Solving 'Lanterns' and 'Ted Lasso' Is on Track; Plus, Return of 'Dark Matter'

[00:00:01] Hey everyone, it's Taking It Down, the TV Podcast from the Alabama Take. Today on the podcast we got conversations about Ted Lasso's recent episode, Lanterns on HBO with its second episode, and Dark Matter coming back to Apple TV. In the meantime, since this is episode 294 of the podcast, that means we're getting closer and closer to episode 300. Whether you're a first time listener or a fan for a while, you should send us a question or comment. Use the form in the show notes.

[00:00:30] Send one over. We'll use it on the air unless you specify otherwise. Thanks for helping us get this far. I'm gonna bring in the usual suspects with Adam and Donovan and we will begin. I'll let it take the junction.

[00:00:52] Yeah, here we are. Adam and Donovan joining me. Let's get started this week with the prize of Apple TV, the pride of Kansas City, Mr. Ted Lasso. It's the fourth episode of the fourth season. It was called Greyhound's Day Off. Ted's back in England, now coaching a women's football squad with a whole new cast of characters on his team and a pretty similar group surrounding him in the staff and front office.

[00:01:16] I think last week we settled on the notion that this fourth season found its footing with the third episode. Yeah. Yeah, I agree with that. It wasn't ever too lost, in my opinion, after the first one. Not the first one wasn't bad, but they kind of started clicking once he was back in the groove. You know, the thing about this show is, I think, if you think of Ted Lasso, you think of like the penultimate and ultimate episodes of season one.

[00:01:46] And you're like, man, they really, they can tuck on the heartstrings and there are others, you know. And you forget, there's some goofy episodes in the initial run. And I think episode four, if you want to call that a return to form, then yeah. I wouldn't have said that, but I think, because I didn't have the words, but I think Adam summed up exactly how I feel about it. There were even some good gags in there. There were some things that made me laugh. But yeah, it was a goofy episode. And that's fine. I think that's what this show does. Yeah, that's not a negative.

[00:02:15] I'm not saying a bad thing, but you think of this show as like this warm blanket of a show, but they will indulge some, I don't know. It's, you know, he's doing Ted things. He's making people's lives better, making a little community. Empty enriching things. It was still, you know, shenanigans. Definite shenanigans. I think that's where it shines for me is when it gets a little away from the warm blanket stuff and just gets into some comedy.

[00:02:43] Ted's just got a problem to solve in this episode and you're not 100% sure how to solve it. And then he's 100% sure. That's my, that's the synopsis of the episode. And it was fun. I agree with you both. Definitely some stuff that made me laugh. Ted created the conditions for the problem to solve itself. Which is why he's a great leader. Exactly. Well put and exactly what he did.

[00:03:07] Yeah, we won't spoil anything about it in case you haven't seen it and you're wondering, well, am I going to continue Ted Lasso? If you liked it, I think it's going to suit you well as it moves on. I did not think the first couple episodes were too great, but three and four, pretty good. I think at this point with Ted Lasso, like, you know if you like Ted Lasso. For sure. I think there might be a person out there who had the break was a little too long and they're like, am I going to dive back in?

[00:03:37] I know that's not the majority, but they're probably thinking, am I diving back into this world? It's a whole new team. It's a big cast reset. To that person, I would say the unexamined life is not worth living. But it's not like it's, when I think of do I want to dive back in on this, it's like a Game of Thrones universe decision where it's going to, it wants me to be emotionally involved on a certain level and to play with my emotions.

[00:04:05] Whereas Ted Lasso is like, it just wants me to watch them be friendly to each other generally. You know what I mean? Like what is it really asking of us as viewers? Yeah. It's not, I agree, not a huge lift to dive back in. I get it too. And like, I'm being silly. But I get that feeling. Because when I first heard it announced, it was like, okay, well maybe. Because these things are never good, right?

[00:04:27] But like, I do think that we settled on, last time, the question, you know, I've never had the question of like, why does this exist for this new season? Which I think is an accomplishment in and of itself. I think that's right. I've never really asked that. I've thought that it's been some clunky episodes to begin. It feels like a continuation of the first three.

[00:04:48] And, you know, so many times when these things are done, like the answer, like why does this exist, is just like you go to someone's Homer Simpson's head and it's just a little monkey going cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching. Well, let's move into some non-spoiler thoughts for the new HBO series, Lanterns, which has aired its second episode. The show stars Kyle Chandler as a Green Lantern named Hal Jordan, who's in charge of training a new recruit to the Space Cops.

[00:05:18] That man's Jon Stewart. He's played by Aaron Pierre. The two have been on an investigation of some possible alien activity in a small Nebraska town and have come across a few of its residents, including the sheriff of the Nebraska town, who's portrayed by the great Kelly MacDonald. Really excited to talk about this one because Adam has seen the first episode. He hasn't seen the second. So we'll get a lot of his thoughts on this end and non-spoilers.

[00:05:45] I'm curious how he felt about having watched the first episode at least. You know, I went in, basically you guys sold me on this show in that it had the credentials to be something that I may enjoy. You know, the bullet list of like who's involved. Go ahead. What were you going to say? Don't blame me. I voted for Trump. So watching it, yeah, it was good.

[00:06:12] It was, I don't know how much to, since we're still in non-spoiler, I guess that's episode specific. You know, I'm curious where it's going to go because I have no idea. Obviously every time that I watch some superhero style thing, there are things happening, names that are dropped, situations, whatever, where fans of it are like, oh, this is a nod to that. This is whatever. I'm going in completely blunt.

[00:06:38] They have to explain essentially what their job is, at least as it pertains to this particular vehicle. All that said, first episode was enjoyable. I'm going to keep watching. This is one comic book realm where I am about 95% blind on what's going on or what's to come. Donovan has helped me out a lot last week.

[00:07:02] I have never been, well, now I read all my comics from the library because who has the money, but like over my lifetime, I don't think I've ever actually really sought out the Green Lantern imprint. But I've read a lot of things that Green Lantern's in, you know, because he crosses over with like the Justice League and stuff. So I'm at least like passingly familiar with some of the stuff. And at least for the second episode, there were some more things that's like, okay, I understand that this is sort of foundational to this universe.

