Schemes of Summer - June 24 - What's To Watch?

 

 

         As is likely the case for many of you, I'm walking that line between trying to stay informed and not wanting to become uselessly depressed. To that end I scrapped my original opening paragraph early Friday morning, just before sending this to publish. Not wanting to overly distract by references to the nearly daily revelations and underlinings from and surrounding the January 6th commission hearings, emphasizing and re-emphasizing how it came down to the actions of a few, principled people that ended up standing between us and Trump's coup. Nor wanting to dwell, here, on the various woundings handed down this week by the Conservative-packed U.S. Supreme Court. Now that they've dropped the bomb with the overturn of Roe v. Wade, I decided to at least add some version of my original opening back. Not as to drag the debates into a blog post on entertainment, but even just simply to time-stamp this piece. To give it the context of this historical backdrop.

     That said, for now, we'll dive into the potential entertainment.

     (As ever, each link here pops open as a new screen, so you can take a look, close it, and you should end up back here.)
     There's plenty to watch and be entertained by. At the moment it's almost an embarrassment of riches even just with shows I've already written about on recent Fridays.
     To quickly hit some of the current/recent highlights, grouping them by where they're streaming. If you have the service in question, check them out. If you don't then make a note that they're there for you to check out if you decide to take a free or reduced-cost trial period with that streamer.

    Amazon Prime: The Boys (Fridays) hyper-violence and twisted sexual elements abound, but it can also be entertaining and engaging, with more than a little contemporary social commentary.  This week's episode, "Herogasm", is particularly twisted. Easily NSFW, or pretty much anywhere.
     The most recent bit of fun and puzzlement with the series, though, have been various reports of right-leaning fans flipping out upon realizing what pretty much any rational person knew from the get-go: Homelander's the central villain of the piece. Extremely dangerous, powerful narcissist who realized he gets even more popular with a given demographic the more he self-aggrandizes, talks about violent resolutions to conflicts, and runs un-apologetically roughshod over anyone in his path -- it all seems oddly familiar, doesn't it?
    FX/Hulu: The Old Man (Thursday nights on FX, on Hulu the following day). I enjoyed the heck out of the first two episodes last week, and am looking forward to this week's. Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow head a solid cast. This includes flashback scene performances by Bill Heck and Christopher Redman as Bridges and Lithgow's characters, respectively, 30 years ago; Heck's gotten Bridges' mannerisms down, and Redman does a superb job of Lithgow's cadence. While at the time I didn't have much more to go on than the trailer, I first mentioned it back on the 10th. This first season will be seven episodes, so after this week we'll still have four to go.
     Disney+: Ms. Marvel (Wednesdays) Certainly there will be some limited appeal, especially if one's uninterested in or just feeling glutted by comics-derived, costumed content, but so far they've done a nice job of bringing a modern, teen- and family-centered show with a culturally-diverse cast in a way that helps expand representation but still manages to feel oddly relatable to a 61 year-old, white dude. We're all looking for friends and a place in the world.
     Paramount+: The star attraction there for me this week was the recently-wrapped, 10-part dramatization of what went in to getting a screen adaptation of Mario Puzo's The Godfather made. Centered on Al Ruddy, a former computer programmer for The Rand Corporation who wanted to make something happen with his life, he angled his way into the entertainment biz. A deserving brand of chutzpah that's a combination of balls and brains. It's The Offer.
     I'd held off on watching it until all parts were available, and having binged through it in about three sessions I'm very happy I waited to have it all handy. It's a stirring tale, well-told, and full of characters nearly all of whom are or were very much real people, and every bit as colorful. (Among the main cast there's only one character who turns out to be an amalgam of various people.) Outside of the actors, several of the behind-the-scenes people I knew about before, but others were mostly new to me, and I enjoyed researching some of them -- mostly after the fact. It's worth it even just to start to dig into producer Robert Evans (played with mesmerizing intensity by Matthew Goode) and his deservedly deeply-storied career. If you watch, let it run through the credits at the end of each episode and watch the few minutes they take deconstructing some elements of the episode you just watched. Paramount + also has The Godfather movies, too, so you can roll into them -- well, at least the first two -- sometime after having lived through the fight to make that first one.

