September 19th's Weekly TV Thoughts

I can tell it's almost Fall TV season to start.  No, this isn't another comment on how little TV I'm watching right now.  I'm so looking forward to new episodes with my favorite characters I can hardly stand it.  Yet I know that season premiers are often disappointing to me since I have built up so many expectations.  Still, this is the only time of the year you will hear me say it, but I am so looking forward to Monday night!

But that's next week, when this list will be very, very long.  For right now, here's what I watched this week.

Dancing with the Stars – I wasn’t going to watch this season.  I really wasn’t.  And then I suddenly changed my mind, and I’m glad I did.  Yes, there are a bunch of dancers down at the bottom, but it is nice to see that after the last couple of years where everyone was outstanding.  I’d love to see some at the bottom really grow.  And those at the top?  Some pretty impressive week one dancers.  Yep, I’m back on board for better or worse.  Mainly worse.  I have no idea how I’m going to watch this with everything else I’ll be watching this fall.

America Ninja Warrior – After all these seasons and making the obstacles harder and harder, we get not one but two winners.  And while everyone everywhere is talking about Isaac, who definitely did win because he finished the rope climb faster, I think we need to give Geoff props for also finishing and finishing first.  That was a very impressive performance on his part.  It kills me that the rules weren’t as they’ve been stating all these years and Geoff didn’t also win the prize.  In fact, it really bugs me.  I hope he gets something for second because he definitely deserves it.  Congrats to both Isaac and Geoff.  Amazing victory for them both for sure.

Girl Meets World – I find it interesting that they flashed back to two episodes of Boy Meets World before Cory and Topanga were sweethearts since they were two years old.  Oh, and also when the characters were younger than the characters in this show are supposed to be.  Nick picks over now.  The show was so funny with some true laugh out loud moments and real heart.  Yep, although great episode.

TV Show Review: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Season 2

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Some episodes, acting, special effects

Cons: Some episodes, overall weak story arcs

The Bottom Line:

Show feels less focused

Which leads to an uneven

Sophomore run.  Bummer!

“Laser Grids.  Why Is It Always Laser Grids?”

I stuck with the first season of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and felt I was rewarded by the end result.  The twist they did that tied in to the second Captain America movie really helped the final third of that season.  I was looking forward to seeing how they’d move things forward in season 2.  Sadly, it was a decided step down from season 1.

The season picks up a couple months after the first season finale.  Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) is now in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D. and trying to rebuild the organization.  The trouble he’s having comes in many forms.  There are, of course, the double agents who are really working for Hydra.  There are the Hydra raids on some of the supposed safe locations.  Plus the government is trying to crack down on S.H.I.E.L.D.

Fortunately, he has his team in place to help.  Agent May (Ming-Na Wen) is going on missions in the field.  Former Agent Ward (Brett Dalton) is in custody, but he is only willing to talk to Skye (Chloe Bennet), even teasing her with information about her father.  Jemma (Elizabeth Henstridge) has gone under cover at a Hydra base.  And Fitz (Iain De Caestcker) is trying to recover from the brain damage he suffered at the end of the previous season.

Of course, Coulson has one other issue to deal with – he is regularly going into a trance and filling anything around him with drawings.  Is it fatal?  Is he crazy?  Can he overcome this side effect of his resuscitation?

There were several problems with the season.  First, the show seemed to go off in several weird directions.  I know, I know, this is a show set in a superhero universe.  Even so, they went some pretty strange places and just stayed there.  It made it hard for me to truly get into the show.

Then there are the new comers.  The cast of the show is greatly expanded from the cast that started out season one.  Honestly, there were too many of them, and it was hard to keep them all straight.  Plus, I just missed the chemistry the original cast had together.  This was driven home by an episode late in the season that had the original crew working together again.  It was my favorite episode of the season.  And don’t get me started on how they didn’t seem to know what to do with Ward.  He missed a lot of episodes this season.

