mail-shadow Reviews

The Blacklist: The Dockery Affair (2023) Season 10, Episode 5

All in all enjoyable, but an avoidable plothole

[8/10 · 29 November 2023]

Take care: minimal spoilers ahead.

Allthough this one almost does not progress the main storyline i found myself liking this episode.

It was a "business as usual" crime procedural, but the characters were nice to follow.

The real bad part was the conclusion of the story line in the end, cause you see the killer who should have been in the system killing the victim without any gloves and leaving a whole mess of DNA and fingerprint evidence.

That alone made the whole premise of the series a bit unbelievble.

It was 2 mins before the end, so 40 mins episode. Let's see what the next episodes have in stock.

PS: Why do i need 600 chracters for an episode review.

Rammstein: Deutschland (2019 Music Video)

Great Song, stunning visuals

[10/10 · 3 November 2022]

The song has a real nice flow to it, bang your head to it, sing along, it all works.

The visuals are high class, they are meant to be controversial and are left open to interpretation as well as the lyrics.

It contains parts of german history, the difficult relationship Germans have with their country because of the dark passt in the "3rd Reich"

In contrary to other countries it is hard to have the same national pride like others, allthough i guess a lot of countries have a dark past.

Seldom, you see that kind of production value anymore, maybe MJ did such extravagant Music Videos.

It is not for everybodym but you should give it a listen.

Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

Enjoyable but empty

[5/10 · 27 October 2022]

Love and Thunder does attempt to explore themes of love and loss whilst introducing the Mighty Thor and putting Thor on a journey of self discovery. However, it sadly doesn't work as well as it should due to a rushed pace and way too many jokes that are almost never funny.

Chris Hemsworth is still going strong as Thor but the extreme goofiness is getting a little stale. Natalie Portman has never been better as this character and Tessa Thompson is still great as Valkyrie, even though she doesn't really get much to do.

Taika Waititi massively overstays his welcome as Korg this time, who becomes very annoying really fast. Christian Bale is one of the better MCU villains with a good motivation and an unsettling presence but is let down by limited screen time.

All in all, i would never rewatch this movie, after 1 day i almost forget every scene of the movie, it was so generic. We'll it's what you expect from a marvel movie these days.

The Blacklist: The Bear Mask (2022) Season 9, Episode 19

Not a good one

[2/10 · 11 August 2022]

Aram has anciety and decides to take a Ketamin Trip in some office - yeah, that is not a bad idea from the start, to go into a sedative state where you could tell some stranger all the stuff he knows about Reddington and other secrets

He then has some groundhog day hallucination which has obviously no stake at all, therefore lacks any tension, bad filler episode.

The Blacklist: The Avenging Angel (No. 49) (2021) Season 9, Episode 4

After 9 seasons, can they just get a medical advisor?

[2/10 · 12 July 2022]

Almost every time, the blacklist goes into the medical field, they are doing something so blatantly wrong and stupid, it is hard to watch for a medical professional or a person with a brain.

The avenging angel arc is ok, but why they need the medical arc, i don't get it. Just make him confess and suicide like the 1st victim, nothing more.

Chernobyl (2019)

Was truly entertained and disturbed

[10/10 · 4 April 2022]

Just watched all the episodes and it was a good watch.

Brilliant acting, good scene directions and the visuals were amazing.

I guess there are some inaccuraccies and overdramaticised villainy with some characters but the essence of all of it feels right.

As a medical employee for over 15 years, i see some resemblance between the hierarchy of the USSR and the medical field. Questioning an upper level employee was very difficult and the root of the disaster. Even today, this problem still exists, allthough it's not as severe, but i don't think something like that could not happen again.

I was 1 when that reactor exploded, so i knew not much about that time, but seeing all those consequences, was very disturbing and knowing how close we came to the end of Europe as i know it, was hard to watch, especially considering the current status of the Russion War on the Ucraine.

I can recommend this series to everyone, but beware that it surely isn't 100% accurate, but close enough.

The Good Doctor (2017–2024)

Interesting idea, horrible execution

[2/10 · 21 March 2022]

While looking for a new medical drama, i came across the good doctor.

The idea is interesting, the first 2 episodes were ok, had some bad medicine and character acting, but it showed some promise, so i went on to episode 3.

