Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Gotham Season 1 Episode 2 “Selina Kyle” - Recap & Review


Ben McKenzie and Donal Logue as Detective James Gordon and Harvey Bullock with Jada Pinkett Smith as Fish Mooney in Fox Gotham TV Show Episode 2 Selina Kyle

Patti (Lili Taylor) and Doug (Frank Whaley) are two henchmen of Dollmaker. They approach homeless children, claiming to be members of the Homeless Outreach Program.

After entreating the children with treats, the thugs inject some medicine that makes them unconscious. 

Selina Kyle (Cat to her friends) witnesses one such kidnapping incident. The shrewd Selina does not fall prey and flees.

Robin Lord Taylor as Oswald Cobblepot The Penquin returns to Gotham in Fox Gotham Season 1 Episode 2 Selina Kyle

Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor) hitchhikes his way back to Gotham city. As readers might remember, he was supposed to be executed by Detective James Gordon (Ben McKenzie). Jim of course let him go, after warning him never to come back.

The guys who give Oswald his free ride are not so lucky. Oswald kills one of them and kidnaps the other for ransom.

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Jim and Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) are working on the case of the missing street children. They zero in on one Morry Quillan (Wayne Duvall) based on the substance used by the kidnappers to inject the street children.

Patti and Doug are already in Morry's office, when Jim and Harvey arrive to question him. A shootout ensues and the two kidnappers make their escape. The detectives arrest Morry.

Morry provides the tip that he remembers a depiction of fork on the van used by the kidnappers.

Richard Kind as Mayor Aubrey James with Zabryna Guevara as Captain Sarah Essen and Detectives Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock in Fox Gotham

Meanwhile, Mayor Aubrey James (Richard Kind) announces a program that will take all the homeless children off the street and send them to an institution.

Selina finds herself being forcefully packed into a bus that purports to serve the official machinery. Selina is horrified to find Patti to be in charge of the situation.

Patti intends to ship all the children to foreign shores. Jim correctly figures out the name of the company using the trident symbol (mistakenly thought to be a fork by Morry) as Trident International Shipping”.

Guest star Frank Whaley as child kidnapper Doug is caught by Donal Logue as Detective Harvey Bullock in Fox Gotham Season 1 Episode 2 Selina Kyle

He arrives just in time to save Selina just as Patti is about to shoot her. Harvey arrests Doug.

Selina tells Jim that she might have information about the man who murdered Thomas and Martha Wayne.

At the request of Alfred Pennyworth (Sean Pertwee), Jim visits Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) at the Wayne Manor. Bruce has been testing himself by doing things like burning his hand deliberately.

On learning about the developments about the rescued homeless children, Bruce offers to donate clothes for them.
 
Jada Pinkett Smith as gang boss Fish Mooney in Fox Gotham Season 1 Episode 2 Selina Kyle

Another subplot involved Don Carmine Falcone (John Doman) checking up with Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith) about her intentions to replace him as the head of Gotham underworld. Don informs her that he got this information from Oswald. Mooney reassures the Don about her loyalty and seemingly convinces him.

Privately, she regrets the fact that she did not punish Oswald more for his treachery.

For an episode titled Selina Kyle”, we did not get to see much of the lass destined to be Catwoman. We don't know any more about Selina than what we did from the pilot episode.

Camren Bicondova as Selina Kyle the future Catwoman in Fox Gotham Season 1 Episode 2 Selina Kyle

We already know that she is a spunky kid with lot of street smarts to boot. This episode did not forward her character development or delved deeply into her background to justify the decision to name it after her.

On the acting front, Robin Lord Taylor continues to the best of the bunch. The reason is simple: he offers a healthy dose of humor in his performance. This factor combined with the villainy of Oswald Cobblepot naturally makes him the standout performer.

Jada Pinkett Smith continues to chew the scenery as gang boss Fish Mooney.

Sean Pertwee as Alfred Pennyworth with Ben McKenzie as Detective James Gordon in Fox Gotham Season 1 Episode 2 Selina Kyle

As I mentioned in the review of the pilot episode, Ben McKenzie could inject some humor into his performance. Granted that his character is a straight shooter and an idealist and is very frustrated with the prevalent corruption. Still his character could use some levity.

Same goes for Sean Pertwee - he also leans towards the all-serious school of acting as Alfred Pennyworth.

Casting such talented actors as Lili Taylor and Frank Whaley in what amount to one-off roles clearly shows the dedication of the show makers to deliver a product of the highest possible quality. Hats off to them.

Lili Taylor is a blast as Patti. She mixes black humor effectively and gives one of the best guest appearances in a long time.  

