Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
Bless the Harts
Creator/executive producer Emily Spivey has a new show coming to FOX Sunday night. Set in North Carolina and bringing to mind King of the Hill, the Harts are a family led by Jenny (Kristen Wiig), a single woman who lives with her daughter Violet (Jillian Bell) and mother Betty (Maya Rudolph). Jenny has a boyfriend (Ike Barinholtz) and talks with Jesus (Kumail Nanjiani). They screened about half an episode, with incomplete animation. It was funny, but the plot was rather obvious. It debuts 9/29 after The Simpsons.
Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal
Not just a “first look: as advertised but they screened the first episode of what I imagine will be my favorite TV series of the new season. A caveman loses his family to dinosaurs and seeks revenge. He stumbles across the mother and her babies of a different species. When the other dinosaurs appear, the caveman and the mother come together in the end. There’s no dialogue in any of the season’s 10 episodes. Influenced by Ralph Bakshi and Frank Franzetta, the art looks amazing and Tyler Bates score is evocative.
Solar Opposites
Co-creators Justin Roiland and Mike McMahan have a new animated show Hulu set for spring 2020 about a group of aliens from a destroyed planet crash into a house and pose as a family. They learn about human ways and their absurdities, mostly through TV, in this sitcom which is a more traditional sitcom than their other show, Rick & Morty.
Archer
Arguably the funniest group of panelists, I rarely miss this them, especially since it’ll be the last until the anniversary. Or so I thought, because not did they air the next episode, but after asking the audience, they showed last five minutes of what we thought as series finale. That is until they revealed that an eleventh season is happening with the characters back in the spy game.
TV Guide Magazine Fan Favorites 2019
Getting a seat for the DC Animated movie, I got to hear from some of the actors on this panel and it was much more interesting than expected. Candice Patton, who plays Iris West on The Flash, had a moving exchange with an attendee talking about the weight and responsibility she bears being a women of color in a heroic leading role and the inspiration that brings. Clark Gregg of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. talked about what it means to be an American nowadays and how limiting some people’s opinions, like the President, are in comparison to what he sees in terms of diversity at cons like this.
World Premiere of Batman: Hush
Based on a popular storyline in the comic, Batman: Hush is interesting in the way it plays with a number of villains and explores the relationship between Batman and Catwoman as well as Bruce and Selina. Hush was rejuvenated in the Lazarus Pit and inexplicably that bath revealed to him who Batman is so he starts hurting those close to Bruce. I have grown tired of how every villain is a highly skilled martial artist in fights.
Spike and Mike’s Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation
The programming began with the classic Keep Off the Grass about a dog and a lawn. Other cartoons were less successful and as is a tradition they got booed off the screen. The last one I sat through was long, too long actually, about a superhero deciding between stopping a destructive asteroid or taking a poop.
