By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 46 seconds ago

Pop quiz, Star Trek nerds: who’s your favorite character from The Next Generation? There are plenty of potential answers out there: the suave and sophisticated Picard, the debonair and dashing Riker, the quirky-but-brilliant Data, and so on. Few fans would pick minor character Barclay, but it turns out that he almost became one of the most important characters in all of Star Trek.

You see, Dwight Schultz reprised his Barclay role in Star Trek: Voyager, beginning with the episode “Projections.” That episode heavily featured Robert Picardo’s fan-favorite Doctor character, and Picardo spent a significant amount of time acting alongside Schultz. The two had such amazing chemistry together, causing episode writer Brannon Braga to give them the highest praise possible. Namely, he suggested that Picardo and Schultz should headline their own Star Trek spinoff series.

From Deflectors To Projectors

In case you don’t have a holodeck handy, here’s a quick recap of “Projections:” after Voyager gets attacked by the Kazon, the Doctor must tend to the injuries of the crew.  However, he soon discovers that he has injuries of his own, something that should be impossible because he is a hologram rather than flesh and blood. He is made to believe that he is the human creator of the Emergency Medical Hologram, Lewis Zimmerman, which is corroborated by Reginald Barclay. The former TNG supporting character claims the Doctor must destroy the ship to escape this program, but he eventually learns that doing so may actually get him killed.

While fans generally liked Dwight Schultz on The Next Generation, he played a very minor character, and he didn’t have particularly great chemistry with anyone. However, several big names who worked on Voyager’s “Projections” remarked that he had absolutely amazing chemistry with Robert Picardo. Nobody was more impressed by the two of them than episode writer Brannon Braga, who remarked (as recorded in Captains’ Logs Supplemental – The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages) that “Those two were so good together they should have a spin-off series.”

Additionally, “Projections” was directed by The Next Generation star Jonathan Frakes, who did such a good job that this episode helped him land the gig to direct Star Trek: First Contact. Regarding the onscreen chemistry between Picardo and Schultz, the Riker actor didn’t mince words. He claimed (as recorded in Star Trek Communicator) that the two “were brilliant together.”

The Ultimate Tachyon Teamup

Of course, nobody enjoyed the experience of Dwight Schultz’s Voyager cameo quite as much as Robert Picardo. In an interview with Star Trek Monthly, the actor claimed that he and Schultz “knew a lot of the same people in New York City, spent a lot of time doing silly voices and cracked each other up on the set.” When they weren’t actively shooting, the two of them “just reminisced about our pasts in New York City and talked about the theater, which is what stage-trained actors tend to do when they get together.” Picardo would later gush that, thanks to Schultz’s presence, shooting “Projections” felt like one big party.

Obviously, a Doctor/Barclay spinoff series never materialized, but it’s not hard to see why Brannon Braga wanted to make it so. These two were so great in “Projections” that they impressed just about everyone, including Jonathan Frakes, the greatest director the franchise has ever known. While he didn’t get to co-headline his own spinoff series, Schultz got the ultimate consolation prize: extensive cameos in the final two seasons of Star Trek: Voyager.

It may be time for HBO to turn in its fantasy badge and devote its resources to something a little more realistic. For years, the platform has been capitalizing on the Game of Thrones brand, but it is delivering far more interesting and compelling drama with the Brad Ingelsby universe of gritty mysteries. His best work premiered in 2021, harnessing the common trope of the grizzled detective and making something original.

Mare of Easttown stars Kate Winslet as the titular Delco area detective sergeant, grappling with more than just her case. While investigating the death of a 17-year-old teen mother, Erin (Cailee Spaeny), she also faces personal challenges at home. Ingelsby effortlessly weaves together a mystery with genuine twists and turns in the perfect timeframe of seven episodes. Mare of Easttown is the character-driven series that started a wave of similar shows, such as Ingelsby’s follow-up, Task.

‘Mare of Easttown’ Kept Fans Guessing

The last time HBO connected with audiences on a mystery series was the universally beloved first season of True Detective. The streaming landscape has changed since then, but the small-town detective is still a metric that works. This time, Mare of Easttown took the concept, stripping away its supernatural-adjacent story, and told a story more grounded in the female experience. Mare is a detective in the grips of grief after the suicide of her son. At the same time, she takes on the added pressure of raising her grandson, Drew, while his mother is in rehab. This tragedy destroyed her marriage and led to issues with her daughter, Siobhan (Angourie Rice).

