professor_of_gamez Reviews

Missing (2012)

Very good show, but Ashley's face was very distracting

[7/10 · 27 March 2024]

She has stated repeatedly and publicly that her moon/pig face (as it is often known) is NOT the result of plastic surgery, but the result of medication (specifically, prednisone).

However, while that medication DOES cause moon face, the effects typically go away within a few weeks to a few months of discontinuing the medication.

Her puffy face is very distracting, and I would have thought she COULD have taken an alternative medication, just during the duration of the few months it took to film just the 10 episodes.

I wince every time I see the puffiness in her face. Must have been very frustrating for her as well.

Quantico (2015–2018)

More time travelling than your average sci-fi drama

[6/10 · 5 March 2024]

Yet another show that tried to save a few bucks by NOT hiring a continuity person/department ... and lived to regret it.

During the first one and a half seasons, this show shifted frequently between the agents training at Quantico and their future assignments in NYC.

The major problem that led to significant storyline issues and inconsistencies, is that they often shifted to different points in the present and future.

This often led to inconsistencies with characters that were alive and then dead and then alive again (for example, the FBI AD who was alive, then dead, then alive again, then dead again, seemingly randomly).

Miranda was shot, and seemingly left for dead, but then re-appeared later in the series, with no mention of her near (?) death experience. Of course, then later in the series she disappeared all together, without explanation.

I know a lot of people stopped watching when they introduced a whole new class at Quantico.

I stopped watching the first time around the middle of season 2. I recently rewatched it, and now until the end.

However, the first season and a half were a bit hard to follow with the story and character inconsistencies, due to a lack of a continuity person.

Also, by the end of season 2, the show had essentially NOTHING to do with the show's original premise (Quantico).

Also, preferred the first two seasons, where they developed longer story lines, as opposed to season 3, where each episode is self contained and wrapped up within a single episode.

Enjoyed the show, overall.

JAG: Boomerang: Part 2 (2000) Season 5, Episode 16

Mac and Mic? Ick!!

[5/10 · 3 March 2024]

IMDB puts the actor playing Mic as only 6 years older than Mac. The problem is that because of his haggard face, he LOOKS to be in his mid 50s (at least) rather than his mid 30s.

Mac could do MUCH better. Must have been like kissing her father.

The whole relationship story line between the two of them is just preposterous. I can see why Mic (or any man) would be attracted to Mac ... but don't see how it would be the other way around.

I guess the show runners were just looking at a way for Mac and Harm to face their own feelings about each other.

Without being overly explicit, I am also finding it hard to understand the dramatic change in Mac's dimensions from episode to episode.

True Justice: Family Ties (2024 TV Movie)

Lack of a familiar face sorely missed

[5/10 · 28 February 2024]

Part of the reason I enjoyed such popular series as Garage Sale Mysteries and the Aurora Teagarden mysteries is because they starred known actresses.

This series lack any actor that is familiar (to me).

One reviewer referred to them as a group of teens, when clearly they are in their late 20s and early 30s (guess they took off some time between college and law school).

The lead actress (Katherine McNamara) looks kind of haggard. I noticed that she is one of many actors who of late has had their year of births removed from their IMDB profile. This seems unusual for an actress who is only 28.

The story wasn't as good as any on the two series I mentioned. I suspect Hallmark isn't going to, but I wish they would bring back Garage Sale Mysteries (with Lori Loughlin) and Aurora Teagarden (with Candace Cameron Burre), the latter being especially unlikely with her departure for another network.

The New Adventures of Old Christine: Friends (2007) Season 2, Episode 21

Ick?

[6/10 · 15 February 2024]

In a recent episode we discovered that Matthew was at least 20 years younger than Christine.

In THIS episode, Matthew reveals that he had feelings for Barb when Christine brought Barb home from college.

But even if Christine took a "gap" year between HS and college, Matthew would have been somewhere between not born and 1 year old at the time. So probably would NOT have been capable of having feelings for Barb.

Only other possible explanation would be if Christine and Barb went to college later in life. But you would THINK that they would have mentioned that at some point in the first two seasons.

AND that would mean that their friend from the wedding went to college later in life too.

The New Adventures of Old Christine: Faith Off (2007) Season 2, Episode 19

A second commercial disguised as a sitcom episode

[6/10 · 14 February 2024]

This is basically a commercial for Home Depot, just as in an earlier episode this season, they did a commercial for Red Lobster in an episode.

Perhaps that was the only way they were able to make this series profitable.

Otherwise, it seems odd to make a STORE the central part of a sitcom episode. They mentioned it numerous times and they visitied it at least twice.

If they weren't being compensated (and I am sure they were), why else would they mention it by name so many times AND so the outside and inside of one?

