Hey guys! How're you all doing today? I'm doing okay. Tonight the season premiere of the third season of Star Trek: Discovery and I'm excited for it and also a little bit nervous because it's modern Star Trek and the premiere could go either way. In the spirit of tonight's airing of the premiere, I've decided to give you my list of twenty movies and TV shows that I love but everyone else either hates or they're just underappreciated. So let's get into it. These aren't in any particular order, I just chose 20 movies and TV shows with movies being the prominent medium on this list.
Starting this list is Full House. I know this show gets alot of crap for being overly sentimental and cheesy and "everything wrong with late '80s and early '90s Television" but I grew up on it. It was one of the few shows that we could watch as a family because it wasn't violent, there was no swearing outside of a character occasionally saying "damn" and "what the hell" in the first season, and while they touched on heavy topics, they were never so heavy that they could be considered inappropriate for children. And the show taught valuable life lessons. In it's later seasons. I've been slowly watching through the first season recently and it's way different. With Stephanie, DJ, and Michelle being so much younger, the focus is more heavily on Danny, Jesse and Joey and the comedy lies in Jesse and Joey learning how to raise three girls. But like Jesse is rougher around the edges than he is in later seasons, which is weird to see.
Next on my list is Fuller House, the revival/sequel series to Full House. The first four or five episodes are a little rough to get through just because it's trying so hard to just be Full House that it doesn't really stand on it's own. For example in the pilot episode, "Our Very First Show...Again", everything you remember from the original series is in the episode. Danny, Jesse, Jesse's band the Rippers, Steve, Joey, Joey's puppet Mr. Woodchuck, Becky, Nicky, Alex, DJ, Stephanie and Kimmy all show up, they sing Jesse's rendition of "Forever" by the Beach Boys, constant references to things that happened in the original show, and a side by side comparison of the cast singing the theme song for The Flintstones to the baby (Michelle in the original show and Tommy in this one) at the end of the episode. Then, episode 2 Jesse shows up again, and Jackson (DJ's eldest son, a.k.a. the DJ equivalent) runs away when he has to share a room with his younger brother, Max (the Stephanie equivalent) when Kimmy's daughter, Ramona (the Kimmy equivalent), takes Jackson's old room (Uncle Jesse's old room in the first season of Full House, minus the pink bunnies on the wall) as a callback to the pilot episode of the original series where DJ moves out to the garage out of frustration because she has to share a room with Stephanie after Uncle Jesse and Joey move in following the death of DJ, Stephanie and Michelle's mom, Pam.
I've watched a few random episodes from later seasons of the show just to see if it's any different or if it's just one giant nostalgia fest, and it actually does get better. Yes, Danny, Jesse, Joey and Becky still show up from time to time, and they still do callbacks to the original series, but it stands on it's own a lot better. The older cast doesn't show up quite as often, though John Stamos shows up as Jesse more frequently because he was one of the executive producers of the show so he was on set anyway. And now that I've seen episodes after the first season, I love the show on it's own merits rather than just as a sequel to a show I grew up watching. I'll get into the reasons I like the show so much when I do a full review of it once I've watched the whole show.
Switching over to movies, the first movie on my list is Home Alone 3. I didn't grow up watching Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, starring Macaulay Culkin. My parents had both of them on VHS when I was a kid, and I may have seen one or the other at some point, but I was pretty young when they both came out as I was only 3 when Home Alone came out and only 5 when Home Alone 2 came out. But I was 11 when Home Alone 3 came out in 1997 and I was almost 12 when it came out on home video in 1998, though I think I got it for my 12th birthday or for Christmas that year. So Home Alone 3 is what I grew up with. I was aware of the first two since commercials for it appeared on TV at the time they were released and I played the NES game of the second movie in 1995 or 1996, but I didn't grow up with the movies the way other kids my age did. Home Alone 3 is a great movie, because it stands apart from the original two, but it also sets up everything pretty well, though the premise is kind of weird in comparison to the originals. I still love it though and it was the first movie I ever saw Scarlett Johansson in. I just bought it on iTunes the other day so I'll definitely be doing a full review of this movie in the very near future.