I just couldn't watch the entire episode, there was so much bad medicine and inaccuriacies, it made me cringe the whole time.

Sad to see another medical flop IMHO.

Cobra Kai: First Learn Stand (2021) Season 4, Episode 2

"nerds" in 2021?

[2/10 · 7 February 2022]

So in 2021 it is still considered "nerdy" to play video games?

In what universe is this series playing?

That middle school plotline is yawning and has no place.

The Blacklist: Misère (2021) Season 8, Episode 14

Confirmation the plot is stupid

[2/10 · 3 February 2022]

The plot of season 8 is weird, and no one know how that all should make sense.

In this episode you get the complete reveal from Elizabeth' side.

And yeah, the reveal just shows how stupid it was.

This whole elaborate plan to get to Raymond is way too compliated and stupid.

The Blacklist: Elizabeth Keen (No. 1) (2021) Season 8, Episode 4

Ressler and Keen ... *ugh*

[1/10 · 29 January 2022]

The first minute of this episode makes me gag and vomit at the same time.

*gavomiting*

How long are they going to stretch out this boring plotline.

This describes it as precise as can be, who wrote this BS?

The Blacklist: 16 Ounces (2021) Season 8, Episode 3

Plot Armor - again ...

[3/10 · 29 January 2022]

Yeah, right at the seconde Raymond would have been blown up because .... well plot armor, that's convenient.

And by now all this "truths" are just ridicolous und completely boring.

Let's just say i started watching this show on my tv with a drink, right now i am playing games and the Blacklist runs on my tablet beside me like wide noise....

The Blacklist: Lawrence Dane Devlin (No. 26) (2018) Season 5, Episode 21

plot convenience

[3/10 · 12 January 2022]

God awful, horrible episode

as many others said before this is completely ridiculous, the obduction is just stupid and every setback is not believable.

For some reason samar lost all her training.

The Blacklist: Ian Garvey (No. 13): Conclusion (2018) Season 5, Episode 19

entertaining but again with the plot holes

[7/10 · 11 January 2022]

Garvey is less tall then reddington

reddingtons double is taller than himself

so his double is an obvious amount taller than the real one, his goons obviously would have noticed.

Dexter: New Blood: Sins of the Father (2022) Season 1, Episode 10

I don't know why people are so disappointed

[9/10 · 9 January 2022]

The last epsiode followed what took shape since Angela started to investigating Dexter, the Bay Harbor Butcher and the Matt Caldwell killing.

There was not enough evidence to make a good case for the MC killing, but everything she found out about then jugular punctures in correlation to the BHB and the evidence trial with the ketamin.

It was killed or be killed at that moment, and Dexter knew that, he did what he did for years to survive. Distract Angela with the last straw he had and then trying to overpower Logan, his plans don't always work out when they are improvised.

With all the evidence, there would be a nationwide manhunt for Dexter again, so for me that conclusion made a lot of sense.

And i prefer that over some forced ending so the series can go on.

The Blacklist: The Endling (No. 44) (2017) Season 5, Episode 4

So much nonesense

[2/10 · 28 December 2021]

I don't know where to start. First the depiction of montenegro was complete BS

Secondly the motive of "the endling" - her extrem to connection to a son she doesn't know at all.

Thirdly EK is just becoming a ridicolous character who just does what he wants.

Fourth, the medical side of it, i can't even begin how much BS that is.

On the plus side, they didn't hire American actors to speak the worst german in cinema, again.

The Blacklist: Alexander Kirk (No. 14): Conclusion (2016) Season 3, Episode 23

The medical explanation was such a BS

[1/10 · 12 December 2021]

I was waiting for the explanation, i knew Elizabeth wasn't dead since i had started to watch the Blacklist again when there were already 7 seasons out.

As a medical professional (anaesthesiologist) the whole explanation just isn't plausible.

Ok, so he put her under general anaesthesia, then intubated her and ventilated her, he could have also fooled Raymond that her heart stopped, but they did long CPR on her, and then they just took out the intubation tube and she lay there, she would have needed a lot of anaesthesia in order not to become awake during her cpr and ventilation, even if we allow the possibility of him reversing everything with opiod and benzo antagonists, the moment of her waking up would have been the time the whole theatre to reveal its charade.

