alfredstvthoughts

[alfredstvthoughts]

The Ghost and Molly McGee - Festival of Lights/ Saving Christmas (Season 1 Episode 10; 27 November 2021)

This episode of Disney Channel's The Ghost and Molly McGee, about the young girl Molly McGee and her family moving into a house haunted by the ghost Scratch takes advantage of the usual 2 segment format in a rarely used manner, to celebrate not just Christmas but also Hanukkah.

Hanukkah is to the best of my knowledge rarely acknowledged in holiday specials, with perhaps the most familiar example to me being the Rugrats Hanukkah special which featured a good retelling of the Hanukkah story.

Festival of Lights therefore is a welcome example of a rare Hanukkah special. The McGees have been invited to spend Hanukkah at the book store owned by the mother of Molly's best human friend Libby Stein-Torres but a power cut occurs forcing the use of a backup generator which seems not to have enough fuel to last the night (the way this is resolved neatly reflects the actual Hanukkah story).

From there the story is neatly divided into a number of sections depicting what happens over the course of 8 hours including Scratch enjoying greasy Hanukkah food, various Hanukkah games (including dreidel) and Libby telling the story of Hanukkah.

Perhaps the best and most emotionally affecting of these is what happens in the 7th hour as Libby's mother explains the history of her family's menorah with her ancestors having to flee with it from an anti-Semitic riot before showing how the menorah has always been there through the generations as a symbol of hope in difficult times.

Overall, Festival of Lights is an extremely strong Hanukkah special that nicely blends fun and emotion while also explaining the importance of the holiday for the uninitiated.

Saving Christmas is a much more traditional Christmas episode featuring a town festival and a riff on A Christmas Carol. When the annual Snowflake Celebration ends up being cancelled due to all the Christmas decorations being destroyed, Brighton ends up losing it's Christmas spirit and Molly is determined to bring it back. She tries to get Andrea Davenport's father to help fund a restored Snowflake Celebration but he refuses and so with Scratch playing all the ghosts, he experiences his own version of A Christmas Carol though he is not so easily swayed into changing his ways...

It would have paled anyway compared to the excellence of Festival of Lights, but in my opinion Saving Christmas is a very weak take on A Christmas Carol and it's not particularly helped by the fact Andrea's father is extremely unlikeable and even his redemption is sabotaged by his unbearable ego.

There is a nice festive ending but ultimately Saving Christmas is much the weaker of the 2 holiday specials in this episode. Nevertheless, this unique pairing of holiday specials is worth a look to celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas, with Festival of Lights a particularly outstanding achievement.

[alfredstvthoughts]

Amphibia - Froggy Little Christmas (Season 3 Episode 9; 27 November 2021)

Amphibia is perhaps one of the very finest animated shows of modern times and in common with many of my recent reviews, I look at the show's Christmas special which has become a recent favorite of mine that I regularly watch each December now.

Having ended up back home on Earth along with her adopted frog family the Plantars from Amphibia at the beginning of Season 3, the episode opens with Anne Boonchuy's mother receiving an offer to have her Thai food business be represented with a float in an upcoming Christmas parade. Despite this being a dream come true for her, she reluctantly rejects the offer in order to protect Anne and the Plantars.

However, Anne wants to make her mother happy and give thanks for everything she's done for her and the Plantars, so with the Plantars as well as several other people they know, they secretly prepare a float for her mother for the parade and when they reveal it to her on the day of the parade, she finally relents and takes part.

Meanwhile, the Plantars struggle to understand what Christmas is all about and back in Amphibia, King Andrias receives a drone which he then uses to bring a giant Santa figure to life at the parade in an attempt to assassinate Anne...

Like all the best Christmas specials, this episode really gets into the spirit of the season and even the opening titles and closing credits receive a Christmas makeover. Christmas is everywhere in the episode, from the parade to the extensive Christmas decorations in the Boonchuy house and the sub-plot with the Plantars struggling to understand Christmas and Sprig trying to make a perfect present for Anne fits perfectly with the season as well as being amusing, this sub-plot is resolved well in a suitable manner fitting for the true meaning of Christmas.