That being said, it was a fairly funny episode. They gave mot of the funny lines to Richard and Matthew.

The New Adventures of Old Christine: Women 'N Tuition (2006) Season 2, Episode 8

Wait ... what??

[7/10 · 8 February 2024]

In this episode, we learn that Matthew was in the high school class of 1996. That would make him about 27 in this episode. With Christine about 47, that's quite a long gap between children for their mother.

I would have thought they were closer in age than that.

An age of 27 makes it more realistic for Matthew to be applying to medical school.

While Matthew does seem a bit smarter than Christine, I can't imagine his having what it takes to get into medical school.

The whole family (not to mention Richard) seem a little slow. In this episode alone, Christine, Matthew and Ritchie all walked into glass doors.

Quantico: CLEOPATRA (2017) Season 2, Episode 9

Lydia? Seriously?? THAT was out of the blue

[5/10 · 7 February 2024]

Wow. I did not see that coming.

This whole time, Lydia and Owen's "relationship" was portrayed ex or current boyfriend/girlfriend or ex or current husband/wife. It was clearly shown as a romantic relationship (most likely as exes, given the lack of kissing and/or romantic touching).

However, in THIS episode, that portrayal was turned on its head when it was suddenly (and IMHO very unexpectedly) revealed that Lydia was Owen's daughter.

WOW. I don't know if this was the writers' attempt at a "course correction" ... or if it was a deliberate misdirect, but they certainly had ME fooled.

This was all the more shocking given that it seemed, from their interactions, that Lydia was Owen's superior at the CIA.

You Hurt My Feelings (2023)

This movie probably would have benefited from having a script

[5/10 · 31 January 2024]

I am sure it's NOT the case, but the movie FELT like someone was just following these different people around with a camera and recording their random musings.

Not really much of a story line.

The only thing that was interesting was to see just how much the various actors have aged.

Julia is looking every bit her age. Amber has put on a fair amount of weight and has aged quite a bit (since the last time I saw her on Two and a Half Men). I didn't even recognize Mikhaela. Hard to believe it's the same woman that played Matthew's girlfriend on The New Adventures of Old Christine. That wasn't THAT long ago.

JAG: Nobody's Child (1999) Season 4, Episode 17

A 22 minute episode that was expanded into a 44 minute one

[5/10 · 29 January 2024]

Jeez. If they removed all of the scenes where little or nothing was happening to advance the storyline, this would be at MOST a 22 minute episode.

I also got confused a couple of times, when they kept referring to the girl from the bus who was murdered during the opening scene as being 5 years old ... when she clearly APPEARED to be 10-12. I thought maybe they were talking about someone else.

Also, how unsatisfying an ending, when the bad guy was caught, and the magic words "to be continued..." did not appear in the closing sequence.

It is quite unusual for a JAG episode NOT to be wrapped up in a single episode (without the "to be continued").

JAG: Silent Service (1999) Season 4, Episode 16

A Master class into how to turn a 22 minute episode into a 44 minute one.

[6/10 · 28 January 2024]

SO much filler in this episode. Entire scenes where little or nothing was happening ... just filler.

A good editor could have trimmed this episode down from the 44+ minutes it was, down to 22 minutes.

Makes me glad I watched this series offline, so I could fast forward through the scenes where nothing was really happening. A HUGE time saver. That way, you can watch TWO episodes in the time frame that one would normally watch only one.

Without giving anything away, the scenes that led about to capturing the bad guy just dragged on and on. Once we knew what he was up to, there was no real point in demonstrating it repeatedly.

Designing Women: The Woman Who Came to Sugarbakers (1993) Season 7, Episode 19

Another weak, stupid season 7 episode

[5/10 · 25 January 2024]

They kept introducing new characters in the hopes that SOMETHING would stick, and perhaps save the series. None did (this was the final season).

Etienne wasn't in this episode, but jeez. What an annoying woman. She added absolutely NOTHING to show, except irritability.

This episode was just as stupid and unfunny as most from season 7.

The only positive note is that the guest star, who tipped the scales at over 250 lbs., outlived three of her co-stars (Anthony, Carlene, and Julia all pre-deceased her) and lived to the ripe old age of 95.

I know the basic model of the show (focusing almost exclusively on "female rants") got the series to 7 seasons. But I can't imagine WHO would find rants funny. And without them, most episodes would be 2-6 minutes.

Quantico: Fast (2016) Season 1, Episode 19

Wow! Even the writers are having trouble keeping track of the various story lines

[5/10 · 23 January 2024]

How are the viewers supposed to be able to keep track of the various story lines when even the writers seemed to be having difficulty??

There is so much time shifting between Quantico training and the future ... it's not always clear where they are in each time period.

