Summary: Reiko offers to give Kimito one-on-one tutoring to help him with his flower arranging class. Reiko’s mother and brother come to visit the school, with news that promises to change Reiko’s life forever.
Now for the those following at home, the main complaint levied against this show is how much it follows a formula. This point is truly solidified with today’s episode as the all too predictable “false drama penultimate episode” airs. What does this have to do with anything? You will soon find out.
See in a harem show there is often an episode right before the last one wherein a dramatic event threatens to change the lives of the characters in a very permanent fashion. Now if all the manga is complete there is a small change the change will be permanent and the story will evolve or come to an end entirely. Unfortunately, Shomin Sample is still in publication this means despite the fact it seems like the characters are about to change they aren’t. This makes the show less than entertaining to sit through because all the talk about Reiko having endure an arranged marriage will be a mute storyline by the end of episode 12.
Tune in next time when a marriage between two rich families is called off because the cast doesn’t want to see anything change and there is absolutely no repercussions for it at all. No, it’s not a joke, but a safe bet how this is how the series will come to a close. Can this show please just end.
American Alien is Max Landis’ seven issue series that explores Clark Kent’s life from his childhood to a young adult. Two issues have been released so far and both astound in entirely different ways. Issue one (“Dove”) deals with Clark as a child, realizing that he can’t keep himself on the ground, affecting not only the secrecy of his powers, but also the lives of Ma and Pa Kent. Issue two (“Hawk”) has a hesitant teenage Clark going after the people responsible for a horrendous crime in Smallville.
“Dove” is a sweet story. A testament to the Kents’ love for their adopted child. It shows Clark at his most insecure, and his most alienated. It may seem obvious given that Clark came from Krypton, but even though many kids will never have Clark’s powers, it remains a relatable tale. It’s all about realizing that you’re different from the rest and how uncomfortable that can make you feel, but also, how ultimately that will define who you are and how you can use it for good. The artwork by Nick Dragotta is simple and beautiful, bright and colorful. The writing and imagery together create an emotional volume that will leave you smiling and probably, with a tear in your eye.
“Hawk” is a whole other ball of wax. It plays more like a crime drama, almost like one of the Coen Brothers’ darker movies. It’s surprising and even scary. But Landis doesn’t sacrifice tenderness for darkness here, much like the Coens would do it; there are brush strokes of comedy and just about enough light to let us know that despite this dark episode has changed Clark, it hasn’t changed him for the worse. In this issue, the art by Tommy Lee Edwards is done in a rough, almost desaturated style that perfectly suits the story. If “Dove” was a representation of nostalgic Americana, “Hawk” is about its hidden, seedier side.
If I have a complaint about these issues is that they feel too short. You’re left wanting more, but that’s a sign of how good this series is. It’s propulsive storytelling at its best, with not a single page or dialogue wasted. It’s kind of a shame that we have to wait a month for each issue to be released. Nevertheless, both stories are absolutely satisfying.
Both issues contain a little epilogue afterwards, and because they’re so short, the less said about them, the better. But one provides a glimpse into the Kents’ past, it’s almost like a puzzle, where you’ll find yourself crying or on the verge of tears once you start figuring it out. The other…well, let’s just say it involves a certain famous (or infamous) character of Superman lore. Depending on your feelings about that character, you will either groan or you will cheer. But American Alien so far has been one of the most exciting, emotional reads I’ve had this year or in a long time. I can’t wait to see where it goes next.
You can get the first two issues issues of American Alien at your favorite comic book shop, or right here or here.
Sony Pictures released character posters and descriptions for Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters featuring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones.
Kristen Wiig plays Erin Gilbert, a particle physicist, academic firebrand, spectral warrior.
Kate McKinnon is Jillian Holtzmann, a nuclear engineer, munitions expert, and proton wrangler.
Melissa McCarthy is Abby Yates, a paranormal researcher, supernatural scientist, and entity trapper.
Leslie Jones is Patty Tolan, a ghost tracker, municipal historian, and metaphysical commando
Feig and Katie Dippold wrote the script for the reboot. Ghostbusters also stars Kate McKinnon, Cecily Strong, and Andy Garcia as the Mayor of New York City. The film will feature cameos from Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver, Dan Aykroyd, Annie Potts, and Ernie Hudson.
The plot is still unknown, but they’re probably going to bust some ghosts.
The new Ghostbuster will be in theaters on July 22, 2016.
As Star Wars: The Force Awakens hits theaters this weekend, the next blockbuster on the horizon is Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and the viral marketing for LEXCORP has just begun.
