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!
Futurama – “Children of a Lesser Bog” (S8/11E2, Hulu/Disney+ (International))
A follow-up to season four’s “Kif Gets Knocked Up a Notch,” this episode sees Kif and Amy’s offspring come of age, emerging from the swamp on his homeworld after 20 years as tadpoles – and the hilariously horrifying Winnowing, where all but three of them are devoured by the planet’s wildlife. (And Zoidberg. Seriously Zoidberg, what the hell?) The three kids — teenage boy Axl, little girl Mandy, and one-eyed baby boy Newt — prove to be a handful for Amy, especially after Zapp pulls Kif back to active duty. Making things worse is how they seem to like Leela more, causing the Amphibiosans’ Grand Midwife to declare they need to face off for custody of the kids. Fortunately, Kif returns in time to help Amy affirm that they love their kids, which is all the Grand Midwife needed to hear.
This was a predictable, if sweet episode; as Bender says at the end, “Who wants treacle?” (Sure, I guess.) Two things stand out: the first was how it reestablished Leela is the biological mother of the kids, by having her not remember because she was apparently drunk at the time, giving the perfect excuse to go over it again. It’s a bizarre choice, but if I had to play for a no-prize, I’d say the thought of having kids out there was so alarming for Leela that she intentionally drank to forget the incident (and it alone!) The second was how funny Kif’s subplot was, especially seeing him turn into a ‘80s action hero to rescue a hysterical Zapp from some bear-sized tardigrades. Using the bear and whale-hating biologist as bait was oddly cruel for Kif, but that guy was a jerk, so nevermind. – Christopher Chiu-Tabet
Good Omens – “The Arrival” (S2E1, Amazon Prime)
Read our full review of the season premiere by Mel Lake.
Good Omens – “The Clue” (S2E2, Amazon Prime)
Stay tuned for our full review by Mel Lake.
Harley Quinn – “Gotham’s Hottest Hotties” (S4E1, Max)
Read our full review of the first episode of the season 4 premiere by Carl Waldron.
Harley Quinn – “B.I.T.C.H.” (S4E2, Max)
Ivy continues her descent into corporate madness with the dreaded “networking event.” It is truly one of the most evil things you can do or experience. Especially if you are socially awkward like me or Ivy. Harley is on the bench after straight-up murdering Professor Pig. Her Bat-Probation is to mentor under the tutelage of everyone’s favorite multitool butler, Alfred. By the end, we see Alfred has his own agenda, angling to get sent to prison to meet up with Bruce. So much for that plan, as he ends up in New Arkham instead of the plush, corporate retreat known as Blackgate. Plan better next time, buddy. Just imagine it’s a dinner party instead of a bank heist. You’ll get it sorted, Alf. – Carl Waldron
Harley Quinn – “Icons Only” (S4E3, Max)
Taking a page from The Boys, Ivy and Harley go on vacation to their version of Herogasm. Also known as the Lexor Hotel in Vegas. Where villains go to be villains by a pool. There were two highly entertaining moments in “Icons Only”. Numero the first, a delightfully twisted musical number involving King Shark and his quest for special gumbo. And B, Clayface and Ivy go all supervillains on each other’s asses. It’s nice to see Clayface get to stretch his limbs, literally and figuratively. It’s good to see his newfound fame didn’t completely go to his head. Here are some relevant cliff notes without context. Hargrette makes her DC debut, a magician pulls the Seven of Hearts out of a shark, and two bellhops have elevator sex. Have fun with that. – Carl Waldron
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Harley Quinn – “The First Person to Come Back from a Business Conference Without Chlamydia” (S4E4, Max)
Let’s take a moment and acknowledge the incomparable Giancarlo Esposito. He continues the tradition of the racially ambiguous Lex Luthor, started by the original voice genius Clancy Brown. Ivy is on the moon doing corporate undermining while Harley trains the Bat kids to rely on fists and kicks instead of palm pilots and VCRs. You know, technology. All the while, Talia Al Ghul continues to cost-cut Wayne Industries while Mayor Joker (my goodness what a world this is) reverts back to his former self a bit. Because it went over so well last time, here are some out-of-context moments from this episode for you to mull over: surrogate cosplay moon sex, Nightwing titty twisters, #WheresMark, and honey ham gloryholes. If you don’t watch this episode to understand what the hell I’m babbling about, there is no reason for you ever to watch this show. I mean, Honey Ham Gloryhole? Try getting ChatGPT to come up with that. – Carl Waldron
Heartstopper – “Out” (S2E1, Netflix)
Read our full review of the season premiere by Christopher Chiu-Tabet.
