'Ice Age' is an intriguing episode of 'Love, Death & Robots'

"Love, Death & Robots" is an anthology series with a lot of intriguing episodes, but "Ice Age" is among the most memorable from the first season.

Gail (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Rob (Topher Grace) move into a new apartment with an antique refrigerator. When they begin cleaning the freezer out, they discover that an entire tiny civilization is living inside, progressing from medieval to industrial to modern in a matter of minutes.

Much like the episode's viewers, Gail and Rob are fascinated by the tiny civilization in their freezer. Unlike viewers though, the two are pretty calm and casual about the situation after the initial shock. Literally, after Rob is blasted with a tiny nuke, they decide to order pizza and wait out the war.

Tiny or not, I'd be concerned about radiation after being nuked in the face. And while they are confused, Gail and Rob never really seem to question anything about where the fridge came from or how it's capable of holding a tiny civilization.

Regardless, the episode captures a certain sense of childish wonder in much the same way as "The Indian in the Cupboard." Maybe that's part of why Netflix reordered it as the third episode even though it originally aired as episode 16.

Either way, it's a fascinating episode that I highly recommend to anyone who likes short stories and intriguing plots about tiny civilizations.

'The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie' is a fun coming of age adventure

"The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" debuted 19 years ago and sent SpongeBob and Patrick (Tom Kenny and Bill Fagerbakke) on an epic adventure to save Mr. Krabs (Clancy Brown) and the Krabby Patty secret formula from Plankton (Mr. Lawrence).

After being passed over for a manager promotion, SpongeBob and Patrick are forced to journey through unfamiliar landscapes and interact with dangerous characters to retrieve King Neptune's (Jeffrey Tambor) crown from Shell City.

And much like the three seasons of "SpongeBob SquarePants" that preceded it, "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" is highly quotable to this day.

I still find myself randomly quoting "You don't need a license to drive a sandwich," "We're on a baby hunt, and don't think we don't know how to weed 'em out," and the monologue leading up to the "Goofy Goober Rock," as shown in the video above.

The movie also doubles as a coming-of-age story as SpongeBob and Patrick try their best to become men and shake everyone else's perception of them as immature kids who can't handle responsibility.

As a kid, I mostly enjoyed the adventure and numerous funny quotes in the movie, but as an adult, I can relate to the idea of feeling like I'm still being perceived as a kid and wanting to shake that perception by proving how adult I am.

"The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" really is something for people of all ages to enjoy.

'Pangs' is an interesting 'Buffy' Thanksgiving episode

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" tackled a lot of complex and interesting subjects during its seven-season run. Season four episode eight, also known as "Pangs," addressed colonization and how complex it can be to point to a "bad guy" in some situations.

Specifically, the episode features Xander (Nicholas Brendon) discovering an abandoned Mission at a construction site, which results in a vengeful Native American spirit recreating the wrongs done to his people.

Meanwhile, Buffy (Sara Michelle Gellar) makes Thanksgiving dinner and tries to keep the peace between Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) and Willow (Alyson Hannigan) as they debate colonization and how best to deal with the spirit.

While I understand criticisms about the stereotypical portrayal of the Chumash people, I also appreciate that the show even attempted to address colonization and how it conflicts with Thanksgiving.

Likewise, I enjoy the usual elements of the show such as how it brings humor into otherwise dark subject matter.

Like Spike (James Marsters) repeatedly being shot with arrows while he's bound to a chair, Anya (Emma Caulfield) viewing Thanksgiving as a ritual sacrifice, and Xander getting syphilis from a bear.

Plus, the episode has a subplot featuring Angel (David Boreanaz) that leads into a major crossover episode within his "Angel" spinoff series.

The appeal of "Pangs" is wide reaching not only if you're a "Buffy" or "Angel" fan, but also if you want to see how a 1999 TV episode deals with big issues like colonization.

'Loki' season 2 wraps things up gloriously

"Loki" season two finally gives a resolution to the cliffhanger we were left on for season one and introduces a few interesting new characters while further developing some returning characters.