Mare of Easttown shows the full picture of a woman in distress, without the trappings of Hollywood beauty standards. Mare’s mental state is shown both through events in the narrative and in how she carries herself. These subtleties were important to Winslet, who wanted to show Mare’s grief throughout her journey in the series.

The mystery in Mare of Easttown is also a standout, which keeps viewers guessing until its final moments. Before Cailee Spaeny’s breakout in A24 projects Priscilla and Civil War, she expressed heartbreaking vulnerability as Erin, the series’ murdered teen. The first episode takes its time introducing audiences to the complex cast of characters before getting to the crime at hand. In the small area of Easttown, everyone has grown up together and knows one another. The ties that bind are close in the area, making it heartbreaking when Erin is murdered. Spaeny is impeccable as a teen who struggles with young motherhood, and she never gets the chance to overcome her struggles because her life is cut too short.

These close bonds are more revealing about the murderer’s identity than anything else. Mare of Easttown delivers gripping red herrings that make the final reveal shocking. Fans responded overwhelmingly to the series, calling for a second season even though it was initially marketed as a limited series. HBO Max may be listening, as Season 2 appears to have been confirmed tentatively to shoot in 2027. Until then, fans can devour the perfect seven episodes of this mystery series.

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Release Date

2021 – 2021-00-00

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HBO

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Brad Ingelsby

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Brad Ingelsby

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  Kate Winslet

  Marianne ‘Mare’ Sheehan

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By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 15 seconds ago

Normally, The Godfather is the last movie you’d associate with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. After all, the former is the greatest mafia film ever made, and the latter is a show about plucky teenagers fighting demons. As it turns out, though, one perfect episode of Buffy managed to honor The Godfather in a powerful way.

In the episode “Passion,” there is a fairly innocuous scene where a newly evil Angel harasses Joyce Summers, causing her to drop some oranges. Shortly after, Angel murders the Sunnydale High computer science teacher in a brutal attack. These may not seem like related events, but the whole thing is secretly an homage to The Godfather’s “orange motif,” which went on to inspire decades of groundbreaking cinema!

The Not-So-Annoying Orange

What the heck is the orange motif, you ask? If you go back and rewatch The Godfather, you’ll notice there are oranges in so many very important scenes. At first glance, they don’t seem to have much special significance, and you might be forgiven for thinking that director Francis Ford Coppola just has a thing for oranges.

However, what’s important is when the oranges appear: namely, they appear shortly before a character is killed. For example, Vito Corleone is killed, it is while he’s peeling oranges. When the titular Godfather is shot, he is buying oranges, which dramatically scatter on the ground. When the Five Families meet, you can see oranges near the Mafia leaders that would soon be killed.

Because The Godfather was so influential, “the orange motif” (as this phenomenon was eventually called after it was used in the subsequent Godfather films) started popping up in other movies, including Point Break, American Beauty, and Requiem for a Dream. Fittingly enough, the orange motif also popped up in The Sopranos, where we see Tony Soprano buy some orange juice shortly before someone tries to whack him. Before that, though, Joss Whedon hid an orange motif reference in an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Orange You Glad To See Him?

In “Passion,” Angel (who has recently lost his soul and become evil) harasses Joyce Summers outside of her own home, causing her to drop some oranges. While Joyce herself doesn’t die, those dropped oranges and the presence of the show’s scariest vampire foreshadow a major death right around the corner. Soon afterward, Angel kills Jenny Calendar, a beloved character whose death sends a chilling message to viewers: none of your favorites are guaranteed to make it out of Season 2 alive.

In retrospect, it’s not really all that shocking that Buffy the Vampire Slayer hid such a powerful reference to The Godfather in plain sight. After all, the show is filled with references to countless other movies and shows, mostly courtesy of quip-heavy characters like Buffy and Xander. Given how much of a film buff showrunner Joss Whedon and the rest of his team were, it’s not that surprising they wanted to homage one of the greatest movies of all time.

But is the orange motif from The Godfather the greatest cinematic trope of all time? It’s certainly one of the most prolific. As for me, I don’t really like this Godfather reference as much as some Buffy fans turned cinephiles. Why? Because, in the immortal words of Peter Griffin, it insists upon itself!