The tie ins to the movies weren’t as strong this season, either.  They were some passing references, but nothing more.  Of course, Avengers: Age of Ultron came out so late into the season, it would have been hard for them to do much with it as it was.

Having said all this, there were parts of the season I did enjoy.  When they let the characters shine, those moments were amazing.  I needed to see more of that humanness.  Some of the storylines did work for me.  But it seemed like if I enjoyed one episode, the next would disappoint.  It was that obviously uneven this season.  I think it was a case of trying to do too much with the show this season, and the result feeling unfocused.

I can’t fault the actors for any of this.  They continued to grow into their characters and bring them to great life each week.  Likewise, the show was filled with believable special effects, which is always important for a fantasy show.

I’m still on the fence about moving on with season three of this show.  I’ll probably give it a few episodes to see what I think.  But unless they really turn it around, season 2 of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will be my last.

Season 2 Episodes:

1. Shadows

2. Heavy is the Hand

3. Making Friends and Influencing People

4. Face My Enemy

5. A Hen in the Wolf House

6. A Fractured House

7. The Writing on the Wall

8. The Things WE Bury

9. Ye Who Enter Here

10. What They Become

11. Aftershocks

12. Who You Really Are

13. One of Us

14. Love in the Time of Hydra

15. One Door Closes

16. Afterlife

17. Melinda

18. Frenemy of My Enemy

19. The Dirty Half Dozen

20. Scars

21. S.O.S. Part 1

22. S.O.S. Part 2

September 18th's Book Beginnings and Friday 56

We made it to Friday!!  That means it is time for this week's Book Beginnings and Friday 56.

This week's book is The Buccaneers' Code by Caroline Carlson, the third (and unfortunately final) book in The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates middle grade series.  I've read just over half of it today, and I'm reminded why I loved the first two so much.  Great humor, wonderful premise (pirates, magic, villainy), lovable characters.

But I should save that for my review, shouldn't I?

How about we get to some quotes.  Here's how the book begins:

It was snowing hard in Queensport, and Hilary thought it might never stop.  Snow covered the grounds of Westfield House, drifting against the drawing room's tall glass doors and blocking out every last glimpse of the harbor beyond.  When Hilary swung her sword through the air in the figure she'd been practicing all morning, her blade lodged itself once again in the folds of her mother's best velvet drapes, and she felt tempted to leave it there until spring.  "This weather," she said, "is entirely unsuitable for piracy."

Between the chapters, we get letters between the characters or articles from various newspapers and gossip sources.  Why do I bring this up?  Because page 56 is a letter that Hilary's friend Claire is writing to Hilary.  And it gives us this:

I'm afraid I've been making quite a hash of even the simplest enchantments; instead of lifting Miss Pimm's hat off her head, I somehow managed to lift the entire top of the carriage.  The coachman seemed awfully displeased.

Yes, both are longer than I normally share, but it felt right to give you a taste of this book.

Book Review: The Scam by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg (Fox and O'Hare #4)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Fun caper and characters

Cons: Characters still a little shallow

The Bottom Line:

Money laundering

A bad bet against this pair

Pages fly again

Another Fun Book, and That’s No Scam

As much as I love mysteries, it’s nice to take a break every so often.  I view these breaks as pallet cleansers that refresh me enough to go back and enjoy the mysteries I love so much.  One series I have come to love for this is the Fox and O’Hare series.  Yes, it’s still a crime story, but this is more caper than traditional mystery.  The Scam is the latest in the series, and it’s another great ride.

The series focuses on the unlikely partnership between FBI agent Kate O’Hare and FBI most wanted conman Nick Fox.  Publically, Kate is still trying to track him down.  However, the truth is that, instead of going to prison after Kate caught him, Nick and Kate have teamed up with FBI blessing to pull elaborate cons that result in other criminals being arrested.  Meanwhile, Kate is also resisting the attraction she and Nick both feel.