WIRED just conducted an interview with Lex Luthor and the mad scientist will spend $2 billion on defense research and development to combat the alien known as Superman. Luthor also has a few words for Batman.
“Any objective analyst will tell you that his brand of justice, vigilantism, is painfully outmoded, designed to be effective in an age when the law carried billy clubs because crime carried knives,” Luthor says of The Batman. “The most dangerous guy on the street worked in the shadows because he was cowardly and superstitious. That’s all you needed to play upon in order to disrupt their operations. You want to clean up the streets? Dress up like the boogeyman, switch on a fog machine and lower your voice.”
RON TROUPE: Nice digs.
LEX LUTHOR: We’re not doing that.
RON TROUPE: Doing what?
LEX LUTHOR: We’re not opening with a wide-eyed layman’s description of the hotel room that makes me look unrelatable just to set up a dramatic twist wherein, lo and behold, you discover I’m surprisingly down-to-earth because I know the score of the last Metros game.
RON TROUPE: Do you?
LEX LUTHOR: Metros 102, Guardsmen 86.
RON TROUPE: Weird. (it’s the correct “relatable” small talk, but coming out of him, it sounds less like a basketball score than a set of algebraic integers.)
LEX LUTHOR: Which is why we’re not doing it.
RON TROUPE: Would you say you’re a man who’s always gotten what he wants?
LEX LUTHOR: Nice pivot. Here’s mine: What I want is to leave the planet in better shape for the next generation. To make the world and its children safer. I want it. And I bet you do too, Ron.
RON TROUPE: You sound like someone running for political office.
Read the full Lex Luthor interview by clicking here.
Warner Bros. paid WIRED for the sponsored content. Ron Troupe is a character from Superman and there are several references in the article to the expanding DC Cinematic Universe?
About Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Gotham City-based vigilante Batman travels to Metropolis to preemptively combat Superman, fearing what would happen if the latter is kept unchecked, while another threat endangers humankind.
Batman v. Superman: Dawn Of Justice stars Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jason Momoa, Ben Affleck, Jesse Eisenberg, Gal Gadot, Jena Malone, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Diane Lane, Ezra Miller, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter, Michael Shannon, and Laurence Fishburne.
The film is set to open worldwide on March 25, 2016
Sorry, SNL Weekend Update and Baby Mama fans: your favorite comedic tag team misses the mark with their latest effort, but not for lack of trying. Sisters, starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, brings a few solid laughs scattered throughout its overly-long running time, but for the most part is a pretty forgettable feature film foray for these two talented comedians who have each starred in far better, smarter projects in recent years.
Fey and Poehler star as the Ellis sisters, Kate and Maura, respectively, who are called back to their childhood home in Orlando, Florida by their parents (James Brolin and Dianne Wiest) to clean out their bedrooms, as the family house has been sold. Though the two sisters couldn’t be more different — always responsible, always overbearing nurse Maura versus temperamental, ne’er-do-well nail technician Kate — their reaction to their folks’ decision to ditch the house the girls grew up in without so much as a head’s up is very similar: they freak out, each in their own signature ways.
Once resigned to the fact that they can’t talk their parents out of the sale, they throw themselves into the task at hand, and in the course of putting on old clothes and reading old diary entries, inspiration strikes: one last mega-party at the Ellis house, one final blowout, with all their old high school mates invited, this time with the specific intent of Maura getting to cut loose, rather than filling the role she always filled back in the day, that of the “party mom” that stays sober and makes sure the damage to life and property remains at a minimum.
Of course, there are a few subplots at work here, as well, which all come out at the worst possible times as the party kicks into gear: Kate’s broke, homeless, and jobless, while Maura has been secretly harboring Kate’s exasperated teenage daughter Haley (Madison Davenport) for the whole summer. Drama just waiting to explode as the shots get served, the house gets wrecked, and general chaos ensues. Sounds hilarious, right?
Okay, maybe that wasn’t exactly the best way to sell the sizzle, but even so, it’s pretty clear there’s not a whole lot of inspired stuff here.
The script for Sisters comes from longtime SNL and “30 Rock” writer Paula Pell, and had she perhaps stuck to the just the sisterly/family upheaval stories as well as the comedy inherent in a group of early forty-somethings kicking it at the party-to-end-all-parties, perhaps things might have flowed smoother. But Pell overstuffs this script with running gag on top of running gag in addition to the aforementioned subplots, and most of the extra stuff may have sounded funny on paper, but in execution just doesn’t work. Add to that a belabored sense of comic timing on the part of director Jason Moore (Pitch Perfect), who time and again throughout the film lets jokes run far too long, and its no wonder Sisters clocks in at nearly two hours. This is a film that’s desperately in need of editing, one that would have benefited greatly from a “theatrical version” versus an “unrated” home video version which could feature the longer running time and all those extra gags.