     AMC/AMC+: A crime thriller centered on a Navajo reservation, set in 1971. It's Dark Winds. That was one of the shows I mentioned last week. New episodes land Sunday nights on AMC, and if you have AMC the cable provider likely has an On Demand access to past episodes. You'll need that, because AMC is clearly pushing this as part of their AMC+ content, so - unlike, say, the Walking Dead shows, where they'll frequently rerun earlier episodes during the week, giving ample opportunities to catch up, they pretty much run and rerun that week's episode only, then move on to the next. This is combined with them always letting you know that you could be watching the next episode now, rather than having to wait a week, if only you were an AMC+ subscriber.
     The AMC marketing schemes aside, I've been enjoying it so far and was pleased to see this week that the response had been strong enough they've already renewed it for season two. Given all of the novels they have to draw on, this could have serious legs.
 

    Netflix: Also part of what was mentioned last week, is the much-anticipated return of The Umbrella Academy, back with its third season. Between bring busy and so fully drawn-in to The Offer (see above) -- and having semi-trapped my OCD self by having started a rewatch of show from the start (about 70% through season one) I've surprised myself by not having dived in to the new material yet. Still, the weekend's here, and I'll likely fold soon.
 

    Newly-arrived on Disney+ is the Marvel's most recent big screen addition, Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness (2022  PG-13 2h 6m), which had hit U.S. screens back on May 6th, so pretty close to the rumored 45 day span between theatrical release and arrival on Disney+. As someone who's not only steeped in most of the source material (severe gaps with much of the newer print material, though), but closer to home is up on the movies and Disney+ series, it's obvious that with each new item in the past year or so it's gotten a little less accessible to casual and first-time viewers. I'm not sure what someone who hadn't seen Spider-man: No Way Home and Disney+'s WandaVision series would make of some of the details and references, for instance. That's the trick of continuity, as while it invests the long-term fan ever more deeply in a series -- or, in this case, a universe of characters -- it potentially dissuades others from jumping on board because they're wrestling with the desire to know it from the ground up, but to do so presents them with an every-growing stack of homework. This movie is formally the 28th feature film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, stretching back to 2008's Iron Man. That alone would be daunting to anyone approaching it, and in the past two years Disney+ has been pumping out series that are woven directly into the same tapestry has a growing number of series to take in if they want to be up to date on it.
     The marketing aim is not only to get fans to line up for each new theatrical release, but to see the Disney+ subscription as essential. It would be all nearly perfect - well-curated in various ways - if not for the messy legacy of the long-lasting effects of some rather old business deals made by Marvel years before the House of Mouse gobbled them up. For now, at least, this means that Disney+ gives someone access to most of it, but (for now) that doesn't include the MCU-connected Incredible Hulk (2008) nor the three most recent Spider-Man films starring Tom Holland. They're working on that, though.
     Anyway, since the outbreak of COVID-19 I've only gotten out to see a couple films in theaters, and

those weeks after they premiered, hitting particularly ill-attended weekday showings. I'm still not anywhere near the comfort level of looking to get back into a theater with more than a well-scattered handful of strangers. This Dr. Strange sequel was one of those, though.
     While undeniably a Marvel film, it's also very much a Sam Raimi one, with a restrained form of his brand of horror imagery. I enjoyed it well enough, though the past two years have seen me get very accustomed to watching things at home, where I have the captions on, can pause the film, and generally be much more comfortable. I was getting a little antsy in the old-style stadium seats at the Regal where I watched it. I'm looking forward to giving it a rewatch at home, where I'm expecting I'll be more focused on it.

    The next MCU film will be Taika Waititi's Thor: Love & Thunder, set to formally land less than two weeks from now, on July 8th. I suspect that'll be another weekday matinee affair for me after it's been out for a little. I continue to play that by ear. I doubt I'll just wait until (presumably) late September for it to arrive on Disney+. These days I think the thing I miss most about going out to the movies is going to see something new with someone. At home I think that for the most part it's a mercy for all potential parties that I'm taking in most of what I am solo - the past dozen years in particular have spoiled me such that joint tv viewing decisions and sleep schedules alone be issues to kill the domestic arrangement (or one of the participants) - but going out the movies, it's considerably less than half the fun doing that alone.
    
    This weekend (Sunday) HBO sees the return of the sci-fi series Westworld, back for its fourth season. This reminds me that I eventually have much catching up to do. When the series began early October 2016 I was largely bowled over by the overall quality - everything from the performances and explorations of what we identify as human behavior and recognize as intelligence, to the musical score - and continued to watch through that first season, even as our own, so-called real world took dark and surreal turns. That season ended on interesting notes, but for whatever reasons, when it returned in late April two years later, repeated attempts to climb aboard that second season failed for me. It was a weird thing, as if the content refused to load in my head despite, technically, watching it. So, I set it aside for some other time, and am yet to get back to it. For those of you who're caught up, here's the trailer for the new season:

     I know I neglected to do it last week, too, but I haven't lined up suitable free film to recommend either because it's simply good or it's bad enough for the excesses or deficiencies to be an entertainment on its own.
     When next we get together it'll be July 1st! How did that happen?! - Mike

No Time To Rest! - June 10 - What's To Watch?

