Recap: Doctor Who "The Face of Evil" Episode 2

When last we left off, we discovered that running around the universe and meddling in other civilizations' affairs tends to leave a bit of an impression. In the Doctor's case, he seems to have visited this planet a long time ago.... and has now been immortalized in the side of a mountain as this planet's version of el Diablo.

Go big or go home, I guess.

Review: Teen Titans Go! "Ghost Boy"

In my opinion, this episode marks the moment where the Titans' sociopathic tendencies are truly born.

Recap: Teen Titans Go! "Ghost Boy"

One of the things about Teen Titans Go! that some take issue with is the Titans' modified personalities. Their personalities changed on an individual level, to be sure, but every Titan went through one specific change together: They're sociopaths now.

The dictionary describes a sociopath as "a person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial behavior and a lack of conscience.." And over the course of about 200 episodes so far, this would seem to describe each Titan to a degree, some more than others.

Now, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I don't automatically hate this change in the characters. If somebody were inclined to do a comedic spin on the Teen Titans, then antisocial, conscience-impaired behavior isn't necessarily a bad way to go about it. Sociopathy is a staple of comedy. I mean, who among us didn't at least chuckle when the Joker made that pencil disappear? Heck, just look at Deadpool. And no matter how far back you go, you can find examples of humor that rely on a protagonist who doesn't care about others' wellbeing. George Costanza. Edmund Blackadder. Bugs Bunny.

On the other hand, if a character is improperly characterized... well, nobody's going to root for a character who simply comes across as an unlikable meany-face jerk-pants.

Watching Bugs Bunny take Elmer Fudd down a peg? That's funny.

Watching George Costanza's petty little machinations? That's funny.

Watching somebody take advantage of another person's innocent trust simply because he woke up and decided to be an ass to anyone and everyone?

That's "Ghost Boy."

November Update

Gonna be taking a couple weeks off for real life stuff.

Will return with new recaps of a show I haven't covered in a while.

Review: Goosebumps "Werewolf Skin"

Sorry, I can't really be bothered to say something snarky here. I googled "skin" to try and come up with jokes on the title of this two-parter, and I got some horrifying news stories to instantly pop up, from some lady with worms under her skin to a guy who got the skin on his arm bitten off.

So my mind is occupied with trying to not think about skin. Although I must say that these two episodes all of a sudden seem a lot tamer...