This book finds the pair working to bring down the owner of a casino.  Oh, Evan Trace’s crime is not that he makes money off gamblers.  While he has a casino in Las Vegas, it’s his casino in Macau that is the problem.  It’s being used launder money that is then being used to finance terrorists.  The hope is to turn him into an FBI asset so they can foil terrorist plots, but at a minimum they want to shut him down.

Nick comes up with a plan that involves fake gamblers (members of Nick and Kate’s regular crew) getting bilked and coming after Trace.  However, as the con progresses, things get more and more complicated.  Will they be able to turn Trace into an asset or have they bitten off more than they can chew this time?

This book threw in a few elements that seemed to have no bearing on the story when first introduced, but they were important by the end.  Well, a couple still weren’t used, but I have a feeling they were set up for future books.  As usual, the book starts with a steady pace that picks up as you near the climax.  There are some surprises along the way, too, that fans of the series will enjoy.

The characters in this series are fun.  They are weaker than the characters in books I normally read, but they work for these books.  There’s a normal crew of people that Nick and Kate turn to for help with their cons, and I love seeing them since they are always good for a laugh or two.

Yes, there is some humor in these books.  This is Janet Evanovich after all.  Overall, these aren’t as comedic as some of the books I read, but the laughs are fun.

We get the story from multiple points of view as things unfold.  Usually it’s either Kate or Nick, but sometimes it’s one of the other players in the caper.  I did notice a couple of head hops during the climax, but usually the point of view sticks with just one character per scene.  The writing is sharp, and it makes for a very fast read.  As always I flew through this book.

And I can already guarantee that I will fly through the next book.  With how this book ends, I need to know what will happen next.  Seriously, I’m counting down the days.

So if you are looking for a globetrotting adventure, pick up The Scam.  It’s a fun escape that will keep you entertained.

Don't miss a minute of the fun.  Check out the rest of the Fox and O'Hare books in order.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Ornament Review: Ichabod and Katrina - Art of Disney Animation #1 - 2015 Disney Store Ornament

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Two lesser done characters; creatively done

Cons: Very slight tip

The Bottom Line:

Lesser characters

Captured in iconic scene

New series starts right

Ichabod and Katrina Dance onto Your Tree

With how popular The Disney Store’s 2014-2015 Moments That Made Disney ornament series was, it’s hardly surprising that they decided to come up with a new series.  And so August saw the first release in a new yearlong series – Art of Disney Animation.  The series kicks off with some lesser done characters, and Ichabod and Katrina is an instant hit with this DisNerd.

This ornament captures them in mid-dance at the party where Ichabod makes his move and starts dancing with the lovely Katrina – the moment that Ichabod transforms from a bumbling duck into a graceful swan.  He’s got one hand reaching up to his full height, and yet Katrina’s hand is in his palm.  They are staring deeply into each other’s eyes.  And Ichabod is taking a step back, so his back foot is actually off the circle base.

Actually, it’s that last bit that I just love.  It’s a nice touch that gives them the illusion of being in motion.  I wouldn’t have thought anything of it if they had been in the middle of the base, but them being off to a side is just fun.  Their pink and dark green colors are lovely as well.  Really, this is a great ornament to look at.

Plus we have to talk about the fact that these are two very minor characters in the Disney cannon from an all but forgotten short just trotted out each year at Halloween.  Yet they still made it part of this limited edition series.  I just love that since I love collecting as many different Disney characters as I can.  You could also put this out for Halloween or Christmas is you so desired, which is an added bonus.

Of course, that circle base gives them a nice level platform, so you could set this out year round if that’s what you want to do.  There is a red ribbon on the top, and if you go to hang the ornament, you’ll find that it tips just slightly to the side.  That’s not surprising since the figures are off center.  What is surprising is it is opposite the way you would expect it to tip.  It’s not super noticeable and worth noting only in passing.

A surprising moment of animation involving two lesser characters is perfectly captured in Ichabod and Katrina.  Is it any wonder I love this fun ornament?

Original Price: $19.95

Love Disney animation?  You'll want to check out the rest of the Art of Disney Animation ornament series.