 

(Notes for any who are revisiting any of these pieces: First, I apologize for any of the inevitable, broken links. Things get pulled from YouTube all the time. Second, for the most current streaming availability for anything, go to JustWatch and type in the name of the show or movie. Streaming platforms are swapping material all the time these days. That JustWatch link will pop out into its own window. - Mike)
 
    Another busy week for me, probably for you, too. Too many uncomfortable things in the news, well outside my control, and too many moves back to Old Normal that I'm just not comfortable with yet. Local eateries taking down plexiglass protections, and too few people opting to go into stores masked. The coverage of the public hearings on the insurrection in the Capitol have begun, but I've little stomach for the blow-by-blow theater of the moment, including the pacing. My hope is that this slowly-turning mill will grind exceeding fine and thoroughly, and will lead to successful prosecutions of so many more, including Trump and the various, scheming, hangers-on and sycophants. However it goes, I'll largely be taking it in as daily postmortems and analyses from trusted sources. Don't worry, I won't be aiming to cover that here.
       It's good to have work to focus on, even if it has been reaching into my personal time of late. I've been giving some attention to trying to get one, extra, small but noticeable thing done after getting home (beyond the basics, like making dinner) before letting myself collapse. Thursday, that extra step was getting the lawn cut. That, and then taking care of dinner wrung the last drops out of me for the day, only to have word that an old comics buddy of mine has landed back in the hospital with a scary situation. The next 24 hours should tell most of the tale, as surgery Friday appears certain. That's some seven states and better than 1300 miles away, so I'm depending on update messages.
     Work, etc. continues to cut in to my entertainment screen time, but I still manage to see some things and to see some of what's about to arrive.

    Oh, a quick note on the latest Marvel debut, Ms. Marvel, as mentioned last week. It's a pleasant expansion of the MCU, with the high school perspective of early Spider-man, and reasonably relatable ethnic family elements such as worked well (with different cultures, of course) in something like Kim's Convenience. Inclusion handled fairly well - or at least so it seems to me from my more aged, mainstream perspective. The true nature of well-executed inclusion has to pass the sniff test of people from that group; in this case, that will be Pakistani Muslims. That part's not for me to say. I like the seed concept of getting to know the "brown girl from Jersey City" who might just save the world, and hope this helps broaden the spectrum of people to feel like part of it all.

   I'd lost track of the season length for the second season - the series' latest - of Hacks (HBO Max), in part because some of the release info incorrectly told us season two would be another ten-episode season, like the first. So, I was thinking that this week (the series drops 2 new episodes each Thursday during its run) would see the season finale. Instead, I was surprised to find, when I got around to it on the weekend, that the season had wrapped. Moreover, it wrapped in a way that has left the fans (and, based on what I've read, the people involved in the show) unsure if that season finale was also one for the series. The creative team behind the show say they have more to go - that when they pitched the show they included endings for the stories, and the season two finale was not that. Still, HBO Max has not yet officially picked the show up for another season. Hopefully it's all just part of a promotional calculus, they're listening for any buzz and/or grumble, but are otherwise just delaying the announcement.
     I wrote a little about the series early this past November, when I'd gotten around to checking it out. The second season built nicely on the first, story arcs for each of the characters advancing in satisfying ways for nearly all of them. I'm hoping to get to follow them the distance. (2024 note: Hacks' third season is currently rolling out over on Max, with the first six episodes in place.)

     While on the topic of HBO/HBO Max, some renewal and cancellation announcements came through this month: the semi-biographical pirate series Our Flag Means Death was renewed for a second season (thanks for the pass-along, Kate H.), while the sci-fi drama Raised By Wolves failed to get a third season. The HBO Max series Julia was renewed back in May. As a fan of all three series, that was more good news than bad. (2024 update: Unfortunately all three series were subsequently canceled, so those then-coming seasons proved to be the final ones for each.)

