Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: After briefly spending time as centaurs, Stuart ( Kevin Sussman ) and company travel to another war-torn universe to retrieve the device that has the missing piece. He instead loses their device after they are put on the front lines and the four soon face a firing squad after they refuse to fight. My Thoughts -  Am I the only one who was disappointed we didn't see more of the centaur universe? I think that one had so much potential, but they don't even bother exploring it or learning about the implications that don't involve comic book superheroes being half-horse/half-man. The episode wasn't subtle about the writers' feelings about war. I don't know which I liked more, the suicidal battle plan that mostly consisted of Gary ( Tommy Walker ) and others charging into bullets with no other apparent strategy or the fact nobody really seemed to know why they were fighting the war other than the enemy having "the wrong family, wrong country and wrong g...

Synopsis : Stuart ( Kevin Sussman ) and his friends arrive in a universe where everyone can read each other's minds.  After learning the device is missing a piece in the previous universe, they attempt to retrieve it from Cal Tech and make an unexpected discovery. My Thoughts: The whole mind reading thing has been done before but this might have been one of the most realistic takes on that. I loved how the characters "heard" both thoughts that were relevant to the plot along with various other thoughts that popped into their minds because that is the kind of thing I would expect had I had the ability the read thoughts. I also liked how it didn't cause unnecessary drama. That would be the usual expectation with something like this, someone hearing a thought, taking an offense to it and things spiraling out of control. The episodes on this series are already trying to cram a lot into a very short amount of time and something like that would have bogged things down too m...

Synopsis: Stuart ( Kevin Sussman ) and the gang end up in a dimension where humans are descended from cows, are vegetarians and have four stomachs. Despite the oddity, Stuart convinces Denise ( Lauren Lapkus ) to give up on his mission, stay there and get married even as the universe begins to implode. My Thoughts: The four-stomach thing was clever but also got repetitive after a while. My wife wants to go on record as saying she thought it was disgusting. I thought it was funny at first but also started to feel as though it was the only cow-related joke the writers could come up with. Jokes about herd mentality were right there for the taking. We are six episodes in, and I am still confused about one part of their inter-dimensional travel . Do they replace their alternate selves in each dimension, or do they become that dimension's version of themselves but maintain the memories of the other dimensions?  If it is the former, then why did they end up with four stomachs and what ha...

Synopsis: Stuart ( Kevin Sussman ) and friends are transported to a primitive Pasadena, with huts, no technology and a peaceful civilization that shares everything. While Stuart tries to find a piece of red quartz for the machine, Bert ( Brian Posehn ) falls in love with a native (Zoe Cipres) and Barry ( John Ross Bowie ) quickly makes his own negative mark on their society. My Thoughts:  This was the first episode to fly without the cameo safety net.  A true test of a spin-off series is if it can survive without the references to the original series and for the most part, I thought this one did pretty well. Not having the cameos gave more time for the main characters to do their thing. I liked how this episode reversed things a bit. Usually, the gang arrives in a world that is already screwed up in some way. This time, they arrived in what could arguably be a perfect, peaceful world and were the ones responsible for messing it up. I especially liked how it was a combination ...

Synopsis: The device transports Stuart ( Kevin Sussman ) to a mental hospital where his psychiatrist, Amy Fowler ( Mayim Bialik ) works to convince him the alternate universes were just inside his head. He is cured and returned to Denise ( Lauren Lapkus ) and their two kids. However, while he seems to have a happy life, there are clues warning him it isn't real. My Thoughts: This was, by far, the weirdest episode yet but I liked it. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I love a good mystery, and this episode had multiple. There was the mystery about where he was, the mystery about who was trying to warn him and the mystery about why his friends seemed to be accepting their perfect reality without question. The last one is never given an answer, other than maybe Stuart is immune because of his connection with the device. The episode seemed to be setting up a larger storyline. The universe inside another universe twist was an intriguing one. It might just be a one-of...