New concepts of time are explored and the TVA's purpose in life is shaken by the consequences of Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) killing He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors) during the previous season's finale. Loki (Tom Hiddleston) also struggles to discover his new place in life.

Admittedly, my motivation to watch "Loki" season two faded a bit during the two-year wait, especially since I've seen less advertising hyping it up this time around, but it was well worth watching.

The addition of Ke Huy Quan as Ouroboros and Jonathan Majors as a more prominent presence was both fun and refreshing. I also particularly liked the development of new character General Dox (Kate Dickie).

It was also nice to see more character development for Loki, Sylvie, Mobius (Owen Wilson), B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku), Casey (Eugene Cordero), Miss Minutes (Tara Strong), and Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw).

While the current season initially had me concerned about the direction things were going, the ending nicely wraps up the majority of the plot and gives Loki a new sense of "glorious purpose" that has bigger implications regarding the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as a whole.

What more can we ask for in a second season? If you enjoyed season one of "Loki" and want context into the MCU's expanding multiverse, watch "Loki" season two.

Review: The final episode of 'M*A*S*H'

The final episode of "M*A*S*H," titled "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen," is an emotional rollercoaster to watch even now, 40 years later.

While the episode is interspersed with the usual hilarious antics of the 4077th MASH unit, it's also interspersed with a dark undertone surrounding Hawkeye's (Alan Alda) stay in a psychiatric hospital in the wake of a mental breakdown caused by a traumatic event he experienced.

The reveal of the true nature of the traumatic event is a real sucker punch to the stomach that always leaves me in tears. I hate anything that involves hurting kids, pets, and other vulnerable populations. But damn if it isn't quality storytelling.

Fortunately, a lot of good things happen that lessen the impact of the traumatic event on the episode as a whole.

Characters such as Margaret Houlihan (Loretta Swit) and Charles Winchester (David Ogden Stiers) receive good news about their post-war job prospects, Klinger (Jamie Farr) marries Soon-Lee (Rosalind Chao), and the war ends, allowing everyone to go home.

The episode is a fitting end to a strong 11-season run, as evidenced by the fact that it was the most watched television broadcast in American history until the 2010 Super Bowl broke that record.

"Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" is a must-watch for anyone who loves "M*A*S*H."

'Legacies' season 2 episode 5 highlights Hope and Lizzie's friendship

One of my favorite episodes of "The Vampire Diaries" spinoff "Legacies" is season two episode five, also known as "Screw Endgame."

Prior to this episode, no one remembers Hope Mikaelson (Danielle Rose Russell) as a side effect of when she was stuck inside a mud monster known as Malivore, which is a creature that makes people forget anything it has consumed.

But thanks to an incident involving dark magic in the fourth episode, Lizzie Saltzman (Jenny Boyd) now remembers who Hope is and decides to confront her about why she hasn't tried to make anyone else remember her. They then end up stuck in a labyrinth that simulates '80s video games.

Aside from the obvious fun that comes with the '80s video game theme, one reason why I love this episode is that it really highlights Hope and Lizzie's friendship. They're always a fun duo to see onscreen and the episode really shows how far their friendship has come since the previous season.

For most of season one, Hope and Lizzie were frenemies with an emphasis on enemies. But they've always had a back-and-forth chemistry and when they discovered that the foundation of their feud was based on a lie, their friendship really blossomed and made them even more of a dynamic duo.

That's really highlighted in "Screw Endgame" as they seem to pick up right where they left off while dealing with the dangers at hand.

In season one, Lizzie hated Hope so much that she briefly wished her out of existence. Literally. In "Screw Endgame," when they're presented with the choice of who should sacrifice themselves to free the other, Hope insists that Lizzie should be the one to go home while Lizzie insists the opposite.

While this is indicative of each girl's sense of self-worth with regard to Hope thinking everyone's been better off without her and Lizzie trying to avoid the merge, it also shows how much they each value the other's importance in their lives.

After they each emphasize the other's importance and Lizzie discovers that the choice is a trick, they work together to eliminate the minotaur, which is the labyrinth's biggest threat, and end up both being freed as a result.