Although a festive special, the episode also fits nicely in within the story arc of Season 3 regarding Anne and the Plantars' attempts to live life on Earth while remaining hidden from their enemies, particularly with King Andrias' attempts to assassinate Anne. Yet the episode also stands up well on it's own merits to be enjoyed in isolation without relying too heavily on the events of the previous episodes.

Overall, one of my favorite Christmas specials ever and also one of my favorite episodes of the show, this truly is something special and is an episode I am always happy to watch every December to get me in a Christmas mood.

[alfredstvthoughts]

Wayside - Extra Curricular Riddicular/ Wayside Christmas (Season 2 Episode 6; 6 October 2007*)

*- Wikipedia refers to 2 original airdates, the one listed in the title is the original Canadian broadcast, the original US broadcast was 24 December 2007

Wayside was an animated series based on Louis Sachar's Wayside School books about an unusual school 30 floors high with some very weird goings-on in the classroom, mostly shown from the perspective of Todd, a newcomer to the school who is unfamiliar with the way things are done there.

The first segment is a good case in point of the weirdness that rules at Wayside. Principal Kidswatter decides to have all the extra-curricular activities take place during school hours (and school hours after school!), so the kids of Mrs Jewls' class decide to form their own various clubs, but soon find themselves attracted to Todd's science club as he has been able to built a functioning rocket with the help of Ms Mush. All except Myron who wants to have the best club and is jealous of the popularity of Todd's club, he eventually enlists Kidswatter's help to try and outdo Todd. A good segment overall with some really funny moments.

The second segment is a Christmas special, and another I enjoy watching at this time of year. After failing to give Bebe the Secret Santa gift he was assigned to get her and drawing the ire of the whole class, Myron experiences his own version of A Christmas Carol, believing he is being visited by the Christmas ghosts in an attempt to make him change his ways (not helped by Mrs Jewls putting on a class play of the Dickens novel). Like the best Christmas specials, it has a great festive atmosphere while the odd take on A Christmas Carol works well and there's also a fun running joke with Kidswatter attempting to ride a cow dressed as a reindeer and the Secret Santa sequence (particularly Maurecia's 'gift' to Todd) is inspired too.

Overall, a fine pair of segments forming a good whole, with Wayside Christmas narrowly winning out as the best of the 2, another great Christmas special.

[alfredstvthoughts]

Z Cars - Occupation (25 November 1974)

PC Quilley (Douglas Fielding) has to keep watch outside a bus factory currently subject to a sit-in by disgruntled employees who are facing redundancy, meanwhile Inspector Lynch (James Ellis) and PC Render (Allan O'Keefe) attempt to track escaped borstal prisoner and thief Ray Nuttall (Paul Rosebury) who unbeknownst to the police has taken refuge inside the factory...

So goes the plot to the latest episode of Z Cars shown on Talking Pictures TV, written by Leslie Duxbury. To be honest although this episode has it's plus points, it's definitely one of the weakest episodes shown so far in my opinion.

Among this episode's problems are that it starts off way too dull, an episode about the police watching a union sit-in that is pretty uneventful was perhaps not the best choice of plotline while the supporting characters are poorly acted and lacking in characterisation. The bolshie humorless trade union man Alan Ripley (Steve Hodson) is far too grim and single-minded to engender any sympathy while honest hard worker Bill Fisher (Richard Butler) and sole female among the workforce Bernice Duffy (Wendy Wax) are too dull to care about.

Perhaps the best of a poor bunch is the aforementioned thief Ray Nuttall and it's interesting to see how his presence affects the 3 striking workers, with his positive, care-free attitude to life standing in stark contrast to the far-too serious Ripley. His presence also starts to affect the unity of the strikers, with the honest Bill refusing to help him and Bernice charmed by him while Ripley refuses to give him up to the police despite their stark differences, seeing him as a victim of society.

Overall, an average episode and below the high standard of quality established by the majority of the preceding episodes shown on TPTV, but not entirely without merit.

