Eric Mrozek's Blog, page 18

Five Great Pop Culture Villains.

Lord Vader gets an honorable mention. He would have gotten on here if it wasn’t for lots of things.

It’s a common saying in critiques about popular culture that a hero is only as great as his greatest villains. With this in mind, I thought it might be a good idea to take some time to explore the reasons why we cheer or jeer for the bad guys. What makes a great villain? Is it motivation, cunning, or an arc that leads to their ascension into all-out bastardhood?

Let’s take a look at five case s...

Designated Survivor – The Confession – Recap.

Telling the truth seems to get you nowhere in Washington? Color me shocked!

It’s time to take another look atDesignated Survivor. While I was a little bit antsy about the show last week, I wanted to give it enough leeway to see where the storylines are able to go. Luckily, ‘The Confession’ is a surprising turn-around from last week, demonstrating that this show is at its’ best when it engages in its’ own storyline. Tonight’s episode was filled with the kind of duplicity, backstabbing, and int...

HBO’s Westworld Is A Bizarre And Intriguing Masterpiece.

What will the robot revolution mean for you?

Let it be said that I love the hell out of the science fiction genre, especially when it comes to the works of esteemed authors like Michael Crichton. I was never quite able to explore his library of work in depth, but I knew that I had to check out the premiere ofWestworld as soon as I heard about the project. Since I knew that it was going to be on HBO, I was expecting a bounty of violence and nudity to go with my science fiction. With that said,...

Four ‘What If?’ Scenarios Of Alternate History That Stood Little Chance Of Happening.

Some things can be changed, but others are inevitable.

One of my favorite topics to think about is the concept of alternate history. For those of you who are not in the know, it is a genre that involves changing one event inhistory in order to explore an alternate world. However, not all of these stories have outcomes that are remotely plausible. Just for fun, I thought we’d take a look at some of them.

Just to give you fair warning, there are some big concepts on this list. I invite everyone...

Designated Survivor – The First Day – Recap.

Twenty four hours can be hell. Right, Jac… er, I mean, Tom?

Since I resolved togive my thoughts on each episode ofDesignated Survivor, here goes nothing. This is going to be short and sweet compared to many of my other articles, but I will start off with one proclamation. Despite the intrigue and damn near perfect pilot, something is going wrong with this show. Onecan see thecracks that are beginning to form in the show, and I hope it is not enough to bring it down.

Let’s focus on each storyl...

Four Ways To Save American Democracy.

They’re not booing you, Senator! Really, they’re not!

It’s presidential debate season for the 2016 U.S. elections. Therefore, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at the atmosphere of the country & get a little bit of a discussion going. Needless to say, the situation seems a little bit darker than usual. Trust in government or the news is in the gutter, we still haven’t dug ourselves out of the 2008 recession, & there are many issues that are making the U.S. electorate justifiabl...

Premiere Week 2016 – Pitch Is The Worst Pilot Of The Year.

It’s bad. Real bad.

As it turns out, I’m not quite done with this week’s premieres on television. Last and less than least on the mound is Fox’sPitch. This one is a little bit different from the others, but I feel like I should let you know about the premise before I get to the meat of the story. In contrast to my other reviews, this one will contain spoilers for the ending twist. If you’re not interested in that, check out now with the notion that you’re not missing much.

You’ve been warned....

Premiere Week 2016 – MacGyver Is Dead On Arrival.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

It seems like this week is going to go down in history as the one with the most reboots. WhileLethal Weapon was okay, I recently caught wind of a second reboot on CBS based off ofMacGyver. I’ve only casually watched parts of the original series that was spearheaded by the great Richard Dean Anderson, who I knew better fromStargate SG-1. Therefore, this review will be focused around how it stacks up as a piece of entertainment, rather than through the lens of nosta...

Premiere Week 2016 – Lethal Weapon Is Unoriginal, But Fun.

This could have been a lot worse than it was.

If I am being honest, I was thinking that the remake ofLethal Weaponinto a television series would be a bad idea. The original four movies with Mel Gibson and Danny Glover are well-executed cop flicksfortheir day, so I dreaded the announcement that Fox was looking to make a reboot with Damon Wayans and… Clayne Crawford? Although I went into this show with low expectations, I will say this:

Lethal Weaponis a pleasant surprise.

Clayne Crawford And D...

Premiere Week 2016 – Designated Survivor Is Damn Near Perfect.

Hail to the Chief, who in triumph advances…

I’ll be the first to admit it. I was very much looking forward toDesignated Survivorlargely because it meant that Kiefer Sutherland would be back on my TV. That man is a hell of an actor, and the ads instantlygot my attention because he is playing the President of the United States this time. But as I always say on this blog, it is all in the execution. With possible comparisons to Tom Clancy’sDebt of Honor and Executive Orders firmly in the back of...