Book Review: Stone Cold Case by Catherine Dilts (Rock Shop Mystery #2)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Great characters and an interesting mystery

Cons: Too many sub-plots slow things down at the beginning.

The Bottom Line:

Skeleton on mount

Reopens disappearance

Good sequel to read

Case as Cold as Stone

One of the early books I agreed to read and review for posting here on my blog was the first mystery from author Catherine Dilts.  So when she approached me asking if I wanted to read Stone Cold Case, the sequel, of course, I said yes.  It was just as enjoyable as I remembered the first book being.

It has been almost two years since the first book came out, so I was thankful for the reminders about the characters and set up along the way.  The main character in these books is Morgan Iverson, who went to Colorado to help run the family rock shop for a couple of weeks only to discover that her brother was intending to move to South America as a missionary permanently.  However, once she got over the shock and began to make new friends, she started to find that life in the small town of Golden Springs might be a great place for her to start over, something she’s been struggling to do since the death of her husband.  Well, except for the occasional dead body she stumbles upon.

This books picks up a few months after her move.  In order to learn more about stones and gems, Morgan’s been auditing a class from the local college.  She’s on an end of the semester field trip up a nearby mountain when she gets separated from the rest of the class and stumbles upon a camp.  Inside the makeshift shelter, she finds a skeleton being guarded by a mountain man she initially mistakes for a Sasquatch.

Gossip in town is that Morgan has stumbled upon the remains of Carlee Kruger, daughter of the town’s mechanic Gerda.  Carlee disappeared 16 years before and her fate has remained a mystery.  Despite Morgan’s resolve to leave the investigation to the police, she keeps finding herself pulled into the mystery.  Can she uncover a killer with a heart of stone?

While I didn’t remember details from the first book, anything we needed to know about the characters was filled in for us.  I was fully back on board very quickly and greatly enjoyed spending more time with the cast.  There is a rather large cast of characters, but I was able to keep them all straight, and the growth we see, especially in Morgan, is wonderful.

The mystery was interesting and compelling with many twists and turns before we reached the exciting climax.  I was actually intending to stop reading for the night so I could get some other things done, but when I hit the climax, I couldn’t stop.  I had to see how everything was going to work out.

Unfortunately, the book seems to have one or two extra sub-plots that slow things down at times.  They mainly take the focus at the beginning of the book, stealing the spotlight at times from the mystery.  There’s one that was especially bad in this regard, and yet it provided some of my favorite moments for the characters.  As the book nears the end, the sub-plots get resolved and the mystery really becomes the focus.  Since I like the characters, I did enjoy the various sub-plots, but it would have made the book stronger if one or more had been held over for the next in the series.  And with the way this book ended, I definitely want to know what happens next to these characters.

That’s my only complaint with this book.  Those looking for an interesting mystery will be delighted to read Stone Cold Case.  The characters will draw you in and make you feel right at home before you know it.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

TV Show Review: The Big Bang Theory - Season 8

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: More laughs with characters we love

Cons: Actually, they don’t head to any cons this year

The Bottom Line:

As characters grow

We continue to laugh with

These great episodes

“Are They Making Fun of Us?”  “Yep.”  “I Miss the Old Days When I Couldn’t Tell.”

At some point, all shows go through a slump.  It’s almost impossible to keep the quality of the laughs up year and year no matter how great the team is behind the show.  Honestly, I’m still waiting for that to happen with The Big Bang Theory.  Here we are at season 8, and I’m still loving it.

For those who have missed the show, it centers on a bunch of physicist.  Leading the pack are roommates Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Sheldon (Jim Parons) who are friends with Raj (Kunal Nayyar) and Howard (Simon Helberg), Howard being the only engineer of the core group.  The series started when Penny (Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting) moved in across the hall from Leonard and Sheldon.  Things have changed, and now Leonard and Penny are engaged, although they still have the same living arrangements.  Over the years, Howard has married Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) and Sheldon has started dating Amy (Mayim Bailik).  Even Raj has a steady girlfriend this year in the form of recurring character Emily (Laura Spencer).

