Boomb Tube, The Week in Comic Book Television: 10/23-10/29/2022

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!

Oh, and check out our still ongoing, for a couple more weeks at least, 2022 Summer TV binges, where Multiversity staffers reach back in time to review comics/comics-adjacent/nerdy shows all summer (and the first half of fall) long. (Here’s a handy list of what’s being covered too.) Thanks y’all.

Andor – “Narkina-5” (S1E8, Disney+)

Read our full review by Brian Salvatore.

Dead End: Paranormal Park – “The Trials of Barney” (S2E3, NETFLIX)

BONE BUSTER IS HERE TO BUST YOUR BONES! GET IN THE RING WITH HIM AND YOU’LL BE IN FOR A PLANE OF HURT! AND HE’S COMING FOR YOU ASMODEUS AND B. REX!

*ahem*

So this was the wrestling episode and I am hyped for what’s to come next. I’m not a big wrestling fan but I have many friends who are, so I can appreciate a pastiche done with love. And what love it is. Basically, Barney has been sneaking out to do pro-wrestling practice at a demon gym. I say practice but it’s more like hyper-dunked on by the rest of the gym’s occupants. At least, that is, until his trainer, Asmodeus brings him into the DWL (Demon Wrestling Federation) and things get serious, making up the bulk of the episode.

I love how they are able to use wrestling as a means of getting Barney to confront some of the insecurities he’s still struggling with and do so in a fun, inventive, and buck-wild manner. He’s a heel now! And he plays that heelness up like a natural. He’s even got merch thanks to everyone at the park saying yes to DWF hosting the competition on the neutral plane.

If there’s one downside to all this, it’s Pugsley feeling pretty left out. Oh, and Asmodeus’ presence throwing a big old dramatic monkey wrench into Logs & Barney’s relationship. But that’s not until the end of the episode. Before that, Pugsley gets to do the thing he does best: worry. Poor pupper. He’s simply no match for B. Rex & The Thunder Lizard.

Or the endless “bro-structions.” Brotean shake might be my favorite of the bunch, though Brozone Layer is a strong contender. The whole episode is oozing with charm and these kinds of jokes. 666K? Come on. You gotta love it.

If there’s one thing that takes the cake besides the horrifying designs of the boom box and Gord wearing a Barney mask, it’s the training montage. More than that, it’s the montage music! You will be singing this in your head, probably incorrectly but whatever, for days after watching. FIGHT! LIKE A DEMON! FIGHT! LIKE A DEMON BOY!

I think it’s the perfect music to Pump. You. Up.

Or down, as the case may be. – Elias Rosner

Doctor Who – “The Power of the Doctor” (S13E9, BBC/BBC America)

Read our full review of the latest special by Kate Kosturski.

Pennyworth – “Hedgehunter” (S3E6, HBO Max)

We start in Morocco to witness Daveboy and Alfred’s kidnapping of Zahra’s father (I’m disappointed we didn’t get a Bazza cameo though). The point of this scene is to show us they had an inside man on the job. This pays off later when we realize the person telling Zahra her father is alive is the same inside man. He’s not doing it for the love of her father, he’s doing it for the other side. His goal is to get Zahra to sell out her compatriots. It forces Alfred to come clean with Zahra over this secret that he’s spent the entire episode fretting about.

We knew Alfred wasn’t going to be good to Sandra the minute he got back into bed with her. His jump to Zahra though feels a little fast and forced. He tries to push her away and the show even gives us meta commentary when they end up kissing again in the rain. Sandra delivers a letter to a drugged out Daveboy, but Alfred never gets it. Alfred is now so determined to get Zahra back he’s going to take a huge risk in rescuing her dad.

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Bet wakes up in Raven custody and is interrogated by John Salt. He’s building an army of the future inspired by Captain Blighty. Bet escapes custody and finds the baby, but is surprise stabbed by Salt. In the ensuing fight Bet gets her final revenge on Salt, but dies in the process. She puts the baby on a bus with a note to deliver to her sister Peg and then dies on a bench. I’m bummed over the end of Bet. It’s possible the show will pull a fast one on us, but sending her off on a side quest unrelated to the main plot to die is a let down.

If someone were to ask you, “What is the one thing Batman hates the most?” You’d probably reply “Parents getting shot in an alley.” Which is what makes the end of Patrick Wayne’s story such a let down. Thomas arrives in Gotham to confront him. We get a well played scene between Thomas and Patrick with a great performance by Ben Aldridge. His turn at the end saying that love isn’t enough is heart breaking. I thought it would mean Thomas was going to break all ties with Patrick, take over the company and leave Patrick behind. But no, what he is really saying is that he’s going to shoot his father in an alley Joe Chill style. The singular moment that created Batman. Bruce completely broken by the shooting murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne in an alley, is lessened when Thomas Wayne is someone that shoots his own father in an alley. It doesn’t come across to me as a bold parallel to Batman’s origins. – Matthew Vincenty

Quantum Leap – “What a Disaster!” (S1E6, NBC)

If there is going to be a reboot of a series, it is nice if there are new elements added to it. If you’ve been reading these reviews thus far, that position may somewhat surprise you, as a lot of the issues with Quantum Leap have come from the series not feeling enough like the original. And while, yes, there is still not enough time spent with Ben in the actual leaps, the series has built an impressive amount of backdrop in 6 episodes. The presence of a future leaper is one of the elements that feels a little too soon for what the show currently is, but “What a Disaster!” did a really good job of setting up why that leaper is interesting. The paradoxical questions that the team ask each other about him bring us just to the edge of ‘too confusing for a network show,’ but luckily acknowledge that fact and walk it back to a place where this doesn’t turn too philosophical or fart-sniffy.