[alfredstvthoughts]

Beau Geste - Episode Five (28 November 1982)

With the Geste brothers reunited in the French Foreign Legion in the previous episode, this episode gives a bit of space to look a bit more deeply into some of the characters, particularly Francesco Boldini (Stefan Gryff) and Sergeant Major Lejaune (John Forgeham). The 2 have history together, we learn that Boldini had previously worked under Lejaune in the Belgian Congo before serving together in the Foreign Legion, where Lejaune was criticized for his brutality towards the native workers.

It has become clear by now that Boldini is a real sneaky snake and the Geste brothers want nothing further to do with him while the others resent that Boldini never has to do any of the hard jobs. Beau (Benedict Taylor) has passed out as the best recruit and seems to have a promising career ahead of him in the Legion with promotion possible, but it's apparent Lejaune is waiting for a chance for him to slip up and when Boldini tells Lejaune what he overheard the brothers talking about regarding the Blue Water, Lejaune wants him to steal the Blue Water as a chance to get Beau into trouble...

To this end, Boldini attempts to recruit fellow legionnaires Colonna (Jonathan Burn) and Guantaio (Nadio Fortune), but when they refuse to help, Lejaune instead pressures Bolidar (Jon Rumney), a pickpocket before joining the Legion to steal it instead, however Maris (John Moreno) had overheard Boldini's earlier conversation with Colonna and Guantaio and has warned the Geste brothers of the planned theft...

Another extremely solid episode that ticks along nicely with a good amount of suspense and once again I must praise Stefan Gryff and John Forgeham's performances as Boldini and Lejaune with Gryff being appropriately slimy and scheming as Boldini and Forgeham excellent at portraying Lejaune's cold brutality.

Also it's nice to see that the ladies back home in England at Brandon Abbas have not been forgotten about with a brief scene as Claudia (Julia Chambers) suspects that Lady Brandon (Wendy Williams) did not send for the police over the Blue Water theft because she doesn't want Beau to be sent to prison.

The episode ends with Lejaune announcing that a tribal uprising in Sudan means the Legion will be sent to the isolated desert Fort Zinderneuf where men are said to go mad, the plot is moving forward nicely and I cannot wait to see what happens next.

[alfredstvthoughts]

Z Cars - Pursuit (11 November 1974)

The most recent episode of Z Cars to be shown on Talking Pictures TV lives up to it's title well as this episode focuses mostly on the pursuit for a wanted criminal.

Thief Maurice Wells (Gareth Armstrong) attacks an old man (Herbert Ramskill) and leaves him for dead, escaping into the open countryside beyond Newtown. As CID, led by DI Watkins (Jack Watson) deal with the crime and attempt to establish the thief's identity and find out where he could have gone, PC Render (Allan O'Keefe) attempts to pick up Maurice's trail in the countryside.

A more simple plot compared to some of the other Z Cars episodes shown recently, but a highly effective one that keeps the tension going throughout and is also a good outing for PC Render, always a dependable character. Like in Gardens, most of the police characters in this episode are unfamiliar with the more familiar characters like PC Quilley, DC Skinner and Inspector Lynch absent, however these ones are more interesting than the ones in Gardens and the actors playing them give better performances too, particularly Jack Watson as DI Watkins.

This episode also has a grimmer tone than some of the recent ones too and also seems to be the most violent episode shown so far, with a number of violent scenes including the attack on the old man (which is rather shocking) and poor PC Render suffering a rather nasty looking blow to the head. There is also some effective countryside location filming that gives a good sense of the challenge of finding the thief who's escaped into the country. Overall, another solid episode.

[alfredstvthoughts]

Beau Geste - Episode Four (21 November 1982)

At the end of the third episode, the somewhat shady Francesco Boldini (Stefan Gryff) promised to guide John Geste (Jonathon Morris) with his knowledge of and contacts in the French Foreign Legion. At the beginning of this fourth episode, we're introduced to some more of John's fellow legionnaires including Americans Buddy and Hank (Barry Dennen and Christopher Malcolm, both acting as fairly stereotypical exaggerated UK TV Americans) who like John are awaiting their posting abroad.