At the end of season seven, Sheldon’s reaction to changes in his life lead him to leave town on a cross country train trip.  As the season opens, he calls requesting to be picked up.  Why?  He’s been robbed.  That brings him back to the character’s home base of Pasadena, California, but he has to start processing the changes in his life.  One of those changes finds him teaching a class at CalTech for the first time.  The catch?  His only student is Howard.  Howard, meanwhile, has to find a way to throw out the first pitch at a baseball game.  Penny leaves behind her dream of acting for a job working pharmaceutical sales at the same company where Bernadette works, although the door might not quite be closed on acting.  Raj has to deal with the fall out of his parent’s divorce.  The ladies spend an evening uncovering each other’s shameful secrets.  And the entire gang puts on a prom on their roof with hilarious results.  And we got more of Stuart (Kevin Sussman), the owner of the local comic book store, who was living with Howard’s mother while his store was rebuilt, much to Howard’s dismay.

The season took a bit of a somber note when actress Carol Ann Susi died in November.  While never seen, she had provided the off screen voice of Howard’s mother since the start of the show.  As a result, the writers killed off her character mid-season, providing some well done more somber moments.  It also provided some great storylines late in the season as Howard and Bernadette started working on moving into her home.  I especially loved a ping pong battle episode.

The show’s detractors complain that, while it started out as a love letter to geeks, it has now evolved into a show about the characters and their relationships with their significant others.  They do have a valid point.  If you go back and watch the early episodes, the subject matter is often different.

But here’s the thing – I don’t care.  And why not?  Because I’m still laughing.  The jokes are just as funny.  Even if I see them coming, I still can’t help but laugh as the characters deliver the lines.

And here’s another reason it is a good thing.  Humans grow and change.  The best characters, the ones I love the most, grow and change as well.  If the show tried to stay to the same with the same characters and relationships they had in the first few years, I would be bored with it by now.  Instead, it’s a show I look forward to watching every Thursday night and the only show I have my DVR record the reruns for.  That’s right, I laugh just as hard at the reruns as I do the first airings of the show, and I never miss a chance to watch the reruns.

Despite the changes, there are still plenty of jokes at geek culture and geeky things.  After all, they built an entire episode around Leonard and Sheldon trying to visit Skywalker Ranch.  The ladies know more than they are willing to admit about the things their men love.  It’s a fun show with a fun dynamic.

And the acting continues to be great.  All the main actors know their characters by this point, and their portrayals are perfect.  The recurring characters are fantastic as well and Laura Spencer’s Emily fits right in as well.  Honestly, I wish we’d see more of her.

This season consisted of 24 episodes, which are all included here in their wide screen and full surround.  Extras include a salute to the fans, highlights from the 2014 ComicCon panel, a tribute to Carol Ann Susi, and a gag reel.

So if you need to laugh, I highly recommend The Big Bang Theory's eighth season.  These episodes will fly by all too quickly, and you’ll be left wanting to know what happens to everyone’s favorite geeks next.

Season 8 Episodes:

1. The Locomotion Interruption

2. The Junior Professor Solution

3. The First Pitch Insufficiency

4. The Hook-up Reverberation

5. The Focus Attenuation

6. The Expedition Approximation

7. The Misinterpretation Agitation

8. The Prom Equivalency

9. The Septum Deviation

10. The Champagne Reflection

11. The Clean Room Infiltration

12. The Space Prove Disintegration

13. The Anxiety Optimization

14. The Troll Manifestation

15. The Comic Book Store Regeneration

16. The Intimacy Acceleration

17. The Colonization Application

18. The Leftover Thermalization

19. The Skywalker Incursion

20. The Fortification Implementation

21. The Communication Deterioration

22. The Graduation Transmission

23. The Maternal Combustion

24. The Commitment Determination

Book Review: The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Thought provoking essays from a different point of view

Cons: Some theological issues with how things are portrayed

The Bottom Line:

Enemy’s view of

Temptation and sin.  Digest

It with discernment

Fresh Look at Temptation and Spiritual Warfare from the Other Side

I love The Chronicles of Narnia.  Seriously, in any form I’ve encountered them, I’ve fallen under the spell of them.  But I’ve never moved on to any of C. S. Lewis’s other books until this month, when I listened to The Screwtape Letters.  Naturally, I’d heard about this book for years, and I can certainly see why people talk about it so much.