[00:07:29] But I'm also somewhat blind because there are things that have popped up that I'm like, I don't know if I'm supposed to know what that is. Yeah, same here. I'll be broad in general as we are in spoilers. I appreciate all the tension through the show from the various relationship of the characters. But I do think there's some overcooking with a character after seeing two episodes.

[00:07:52] It should be a little more tempered at this point unless they're purposefully doing something there that's going to pay off. But it probably needs to do that soon. It's cryptic. That is extremely cryptic. And I'm trying to avoid spoilers. You know, it was interesting to go kind of back to the Heartland America Watchmen kind of, the Watchmen series vibe.

[00:08:18] And run into, I don't know, anytime that there is a thoughtful update on superhero stuff that's not, I mean, I saw the new Spider-Man. I love hanging out in New York and watching him fly around. But to put, you know, Middle America has obviously always been part of the landscape, right, in these stories.

[00:08:38] But to put them in, you know, even the way that, say, they are trying to discern if a person is an extraterrestrial or not, being like a very red state, blue state kind of thing. I don't know. These are interesting framing devices. The aliens for them could definitely serve as immigrants in our world, just interchange the lingo. It's a promising show.

[00:09:05] I just, it's what it showed of its hand, you know, between that, militias, whatever, in episode one, you're like, this is not what I expected. Oh, really? And it sounds like in a pleasant way. Yeah. Yeah, I think so. It's not really what I expected either. So I guess, like, when I heard it announced, I'm like, okay, I know this is what they're going for, but then actually watching it. I've been pleasantly pleased with the first two. I'm not saying it's the best TV show of all time or whatever.

[00:09:34] After all this time, it's still kind of fun to see something from maybe a franchise you invested some time in done in, like, a little bit of a new way. Right. I mean, when HBO, obviously the HBO brand has changed a bit over the last five to ten years, maybe it's not as like, there was a time when if it came on HBO, you're like, well, this is going to be of a certain caliber. But still, HBO taking an investigation of a comic book is going to be a different beast.

[00:10:04] And I think it kind of lived up to that for me in episode one. Here's my question. Is this going to say anything Fargo season five didn't? I've been just trying to pepper in an early edition reference this whole time for Kyle Chandler. How many burdens can that man take on in life, you know? He's got one of those craggy kind of looking faces now. You know, he just looks a little, he's not getting enough sleep, I guess is what I'm saying. He's saving the city of Chicago for a number of years. Yeah.

[00:10:34] His hair is my favorite thing of the show. His completely chaotic. Yeah. I don't, I don't give a shit look hair. He does look like he just rolled out of bed. Very, obviously very intentionally for, for the set producers. I think he truly just doesn't give a shit. So much so that I thought that that's what he was going for in real life. And I saw an interview with him and no, it's, he's got a perfectly coughed look. He just looks like a normal guy. Yeah. Not a lantern.

[00:11:04] Agreed. Well, new to Apple TV this week is the premiere of the second season of the twisty and I thought intelligent sci-fi drama Dark Matter. It stars Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Connelly. Edgerton plays a renowned scientist who's invented a life-size Schrodinger's cat box where several people of him or anyone else who enters can come face to face in endless realities of themselves if they chose to do that.

[00:11:33] Donovan, you and I were both pretty high on the first season. I thought performances were great. I thought it had storylines that were hard to predict and also engaging. But how much of that first season did you recall? I was glad that the recap was there for me.

[00:11:50] I recalled the broad strokes and the things that most of the things that this episode continued on was stuff that like I did, you know, like kind of as interesting things that were laid down in the first season are now being picked up again. Broad stroke, I'll admit I was a little disoriented right at the beginning of the episode because I'm like, okay, I think I know the last thing that happened in this show. And now I'm not sure where I am. Now I'm not sure where I am or who I'm supposed to be talking to.

[00:12:20] It's been a while since we've been in this version of Chicago. You're right, though. I thought it did a fine job of reestablishing. I wasn't ever too confused. And this is one that can confuse really easily. Like by the time it was back, like by probably about 15 minutes in, I was like, okay, I feel grounded. I remember most of what's happened. And I think I see where the stuff that I was maybe a little unsure about at first, I think I see where that fits in or where it's going to fit in.

[00:12:49] I do have to bring up one thing, though. The episode recap starts, you know, my wife is a college professor. Yeah. And he, you know, in the show teaches at a small college. And it starts with him asking an essential, like setting up like Schrodinger's cat, all that essential thing. And like asking the big question, the bell rings. She's like, that man is insane. Yeah, you don't do that. You would never do that. Like it's such a thing. It's like you would never do that. You can't squeeze it in. You actually want your students to hear it.

[00:13:19] They're going to. Oh, by the way, Schrodinger's cat. Let me just ring, ring. Ring, ring. Yeah, they're out the door. But he taught at a small college. Yeah, like a state college. Right. So maybe he thought. Maybe he's just bad at time management. Doesn't think it matters. Could play a role. That's probably huge. He's probably out there like, it doesn't matter what I say. These rejects are never getting into Northwestern.

[00:13:48] And so what did you think of the first episode back? Good. It's funny. This is going to sound like a negative. And I don't think it really is. But I had kind of forgotten how the pacing of this show works. Where it does have like a sort of. And I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing. But like a slow pacing for a thriller. In fact, I think that even while sometimes I'm sitting there. I'm like, this is moving kind of slow. I think I actually appreciate that. And I am not asking for the alternative. I don't think I would like it.

[00:14:18] This show is much if it was really jumpy and jittery. Instead, I think it's it does a good job of kind of putting really honestly. I think part of what leads to that is it does a good job of like kind of putting people in weird situations and letting it play out. And then like, what what are you going to do now? So anyway, it felt like a return to form. You know, it felt like or I guess that's not right. It felt like a confident extension of the first season.

[00:14:47] It didn't really feel like we had. It felt like a continuation of the story, you know, whereas some seasons truly feel like for whatever reason, like there's a big there's a big jump between these seasons. This one felt more like and here's what we told you in the first season still going and contrasting that not necessarily anything bad.

