Honestly, I admire the Fox Network for really taking a chance when it comes to the overall television landscape: while other networks are doing their damndest to milk whatever action film and comic properties that are in their parent companies’ stables, or invent upper-class, single-camera sitcoms, in an attempt to create the next Gilmore Girls, Fox is one of the last bastions of a faded but still prevalent art form, the adult animated sitcom. Their Animation Domination lineup, now connected at the hip with TV’s other major purveyor of adult animation, [Adult Swim], has truly defined American television animation from a grown-up’s point of view.
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Of course, you can’t hand out that compliment without also speaking of its very obvious downside:  we now have 27 seasons of The Simpsons, and 15 seasons of Family Guy, both shows having long since lost their inspiration amidst the demand of more episodes. Bob’s Burgers has become the inspired show that, like King of the Hill before it, anchors Fox’s Sunday lineup as being “all animation,” despite its quality. There is at least one other show by Seth MacFarlane in the lineup that I’m not even mentioning, because while I know it exists, I don’t really care. This is not counting all the shows that were once part of the Network, but now live sheltered lives on basic cable, (Archer, wherefore art thou?) as well as all the cancelled shows like Futurama, that nonetheless live on in [Adult Swim] reruns and the odd crop-up in Hot Topic t-shirts and phone apps.

Enter Son of Zorn, a TV sitcom which features an animated character amongst live actors, not unlike the once-novelty of films like Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Once upon a time it was suggested that CG would help to achieve the exact same effect as the well known Zemeckis film, on a lower budget. The people who said that didn’t suspect that said CG would also be equally-as-limited, flat, and Flash-style. The [Adult Swim] generation has definitely gotten used to the type of limited movement of Space Ghost and Harvey Birdman, and to better drive home the concept, Zorn is modeled to resemble a character from the days of 1980’s Filmation-style action heroes. When it’s all put together, there’s nothing too terribly jarring about the way the final product looks, which leaves us to how well it acts as a sitcom.

You can see any single screenshot of this show, and instantly know the plot: Zorn (Voiced by Jason Sudekis who I swear is effecting Seth MacFarlane the whole time), a warrior from an all-animated, He-Man-esque island called Zephyria, moves to Orange County in order to re-establish ties with the family of his ex-wife Edie (Cheryl Hines), and his son, Alangulon (Johnny Pemberton), who now goes by the name Alan, and is a vegetarian, and a jaded wimp, who is struggling with average teenage boy problems. Predictably, the entire premise of Zorn, the hero of an entirely fictional space-barbarian fantasy world, immediately falls off, leaving the character a mere symbol of overt masculinity. He has ambitions of winning back his wife, despite her already being married to Craig (Tim Meadows), an equally milquetoast online psychology professor. He also gets a job as a soap dispenser salesman at a sanitation firm, where he refuses to believe his female boss Linda (Artemis Pebdami) holds a position that’s hierarchically superior to him.

Zorn is certainly in the mold of characters like Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin: TV dads who are shallow to a degree that they endanger their family relationships simply by existing. But while the families in those animated shows make up for it using the diversities of their own personalities, Zorn’s brood is even more cartoonish than the cartoon they frequently converse with. Edie’s wild-child is often brought out while Zorn is around, and she frequently shows off the reasons she’d ever once had a relationship with a cartoon barbarian. Craig’s philosophies, all based on his low-rent psychological studies, do just as much damage as Zorn’s knee-jerk and often violent reactions. Then there’s Alan, the secondary protagonist of the show. He makes Michael Cera look like….Zorn. The entirety of his on screen presence, in a single-camera show, is one where he never looks at the camera, writes everything off in a timid and angst way, and squirms so often that it’s uncomfortable to watch. It is suggested that Zorn is rubbing slightly off of him, and while it’s often related to the audience that they have nothing in common, they show that Alan is, in one of the show’s most innovating concepts, animated from the pelvis downward.

This show doesn’t have the go-anywhere, do-anything dynamic that Fox’s other animated sitcoms do. All the A-plots take place among Zorn’s family, and all the B-Plots take place at Zorn’s salesman job. (Know how I mentioned Zorn doesn’t respect that his boss is a woman? That’s fine, because Linda refuses to fire Zorn because she believes he is a minority.) There are no regular characters besides these two in the work plots, unless you notice that great amounts of Zorn’s co-workers are guest stars, plucked either from SNL (thanks Tim Meadows) or Mad TV (Thanks Fox execs).  These concepts are as mundane as the family ones, and once again rely on Zorn being the one fantastical concept in the whole premise to generate alleged laughs.

