High-Def Digest: The Bonus ViewABC Archives - High-Def Digest: The Bonus View

Stumptown Pilot Recap: “You Don’t Want to Hire a Plumber to Fix a Chimney”

Josh Zyber — Thu, 26 Sep 2019 16:00:03 +0000

Not too much unlike the other new drama series that premiered on the network one night earlier (Emergence), ABC’s Stumptown demonstrates that appealing characters and performances can sometimes overcome a derivative premise and writing. First off, for those viewers who aren’t familiar with the nickname, the show’s pilot episode helpfully opens with a full-screen shot...

The post Stumptown Pilot Recap: “You Don’t Want to Hire a Plumber to Fix a Chimney” appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

Emergence Pilot Recap: “I Wish I Was Being Paranoid”

Josh Zyber — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 12:00:23 +0000

Emergence is ABC’s latest attempt to create a new “puzzle box” mystery thriller in the Lost mold. Strangely, the mystery aspect is the least interesting part of this one. J.J. Abrams’ name may not be in the credits, but the Lost influence is strong. The series actually comes from Tara Butters and Michele Fazekas, creators...

The post Emergence Pilot Recap: “I Wish I Was Being Paranoid” appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 6.03 Recap: “Things Are Definitely Getting Weird”

Josh Zyber — Wed, 29 May 2019 12:00:00 +0000

Remember how much everybody just loved the casino planet storyline in The Last Jedi? What’s that you say… everybody hated it? Well, apparently not the writers of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The goofily-titled episode Fear and Loathing on the Planet of Kitson takes place almost entirely in far-off outer space, with only a brief check-in on...

The post Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 6.03 Recap: “Things Are Definitely Getting Weird” appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 6.02 Recap: “This Rock Has It All”

Josh Zyber — Wed, 22 May 2019 12:00:44 +0000

In addition to all the space travel, it looks like the big theme on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. this season is going to be alternate dimensions. I’ll give the show some credit; those are pretty ambitious sci-fi concepts for a series that’s very long in the tooth and has struggled with ratings for quite some time....

The post Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 6.02 Recap: “This Rock Has It All” appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 6.01 Recap: “It’s Times Like This I Wish We Didn’t Change the Timeline”

Josh Zyber — Wed, 15 May 2019 12:00:28 +0000

Of all the superpowers the characters on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. exhibit, perhaps the most impressive is their ability to defy the show’s anemic ratings. With little fanfare, the series has returned for an unlikely sixth season. You’ll be forgiven for not noticing. It came as a surprise to me to see an episode turn up...

The post Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 6.01 Recap: “It’s Times Like This I Wish We Didn’t Change the Timeline” appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

The Fix Pilot Recap: “He Did It Again”

Josh Zyber — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 12:00:46 +0000

The most interesting thing (and perhaps the only interesting thing) about ABC’s new legal drama The Fix is that the show was co-created by former prosecutor Marcia Clark, who’s clearly using it as a wish fulfilment fantasy about her own desire for redemption after losing the O.J. Simpson murder trial. Robin Tunney stars as Maya...

The post The Fix Pilot Recap: “He Did It Again” appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

Whiskey Cavalier Pilot Recap: “Why Do You Always Have to Be Such a Damn Boy Scout?”

Josh Zyber — Fri, 01 Mar 2019 13:00:08 +0000

Advertised ceaselessly for months, ABC finally debuted its new spy drama Whiskey Cavalier after the Oscars this past weekend. Anyone who didn’t bother to stay up so late for it (and I certainly didn’t) got a second chance with its official premiere on Wednesday. For all the hype, the show is… Well, it’s mostly okay-ish....

The post Whiskey Cavalier Pilot Recap: “Why Do You Always Have to Be Such a Damn Boy Scout?” appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

The Rookie Pilot Recap: “A Walking Mid-Life Crisis”

Josh Zyber — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 12:00:56 +0000

After wrapping up an eight-season tour on Castle, Nathan Fillion returns to duty on ABC in a new cop drama from one of the producers of that show. Does this TV vet have another hit on his hands with The Rookie? The premise of the series has middle-aged John Logan (Fillion) joining the LAPD as...

The post The Rookie Pilot Recap: “A Walking Mid-Life Crisis” appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ 5.22 Recap: “He’s Just One Man”

Josh Zyber — Thu, 24 May 2018 15:00:55 +0000

Filmed before ABC’s last-minute (and frankly unexpected) renewal announcement, the season finale of ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ was obviously designed to function as a series finale, right down to the seemingly-definitive title ‘The End’. On that mark, it’d be pretty underwhelming. Coulson is unconscious, his mystery illness finally getting the better of him. The rest of...

The post ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ 5.22 Recap: “He’s Just One Man” appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ 5.21 Recap: “You’re Just the Villain of the Month”

Josh Zyber — Wed, 16 May 2018 16:00:25 +0000

The rumors from last month have borne out. ABC has officially renewed ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ for a sixth season. It’ll only have 13 episodes, but hopefully the show will do better with a more concise narrative and less padding. A Quick Catch-Up Not until I sat down to write the latest recap did I realize...

The post ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ 5.21 Recap: “You’re Just the Villain of the Month” appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ 5.19 Recap: “One Flying Saucer, Probably No Big Deal”

Josh Zyber — Thu, 03 May 2018 12:00:54 +0000

The budget on ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ is so tight this season that not only have the majority of scenes taken place in nondescript windowless locations, now the lights are getting turned off so we can’t even see what’s happening in them! Episode ‘Option Two’ also makes an oblique reference to some undefined “events in New...

The post ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ 5.19 Recap: “One Flying Saucer, Probably No Big Deal” appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.

‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ 5.18 Recap: “When in Doubt, Get a Bunch of Lemons”

Josh Zyber — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 12:00:23 +0000

I get that the ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ are short-staffed these days, but you’d think it would at least be basic protocol to keep the weapons in their base locked down in case of infiltration. Is the show’s budget so tight this season that they can’t even afford a simple deadbolt? Newly brainwashed by HYDRA, Gen....

The post ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ 5.18 Recap: “When in Doubt, Get a Bunch of Lemons” appeared first on High-Def Digest: The Bonus View.