You have to go back to the early 40’s for when Archie, Jughead, Betty and Veronica first appeared in comic book form. Over the years, their characters have changed with the times, though the town of Riverdale always seemed to maintain an innocent charm where nothing bad ever seemed to happen. Well, that is until recently, where the comics took a shift and thrust our characters into various scenarios, one even including Riverdale being overrun by zombies. These changes occurred when Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa took over the brand, and now he has brought the town of Riverdale and its inhabitants to the small screen for the CW network.  Though this iteration differs from the early days of the Archie comic universe, all the familiar characters are here, and they are showing us the shady underbelly of Riverdale that I’m so glad we are getting a glimpse at, one episode at a time.

Following the mess that was Season 3 of Riverdale, I’m curious about what went down in that writers’ room.  I know I wasn’t the only one disappointed by how far off the rails the show seemed to go with the deranged D&D-esque game of Griffins and Gargoyles, the return of the Black Hood, and then the cult on “The Farm”.  While I’m not against these ideas, they always seemed to be too farfetched, even for the absurd world of Riverdale.  Then the show got rocked with the curveball of Luke Perry passing, and honestly, I wasn’t sure what could happen next. Could the show bounce back to its fun bubblegum/noir roots, or would it just continue to spoil?

So, this film definitely was not my daughter’s cup of tea. In her defense, without the background of watching the Cartoon Network series that preceded this movie, it is hard to become invested in the film. Additionally, I think most of themes that were addressed in the film were a bit over her head. I think if I were to show it to her again in a couple of years, she might vibe with it better, but I’m not guaranteeing that. Based on my own research of the series, the film was intended to serve as the series finale for the television show that ended in 2019. Also, my daughter is more of a YouTube kid rather than Cartoon Network. And based off my own interpretation of the film, knowledge of the original series goes a long way toward emotionally investing in this movie. In order to help you better understand the film, I will provide you with some background based on my own independent research into the television show that facilitated this aforementioned movie.

We Bare Bears follows three adoptive brother bears: Grizz, Pan-Pan, and Ice Bear. The bears attempt to integrate with human society, such as by purchasing food, making human companions, or trying to become Internet famous. This integration comes with some complications, primarily the struggle to reconcile the civilized nature of humans and their own animal instincts. The bears are aided in their efforts by child prodigy Chloe Park, bigfoot Charlie, internet sensation Koala Nom Nom, park ranger Tabes, and produce saleswoman Lucy.

Season 2 of Magnum P.I. offers more of the same as it did a year before: guns, explosions, and Magnum owing people favors. That is not to say that the show isn’t entertaining; however, there is nothing earth-shattering about it. It’s not a must-see show, but if you should happen to see it, you won’t be disappointed. For my part, I am a fan and did enjoy all twenty episodes of the second season. To its credit, this season does spend some time trying to add depth to the secondary characters that Magnum tends to lean on, like T.C., Rick, and Katsumoto. There is also a long-awaited crossover episode with the recently departed Hawaii Five-0 series. Despite not deviating much from its established template in the first season, the Jay Hernandez-led series continues to remain one of the CBS staples, even after being moved to the Friday night slot, which can sometimes serve as the kiss of death for a show.

Picking up after the events of last season, Magnum continues to be a gladiator for the little, usually at the expense of his wallet. After his illegal mission in Myanmar, his relationship with Katsumoto, and by extension the Honolulu Police Department, is irrevocably fractured. He is also awaiting an answer from Higgins regarding his proposal for her to become a partner in his private detective agency. Complicating her answer is an offer from MI6 to rejoin the agency. This subplot plays out for several episodes as she tries to consider which offer is best, while Thomas does everything in his power to sway her in his direction. The inevitable and completely predictable conclusion of this subplot fortunately wraps up within a couple of episodes. It is then replaced by the banter of the two characters as they argue over how to run the business, Higgins wanting it to at least turn a profit and become legitimate, and Magnum wanting to continue to wing it and engage in questionable practices.

"This is the way the world ends..."

The Stephen King cycle has turned hot once again. With the enormous success of the two-part It feature at the box office, Stephen King is hitting the kind of popularity he had back in the 1980's and 1990's when it seemed anything he put his name to had to be made into a feature film or some other grand project. The trend led to mixed results. Many of the films couldn't live up to the visceral detail that has become King's trademark. To do this, his books have taken on a large page count that has been nearly impossible to fit into a 2-hour feature film window. It split the book into two very good films. The Stand has twice made it to the mini-series format. Paramount Studios have had their hands in the Stephen King pot on various occasions. So now they've put together an interesting collection from their own library. This 5-film collection includes Stephen King's The Stand (1994), The Dead Zone (1983), Pet Sematary both (1989) & (2019) and Silver Bullet (1985). It's a mixed bag, to be sure. There are some hits and misses to be found inside this collection. Each film or mini-series has its own disc with special features only reproduced on the two Pet Sematary films. Let's take a peek at the films inside, shall we?

"I hear if you're looking for a miracle, now's the time to ask."

When Michael Weatherly left NCIS it was like losing an old friend, both for the cast and crew of the franchise and for the millions of fans who had invited him into their living rooms for almost 15 years. But he returned to both. His presence was very much alive in the last season of NCIS. He was discussed, shown in flashbacks, and somehow continued to carry on his teasing war with McGee. But he wouldn't return in person. That's because he was busy with the second season of his own show Bull. And while Bull is reportedly based on the early career of Dr. Phil, nothing could be farther from the reality that Bull is 100% Michael Weatherly. I'm not sure if the shows exist in the same television universe, but they continue to be somewhat entangled. Both shows aired an episode with the exact same title on the exact same day. The shows were called Keep Your Friends Close, and there's obviously a message to the fans in there that however successful Bull turns out to be, we're not completely done with Tony, and there's an effort to keep the family bonds close.