[00:15:08] I think Mad Men was really good at doing that where it's like the different seasons felt very different and were continuations, but not like last time on type continuations, whereas this was very much like last time on Dark Matter. And then we roll right into it. Yeah, that's exactly what happened. I think that's a really good point, though.

[00:15:26] It's a slow paced sci-fi thriller is probably a really good way of labeling it for those who haven't chosen to watch it or are curious if it's the same beast as season one. That's what you're going to get. It's good stuff, I thought. It's intelligent, I thought. Slow does not equal boring. And there's definitely like in the pacing, there are exciting and interesting things that happen.

[00:15:54] But I do think that it's sort of honestly like it sort of has a I'm trying to think of the way because like and I don't mean the characters in the writing, but it almost has like a detached view of the world where it's like we're not going to we're not going to make you know, we're not going to use all these tricks to make you feel like this is super emotional. You can watch these people experiencing what they're experiencing and you can make up your mind how you feel about that. I can see that.

[00:16:21] And, you know, what's funny is it in this episode and I'll explain exactly what I'm talking about spoilers. But in this episode, they do rush isn't quite the word, but they do go ahead and get on with a particular plot line that they could have elongated and milked for a couple episodes. I think I know what you're talking about. Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, let's get into spoilers.

[00:16:46] And for you listeners out there, if you want to send a question or comment for episode 300, just click on the link in the show notes. We're sorry to interrupt the show you're listening to. And we're going to prove that by keeping this ad short. This is Seth and Michelle, the hosts of Movie Friends. And we're so respectful of your time that we're not going to use the full 60 seconds to promote our show. Has this ever been done in the history of advertising? Never. Never.

[00:17:15] New episodes release every Monday and with over 300 episodes and counting, there is sure to be something for everyone. We're a community-driven show that believes film discussion can be friendly and without pretension. We've been called relaxing. Intelligent. Zesty. And fun. There must be a catch though, right? Like we probably blather on for four hour episodes. That's the best part. We don't blather. Not a lot at least. Blather is such a good word. A truly underutilized word. Yeah.

[00:17:46] What were we doing? I don't remember. Movie Friends. Fun conversations from across film history. Visit our website, moviefriendspodcast.com and listen to our show everywhere you get your podcasts. And we did it with plenty of time to spare. All right. We'll pick up with spoilers for Ted Lasso's episode Greyhound's Day Off, which finds Roy needing some dates, Ted having to fix the chemistry of the team, and Keely and Rebecca struggling to see eye to eye. Is it me?

[00:18:14] Is it doing a pretty good job of balancing the look at women's sports feminism, sexism well enough with the comedy and other storylines? Is it doing kind of decent for a comedy? There was not exactly playing on the feminism and stuff, but very explicitly the joke that Ted's like, I can't go into the women's locker room. And then when he does, because a fight has broken out, he runs in there with a trash can on his head so he can't see anything.

[00:18:43] That made me laugh. And then Coach Beard following up with the two sticky notes over his glasses. That's not exactly the women's sports aspect of it, but it is an aspect that's nodding or recognizing that, yes, gender is obviously a major component of this. And here's some really funny stuff we can do with that. That really made me laugh. Two things about that scene in particular made me laugh. The one was like Ted was clearly being driven crazy.

[00:19:12] He wanted to be in there so bad. Like a kid who hears like they're cutting cake in the next room or something, you know what I mean? And he just, I gotta get in there. But when he takes the garbage can off and hasn't realized that Beard is also in there, he's like, oh, hey. That made me laugh. That was good. It was real good. Beard came in there to back him up. All Ted wants to do is hang. Yeah.

[00:19:37] He gave the good joke too at the beginning of the episode where he said, I want to be in the women's locker room. Yeah. And it's like, it's killing me I can't be in there. It's really struggling there. Of the three storylines I mentioned, which was Keely and Rebecca trying to decide on receiving financial help from Tracy Ullman's character, Zelda. Ted and Beard attempting to cohere these clicks and Roy attempting 10 dates in a short order.

[00:20:04] Did you have one you liked more than the others or was it just a good cohesive episode for you? I'll say I probably liked the Keely and Rebecca one the least, but that might have just been because I thought it was really funny when Roy injured his knee and he's going, fuck. No, I'm fine. He's just like, they don't even have the camera on him. He's just on the floor going, fuck. Like, I'm like, okay, that's funny. Like, Roy trying to get around something like that. That's funny.

[00:20:29] Ted being driven to his wits end by these kids because he doesn't know what to do or he hasn't figured out what to do yet. That's funny, too. Keely and Rebecca, it's nice, but I guess I just didn't feel the drama of it because, I don't know, it's kind of been like the, like, I understand that the underlying drama for this season is, will this club survive a season? So I don't, it's just, I don't know. Maybe I didn't watch it charitably.

[00:20:56] The Roy thing, there were two funny elements to that. But one, one is in the show and one is just kind of implied that he is actively coaching a Premier League team this entire time and is managing to go on these. I mean, he says in one, we'll have training in the morning, even though it's really so he can, like, whisk girl number one away to bring in girl number two or whatever. It's just like, what is this guy really up to? He's got too much free time.

[00:21:26] If they're going to make the Champions League, manager can't have that much free time. That's the funny thing, right? Because, like, they are on the cusp of the Champions League. It's like, what are you doing, man? To Higgins' involvement in Rory and Keely's relationship, it was funny when they forced him to stay there physically. But when they showed the text, the group text. Yes. That was really funny. That was a big payoff. That was a subtle joke for this show. Yeah. And it was very funny. It was very good.

[00:21:56] Please stop including me. Plus, Rory blew out his knee in a make-out sesh, which in and of itself is funny that you had your knee become involved in that. But it's good stuff that he was laying on the floor. I know. Which he's like, did you? And he's like, no, it's my knee. Yeah, that was funny. There were two. It's a foregone conclusion that somehow this team is going to coalesce. Yes. And come together. Right.

