Outside is Overrated

Tom’s Triumphs – Everything Good Comes to an End

Posted on by Tom Sedlacek

Maybe it’s because I am up against a self-imposed deadline to get my column out every month. Maybe it’s sleep deprivation from having a nearly one-year-old child. Maybe I’m just a bitter old man, but it feels like everything  that I love (in the entertainment realm) is coming to an end this year.

Game of Thrones has three episodes left. Star Wars will wrap up with Episode Nine later this year. Avengers: Endgame just made a bunch of grown man cry like babies. Thinking about what we are going to watch on the big and small screen next year is depressing.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adzYW5DZoWs?controls=0] The futures of some of my favorite shows are still up in the air – Elementary and the Orville may or may not be back for other seasons. Big Bang is wrapping up it’s final season.

Maybe it’s a good thing. As life continues to evolve I find myself spending more evenings changing dirty diapers and rocking my child to sleep and less evenings playing Overwatch until 2 a.m. Maybe if everything I watch on TV gets cancelled (I can cancel PlayStation Vue!) I can find more time for gaming. Who knows, maybe I will even beat a Final Fantasy this year! Maybe I will actually read a book instead of talking to Burnsy about one.

Whatever my entertainment future holds, I will be here to share it with the world. Thank you for taking some time to check out my column, I hope it helps you make the most of your free time. And now, for the entertainment analysis that keeps you coming back month after month:

The Good

  • Avengers: Endgame – You can check out my review for my spoiler-free impressions. It’s really, really good. It is full of emotional moments and lifted by occasional humor. The movie puts an end to the Marvel cinematic universe as we know it, while setting the stage for new adventures with new leading characters.
  • Game of Thrones – Unlike the author of the Song of Ice and Fire series, HBO never disappoints fans with the fantasy epic. Half way through the final season we have said goodbye to a couple key characters, with a crapload of dominoes left to fall in Kings Landing.
  • Aquaman – Although I am a Marvel man, I have enjoyed recent DC films. I finally saw Aquaman this month, and I enjoyed it. It had its ups and downs, but it had some amazing special effects and was a visual treat.
  • The Orville – One of my favorite shows in the last couple years, the Orville just wrapped its second season. I was worried Seth Macfarlane’s space odyssey would be family guy in space, but it is much closer to Star Trek. The second season dealt with themes of homosexual porn addiction, cultural reactions to divorce, time travel and religious zealotry. Don’t let the jokey trailer fool you – it’s a space drama through and through.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej24W8gcmXQ]

The Bad

  • Retro Gaming – In the last two months I have traveled to Milwaukee for the Midwest Gaming Classic and the Science Museum of Minnesota for a history of video games. As I share in my thoughts for both events, retro gaming is great to show the evolution of the medium, but for me it’s nothing more than a history lesson.

The Tom