Release: October 1, 2013
Miniseries: The Shining
This review contains examples of:
- Accidental Innuendo: As he puts it, "I of course am too sophisticated to make any jokes about a tiny little boy talking to a big black Dick but, for the record, I'd like to show you how many opportunities I had to make a joke." (Cue fifteen seconds' worth of dialogue calling Dick by name in an interesting manner)
- All Periods Are PMS: Snarked on and gender-inverted, as when Critic acts like an abusive dick to Rachel, she snides that 'Aunt Flo' must be in town for him.
- Black Dude Dies First: Malcolm is afraid this is going to happen to him. Later on, while the Critic hunts him with intent to murder, Malcolm tries reassuring himself with a list of movies where the black guy didn't die. Critic just responds with a much longer list where they did.
- Both Sides Have a Point: During their discussion about the Black Dude Dies First Trope, both Malcolm and Critic agree that, while the first Alien vs. Predator movie isn't perfect, it doesn't deserves the amount of fan hate that it got. Note that they all did this while the critic was chasing Malcolm to murder him.
- Call-Back: Not the first time
Critic has been put in Jack's place.- In an example that only makes sense if you've watched the Reloaded reviews, Critic aches for some cupcake vodka when he's starting to suffer from the boredom. That was his drink order in the Plot Hole.
- A "cartoon sound effect" joke still calls for a Wilkinson performance.
- The Cameo: Dominic from Video Game Confessions appears as the bartender.
- Genre Savvy: See Black Dude Dies First above.
- Kubrick Stare: The Critic spends a lot of the review doing this.
- Poke the Poodle: The Critic tampers with Malcolm and Rachel's car... by emptying the windshield-wiper fluid.
- Running Gag: "My cabbages!" and the Foamy Mouth Guy make another appearance.
- Sanity Slippage: Critic's already tenuous sanity slips away even more due to the boredom.
- Show, Don't Tell: For some odd reason, the mini-series has this idea that explaining the dangers that lie within their new home, rather than letting the audience witness said dangers, was a good way to unnerve the audience. It isn't; if they know the scare is coming, it may lessen the impact of the fright upon seeing the scare. The Critic even begs the series to do this.
- Stock Scream: The Critic adds a Goofy Holler when Danny falls into the boiler room.
- Villainous Breakdown: Upon realizing that the mini series and by extension Stephen King did something better than Stanley Kubrik note that he goes into a state of numb shock. Sitting down and eventually freezing to death like Jack in the movie.
- Whole-Plot Reference: To The Shining.
- And by this point Rachel is Genre Savvy enough to expect and lampshade this.Rachel: Stay back! You're letting your love of the old one get in the way! We're not even satirizing the new one anymore, we're satirizing the old one!
- But not as Savvy as Malcom who went as far as Whiteface and wearing a suit of armor, to avoid ending up like Kubrick's version of Dick Halloran.
- And by this point Rachel is Genre Savvy enough to expect and lampshade this.
"What do you want me to think?" "Anything, as long as it's hard."
