Steven Helmer Publications

Even though the season finale aired nearly 21 years ago, the show Friends  remains a fan favorite and, at least in our household, the reruns are watched on repeat.  Typically, you can't have a conversation about the show without mentioning one of the two main power couples - Ross ( David Schimmer ) and Rachel ( Jennifer Aniston ) or Monica ( Courteney Cox ) and Chandler ( Matthew Perry ). Maybe to a slightly lesser extent, you could even mention Phoebe ( Lisa Kudrow ) and her boyfriend/husband in the later seasons, Mike ( Paul Rudd ). I, however, think the REAL power couple is one that doesn't get enough credit, Ross's ex-wife Carol ( Anita Barone in season 1 and Jane Sibbett after that) and her wife Susan Bunch ( Jessica Hecht ). While their lesbian relationship was often portrayed in a comical light (as was often the case in the 90s) and their recurring appearances were reduced in the later seasons, there are three reasons why I'd pick them above any of the couples ...

Synopsis:  Seven years after leaving Riverdale, Archie ( K.J. Apa ), Veronica ( Camila Mendes ), Betty ( Lily Reinhart ) and Jughead ( Cole Sprouse ) return to celebrate Pop Tates ( Alvin Sanders ) retirement. Only Riverdale is no longer the same as it was when they left it and, instead, is a community that has become lawless as it is strangled to death by Hiram Lodge ( Mark Consuelos ). My thoughts from this episode (which I finally had a chance to watch this weekend): 1. This isn't the first time I have watched a show like this have its characters fast forward in time. Pretty Little Liars did it during one of their final seasons (only they just fast forwarded five years). The show didn't last much longer than that and I'm not convinced this series won't suffer the same fate. That's one of the drawbacks of casting non-teenagers to play teenagers. 2. Of the four friends, Archie's decision to leave Riverdale honestly never made a whole lot of sense to me. Sure, ...

Synopsis: Two teenagers, Stella and Will, dying from cystic fibrosis meet in the hospital and fall in love. However, because of their medical conditions, they must follow strict rules, including staying six feet apart at all times, a rule they decide to defy by taking one foot back. Who's in it? The movie stars Cole Sprouse , Haley Lu Richardson , Moises Arias , Kimberly Hebert Gregory and Parminder Nagra. Review: My wife has wanted to see this movie since coming across the trailer some time ago. I finally remembered to add it to our Netflix DVD queue and we took the time to watch it this evening.  To be honest, the movie is a little predictable. Basically, if you've seen one movie about sick teenagers falling in love, you've seen most of them. However, despite that, I did find I enjoyed this film. The thing that really stood out for me when it came to this movie was the wide range of emotions Will (Sprouse), Stella (Richardson) and their friend, Poe (Arias) experience t...

OK, to tell you the truth, I'm still a little undecided about this whole Griffins and Gargoyles thing going on in this season of Riverdale . However, I am admittedly somewhat intrigued about who the Gargoyle King is. And, I have my own theory. I think it's Pop Tate ( Alvin Sanders ). This theory is based on a couple of things: First, we know G &G has been going on in Riverdale since at least the 1990s, when Riverdale's parents were the ones still in high school. Second, if Jughead's ( Cole Sprouse ) theory about the Gargoyle King controlling everything that happens in Riverdale is correct, then that person needs to have some long-term connection to the city. Assuming, of course, the current Gargoyle King isn't a copycat or some character that hasn't been introduced yet, the fact the game has been around since at least the 90s means the king must be older than the first set of high school students to play it. After all, someone had to create the ga...

Synopsis : After learning her brother Chic (Hart Denton) has killed an intruder. Betty (Lili Reinhart) helps her mom (Madchen Amick) dispose of the body and clean up the blood. However, her guilt over the man's death and her family's cover-up compels her to seek help from Jughead (Cole Sprouse) before she goes insane.  Meanwhile, Archie (KJ Apa) faces increased pressure from Agent Adams (John Behlmann) and must either help him find dirt on Hiram Lodge (Mark Consuelos) or his dad (Luke Perry) will face prison time. You can read my thoughts here: https://wizzley.com/final-thoughts-from-the-riverdale-episode-the-tell-tale-heart/

Synopsis : When Jughead (Cole Sprouse) learns the truth about Riverdale's upcoming Pickens' Day celebration, he brings the town closer to civil war with the south side. Meanwhile, Archie (K.J. Apa) joins the wrestling team in an effort to get closer to Hiram Lodge (Mark Consuelos) and learn more about his business dealings. You can read my thoughts here:  https://wizzley.com/final-thoughts-on-the-riverdale-episode-the-wrestler/

Synopsis: Still on the mend from their break ups with Veronica ( Camila Mendes ) and Jughead ( Cole Sprouse ), Archie ( K. J. Apa ) and Betty ( Lili Reinhart ) spend their Christmas break tracking down the Black Hood. Meanwhile, Jughead decides to push back against the "snake handler." The episode first aired December 13, 2017. My Thoughts: 1. Does anyone really believe they finally found/killed the Black Hood? I personally think Mr. Svenson ( Cameron McDonald ) was being set up by someone else and, while he did point a gun at Betty and Archie, I suspect he was doing so under duress. 2. I'm also a little suspicious of Sheriff Keller ( Martin Cummins ) considering he did shoot and kill an unarmed man. Granted, he may have thought there was a weapon involved and, he was trying to stop a serial killer from escaping. But, there's something that is a bit fishy about it and I can't help but wonder if he killed Svenson as a way of covering something else up. ...

After watching the last episode, which aired this past Wednesday, I now see why some people were pretty upset with it. Sometimes I wonder if shows like this do things simply to attract ratings. This includes Betty's (Lili Reinhart) infamous strip tease scene on Wednesday. My personal opinion? There was no reason for it. It added nothing to the actual plot of the series and it was just awkward in my opinion, largely because she's supposed to be a minor. In this day and age, there is simply no way to make that sound like a good decision. Of course, I also found it a bit hilarious too. As I told my wife, I think Jughead (Cole Sprouse) should be upset. And, not because his girlfriend did a strip tease in front of a bunch of men. If I were him, I'd be pretty angry about having to get the sh** kicked out of me as part of my gang initiation when all she had to do to be considered a Serpent is do a pole dance in her underwear. It hardly seems fair.