Young and the Restless reveals Audra Charles (Zuleyka Silver) is at it again making a terrible choice that’s going to blow up in her face and this time, it could blow up her entire life. And of course, it’s all about Kyle Abbott (Michael Mealor) who for Audra, seems to be the one who got away.

We’re going to talk about how she’s going after Kyle again because she can’t back down from a challenge and it could cost Audra absolutely everything.

Young and the Restless: Holden Won’t Back Down

So recently, we saw Holden Novak (Nathan Owens) trying to get Audra to agree to seduce Kyle. That’s because Holden doesn’t want Kyle to reconcile with Claire Grace Newman (Hayley Erin). And that’s because Holden wants Claire for himself. Holden’s absolutely smitten and isn’t going to give up on Claire for even a moment.

But it isn’t Kyle who’s coming between Claire and Holden. We know that Claire still has feelings for Kyle. And probably still loves him and she tapped the brakes with Holden because he wouldn’t tell her the whole truth about him, Audra, and that gallery owner in LA.

Claire Breaks Things Off with Holden on Y&R

But to be fair, it’s really not Claire’s business—she just wanted to destroy Audra out of spite. What’s wild to me is that Claire’s mad at Audra for her scheme to seduce Kyle that Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) was paying Audra to do. But Claire’s not mad at Victor—whose idea it was and paid Audra to do it.

Claire only seems to have issues with non-Newmans being dishonest. Since Holden wouldn’t spill tea on Audra, we saw Claire broke things off with Holden. I’m sure her feelings for Kyle played a role. But I think Claire’s just salty because she didn’t get the dirt to destroy Audra.

Then, Kyle encouraged Claire to let her vendetta against Audra go. And Claire finally said she would let the thing with Audra go because Claire felt like she was becoming her crazy aunt Jordan Howard (Colleen Zenk) by being so bent on revenge.

That was a good call on Claire’s part and it’s probably a good thing she dropped her revenge plot on Audra. If not for Holden interfering and pushing Audra to go after Claire again, this whole feud could’ve just died.

Young and the Restless: Holden Convinces Audra to Seduce Kyle

But I think pretty soon Claire’s going to resume her vendetta because Audra’s going to once again target Kyle for seduction. But this time, it’s with Holden pushing Audra to do it instead of Victor. Official Y&R spoilers say the truth about what Holden and Audra did will come out soon.

And the spoiler said the fallout for Holden and Audra is going to be huge. And I think those two bring it on themselves. So, when Holden first suggested to Audra that they end Claire and Kyle’s connection for good, she wanted no part of it.

Audra said she didn’t want to set Claire off after she nearly choked her out a few months back. Audra also claimed she wanted nothing to do with Kyle because he’s a “walking ego” and Audra said Kyle makes her skin crawl.

But Holden said now that Audra has a great job, he thinks she needs a new mission and Holden suggested Audra should get revenge on Kyle. And to be fair, Audra pushed back on Holden because she doesn’t want to risk her new partnership with Sally Spectra (Courtney Hope)—especially not for Kyle.

Young and the Restless: Holden Determined to Win Claire Back

Holden didn’t let up and kept pushing Audra saying he knows she can make Kyle come crawling back and that would make her the winner. Holden also said Audra would be untouchable with an Abbott by her side if she decided to keep Kyle.

Audra was confident that she could make Kyle beg to be with her. But Audra claimed to have neither the time or interest. But then, Kyle came into Society and glared at Audra, and Holden told Audra that she and Kyle belong together and then Holden asked Audra to help them get what they both want.

Which is Holden to get Claire and Audra to get Kyle. At that point, Holden had finally convinced Audra and she was on board to go after Kyle and seduce him to be her guy. But honestly, this is really not a smart move on Audra’s part.

Audra Hasn’t Learned Her Lesson on Young and the Restless

You’d think she would’ve learned after the last time she schemed with Victor to seduce Kyle on Young and the Restless. Because that blew up in Audra’s face and she lost Nate Hastings (Sean Dominic). You would really think Audra would have learned her lesson after that. But apparently not.

Claire decided to drop her revenge plot on Audra. But then, Holden got all jealous about Kyle and got Audra all worked up, making it a challenge. So, when Audra goes after Kyle, of course, that’ll send Claire into a rage and then she’ll start digging again.