While it is awesome that Fox is still willing to mine animation concepts for prime time, and Son of Zorn is one of the most original ideas they’ve had in a while, there’s no denying that the show's limits when it comes to animation, also extend to the story. The whole thing comes off as two-dimensional be it either playing it straight as a sitcom, or falling back on familiar tropes that exist through the entirety of Fox’s animation lineup. Maybe after a first season run, the writers can develop something truly inspired to go along with the gimmick that is the pillar of this series, but as it is right now, it is merely motion-tweening. 

Something is wrong in Harlem and it is that Pop’s Barber Shop has been shut down after being shot up. Luke knows how important the shop is, not only because it was his only remaining job, but because it was a safe place for everyone in the city to visit. Talking with Bobby Fish about his reasons for staying behind, the two discuss what it will take to keep the doors open and respect Pop's memory the right way. Even though it will not be easy for anyone, Luke knows of a way to respect Pops and hurt the man responsible for his death, but he will need information to make it work.
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Visiting the funeral home, Luke is greeted by Cornell who is also mourning the loss of his oldest friend in the city.  Wanting to take care of all of the funeral costs for Pops, Luke is forced to sit back and watch as the arrogant man rubs money in his face. Not caring that Cottonmouth’s man worked alone in the killing, Luke is aware that Cornell is responsible and must pay for his actions.  Knowing that the only way to hurt Cornell is to take money out of his pockets, Luke must find out how his business actually works and there is no one better than Chico to fill him in. With the locations of stash houses now known to Luke, he takes to the streets to send a message in the name of Domingo Colon to make sure that Cornell Stokes knows that his business is no longer safe in Harlem.

Wanting to get information from Chico, Misty and her partner Rafael try to play hardball with the injured robber to no avail. But Rafael is playing his cards close to his chest and when he allows the convict to leave on his own, he gives Chico a sense of security. While at the office, Misty is trying to figure out how Luke was not hit during the shooting in the barber shop, but before she is able to get too deep into that, reports of robberies around the city start coming in. With no one being killed and shots fired all over the place and the only description of the attacker being a ‘fine guy in a hoodie’, Misty is starting to put the pieces together of who this mystery man really is.

Cornell and his cousin Councilwoman Mariah are getting ready to move on their next venture and Mariah wants to leave the city better than how she came into it. With renovation and new housing projects on her plate, she just needs the money to fund them and Cornell is the master of keeping it moving. But there are problems mounting as Cornell’s stashes are being hit one by one and he needs to put an end to it before he loses too much.  Calling in Domingo for a one on one meeting, Cornell finds out that the Latino gangster is not behind the hits, but his pissing contest has led him to war and he had better mount up.
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Moving from one stash house to the next, Luke is happy to see that his plan worked and now the remainder of Cottonmouth’s money has been pooled in one location.  Breaking in the front door with a car door, Luke lays waste to everyone that is trying to get in his way with force like no one has ever seen before. Finding the cage where all of the money is locked up, Luke takes his bag and gives a call to the police to come and clean up the mess he left.  Not really understanding the motives of this vigilante and why money is not being taken from the crime scenes, Misty and Rafael have to decide if what this new watchdog is doing is right or wrong, but first Rafael needs to go meet with Chico and find out what the injured man actually knows.

I have been skipping over Rafael for the first couple reviews and I feel really bad because he makes me smile, but so far he has not had a strong part in the series. Now, well, things have changed as he shows who he really is and where his loyalties lie. The best part of this episode to me was the interaction between Luke and Bobby Fish, the chess player. Both losing a good friend, they cope with it in their own way, but one way or another they wind up in the barber shop that has meant so much to them over the years. The Cornell and Mariah storyline is starting to heat up now, as the Councilwoman’s office was hit in Luke’s raids and Cornell has lost eighty percent of his cash to the police, but that will not be the end of his troubles since he also pissed off Domingo and will be facing a gang war that he did not expect. The cop story is a little fun as Misty knows that there is something strange about Luke and trouble is following him wherever his chiseled body goes. It is gonna heat up, but one of the thing that you cannot miss in this series is the musical acts that are just fantastic, this episode Charles Bradley brings the funk and in the last episode Faith Evans melted our hearts. I hope this continues as it has become a staple for the show in my mind that I really enjoy.