Likewise, the subplot of the episode is that they're trying to get back to their school's '80s dance in time to stop Hope's boyfriend Landon (Aria Shahghasemi) from sleeping with Lizzie's sister Josie (Kaylee Bryant).

Lizzie even tries to encourage Hope that she and Landon are meant to be together even though she notoriously doesn't like Landon.

At the end of the day, Hope decides not to interfere, and she and Lizzie have a friendship moment where they say that they "don't exist for just one path" or "just one boy." And then they dance and try to have fun together.

Hope and Lizzie's friendship is my favorite part of the series, so seeing their development in this episode was a genuine delight. The only thing that might be able to top it is when their friendship is further emphasized in season four.

Seeing a strong female friendship is always a welcome sight, and Hope and Lizzie emphasize the best of that in this episode.

If you enjoy nothing else about "Legacies," I think you'll enjoy Hope and Lizzie's friendship. I know I do.

Review: First 5 episodes of 'AHS: Delicate'

"American Horror Story: Delicate" details the story of actress Anna Victoria Alcott (Emma Roberts) trying to have a baby with her husband Dexter Harding (Matt Czuchry) while competing for an Oscar and other acting awards.

And, in classic "AHS" fashion, there are also satanic forces trying to claim the baby in exchange for facilitating Anna's fame. But of course, Anna doesn't know that, so she's being gaslit to kingdom come, which is making her feel crazy.

The gaslighting and disbelief is frustrating, and the time skips are disorienting. I'm sure that's part of the point, but those sorts of narratives drive me insane, and not in the fun way.

I couldn't even tell for certain whether Dexter was intentionally gaslighting Anna or not until the fourth episode when he had scenes discussing Anna with his mother. Even then, his reactions seem exaggerated from the viewer perspective.

I do enjoy the casting though, as Dexter reminds me of Czuchry's characters in "Gilmore Girls" and "The Good Wife." Likewise, the rest of the cast is really pulling their characters off as well, particularly Roberts and Kim Kardashian.

Kardashian's acting might not be top tier, but it actually felt more natural than some of the things she says on "Keeping Up with the Kardashians," so I enjoyed it. She's well suited to play Siobhan Corbyn.

In fact, the main reason I chose to give this season a try is because I was interested in seeing the more notable cast members together, namely Roberts, Czuchry, Kardashian, Billie Lourd, Cara Delevingne, and Denis O'Hare.

I actually thought Lourd was playing Preecher until the fourth episode since Preecher looks like Lourd's mother Carrie Fisher from some angles, but Preecher is actually played by Julie White. And Preecher is a real standout among the cast despite her current lack of screentime.

Another thing that really entertained me was the "my body" video created to fix Anna's reputation, as shown below. Despite being a bit ham-fisted, it was actually really good and I could see it being used for a similar real-life situation.

I also enjoyed when Siobhan took a call from Anna Wintour and the first thing she said was, "Hi, love." That struck me as funny both because of Wintour's rumored ability to intimidate and because of her previous interactions with Kardashian in real life.

While I'm not sure the show is for me, there's plenty to be found for those who do like this particular type of horror story, especially when the meat of the plot finally starts to pick up around the fourth episode.

The food of 'Gilmore Girls'

Besides being a cozy fall show with a plot revolving around its titular characters, "Gilmore Girls" has another theme woven throughout its seven-season run: a love of food and lots of it.

For one thing, many episodes take place at the uncomfortable but all-important Friday night dinners at the Gilmore mansion hosted by Lorelai's (Lauren Graham) parents Richard and Emily (Edward Herrmann and Kelly Bishop).

These usually consist of fancier dishes that are a bit hit or miss with Lorelai and her daughter Rory (Alexis Bledel), ranging from the always comfortable spaghetti to the acquired taste of escargot.

Sometimes the food is symbolic, like how Lorelai and Rory apparently tend to end up in petty debates when they eat spaghetti, while other times the food is merely a backdrop to help move the plot along.

Likewise, it's sort of a running gag that Lorelai and Rory love eating a lot of food at once, particularly when they eat takeout together. Sometimes they'll even order six different kinds of food, meaning they'll have a grand total of 12 or more servings for just two people.