[00:22:24] And it's a foregone conclusion that Roy is going to meet someone that challenges his belief that Keely is what he's really after. And the misdirection on both was pretty well done in this episode. One thing I didn't include as an official plot line was the podcast. Did you like seeing the framing of Trent and Dr. Stephanie's discussion on what was happening in the episode as it passed? Because I'll begin.

[00:22:51] And to me, it was another forced bit. But I'm very forgiving because it didn't take up hardly any screen time. It's a nice way to get those two actors back on screen. It was fine. I feel like I know what clicks are, but maybe having it spelled out is not. It didn't take up too much time. Nice to see that they are having fun. He's retranswritten the book. She's going to get a drink with him. I do have one thing to say about this episode, though. That pub trivia?

[00:23:20] Vatican City? Jabberwocky? Those are easy-ass questions. You don't have to be some kind of genius. They were easy. They should have come up with something hard. Those are questions one and two. You gotta ease into it, right? Donovan, did you think of Beard as their razz? You mean in the fact that he's willing to whip out a phone and just be like, text whoever at any time and then just start yelling his text at it? Yeah, kind of. I could see Beard doing that. You could see Beard doing that.

[00:23:50] The Beach Boys joke there in the pub was so subtle that it took me thinking about the episode to finally get it. And for those who may have missed it, as I did, Ted mentions that they're merely writing off Beard's genius, and that prompts him to ask if anyone got the Beach Boys. Nice. That's a really good joke. It was funny. It's a good overall joke in him. It's one of those expressions that's just always funny to me. It's like, y'all get the Beach Boys over here? Yeah, exactly.

[00:24:19] I also appreciated Ted's Bob Seger reference in the jail. When he stands to them, I know it's late, I know you're weary. There's a couple of good musical moments in this episode, not to mention the day bow bow. Very good. Here's where I had a slight bit of confusion. I thought Beard saw a magazine cover in the pub bathroom that alluded to an abortion or a miscarriage when he was with Jane, and I thought, that's some deep shit for Ted Lasso episode.

[00:24:47] But apparently it's a play that his ex is involved in, but it felt deeper for a second. I just assumed it was his ex. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, if they made that direction, kudos to them, but that's not where I thought that joke was going. Me either, but it caught me off guard enough to ask. I thought the male team at the pub trivia was so good.

[00:25:12] It was blatant, but it was so good to add that touch of how the ladies face sexism no matter where they go, be it on the pitch or in public, and I was glad that Boots took a bottle to that douche's head. I did enjoy the joke there, right, when they're getting at the last, like, you know, the defender from Andor. I can't remember her name. Lizzie's her name on the show. Lizzie. So she's like, I'm going to kill this. And, like, the one guy's like, I've got 40 nieces and nephews.

[00:25:41] The other guy's like, I'm a librarian. That was good. I thought of you, Donovan. Yeah. Yeah, I did too. Hey, I know that goodnight moon shit. I don't think it was a perfect episode. I just found the Rebecca and Keeley storyline had its heart in the right place, as Don mentioned. You know, the feminism, or excuse me, the sexism in female athletics. But I just felt like the storyline as a whole was forced. We've seen them butt heads a little already over the financing of specific things.

[00:26:09] And the reasons why they can't is due to the funding and the amount of interest in the sport. I would have appreciated if they could have found a way to have that in there without having a very similar plot line. And I guess they had to introduce Zelda, who's probably going to be a player this season in the cast.

[00:26:31] I felt that, as I'm sitting here, we're talking about it, that plot line had two good payoffs for me. One, Keeley is so gung-ho and so motivated, but self-aware enough to know that she is kind of torturing Rebecca with that. Right? Like, I know I'm always asking for things, whatever. Zelda characters are pretty, there's red flags there.

[00:26:57] You know, even if you admire her, no bullshit, letting all the gray-haired dudes have it at that luncheon, you're still kind of like, that's awesome. I don't know if I want to hang out with her. Right. You know what I mean? And for it to turn, that's not a thing that we've seen the show do before. Like, be careful who you go into business with, essentially.

[00:27:22] You know, where like, Keeley is so gung-ho that maybe the blinders are up to, should I, should we be entangled with this person? And then the setup of, I have this incredible photo and story of this, my entire team at the, you know, locked up or whatever. I think we can sell out with Chelsea coming and sell out the stadium. So, it's a nice, like, small boss.

[00:27:50] Like, I'm sure the end of the season will have some greater thing since it's about the team's survival, whatever. But like, a few episodes about like, can we do it? Can we sell this place out? That's good fun. It's probably going in the direction where Zelda can buy the team to save it versus Rebecca having any ownership. Which is, would be a good Ted bittersweet kind of thing, right? Right, yeah. Like, it is the best thing to do to let go and to let something evolve beyond yourself.

[00:28:20] Yeah, they get the match against the unbeatable Chelsea. None of us believe that Tracy Ullman's hired for a couple of brief appearances in this episode only. No. I did like that it gave Leslie Higgins a chance to share his musical knowledge once more. I love people. You meet Higgins, if you man enough merch tables on tour, you meet a Higgins every few nights.

[00:28:48] And I say that in the most loving way possible. Oh, yeah. Higgins isn't annoying. No. They love music in a way that most musicians don't even. And they have, I've thought about that a lot.

[00:29:05] They have jobs, like real capital J jobs that they go and do, but they still, you know, we've seen them like, it's just one thing to have like jazz and blues knowledge, but then to just pull out like, oh, she was in this incredible punk band or whatever. And here's like the history of that is a different shade of someone, someone on this staff is a massive music fan. And they're flexing because it's not even like knowing bands.

[00:29:32] It's like knowing the whole subculture. Yes. If that makes sense. I do. It's a good joke for Higgins. Like it just, it feels like it fits like that. He's this kind of guy. Which is funny because last week I was debating, are they using him as a character well enough? And here he gets two really great things fitting for his character with the music and then being way too involved with Higgins and Roy. He didn't have a ton to do this week, but what he did was pretty funny.

[00:30:00] It was, it was exactly in line with the character. Exactly. How surprised are y'all that they haven't used Ted's family any more in the story than they have? They haven't been in for a couple episodes, right? They were there last week. No, they were, I'm sorry. But just to attend, yeah, basically just to go to school and attend the game. Right. And yeah, he briefly met Phoebe and that was it. But the wife, not at all. She was at the match, that's it. Yeah.

