Welcome back to Boomb Tube! Here, we will be catching you up on the week in comics TV, both through micro-reviews, as well as links to our full-length TV reviews. We also tend to review series that are dropped all at once weekly so there are a few ‘older’ shows mixed in for good measure. Are we missing your favorite show? Let us know in the comments!
Avatar: The Last Airbender – “Warriors” (S1E2, Netflix)
Read our full review by Ramon Piña.
Masters of the Universe: Revolution – “The Scepter and the Sword” (S2E5, Netflix)
Read our full review of the series finale by Ramon Piña.
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur – “Dog Day Mid-Afternoon” (S2E9, Disney Channel)
This slight but still fun episode sees Lunella’s grandpa Pops adopt a mangy street pug, whom he names Franklin, that Lu soon discovers is an alien. She comes to the conclusion he’s behind a spate of robberies perpetrated by hypnotized dogs, but none of her family believes her. (Should’ve watered it down by telling them he’s an alien first girl.) When Pops enters Franklin into the city’s annual dog show, Lu and Casey also enter with a shrunk down and disguised Devil; however, Lu’s pursuit of Franklin when she suspects he’s starting another mass theft causes a mess, prompting the judge, Kat Swan (Parker Posey), to kick them all out. Fed up, Franklin (now voiced by David Tennant) reveals himself, explaining he’s a member of the galactic Guard Dogs, and that Swan is the true culprit.
Long story short, Pops and Franklin get first prize for apprehending Swan, proving dogs really are man’s best friend, and Lu apologizes for misjudging Franklin. Like I said, it was a very silly episode, but the animation was fantastic as always, and I can never say no to a guest appearance from Tennant, especially when he’s using his own brogue; you bet I got a kick from his ship resembling a cross between a doghouse and the TARDIS too. The deep cut here with the Guard Dogs was pretty astonishing, since they’ve only ever appeared in 1943’s “Marvel Mystery Comics” #46, and I naturally enjoyed the sight of Devil attempting stealth while tailing Franklin, as well as his appearance as a dog. Casey and Lu noting Beyonder’s absence since “Wish-Tar” was a fun moment too, that sold the illusion of this being part of the greater story arc. – Christopher Chiu-Tabet
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur – “In the Heist” (S2E10, Disney Channel)
Lunella and the STEM kids — Anand (Utkarsh Ambudkar), Eli (Gerald Waters), Cecelia (Isabella Gomez), and Jurnee (Myha’la Herrold) — embark on a heist movie homage during a trip to an art museum, after Lu learns from Mel-Varr that a crystal on display is actually a Kree artifact that will unleash a devastating storm once exposed to direct sunlight. To do so, they must outwit the stern curator Dr., er, Stern (Peter Weller), who dismisses their claims because he really doesn’t care for children. Lu doesn’t suit up until the end of the episode, while Devil sits out most of it, apparently blocked by the museum’s narrow corridors (despite the hilarious revelation he has an annual pass), until it’s revealed he was integral to swiping and replacing the crystal.
Even though it could’ve easily been an episode of any other cartoon, there’s still plenty of the regular Moon Girl magic, especially with the hysterically over-the-top animation for Stern, that provides a striking contrast with Weller’s stoic voiceover (especially with the moment emphasizing his pronunciation of “vase.”) There’s a fantastic Scooby Doo-style chase that does a delightful job of homaging art throughout history, and it was beautiful to see Lu inspire Anand to carry out his role in the heist, despite being out-of-costume. All in all, it was a good, full proper introduction to the STEM kids, and ends on a cute note with a very kawaii Marvin picking up the crystal, clearly flustered about seeing Lu again – aw. – Christopher Chiu-Tabet
Quantum Leap – “Against Time” (S2E13, NBC)
Read our full review of the season finale by Brian Salvatore.
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Resident Alien – “141 Seconds” (S3E3, Syfy)
Read our full review by Christopher Chiu-Tabet.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch – “A Different Approach” (S3E4, Disney+)
One of the issues with announcing a season as being the final one is that the pressure is on for every episode to deliver and not feel like filler or a waste of time. And while “A Different Approach” did a good job of reminding us who Omega and Crosshair are when they’re not in captivity, ultimately, the purpose of this episode was to (slightly) delay the reunion that we get at the end of the episode. That reunion is one that is so emotionally charged from both sides that it will take more than just a minute or two to do justice. I would much rather have had this episode focus half of its runtime on that than the game of cards that Omega plays in order to win them their travel money.
Moreover, while we get to see a little bit of Crosshair’s more mercenary approach to everything, this episode somewhat limits him, too. This episode is the Omega show, and while that is understandable, we’ve spent a lot of time with Omega lately, and there’s nothing new we learned this episode.
Again, if this wasn’t the last season, if this reunion wasn’t so long in the making, if everything didn’t feel so dire, a side episode about Omega being a card shark could be fine. But that’s not the situation and, because of that, the episode feels slight. – Brian Salvatore
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live – “Years” (S1E1, AMC)
Read our full review of the series premiere by Alexander Manzo.