As the old saying goes, keep your friends close and your enemies closer and that ancient proverb is one that President Tom Kirkman is going to have to live by going forward on Designated Survivor because last night's episode, 'The Confession' made us fully aware of the fact that there are lots of people out there ready to see the new President fail, and fail miserably, and he is going to need people around him with a 'less than perfect' moral core and code if he expects to see any remote success as President of the United States of America.

After all, Tom Kirkman is a stand up guy, a family man, and a person who will never stab you in the back. He firmly believes in truth and honesty and doing right by people and folks with ugly agendas and machinations of enjoying the power of his position...are outright coming after him because of that moral code. They see him as a pushover and it made for one uncomfortable episode, where chaos reigned supreme and it seemed in many ways that Tom simply couldn't get a break last night as one incredible challenge after another fell into his lap, leaving us with more questions than answers as to who this newly minted President can trust, and who exactly was responsible for the attack, while at the same time playing into the nature of morality and what it means to maintain one's purity in a time of crisis. 

Let's talk about that purity first, since Kirkman battled the moral high ground throughout the entire episode. First he had to deal with keeping everyone honest when it came to a potential strike on Al-Sakar since the military is still out for blood. Then he had to deal with a direct challenge to the legitimacy of his Presidency when it leaked to the news networks that he was asked to step down the day of the attacks. He had to deal with Senator Hookstraten and President Richmond's son embarrass him at the funeral, the hits just kept on coming. Yet despite it all, Kirkman stayed classy. He reached out to Richmond's son to make peace, found a common ground with Hookstraten, and while it's noble and refreshing to see a character maintain that moral high ground...it's simply not enough to get by in this story. Tom seems to know deep down that at some point he's going to have to compromise but in the meantime, he found a way to adapt...by letting Aaron handle the uglier side of things.

After all, there was the matter of the Al-Sakar video being leaked to the press...and the fact that Aaron was the one who made the conscious choice to do it. It was a stunning act of direct insubordination since hey, the President himself told everyone to keep it under wraps, but Aaron's decision also made sense since it took the focus off of all of Kirkman's 'shortcomings' and gave the nation the name and the face of their new enemy. The bold decision led to Aaron earning the Chief of Staff position since Kirkman now knows he can delegate some of the nastier decisions his way, but there is still much to be concerned about when it comes to Aaron, since the closing moments of the show featured Aaron getting every bit of intelligence he could about the new Commander In Chief. Regardless, the two men need one another right now...but for how long this unwholesome symbiotic relationship will continue remains a mystery.

If anything, Aaron represents the beginning of a new fold to the series, one that is dire and disturbing, but it is a possibility that we have all considered; that Americans were the ones to perpetrate this horrific act, because between Aaron's actions, and constant conferring with the intrepid general, and the fact that the sole survivor of the bombing was out of his seat 34 seconds before the explosion happened...it's starting to look like this whole thing was designed to alter the course of the country and the government and that means that there is potentially a grand conspiracy coming together and Kirkman is about to be in for the fight of his life on both a professional and personal level. Either way, this series continues to impress, to push Kirkman in such a manner as this is outright brilliant because it is truly testing what kind of a leader he is and is going to be and the series is giving us just enough to keep us hooked and I cannot wait to see what challenges await Tom next week, since it looks like even more difficult decisions are about to be made. Until next time.

If you are like me, you love to watch movies that have to do with the end of the world. I am not saying that I want to see it happen anytime soon, but with so many theories of how it will happen, there might be some ways to prepare. I have been looking for an Armageddon type of movie or show for some time now and when I saw Aftermath pop up on Syfy, I was more than willing to give it a try, I mean it can’t be worse than some of the movies I have watched in the past.

Josh Copeland is rushing home to make sure his family is alright with an impending hurricane on its way.  With his cell phone signal knocked out, he has no way of contacting them and is forced to listen to the radio and hears about all of the biblical things that are suddenly happening around the country. Not knowing what the heck is going on, he only wants to make sure that his family is safe and when he finds them clueless to what is going on around the area and throughout the rest of the nation, he is very surprised.