[00:30:29] I just thought that they would be like a plot point. I assume they're saving that. This is the kind of show that thing, we don't have to think that we need like a 24-7 view of Ted's life in this show, right? Yeah. Ted has a problem to solve this week and this is what it's going to be, team chemistry. Ted is going to have a different problem to solve next week and it could be the family. That's true.

[00:30:56] Let's go back to the Space Cops and Lanterns with Aaron Pierre, Kyle Chandler and Kelly McDonald starring in the show. They're in Nebraska where some weird shit's going down. This episode two, I'm going to hold off on just a little because while Adam's here, I'm going to tell me some of his specific thoughts about the debut, which was just called Pilot. Like, like, how's the pilot? You can get it.

[00:31:25] I was setting you up. I thought it was good. I thought the, sometimes the, like, tired hero motif, stereotype, whatever, can get a little old. You know, like, the guy who really just wants to sit at the bar and do shots and has this harebrained plan that involves him getting his ass beat and blah, blah, blah. It's like, okay, whatever, we've seen this in various forms of fiction.

[00:31:52] I like the background that's provided. I mean, him as a child, remind me of the character's name who is, this is, I'm really qualified to talk to other people about a program when I can't even remember the main character's name. John Stewart. When he goes into the yard at the beginning, his dad pulls a pistol out and you're already like set up with that tense thing of like, why are they so afraid of their dad? Yeah.

[00:32:19] And then he comes in in a military uniform and you're like, oh, oh yeah, this is HBO. This could be kind of dark. And then they go outside and yeah. To go from that to spend some time in what I assume is somewhere in California. And then suddenly you're in Heartland America. I enjoyed that. The, the setup of the weird workings of this small town.

[00:32:43] I loved questioning an alien based on Nebraska Cornhuskers football knowledge. This would be a go-to if, if we discovered someone in rural Tuscaloosa County, rural Green County or something, you'd say, you know, ask questions about Mark Ingram or something, I guess. So I love that. That was great. I don't know.

[00:33:05] The, the sense of menace and who, who you have to look out for was nice with going to the family, going to the compound, all of that. I am very confused about how old everyone is that's involved in this. Like you have a sheriff who's married to this lawyer whose father seems to be like 10 to 15 years older than him at most.

[00:33:32] And mom who's hanging out at the bar and hooking up with, do they illuminate anything else about this in the second episode? Not at all. I can't tell if this is like an in-universe, like, like this is supposed to be strange or if it's just. I think they just, they just cast some of the best actors that they could. That's how it landed. Why does HBO keep doing this?

[00:33:57] We're in House of the Dragon again where everybody's basically in the same generation and I'm supposed to believe that they're all these different. Yeah. No, I thought it, I thought it was good. It didn't, maybe because I keep comparing it to Watchmen in my head and that was, Watchmen is just a different source text, right? Than a Green Lantern kind of thing. And some of the tropey kind of cliches are more present here than they were in that.

[00:34:26] That to say, I still think it was a strong pilot. Yeah. Strong first episode. And I will keep watching. Yeah. I thought it pulled back on the reins a little too much. It didn't give hardly enough. I thought the pilot was really good, but also a little slower than it had to be. In terms of world building or story development or. Giving us enough to chew on for the next week.

[00:34:56] So story. Hmm. Yeah. Maybe they could have revealed a few more things about this weird little town or like why all those kind of things that kind of lodge in your brain. I see what you're saying. I thought the character development was done quite well. So much so that I found it really weird that John slept with the wife. Like you, he's too much of a Boy Scout to have done something like that? Uh-huh. That's exactly it.

[00:35:21] I thought it was, maybe it's personal, but him eating the tofu and then kind of talking shit about that. And then the same guy drops that he's like this decorated military sniper, right? So like how much can they really mess with him about the vegetarianism? Mm-hmm. Yeah. I like that. Yeah. We can kick your ass too.

[00:35:42] And you were talking about how, I don't know if you would have used the word tired, but I found a bar scene just for him to get arrested to talk to the possible alien. I thought that was a little bit of writing trying to fill 15 to 20 minutes of screen time. So that actually worked. And we talked about this last week, but that worked for me just because it's the reveal that the sheriff thinks he's a huge dumbass. Like really, really, like she knows exactly what he's doing and she thinks he's a jackass.

[00:36:12] Like that fit for like, okay, I'm the relationship that's building between the two of them. Hmm. You know, there's some murkiness on, obviously he tells the story about how he got the ring or whatever, but like how much are we supposed to believe of the origin story at this point? Right. And then you see him kind of, what he does on screen is not particularly impressive, you know? So like, how good is this guy at his job at this point? And that's a good question, I think.

[00:36:42] I mean, he's possibly training his replacement, right? And I think we're supposed to ask that question. He's not too happy about having a replacement. Not too happy. No. No. You know, it's the guy who has existed for whatever, 30 years with plot armor on, right? Like how good does your decision making have to be? Right. We do learn a little bit more in episode two about why he's not looking so super heroic lately.

[00:37:08] And with that, I think we will get into episode two a little, which means Adam will bid adieu so as not to be spoiled. Adieu. Before we get into anything specific about episode two, I wanted to give a shout out to Bronson Click. He provided me with some insight about the comics and a couple of theories on how Jordan acts the way he does. Most notably, he may not trust the Guardians. Yeah.

[00:37:33] The Guardians can be a little less than trustworthy, depending on your storyline, depending on who's writing it. They've been a little shady sometimes. Has the series done a good job enough for you laying out who these off-screen characters are? You mean like the Guardians and Avenger? Yeah. I mean... The Guardians, the Manhunters, and those types of things? Fine enough job. You know, especially the Manhunters, shape-shifting scary alien threat, okay?

[00:38:02] Manhunters possibly coming out of the... I mean, like it helps that I know... I think if I was like, I have no idea who the Guardians are. Like that I might be a little confused, but it's like, I know who the Guardians are. I know that they're a little less than trustworthy. I know that like, okay, like, Ab and Sir, you know, Ab and Sir, you know, and as time has moved on with the comics, there's been some change of how that is related to. I know who Sinestro is, you know?