Synopsis: Stuart ( Kevin Sussman ) and friends arrive in a universe where magic is real, and science is something that can get you burned at the stake. Fortunately for them, Bert ( Brian Posehn ) ends up with magical powers. Unfortunately, before they learn that, they unwittingly unleash a demon version of Bernadette Rostenkowski ( Melissa Rauch ). My Thoughts: Going back to what I mentioned before, the episodes are just too short. A half hour just isn't enough time to give any depth to the alternate reality they are visiting or the plot that results from it. By the time we reached a point Bernadette was putting their lives at risk, Stuart and company were transporting to a whole different universe. If we're going to be seeing a new universe every week, the episodes really should be about twice as long. Bert is the breakout character from this series. It may be Stuart's show, but I'd argue Bert is the most entertaining character. He's also the person who saved the ...

Prequels are an effective way to continue a popular television series because it doesn't have the constraints of keeping one or more cast members from the original, allowing for fresh (and cheaper) faces while also giving a bit more insight into how certain characters became who they are.  They are, like most spin-offs, hit-or-miss as far as fans go. Some, like The Big Bang Theory prequel, Young Sheldon, were popular enough to last several seasons and inspire their own spinoff series. Others, like the Supernatural prequel, The Winchesters , were cancelled after just one season. Meanwhile, there are some series that might have done surprisingly well with a prequel based on one or more of their characters but were never given the opportunity. Here are five characters I think would have been perfect for that. Phoebe Buffay ( Friends ) -  Of the six friends on Friends , Phoebe ( Lisa Kudrow ) has the most interesting past. Her mother, who wasn't her real mother, committed suicid...

Synopsis: After using the device to transport themselves to another universe, Stuart ( Kevin Sussman ), Bert ( Brian Posehn ) and Barry ( John Ross Bowie ) discover they are in a world dominated by an AI overlord that punishes anyone who shows any sort of aggression. While Bert and Barry go to Caltech in search of answers, Stuart goes in search of Denise ( Lauren Lapkus ). My Thoughts: What happens to the other versions of Stuart and company? Since they didn't run into other versions of themselves, I can only assume they replaced their alternate versions. Do those versions get transported to the universe they traveled from? Are they also using their own version of the device? Are they confused about what is happening? Along those lines, why didn't anyone recognize Bert and Barry? Stuart apparently owns a comic store in every universe (or at least the ones we've seen). Shouldn't the same standard apply to his friends? Barry and Bert worked at Caltech and yet Ramona No...

I needed a bit of background noise while working on something in my office today, so I booted up my spare laptop and, because it was readily available, put on the very first episode of The Andy Griffith Show , "The New Housekeeper." As I watched this episode, which introduced Andy ( Andy Griffith ), his son Opie ( Ron Howard ) and Aunt Bee ( Frances Bavier ), something hit me - Andy grew up in Mayberry (evidence of which is provided in later episodes). So why does he seem to have zero relatives who live there? OK, so obviously, there is Bee. However, based on the first episode, she didn't live in Mayberry prior to the start of the series and instead relocated there to help Andy out. She was also his first choice, despite the distance, after his housekeeper got married, presumably because he had no other family around who were willing to help. The only other potential relative is Barney ( Don Knotts ), who is described as his cousin in early episodes. By the time we reach ...

Synopsis: In this series debut, the Manhattan Criminal Court receives a brand-new judge, Harry Stone ( Harry Anderson ). His quirky nature quickly results questions about his competence, especially when he orders an attempted murder suspect (Peggy McCay) to try to work things out with her victim/husband (Joseph V. Perry) over lunch. My Thoughts - The lack of diversity in the original cast is noticeable . I suspect one of the main reasons why the show pivoted from Sheila Gardiner (Gail Strickland) to Liz Williams (Paula Kelly) at public defender after just one episode was to address this. Though, to be fair, I think it was a good change regardless of the reason. Obviously, one 30-minute episode isn't a big sample size, especially since Harry Stone was the focus. However, I could say the same about everyone else in the courtroom and they all managed to establish their characters to some degree while Sheila was mostly just there. On that note, I need to just take a moment to pay my r...