Soon John and the legionnaires are on the way to Oran then to Sidi Bel Abbes (both in present-day Algeria, back then a French colony), where John is finally reunited with his brothers Beau (Benedict Taylor) and Digby (Anthony Calf). Soon their training begins under the leadership of the formidable Sergeant Major Lejaune (John Forgeham) while Boldini overhears the brothers talking about the Blue Water...

What an episode this was, easily the best of the episodes shown so far. With the plot starting to kick into action more now that the brothers have joined the Legion, things are starting to get really interesting and I am curious to see more, all the characters have something interesting about them.

A word about the acting too, particularly from John Forgeham as the formidable and brutal Sergeant Major Lejaune who is a suitably intimidating presence for the soldiers while Stefan Gryff as Boldini does a great job portraying him as a shady and not entirely trustworthy man which makes him a very interesting character.

An excellent piece of television and I cannot wait to see what happens next in the fifth episode.

[alfredstvthoughts]

ChuckleVision - Messy Xmas (Season 15 Episode 1; 24 December 2002)

One of 2 back-to-back Christmas specials (along with the A Christmas Carol inspired Christmas Chuckle) that opened ChuckleVision's 15th season in 2002, Messy Xmas (written by John Sayle) depicts the Chuckle Brothers as elves working in Santa's workshop causing their usual brand of trouble.

Paul wants to work on his snow making machine that turns water into snow, but he and Barry are supposed to be helping the elves make Christmas toys and their failure to do this draws the ire of both chief elf Drippy (David Brett) and Santa Claus (Jimmy Patton in his usual No Slacking role).

Soon as both Chuckles mess up in numerous ways and their attempts to fix each situation only makes things worse, things get even more chaotic, eventually leading to the threat of a strike by the elves and the ruination of Christmas itself, but is all as it seems?

A decent Christmas episode overall that gets the Christmasy feel right and the best thing about this episode is easily the inspired choice to have No Slacking as Santa Claus which helps to make this episode really fun and David Brett is also good as the frustrated Drippy.

Some of the situations are funnier than others and it does get slightly repetitive with the constant cycle of each problem leading into a new one as the Chuckles' attempts to fix each one only makes things worse but overall Messy Xmas works well as a good Christmas special and is another one I enjoy seeing at this time of year.

[alfredstvthoughts]

Regular Show - Christmas in Space (Season 8 Episode 23; 1 December 2016)

As a teenager, there was no better animated show I enjoyed watching in the early 2010s than Regular Show and like all good long-running animated shows, there were a number of Christmas specials. There were 3 in total, with The Christmas Special and Merry Christmas Mordecai being the other ones, but I always gravitate towards the show's final Christmas special, shown during the space-set 8th and final season to get into the festive spirit.

Christmas in Space adopts the format of the Terror Tales of the Park Halloween specials, with the characters telling each other a number of Christmas-themed stories and there's also an amusing running joke involving Benson trying to get the others to appreciate hand bells.

The first story sees the park gang travelling to the snowy planet of Celsius, which only has 5 minutes of sunlight. After the gang spend more than 5 minutes there, the previously adorable and sweet snow creatures turn evil as darkness falls and now they must escape...

The second story (and my favorite of all the stories told in this episode) sees a caroller visit the house and starts singing The Twelve Days of Christmas, which come to life and attack everyone and they need to find a way to get rid of him...

In the third story, Mordecai and Rigby have forgot to buy Pops the present Benson assigned them to buy for him (an old-fashioned typewriter) and visit a 'theoretical' shopping mall in the 5th dimension, where every decision they do not make spawns clones of themselves while the fourth and final story sees a frustrated Benson try to scare Rigby into behaving by summoning Krampus who everyone believes doesn't exist, but the all-too real Krampus soon makes an unexpected visit...

All the stories are really enjoyable but The Twelve Days of Christmas sequence always remains the most memorable for me due to it being my favorite Christmas song ever and the gifts of the song coming to life in the 2nd story is really inspired and funny while the interdimensional weirdness of the 3rd story is also a highlight. Another classic Christmas special.