Similarly, the idea that Ben may be ‘building up speed’ for a future leap is another brand new idea for this iteration of the show, and one that is exciting in its lack of limitations. The last three episodes have really done a great job of making the case for Project Quantum Leap as a co-lead setting for the series. And luckily, this leap felt a little more emotionally resonant, and so the leap setting also felt more lived in and full. Of course, not every week can involve Ben rediscovering an old, unhealed emotional wound, but this episode seemed to realize that the audience needs more of Ben.

In many ways, this episode feels the most complete and well-realized thus far. However, the elements also seem almost impossible to recreate with any consistency, meaning that this may be an outlier rather than a standard bearer. Hopefully, Quantum Leap can find a way to bridge the gap between the emotional catharsis and plotting out a consistently satisfying series. – Brian Salvatore

Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles – “Eggs!” (S2E9, NETFLIX)

The only real saving grace of “Eggs!,” besides its wonderfully silly title, is the appearance of Mechabooma. It’s 10-or-so seconds of bliss and hilarity before the episode goes back to stumbling over its own feet and trying to make me care about the larger plot by repeating the same 3 details over and over again. I just want to see Lord Koagne get dunked on and have adventures with the crew. Is that too much to ask?

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Apparently. Because instead of doing that, the episode is split into two plots: Kyoko & Kitsune’s sister-sister bonding & fighting and Kagehito & Yuichi’s dip into the memory orb. I guess technically there’s three since the Bat Crew’s attack at the end unleashes the finale invasion. Eh, whatever. It’s more of an extension of Kyoko’s plot than anything.

Speaking of Kyoko, at the end of “The Chizu Stands Alone,” they teased her being a murderbot? Yeah, nah. Of course she wasn’t. She’s instead a spoiled valley girl that sounds just like Kitsune and is maybe the most annoying character in the show thus far, which is truly a triumph considering we have Yuichi. They run through her “Teenage Angst” arc in record time, with a crisis of confidence less than halfway through the episode and Kitsune suddenly being way over protective of the 15 foot tall leaf-like warbotto.

And why is everyone’s solution to send people to Auntie’s farm?! Does it have mystical healing properties? It didn’t work for Yuichi so why would it work for Kyoko? I have too many questions that I don’t want answers to.

Maybe I’m being overly harsh there but you know it’s bad when I’d rather be watching Kagehito wheeze his way through another dire warning about the Machinae. Or them reusing the stylized animation of the attack on Kagehito’s world in a way that makes me wonder why they even bothered having him info dump it all before instead of having this be the way we learned it all.

I wanted to like this season more than the last, and I did, but it retained many of the same issues. In fact, it retained so much of the same from the last season, we’re ending on the portal opening AGAIN, only this time the beast walked through it and it’s a giant dinosaur. Points for coolness, I guess? I doubt it’ll hold up in the finale. Ikuzo! – Elias Rosner

Stargirl – “Frenemies – Chapter Eight: Infinity Inc, Part 2” (S3E8, The CW)

After last week’s episode that very much dealt with the overall JSA, “Frenemies – Chapter Eight: Infinity Inc, Part 2” focused on a trio of pairs that are interesting in how they connect. Jennie-Lynn and Todd are siblings with mirrored powers, so they make sense. The Shade and Pat share a history that binds them together. But Courtney and Mr. Bones only really are paired together because both are de facto leaders. This show will likely never get too deep into Mr. Bones and, due to the CGI budget, that’s probably a good thing. But Stargirl continues to find the ways into these characters in a way that allows the viewer to be sympathetic even to vile characters. Bones isn’t quite vile, but everything about Helix reads as shady and dark, even though they say all the right things: they’re just helping, anyone can leave at any time, etc.

Jennie-Lynn and Todd’s story is so simple that it can be forgiven for looking a little trite on screen. The emotions don’t quite sing in the way that the series may hope simply because the characters have not been given enough time to really grow on the viewers. The scenes are effective because of the emotional manipulation that happens through flashbacks and the pervasive tug of childhood trauma on all of our viewing experiences.

But it is the Shadowlands with Pat and the Shade that the most interesting stuff happens, and most of it happens because of a character we don’t see much of: Mike. The parallel is drawn between Pat’s dad never having the time for him and Pat’s lack of focus on Mike. The specter of not just Pat’s father, but also Mike’s mother, haunts Pat throughout the episode, and gives him something to do that isn’t just be a mentor. His character now has a mandate: fix his relationship with Mike.

The episode wraps up with the idea that Helix is going to start its own superhero team, hence the Infinity, Inc name. But it also mentions Sandy Hawkins, aka Sandy, aka Sand. More JSA “orphans” as Pat calls them are showing up. Let’s hope the show survives long enough to bring them into the fold. – Brian Salvatore

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