As I mentioned, I recently watched the debut episode of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe . As might be expected, leading into and shortly after, I binge watched several episodes of The Big Bang Theory, mostly to get me in the mood for the spin-off series. In the past, I mentioned three storylines from TBBT I felt were left unresolved, including which genius got tenure and if Sheldon ( Jim Parsons ) ever addressed his hoarding issue. While in the middle of my re-watch of episodes I've seen dozens of times, I realized there where three more unanswered questions that, while not anything too big, did give me reason to pause. Did Leonard ( Johnny Galecki ) ever get his stolen car back? I am, of course, referring to the car theft that occurred in season 6's "The Bakersfield Expedition," while Leonard and friends were doing their Star Trek-themed photoshoot in the desert while on the way to a comic book convention. The last we see of his car in that episode is the thieves (...

Synopsis: In a dystopian Pasadena ruled by Barry Kripke ( John Ross Bowie ), comic bookstore owner Stuart Bloom (Kevin Sussman) is visited by an alternate version of himself and learns an accident with a device invented by his friends has caused an alternate reality. He, along with geologist Bert Kibbler (Brian Posehn) search for the device and with help from his former girlfriend, Denise ( Lauren Lapkus ), try to bring the world back to its normal state. My Thoughts: This should have been a movie. Not necessarily a feature-length Hollywood-budgeted film but maybe a 60-to-90-minute pilot that deep dives into the main plot and sets up the story for the rest of the series. There was an awful lot being crammed into the 30-minute episode, making it seem rushed and making it difficult to become invested. I have so many questions about dystopian Pasadena. For one, when did society collapse? The episode suggested it happened during Stewart's lifetime but at the same time, everyone seemed...

One thing I've always found interesting is how easily it is to become emotionally invested in characters on a television series. You know they aren't real, but when that show goes off the air, you still feel as though you've lost friends. I think this is a big part of the reason spin-offs are so popular. I feel that way about The Big Bang Theory which, with the debut of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe tonight, will have its third spin-off series (though one is technically a spin-off of a prequel) and will emphasize some of the secondary characters that helped make that show great.  As I think about the original series while debating if I'll watch the new spin-off tonight or tomorrow morning, I find myself contemplating each of the seven main characters and how they all changed at some point during the show, some more than others. While those changes were over the course of the full series, I was able to pinpoint the moments I think had the biggest impact for each of...

It's a windy, crappy day outside today so after doing some chores around the house, I am on the couch watching re-runs of Friends .  The episode I'm watching right now is "The One with Phoebe's Ex-Partner," which, among other things, is reminding me just how terrible Ross ( David Schwimmer ) and Rachel ( Jennifer Aniston ) were as a couple and why they shouldn't have gotten back together (sorry, I just can't change my mind about that). However, it also got me thinking about some of the other relationships on the show and I realize it isn't the cringiest one from the series, or even the cringiest one Ross was involved with. Here are my top five in no particular order: Ross and Elizabeth ( Alexandra Holden ) -  At first, I thought this was just a relationship that didn't age well. However, even the series itself recognized a professor dating a student just wasn't right by forcing Ross to keep it hidden to avoid being fired. In fact, one of the gr...

As I re-watch the series Psych , I am gaining a whole new appreciation to just how brilliant the Mr. Yang storyline was. There's a great mystery about the serial killer's identity; it put Shawn Spencer's ( James Roday Rodriguez ) skills to the test and Ally Sheedy was a fantastic choice for the role.  The secondary story about her partner, Mr. Yin, had the potential to be equally as good but, at least in my opinion, fell short because Professor Karl Rotmessen ( Peter Weller ) was kind of a letdown. Don't get me wrong, Weller was solid. It's just a character that seemed in desperate need of a surprise twist involving an already established character rather than a guy who was suggested to be her father. Here are three that I think would have been much better choices. Mary Lightly (Jimmi Simpson) What if Mary wasn't actually killed by Mr. Yin and instead WAS Mr. Yin? In my version of this story, the murder victim would have been Mary's twin brother, killed by h...