The premise of the book is unique.  It’s a series of letters from Screwtape, a senior devil, to his nephew Wormwood, who is on his first assignment as a tempter.  We don’t get many details on the man Wormwood is trying to lead astray (he is always called the Patient), but as we go through the roughly 30 letters, a story begins to unfold.  The Patient is a new Christian, and it is Wormwood’s job to keep that conversion from sticking.  Screwtape offers advice on just about anything from his home life to his new love and even the growing European war.  As he does so, we get insight into how even good things can be easily twisted for evil and how the enemy thinks.

Or maybe not.  The thing to remember while reading the book is that this is all one man’s conjecture on how things are in the spiritual realm.  As I was listening, I kept having to remind myself that this is not necessarily the way things are.  Having said that, what is here is actually quite logical and makes a lot of sense with what I’ve seen in my own life.  There is much to think about and chew on, and the book is well worth reading for that reason alone.  Just keep in mind that it is fiction as you think about it.

What I think struck me the most is how easily good things can be twisted around to make them sinful.  That is hit upon several times over the course of the book, and I could certainly see the point Lewis was making.  For example, pride can easily crop up in a group that is right on an issue.  It’s not anything I didn’t already know before, but seeing it laid out from the other side made hit me in a different way.

The book was originally published in 1941, meaning that World War II plays a huge part in the events unfolding.  That may date a few of the references, but none of the real issues brought up are at all dated.

In fact, as Screwtape was expounding on the way the demons are trying to influence the population at large, I recognized much in our world today.  The book may be almost 75 years old, but the vision that Lewis had of our culture and how it would unfold in the future is downright scary at times.  The book concludes with “Screwtape Proposes a Toast,” a speech Lewis wrote in the early 60’s reviving the Screwtape character.  Again, his observations are spot on even all these years later.

Which is why I feel I am sorry to have to point out a theological flaw to the book.  It is obvious as you read that Screwtape thinks a person can lose their salvation.  That’s dangerous theology, and not the way I read the Bible.  I certainly think that Christians can still be lead into sin, however, but the idea that the demons can claim a Christian’s soul goes against what I think the Bible teaches.

The audio version I listened to was from Blackstone Audio and narrated by Ralph Cosham.  He did a great job keeping my interest, which considering the lack of dialogue and other normal fiction trappings was quite a feat.  In a lot of ways, this is non-fiction disguised as fiction, and the mix is just right to keep it interesting and make you think.

So be sure to read The Screwtape Letters with discernment, but by all means read it and think about what is presented in this short novel.  There is a reason that it has been read and talked about for all these years.

I read this book for the Reading to Know Bookclub.  With as short as the book is, there's still plenty of time to read it to participate yourself this month.

Movie Review: Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Films Collection Volume 1

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Great shorts filled with laughs

Cons: None for me

The Bottom Line:

Modern Disney shorts

With a wide range of subjects

That all entertain

Twelve Shorts Brimming with Disney Magic

I must admit that I was hesitant to buy the two Pixar shorts compilations that have been released.  I had most of them from the various Blu-Ray releases of the films.  (Okay, so I didn’t hesitate too long, but the thought did cross my mind.)  However, the instant I heard about the Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Films Collection I knew I had to get it because I hadn’t seen many of the shorts and knew I didn’t own them.  I’m glad I did because there are some wonderful shorts here.

This disc contains 12 shorts, with release dates ranging from 1999 up to 2015.  Yes, that means we’ve got some hand drawn animation mixed in with computer animation.  The shorts range from one about American legend “John Henry” to a new Goofy short “How to Hook Up Your Home Theater” and Mickey and Friends in “Get a Horse!” as well as the sequel shorts “Tangled Ever After” and “Frozen Fever.”