Next is Batman & Robin. I get why people don't like this movie. It's stupid and cheesy and is basically a feature length toy commercial. I still love it though. I didn't get to see it when I was a kid but the commercials for it, and the toys/merchandise for the movie were on TV all the time. It looked really cool. So when I finally saw it on DVD as a teenager, it reminded me of the original 1966 TV series starring Adam West and Burt Ward, which is one of my favourite shows of all time. My problems with it come from the teasing of Superman at the beginning when Robin is telling Batman that he wants a car and Batman says, "This is why Superman works alone" before getting into the single seat Batmobile and driving off. Like don't tease Superman in a Batman movie if you're not going to do a Superman movie (one was in development at this time) and then do a crossover movie between Batman and Superman. Also I didn't like how they changed Batgirl from Barbara Gordon to Alfred's niece, Barbara Wilson and gave Commissioner Gordon the shaft in favour of the less interesting Poison Ivy, Bane and Mr. Freeze. While this isn't my favourite Batman movie by any means, I still enjoy watching it. Plus I don't get the hate towards it considering kids my age were watching Power Rangers at this point and that is nothing but a 30 minute toy commercial, just like this movie.
Batman Forever is my favourite of the Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher Batman movies. While it's not as hated as Batman & Robin is by fans, it's still considered to be inferior to Batman and Batman Returns and I don't really understand why. Maybe it's because it's more light hearted than either of the Tim Burton movies, which is why Burton left the directorial position, remaining in the executive producer job for it. Either way it kind of soured the fans on the Batman film franchise, though not to the extent that Batman & Robin did. I love this movie. I owned it on VHS, I had the comic book adaptation, I had a picture book adaptation of it, I had it on DVD, I have it on Blu-ray, and I own the soundtrack album featuring "Kiss by a Rose" by Seal, and "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" by U2, on CD. It was also big with kids at my school when I was in the third grade so there were lots of kids who had Batman Forever backpacks, lunch bags and pencil cases. Even I had one of the backpacks with Batman and Robin on it.
Ghostbusters II gets a lot of hate, though not nearly as much as the 2016 movie does, and I don't really get why. I didn't see Ghostbusters until I was a teenager because we didn't own a copy, and I only found out, as a teenager, that my grandparents had it on VHS, taped off TV sometime in the late '80s or early '90s, but Ghostbusters II is the one that we had on VHS, and I watched it all the time. I was also watching The Real Ghostbusters animated series as well. So because I saw this movie more than the first one, I connect this one to my childhood more. Sure, it's not as good as the first one in terms of tone and story, but for a kid, particularly one who watched the animated series, it's a perfectly acceptable movie to watch. Especially since the sexual elements with that ghost who does stuff to Ray in that montage after the business starts booming and the sexuality that Sigourney Weaver's character, Dana has once she gets possessed by Zuul aren't present in the second film, making it more child friendly than the first one. I don't have a problem with sexual elements in movies, on TV or in books, but that's probably not something we should've been seeing as kids.
The Big Bang Theory is one of my favourite shows from the last thirteen years but many people don't like it because they either felt that it portrays geeks in a negative way or that it made geek culture too mainstream. I have to agree with the second statement slightly, just because it is kind of true. But I completely disagree with the first statement, because for the most part, that's exactly how a group of friends behaves, and that's exactly how geeky friends interact with each other. My problem with it is that it went on a little too long. Like season 7 should've been the show's final season. Instead they dragged on for five more seasons and had a spin-off show called Young Sheldon (FYI: don't watch it, it's terrible). In fact The Big Bang Theory would probably still be on right now if Jim Parsons, who played Sheldon, hadn't decided to leave the show at the end of season 12.
This next movie is more in the overlooked/underappreciated category of movie than one people actually dislike. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock often gets forgotten about because it comes in between two of the most successful and popular Star Trek movies ever made: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. But it's actually my favourite of the Star Trek Trilogy from the '80s. Harve Bennett wrote a strong script and Leonard Nimoy was a great director. Not to mention Shatner, Kelley, Doohan and the rest played their characters extremely well. Plus Christopher Lloyd and John Laroquette were pretty great as Klingons, being among the first Klingons we saw with the longer hair that would be the quintessential look of the Klingons throughout the '90s and early to mid 2000s. Also Robin Curtis's version of Saavik would be used as the look of the character in the comics published by DC Comics in the '90s though the Kirstie Alley version continued to be in the comics of the '80s.