To be fair, it’s not all terrible. Arguably, the one recurring bit that does work best is the one featuring WWE superstar John Cena, playing a very intimidating and stoic drug dealer named Pazuzu who does his part to liven up the Ellis’s party just when things reach their most “adult” (translation = dull and depressing). There’s also a romantic story here involving Maura and her ridiculously awkward courtship of the neighbor from down the street, James (Ike Barinholtz), which is for the most part tedious to watch but does lead to one of the film’s funnier sequences involving a ballerina music box finding its way into a very uncomfortable place — to say anymore would be to ruin the joke, so you’ll just have to see it for yourself.
As for the film’s leads, there’s a little bit of fun to seeing Fey in particular play against the type we’re so used to seeing from her — Kate is as far removed from “30 Rock”‘s Liz Lemon as is imaginably possible — but oddly, her effort and Poehler’s both feel forced, as though they’re really trying to sell the funny in Pell’s script when maybe it’s not as funny as it was when they read through it. It’s actually very surprising, considering the talent involved here, how flat everything falls in Sisters — everyone involved here, including the supporting cast, which includes Maya Rudolph and John Leguizamo, is certainly capable of better.
To sum up, if you do choose to see Sisters, do yourself a favor and wait for home video. Yes, quite likely the digital/blu-ray edition will be even longer, but at least you can turn it off or switch to something else if you reach an “I’m done” point in the course of watching it. And yes, no matter how much you love Tina Fey and Amy Poehler in everything else you’ve seen them in, you WILL reach that point.
Sisters
Starring Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Ike Barinholtz, James Brolin, John Cena, John Leguizamo and Dianne Wiest. Directed by Jason Moore.
Running Time: 118 minutes
Rated R for crude sexual content and language throughout, and for drug use.
In 2015, the pop culture world was ruled by Star Wars, cosplayers, The Walking Dead, what’s PC in the comic book industry, WWE, Anime, the MCU, with a splash of Zoolander.
Monkeys Fighting Robots launched this past April and as we look to 2016 as our breakout year, let us reflect on the top viral stories of 2015. The ranking is based on visits per article.
There is a debate going on in the comic book industry and on the internet about how women are depicted and or drawn in comic books. Here is a glimpse of that conversation.
Comic book artist Frank Cho is learning a valuable lesson about internet, don’t poke the internet bear. There isn’t a problem with Cho voicing his opinion or his artwork, and there is no problem with differing opinions voicing their thoughts. The problem lies within the comment threads. What starts out as a calm discourse turns into lowest common denominator mud slinging, and sometimes violent hate speech.
On Sunday, Rob Liefeld tries to right the ship and put the conversation back on course. Guess what happened, the internet bear won in a slaughter.
Then Bill Sienkiewicz get’s tagged in a post on Facebook about the issue, he does not responded immediately but takes the time to craft a message (two and half hours to be precise).
Before the internet bear takes over this conversation; here is a calm, rational, thought out opinion on the issue at hand.
Sienkiewicz is not condoning or sanctioning blatantly offensive content, but he’s not trying to determine what’s right for other people.
“I’ve been foolishly trying to draft a response that won’t piss off, at least, one group somewhere out there in the electro-ether; a fool’s errand. There are many MANY horrible, unjust, unfair and truly obscene things that deserve our collective and absolute outrage–, and I’m willing to give the benefit of the doubt that most people know what these things are.
But this– this, not so much.
If Art upsets, or consoles, or outrages, or comforts, or excites, or raises question—then it’s doing its job. And once an artist- of any gender, ethnicity, religion, or any relative persuasion– does the work, and releases it into the vast collective universe, it belongs to the public at large- and is no longer in the control of the artist –often regardless of His/Her/( or LGBT/Androsexual/Trans/Intergender’s/Atheistic/ Devout/Agnostic’s etc) original intent.
We’re in a cross-cultural species-wide crossroads (and I include the four-legged and oceanic denizens of the planet as well, if I’m being inclusive)—where everyone -in this case, every single person who has felt voiceless and silenced and afraid and objectified for so long now feels the heady liberating siren call to express -often explosively- long-repressed needs, angers, and passions— not only to be seen and heard and respected—but to simply matter.
