Futureman TV Series Review Seasons 1-3

As we discussed on our recent Podcast of things to watch during the lockdown of 2020 - Future Man Hulu was one of the suggestions.   Future Man is a Time Travel comedy that can best be described as The Last Starfighter meets Hot Tub Time Machine.  Season one was great.   A couple of time travelers from a miserable future land in the year 2017 to find the "savior". An average guy that was the only person in the world to beat their recruitment video game.  Of course, he isn’t what they expected instead he is just a video game playing janitor.    They join up with him anyway to try and fix the future by changing the past.   Time Travel fans know how good that usually works out and this show takes us on a fun journey through time.

The highlights from Season 1 include some great stuff in the 1980’s that includes one of the Time Travel warriors becoming a Corey Hart fan and getting involved in an impromptu shirtless Volleyball game a la TOP GUN.     My favorite episode of Season 1 includes this same character Wolf opening an underground sewer restaurant where he kidnaps famous people for a culinary experience of a lifetime. There is also a great scene where the main character accidentally cock blocks his dad and takes the Back to the Future mom scene a step to far.  The first season has some really funny stuff and plays around with fun Time Travel homages.

Season 2 for me was a little bit disappointing as the show gets bogged down in a dystopian future that was a little less compelling then going back in time.  The show picks back up again near the end of the season with some really good stuff and the end of season 2 sets up perfectly for a great third season.

Season 3 picks up in far future with our characters prisoners and a part of a Running Man style game show.  A hilarious start to an interesting season.   I loved some of the concepts in this season like the place they find called HAVEN.  A place where time stands still.   All in all it was a good show and a fun and easy binge-watch.  Of course, I’m a big-time travel fan.

 The finale of season 3 was a satisfying series finale.  Of course, this is a time travel show –so they could always find a way to continue on.

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Altered Carbon Season 2 2020 (Netflix Series)

I was excited to find out that Anthony Mackie would be headlining season 2 of Altered Carbon.  It is odd when a show comes back for season 2 with a new lead actor – but in the case of this show where characters come back in different bodies or “Sleeves” it makes sense.  His performance in the show was great,  unfortunately the story in season 2 just felt uninspired. 

Season 1 dropped us into a Blade Runner type future with some people living for generations in new bodies and had some interesting themes.  The plot of season 2 just didn’t seem fresh or new in anyway.  There were some cool scenes –but as a whole the whole season just feel flat for me.   I  finished the season – but this was a perfect example of a show that if it was a weekly show I may not have stayed with it.  As a short binge watch dumped all at once I worked my way through it quickly.

One of the problems I’ve noticed about several Netflix shows is that you binge them and then generally forget about them.  The gap between season 1 of Altered Carbon and season 2 was so long that season 1 pretty much is wiped from your mind by the time season 2 comes out.  Even shows that you really like become disposable in a way- because the dump the season and binge watch it model.   I’m finding that I enjoy shows like the Mandalorian and Clone Wars much better than Netflix shows.  A part of the that is that they are Star Wars and a part of that is that you get to let the episodes sink in and get excited again for the next week.  That is badly missing from NETFLIX shows that dump all at once.  With shows like Altered Carbon it is binge it and completely forget about it.   I don’t think I would have made it through season 2 of LOST in Space if it was a weekly series, so maybe NETFLIX Is getting me to watch shows I wouldn’t normally watch with this dump the season model.

What We Do in the Shadows: The TV Series

What We Do in the Shadows Season 2 has begun on Hulu/FX and so far it is just as great as season 1.  If you aren't familiar with this show it is based on the film by the same name from 2014.   

 ( Note to self I need to watch this film as quickly as possible) 

The series was created by Jermaine Clement (of Flight of the Conchords fame) and Taika Waititti  (Thor Ragnarok and The Mandalorian).  The series features a documentary crew that follows around a household of out of touch vampires.   The show is brilliantly written.  One of my favorite characters is an energy vampire that basically sucks the energy out of people by boring them to death.   A highlight in season 2 so far is episode 3 when they get invited to their neighbors Super Bowl party and mistake it for a Superb Owl Party.

I'm absolutely in love with the humor in the show.  If you like Flight of the Conchords style humor this show will be right up your alley.   

Here is a trailer for the show.

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Angie Tribecca Season 1 on Hulu (Good Lockdown Binge Watch)

I was looking for an easy binge-watch on Hulu and stumbled across Angie Tribecca.   Created by Steve Carell and his wife Nancy of The Office fame,  Angie Tribecca stars Rashida Jones also of The Office and Parks and Recreation fame.