[alfredstvthoughts]

Z Cars - Quiet as the Grave (4 November 1974)

It's a seemingly quiet Sunday night at Newtown police station but while the police are bored, complaining about the rain and their wages while using the quiet as a chance to catch up on paperwork, a gang of robbers led by Macy (Norman Rossington) who are working for London gangsters Sharkey (John Junkin) and Vernon (Harry Landis) are trying to drill into a bank from an abandoned property, but will the noise they make attract police attention?

Quiet as the Grave, written by Bob Baker and Dave Martin is an extremely solid episode of Z Cars that balances it's 2 plotlines nicely. The dark robbery scenes are extremely well directed by Derek Martinus and there's a certain amount of tension not just between the gangster bosses and Macy's gang but also over whether the robbers will reach the loot before daybreak and if the patrolling PC Quilley (Douglas Fielding) will discover what they're up to...

The quiet police station scenes are played rather humorously and after having found DS Miller (Geoffrey Whitehead) rather dull in Friends, he's a lot better this time particularly in the scenes he shares with DC Skinner (Ian Cullen) while Sergeant Culshaw (John Challis) and PC Quilley also have some great scenes together particularly with Quilley reluctant to continue patrolling in the rainy night weather.

Eventually the police see some action as an old homeless major (Alan Foss) complains of being unable to sleep due to noises he hears in the place where he's currently squatting, could these noises be connected to the ongoing robbery?

The only flaw I can think of is that the endless chatter of Lee (Norman Beaton) can be just as annoying for the viewer as it is to his fellow robbers, but this is a minor irritation. Overall, an excellent and enjoyable episode that provides a welcome mixture of tension, humor and character moments.

[alfredstvthoughts]

Beau Geste - Episode Three (14 November 1982)

At the end of the previous episode, Digby Geste (Anthony Calf) had woken his brother John (Jonathon Morris) with a letter written by the 3rd Geste brother Beau (Benedict Taylor). We finally learn what the letter was all about - Beau has admitted responsibility for stealing the Blue Water jewel and has decided to leave, however his admission of responsibility fails to convince either Digby or John and wracked by guilt, Digby soon decides to leave himself, followed by John shortly after.

From here, events are shown from John's point of view (an interesting touch) as he travels to France to enlist in the French Foreign Legion which he also suspects Beau and Digby have done. While there, he meets Italian Francesco Boldini (Stefan Gryff), who is rejoining the Foreign Legion after previous service and it's suggested he's rejoining to escape trouble with the police and the way he searches through John's suit while he's having his medical examination lends credence to the idea he's a bit of a criminal...

Meanwhile, the recruiting colonel (Randal Herley) seems keen to try and put John off joining by stressing what a difficult life he'll have as part of the legion and that he will not be able to leave for 5 years upon joining: "Nothing but death can release you from the Legion". Nevertheless John signs up and life in the Legion begins...

This was a much better episode compared to last week's slow burner, particularly with the events being shown from John's viewpoint. Francesco Boldini promises to be an interesting character with his previous Legion experience, his shady-seeming past and his offer to be John's guide in the Legion and I cannot wait to see what happens next with the pair and whether or not John's hunch is right and Beau and Digby have also joined (the recruiting colonel's comments that the 2 other Englishmen who have recently joined bear a resemblance to John would heavily suggest the answer is yes...)

[alfredstvthoughts]

Mona the Vampire - The Columbus Triangle/ Soccer Sasquatch (Season 2 Episode 4; 7 October 2001)

Another episode of Mona the Vampire provides the opportunity to once more showcase how imaginative Mona and her friends Charley and Lily are in dealing with everyday problems that take on an apparently supernatural turn.

In The Columbus Triangle, a new radio station is causing electrical appliances across town to go haywire and Mona naturally suspects this is the work of aliens with nefarious plans, so together with Charley and Lily she attempts to track down the source of the transmissions and save the day...

In Soccer Sasquatch meanwhile, Lily and Charley are trying out for the soccer team (and Mona too is eventually roped in unwillingly), with Charley especially eager to take part. However, the accident-prone Charley is only seen as being good enough to be the mascot and Mona believes the coach is a sasquatch...