     On HBO, this past Monday saw the debut of a new series I'd heard nor read nothing about prior to running across its debut on HBO Max. It's largely a skewering of the film industry and the players in it, as it primarily follows an American actress on the rise who has come to Paris to star in a remake of a

1916 French film, Louis Feuillade's unusually long (roughly 7 hours) lurid crime thriller titled Les Vampires. The series is named for the character she will be playing in the piece, a sinister, seductive Irma Vep, a conspicuous anagram for "vampire." This was all part of the mystique of danger, not anything involving actual vampires, for a violent, criminal gang.
     Alicia Vikander plays the lead, Mira, who is trying to navigate the swirling waters of celebrity, hoping to better define herself and steer both her life and career in a better direction. However, she has to be careful not to recklessly abandon the games of a celebrity lifestyle. In part she's trying to distance herself from much of what got her into the spotlight (made trickier inasmuch that she's still part of the promotional machine for a recent sci-fi costume adventure movie), but do so without sinking her career by being too harshly honest about it. Among the challenges, the director of this new project may be worse than simply "troubled."
     Written and directed by Olivier Assayas, this is an expanded remake of his 1996 film Irma Vep. That film is also available on HBO Max, but I've decided to wait to watch it until after I've seen the 8-episode miniseries, expecting that the film almost couldn't help but spoil key elements.
     Here's the trailer for the series.

     The first episode hooked me enough to watch for the second. The layered nature of the fiction - that this is largely about the pitfalls and scandals of imaginary celebrities - is much more inviting to me as story elements than the "reality star" programming out there.

     Arriving today on Amazon Prime (2024 note: That final Craig Bond film is currently streaming on Peacock, long-gone from Prime) is a film I'd forgotten about, lost in the various pandemic decisions. Daniel Craig's reportedly final outing as James Bond, it's 2021's No Time To Die (R   163 min.)  Earlier production & director-related changes saw this delayed, then once those were settled the pandemic hit. So, a film originally targeted for a 2019 release became a September/October 2021 one, which was still too early for me to seriously consider packing back into a theater with the other, potential plague rats. Oh, it was almost certainly a good move for them, especially with all the money that had been sunk into this for production and post-production work, but that timing just wasn't going to work for me. As it wasn't streaming, it was out of sight and mind.
     Roll here to June 2022, and it was an "Oh, yeah. That." moment when I saw it would be hitting Prime this week.  Here's what was the final, U.S. theatrical trailer for it.

     Catching that - with a few interruptions - as Friday rolled through, it was a good, emotionally-rounded outing for Craig's final turn as Bond. While I'm sure I still would have enjoyed it, including taking in the sweep of action on a big screen, even pandemic considerations aside this was more entertaining for me as a home-view item. I'd have been squirming at least a little in the theater seats. Here, on a 50" screen, where I can pause it at will, especially makes a film approaching two and one half hours much easier to enjoy. 

      Returning this Sunday (on Paramount +) is the frequently quirky Evil, back for its third season. The first had been broadcast on CBS, but the decision was made to thereafter shift it to be one of the streaming exclusives, this back before the rebranding, when it was still called CBS All Access. I'd last written anything about it back in mid-October of last year, just after season two's finale aired.

     The show's seed concept is an odd trio of people who've been tasked by the Catholic Church to investigate specific claims of either the miraculous or the demonic. They represent the spectrum of faith and extreme skepticism, and as the previous two seasons have shown, while each had considerable baggage before accepting this assignment, each has added enough during the show's run that they're in need of a psychic porter. Belief systems repeatedly challenged and at least somewhat altered.
     This wasn't a series I was initially drawn to upon hearing about it, but I was very happy that I gave it a chance. The writing is generally clever, the interplay between the characters entertaining, and while it can get dark and authentically creepy, the cast has not only good chemistry but the comedic chops to play scenes to good effect.

     Each of the first two seasons was a tidy 13 episodes, and I (foolishly) expected that that would be the case for season three. No, it will be ten. New episodes drop on Sundays, and I'd braced myself for Paramount + to have odd spacing past a point, spreading it out well into the fall, as that's what they've done previously. However, initial info says they're going to follow an unbroken release schedule, one per Sunday, so the season will begin June 12th and wrap August 14th. If that holds I'll be pleased, even while lamenting a shortened season.
     Having a streaming show that lands on a Sunday is something I've found particularly cool, as it's there anytime after 3AM here on the East Coast. My fragmented sleeping schedule would often find me catching it hours pre-dawn Sunday, after which I might go back to sleep or just start my free-form day early.
     Here's the trailer for this new season - which isn't particularly spoilery as it's largely a series of dramatic cuts, and the show has enough of a fantasy/dream/illusion element that one can't necessarily take anything (especially in isolation) as real.