For example, Miranda was recently fired from her position at Quantico (due to her handling of the situation with her son). She was supposedly being demoted to some lowly position. But in THIS episode, she seems to be in charge of SOMETHING at the NYC office.

Caleb's dad was killed in one of the bombings in NYC, and yet here he is alive and well. Does that mean in one of their recent time shifts from Quantico to NYC it's to a period that preceded the bombing? Without a program guide, there is no way to know.

And I have NO clue what's going on with Shelby and Caleb. They are in different positions and situations in every episode. *I* don't remember Shelby quitting or being fired from the FBI, but in THIS episode, she seems to be working for a private company (hers???) that is installing an upgrade. And the writers (and consequently the viewers) have NO clue what Caleb is up to (keeps changing every episode, and not in a consistent manner).

Also, one moment Alex seems to be a valued member of the NYC team, the next she is shunned and not trusted by everyone. And then the next episode it's back to her being trusted again. There's no rhyme or reason to it.

This show would benefit from a continuity person (or even a team).

Benson: We Deliver (1984) Season 5, Episode 19

The laugh track seemed to find this a lot funnier than I did

[5/10 · 23 January 2024]

Slapstick CAN be funny. It's not here, but it can be.

Lots of laughter from the laugh track, though.

Lots of weird inconsistencies. In the elevator, Benson and the governor put up a privacy sheet for Denise, even though there was no one else trapped in the elevator with them that would have been able to see.

They kept closing the door on the emergency phone, even though knew it stuck and was very hard to get open (I THINK this was supposed to be funny ...).

I don't know if the showrunners were punishing Missy Gold, but the dress she wore in this episode was absolutely hideous. Sort of similar to the liberty bell (it was so big EVERYWHERE). I sincerely hope they weren't covering up a pregnancy (with Missy only being 13 here).

House M.D.: Humpty Dumpty (2005) Season 2, Episode 3

Uncharacteristically slow moving episode

[5/10 · 22 January 2024]

After watching for what felt like at least an hour and a half, I was ready for a break. I was SURE this must have been a special two hours episode, so imagine my surprise when I discovered I was only about 30 minutes into the episode (it just FELT like I had been watching for 90+ minutes).

There has to be other plot lines they can use besides the "patient lying to the doctor" one ... they do seem to like that one on this show (as House himself often points out).

The patient suing at the end seems like the very definition of a frivolous lawsuit. But it sounded like everyone felt sorry enough for the patient, that they were just going to roll over.

Profiler (1996–2000)

Good, but unnecessarily slow moving show

[6/10 · 16 January 2024]

This is a pretty good show, but it is unnecessarily slow moving.

I am currently (re)watching the first season. After I feel like I have watched 1 hr 30 minutes, to 1 hr 45 minutes of each episode, I am ready for a break, only to be shocked to discover I am only half way through the 46 minute episode.

Also, a trivia entry on this page indicates that the "styllized" sequences shown are an indication of Sam making a "leap". That is FAR from obvious while actually watching it. I don't know if the writer of that trivia entry is speculating, or if he was attached to the show and THAT is how he "knows."

Also, most of the episodes from season 1 seem to have an almost identical story line. I FEEL like I am watching the same episode over and over.

Designing Women: A Scene from a Mall (1992) Season 6, Episode 18

Anthony's "situation" is finally "fixed"

[6/10 · 11 January 2024]

In the state of Georgia, a convicted felon can NOT be a lawyer. So I am glad it finally appears, here, that his conviction (that led to his "unfortunate incarceration", as he famously and repeatedly mentions) is mentioned as having been overturned.

The overturning of his conviction COULD have made a good episode. Wonder why they didn't make such an episode. With so many of the episodes being one character's rant after another, that would have made a welcome change.

I guess they had to finally mention it, or otherwise viewers might wonder how a convicted felon was able to become a lawyer in Georgia.

Roseanne: The Monday Thru Friday Show (1989) Season 1, Episode 12

It was so interesting to see the deleted scene for the first time

[7/10 · 11 January 2024]

I have watched the original 9 seasons numerous times in the 25+ years since it was first on.

I only just saw the extended version of this episode, including the scene that was deleted from the original airing. The scene features Darlene going to her newspaper boss' office and getting fired.

Haven't you ever watched an episode like this one, and wondered why there was an actor listed in the closing credits, even though no one but the core cast appeared in the episode?

That's because of episodes like this, where they list the boss in the credits, even though the scene was deleted from the original airing.

Soap (1977–1981)

Changed from a comedy to a drama seasons 2-4

[6/10 · 25 December 2023]

I don't know if this was deliberate, or if the show simply wasn't funny after season 1.