That- to me- is the bigger issue. It’s not a digression or a ‘beside the point’ or an obfuscation. It’s one of the main challenges—long overdue– for this generation and the next (along with climate change and all that boring reality shite) as we strive to move to higher levels of enlightenment and mutual understandingblahblah —and I can hear it now: many will say that every. single. small. thing. matters. including THIS: how talented artists-(and yes, my friends-) like Frank and J. Scott might be perceived as contributing to the downfall of civilization as we know it—or at least ‘perpetuating harmful stereotypes and gender inequality and sexual objectification’.
But as a white male of dubious ‘privilege'(I am for good or ill– also a Polack…and we all know what society thinks of THEM. You want to hear screams of anguish and anger over decades of stereotyped stupidity?oh you don’t?)— I’m already drafting an apology when I dare to ask all the inflamed and incensed and outraged: ”Jesus h Christ on a stick..I mean..really?!”
Because that just sounds so condescending. It’s like I’m daring to ask for proportional response, or that context be considered or the matter be looked at ‘in the grand scheme of things”. That sort of crap.
Far be it from me to deny anyone the right to enjoy the hell out of Outrage–Me, I love good outrage. Especially justifiable outrage. I could luxuriate in being pissed off at a great many things… But drawings of the female form -(or even male) –ain’t one of them. Sorry. Matter of fact, I rather enjoy them.
So by all means get furious, enjoy the addictive rush of anger and lash out, vomit bile… but maybe think better of it and count to ten before pressing Send.
Or better yet count to twenty.
Even I did that much, and I’m one of THEM,” said Bill Sienkiewicz.
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As crazy as the last eight months have been, Monkeys Fighting Robots cannot wait to bring you all the pop culture news of 2016. Have a great New Year!
The Force Awakens opens this week, so it seems fitting to review the latest Star Wars comic: Darth Vader Annual #1. Annuals as stand-alone stories can be hit or miss; they run the risk of being too far off from the main story to engage readers. In the case of this issue, the story has absolutely nothing to do with the main Darth Vader series, but luckily it’s just as interesting.
The tale is simple: the Emperor sends Vader to a Mid Rim planet to “reinforce their cooperation” with the Empire. But simple as the story may be, it also overflows with Star Wars nostalgia. Vader is as ruthless and intimidating as fans of the Original Trilogy know him to be. Scribe Kieron Gillen also writes the main Darth Vader book, and he knows how to write these characters well. Meanwhile, the pencils by Leinil Yu, inks by Gerry Alanguilan, and colors by Jason Keith combine to create sharp, shadowed images that give the book a distinct edge.
But while the familiar dark nature makes this an enjoyable read, the strange addition of dark humor is what truly makes this an annual worth picking up. First and foremost, Gillen brings in the droids he introduced in Dark Vader as evil counterparts to C-3PO and R2-D2. 0-0-0 (Triple Zero) and BT-1 (Bee Tee) are sadistic and masochistic droids whose love for torture sometimes gets in the way of completing their missions properly. That is hands down the funniest thing in any of these new Marvel Star Wars books and makes this series worth checking out on its own.
Even more intriguing is Vader’s ability to generate laughs himself. At one point, he walks through a ballroom during a waltz, a cultural expression he does not understand (“All this…dancing…is unnecessary.”). A man stops him and instructs him that all attendees must dance. It plays out as one would suspect it would, but with a bitingly witty twist. It’s unusual to see the Dark Lord of the Sith throw quips, but again it works in the strangest way.
But Gillen reminds readers just how twisted Vader’s sense of humor can be by the end of the story. The final scene is not-so-subtly reminiscent of A New Hope, and recalls the interactions between Vader and Princess Leia. It ends on a beat of devastation and provides just another example of why Vader is one of the greatest villains of all time.
The juxtaposition of a dark tone with humor may not be something one would expect in a story about Darth Vader, but that may be why this annual works so well. Even more important, it stays true to its roots. Many fans worry that these Expanded Universe stories will stray from Star Wars‘ core values, but those fears can be cast aside as long as Kieron Gillen is writing Darth Vader. He understands this world and how to tell stories in it. This book is absolutely worth its $4.99, so pick it up and read it while waiting in line to see The Force Awakens.