     Oddly, I pretty much slept through the night, and only remembered this was waiting for me after I'd been up for an hour or so. It was fun to have the crew back, and early misgivings about some specifics of both last season's ending moments and the same ones for the early stages of this episode, evaporated as I was reminded that we can't take all that we see as the clear truth. They do need to hire a reasonably savvy high-schooler as a technical consultant, though, because a mass spectrometer is not really what they seem to think it is. That aside, a special nod to this week's guest star, Wallace Shawn.
     I can already tell that this season - especially with it being shaved down by three episodes to a simple ten - will be flying by. In the meantime I'll enjoy my mid-weekend visit with them.
     2024 Note: The long-delayed fourth season of Evil is set to begin May 23rd.

     While (based on the trailer) not fully to my tastes, I want to at least mention that this past Wednesday Netflix premiered an original film that's also appearing in theaters. (Hey, I can't fault anyone for chasing a possible nod from the Academy.) A sports drama (basketball, specifically) starring Adam Sandler as a talent scout who's been at it for decades to too little real success, who takes a possible career-ending risk by bringing an unapproved player to the states. LeBron James is also involved, largely as a gateway to a raft of NBA talent peppered through the movie. Presumably if you're into the pro sport, this'll be a gold touch feature as that facial recognition area of the brain lights up again and again for you. (Me? Unless you stacked the line-up with white guys and people well under six feet tall, I wouldnt' be able to pick James himself out of a line-up.) As with most sports the list of things I'd rather be doing than watching a game is nearly infinite. I didn't grow up with them, I have no affection for them -- I do not care. If I ever do watch and manage to connect with the movie it'll be at the level of the characters, their aspirations, struggles and relationships. Every second of action on the court will find an almost immediate glaze forming on my eyes, though, and any characters' passion for the game itself will fall flat for me.
     Hey, after such a rousing build-up, how could you not want to watch the trailer for Hustle (Netflix  1h 58m)

     Sticking with Netflix releases where I'm not quite in the marketing cross-hairs, a new, supernatural adventure, queer, interracial romance, young adult series launches there today. Two young women, each at a coming-of-age point in their lives, each being told by their families that it's their time to step up and make their First Kill

     To belabor the obvious, it's a Romeo and Juliet tale with gender and race shifts, and at least a more obvious and justifiable reason for the enmity between the two family houses. We've seen again and again the importance of representation in entertainment media, so even if this isn't distinctly for you, maybe you know someone who might be interested in checking it out. Eight, roughly hour-long, episodes all arrived on Netflix today.

     One last one for Netflix, before turning our sights elsewhere, is a film from 2021 that's having its debut on Netflix. It's in that murky area of being "inspired by true events," that finds me looking for more details. It's set in 1994 Rwanda, while the horrific genocide against the Tutsi was ongoing. A disparate quartet of young women hide out beneath the kitchen floorboards of one of their family's homes, where they are trapped for a considerable time.
     It's Trees of Peace (2021  1h 37m)

     The horrific genocide is fact, as is that women spearheaded the rehabilitation movement in Rwanda in the aftermath of the genocide, and reportedly today that nation's government is one of three nations which currently have a female majority elected government. On the negative side, it appears that making the overriding concern the prevention of another genocide, the laws are so broad and exclusive that even basic dissent is essentially illegal, leading to what is effectively a single-party state. Both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have been critical of the process. The president, Paul Kagame, has been in office since 2000, this in a country where the president appoints the Prime Minister and the whole of the cabinet, though they are overseen by a popularly-elected, two-chambered Parliament (an 80-seat Chamber of Deputies and a 26-seat Senate), which have mandated minimum percentages of seats for women, and as noted above has had a majority female membership.

     Next Thursday (the 16th) FX sees the debut of a new series. Starring Jeff Bridges, John Lithgow, and Amy Brenneman, it centers on Dan Chase (Bridges), who disappeared from the CIA decades ago, living off the grid. After all this time he's located by an assassin, and it soon becomes clear to him that the only way to save his future is to reconcile his past. It's The Old Man.

    It seems almost surprisingly straight-on and serious, absent intentionally ironic or comedic elements. Maybe they're there, but if so the trailer's not tipping that hand. With Bridges now 72, I expect there'll be a mix of reactions to his playing the action hero -- albeit the title of the series provides him some cover.
     As mentioned, it'll be on FX on Thursdays, which also means it'll be available to stream on Hulu by Friday.