Despite how bad it got in it's final three seasons, Arrow is still my favourite of all of the CW comic book based TV shows. Like The Big Bang Theory I think Arrow went on longer than it should've and would actually still be on if Stephen Amell hadn't decided to leave when he did. The show's creators, Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, and Andrew Kreisberg, had a five year/five season plan for the show, which it completed. Even as late as the season 2 DVD release they were talking about how the final scene of the series finale was going to be the opening scene of the pilot, with Oliver being rescued from Lian Yu, returning to Starling City and donning the suit that would lead him on the path to becoming the Green Arrow, bringing the show full circle. Instead they got three more seasons after that and I think the writers really didn't know what to do with that freedom from the flashbacks to the island. Arrow is also the only TV show that I've seen every episode of as it aired. I will admit that it did stay more grounded than the other shows did throughout it's entire run.
DC's Legends of Tomorrow is another show that people don't like that I love. Season 5 wasn't great because it felt like they were spinning their wheels following Crisis on Infinite Earths, but it did have it's fun episodes. It's also a really weird show in comparison to the other CW/DC Comics shows. Plus it has characters that have either never been seen in live action before or if they have weren't popular and that can be overwhelming for the people wanting to get into this show but not being used to the weirder characters like John Constantine or the higher concepts that are this show's premise, such as time travel and Science Fiction. Also, because it's such a ridiculous, cheesy show, most comic book fans don't want anything to do with it. Which is sad because despite my problems with season 5, this is a really good show with awesome characters that have had more development in five seasons than any character did in eight seasons of Arrow.
As you know from my recent VHS review I love Disney's 1973 animated classic, Robin Hood. I have yet to do a full review of the movie itself, but it is definitely one of my favourite Disney movies of all time. It's funny, it's action packed and has some feels to it. Though not as emotional as other classics like Bambi or Pinocchio, it does have heart to it. Yet, it often gets overlooked because it's not part of the roster of movies that gets put out on home media platforms (DVD and Blu-ray) regularly anymore, and it came out during the period in the '70s where Disney was in the transition period between Walt Disney's death and Michael Eisner's arrival at the company and animation wasn't a priority. I know a few people who like this movie though which is cool.
Many people dislike this show because they feel it's making fun of Batman. What modern comic book readers don't understand is that this is actually how Batman was in the comics of the '60s. So the TV show is actually an accurate representation of what the comic books were during that period in Batman's publication history. Batman is one of my favourite TV shows ever. I grew up watching it in reruns on YTV before Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Adam West played a great Batman and a great Bruce Wayne as well, though unlike in other screen adaptations there isn't really any distinction between Bruce Wayne and Batman as this world is just heightened enough that Bruce can be involved with everything in Gotham City and still hide the fact that he's Batman. Burt Ward was also a great Dick Grayson/Robin. And the villains are ridiculous but they're ridiculous in a fun way.
Of course, you can't talk about the 1966 TV series without talking about the 1966 movie, Batman: The Movie. This is my favourite Batman movie of all time. It's the one I grew up watching on VHS, taped off TV before Batman Forever ever got released. Despite it's campy nature, this movie has the most serious villain plot ever seen on the TV show. Especially with the Joker, the Penguin, Catwoman and the Riddler teaming up for world domination. To this day lines like, "Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb!" still make me laugh. Plus the Batmobile is one of the most iconic cars in cinema history between this movie, the TV show and the first Tim Burton movie.
Jetsons: The Movie is an animated movie that I grew up watching on VHS. Kids today probably don't know what The Jetsons is, but for my parents and I, as well as other people of our respective generations, it was a great animated sitcom, close to the level of Family Guy and The Simpsons but more family friendly. This movie came out in the early '90s when "Protect Our Earth" became a slogan. My favourite part of this movie is the soundtrack. It's such a late '80s/early '90s soundtrack that you can't mistaken it for something modern.
Despite it's rough start I actually like Star Trek: Discovery quite a bit. While it's not as good as any of the previous Star Trek shows it is a pretty good show. The first season was it's worst, with Klingons that looked like they should've been in the Orc army from The Lord of the Rings, heavy subject matter and an inability to commit to a single premise with the side journey to the Mirror Universe for absolutely no reason near the end of the season. Season 2 was much better, though I still didn't care about any of the characters since they did such a poor job of developing the majority of the ship's Bridge crew in season 1 to the point where it didn't work when they tried to actually do something with them in the second season, but the storytelling was alot tighter than it had been in season 1. Hopefully season 3 is even better.
