Love, Death & Robots - Season 4

 

Image Credit: Netflix

The fourth season of Netflix’s animated series Love, Death & Robots was released yesterday and while its lack of a truly stand-out episode means that it doesn’t hold up quite as well as previous seasons, I still found it entertaining. If you keep up with this blog you know I wrote about seasons one, two, and three in the past so continuing the tradition feels like a natural. Like previous seasons there are several big names involved in the writing, direction, and acting in these 10 episodes including David Fincher, John Scalzi, Tim Miller, and John Oliver, some more successful in their contributions than others. The episodes are short enough that watching all 10 in a single sitting is easy enough, but if you want to cherry pick, I’ve written brief descriptions of each episode below in my order of best to worst.

 

The Screaming of the Tyrannosaur

This episode seems to be catching some static based on the fact it features the voice talent of Mr. Beast, but I really enjoyed this one. The story itself isn’t all that original, but the setting, the characters, the animation, and the action make it my favorite 15 minutes of the season.

How Zeke Got Religion

This is one of those shorts that is so good, you wish it were longer. Watching the WWII aerial crew set out on a mission only to find themselves beset by flying demons bent on killing them all mid-flight, I loved the gory action. I just wish I had more time to get to know the crewmembers before the action kicked in.

For He Can Creep

This historic fantasy tale of a cat that is dead-set on protecting a poet locked up in an insane asylum from Satan himself is lots of fun. It’s the last episode of the season and ensures the season goes out on a high note. I hope to see more like this one if Netflix makes a Season 5.

400 Boys

I love the animation style in this short and it does a nice job of painting a set of unique characters in minimal time. The first two thirds of the story warrant consideration for being the best of the season. The let-down is its choice of villain. The ending falls short of the set-up.

Spider Rose

I loved the animation in this sci-fi horror short, but the story didn’t do much for me. Character motivation was odd and the ending left me unsatisfied. I rank it in the middle of the pack because it feels like it has plenty of potential. It just could have used a good rewrite.

Smart Appliances, Stupid Owners

Easily the funniest episode of the season, this 8-minute short provides the perspective of increasingly unfortunate appliances who have to deal with humans and their oblivious behavior. It features well known comedic voice talent including Kevin Hart, Melissa Villasenor, and Amy Sedaris.

The Other Large Thing

This amusing episode features the voice acting of Chris Parnell and has a satisfactory ending, but I’m not a fan of the over-the-top caricatures and animation style that represent the human bad guys that the feline and robot main characters must defeat.

Golgotha

This one is actually live action so it’s a departure from the series norm, but it’s one of the weaker episodes in this season. I liked the human characters and the alien villain well enough but the punchline of an ending felt too abrupt.

Close Encounters of the Mini Kind

I didn’t like the miniatures when they did it with zombies last season and this version with aliens isn’t any better. I know it’s supposed to be humorous, but it just feels lazy to me. This is an unoriginal story without any character development or even a unique gimmick.

Can’t Stop

David Fincher has directed some great films. Why he agreed to direct a marionette concert video of the band Red Hot Chili Peppers is anyone’s guess. This might have made a decent extra clip for a band documentary, but it’s the weakest episode this series has produced so far.

Love, Death & Robots – Season 2

 

Image Credit: Netflix

Yep, I’m delivering the rare “riff” twofer. New posts in back to back days! Why the sudden prolificacy you might ask? Well my 2019 synopsis of Season 1 of Netflix’s sci-fi/horror animated series Love, Death & Robots is the most read post on my blog. Naturally I’m going to follow up on Season 2 as soon as possible. Released yesterday, I binged the season last night and enjoyed it almost as much as its predecessor. The bad news is that the latest season is only 8 episodes long verses the 18 episodes of Season 1. The good news is that all 8 are entertaining. Like Season 1, there’s plenty of graphic violence, vulgarity, and sexual content so it’s not exactly kid friendly, but if you’re an adult who enjoys animation, add this season to your watch list. Season 2 includes several episodes based on short stories by well-known authors including Paolo Bacigalupi, Harlan Ellison, John Scalzi, and Joe Lansdale.

Here are my brief descriptions of each episode, from my favorite to least favorite.

 

Snow in the Desert

At 18 minutes in length this is one of the two longest episodes of the season and it’s also the best of the bunch. It feels like a spin-off from The Mandalorian and that’s high praise from as a big fan as I am of that show.

Pop Squad

This might be the darkest episode of the season despite the cute-sounding name. Imagine Blade Runner retiring unauthorized children instead of replicants and you’ve got a pretty good idea how this one goes.

All Through the House

At 7 minutes in length, this is the shortest episode of the season, but it’s a good one. Animated in traditional holiday style, the creature delivering gifts this Christmas Eve is not what you expect. Extra points go to this one for its visual references to Alien 3 and Pan’s Labyrinth.

The Tall Grass

No matter how much man strives to control his environment, some strange and ancient things will always be beyond his power or understanding. A bored passenger confronts this truth when his train makes an unscheduled stop in the middle of the night.

The Drowned Giant

Quiet, somber, and philosophical, think of this episode as Season 2’s version of “Zima Blue”. It’s a fairy tale about just how shallow man can be when faced with the miraculous.