Locking down during the hurricane, the family finds hundreds of fish on their lawn, but they find out from the Sheriff that their discovery is not the strangest thing to come out of the storm as another fellow found snakes all over his yard. Keeping an eye out for a missing kid, the Copeland’s find him knocking at their door at dinner time. Seeing that the boy has been through a lot, they don’t really question him, but when he starts to eat their food without using utensils, they have had enough. Seeing a change in the young man’s eyes, Matt tries to keep him from tainting all off the food, but is thrown across the room like he weighs nothing. The young man then takes his attack to Karen who is powerless against him and Matt is forced to pull out the family gun and shoot the kid. When the young man falls, Josh sees something leave the body and knows that he may be able to find some answers in his books.

With the household on lockdown once again, the kids; Matt, Brianna and Dana do not know what is going on outside, but continue to hear stories about it. In the meantime, Josh continues to study his books to Karen’s dismay, but he knows they house the answers he is looking for. With another break-in during the day, the family is forced to watch Brianna be taken away by a person that can fly and have to load up their RV to take a road trip to find her. While on the road, the family starts to see what is happening to the rest of the world and while people are going crazy, the systems are slowly starting to boot back up and civilization as they know it may come back to normal. They still have no clue what infection is running rampant around the city, but Josh is finding clues in these strange occurrences and the Book of Revelations is just the starting point as to what is happening all around him and his family. 

As far as pilot episodes go, this one was not so bad. With plenty of action and things that you never thought you would see on television, wow, some of it has blown me away. The trip further north to a quarantine zone seems to be the best thing to do when facing the end of days, but what happens if the infected or other acts of God take that area out? I do however have a problem with Karen, who is supposed to be retired from the Air Force, and the relationship she has with her husband Josh. She is far from a religious person and has no idea what archeology, religion and myth have to do with each other since Josh is a teacher in the subject and to me it seems like they just met and got married and know nothing about each other, but that is just me. I hope to see them grow quickly as the series continues and as the world continues to fall apart around them. We have to wait until the next episode to see if Brianna is alright and if the family can reunite to face the end of the world together. 

The time has finally come for Luke Cage to take center stage and I must admit that I am excited for this series after Jessica Jones and how powerful Cage was in it. With a slight change of venue, taking us to Harlem instead of central New York, it is time to see how Luke is getting on in his life and what he is doing to keep himself out of trouble. It is easy to see how the superhero aspect of the story will play out, especially since The Avengers battle for New York is still being talked about in the city, but there are more problems than just aliens coming into the city as crime and corruption are running unchecked by the police. Well, it is time to get into the series and get to know a little bit more about Luke Cage and the hero he will soon become.

Working in Pop’s Barbershop, Luke is happy with the position he has of keeping the back end of the shop running, but like every barbershop, everyone has their own opinions. Voicing his and getting into it with a customer, Pop sees that there is a fire burning in his employee’s heart. Talking to Luke about what he should be doing, cleaning the streets with the power that he has been given, Luke just wants to stay in the shadows and out of everybody’s way. Working off the books since he is a fugitive, Luke is making a decent living for himself and with two jobs and still dealing with the loss of Reva, there is little time for him to worry about what is happening around him.

Leaving the barbershop to go to his second job, Luke sees his co-worker Chico heading off someplace with a gun in his hand. Not knowing what is going to happen to the young man, Luke gets to Mr. Stokes' club and gets to work washing dishes when he gets asked to tend bar for one of the absent employees. Mixing drinks for the lovely Misty, Luke notices that there is more on her mind than just the joyful conversation with him as her eyes continue to venture up to Cottonmouth’s private table. While watching his club prosper from high above, Cornell ‘Cottonmouth’ Stokes is meeting with Councilwoman Mariah Dillard who has been very kind to him over the years. With the promise of a massive payday, Cottonmouth extends his meeting to Colon who is in the market for some top grade firepower that can take over the wars on the street.

When Chico and Shameek interrupt the deal going down, Shameek opens fire and forces his team to kill everyone in their way. With a million dollars there for the taking, Shameek then turns his attention to Dante who is the inside man behind the theft and takes him out as well. But Dante gets the word out to Cottonmouth's men before he dies, meaning Shameek and Chico are now on the radar of the notorious gangster and will not be able to live comfortably with the money they have just acquired. After the short battle, Misty gets a call in Luke’s bed and is forced to go and investigate the shootout. Knowing nothing about what happened, Luke sits and talks with Pop again about what is happening in the streets and how the kids just want to find a way out and knowing that Chico is in trouble as well, it might be time for him to turn over a new leaf and hit the streets as only Power Man can.