We saw them in the Van, Elizabeth with no tube and she was not breathing, so a quick brain death would have made sense since it took Kaplan some minutes to get her into the body bag where she could have been antagonized without Raymond knowing.

Game of Thrones (2011–2019)

D&D ran out of Book material and it took 1 and 1/2 seasons to show everyone

[5/10 · 9 May 2019]

First of all, i watched the 1st season, then i read all the books till season 2 came out and then i just watched the show since no new book (waiting for the 6th) came out.

This was one of my favorite shows of all time, largely because the source material is great and this is not one of those Hollywood stories. People don't have "plot armor", main characters die and u get surprised when fan favorites get killed because the plot just makes more sense that way.

A death is meaningful, GRRM always said that a good story has to do that. Another great aspect are fledged out characters who are not just black and white. For example Jaymie Lannister, first people think he is such a douche, but as the story progresses you see his inner motivation and that he is above all else a human being with a motivation like the rest of us (things i do for love)

I was hopeful they would continue this show after the ran out of source material because some of the scenes which diverted from the book were really awesome (e.g. Arya and Tywin scenes in Harrenhal, in the books they don't meet but Arya interacts with R. Bolton at Harrenhal) - so i thought D&D could do good dialogue and some original writing.

But boy ..... was i wrong

I still enjoyed season 6 allthough some people already said it was showing that they ran out of book material, yes they did simplify a large chunk of the story but all in all, it was good writing and the scaling and logic of the universe still made sense aswell as the actions of the characters.

But then season 7 came and they through logic out of the window, and i don't mean that in the sense that this is fantasy, but the "logic of the universe" was crushed. It felt like time travel and stupid decision making the whole season long. Season 8 so far turned this up a notch and made me cringe like every 5 minutes.

What a sad ending for such a great start.

House M.D.: You Don't Want to Know (2007) Season 4, Episode 8

Good Episode

[8/10 · 17 November 2016]

Finally you are a bit connected to the new candidates, which is really good.

The case of the day has many twists, is well written and we got the diagnosis we have been waiting for ... or House was waiting for, for a long time.

The personal discovery about Remys(13) Huntington had many good scenes between House and her, and it went deep.

Also the last part was for me, really emotional. House figured out the plot of Cuddy and revealed the deal she made with Jeffrey. He dropped his seemingly good friend Kutner to on a chance to save his own job, that was hard. Retrospectively even more if you know what's about to happen to Kutner in the future.

Scrubs (2001–2010)

Started great but went downhill

[7/10 · 22 October 2012]

As I first watched "Scrubs" i was hooked after the 2nd episode, this show is great, good humour, charming characters and no "audience laughter" The setting is great, comedy inside a hospital, i don't think this has been there before scrubs. But what really amazed me is the way they try to use a believable story and the only scenes where something goes nuts are in JDs head. Also, they have great guest appearances (MJ Fox, Brendan Fraser) and great emotional episodes.

But everything who set scrubs apart for me as a great comedy kind of got lost with the beginning of season 5, the stories weren't that real anymore and the lines with JDs crazy fantasy and the real story seemed to blur. More and more scrubs became some kind of slapstick parody with just weird daydreams.

For me Season 1-4 are still great and I'll watch those DVDs a lot, but everything from S5 on is not worth a re-watch for me.

Dexter: Nebraska (2011) Season 6, Episode 7

Dexter jumping the shark?

[5/10 · 15 November 2011]

I was really really disappointed with this episode.

Till this one i was quite pleased with season 6, it doesn't have the "24- feel" of the fifth one, it was back to the storytelling i like. The story has time to develop, everything is thought-out, story plot mistakes are very rare, but now this one.

I think Dexter really jumped the shark, he was acting completely out of character, like he was on drugs or something, although he still is aware of his code (because he says so in one scene), he doesn't follow it at all. Plus the new "virtual Brian" was really set in place badly, when Harry is used, it is much more subtle, but this chimera was really bad.

I still have hope for the rest of the season, but i think it's time Dexter doesn't overstay his welcome.

Smallville: Prophecy (2011) Season 10, Episode 20

Only one more to go, finally ....

