Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episodes 203 and 204 of ‘Queens of Mystery’. To revisit the season two premiere, ‘Sparring with Death’, click here.
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It is definitely safe to say that our perception of crime and where it is conducted and stems from, is quite stereotypical in nature. Since thoughts of it immediately call up images of seedy places in our minds, where bad people hide in the shadows and ponder upon how best to harm humanity, and anyone that ventures into this dark and dastardly world and survives to the tell the tale, will reinforce the fear that evil wants good to indulge in when thinking of this place. Which might be a bit of a dramatic way to think about or describe our views on crime, but to think that something as sweeping and as powerful as criminal acts can only be created and executed from one place in our proud cities, is just as dramatic. For, crime is everywhere and can come to life at any place at any time. 
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Which is why this week’s episode of Queens of Mystery on Acorn TV, is of note. For ‘The Modern Art of Murder’ explores that harsh reality in the most unique way imaginable, by unleashing crime in a place that shouldn’t be host to it, an art gallery. For when we catch up with the Stone family in this tale, they’ve all gathered at the new EGDE Gallery, to see the showcase its staff has built for Cat’s work and just when it appears as though the day is going to go off without a hitch, a prominent art dealer turns up dead and just like that, Matlida and her aunts are caught up in a whirlwind case. One that makes it seem as though they’ve uncovered a murder born out of greed and indulgence. Since it is revealed that some of the people that were present for the showcase, had ties to crooks that were eager to indulge in forgery and money laundering.

But just when these four intrepid sleuths close in on a major bust involving a bevy of money launderers, the story takes quite the turn. Wherein Matilda is able to figure out that the real culprit of the many murders in this story… isn’t motivated by greed or schemes. Nor did they come from an awful place where evil is born every hour on the hour. No instead, the ‘monster’ in this tale, is nothing more than a broken artist named William Garnet. And why he is referred to as broken here, is simple. For William takes the time to reveal to Matilda, that he has suffered greatly during his time in the art world. Courtesy of emotional abuse and demands, and his soured view of this corner of the creative world, motivated him to take revenge on those who wronged him or could have exposed him for his crimes.

Which made it one hundred percent clear, that crime is not and will never be isolated to specific parts of our world. Nor is it committed by specific individuals. Instead, when the circumstances are right and a person feels as though they have no other recourse, then they will do what they think they must and cross that unfortunate line, consequences be damned. Which is a message that makes this episode quite poignant and powerful in nature, since it truly removes the stereotypes that surround murder in a dynamic and fascinating light. And it was equally as brilliant to inject this kind of darkness into a corner of our world where peace and wonder, and freedom of the mind and the soul are believed to be the norm, since such a move helped to properly hammer home this story’s dynamic message.

But while that underlying commentary will definitely give us plenty to chew upon and will undoubtedly stick with us long after this story has come to its end, we would be remiss to not point out the other elements that helped to sell this tale. For the characters that the Stones encounter in this story, are fully fleshed out and feel complete, which is no easy task to accomplish in a murder mystery, but it is pulled off here in the smoothest manner imaginable. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that the mystery in question keeps one guessing and is so full of appropriate and engaging twists that you simply cannot pull yourself away. If anything, this incredible entry in this ongoing saga, just serves to remind us that Queens of Mystery is hands down one of the most refreshing murder mysteries on the air right now, and it will be quite interesting to see what underlying messages await us when season two wraps up, next week. Until then.

Stories that revolve around addiction and recovery, tend to follow a fairly specific formula. Wherein the person suffering from such an affliction, succumbs to it later on in life. Often after some kind of tragic, life-changing experience and when they do… we watch them suffer on screen or in print as their lives fall to pieces at the hands of drugs or alcohol. All before they finally stand up to addiction and find their way back into the light. Which makes for a powerful story, one grounded in darkness since the process of falling from grace is ugly for certain, but the inspiration at the end of the story is well worth our while. But while those stories do indeed inspire and give us plenty of food for thought, there is one drawback to this type of tale.
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In that, they are somewhat inaccessible due to their dark subject matter. Since some folks just want entertainment value over anything else. But in this era where mental health discussions are in high demand, as are new stories, storytellers are finding new ways to explore such topics in a manner that audiences can easily handle, and it just so happens that Freeform is about to premiere a series that pulls that off in a dynamic and unique manner in Single Drunk Female. And it just so happens that we here at Nerds That Geek had the opportunity to see this series in advance and thought it would be worthwhile to offer up a spoiler-free preview of what makes this show so special.