After numerous delays, the Marvel Secret Wars tie-in Ultimate End finally came to an end this week. The miniseries by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley was designed as a formal goodbye to the Ultimate Marvel Universe, which the two creators started with Ultimate Spider-Man back in 2000. The penultimate issue came out way back on August 5th, so fans have waited more than four months to finally get to say goodbye to (most of) these characters, and enjoy a heartfelt, fulfilling finale. Not so sure they got it.
This series has been a mess from the start. This was bound to happen; Bendis tried to fit in all the characters from both the Ultimate Universe AND the mainstream Marvel Universe and still create a cohesive story. The result was just battle after battle between counterparts: Tony Stark vs. Tony Stark, Hulk vs. Hulk, resulting on full on war between the worlds. There was no substance to a story that should have felt deep, and brought closure to this world.
The ending tried to add depth, and it should get credit for that. The two worlds unite against their common enemy, and overlapping the images are three intertwined monologues meant to flow as one. The running theme is about heroism, and stopping the bad guy, whatever the consequences may be. It’s supposed to be inspiring, and it is to an extent. It’s also somewhat underwhelming. This just felt like a cliché ending to a generic good vs. evil story, instead of a swan song to the characters of the Ultimate Universe.
Opening splash page. See? Mess.
Lack of continuity has been the most frustrating aspect of this whole series. It’s a Secret Wars tie-in, but the stories fail to line up most of the time. A character who dies in Secret Wars still manages to appear early on in Ultimate End, and stays there through this issue! If this were a mistake in the first issue, it should have at least been remedied throughout the rest of the story. Little things like this run throughout all five issues.
The real nuisance regarding continuity is Spider-Man. Peter Parker is front-and-center in this book from issue one. And based on the dialogue it is very clearly the mainstream Spider-Man from Earth-616. But Earth-616 Peter Parker is also a major player in the main Secret Wars story, so he shouldn’t even be in this story from the start. At the very least, he should swing in later with Ultimate Spider-Man Miles Morales, another player in the main story, who ties the two stories together. It gets worse. Miles tells the characters what’s going down over in the main story, and it’s as if Peter is hearing for the first time, even though he’s in that story. It gets worse yet! Peter then calls his Aunt May, and the image very clearly shows ULTIMATE Aunt May, not this Peter’s Aunt May at all. It may sound like something small, but it’s all very jarring and takes the reader out of the story. The continuity utterly ruins what otherwise may be a salvageable story.
There isn’t much to say about Mark Bagley’s art. This isn’t his best work, but he had a lot of work to do in a short amount of time, so he can be excused. He still draws an amazing Spider-Man (puns!), and his multiple splash pages are action packed, if not somewhat overwhelming. Besides, even on his worst day, Mark Bagley is still one of the best working artists in comics today.
It’s not easy, or fun to write a review like this. Creators undoubtedly worked hard on this project and put heart into it, especially since Bendis and Bagley created the Ultimate U. in the first place. Unfortunately, sometimes the pieces just don’t come together the way they should. It doesn’t help that there was added pressure to get this done on a time crunch before the main Secret Wars title ends this month. Bringing sixteen years of work to a fulfilling conclusion, in only five issues, on a tight schedule is nearly impossible.
The book’s ending is its saving grace. It’s no secret that Miles Morales is being brought into the mainstream Marvel Universe post-Secret Wars. The end of this book leads directly into his new life, and sets up Bendis’ new Spider-Man book coming in February. It’s pretty uneventful, but it feels strangely hopeful in the wake of a universe’s death. This hope and excitement to see Miles’ story continue manages to lift up this otherwise disappointing ending. It doesn’t make up for all of its pitfalls, but it does make it worth getting through. With that, we say “Farewell Ultimate Universe,” and “Welcome to Earth-616 Miles Morales, hope you survive the experience!”
SUPERMAN: AMERICAN ALIEN #2 Writer: Max Landis Artist: Tommy Lee Edwards Publisher: DC
In two issues, Max Landis has gone above and beyond what he’s teased on his take of the Man of Steel and has done what few writers have been able to accomplish, by humanizing and making Clark Kent a relatable character.
For those that don’t follow Max Landis on Twitter or YouTube, the writer of Chronicle and American Ultra has been extremely vocal on his opinions toward Superman and handling the character his own way. With DC finally allowing him to put his money where his mouth is, in his own series, Superman: American Alien. Landis described the series prior to its release, as not a retelling of Clark’s origins but rather, a story that will focus on how someone, who owes the world nothing, goes out every day to risk his life, against every sort of evil without needing some tragedy or enlistment, to turn him into a hero. How Clark does all of this on his own free will and chooses to be Superman, simply because he’s a good person.