[00:38:29] So like, and in fact, which I kind of appreciate, although, you know, the show itself is kind of like, we're not going to go on a big thing for you. Like, when they're talking about Sinestro, John's like, yeah, I've read the Wikipedia page. It's like, you know? Yeah, that's been a problem of mine, I think, is that I don't know a lot about this.

[00:38:51] And I don't want my hand held, but at the same time, I think it could provide me with more insight without being too expository. I do think they're going the show, don't tell route, Blaine. Now, whether they're doing that successfully is open, is an open question. But I think that like, like, I'm kind of not 100% sure what's going on too.

[00:39:13] So I think like, you kind of like, honestly, if you just like sort of have an understanding, like the Guardians are the space cops boss. Hal seems a little squirrely about them for some reason. You know, Sinestro is a guy he fought, you know, 20 years ago, killed a Guardian. Seems a little, get under his skin. I think they're, like, that's kind of where they're staring. Now, whether that will be satisfactory for everybody is, you know, that's an open question.

[00:39:42] Yeah, some of that I piece together after the show. They're probably not too broken up too, right? If you enjoy the show enough that you start, just from like a corporate franchise standpoint, right? Like, if you are intrigued enough to look up some other things, that's probably not hurting WBDC's bottom line, right? Yeah.

[00:40:06] Well, that brings me to something I wanted to say is that the things I believe the show wants me to enjoy lean heavily into fan service, seeped in the lore of the Green Lanterns and their comic book story, rather than everything else. To me, those are Easter eggs and they should be a side dish and not the primary mode of getting into an episode. I'm thinking of disinformation about the Guardians and how we're supposed to read it.

[00:40:34] I'm thinking also of the sheriff being named Kane and mentioning Gotham. It was something I was hoping the DC shows were looking to avoid. It didn't hit me over the head too much with it. Honestly, some of the stuff that I wish I could claim that I thought this all by myself, but I sort of had the half thought and then I said that someone else talked about this.

[00:41:02] But like there was kind of stuff where it was like the like, you know, he has to do like, he has to say the words to charge the power ring, right? And there was enough of this stuff being like, it's not just that we're seeing it. It's that we're seeing it in a way that kind of sheds a little bit of light. Being from Gotham may not be the example of this, but like when he recharges his ring and he kind of like embarrassingly mumbles through the Green Lantern's oath. I'm like, oh, okay, I'm cool with that because it's part of the universe,

[00:41:28] but it's also giving me some information about Hal and maybe how he feels about these words that he's saying. Uh-huh. Yeah, I really liked that. Yeah, I wasn't too, I didn't, I totally agree with you, Blaine. I honestly, the like Kane Gotham thing was like, we'll see if that goes anywhere, who cares? Most of it, I didn't feel like there was, for example,

[00:41:52] the phrase that John has to say to open where he's keeping his lantern is a cute little nod to something from the comics, but I didn't feel like it overwhelmed the show. You don't have to know what that is to have any enjoyment of the show. I'll say that I was a little disappointed for episode two. I expected more interest in the mystery,

[00:42:17] and I don't think that the show gives Kyle Chandler enough to do in two episodes. I thought he was well played and well done in the first episode, but somewhere around the midpoint of the second episode, it's not that he was one note, but he's hamstrung with this particular attitude he's been asked to do. It's almost like he's joking too much. Uh-huh. And I know what that's supposed to reveal, and I think as a viewer I've gotten it,

[00:42:47] and now I'm ready for the next layer of this character. Well, lucky you. We might be seeing it based on his, you know, the Sinestro seems to be like the guy who's not going to put up with his bullshit. You know, he knows him too well. Yeah, the attitude change came at the very end of the episode for him, and I thought to myself, okay, then this is the version of how I'm a little interested in.

[00:43:16] Yeah. And I did have a big issue with the episode that it was so exposition heavy. I talked about it. It did a couple things that weren't expository, but yet it was exposition heavy with dialogue alone when John was kidnapped, and I thought that was really clunky with those guys standing around telling him about manhunters and all that lore. Yeah. I'm not even sure that I caught it all. It was one of those – I don't think I disagree with you, Blaine.

[00:43:46] I do think, like, it's a sin, right, of, like, these superhero movies and shows, right? I mean, it's a classic trope, right? Like somebody just exposition dumping on you. And I also am like, I don't know if there was a better way for them to do it. There probably was. I mean, I'm not a TV writer. It's not my job. Yeah. But I'm also sitting there, I'm like, I don't know, like, I don't know. Maybe they just need to – maybe it doesn't matter.

[00:44:13] Maybe it – sorry, I'm getting all tangled up over myself. I wonder if it's going to – this lore is going to matter so much or if it's just going to be like, hey, we just need you to understand that, like, it's something scary for scary reasons. Mm-hmm. And the real intrigue is going to come from elsewhere. What are the odds that this Manhunter they're looking for is the dead Hal Jordan at the end of the first episode? Oh, maybe. It could be. Could be. But I don't know.

[00:44:42] It seems really obvious right now. I did like – I do have some good things. I do have some things I thought were good about the episode. I like the deepening of the mystery about Will Mankin and the fact that he's installed alien detectors at the football field and Lord knows what else he's got going on. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. He's a fascinating character, I think. Interesting fella.

[00:45:06] Another thing I found really fascinating and even unsettling, and this is where the show can be really great, I think, is the hospital not being used and there were no nurses or doctors. It was all but empty. Yeah. It's pretty creepy. Something weird is going on and I can't remember the name of the town, wherever it is. Is it Rushfield? It's something – I think you're right. I think it's Rushfield. It was something with an R in Nebraska.

[00:45:33] This may be me reading like way too much into it, but, you know, that's supposedly right, like where Abincer crashed. So it almost feels like it's got that element, like that almost X-Files element of like this is all cover up. Like nothing is – you know, like there's something underneath. These are all just props. That scene in the hospital had an X-Files feel. Yeah, that's exactly how I felt watching it. Even in broad daylight, it felt odd. McDonald's character, the sheriff, she has the last name of Kane.

