The State of Hero TV, Summer 2017

It’s a great time to be a hero-geek. There are more and more shows, and most of them are pretty damn good. I keep hearing a few people fretting about “hero fatigue,” but I certainly don’t have it, and, judging from the box office for Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2, a lot of other people don’t, either. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is fantastic, with Spider-Man: Homecoming and Thor: Ragnarok coming this year. I’m a lot less impressed with the DC Expanded Universe (although I’m one of the few that apparently enjoyed Suicide Squad), but I was pleasantly surprised by Wonder Woman.

Gotham: Destiny Calling/heavydirtysoul

Gotham’s third season wraps with a double header, “Destiny Calling,” and “Heavydirtysoul.” The two episodes bring a lot of forces into play and leave us remarkably few cliffhangers, but bring a lot of things together. And there’s a surprise reveal at the end about one of the characters. So, yeah, beware, there will be some…

Gotham: Pretty Hate Machine

Things ramp up for the poor citizens of Gotham in “Heroes Rise: Pretty Hate Machine.” The show opens with yet another gathering of the Court of Owls. Bruce’s nameless friend takes the council to task for killing the Waynes. Their response is that Thomas Wayne stood against the Court, although he doesn’t have an answer…

Gotham: All Will Be Judged

In Gotham, the segment of the season continues with “Heroes Rise: All Will Be Judged.” The show starts with the very odd couple of Penguin and Nygma, locked in adjoining cages that look like huge bird cages, prisoners of the Court of Owls. I really have to wonder, where would you even get cages like that? I mean, seriously, who makes those? The two of them argue and bicker, and it’s entertaining to watch.

Gotham: Light The Wick

As the season finale approaches, things get really interesting, in several senses of the word, for the people of Gotham. “Heroes Rise: Light The Wick” was one of their better episodes in my opinion. They cleverly drew on their own history, bringing back both past characters and events to weave an advancement of the current…

Gotham: The Primal Riddle

The current season, or sub-season, or whatever you call it, continues for Gotham with, “Heroes Rise: The Primal Riddle.” With shows taking so many random breaks, I’m really not sure how to refer to these sections of the season, especially when they sub-title them like both Gotham and Agents of SHIELD are doing. At any…

Gotham: These Delicate and Dark Obsessions

Heroes continue to Rise in Gotham, as seen in “These Delicate and Dark Obsessions.” The episode opens with Catherine addressing the Court of Owls. Mostly, she laments the state of Gotham, and tells them a weapon to cleanse the city is being made. They vote, trying to be solemn but it looks silly to me,…

Gotham: Heroes Rise: How the Riddler Got His Name

After a very long, seemingly random hiatus, Gotham is back. In keeping with their tradition of naming sections of their seasons, this one is called “Heroes Rise.” Obviously Bruce would be part of that, and I guess Gordon accounts for the plural? I guess we’ll find out as we go. The show opens with a…

Gotham: The Gentle Art of Making Enemies

I’m not quite sure what Fox is doing with their shows. Several of them came back from winter break just a few weeks ago, but now seem to be going on another long hiatus. Gotham is among them. I’m not sure if “Mad City: The Gentle Art of Making Enemies” is a season finale, or…