Now in this particular tale, we are introduced to a twenty-eight-year-old woman named Samantha Fink and when we catch up with her, here, she’s in quite the difficult place. Because her addiction to alcohol has cost her a good job in the city and stunted her growth for the future, forcing her to move back home with her mother, Carol, as she works to put the pieces of her life back together and recover from her addiction and that plot is one big reason why this show is so unique. Because it doesn’t present addiction as merely some kind of coping mechanism like so many stories in this vein. It instead presents it as an actual illness, one that can grab hold of anyone at any time and change their life on a moment’s notice and presenting it in such a raw manner really does shed a new light on addiction, specifically alcoholism, and will undoubtedly spur new conversations on the matter.

But there are other reasons that this series is so incredibly special. Specifically… how it presents the recovery process. Because rather than terrify us with a process that sees Sam go through utter hell before clawing her way to the light, we are instead… plunged into a shockingly realistic world of recovery. Where the viewer is reminded of the fact that we can’t solve all of our problems at once and have to tackle them one step at a time, or in this case, one day at a time… and that’s just a brilliant way to present something so important and daunting. Since it really does offer up a fascinating new perspective on how we can conquer big problems and it also leads to wonderful and poignant messages for the audience, that we’ll get into further during our weekly recaps of the show. But what’s wild… is that we still aren’t done talking about the majesty and wonder of this particular series.

Because it also takes us off guard in a good way, by injecting a great deal of humor into Sam’s journey. Which removes the dark mystique surrounding these kinds of stories and makes it accessible to all, since the jokes provide entertainment value… while also sending another message our way. In that, sometimes the only way to heal is to find humor in everything so it doesn’t overwhelm us, and well… when you take all of those elements and combine them with some stunning performances, since Sofia Black-D’Elia (Sam) and Ally Sheedy (Carol) are brilliant in their respective roles… you’re left with an utterly brilliant show. One that examines addiction in an intelligent and compelling light and starts the conversation surrounding it in a healthy way and the best news of all… is that you don’t have to wait that much longer to experience this incredible series. For Single Drunk Female debuts on Freeform on January 20, 2022, and we here at NTG can’t wait to break down each episode with all of you and share the other preview related goodies we have in store for you, as we count down to the premiere of this poignant series.

Please enjoy this exclusive sneak peek of the season finale of Close to Me. Which will air on January 20, 2022, on Sundance Now.

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 207 of ‘Power Book II: Ghost’. To revisit Episode 206, ‘What’s Free?’, click here.
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Over the course of the past few months, we’ve talked at length about how the STARZ series, Power Book II: Ghost, does a phenomenal job of teaching us a moral lesson while immoral moments play out on the screen. A feat that this series accomplishes by plunging us into an imperfect world where imperfect people play by rules few of us understand, and that has led to some compelling and powerful television. The kind that features stunning moments and surprises and dynamic characters that we cannot get enough of. In fact, the people that populate this broken world, are so engaging and powerful… that everyday moments for them are sometimes enough to carry this show from beginning to end, as evidenced by the next chapter in this fascinating saga.
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For ‘Forced My Hand’ was a story devoid of moral lessons, so it could indeed focus on the characters and their struggles at the moment and that really did lead to one compelling tale. One that genuinely sucked us in with some engaging dramatic journeys… such as Carrie’s, for instance. Because in this particular tale, the secret about her affair with Zeke finally got out to the student population at Stansfield, prompting all kinds of scrutiny to surround her. To the point where Carrie’s demands to give the eulogy at Jabari’s memorial on campus… ended in outright disaster. Since whispers about what happened between her and Zeke dominated the night, as did disdain from Lauren. Forcing Carrie to leave the event in shame and ponder upon the nature and the power of karma.