Both segments are both pretty straightforward and enjoyable, with The Columbus Triangle perhaps being the better of the two with a greater share of fun moments, showing once more what an enjoyable show Mona the Vampire can be.

[alfredstvthoughts]

My Life as a Teenage Robot - A Robot for All Seasons (Season 2 Episode 5; 8 December 2004)

My Life as a Teenage Robot, about the world saving adventures of robot XJ9, who has the personality of a teenage girl and prefers to be called Jenny may be one of the slightly lesser-known Nicktoons of the 2000s but it's perhaps my favorite one of that era and this Christmas themed episode is among my favorite episodes of this show.

After successfully taking over from an injured Santa one Christmas, Jenny returns to Tremorton with her friends for the post-Christmas sales. While there she meets a miserable boy called Todd Sweeney who she takes pity on and is eventually brought back to his house where she falls into a trap and is deactivated. When she reboots and escapes Todd's house, she finds everyone including her friends Brad and Tuck as well as her own mother have turned against her and also that she's a fugitive on the run from the law for reasons she doesn't know.

Sheldon is the only one willing to help her and soon she learns it's been almost a year since the previous Christmas and unknown to her, she had been seen destroying all the holidays since then and now will Jenny ruin this Christmas and can Todd be taught the true meaning of Christmas?

This episode has a very festive atmosphere particularly in the early Christmas scenes and even the theme song has been reworked to sound more Christmasy. The plot with Jenny apparently having become villainous without her knowing is also extremely interesting, there are many fun moments and there is also a wonderful season-appropriate ending too.

Overall one of my favorite Christmas specials and one I am always happy to see, there is so much to enjoy here and always will help me feel in a festive mood.

[alfredstvthoughts]

Codename: Kids Next Door - Operation: N.A.U.G.H.T.Y. (Season 5 Episode 5; 6 December 2005)

Codename: Kids Next Door, my favorite Cartoon Network series of the 2000s debuted on this day in 2002 and today also happens to be the 19th anniversary of this Christmas themed episode. With me in a mood to start rewatching various Christmas specials (expect more reviews of them before Christmas), this was the perfect episode to rewatch for the anniversary.

The pre-titles sequence of Operation: N.A.U.G.H.T.Y. (Ninnies Almost Undo Greatest Holiday This Year) features the Sector V operatives apparently attacking Santa's workshop and even Santa himself, it's surprising to see them so villainous that you can't help but wonder if it truly is them...

After the opening titles (which have incidentally been given a slight Christmas makeover), Sector V arrive back at their treehouse only to find it has disappeared and themselves accused of stealing Santa's reindeer by Santa's Elfa Strike team who then do battle with Sector V. When the truth emerges as to what Sector V were really up to, they and the Elfa Strike team go to the North Pole, where we find out the truth behind the 'Sector V' attack earlier...

Although far from my favorite episode of the show, this special does the job of feeling appropriately festive and the main plot works pretty effectively and I always appreciate a good 12 Days of Christmas reference like the fun one that appears here. There's also a rather adorable B-plot that eventually works it's way nicely into the main plot involving Numbuh 3 buying a present for Numbuh 4, who is pretty much put on the spot by this having essentially forgotten to buy her a present...

Overall, a pretty good way to begin my yearly Christmas special watching and a fine episode in it's own right.

[alfredstvthoughts]

Z Cars - Gardens (28 October 1974)

CONTENT WARNING: The plot of this episode concerns the circumstances surrounding a suspected suicide and as such this review will make a number of references to the subject.

The latest episode of Z Cars shown as part of Talking Pictures TV's reruns of 1970s episodes opens with PCs Render (Allan O'Keefe) and Yates (Nicholas Smith) dealing with a dead body discovered in an allotment shed. With an empty pill bottle discovered next to the body, it seems a fairly obvious open and shut suicide case to the point that DS Haggar (John Collin), summoned alongside his CID colleague DC Bowker (Brian Grellis) dismisses it all as a waste of time that he doesn't need to be involved in.

