What to Watch and Skip This Week: Two

Image Courtesy of Disney and Mike Taing

     In this second article this week in this series, I found two options that are not only complete opposites, but also have surprised critics in a positive manner. The first of these is 'Shifting Gears', which premieres on ABC on January 8, 2024. In the series, "Matt is a stubborn, widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop; when Matt's estranged daughter and her kids move into his house, the real restoration begins." The ensemble cast includes Tim Allen and Kat Dennings. Dave Nemetz of TV Line says, "Tim Allen knows his niche. Between Home Improvement and Last Man Standing, Allen has spent nearly two decades on network TV playing a blue-collar, no-nonsense dad who loves his kids despite all his grumbling (and grunting). Now he’s back on ABC with Shifting Gears — debuting this Wednesday at 8/7c; I’ve seen the first two episodes — a new sitcom that’s built to be right in Allen’s wheelhouse. And despite some flat jokes and predictable turns, it’s built surprisingly well, with a lot of the credit going to co-star Kat Dennings, who proves she can go toe-to-toe with Allen and match him jab for jab." Adding, "To the show’s credit, though, Matt isn’t just heralded as a patriotic hero who’s right about everything. He’s challenged on his views, with Dennings making a more than capable sparring partner. The two have an entertainingly feisty dynamic right away as they bicker back and forth — they actually seem like father and daughter — and Allen even reveals a tender side in the scenes where Matt and Riley try to process the death of her mother. Dennings is a seasoned sitcom pro, too, from her years on 2 Broke Girls, and she brings plenty of sharp sass as Riley, who’s just as headstrong (and just as flawed) as her dad. The supporting cast is solid as well, including Seann William Scott and Daryl “Chill” Mitchell as a pair of wise-cracking mechanics who work at Matt’s shop. (Scott’s character Gabriel is obviously being set up as a love interest for Riley, but they don’t know it yet.) There aren’t a lot of surprises to be found in Shifting Gears’ first two episodes, but we don’t tune into shows like this to be surprised, anyway. We tune in to laugh, and Allen and Dennings deliver on that front as a sturdy comedy duo. No, this show doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel… but it does give that wheel a pretty decent restoration job." 

    On January 13, 2024, 'Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare' is released to a unusual amount of anticipation as it is the third entry into the Twisted Childhood Universe. In the film, "Wendy Darling encounters a twisted Tinkerbell as she tries to rescue her brother, Michael, from the evil clutches of Peter Pan." The ensemble cast includes Megan Placito, Peter DeSouza-Feighoney, Martin Portlock, and Kit Green. Connor Petrey of Pop Culture Leftovers says, "Scott Chambers’ Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare is the third entry in the Twisted Childhood Universe and manages to become the best yet, being an outlandish reimagining full of delusion, drugs and brutal kills. For those unfamiliar with this recently established universe, we were treated a few years ago with a Winnie-the-Pooh horror film titled Blood and Honey as soon as the popular character hit public domain. The first film, while I sped out to the theater to see it, was a daunting task to sit through, although back then we called it “The Room of Horror”. Not surprisingly the film was a box office success during its limited event release and a sequel was spawned the year after. The sequel, appropriately titled, Blood and Honey II was a major improvement over everything the first did and where the first ended with a 3% score on Rotten Tomatoes, the sequel satisfied with a 47%. Some of horror’s most prestigious fail to crack the “Fresh” barrier such as 2004’s Saw (50%), Jennifer’s Body (46%), and Final Destination (36%). Blood and Honey II reincarnated an allotment of classic horror personalities and placed them inside the world of the Hundred Acre Wood and with this trajectory it’s hard to say how crazy this universe can get. Which leads us here to Neverland’s Nightmare and the introduction of the one and only Peter Pan… Martin Portlock’s Peter Pan is genuinely horrifying, fluctuating between a voice with childlike wonder and the deep scornful voice of a killer. His costume design fully embodies that of what a true Peter Pan lunatic would wear, with tattered clothes a size too small and an eerie mask that adds an extra touch of fear. Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare follows titular Peter as he prepares multiple children for their voyage to “Neverland”. One of the unlucky children Peter chose happens to be the brother of Wendy, who attempts to locate and rescue her younger brother. It’s a simple premise, one that many horror fanatics should be used to. Megan Placito’s take on the familiar Wendy transforms from a friend of Peter with a taste for the fantastical in the commonly known telling, to a gore-covered final girl seeking vengeance with satisfying fanfare. While there are serious changes to the aforementioned Peter and Wendy, audiences aren’t prepared for Chambers’ distressing take on Tinkerbell."