That running gag is exemplified well in the above video where Lorelai's best friend Sookie St. James (Melissa McCarthy) assumes that a large catering order Lorelai made was just for her and Rory.

And in fact, Sookie is actually a large part of the show's running themes with food. Sookie is a chef who co-owns an inn with Lorelai, so many of the plots involving Sookie revolve around food in some fashion. Sookie even met her husband (Jackson Douglas) because he was her vegetable supplier.

Even when Sookie isn't actively describing yet another mouth-watering culinary concoction, many scenes with her take place in the inn's kitchen where there always seems to be a cornucopia of fresh food laid out on the central counter.

And of course, another big player in the food related narratives in "Gilmore Girls" is Luke Danes (Scott Patterson), a diner owner who's one of Lorelai's love interests. Many episodes feature Lorelai and Rory getting breakfast and making very specific orders of food alongside their precious coffee.

Between the takeout, Friday night dinners, chef best friend, and diner owner boyfriend, you really can't remove food or its importance from "Gilmore Girls."

'Mrs. Brown's Boys' is a comedic gut buster

If you want to laugh yourself senseless and you don't mind some verbal vulgarities, you absolutely have to watch "Mrs. Brown's Boys."

No matter how many times we've seen an episode, my family always has a good laugh at the jokes in the hilarious Irish show.

Take for example the scene above when Mrs. Brown (Brendan O'Carroll) gets her hand stuck in a condom. Or the scene below when she has an incident with glue.

The show centers around the antics of Agnes Brown, her family, and her best friend Winnie McGoogan (Eilish O'Carroll). Most of the people in the show are also friends and family in real life.

"Mrs. Brown's Boys" is filmed in front of a live audience, and one funny aspect of the show is that bloopers are left in rather than being edited out.

Leaving these bloopers in arguably makes the show funnier, much like the hilarious character breaks in "The Carol Burnett Show" and "Saturday Night Live."

You won't be disappointed watching "Mrs. Brown's Boys." The show is available on BritBox, but if you can't afford that right now, here's a good YouTube playlist to get you started.

For the eyes of the ranger only: Walker sees aliens in 'Case Closed'

Still frame from the season three intro for "Walker, Texas Ranger" (CBS).

I used to watch "Walker, Texas Ranger" on and off with my mom all the time, and there are a number of episodes that I enjoy, but one that I still think about all these years later is the 1995 episode "Case Closed."

In the episode, Walker (Chuck Norris) and Alex (Sheree J. Wilson) find a little girl wandering alone on a county road in the middle of the night while strange lights come and go in the background. They then run into a military blockade with soldiers demanding that the girl be handed over.

Of course, Walker's jurisdiction on the county road takes precedence and he even draws a shotgun to keep the soldiers away from his truck. Classic. This interaction starts an investigation into the nearby military base and the disappearance of the little girl's father.

What really makes the episode unique though is how this plot is interwoven with local alien sightings. The little girl swears her father was taken by "sky people" and the entire town has had alien sightings on and off for several decades, much like the story of Roswell, New Mexico.

There's even old black and white footage of people being interviewed about alien sightings that gets interspersed throughout the episode, mostly right where the episode would've picked up after a commercial break. An interesting artistic choice.

While there are some moments of doubt with all the unexplained things going on, Walker and Alex mostly seem to think that there's a more logical explanation related to military testing.

To an extent, they're right: the military has been testing a laser defense system, and a set of contractors working on the project have been trying to sell secrets to other foreign powers. Also, the little girl's father was injured during a test, so he's receiving treatment on the base.

But there's a bit of a twist near the end. One of the greedy contractors tells Walker that he "wouldn't believe" where the inspiration for the project comes from, then when Walker, Alex, and a reporter review an old roll of footage, they see something shocking.

The footage is from the crash that started all the alien sightings and when the camera zooms in on a fog-filled container, an alien-like hand with long fingers reaches toward the container's glass cover.

The trio reviewing the footage collectively gasp, and then the show cuts to a current day shot of the military base's lab, zooming in on an open door with fog rolling out, as if to hint that there's still an alien there. And then the incident is never addressed again.