     If things go well and reasonably according to plan (Hey! It happens sometimes!) I'll have a satisfyingly busy Friday, having effectively shifted the past work week back a day at the expense of a chunk of last weekend. Somewhere in there I'll get around to this week's episode of The Boys (Amazon Prime), Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount +), and this Sunday will see the season finales on HBO for both The Baby (which I've fallen behind on) and Barry, which I've been following closely from week to week, but am envious of those who haven't watched it yet who will have the option of moving quickly from week to week instead of having to wait.
     For now, though, that'll have to do for this week. Let's all try to take better care of ourselves and those close to us, and come back here next Friday. - Mike

Bands On the Run Amok - June 3rd - What's To Watch?

 

    Work's been hounding and hunting me down. Not only keeping me longer at the lab but pressing me to take care of more of it, remotely, when I finally get home. And I suspect there are events in the news that have been wearing on all of us. So, this week's piece is going to be light.

     Arrived on Hulu this past Tuesday is a 6-part biopic series on the punk band The Sex Pistols. Based on founding member and guitarist Steve Jones' memoir Lonely Boy: Tales From A Sex Pistol, this miniseries focuses on a key, three-year stretch for the band.
     Despite being nearly the same age as Sid, the punk era largely passed me by, with its positive influences being seen in performers and bands of what we came to know as the New Wave. Punk mostly seemed to be about anarchy over all else, with a particular disdain for anything positive. The result was that I never found anything there I thought of as musical. I'll be interested to see how this washes over me.
     It's Pistol:

      While in the vein of anarchy and British accents, it's been just under a year and a half since the close of season two, and (finally!) today Amazon Prime sees the return of the twisted and hyper-violent comics-to-screen adaptation of The Boys for its third season. This is a case where I've been enjoying the show, but still cannot recommend the source comics, which were mostly just about trying to find lines to cross. We're getting a much, much better distillation and interpretation on the screen.
     We get the first three episodes this week, then one per Friday through July 8th, I suppose. Here's the trailer for the new season:

     I'm looking forward to the twisted mayhem, including Billy Butcher's power-up, and the introduction of their WWII-era, dark, Captain America-esque Soldier Boy, who will be played by Supernatural alum Jensen Ackles.
     Having previewed the first episode of the season, it's difficult to come away with the sense that anything is taboo for this series. Certainly not in the veins of sex and graphic violence, often in the intersection of the two.

     A far more family-friendly bit of superheroing starts next Wednesday on Disney+, with the launch of a six-episode Ms. Marvel series. Well, they're billing it as a miniseries, giving the impression that it's meant to be a one-and-done item, primarily acting as a set-up for a 2023 film The Marvels, which will be the sequel to Captain Marvel (2019).
     The series centers on Kamala Khan, a 16 year-old Muslim Pakistani-American living in Jersey City, who is a big Avengers fan, writes fan fiction (much of it about Captain Marvel), and has the manifold complications and conflicts that come from her gender, ethnicity, religion, and being a teenager here in the U.S. Even without the head-in-the-clouds fixation on superheroes, she'd be fighting for her own identity in a world mostly intent on defining her by her faith and gender. As one would expect from a Marvel Cinematic Universe series, something happens to give her powers. Fairly obviously, this is a series intended to have a strong young adult appeal, along with generally looking to line up a new generation of heroes, much as the Hawkeye series introduced Kate Bishop, who is taking on the Hawkeye mantle.
     While the comics version's powers are an ability to stretch and/or enlarge parts or all of her body at will, reportedly as a cost-saving matter they changed them here to be energy construct powers more like Green Lantern uses. You'll get a good sense of that from the trailer. Again, that's for Ms.Marvel

     I suspect that aside from cost-saving in the effects, they likely also want to keep the stretching a little more fresh for when they more formally introduce Reed Richards/"Mr. Fantastic" to the mainstream MCU. Audiences got to see a version of him during Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness (currently, semi-officially scheduled - based largely on an announcement that slipped through in Germany - to arrive on Disney + June 22nd, btw)  sure, but alternate universe takes of characters are their own thing.

     In the meantime, new episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds continue to arrive each Thursday on Paramount+, Obi-Wan Kenobi's episodes (the 6-episode run already half over as of this week!) Wednesday's on Disney+, and Hulu's finally seen the return of Seth MacFarlane's The Orville: New Horizons -- all as noted in previous Friday posts.

      Here's hoping my workload is much better in hand by this time next week. We have plenty of cool new and returning things stretched out over June. In the meantime, enjoy the weekend, and take care. - Mike