[00:46:04] Probably points to her being a relative of Batman or even a Batgirl at one time. She's from Gotham. You mentioned this earlier. I don't know how much of this we're supposed to make. It doesn't seem like the sort of show that would want to set up some movie or another show, but I don't know how many notes they got. That's the eternal question.

[00:46:26] My belief based on these creators is that they're probably not here to sell a franchise, but also the reality is that they're only – this show only gets made to sell a franchise. I mean, you know, that's just the cold reality of it. I would be – Especially these three creators with Lindelof, Monday, and King. I'd be a little disappointed if she was just in there to set up a Batman thing or something, but – Though I'd bet Lindelof and King know the lore.

[00:46:56] Oh, yeah. Front and back. It doesn't hurt that like, you know, King is a professional comics writer. Actually, really interesting – this is not interesting, but like Tom King – So the Supergirl movie, that's really basically totally based on Tom King's Woman of Tomorrow. So they're actually letting right now – like Tom King for – you know, we've got Peacemaker sort of counts. We've got Superman. We've got Supergirl. We've got Green Lanterns.

[00:47:23] He's got his thumbprints over 50% of what they've rolled out so far. I will say I haven't seen the Supergirl movie. The reviews made it seem pretty lackluster, which is disappointing because I thought that Woman of Tomorrow was actually a really great, interesting take on Supergirl. So I would recommend anyone – even if you're not a Supergirl fan, check it out. It might tell you like, oh, okay. This is why people are interested in this character.

[00:47:51] In a few hours, we'll find out if some of this is going to pay off. I'm hoping it'll pivot into a direction that I find a little more interesting. Just kind of clunky for me so far. Yeah, I think those are fair observations, Blaine. I wonder if – like sometimes I feel like I cannot evaluate these things objectively or maybe when I'm liking it, I can't evaluate it objectively. When I'm disliking it, I can certainly.

[00:48:18] I think I – but I think I'm mostly liking it, which makes me – or maybe – I don't know. It's possible with something like this too that I'm just conditioned to be like if I'm mostly enjoying it, I'm just going to be more forgiving of its flaws because I don't think there's an example of this that isn't severely flawed. Honestly, Watchmen is probably just – and it had some little issues. Watchmen is probably about the best example of the superhero genre as TV show that I can imagine.

[00:48:46] I'm in the camp of I'm really interested in this, but I wish it could be better. Well, that's all TV everywhere. Probably. No, I'm kidding. No, no, yeah. I think that's fair, Blaine. Like I think – I think I'm interested and I think some of the stuff that bugs you didn't bug me as much. But also we did talk about at the beginning, right? Like I do have like a little bit more of the background, like the Guardians of Oa and the Green Lantern Corps.

[00:49:15] And, you know, there are other – you know, there's other emotions out there, right? Like green is what will and bravery. You know, there's fear. There's death. There are other rings. So if they ever go that way, I'm like, okay, I'm somewhat prepared for it. I think having that in your back pocket helps a lot because Bronson Click, who helped me this week sort through some of the lore, he knows a lot of it. Yeah. He seems to be really high on the show. Okay, cool.

[00:49:40] Well, that's good from someone who knows it a lot better than I do because like I said, I know the broad outlines of the character. And with that, we'll jump back into the big black box for Dark Matter and our thoughts on the second season premiere titled A Quiet Life. This episode had Jason Dessen, the main character, his wife, Daniela, and son, Charlie, living in the outskirts of Chicago when lo and behold, another Jason shows up.

[00:50:10] Didn't take long for that to happen. Daniela has to shoot him and they're forced to escape. His friends and patrons are also busy in different worlds. And I mentioned that this show can be really confusing. And after, has it been a year or so away, I had to recalibrate quite a bit. I think it's even more than a year, Blaine. It could be two.

[00:50:31] That was probably my one complaint, which is not a complaint about the show, but just sitting there, I was like, I wish there wasn't such a big gap between these seasons. That's not the show's fault. That's outside of their hands. I think they did a good job of reestablishing it. But I will thank you for recaps, people who make recaps. I'll admit, though, at the beginning when we have that CIA or military guy or whatever he is talking to a Joel.

[00:51:01] I was kind of like, Jason. I did this all last time we talked about it. I'm going to call him Joel about a thousand times because his name is Jason. And the actor is obviously Joel, so I'm going to get them mixed up. A Jason. And I was kind of like, who the hell is this? Like, I think we've met him before. But I don't remember which one he, like, which one he really is. So I was a little off balance there. Yeah, he was just one. That's what I thought. He was one of the many at the end of the season.

[00:51:31] What would you do if you encountered another copy of yourself? Man, I don't, you know, I don't know. Wouldn't that be weird? It's such a good question, right? Like, you think that, like, you'd be best friends, right? You'd be the same person. You'd have the same wants and needs and desires. But then this show is so great with, you know, that being true. And that's pretty much explicitly what puts the Jasons on a collision course with each other. It's about resources.

[00:51:57] I want this thing, and there's only one of Daniela here in this world. Yep, she's the only one. So he's going to, they're going to. But it is like, it's because, like, right? Like, it's because they want the same things. It's because they have the same feelings. That makes it dangerous for Jason, Jason One, I guess we can call him. Mm-hmm. Yeah, they can't share in Once and Locks.

[00:52:22] I didn't know the actor who plays the agent in the cold open, but his name is Chris Diampolopoulos. Mm-hmm. It's a very Greek last name. I'm bringing him up here because, and you mentioned him, he had some screen presence. Yeah. I have only seen him in the first ten minutes of this. And his name's Agent Mitchell McNamara. It's his on-screen name.

[00:52:47] We only see him in our Chicago, as I call it, where the bodies of Jason Destin are fallen one after another. And he is, yeah, you're right, he's some sort of agent. I don't, he doesn't claim to be FBI or CIA, so it's even deeper and more mysterious than that. But he thinks it's all a clone. Black sites, C-17s, a military aircraft. He's definitely, yes, and he's not on the right track with what this is.