But then, as Render and Yates attempt to contact the next of kin or at least someone who will identify the body, they find the mysteries starting to pile up. Not only does there not seem to be an obvious reason why the dead man would want to kill himself, his wife has also not been seen by any of the neighbours for 3 weeks and all this gets the previously disinterested Haggar more interested, particularly as the dead man and his wife might be connected with Bernie Clarke (Edward Judd) who Haggar wants to talk to concerning another matter...

This episode, written by P.J. Hammond is a bit of a mixed bag. On the positive side, the story does becomes more interesting as the episode progresses, particularly with regards to what could have happened to the dead man's wife before his suicide while there's a very good twist at the end handled very well and the direction is solid.

On the other hand, the episode starts really slowly and does take some time to get going while the 4 police characters in this story (the only one I'm familiar with from previous TPTV episodes is PC Render) are not as strong as the regulars from this era of the show I have become more familiar with such as Inspector Lynch or PC Quilley which is a handicap this episode never fully overcomes. A decent effort overall, but could have done with a slightly tighter pace and the presence of some of the stronger regular characters.

[alfredstvthoughts]

Beau Geste - Episode Two (7 November 1982)

At the end of the first episode, young John Geste (Paul Critchley) had apparently suffocated to death hiding in the air-tight chest. Fortunately he turns out to be alive and after that's sorted, events skip forward quite quickly as he and the fellow Gestes go to school.

Returning some years later to Brandon Abbas having grown up, the Geste children (now played by Benedict Taylor (Beau), Anthony Calf (Digby) and Jonathon Morris (John)) reunite with their aunt Lady Brandon (Wendy Williams) who upon request brings out the Blue Water jewel again. While the family examine the jewel, the lights suddenly go out and when they come back on... the Blue Water is missing!

Cue mutual suspicion among everyone as to just who stole the jewel. Since no one seems to want to admit to stealing the jewel, Lady Brandon gives the thief a chance to surrender the stolen jewel anonymously after midnight, but when the next day comes and the jewel is still missing, tensions continue to flare and with Lady Brandon prepared to bring in the police, Beau makes a fateful decision...

The disappearance of the Blue Water was a really surprising moment that truly made me gasp and this second episode is decent overall, but I did find this 2nd episode to drag a bit compared to last week's attention grabbing opener. Still an interesting and enjoyable show overall, but I hope the 3rd episode will pick up the pace a little.

[alfredstvthoughts]

Wander Over Yonder - The Hot Shot/ The Night Out (Season 2 Episode 18; 30 May 2016)

Although Craig McCracken will primarily be remembered for his turn of the century Cartoon Network shows The Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, I personally am more familiar with his later work including the Netflix series Kid Cosmic and this effort for Disney Channel, Wander Over Yonder about the energetic and positive Wander (voiced by Jack McBrayer) travelling the galaxy with his faithful steed and best friend Sylvia (April Winchell).

The first segment of this episode, The Hot Shot sees a new hero arrive on the scene, apparently able to save the day from Lord Dominator's robots before Wander and Sylvia can arrive. Wander admires this new hero and even starts to take after him but Sylvia is intensely jealous of him and is determined to do better than him. However this new hero turns out to be a familiar foe who is utilising an accomplice to fake the attacks and grab the glory and then things get serious when there is an actual Lord Dominator robot attack...

A competently done and enjoyable segment but the second segment goes even better. With nothing to do while her ship's systems update very slowly, Lord Dominator decides to head down to the nearest planet and enjoy a night out in disguise where she meets Sylvia and forms an unexpected bond with her...

Sylvia and Lord Dominator are 2 of my favorite characters in the show and seeing them together was really amazing to see with them becoming somewhat like friends for the majority of the episode with several fun moments of the 2 of the them together. Wander is sidelined somewhat in this segment, but this is only a very minor flaw and allows plenty of time for the Sylvia/Lord Dominator scenes to develop well.

A fine episode overall with The Night Out in particular being a highlight, for my money one of the very best segments in Season 2.