptly named as the episode returned the series to its status quo.

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Big damn hero shot. And it looks oh so good.

I’ve been struggling with Sym-Bionic Titan since the second half of its season started (are we saying season 2? I have no idea any more). “The Ballard of Scary Mary” and “The Demon Within” were rough episodes (to say the least) while “I Am Octus” was a great meditation what it means to be human. And while I didn’t review it, “Disenfranchised” just kind of okay. I’ve not been totally blown away by these episodes like I was for much of the first run of episodes.

These two episodes, “Escape from Galaluna” and “Under the Three Moons”, probably encapsulate the good and the not-so-good (but not horrible) that the show offers up, seemingly on an alternating basis. But there other challenges the show faces as it moves into the last few episodes of its run apart from its quality from episode to episode. Read more »

“I didn’t know we had that.”

Good times. For a change.

Your regularly scheduled reviewer for Sym-Bionic Titan will be played by Nick today. I’ve never seen the show before but I’m kind of glad this is the one that I’ve come in on. You’ll have to excuse me if I’m ignorant to history but hopefully I make up for it in charm and wit. And handsomeness. Which you can’t see. Just go with me on the last one.

Why I’m glad “Disenfranchised” is my first episode is because it feels like (and please, correct me if I’m wrong) it has all the elements of the show without much in the way of story progression. It’s a filler episode. And hilarious even though there’s NO WAY some of the jokes are meant for children (some of its demographic wasn’t even born during Budweiser’s What’s Up days).

In this very special episode, however, Lance discovers New Wave, or the modern incarnation of it, Shoegaze Emo, and gets a very valuable lesson in indie cred. Also, there’s an alien they slice like a sausage.

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“Oh, sure, send the robot.“

Oh, Modernism. Is there no one you can't suck in?

I’m a week late on this due to computer issues, but that seems only fitting somehow. And with no new episode this week, I don’t feel too bad reviewing this later than I normally would.

“I Am Octus” is one of the show’s stronger episodes, and probably one of my favorites the show has done so far. But then I love existential episodes wherein machines attempt to figure out what it means to be a machine in a world of humans, and whether they have emotions or projecting those emotions because they perceive they should to be accepted. Read more »

“Sometimes I come out here with my astronomy class and have starbecues.“

I am a bad fan of this show.  Not only did I know know when season 2 was starting, but I was also unaware that it had changed days. Shameful, I know.

So Titan comes back from hiatus with a good episode, one that expands its show’s universe a bit, something I’ve been waiting for the show to do. Earlier episodes had made gestures to this, with varying degrees of success, but with the range of characters we get to see in the episode, plus a nice flashback for the school’s history, I feel like “The Ballad of Scary Mary” is a good step in helping create a more fully realized world.

Now if only Kimmy weren’t drawn in such a problematic way, I’d be pretty happy. Read more »

“We’re not done yet.”

Among some of the folks I follow on Twitter, noticeably Daniel Walters and Justin Fowler,  there’s been discussion of how much impact a season finale can have on a particular season and our reception of it. Debate centered around whether or not a bad finale could hamper an otherwise strong season, or if a great finale helps elevate a murky season (see: Lost, season 3 (though it was getting progressively better before the finale, but that finale is amazing)). Likewise, a bad finale can only make a bad season seem all that worse (see: Battlestar Galactica, season 4 (at least in my opinion)).

The other central point that people discussed was the over-emphasis placed on the finale as an end-all be-all determiner of quality of a season. This is a silly mentality to take, of course. A season finale can’t wipe out all the good that has come before it (nor can a series finale for that matter (well, maybe)), and it shouldn’t be thought of as doing so.

Which is exactly the mentality I have about “The Fortress of Deception”: it may’ve been action-packed, but it wasn’t at all what the season had been leading up to recently. Read more »

“Parallelogram!“

I had a very brief conversation to find out the song used at the end of tonight’s episode (another musical coup for the show this week, and I’ll address it in a little bit), and the responder to my query said it was his favorite episode so far. I don’t think he’s far off base saying that. I’m still very partial to “Shaman of Fear” and “Shadows of Youth”, but I think “Lessons in Love” is a remarkably strong “stand alone” episode, if I can use that term (and I’ll justify its use, too).

I will say this though: “Lessons in Love” proves you should be watching Sym-Bionic Titan if you’re not already. Read more »

“It loves the little squshy mushies!“

I do not have a great deal to say about “Tashy 497” because there isn’t a lot to say about it. Which isn’t to say it’s a bad episode, because it’s not. It’s just kind of there, in the episode list, kicking back, taking it easy.

I think my my trouble is that the episode is just so beige that it’s kind of hard to form a really solid opinion about the episode, which is a little frustrating after the great run the show has on recently. But “Tashy 497” still has some entertaining aspects to it, which prevents the episode from being a complete waste. Read more »

“But you, you with that big beautiful brain, you saved me.”

“He’ll be back. He always comes back.”

So I missed out on “Showdown at Sherman High” because of the Rally For Sanity and/or Fear last weekend. I have since corrected that, so you get a double review tonight with “Shadows of Youth.”

I enjoyed both episodes thoroughly.  I feel like the show has finally settled on a very consistent tone, one that’s a bit more in line with its narrative. Earlier episodes were a little too bright, a little too young-skewing. This slowly faded away, and by “Shaman of Fear,” I thought the show had figured itself out pretty well. With these two episodes, I’m very sure of it. Read more »

“All of this is false.”

I am a sucker for dream episodes. I can’t tell you why because I have no idea. Some of it, I’m sure, it stems from the fact that it offers character insight through vague symbolism that then allows the audience to try and puts things to go, or it simply crystallizes character motivations or anxieties. And, since it’s a dream, it allows the show to go a little crazy without it feeling like tonal whiplash.

Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed “Shaman of Fear.” After last’s week high octane episode (Get it? It was about cars, remember? Octane. Cars. Yeah.), this episode takes it nice and slow while still telling a fairly taunt story with creepy imagery and character backstory. Even the battle at the end is one of the show’s best so far. Read more »