Life Hutch

After a near fatal crash of his starship, a fighter pilot find his self in an even deadlier situation when the remote habitat he seeks refuge in turns out to be guarded by a deadly, malfunctioning robot.

Ice

I love the animation and world-building in this story of modified humans and ice-breaking whales, but the characters and story feel half-baked. Chalk this one up to having tons of potential but wanting for better execution.

Automated Customer Service

Even my least favorite episode is fun. This tale is similar to some of the more comedic stories in Season 1. A resident of a futuristic retirement community must fight for her and her dog’s survival when her house cleaning robot goes haywire.

Love, Death & Robots

Photo Credit: Netflix

Netflix is slowly but surely chipping away at my general disdain for television. If you’d asked me a year or two ago, I’d have told you HBO was the only thing on television worth consistently watching, but with shows like Killing Eve, Babylon Berlin, Altered Carbon, and Narcos, I’m almost as enamored with Netflix’s offerings as I am with the decades of solid programming HBO has delivered. Netflix’s latest binge-worthy show is Love, Death & Robots. Released on March 15, the show includes 18 animated episodes of various lengths in the genres of sci-fi and horror. With many of the shorts featuring graphic nudity, extreme violence, and vulgarity, Love, Death & Robots is definitely not for kids or the faint of heart, but it’s right up my alley. Several episodes are based on short stories by well-known authors including John Scalzi, Joe Lansdale, and Peter F. Hamilton and if I had contact information for creators David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club, Social Network) or Tim Miller (Deadpool), you can bet I’d pitch some of my short stories such as “The Unthreading” or “Anvils from the Sky” for Season 2.

Like any collection of work by different teams, some pieces will appeal to an individual viewer more than others, but all of them are worth watching. Here are my brief descriptions of each episode, from my favorite to least favorite.

Beyond the Aquila Rift

This 16 minute sci-fi gem wouldn’t be out of place in the Aliens universe. Three spacefarers leave Earth via an ill-advised short-cut and wind up some place very different than planned.

Secret War

I’d love to see this story made into a feature-length live action film. As a short, the narrative gets a little muddled in the middle, but this gory tale of Red Army soldiers fighting a demonic invasion in Siberia is really entertaining.

Sonnie’s Edge

An undefeated gladiator faces a ruthless opponent in the ring and a treacherous villain willing to do anything to witness her monstrous avatar’s demise. What they don’t take into account is the terrible secret that gives the gladiator her edge.

Good Hunting

This steampunk tale of revenge set in colonial China features some of the series’ best animation. My only complaint is that despite being one of the longest episodes of the season, it ends too quickly.

Lucky 13

A rookie pilot is assigned a ship with a bad history, but she proves the right match for the flying war machine. Like a Vietnam movie that takes place on a distant planet, this episode gets the adrenaline pumping.

The Witness

Several minutes of full-frontal female nudity may turn some off, but this one feels like if Phillip K. Dick took a turn at Run Lola Run. Its twist ending isn’t that much of a surprise, but this post-apocalyptic chase is fast-paced, sexy, and violent fun.  

Zima Blue

With no sex, violence, or vulgarity, this segment is a rarity in the series and it’s one of the stronger episodes. A reclusive artist of the future seeks a higher truth and finds it in a place you might not suspect.

Ice Age

This episode combines live action Topher Grace and Mary Elizabeth Winstead with some impressive animation to tell the story of an antique icebox that hosts a miniature, rapidly evolving civilization.

Sucker of Souls

An archaeologist and his team of mercenaries open Dracula’s tomb to find the newly awakened King of Vampires is anything but happy to see them. This short is 13 minutes of vulgar, gory horror adventure.

Helping Hand

If you liked the Alfonso Cuarón film Gravity, you’ll like this episode. It tells a much shorter but similar tale and includes one excruciating scene that will haunt you long after it’s through.

Blindspot

Visually this one is more cartoonish than most of the series, but it’s still a fun ride. A group of cybernetic thieves try to take out a heavily-armored train but run into stronger opposition than they anticipated.

Suits

If CMT did a spin-off based on the alien bugs from Wreck-It Ralph, it might resemble this countrified sci-fi tale. The down-home farmers loading up their mechs to do battle against an invading alien horde is surprisingly suspenseful for just a 17-minute short.

Shape-Shifters

A pair of werewolves faithfully serves the U.S. Marines in Afghanistan despite their human peers’ fear and resentment. Trouble arrives when equally ferocious locals decide to fight back.

The Dump

A gross little tale of terror, Ugly Dave and his pet trash monster don’t take too kindly to a city inspector who arrives to evict them. For anyone who didn’t get enough full frontal nudity in “The Witness”, this one features the male variety.

Three Robots

Unless it’s The Fifth Element, sci-fi comedy isn’t really my thing, but this 11-minute tale of a trio of robots exploring an Earth long rid of humans has its moments. The opening visual reference to Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a nice touch.

Alternate Histories

I despise Hitler as much as the next non-white-nationalist, but this cartoonish spoof on different ways Hitler could have died and the effect each would have had on history feels a little played.

When the Yogurt Took Over

This one is as silly as its title suggests. I think yogurt-overlords are just a little too far-fetched, but President Yoplait couldn’t be any worse than President Trump, right?

Fish Night

This one is the most fantastical episode in the series, but also the most pointless. It has an interesting premise, but the set-up feels forced and the ending doesn’t satisfy.