While Carrie dealt with that long-awaited blast from karma however, Monet was dealing with new challenges in her life. Because despite having a plan in place to get hers without Lorenzo knowing, his desire to reassert control over his family and his future, put a kink in said plan. Because Lorenzo was all about teaching the family business to Dru, to the point where he is clearly corrupting his son in a manner that Monet wanted to protect him from and to top it all off, he got his meeting with Mecca/Dante and in doing so, was able to gain full control over Mecca’s product. Cutting off Monet’s plans for the future and leaving her and Cane in a lost place at the moment. Plus, to complicate matters further, Mecca took the time to introduce himself to Zeke and of course, spill the beans about his lineage. Forcing Monet to double down on the lie and well, in the end… her journey in this tale was pure chaos. 

But the fact that Monet will undoubtedly take this downtime in the shadows to ponder upon her next moves, added a sense of comfort to her chaotic journey and allowed for it to pale in comparison to Tariq’s. Because that young man was consumed by a desperate need for control and rightfully so. Because the trial date was closing in and there seemed to be no escaping it. Plus, his revenue stream was now cut off thanks to Lorenzo’s power play and that motivated Tariq to take some extreme actions in this tale. Such as betraying Brayden by revealing to Councilman Tate that Brayden’s pop, Robert, was featured in a controversial photograph in one of the family’s photo albums. One that featured Sweeney in blackface as O.J. Simpson, playfully murdering Robert… who was distastefully dressed as Nicole Simpson in the photo as well.
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A move that will undoubtedly cause all kinds of trouble for the family and reopen the wounds that Brayden and Tariq worked to heal in the last episode. But what truly left the audience worried and nervous for Tariq’s future, were his somewhat arrogant decisions regarding said trial. Because everyone on his legal team, including a resurgent Tameika, made it clear that without some kind of incredible, game-changing testimony, such as say his sister giving him an alibi, or Paula for that matter as well, there was no hope of him winning this case. For all signs pointed to him being the gun behind a double homicide. But none of that mattered to Tariq. Because he firmly believed in his soul, that he could figure his way out of this mess… just like his father used to and that prompted him to stand firm and keep his sister out of the courtroom in the belief that something will come along to save him at the last possible second.

As to whether or not that will be the case, time will tell. But while we wait to see how Tariq schemes his way out of this one and how everyone else deals with the hands they were dealt here, we can revel in one engaging tale. One that quite frankly, was indeed transitional in nature, since it is obvious that most of these moments were designed to set up the home stretch of season two. But since the characters here are so dynamic and so intriguing, you really don’t think about that until later. Because in the moment, you’re sucked into this tale through and through and you’re hanging on every word and moment and that just speaks to the wonder of this series, and now that the setup for the final three episodes is complete… the story will undoubtedly ramp up from here as Monet and Tariq work to secure a future of their own choosing. Until next time.  

Please enjoy a Sneak Peek of this week’s episode of Love During Lockup. Which airs later tonight and as an added bonus, here is an official synopsis for the episode as well: Indie’s bounty-hunter mom uncovers the truth about her felon fiancé. Gabby has a meltdown over a wedding dilemma, but will their secret stash save the day? Haley’s ex lays down the law. Tai fears her romance with inmate Hottie is just a con.

Something that is genuinely fascinating about television shows that enjoy a long and healthy run on the airwaves… is that they have a tendency to experiment with their storytelling as the years roll along. A decision that undoubtedly relates to the fact that writers and producers, love to challenge audiences and their characters, and one great way to do that is to shake things up and see what happens. And while this does indeed sound like a brilliant idea through and through, since it means the audience should be treated to something fresh and original… it is an experiment that tends to offer up a mixed bag of results more often than not. Because it tends to get taken too far on the creative side, and the audience knows what it likes and tunes in for that and wants different challenges to be injected into the standard formula, not to be thrown a curve ball.

But alas, the opposite happens regardless and one such show that was definitely eager to try new things in later seasons was Star Trek: The Next Generation, and for proof… look no further than its next episode. For ‘Aquiel’ is a story that basically fused together three genres, science fiction and mystery and romance, in order to tell a unique and ‘original’ tale and well… this is definitely an experiment that failed miserably. Which is a shame because the mystery portion of this story works well, since it features a quality investigation aboard a remote relay station and keeps us guessing through and through. But the romance angle of it and the twist ending really made this episode difficult to sit through. So, rather than go through all the plot points, let’s talk about those flaws… and how they could have been improved, starting with the romance angle of this tale.