Not a bad opening episode of the series as you get to find out a little bit more about Luke Cage that was left out of the Jessica Jones storyline. Being in prison for some time, Luke did not make any friends, but one of his enemies is back and joining Cottonmouth on the quest for his missing money. I really like Cottonmouth thus far as he is a calm and contained psychopath that has his fingers in many things and also the councilwoman’s pocket since she is in need of money as well. Misty is not who she says she is to Luke, instead she is a cop that is probably going to have to ask him for help in the near future. Councilwoman Dillard is going to be an interesting twist in the story since she is as corrupt as the next politician and needs Cottonmouth’s money to cover up her spending. I love the music thus far in the series with some Jazz and R&B playing in the background and a guest appearance by Raphael Saadiq from Tony! Toni! Toné! is not a bad thing at all. Well on to the next episode, since now Luke Cage is starting to accept who he should be.

When we last saw Barry Allen on The Flash, he was in essence a man pushed to his breaking point, suffering one painful emotional blow after another, driving him to finally say enough and travel back in time to that fateful night where he lost his mother...and change the future forever by saving her life and capturing the Reverse Flash in the process.

The end result of his decision was something that every single fan of the show waited for with great anticipation, since 'Flashpoint' would signal the small screen beginning of one of the most iconic storylines for The Flash, but while that in and of itself is awesome, there was so much more to be found when it came to this story, because once we got past the jarring images of Kid Flash ruling the roost in Central City, and Barry waking up to spend time with his parents every single day...this season three premiere boiled down to the harrowing story, of a broken man trying desperately to heal and dealing with how his selfishness caused more harm than good. 

After all, this new and improved Barry Allen, enjoyed nothing more...than not being the hero. He was content to get up and have breakfast with the folks every single day, ogle Iris from afar since in this timeline, the two never grew up together and spend his hours at work productively hunting down criminals the old fashioned way, through criminal science. Occasionally on the side, Barry was also content in mocking his prisoner by constantly letting Eobard know that this was the happiest he had ever been and while we the audience should have been furious over this selfish move, all you could do is feel for Barry throughout the entire episode. We've seen him challenged, we've seen him suffer and we've watched his heart break so him taking a seat on the sidelines and enjoying his own personal paradise, while Kid Flash handled the rest was perhaps exactly what Barry needed.  

Because this episode allowed for Barry to find everything he needed to heal on his own, and sure part of that was only because paradise started to crumble, but deep down Barry knew this wasn't the life he was supposed to live, this was just a waypoint station to heal, and properly say goodbye to his parents because a true hero cannot resist the call and it didn't take long before he answered it, returning to his identity as The Flash and doing his best to help this alternate Central City before finally realizing...he had to restore the timeline or risk losing everything about himself forever and in heartbreaking fashion he let Thrawn out of his cell...and went back in time with him to ensure that Barry's mother died on that fateful night, putting Barry back in the driver's seat as Central City's champion, and restoring the timeline...or...so it seemed...

This episode was a fine example of the fact that character development has been, and will forever be The Flash's strongest suit structure wise and this premiere was no exception to that rule, and it even went above and beyond by stepping into some philosophical territory. This was truly an episode that explored the power of grief, and what it can do to even the noblest of people and while some may chide Barry for his selfishness and stupidity for creating this mess, what choice did a broken man have? He needed that time with his folks, he needed to grieve properly and step away and yes, while he did screw everything up, he knows that, he sacrificed again to try and set things right and he will spend the rest of the season paying for his mistake. Plus, it was a genius and thoughtful stroke of storytelling, to explore the importance of how our memories and experiences define us and we are nothing without them. Either way, this was a powerful and poignant season premiere and at long last, Flashpoint is upon us and it should be one hell of a ride. Until next time.

Season one of Blunt Talk was a rare find when it comes to comedy. Not only did it manage to bring the laughs on a regular basis, and show off Patrick Stewart's comedy chops, but this all important first year of the series also knew how to reach us on a more intimate level. We shared some special moments with its characters and in addition to making us laugh, the show also knew how to bring a little mist to our eyes, and that special blend of hilarity and emotion made the series a must watch in my eyes.