[5/10 · 8 May 2011]

Well, what can i say, i would have stopped watching Smallville years ago if i didn't have the urge to see everything through till the end, given that it hooks me in the beginning. With Smallville, that's the case, i like superman, i like comic series and i liked this one, the back and forth in Highschool began to be awful after some seasons, i was almost there to quit the show, but then Lois Lane saves the day and the bad teen romance seems to be over, but some seasons later the plots have gotten really ridiculous, some never ending stories never end, i just watched smallville while surfing the internet. Coming to today, that's what i did: Watching or more listening to smallville while surfing the net for 45 minutes, boring plot twists that makes you think you're back in high school. Square One after 10 Seasons ... I'm just glad when it's over next week.

The Practice: Cloudy with a Chance of Membranes (1998) Season 2, Episode 20

Awesome Episode

[10/10 · 19 November 2010]

I really think the wife did it, i mean look at her face after the verdict was read. She was so pleased like a criminal mastermind whose plan was to kill the "bitch" who had an affair with her husband and then frame the untruthful husband for the murder.

Concerning the statement of the D.A. at the house with the policeman and the wife. As i understand she only needed the info of the car in the Vicinity of the crime so she could order the search warrant for the house, i think someone saw the car and she needed the more than that so she asked the wife if the car really was there.

I really liked the closing statements although i must say Robert wasn't all up on his game. He didn't made it clear that almost no other suspects were investigated. I ended up believing the D.A.s statement, because of the reaction after seeing the crime scene. The Husband should have easily connected that this killing is of the poet and he wouldn't be implicated.

Glee (2009–2015)

Started great, too much hype, became mediocre

[5/10 · 29 May 2010]

Well, i started watching glee at the end of episode 13, i watched every episode within 2 days. It sucked me in. A funny story, that is not to be taken seriously mixed with many eccentric characters and to complete that: great retro songs played by great singers.

I was very excited for the second half of season 1, i still watch every episode but it's not the series highlight of my week. The plot became kind of boring, there are only few funny edges any more.

I have the feeling the writers are desperately trying to find a story which fits a pattern for one episode, that ruins the show. The show has lost it's light touch too fast. In addition to that, the songs are for my taste not that good anymore and are now too much mainstream and not like the older retro songs of the first half.

If this goes on like this, i don't think i'll be watching season 2.

Trauma (2009–2010)

I wanted more, i was hoping for more

[2/10 · 3 November 2009]

Well i am a big fan of medical TV Series, i watched 9 seasons of E.R. which is still one of my favorites because it's the most realistic one i know. I watched all of House's Episodes because the characters are very well played and it doesn't matter that the medical plot isn't always as accurate, at least the procedures are done right. I watched Nip Tuck, because the first season, the make-up&masks in the surgeries were totally awesome, the character story was funny too, sadly the good medical side has gone worse, i don't think i can watch this any longer. And then there are my 2 soaps "Greys and Private Practice", GA started very nice, but then became worse since season 3, it wasn't all that accurate from the beginning, but it became worse, in addition the characters made such incomprehensible moves, that makes you think you're in a satire, the only reason i still watch is, because the soundtrack still is great and when i face medical clichés in my patient i know where they get it from. PP doesn't run this long and has a greater focus on the characters and ethical dilemmas, which is good because then you can't mess up the medicine like in GA.

So except from House i wanted a new series with good cases, good characters and Emergency Medicine, i was psyched to see this.

But i can say EVERY second was bad, i don't know where to start, let's make a list: Medical procedures? CPR with one hand because it looks cool? No it doesn't, administering the wrong medicine, why? - Sex in an ambulance? Yes, but not on duty! - Beer on duty, WTF? - Every character gets introduced, 2 helicopter crash (i thought the pilot was such an awesome dude ...) and there are survivors? Are you kidding me?

These shows are supposed to show Medical PROFESSIONALS, at least they try to tell you this, but all you see are pretty people who don't know their head from their ass. I really don't know why they have take every realism out of this series, emergency medicine is a rush, you don't need to push it up with ridiculous plots, actions. Realism makes medical series better, not worse. I don't know why writers don't get that.

Let's hope for the next medical show :)