[00:53:16] Although it's a reasonable assumption, frankly. Yeah. Presented with the evidence that he has. I'm glad they went there because it made perfect sense. Like, why would your first, I mean, obviously if you're, like, involved in, like, the fringes of extreme science, right? And you know that this is possible. Your first thought might not be, oh, these are guys from 20 different realities that came together. Because some dude invented a way to do that. Yeah.

[00:53:45] Talk about the past coming back to haunt you. It is a long in this episode where another Jason comes across Daniela and home alone. In this set of scenes, including his death and post-death cover-up, I thought it was real fraught with tension. Same. Well done. Same. This is where, you know, kind of I alluded to slow not being boring. Exactly. This was exactly what I was thinking of.

[00:54:09] And it is, props to Jennifer Connelly, like, she holds a lot of that really well because it's like, you know, when the other Joel is there, it's like, you know that she knows. He knows that she knows. So there's that, like, that he's not Joel one. Jason. Dang it. He's not Jason one. I thought that, it was very good. And then just built and built and built from there. And then Joel Edgerton coming back in and doing some stellar work as well.

[00:54:38] Yes. I'd say the overall episode was pretty tense and well done. I really appreciate, enjoy, respect the various uses of the camera. It would linger on doors or objects to hint at some danger behind them. And it would strategically use some well-placed mirrors as a reminder of this major theme of the show. Yeah. About being, you know, who do you trust? Which part, which version of you is showing up? Yeah.

[00:55:07] I just say, I think it just honestly, I know, like, I feel like you could, you could put my thoughts about the last season into this episode. Because it just, it really did feel like a continuation of what they had done last season. And not in a, not in like, I've seen this before way, but like, in a, like, hey, here's the logical extension of the scenario that we set up at the end of last season. You know, and like, there really are, well, maybe I'm a sucker, but like, I really did.

[00:55:37] I had a moment, I think I'm reading too much into it. But like, where, like, the, the family, the core family, like, trying to find a place that they can exist. It just made me think about like refugees in general. And like, you know, our world is in the midst of a huge refugee crisis. I guess what, for me, it brought up, I don't think it was explicitly trying to do that.

[00:55:59] But it brought up some of those same feelings for, for me to feel like, you know, obviously this is science fiction, but this corresponds enough to a real world scenario that I can feel like the pathos and desperation and fear from this family. And then they have the, they have the added fun of sometimes landing on worlds where super tornadoes are taking out Chicago. You're right. No, I don't think you're wrong at all.

[00:56:24] You know, this, I call it an intelligent science fiction piece because it's, it does the slow build. It does the slow, thrilling storylines. But you're right. It also examines very real world things, which I find intelligent. I think a lot of times in science fiction and fantasy, you know, that, that's the strength of it where it's not giving you that one to one, you know, this represents, it's not a medieval allegory or something, but it does.

[00:56:52] It gives you enough to map something real onto it. And I think the really good ones do things where you can map a lot of different and even sometimes contradictory pieces of the real onto it. I agree with that. We'll move to a couple of characters, see where we are with this. Ryan from Our World, he finds Amanda. Now that was the initial Jason 2, fake Jason's girlfriend in his world. Yes.

[00:57:22] Now here's where I was super happy that the series didn't feel the need to create an entire plot line of Ryan getting in good with his sister. Has that Ryan of that world been dead for 10 years? They sort of yada yada and a wave of the hand to move past it. But I thought it was for the best. He just explained it. Exactly. And, you know, it worked for me because, like, we've seen variations of this from Jason in season one.

[00:57:49] You know, him coming into a world where he's not existed or existed in a different way. So we're like, yeah, we get it. Like, people can have multiple reactions to seeing their long dead relative. It worked. You know. It did well. Well, Leighton's the final piece of this Premier's puzzle. He's using the box, too. In his case, it's to find a fake version, another version of himself. One, he talks into using the box to do something he doesn't mention here.

[00:58:17] He just wants this other version of himself to help learn to be meditative, quiet his mind so that he can get to where he wants. That's part of the trick of the box. The better your thoughts are, the better your results will be with opening the door. Yeah. I don't trust him. No. Not at all. He's very much presented in the line not to trust. Yeah. It is sort of an interest.

[00:58:43] I don't have anything intelligent about it to say, but I do think it's an interesting recurring thing that's like, you know, the quantum reality response to, like, your thoughts, will, and intention. And I'm not enough of a scientist. I've realized, like, quantum stuff is weird, but kind of like reading broad strokes about it, it is like these things, like mind and matter that we think are possibly so different,

[00:59:10] and are potentially entangled in ways we don't understand. Mm-hmm. And I love this idea, and they're doing that here. The ending, hence it, could be even more thrilling than the previous season. Not only does our Jason and his family have to figure out where to go and how to avoid other versions of himself, but he'll have a government agent on his tail. We're going to see a lot more of him, you've got to think.

[00:59:35] Like, it's a lot of having to escape yourself, which I also think is a fascinating thing. It's like another, right, like another thing that great science fiction and fantasy can do is the metaphor made real, right? Mm-hmm. You know, and I think we even see that. It's not the same thing, but I kind of keep thinking of, like, Frankenstein, where Frankenstein, where the creature is a dark shadow to Frankenstein,

[01:00:01] or possibly Frankenstein is a dark shadow to the creature, you know? And it is kind of have that same, like, that mirroring, that parallel, that doubling, that doppelganger effect. I think this is based off the book by Blake Crouch. Am I correct about the author's name? You are correct. He also created the TV series. He did create the TV series, but they're off book now. Yes. But with him in tow, it's probably as promising as we're feeling. So we'll see.

[01:00:30] It was a good first season. Not perfect, but very, very few things are. This episode was also not perfect, but I thought very good. And I thought, yeah, I agree with you, especially, like, the picking up of the folks that were left in Otherworlds plot lines. I think they did it very well, actually. I felt on sturdy ground. So I think that's it for us this weekend.

[01:00:56] You know, if you beat your double, hope you didn't write your address down as something a cop's gonna find. That's a good point. And have a great week, everyone.