So needless to say, there was certainly a little celebration on my end when the news broke that Blunt Talk would be returning for a second season along with incredible anticipation. After all, I am vested in this series, I had to know how Walter Blunt and his colorful cadre of characters would grow and evolve from the hardships they faced in season one and at long last, we found out how they are doing this week when the second season premiere hit the airwaves and let me tell you, 'I Remember That Time More Like a Movie I Saw Than a Life I Lived' is a brilliant episode and a wonderful way to kick off the new season, thanks in large part to the fact that the jokes are still as side splitting this year as they were last year, but also because the characters are indeed in a different place and stronger than ever.

Take Walter for instance, following that wild experience with the Adler family, Mister Blunt just so happens to be in a wonderful place. His show is now at the top of the ratings, and there's a comfort and confidence that has returned to Walter's life. No longer is he questioning his every move, he's maintaining his therapy appointments and he's continuing to try and culture himself and do a greater service to mankind. But despite the good place he now finds himself within, there is still one thing eluding Walter...a companion, a partner, someone to share his everyday life with that ignites his soul and allows him to soar, and he often finds his mind returning to a special lady he lost so long ago, Cornelia. Thirty years ago they shared quite the love affair, and now...it seems that she might be back in his life when Walter believes he sees her walking around the streets of Los Angeles.

Some quick work from his team confirms, she is indeed in town, and much to Walter's delight...she wants to meet and well, this sweet little storyline just works on so many levels. For one, it's wonderful to see Walter act like a teenage boy when it comes to talking to Cornelia and more importantly, there's genuine chemistry there. You can see the fact that these two people share a powerful connection and instantly you're rooting for Walter and Cornelia to quickly become an item because truth be told, we all love Walter, and we all want to see him happy and for the moment, the man is soaring, but...what would a TV show be without a touch of trouble, and it would seem that there is indeed drama on the horizon for Walter, with that closing shot of a mystery man (played by Roger Rabbit himself, Charles Fleischer) keeping an eye on the two lovebirds. 

What that man is up to just yet, we don't quite know, but despite that ominous ending, this was an uplifting season premiere. It focused heavily on living on the moment and enjoying every single second of it and that was refreshing to see. I love the fact that everyone was in a happy place, either enjoying their burgeoning new love, or just simply enjoying life and while Blunt Talk has never been a dark comedy, last year's theme was definitely about the struggle of achieving happiness and if I had to guess, this year is going to be all about maintaining it while Walter continues to work on his legacy and making the world the better place as well. Either way, I definitely walked away from this episode with a great big smile on my face and I can't wait for Walter's wacky and endearing adventures to continue come Sunday. Until next time.

There are many things that people want to do in life, but one of the things that they cannot do on their own is be entertained. Although you can do things to keep you busy, it is up to others to entertain you, hence why we watch television and movies. But there are other places we can turn to for entertainment, the opera, the circus, a Broadway show, even an amusement park. With people out there to bring us something that we crave, it is hard to believe that we could ever feel alone as they come back to us on a weekly basis on our TV screens, but we know they are not real, at least their characters are not, no matter how much we want them to be.

Arriving in town, Teddy Flood is not looking to have a good time, but to catch up with his love Dolores who is waiting anxiously to see him again. With a chance meeting in town, Teddy is able to accompany his love on her ride home and even though her father thinks little of the cowboy that knows nothing about herding cattle, his love will never be shaken for the girl. As the sun goes down, the two find themselves on the outskirts of the property surrounding her home when they hear gunshots ringing out as the gangster that has been hiding in the hills has come to claim his reward and kill Dolores’ parents. But Teddy will not stand for this and he avenges his love and takes down the gangster. Waking up the next morning, a new day is upon Dolores and she is ready to live it to the fullest once again, as nothing important happened the previous night and her father is waiting to wish her a good morning as he always does.

In the control center Bernard is starting to notice some changes that are coming through with the most recent download, but does not think that they will be causing any issues with the androids that rule the park. His counterpart however is not having the same feeling about the unexpected update and wants to ensure that everything is running smoothly in the park since the visitors are supposed to be catered to at every turn. With a breach in one of the cold storage floors, Bernard heads down to see the creator talking with one of his oldest inventions and while it does not seem to mean much, Bernard is able to catch up on what his boss Dr. Ford has been adding to the programing. Wanting to make his accomplishments as lifelike as possible, the newest update should do just that, but little does he know what else it will awaken within his lifelike robots. 