I get why people hate Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. It's a stupid movie with bad special effects and a storyline that no sane person would try to follow, let alone write themselves. But for me it's the Star Trek movie I watched all the way through the most, next to Star Trek III. The whole "Kirk meets God" concept was probably a really bad idea even in 1989, and I don't enjoy the movie for that. Instead I enjoy the movie for the characters. The opening where Kirk, Spock and McCoy are camping and bonding is one of my favourite scenes in Star Trek ever, movie or Television, and it reminds us why we fell in love with those characters back in the '60s. I also liked that they didn't try to hide the fact that they were using the sets from Star Trek: The Next Generation for Engineering and the corridors and that Kirk's actions in earlier movies, namely Star Trek III, still have consequences. At least where the Klingons are concerned. Also, Jerry Goldsmith's score is amazing. I have the soundtrack on audiocassette as well as digitally, and I listen to it all the time.
What I don't understand is why people don't like Star Trek: Insurrection. I've heard people accusing it of being just a long episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but honestly that's one of the reasons I like it so much. Don't get me wrong Star Trek: First Contact is a great movie, but it was so horrifying and heavy that I thought Insurrection was a breath of fresh air. It's a simple morality tale of the kind that Star Trek has done so well on TV, before this, and I feel that up to this point it's something the movies have kind of been lacking somewhat. Especially in the TOS era films of the '70s and '80s. And with the TV shows becoming darker with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and the later seasons of Star Trek: Voyager, going back to a silly TNG story was fun in my opinion. Plus it's the last thing that Michael Piller wrote for Star Trek before his death in 2005, so there's that too.
Coming to yet another underrated animated Disney movie, Tarzan is probably the most forgotten about Disney movie of the '90s. Coming in at the end of the Disney Renaissance that had been running since The Great Mouse Detective had come out in 1986, Tarzan seems to get alot of crap for the Phil Collins soundtrack. I honestly don't get why, considering Elton John sang three songs from The Lion King and co-wrote all of those songs alongside Tim Rice and Lebo M. Also Celine Dion sang the title song from Beauty and the Beast and other pop artists have been involved with Disney movies, be it as a voice actor or singing the songs on a movie's soundtrack. I get it's because by 1999 my generation was more into rap and screamo rather than pop and classic rock, but my dad is a huge Genesis fan and I grew up hearing Phil Collins's songs on the radio with "True Colors" and "You'll Be in my Heart" (from Tarzan) coming out when I was nearing my teen years and they're my favourite Phil Collins songs. I just remember really liking this movie when I saw it on VHS in 2000.
I'm fully prepared to get blasted for these next two, because they're both Star Wars movies and both considered to be the worst movies in the entire franchise. And while Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones is bad, especially in comparison to both The Phantom Menace and Revenge of the Sith, there are things that I really enjoy about it. And no, the dialogue is definitely not one of them. Lol. I really liked the interaction between Anakin and Obi-Wan, with Anakin still an inexperienced Padawan Learner. The Anakin/Padme dialogue was really bad and there were moments where Anakin was a little bit creepy. But the opening battle of the Clone Wars was spectacular and watching Yoda fight with a lightsaber for the first time was awesome.
Then, finally, there's Star Wars: The Last Jedi. I saw this movie on opening night, before all the backlash came out (I think it was the first showing the theatre Brad and I went to had), and honestly, I really enjoyed it. There were certain moments where I totally see where people are coming from when they hate on this movie, but as a whole, I liked it. It's not definitely not my favourite Star Wars movie. In fact it doesn't even come close to being my favourite. But my problem with this movie comes from the fact that now that The Rise of Skywalker has come out it's clear that Lucasfilm did not plan this trilogy out at all. The trilogy is so disjointed and not cohesive that it's definitely the worst trilogy of Star Wars movies. Even the prequel trilogy was planned out by George Lucas in terms of character progression and where he wanted, or in some cases needed, certain events to happen. Even if those plans changed as he wrote each script, George had a basic idea of what he wanted to have happen, which movie he wanted it to happen in, and which characters were going to be involved. That wasn't the case with the Sequel Trilogy.
And that, my friends, is my twenty TV shows and movies that I love/like/enjoy that other people either hate, or just don't appreciate. What are some of yours? I'll be back tomorrow with my review of the season premiere of Star Trek: Discovery season 3. Later.
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