Heartstopper – “Family” (S2E2, Netflix)
After being informed that his grades are failing, Charlie’s parents forbid him from seeing Nick entirely. Nick himself is struggling to prepare for his exams, between having to sit next to Ben in the study hall, and the return of his obnoxious brother David (Jack Barton). He gets overwhelmed during his math test after alienating Imogen, telling her Ben is a bad person, but unable to explain without outing him. (Ben straight up talks like a supervillain in this too, telling Nick he’s just like him because he hasn’t come out yet; when the time comes for Marvel to recast Loki, they could do worse than Sebastian Croft.)
Charlie sneaks out of the house to provide Nick some comfort; not a lot of revision getting done as a result, but it’s sweet. Unfortunately, David catches them after the exam, and behaves pretty homophobically and biphobically towards them. Charlie leaves, only to be confronted by his parents, who are well aware he wasn’t hanging around in the park, and grounded by them. Nick records an audio message for Charlie, telling him what happened wasn’t his fault, because there will always be bad people, ending their story this time round on a bittersweetly ironic note.
At Higgs, Elle has to brush off Tao to attend an open evening for Lambert Art School, where she befriends two other trans kids, Naomi (Bel Priestley) and Felix (Ash Self, who’s also disabled). Knowing she wants to move to another school for sixth form is difficult for Tao, but after an encouraging talk from his mother (who’s well aware that her son has fallen for his old friend), he decides to he’s going to act on his feelings, consequences be damned – he just needs Charlie and Isaac’s help. It’s so nice he has friends to help him, but how are they going to do that exactly?
Song of the episode: “You Wouldn’t Like Me” by Tegan and Sara – Christopher Chiu-Tabet
My Adventures with Superman – “You Will Believe a Man Can Lie” (S1E5, Adult Swim/Max)
In case you missed it, read our full review by Matthew Vincenty.
My Adventures with Superman – “My Adventures With Mad Science” (S1E6, Adult Swim/Max)
Read our full review by Matthew Vincenty.
Riverdale – “A Different Kind of Cat” (S7E17, The CW)
Read our full review by Elias Rosner
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – “Subspace Rhapsody” (S2E9, Paramount+)
Read our full review by Christopher Egan.
The Witcher – “Everybody Has a Plan ’til They Get Punched in the Face” (S3E6, Netflix)
Picking up exactly where we left off, Dijkstra (Graham McTavish) explains to Geralt (Henry Cavill) that Redania is launching a coup of Aretuza, believing Vilgefortz (Mahesh Jadu) and others to be conspiring with Nilfgaard. However, unbeknownst to Dijkstra, the backup from the Redanian army isn’t coming, because his messenger was intercepted, and instead, Cahir (Eamon Farren), Francesca (Mecia Simson), and Fringilla (Mimi Ndiweni) arrive with their own small army to take Aretuza for Nilfgaard. Chaotic magic fighting ensues, and all three sides suffer significant casualties.
In the end, the Nilfgaardians and the Scoia’tael occupy Aretuza, but Cahir lets Ciri (Freya Allan) escape. Jaskier (Joey Batey) catches Radovid (Hugh Skinner) attempting to kidnap Ciri and ends their romance. Philippa (Cassie Clare) rescues a wounded Dijkstra and they escape together. Vilgefortz portals Istredd (Royce Pierreson) and the Book of Monoliths to somewhere unknown, severely wounds and incapacitates Geralt, and corners Ciri in a tower. Using her still barely understood powers, she causes an explosion. Tissaia (MyAnna Buring), Yenefer (Anya Chalotra), Triss (Anna Shaffer), and the other surviving mages watch their home crumble from afar. –Laura Merrill