While at first everything seems to be going according to plan in the town, glitches suddenly start to appear for no reason. Needing to know how the update has effected the population, Bernard is not able to see where the flaw is located, but he is not looking in the right place. As Theresa wants all of the corrupted 'bots out of the park, the storyteller believes that it will change the entire outcome of the town and refuses. But he does not have the power to keep the boss from doing what she wants and instead writes a new script that will leave the town in shambles and the guests will not know the difference. With things starting to change around the town, something starts to evolve in the 'bots that nobody has been able to predict and whether it is for better or worse will be left up to the guests who have paid their money to have their dreams come true.

This seems to be one of the things that people have put a lot of thought into over the years. Being adapted from an old Michael Crichton script, it does not seem like the base needs of the human race have changed much over the last forty years or so. An amusement park where anything goes seems like the trip of a lifetime and so many of the returning visitors are willing to change their approach to it when they come back for more. With all of their needs fulfilled in a two week time frame, the guests have no idea what is happening behind the scenes, even if it may cause them harm and it does not appear the people behind the park know what is happening as well. I think I am really going to get into this series, as I love the old west and putting it in the future with robots that may be able to revolt against the creator, well, that means we are in for an awesome story that fans of westerns and science fiction can rejoice in.

Stories that revolve around classic myths and legends always fascinate me, simply because it's quite amazing that in this day and age, people are still inspired and fascinated by these ancient beings. After all, it's easy to prove or disprove whether or not something is real these days, which means one has to wonder, how is it these ancient creatures continue to find their way into our hearts and minds?

It could be perhaps the idea of a creature hiding beneath the water of Loch Ness or that Bigfoot is waiting in the woods excites the child in us that always believed in those things, but really, it all comes down to one thing...we love the notion that there is more out there than we could possibly understand and to come face to face with it, and potentially be the first to discover it, fires up our imagination in ways we never knew were possible. But while these thoughts are often forgotten as we go about our day, all it takes is a particular moment, when we hear a strange noise downstairs as we get ready for bed, see a shadow out of the corner of our eyes...or hear a mysterious sound outside that leaves us wondering if such things still exist, and The Ray Bradbury Theater decided to explore the notion of what it might be like to encounter the unknown in this era of information in the season one finale, 'The Banshee.'

Douglas Rogers is out late on a cold Irish night, and with good reason. As a respected screenwriter, he has been summoned across the pond by director John Hampton so that the eccentric visionary can get a look at Douglas' latest script. Thankfully the script is well received by John meaning that Douglas is in for a long night of work as they tune the story up. But despite the fact that Douglas is ready to start writing, he has to deal with a little song and dance from John as he pokes and prods his favorite film scribe, trying to get a ruse out of him, rambling on about how the sounds they hear outside this evening, are from a Banshee, calling for a soul to claim. Having enough of John's ribbing, Douglas decides to go outside and prove to the director that nothing is there. But on this night, John may not be joking and there is something incredible waiting in the darkness for Douglas to discover...

So first and foremost, this is one of those rare episodes of television, where the acting is so good they could have spent a half hour reading from the dictionary and you'd be hanging on every single word since acting legend Peter O'Toole plays John and good heavens is he phenomenal. His fear of what lies outside the walls, oozes through in his performance and as always he is a chameleon when it comes to his characters. After you get past the surprise of seeing his legendary face, he becomes John Hampton, and he plays the eccentric man with a certain glee that forces the audience to swing back and forth between loving him and hating him. That performance matters, because without that gravity and strength, there's simply no substance to this episode. We feel for Douglas as the drunken and surly John unloads on him with glee and you want him to earn John's approval so the abuse comes to an end.

Yet what makes this episode fit perfectly into the mold of the series, is the moment when Douglas comes face to face with the Banshee, simply because he doesn't believe for a moment that he's standing next to a specter, he thinks it's just another stupid prank and well...little does he realize that this encounter and the exchange that follows influences him, plays upon his skepticism to allow him to continue to fire back at John and send him out into the night instead, giving us the big reveal that the Banshee is indeed real. Thankfully the show ends with that revelation, so that there isn't any awkward exposition about this discovery, it just allows for the story to become a cautionary tale about sticking to our morals and walking a path of decency when it comes to our fellow man, because by giving in...Douglas was no better than John and a price was paid for both men's arrogant actions. Either way, while this episode is a little drier and vastly more subtle than the ones that have come before it, it's one that draws you in with its unexpected spookiness and serves as a fine finale for a wild and wonderful first season. Until next time.