Everything in the world is so serious and scary right now as we shelter at home to deal with this virus situation.   So Angie Tribecca was a perfect little diversion.  If you need something silly and stupid to make you laugh this is a great easy binge-watch.  4 seasons of 10 half-hour episodes Angie Tribecca is a TV show that is a throwback to the once popular genre of Airplane style spoofs.  

To be completely honest it is basically a reboot of the short-lived Police Squad tv show that spawned the Naked Gun movies and a bunch of Airplane style films.   The best films in this genre were Airplane and Naked Gun,  many lesser rip-offs pretty much killed the genre off as a viable film genre.   The spirit of that original Police Squad show is alive and well in this Police spoof.   Season 1 was a fun quick watch that may serve as a good diversion from what is happening right now in the real world.   If you like this show --search out the original Police Squad as well.

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http://www.superfantasticterrific.com/

For the Love of Scooby Doo: (Part 8) ScoobyNatural 2018

One of the reasons I decided to dive down the rabbit hole for the series Supernatural is because I heard they did a cross-over episode with Scooby-Doo.    Diving into a show that is filming it's 15th and final season is quite an undertaking and after watching season 1.   I put off continuing it before my wife got hooked so we could watch Veronica Mars another crime-solving mystery show.  Apparently, a good decision as we were able to binge Veronic Mars before my wife got hopelessly hooked on Supernatural.  Now we are in for the long haul.

Well currently we are about 2 episodes away from the end of Season 5 of Supernatural and I decided I couldn't wait until we naturally got to season 13 to treat myself with the reason the show originally came to my attention.  I really enjoy Supernatural, but have some criticisms of the show after 5 seasons.   What I love about the show the most are the episodes where they get a little funny, weird and silly.   Now 5 seasons into the show and the characters it was a perfect time to watch the Winchester brothers get magically zapped into the middle of a Scooby-Doo episode from season 13.

It was a perfect cross-over episode.  The Winchester brothers that hunt real ghosts, monsters, and demons thrust into an episode of Scooby-Doo.  The integration of the two shows worked wonderfully.  Dean, of course, tries to hit on Daphne with no success and Velma falls for Sam.   The scene where Dean --who is always eating burgers gets a chance to eat one of the oversized sandwiches in the cartoon was classic.   The episode had everything you want in a classic Scooby-Doo episode and seamlessly weaved the Supernatural characters into the story.  The mystery takes a tangent from how Dean remembered the cartoon as other characters actually start to die and there becomes an urgency to protect the Scooby gang and keep them safe.   

Being a fan of both Supernatural and an Ultra fan of Scooby-Doo makes this one of my favorite episodes on Supernatural so far.

SUPER FANTASTIC TERRIFIC SHOW #42 – WHAT TO WATCH IN A GLOBAL PANDEMIC

In our latest podcast, we give some suggestions on what to watch right now since everyone is stuck at home.  The coronavirus is running rampant across the world. Everybody is home. Streaming entertainment is at an all-time high.  So what are we watching during this global pandemic?

Click the link for our latest show.

http://www.superfantasticterrific.com/super-fantastic-terrific-show-42-what-to-watch-in-a-global-pandemic/

The Private Eyes 1980 7+ out of 10 (Murder Mystery)

The Private Eyes 1980   7+ out of 10

I recently revisited The Apple Dumpling Gang and The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again on Disney+ and reviewed them over on my Disney blog  The Mouse Minute.  This venture sent me down a Don Knotts / Tim Conway rabbit hole that lead me to this film which for some reason I had overlooked all these years. 

The Private Eyes is a murder mystery detective spoof starring Don Knotts and Tim Conway as rather bad detectives.   Basically, think of the classic A Shot in the Dark, but instead of Peter Sellers you get the comedy duo of Tim Conway and Don Knotts trying to solve a murder mystery in a mansion that includes hidden passages and possibly a ghost.  All of the employees in the mansion are possible suspects of course including the hunchback.

This was a fun murder mystery comedy.  Tim Conway and Don Knotts work so well together as bumbling incompetent detectives.  The movie has the feel of The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (a Don Knotts Haunted house movie)  meets Abbott and Costello.  The film has some really good physical comedy and thrives on the chemistry these two actors have together.  If you are a fan of films like the Pink Panther series and the movie Clue you will definitely enjoy this murder mystery spoof as well.  Check out the trailer for the film below.

For my thoughts on the Apple Dumpling Gang films go here

https://themouseminute.wordpress.com/2020/04/02/the-apple-dumpling-gang-1975-6-out-of-10-disney-family-film-34/ 

https://themouseminute.wordpress.com/2020/04/05/the-apple-dumpling-gang-rides-again-1979-7-out-of-10-disney-family-film-35/