Literally, after the credits roll, it's like that case has been permanently closed because none of the episodes that follow in the entire series address the alien footage ever again.

While I could understand if the trio kept it to themselves for the sake of national security or because they convinced themselves it was something other than aliens, it bothers me that the incident was never even hinted at again. A shocking revelation was reduced to the episodic reset button.

Walker isn't a sci-fi series, but just a small nod to "the incident at Two Rock" would've sufficed.

Regardless, "Case Closed" is an interesting episode, and it was worth rewatching. If you like "Walker, Texas Ranger," you'd probably agree.

Nevermore Academy from 'Wednesday' is a love letter to Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe is a small but integral part of the first season of Netflix's "Wednesday."

The school where the majority of the plot takes place, Nevermore Academy, is a clear reference to Poe's popular poem "The Raven" and the callbacks don't stop there.

The school's tournament involving canoeing to Raven Island and capturing the flag is known as the Poe Cup, and each of the teams is representative of one of Poe's poems or short stories: the Black Cats, the Amontillado, the Pit and the Pendulum, and the Gold Bugs.

Likewise, Wednesday Addams gains entry to a secret room by performing the iconic double snap in front of a statue of Poe, the school dance is called the Rave'N, and the entire school has ravens incorporated into its design.

Not to mention all the other references to ravens throughout the show that aren't explicitly related to the school itself. And those are just the references I caught while watching. I don't know which showrunner has a love of the famous poet, but I tip my hat to them for all the references and how natural they feel.

I enjoy Edgar Allan Poe as well, particularly in regard to "The Raven," and I feel that Poe's vibe matches Wednesday's quite well, so this was a great pairing. I look forward to seeing if the references continue in the next season, whenever that may be.

'Ugly Betty' is a staple of '00s TV

Betty Suarez on the left and her actress America Ferrera on the right (Walt Disney Television/Getty Images).

"Ugly Betty" is a wonderfully whacky comedy series about the not-so-stylish Betty Suarez (America Ferrera) navigating the high fashion industry as the assistant to Mode magazine's editor-in-chief Daniel Meade (Eric Mabius).

The show tends to have the tone of a telenovela when it comes to drama, likely because it's based on the Colombian series "Yo soy Betty, la fea." This tends to work in the show's favor, as every instance of absurdity leaves me in stitches.

The show has everything from catty fashion quips to soft family moments, romance, murder plots, faked deaths, and LGBTQ+ and immigration narratives. The show really caters to all audiences, sometimes in the most unexpected ways.

Ironically, I think the one thing that bothers me about "Ugly Betty" is the idea that Betty is ugly. While her fashion choices are certainly unique, they tend to align with her personality and aren't even that bad most times. Likewise, beyond the style, Betty herself just isn't ugly.

You can't convince me that America Ferrera is ugly no matter how you style her clothes, hair, or braces. In the above scene in particular, she looks great and would probably be "model perfect" if she took her glasses off and smiled without showing her braces.

And of course, some jokes probably wouldn't fly if the show was airing today. Namely, some of the jokes about Alexis Meade's (Rebecca Romijn) trans identity and the below scenes where it's implied that Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams) was "ugly Willie" when she had her original nose, hair, and skin tone.

Granted, this is all done with a satirical tone that addresses the same real-life issues, and there are plenty of scenes that call out bigotry and body shaming, so I feel like the show balances itself out in that regard even if the payoff takes a while.

There are also a number of interesting references to the real-life fashion industry, such as Fey Sommers seeming to be the show's equivalent of Vogue editor Anna Wintour, an episode addressing the use of fur in the fashion industry, and cameos from people such as model Naomi Campbell.

If you need a good laugh, I highly recommend this comedy staple.

'Supernatural' episodes that delightfully address fanfiction

In season four of "Supernatural," episode 18, also called "The Monster at the End of This Book," has a fun literary premise: Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean's (Jensen Ackles) adventures from the last several years have been turned into a series of novels with a small cult following.

Sam and Dean discover this when a comic book store owner mistakes them for cosplayers larping as the characters. They then buy as many copies as possible and start reading about themselves.