Now, this is genuinely the roughest part of the story for one big reason. In that, it makes Lieutenant Commander Geordi LaForge, a lovesick idiot. Because every decision he makes in this story is grounded in his newfound desire and love for the mysterious Lieutenant Aquiel Uhnari. A woman he never knew of before this moment, and let’s be honest, seeing him fawn over her and her innocence in this desperate manner, is just weird. Because he’s a guy that’s always calm and cool and collect when it comes to any kind of grand mystery and seeing him in this forlorn and downright lustful light at times, just takes you out of the story and really, the best way to have fixed this problem… would have been to have eliminate the romance angle. Because then the goofy emotional slop is gone, and the story could instead have used Geordi’s brilliant mind to solve this crime.

One that quite, frankly, is the other issue in this tale. Because let’s be honest… having a shape shifting alien, one hiding within the confines of a cute dog be the culprit of this crime, is just a cop out through and through. Because it wipes away any depth and meaning to what came before that reveal and it is so easily defeated by Geordi, that it makes no sense how it survived this long. Which means that this twist ending, should have never been put to paper in the first place and instead… an actual murder should have taken place. Which is a really dark thing to type, fully understand that. But going that route would have brought about all kinds of intelligent and thoughtful storytelling about a problem that plagues us now. Plus, it would have brought forth questions about the nature of crime in the 24th Century and what would compel someone to commit murder in an era where peace and prosperity, and the hatred and fire that lurks behind murder… should have been eliminated. But alas, this one took the easy way out and such matters wouldn’t be touched upon in great detail until Voyager came along.

If anything, this episode simply featured missed opportunity after missed opportunity and that’s just odd for this series. Since at this point it had found its groove and knew how to tackle amazing concepts. But they can’t all be great, and we are indeed left with a failed experimental tale. One that wasn’t a complete and total loss, however. Simply because LeVar Burton is phenomenal in this episode and regardless of how out of character and goofy Geordi is here, his acting skills sell every moment and elicit an emotional response from the viewer. Which is undoubtedly, frustration, but he pulls it off none the less and well, now that this sloppy and strange experiment has come to its end… we can at least take solace in the fact that the next mission for this intrepid crew, will quickly wipe away any memory of this mess, courtesy of an interesting twist involving the Romulan Star Empire. Until next time.     

One particular aspect of storytelling that the Star Trek Universe excels at… is following up on past plot lines. Because time and time again, old villains and other characters and amazing places we’ve visited with the crews of the various shows that make up this franchise… find their way back into the story and we are able to see what’s changed in that place or how those fictional people have grown, and this is wonderful for several reasons. In part because, it further immerses the viewer into this future in a realistic manner, since follow up of that manner happens in real-life, but also because… it is something a lot of television shows don’t bother with. Since so many want to stick with fresh plot lines whenever they can and really, this is of note today, because follow up came into play during the next episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

For ‘Ship in a Bottle’ saw a long-forgotten villain return to the forefront of the story, in a surprising manner. Because at first glance, this story appears to be nothing more than a standard relaxed episode. One where the crew of the Enterprise was going to explore the birth of a star by way of two gas giants colliding and where a little downtime in between those observations would allow for some lighthearted storylines to come to life. But a glitch in the Sherlock Holmes Holodeck program, allowed for Lieutenant Barclay to uncover quite the surprise. In that, the Professor Moriarty program that Picard locked away in the season two episode, ‘Elementary, Dear Data’, was still functional and eager to achieve his ultimate goal.

For he still wanted his complete and utter freedom from the Holodeck and demanded to see Picard to achieve it. A feat that the captain assured him was impossible, that is… until Moriarty just walked off of the freakin’ Holodeck and did not dissipate. Which in turn motivated Picard and his crew to figure out how this happened so that Moriarty could be given the proper rights he deserved as an artificial individual and so that his digital love could be given the same life as well. An exploration that seemed to be making progress, until Data came to make quite the powerful discovery. In that… Moriarty never actually walked off of the Holodeck. Instead, he trapped Picard and Data and Barclay inside a multi layered simulation, one designed to gain control of the Enterprise, so Moriarty could demand more of Riker and LaForge. 