Recommended watch for fans of the Dark Knight/DC Comics.

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Image Sources: Warner Bros. Television, Fox Network

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Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Family Guy Season 13 Episode # 1 "The Simpsons Guy" - Recap and Review


The Couch gag in The Simpsons Family Guy crossover episode The Simpsons Guy

Peter starts a cartoon strip “For Pete's Sake” in the local newspaper. His anti-feminist tone gets him in trouble and the Griffins are forced to leave Quahog, Rhode Island.

On their way, their car gets stolen. The Griffins discover that they are in Springfield, home to arguably the most popular animated family - The Simpsons.

The Griffins run into Homer Simpson at Kwik-E-Mart. Homer offers them accommodation and takes Peter to Chief Clancy Wiggum to have a missing report filed. As is his wont, Clancy tries to get bribe money and Peter's refusal results in Wiggum refusing to file his missing car report.

Brian meets Santa's Little Helper in The Simpsons Family Guy crossover episode

Back at the Simpsons' house, the family members get acquainted with each other. Brian is surprised that Santa's Little Helper (SLH) is nothing like him. He is just a docile and sweet dog, in other words a regular family dog. He and Chris take SLH for a walk and Brian mistakenly unleashes SLH. SLH promptly runs away.

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Lisa tries to help Meg regain her sense of self esteem. After making a checklist of items (most of which Meg is not good at), Lisa finally suggests playing the saxophone. To Lisa's surprise, Meg proves to be a superior player.

Bart Simpson and Stewie Griffin with Bart's favorite slingshot in The Simpsons Family Guy crossover episode
The most interesting interactions are the ones between Bart Simpson and Stewie Griffin. After making a suitably epic entrance, Bart introduces Stewie to his all powerful weapon - the slingshot.

Mystified and awed at Bart's simple arsenal, Stewie starts hanging out more. Bart teaches the art of skateboarding to Stewie.

Stewie Griffin learns skateboarding from Bart Simpson in The Simpsons Guy crossover episode

They run into Nelson Mandela Muntz, the local bully. As usual, Nelson pushes Bart around and an enraged Stewie kidnaps Bart's tormentor and looks set to inflicting some true horror movie style.

Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin car wash service and then pilot a plane to find the stolen car

Homer and Peter decide to take things into their hands and try to recover the latter's stolen car. Homer suggest that they should think like a car to find one. This results in both of them drinking gasoline at a gas station.

When this strategy fails, Peter notices a lady filling gas in her car. These shenanigans results in a porn video that proves to be quite popular. They also organize a car washing service and then take to the skies.

Peter Griffin offering Pawtucket Patriot Ale to Homer Simpson in Springfield in The Simpsons Family Guy crossover episode

Things go smooth for Peter and Homer, until Peter introduces the Pawtucket Patriot Ale to his new friend at Moe Szyslak's bar, Moe's Tavern. Homer claims that the ale is a copy of his favorite Duff Beer. The discussion soon becomes unfriendly and a legal case is filed by The Simpsons. 

The judge, Fred Flinstone (“The Flinstones”) awards the case in Simpson's favor.

Peter Griffin and Homer Simpson having a chicken fight in The Simpsons Family Guy crossover episode

The Griffins leave Springfield shortly, but not before Homer and Peter have had a Family Guy style chicken fight.

This was one of the funniest The Simpsons/Family Guy episodes I have seen. As Chris correctly commented about crossovers, this episode did indeed bring out the best in both these shows.

Here are some of my favorite moments from the episode:
  1. Jaden Smith reference
  2. Bart's entry
  3. The Griffins discussing about which state Springfield belongs to.
  4. Homer's entrance at Kwik-E-Mart
  5. Peter referring to Kwik-E-Mart owner Apu Nahasapeemapetilon as a funny sounding Cleveland
  6. The final punch between Homer and Peter as well as green colored weapon used by Peter was a reference to the Superman-Doomsday fight from “The Death of Superman
  7. Stewie kidnapping Nelson, Jimbo and Principal Skinner
  8. Comic Book Guy's appearance and his comment - Worst Chicken fight ever
  9. The closing scene with Stewie writing on the blackboard.
The best part was the court scene in which the similar counterparts from both shows were seated together. As much as I like Family Guy, The Simpsons are in a class of their own.


Lisa Simpson offers her saxophone to Meg Griffin in The Simpsons Family Guy crossover episode

It was a great episode that finally acknowledges how much Family Guy has been inspired by The Simpsons. Must watch for fans of either show. 

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Image Sources: 20th Century Fox Television, Film Roman Productions, Fuzzy Door Productions, Hands Down Entertainment

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