While issue one of Superman: American Alien focused on Clark’s childhood, issue two follows a story in his teenage years, highlighting everything from sexual temptation, alcohol, cars, “bro time” and all things that an average American farm boy, from the Midwest, would experience. To say Landis brought the human and relatable factor to this story, would not be giving him enough credit for how well Landis wrote a character, most seem unable to connect with. Superman is usually too perfect, too good and too alien for audiences and not in a way, that most are able to enjoy in an entertainment medium. Obviously, this is not to say Superman is not the quintessential superhero hero model and not the most recognizable fictional character, arguably in American literary history across the globe. However, the reason people connect with Batman or Spider-Man has always been because of the tragedies that motivate them, as well as their flaws as human beings or general real world issues.
Landis captures this “lightning in a bottle” element, so few writers have been able to do with Superman. From the very beginning of the issue, the whole interaction between Lana Lang and Clark, regarding her parents being out of town and Lana inviting Clark over, relates to just about everyone’s awkward teenage years. On top of this adolescent awkwardness, you can almost feel Clark’s nervousness less so because of the sexual implications but, more so from the fact of he is an alien. While most of this can be implied, that what good writing does. It can speak to a reader, without actually having to throw it directly in their face. This form of implied writing, is used throughout the issue by Landis, allowing it to feel more like an experience.
The way Landis captures these human elements or as he says the “little moments of Clark’s life” is great for the reader. In Superman: American Alien #2, the main story narrative focuses on Clark making his first steps towards becoming a superhero and the struggle he must overcome to get there. With a crime scene in Smallville, larger than the town has ever witnessed, Clark is being influenced by the town Sheriff and his friends to involve himself. Clark is obviously hesitant. This is a job for the police but, he wants to help and do the right thing because he can help in ways that others can’t, he’s conflicted. This becomes, even more, apparent when Clark attempts to stop the murders, which is messy to say the least and leads to a very touching moment between him and Ma Kent, at the conclusion of the book. Everything feels real and genuine, rather than more over the top comic style, that fans become accustomed to. This is much more of a personal story, rather than something cinematic and blockbuster.
As far as artwork goes, this was the comic’s only less desirable point. It wasn’t bad to say the least, but at certain points it just felt too clustered in specific actions scenes and became confusing, to distinguish what was happening. Certain panels worked, and Edwards did an excellent job of capturing the expressions of characters, as well as their emotions. But, at certain points, the penciling become too jumbled and too tough to figure out or appreciate what was happening in them. The art was very hit or miss, where it either encapsulated the script to perfection or became too rough and slightly pulled away from the story itself. Overall, not bad, just several panels did not excel in the ways others did and was inconsistent in quality.
Superman: American Alien is a must read series and could easily be one of the best in 2016 when it comes to its seven issue conclusion. It’s extremely well written and will shift to different artists, throughout the mini-series, to capture various points of Clark’s life.
If given the choice between having sex or seeing Star Wars: The Force Awakens, most men know the appropriate response would be: Why not both? Well, for Dr. Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) on The Big Bang Theory, the choice is not so simple, but he surprises everyone in Thursday’s momentous episode (CBS, 8 p.m. ET/PT)
Sheldon picks sex, as a way to celebrate fellow virgin and recently estranged girlfriend Amy’s (Mayim Balik) birthday. His rationale is what better way to show her how much she means to him. Now Star Wars doesn’t get completely shut out, as Sheldon consults with one of his heroes, the late Arthur Jeffries (Bob Newhart), who is transformed into a wise looking Obi-Wan Kenobi. Sheldon tries to reason with his “force” ghost and states that “he is quite sure that Amy would understand if he went to the premiere.” Bob Newhart’s deadpan wit is perfect for Sheldon’s quirky energy.
This being The Big Bang Theory, a show about scientists who are way into pop-culture, it’s not evident whether the title of the episode, “ The Opening Night Excitation,” applies to Sheldon and Amy or to friends Leonard (Johnny Galecki), Howard (Simon Heldberg), Raj (Kunal Nayyar), and Wil Wheaton’s trip to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
The most entertaining part of the episode was Sheldon’s clinical approach to sex, so matter-of-factly as he was running through a list of Birthday Ideas with Penny (Kaley Cuoco) and Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) that included “Coitus with Amy.” Kudos to the writing team for keeping this episode right in line with exactly how Sheldon would handle having Sex for the first time with someone. But what surprised me was how sweet the episode was. And, truly, there will be an “awakening” Thursday night for Sheldon and Amy.