And then I’m sure she’ll find out about the dead art guy and what Audra and Holden did. Plus, Sienna Bacall (Tamara Braun) is in town now. And since Holden accidentally killed the guy at the Shadow Room, Sienna may have some info she’s been holding back that she could give to Claire.

Especially since Sienna’s now in tight with the Newmans. So, Holden may have just shot himself in the foot because everything he wanted to stay hidden is gonna come out. As I mentioned before, official Y&R spoilers say Audra and Holden’s secret is exposed and the fallout’s massive.

Young and the Restless: Audra’s Scheme Could Cost Her Everything

This is all so needless since things are finally going great for Audra. And Holden pushed her buttons and basically convinced Audra to self-sabotage. I think seducing Kyle as a power play could wind up costing Audra her fancy new job since Jill Abbott (Jess Walton) is the financial backer.

And Sally might take a step back from Audra for her doing this awful scheme. Plus, when Claire exposes the truth, Audra and Holden could both land in legal trouble or be run out of town. And if there’s possible criminal charges, Sally would have no choice but to fire her bestie.

Remember when Audra said that she didn’t want Holden back in her life because he’s an extreme risk taker? We’ve not seen that side of him. But we’re about to and I think Audra letting Holden get close again is going to wreck her life.

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By Jonathan Klotz
| Published 18 seconds ago

It’s hard for a series to stick the landing and provide a final episode that gives fans resolution while wrapping up years of stories and characterization. Star Trek: The Next Generation pulled it off, Scrubs did (before the last-minute renewal), Mad Men is another good one, but far removed from that list is one of the 90’s breakout shows, Xena: Warrior Princess. The final two episodes, “A Friend in Need, Part One” and “Part Two” are so bad that even Lucy Lawless refuses to acknowledge they exist. 

The Death Of Xena

“A Friend in Need” takes Xena from the confines of Greece and sends her off to Japan, where she attempts to make up for the darkest act she ever performed: killing 40,000 people when she started a fire, out of anger, that burned down an entire village. If you don’t remember when that happened, don’t worry, it was never mentioned during the entire six-season run of Xena: Warrior Princess until, at the last moment, it became the most horrible, most heinous act she committed. It’s the equivalent of a sitcom spending years building up to meeting one character, for the sake of argument, say a mother, and then in the last episodes revealing that nothing mattered. 

Xena and Gabrielle (Renee O’Connor) journey to Mt. Fuji, ready to face down an army under the control of Lord Yodoshi, the Samurai Lord killed by his daughter and Xena’s lover, Akemi, one of the most important people in the Amazon warrior’s life who again, we’re meeting now, in flashback, and then in the Underworld, in the series finale. In order for Yodoshi to be truly defeated Xena must die and fight him in the Underworld. That would be all well and good because the repentant hero gives up her life to set free 40,000 souls she unknowingly condemned, except for one thing: Xena chooses to stay dead. 

Gabrielle picking up the blood-soaked chakram and successfully using it in battle is an amazing moment. Xena cutting Lord Yodoshi is immensely satisfying. The problem is that after Xena says in the first episode that Gabrielle is the most important person in her life, and we see flashbacks to past episodes, including “One Against An Army,” the two are denied the happy ending they, and the fans, deserved. Gabrielle has to take down Xena’s mutilated, headless body from where the Samurai put it on display, and then has to endure Xena choosing to stay dead for the sake of the lost souls.   

Xena’s Massive Fandom Deserved Better

In spite of the horrendous ending, tens of thousands of fans still flock to annual conventions, Xena becomes a hit on every streaming platform lucky enough to host it, and the story lives on through multiple comic books, novels, and fanfiction epics. Lucy Lawless has explained over the years that at the time, the cast and crew thought it was a cool, crazy way to kill off a character, but seeing the way fans reacted broke her heart. 

Xena: Warrior Princess started out as a spin-off of Kevin Sorbo’s Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, but the rabid fanbase it attracted primarily for the relationship between Xena and Gabrielle has caused it to outlive the original series for decades. To turn around in the series finale and not only deny them a happy ending but to brutally murder Xena in the process, then choose people the audience never met over Gabrielle, is twisting the knife. There’s a reason real fans stop rewatches with “Many Happy Returns.” Stopping there means that Xena is still alive with countless adventures ahead of her. That’s how she should be remembered.