Sam also does online research that introduces them to fanfiction, including "Sam girls" and "Dean girls" and even slash fans who ship Wincest. I sympathize with the disgust when Dean says, "They do know we're brothers, right?"

And the fanfiction references don't stop in that episode. As the series goes on, Chuck Shurley (Rob Benedict) continues to write stories about Sam and Dean's adventures. And with more books comes more fans with even more of the world to explore.

For instance, in season five, episode nine, also titled "The Real Ghostbusters," Sam and Dean are lured to a "Supernatural" convention by their superfan Becky Rosen (Emily Perkins), with a bunch of other people dressed up as them hunting fake ghosts while they have to hunt a real ghost.

Likewise, in season 10, episode five, also known as "Fan Fiction," Sam and Dean investigate strange disappearances at a high school that's putting on a musical performance of the "Supernatural" books, and this leads to the director of the musical telling Dean about Destiel, which is a gay shipping of Dean and Castiel (Misha Collins).

Dean is yet again annoyed by the gay slash fiction while Sam finds the whole thing entertaining.

There are other, more subtle references to fanfiction throughout the series, most notably episode titles such as "Slash Fiction" and "Meta Fiction," which aren't necessarily about fanfiction, but they do play on the idea of it.

The way the show includes and playfully pokes fun at the concept of fanfiction and fan culture as a whole is delightfully entertaining. While I've never been a die-hard fan of the show, I've always had an appreciation for the world building and creativity.

I especially love episodes that hint at things in the real world, such as these fanfiction episodes and "The French Mistake," which brings Sam and Dean into the real world and references things that have happened in their real lives.

I highly recommend all of the episodes listed here, most of which can likely be watched with minimal context thanks to the anthological way most episodes are crafted.

'1899' is an intriguing multilingual mystery that shouldn't have been cancelled

"1899" is a 2022 Netflix sci-fi mystery that follows several groups of emigrants traveling from the United Kingdom to the United States on a steamship called the Kerberos in 1899.

Much of the mystery surrounds a young boy found aboard the abandoned Prometheus steamship, a mysterious man controlling a scarab, a small pyramid, a set of letters sent to several passengers, and a series of hallucinations.

It's initially difficult to tell if the show's mystery is supernatural or psychological, and although signs seem to point in the direction of one over the other by the end of the season, viewers are still left with a massive cliffhanger and several loose ends.

This would normally be a perfectly good ending to the first season of a show, but since Netflix cancelled the series, viewers may never see a resolution to the cliffhanger or loose ends we were left with. And I'm not sure I understand why Netflix cancelled the show given the overall positive reception "1899" received.

Granted, the show does feel slow-moving in some episodes, but the payoff was worth the wait, at least for me. Part of the intrigue of the show was watching the ensemble cast's stories unfold and collide while trying to figure out what was going on.

Regardless, it's certainly a unique international tale from the German duo that co-created Netflix's "Dark." The show also features eight languages spoken across the various emigrant groups. The languages are English, Spanish, French, Polish, German, Danish, Portuguese, and Cantonese.

I watched the series with English dubbing since I have a difficult time giving proper visual attention to a show while simultaneously reading subtitles, and while dubbing never quite captures the intended emotion in a scene, the dubbing in "1899" was good enough that I barely noticed it in many scenes.

If "1899" sounds interesting, I recommend watching it on Netflix. And maybe signing the petition to bring it back.

If you haven't watched 'Derry Girls,' you're missing out

From left to right: Clare, Michelle, Erin, Orla, and James from "Derry Girls" (Channel 4/Hat Trick Productions).

"Derry Girls" is one of the funniest TV shows I've ever seen.

The British show is set in Ireland in the '90s as the country navigates the Troubles, but it specifically focuses on four girls from Derry—Erin Quinn (Saoirse-Monica Jackson), Michelle Mallon (Jamie-Lee O'Donnell), Orla McCool (Louisa Harland), and Clare Devlin (Nicola Coughlan)—and their "wee English fella" James Maguire (Dylan Llewellyn) as they navigate their teen years.

Every 30-minute episode is a wacky but still somehow relatable misadventure among the five friends. Whether it's something as small as sneaking out for a concert or something as big as being falsely accused of killing a nun at their Catholic school, the five friends always seem to stumble into trouble.