There are quite a variety of styles and subject matters covered in these 12 shorts, but all of them are good.  You can definitely tell that some of them are experiments in style.  That is especially true of “John Henry,” which features some artwork that has stitching on the edges and rough sketches on the character’s faces.  It works for the short, although I don’t know that I would want an entire animated feature that way.

A couple of the ones I hadn’t seen before feel like they could be part of either of the Fantasia movies.  “Lorenzo” is set to a Tango and features a cat whose tail comes to life thanks to a curse.  In classic Disney shorts fashion, it has a few “Don’t do this at home” moments, but it is lots of fun.  “The Little Matchgirl” is also all set to music, but it is a much more somber piece, in fact the most somber short on the disc.

The ones I had seen before, I really enjoyed watching again.  “How to Set Up Your Home Theater” harkens back to some of the classic Goofy how to shorts, and the results are hilariously funny, partially because they are so true.

Then there’s “Get a Horse!” which is a brilliant piece of animation.  It starts out like an old black and white Mickey short, complete with Peg Leg Pete, Minnie, Horace, and Clarabelle.  However, suddenly the characters start popping through the screen and winding up as 3D computer animated characters.  Any fan of classic Mickey needs to watch it.  The gags are wonderful and the result is a new classic short.

Fans of Tangled and Frozen will enjoy the respective sequels.  In the first, Flynn and Rapunzel’s wedding day almost turns into a disaster when the rings start to roll away.  You won’t believe what Pascal and Maximus go through to get them back.  There are so many great cameos from the film in this one.  “Frozen Fever” shows us that one kind of cold can still bother Elsa as she tries to create the perfect birthday for Anna.  Both shorts feature the return of all the original voices for a true treat.

Finally, there are the brilliant “Paperman” and “Feast.”  One features love at first sight and how paper plays a part in the couple getting together.  In the second, we see a man’s relationships grow and change from the viewpoint of his dog and the meals the dog gets.  Both are funny and touching and both are well deserved Oscar winners.

All the shorts here average 7 minutes or so, but they manage to give us full stories, good characters, laughs, and tender moments in that time period.  Obviously, some focus more on one than the other, but just because these are short doesn’t mean you aren’t getting a full story.

In addition to the 12 shorts in the set, you also get optional introductions to each short by the producers, directors, and writers (or some combination thereof) who worked on each short.  Each intro is just under a minute and gives some fun backstory and/or things to watch for.  The only other extra is a short documentary hosted by T.J. Miller on the process of creating these shorts.  At only seven minutes long, it feels like one of these shorts and really could have been much longer.  Still, it’s worth watching if you are a Disney animations fan.

The shorts included in the Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Films Collection are fun, and I’m glad I have them as part of my collection.  I’ll enjoy pulling this out from time and time and watching them again, and any fan of Disney animation will feel the same way.

Included Shorts:

John Henry

Lorenzo

The Little Matchgirl

How to Hook Up Your Home Theater

Tick Tock Tale

Prep & Landing – Operation: Secret Santa

The Ballad of Nessie

Tangled Ever After

Paperman

Get a Horse!

Feast

Frozen Fever

September 12th's Weekly TV Thought

Another quite week for TV.  The calm before fall TV season starts, of course.

America Ninja Warrior – Please don’t get me wrong, I love Kacy.  But why did she get a wild card spot?  That spot should have gone to someone who made it further than she did.  As you know, I was rooting for the guy whose wife is dying to get one of those spots.  He certainly earned it by making to so far on the finals course.  That nitpick aside, it was again so much fun to watch so many people finish.  We are going to have a long list of people who could make it all the way next week (and from the sounds of the promos, I think someone might.  But who?)

Girl Meets World – Okay, so they are still preaching at us a little, but I loved this episode.  Some great lines, but I also really love the friendship between the four kids.  That is such a special thing, and I really love how it played out this week.