They did a PHENOMONAL job of aging Katherine Helmond. Her IMDB birth date makes her 48 when this series started, but she was made up to look like she was in her late 60s.

Perhaps the writers confused "silly" with "funny" after season 1. The show was quite silly, with bizarre plots, but not actually funny.

It is kind of surreal watching the characters converse, and then hearing the laugh track, even though nothing they have said was funny.

It's a shame, as the first season was pretty funny. Susan Harris is credited as one of the writers for the entire series run, so not sure why it stopped being funny.

Designing Women: Miss Trial (1990) Season 5, Episode 4

First funny episode in ages

[7/10 · 19 December 2023]

It's a shame that all of the DW episodes couldn't be as funny as this one. Almost every character got into the act.

I still don't get the appeal of Julia's rants. As I have mentioned before, perhaps you have to be a woman to get her humor. All I know for sure, is *I* don't find her rants funny.

This site appears to be experiencing some technical glitches. Even as I am typing additional letters and words, the "minimum required number of letters left" is NOT going down.

I don't fully understand this. Perhaps this requirement is only the last couple of years, as I have seen some reviews that are just a sentence or two.

Designing Women (1986–1993)

Was this show considered funny when it first came out?

[6/10 · 17 December 2023]

The only thing I can say for sure, is that it's not funny now. Without a laugh track, I would have no idea when I was supposed to laugh.

First "weird" thing ... why did they cast the least attractive of the four women as the "former beauty queen?" Her obnoxious character fits, but that could have been assigned to one of the more attractive actresses.

I am mystified as to why Julia's rants are considered funny. They are all so similar. Do you have to be a woman to get the "humor."?

And why are Suzanne's dumb and mean tirades considered funny? I feel sorry for her.

Charlene isn't the sharpest tool in the box either, but at least she is a nice person.

Mary Jo seems quite pleasant, but she has her share of rants.

To me, Anthony is the only character that is regularly funny, but even he does the occasional rant ... which is just a rant, and I wouldn't know it was supposed to be funny without the laugh track.

JAG: Trinity (1997) Season 2, Episode 6

Edited out most of an important subplot?

[5/10 · 22 November 2023]

I don't know if this is a question of "DVD version vs. Originally aired version" but it APPEARED as though a good deal of the subplot was edited out, leaving many unanswered questions.

In one scene, they are doing what appears to be genetic testing. But it is never explained WHO they are doing it on, or WHY they are doing it.

Also, it is never explained WHY the cops took the baby (to get the alleged terrorist??) ... and it was never explained why the cops would want to kill the baby (and especially why they would want to kill Harm or Mac).

Also, in the trivia section, it mentioned Princess Diana made a cameo. Was that edited out of the DVD version because she died??

Designing Women: Reservations for Eight (1988) Season 2, Episode 22

Was this episode considered funny back in 1988??

[4/10 · 21 November 2023]

The only thing that can be said definitively is that it is NOT funny in 2023.

Why did the "comedy" writers think that arguing about stale things would be funny?? Guess what, it's not.

Good thing that Julia is pretty, because all her ranting and raving would certainly get on just about any man's nerves (I know they do mine).

I remember enjoying this show when it was first on. The comedy certainly hasn't aged well.

I have always been mystified by the choice of Delta as the "former beauty queen" when Julia and Mary Jo are both much prettier.

I also don't understand why Anthony is listed in the opening credits in one episode, in the closing credits the next, and then opening credits the episode after that.

Sitting in Bars with Cake (2023)

"Music" was a bit distracting

[6/10 · 6 November 2023]

But then again, my age is probably 2-2.5 times the target audience for this movie.

It was an interesting movie. A bit of a downer, but well-acted and held my interest.

I had never heard of any of the actors other than Bette, of course. Odessa definitely has a future in the biz.

Would have been nice to have Bette to have had a larger role. It would have been nice if. Corinne character had more time as a junior agent before her diagnosis.

I honestly thought there was a tiny chance that Corinne would recover. In those final scenes, I also expected that Jane would say that she LOVED loved Corinne. Oh well.

Diagnosis Murder: Town Without Pity (2002 TV Movie)

How do you turn a 30 minute TV episode into a 2-hour TV movie?

[5/10 · 19 October 2023]

Well, you start with 30+ minutes of commercials (that's pretty standard).

Then you add a bunch of scenes where little or nothing happens (and/or has nothing to do with the overall plot).

This slows down the pace of the movie, making it feel more like a 3-hour movie.

To be honest, I didn't even recognize Carey (only thought to check the cast listing on IMDB after the I saw his name in the featured user review).

After finishing watching the TV series, I have been watching the Diagnosis Murder TV movies, in order. As I have said previously, it is a shame that they replaced the much more attractive and likeable Cynthia Gibb with Victoria Powell.