Which in turn brought forth a delicate cat and mouse game between the captain and this legendary villain. Wherein Picard had to figure out how to give Moriarty what he wanted, so control of the ship could be granted back to the crew and what Picard came up with, was downright brilliant. Since he added another layer to the simulation, one that made it appear that Moriarty and his love could indeed go anywhere and do anything, and it was so convincing that Holmes’ nemesis relinquished control after all. Allowing for the crew to finish their mission and go about their day, all while the professor and his darling lady, traversed the galaxy from within the confines of a newly created, tiny Holodeck, that continued to provide them both with a lifelong digital dream.

In the end, this was simply a delightful tale through and through. One that did a wonderful job of following up on a genuinely forgotten plot thread. Because back in season two, Moriarty’s journey seemed to be nothing more than a one-off episode, filler if you will. But this adds so much depth and closure to a story that seemed inconsistent and meaningless at the time, and it is wonderful that the writers’ room took the time to go this route. In part because, it genuinely fits in with what this franchise does so well. But also, because… it helps us process the fact that the end of The Next Generation is inching closer. Since tiny moments of closure prepares one’s mind for big ones… and now that this loose end has been tied up, it does leave one to wonder what other wrap ups await us as this series begins to wind down. Until next time.

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Five of ‘Close to Me’. To revisit ‘Episode 4’, click here.
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When we are young, we are taught two critical lessons by our parents. Specifically, that there are two sides to every story, and we should listen to both of them and that hard times are so impactful… that we will become a better person because of them. And our parents send those lessons our way, so that we can grow as a critical thinker and look at situations as a whole and so we can face tough times in an objective manner with our heads held high. But while those lessons have merit and give us a touch of guidance when we set out into the world, it doesn't take long for us to realize that those two concepts don't always work out as they were explained to us.
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Because there are times when learning the other side to the story, provides us no context or insight. It either confirms what we already knew, or it informs us that people will indeed lie to cover their tracks and we quickly come to realize in adulthood… that a great deal of people use tough times as an excuse to be outright rotten to others. All because they can hide behind the guise that they were under duress, making it clear that rising to the occasion revolves around a solid moral core over anything else and really, the flip side to those hopeful and simple lessons is of relevance today, because it was put on full display in the next episode of Close to Me on Sundance Now.

Because rather than focus on Jo Harding and the revelations she uncovered about her husband and the year prior in the last episode, the story opted to shift gears and show us the other side of the story. Specifically… what Rob was doing this past year and well… what we learned about his role in this mess, was quite sour in nature and supremely unsettling for certain. For it turns out that once Jo started to struggle with a new phase in her life, wherein her son was off learning about the rest of life and wherein her body was going through menopausal changes… Rob was nowhere to be found. Instead, he took the time to demand the standard routine from his wife while he tried desperately to save his own fledgling business.

Which allowed for us to really get to know Rob and learn that he is a traditional man so to speak. One that firmly believes that emotions are best reserved for special moments only, and that it a man’s job is to put food on the table and be respected for it and the home he has built. But as the episode unfolded and Rob continued to play the pity card rather than communicate with his wife, the darker stuff came into play. Since he quickly turned to Anna and the comfort, she provided him. In an effort to escape his problems and to give himself a safe space to place blame upon his wife for his woes, rather than own up to his own actions or try to understand the moment. And of course… since he treated Anna like he treated his wife, as an object there to serve his needs... that whole affair took a turn once the pregnancy came into play and the ugly didn’t end there.
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Since he also constantly treated Jo as a problem and used gaslighting and snide remarks on a consistent basis to engender guilt in her heart over her healing path. One that helped her in ways she never imagined, but since Rob wasn’t the ‘fixer’ here, everything was a waste of time in his mind, and to top it all off… there is a chance the worst-case scenario was indeed his doing. Since he was furious the night Jo provided receipts of his affair… while she was standing atop the stairs. But while we wait to see if Rob was indeed the one that made Jo fall, and is now trying to atone for the worst sins imaginable against a spouse, we can reflect upon a quality story, that truly helped us to understand the unfortunate other side of this journey, and Rob and toxic masculinity as a whole.

