Otherworldly Odyssey: Week of 4/9/2019

The Twilight Zone reboot is finally here! The Orville is on a break this week, but will be back next week with it’s penultimate episode. That’s fine because it gave me more time to focus on The Twilight Zone, which is just fine by me. Let’s see what’s happening in other dimensions this week.

The Twilight Zone (CBS All Access)

The Twilight Zone made it’s highly anticipated (especially by me) return on April 1, and it did not disappoint. Jordan Peele knows what he’s doing, taking all that made the original Twilight Zone so great, but polishing it up a bit and making it all shiny and new. My first favorite thing is the diversity both in front of and behind the camera. I don’t love it for diversity in itself, but for what it adds to the characters and story. Rod Serling’s show challenged our perception of the world and pushed us to examine reality. It will be exciting to see how this new incarnation picks up that baton.

The Comedian 1.1

Kumail Nanjiani plays struggling comedian Samir Wassan. A tip from an old pro (Tracy Morgan) seems to be the ticket to success, but at what cost? His attempts to channel his work into doing something good seem to be going well, but this is The Twilight Zone, right? So you know it’s gonna take a turn eventually. When he becomes selfish, everything starts to fall apart. But, eventually Samir finds a way to escape the spiral he’s entered. Overall a very solid return that feels very familiar to The Twilight Zone that we all know and love. Nanjiani was excellent as the ambitious comedian, and I am absolutely in love with Diarra Kilpatrick as DiDi Scott. She was so on all the time, and brutal. Let’s hope DiDi’s confidence takes her down a different path than Samir.

Nightmare at 30,000 feet 1.2

This episode is a refashioned mash up of classic episodes “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” and “Twenty Two,” possibly with some other bits and pieces mixed in. The result is something very new, and very good. It plays with expectations, both from the classic episodes and those that stem from our unconscious (or conscious) bias. Justin Sanderson (Adam Scott) finds a device loaded with a podcast discussing the demise of the flight he is on. As he is more convinced that the recording is truthful, his behavior becomes more and more extreme in an effort to save his ship from disaster. As with the characters in the two episodes that influence this one, Sanderson can’t make anyone believe him and becomes increasingly irrational in his actions. In the end, well, I’ll let you see what happens.

Next week: Sanaa Lathan guest stars as a woman who believes she’s living the same moments over and over.

The Twilight Zone airs Thursdays on CBS All Access.

Star Trek Discovery (CBS All Access) – 2.12 Through the Valley of the Shadows

Chasing Control takes Discovery to Boreth, home of Voq and L’Rell’s child, in search of a time crystal. Pike volunteers to go, but L’Rell warns him that it won’t come without sacrifice. Son of None, Voq and L’Rell’s son, is now an adult and guardian of the time crystals (because “time works differently here”????). As he seeks the time crystal, Pike is confronted with his future (booooring). I’ve been pretty forgiving of the retconning up to now. I mean, I’ll take any excuse to get more Spock. But, the “revelation” Pike received was pretty disappointing, even for an indulgent and forgiving fan like myself. It even managed to take away from Pike’s honorable decision.

When a section 31 ship misses a check in, Michael goes to investigate, but not without Spock who insists on going along. There they find that a malfunctioning ship has caused a distaster. Michael is reunited with a former crew mate, Specialist Kamran Gant (Ali Momen), and they try to figure out what what’s going on with the ship. But it’s only a matter of time before Control appears, and it’s after Michael.

Jett Reno (Tig Notaro) was back in action, as sensitive as ever. But, she softens up a little with Hugh, providing my favorite moment of the episode. She reminds Hugh what he had with Stamets and urges him not to waste the second chance he’s been given. I think Tig Notaro might be one of my favorite things about season 2. Like Tilly, Jett Reno brings a touch of humanity and humor to the show, and Tig Notaro is perfect in that role. I would love to see more of her.

The episode ends with Discovery surrounded by Section 31 ships, and it looks like Pike is going to have to take drastic action to keep the data sphere out of Contol’s hands. Season 2 is coming to a close, and rumor has it that the end of the season will bring about a major jump into the future, likely brought about by the newly acquired time crystal. Let’s hope this reconciles the issues many have with Discovery being set in the Prime Universe and makes room for improvement.

Star Trek Discovery airs Thursdays on CBS All Access.

Coming Up:

Tuesday

Roswell, New Mexico: 1.11 Champagne Supernova (CW)

Thursday

The Orville: 2.12 Sanctuary (Fox)

Star Trek Discovery: 2.9 Project Daedalus (CBS All Access)

The Twilight Zone: 2.3 Replay (CBS All Access)

Catch up on past installments of Otherworldly Odyssey here.