Erin is an aspiring writer reminiscent of show creator Lisa McGee, Michelle is the one who tends to take charge in the group in pursuit of a good time, Clare is the anxious friend who's always one step away from a Cack attack, Orla is an oddball who marches to the beat of her own drum, and James is the "wee English fella" everyone likes to push around.

I also have to mention their headmistress Sister George Michael (Siobhán McSweeney). Sister Michael, a sarcastic nun who's not sure she even believes in God, is by far one of the comedic highlights of the show.

Likewise, Erin and Orla's family is also featured in most episodes: Erin's parents Mary and Gerry Quinn (Tara Lynne O'Niell and Tommy Tiernan), Orla's mom Sarah McCool (Kathy Kiera Clarke), and their grandfather Joe McCool (Ian McElhinney).

I love the show because it always has me laughing from start to finish, the only exception being when it touches on emotions beyond comedy, like heartbreak, sympathy, and grief.

And audiences seem to agree, especially in Northern Ireland, where the show became the region's most-watched series since modern records started in 2002.

I only have two criticisms with the show:

1. They should've kept the original song for Orla's step routine in the international version.
2. I wish the show wasn't over.

The fact that those are my only two criticisms says a lot about the quality of the show. And "Derry Girls" is also the only show I've been willing to binge watch multiple times in a row, probably due to a combination of quality and short length.

And that's always the best place to leave a show, isn't it? On a high note, with the audience wanting more? And I guarantee if you watch, you'll want more "Derry Girls."

You can watch "Derry Girls" on Netflix if you're in the U.S. or on Channel 4 if you're in the U.K.

'Ben 10: Secret of the Omnitrix' is still fun 16 years later

Gwen, Ben, and Grandpa Tennyson during the final frame of "Ben 10: Secret of the Omnitrix" (Cartoon Network).

The 2007 TV movie "Ben 10: Secret of the Omnitrix" is 71 minutes of action-packed cartoon fun.

"Secret of the Omnitrix" is the first of several movies stemming from the original "Ben 10" series, which is about 10-year-old Ben Tennyson (Tara Strong) becoming a superhero after he finds the Omnitrix, a watch that allows him to turn into different alien species while he's on a summer road trip with his cousin Gwen (Meagan Smith) and Grandpa Max (Paul Eiding).

The movie follows Ben's journey to find the Omnitrix's creator after he accidentally sets off the watch's potentially universe-ending self-destruct mode.

I've always had a soft spot for "Ben 10" and I've watched the series with my brother countless times. Likewise, "Secret of the Omnitrix" is one of the more memorable and nostalgic parts of the series for me. Most people seem to agree since the movie has a 7.3/10 rating on IMDb and an 81% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The movie in some ways feels like an extended episode within the series, just with higher stakes, which is good considering the quality of the "Ben 10" series as a whole.

If popular voice actors like Tara Strong, Steve Blum, and Dee Bradley Baker aren't enough of a draw, the world building and well-placed action sequences certainly do the job. On top of that, someone clearly cares about the attention to audio quality since scenes with metal scraping sounds are as discomfortingly realistic as nails on a chalkboard.

There are some moments in the movie that might have needed tweaking though.

For instance, there are several occasions when Ben's more experienced companion Tetrax (Dave Fennoy) seems more clueless than I'd expect, and those scenes seem like they're designed either for comedic value or as a way of making Ben seem smarter than he normally appears. Like the scene when Ben suggests where to find Azmuth's (Robert David Hall) signature.

These scenes aren't expressly bad, but they could be pulled off better. The same could be said for the scene when Gwen and Gluto (Dee Bradley Baker) make their return later in the movie. The explanation for their return made sense, but it felt like a rushed plot convenience.

Regardless, the movie had a lot of highlights, including the introduction of the alien transformation Way Big and fleshing out more of the Omnitrix's backstory. I'm still enjoying the movie 16 years after it first aired in August 2007.

"Ben 10" was a unique series that wasn't afraid to try things, and "Secret of the Omnitrix" is a worthy part of its legacy.