As I go through another re-watch of the series Psych , I find myself a bit amazed at the number of characters who were introduced, some with multiple-episode stories, only to be written off the show and never mentioned again.  My opinion about this is mixed. While some of the characters, like Freddie Prinze Jr.'s cameo as the alien-obsessed Dennis Gogolack made sense as a one-off, other characters, such as Shawn Spencer's ( James Roday Rodriguez ) long-time love interest, Abigail Lytar ( Rachel Leigh Cook ) seemed like they should have been around longer than they were. There is one character, however, that I find myself lumping into a different category - someone who both deserved a bit more time on the show but also in a different capacity. I am referring to Nestor Carbonell's Declan Rand, a character that I think would have made an awesome supervillain but was never given the opportunity. A quick recap for anyone who doesn't remember Declan. Introduced in the season...

I've been taking the time to re-watch the television series Psych in order whenever I have a few free minutes and have enjoyed the episodes the second (or is it tenth?) time around just as much as I did the first time.  As is the case with most good shows, it is more about the memorable characters than the stories themselves. The one thing I realized during this re-watch is while the show is centered around Shawn Spencer ( James Roday Rodriguez ) and his friend, Gus ( Dulé Hill ), the unsung hero in all eight seasons may also be one of television's most underrated dads, Henry Spencer ( Corbin Bernsen ). Here's why: He was, for all intents and purposes, a single dad. Shawn's parents divorced when he was young and while his mom (played in later seasons by Cybill Shepherd) left Santa Barbara, Henry raised his son while also working as a police officer. That is something that had to be a hard enough job on its own and was only amplified by young Shawn's well-documented ...

After being off the air for seven years, The Big Bang Theory will be getting a spin-off series that isn't a prequel and will be centered around characters from the original series, albeit not the main cast members. I haven't decided if I am going to watch Stuart Fails to Save the Universe because, not unlike TBBT's Sheldon Cooper ( Jim Parsons ), I do have to consider if it will be worth the time commitment. Plus, while the plot does sound intriguing, I'm not convinced it wouldn't have been better as a movie rather than a television series. One thing the new show does do for me, however, is remind me of the missed opportunity for another TBBT spinoff that probably wasn't even considered but, if done correctly, could have been a success, at least in my opinion. The spin-off series I am referring to is Professor Proton, starring Wil Wheaton . Let me give you a quick recap in case you need a refresher or haven't seen the series yet (sorry for the spoilers if i...

People who know me know I'm really not that big on nostalgia. However, there are exceptions to that, including my tendency to re-watch some of my favorite shows from when I was a kid (and some from before I was a kid). This includes Night Court , which I've watched in re-runs more times than I can count, including as recent as this morning. One thing I've noticed as I once again rewatched the series that ran from 1984 until 1992 is, while the outstanding ensemble of main characters is obviously what people remember, the show also got a nice boost from what I like to refer to as part-time employees. These are characters that were only on the show for a short time, either for certain storylines as a fill in for when one of the main cast members was absent or left the series. They may not have been there long or received top billing, but they kept Night Court rolling. Here are my five favorites:  Court Clerk Mavis Tuttle (Alice Drummond) - I won't go into details about th...

Along with classic movies, I am a big fan of (some) classic television shows and there are few more classic than Gilligan's Island . I never miss an opportunity to watch a rerun and there isn't an episode of that series, which went off the air eight years before I was born, I haven't seen at least a dozen times. One thing that has always bothered me about the show, however, is the perception the title character, Gilligan ( Bob Denver ) is the reason the castaways went three seasons and a movie without being rescued. While this is true some (most) of the time, the other castaways made their share of mistakes as well, unjustly not receiving their share of the blame. Here are some examples. Gilligan wasn't the one who sunk the raft with gold ( The Big Gold Strike ). OK, maybe Gilligan deserves part of the blame for discovering the gold mine in the first place. However, when the Professor ( Russell Johnson ) said no added weight in the recently repaired raft, even he didn...