Because this story held nothing back regarding how Rob and guys like Rob operate, and it made it clear how small these men are and how badly they struggle with emotional connection on both an internal and external level and how easily their egos are bruised when they don’t get what they want. Which made this story not only critical to the journey, since it fills in so many important blanks, but it makes this story an important and poignant piece of work. One that truly reflects a genuine problem in our world right now and it deserves a round of applause for putting this on display, and for starting this conversation, and now that we have complete context and understanding of what the last year looked like for Jo Harding… this harrowing journey can come to a close, and it will be quite interesting to see where the finale of this saga will take us, come next week.   

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Three of ‘The Book of Boba Fett’. To revisit ‘Chapter 2: The Tribes of Tatooine’, click here.
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If you ever watched Star Wars and thought about the inner workings of the many crime families that seem to run Tatooine… then The Book of Boba Fett is here to deliver the answers to every single question. I really didn’t know what I was in for when I started this series and I have to be honest, I didn’t know I could fall in love with the inner workings of space mobsters, and yet here I am, three episodes in, and literally chomping at the bit for more. Let’s be honest, Star Wars has always hinted at Tatooine being not the best place in the galaxy when it comes to organized crime, we just never got to see that in full detail. We knew Jabba was bad and had a lot of power, but really, that’s all we knew. There are a lot more crime families than we thought, and they all seem to be fighting over Mos Espa. We thought Mos Eisley was the rough part of town, apparently, we were wrong.
 
The tensions are high after the assassination attempt on Boba, and it seems that respect is fleeting. Boba has a thin grasp on his territory and that is garnering some annoyances. One annoyance is a water monger who comes to ask for Boba’s help. Apparently, some ‘kids’ are stealing from him and that just won’t do. It doesn’t help that these ‘kids’ are also infusing their bodies with droid parts, not like that’s anything new to this universe, but apparently in Mos Espa it is. I find that hard to believe. Boba decides to play along, for now, and takes a look into this gang, and even confronts them. Turns out, said water monger is charging way too much for the water and not even giving work out to the workers. So, Boba does the most Boba thing, he hires the kids and pays the water monger what he deems fair for the water they stole.

Boba plans to rule with respect, not fear, and he proves that over and over with the second chances he gives. Back in the Bacta tank, Boba dreams of his home and then of the Tuskin Raiders. We’ve been wondering what happened to the Raiders since Boba is no longer with them. We knew he gained his armor back and we knew he was ruling as a crime lord in Mos Espa, but what happened to the family he made out of the Tuskin’s? Well, they were all murdered by that speeder bike gang while Boba went to collect protection money from the Pykes. It’s a heartbreaking scene when he arrives back to camp and finds everyone slaughtered. It makes sense why Boba is so head strong in taking over Mos Espa in the manner he is. Still, while he dreams of this, he’s physically ripped away from the tank and beaten by the Wookie the Twin Hutts had with them during their last visit. The fight doesn’t go well, and Boba is in trouble when his newest hires show up to help him. It’s actually Fennec who gets the Wookie into the Rancor-less Rancor pit. Boba sends another one of his guards to be healed in his Bacta tank and then discusses retaliation with Fennec.

Truthfully, they don’t have to wait long at all. The Hutt Twins show up and offer him a baby Rancor, complete with its own trainer as an apology for the attempted murder. They’re leaving Tatooine and forsaking their claim on Mos Espa, returning to Hutta, and even warn Boba to leave too. Something bigger and badder is coming, and mostly they just don’t want to deal with any of it. Boba offers the Wookie back, but the Hutts refuse and leave, so Boba sets him free. Then he bonds with the Rancor, the most adorable space chihuahua ever! Maybe it’s time to pay another visit with the mayor, right? Wrong, the mayor refuses to see him. Thankfully Fennec is a woman after my own heart and has no problem threatening violence to get what she wants. The mayor’s assistant runs, and a speeder chase soon ensues, and really it was entertaining, and completely ruined so many foods stands!

As it so happens, the mayor is meeting with the Pykes, and a whole bunch of them just arrived off of a Star Liner. They’re preparing for war, and that can’t be good. Boba is not about to back down however, and he’s just as determined to meet their army with one of his own. Hopefully this doesn’t end badly.