Fanboys Anonymous

During my binge Watch On, Watch Off review of The Karate Kid films and Cobra Kai series, I had a running mental ranking of certain characters that kept being expanded on (particularly after starting Cobra Kai). Eventually, it got to be too big to keep track of just in my mind, so I put everything down in a tier list.

Rather than keep that all to myself, I've decided to share it here, as I know full well how people tend to love checking out how other people rank things. Plus, it gives more of an insight into which parts of the franchise I've enjoyed the most and which ones fell flat.

This tier list may be adjusted over time—particularly when season 6 of Cobra Kai drops. But I might just soften my viewpoint on some characters eventually, or grow to become a harsher critic as other thoughts creep in as I wait for the next bit of content to binge.

Note: I know I'm missing characters like Betsy, who I didn't bother to rate, as well as tons of bit parts that aren't worth getting into, in my mind, like Little Red. But if you do want me to add anyone who isn't on this list, let me know.

[S-TIER]

These are the best of the best.

Mr. Miyagi (S+)

I'd give a special distinction of Mr. Miyagi being the only S+ tier character. He's definitively my favorite character of the franchise and stole every scene he was in. The GOAT.

Daniel LaRusso

If anyone challenges Mr. Miyagi for GOAT status, it is clearly the titular Karate Kid himself.

I like that Daniel's never been a flawless character. He's a bit of a jerk sometimes and a little abrasive, but mostly because he doesn't realize it. Once he does notice that, or gets his "holier than thou" attitude in check in Cobra Kai, he'll go to bat to make up for it.

He's had some bad ass moments, some heartfelt moments and is just an overall great character worth following the story of.

Johnny Lawrence

In the first film, he's admittedly nowhere near as complex as he would eventually become. He's still a fine 80s blonde villain archetype, but what really makes him stand out is Cobra Kai, wherein he levels up considerably.

They've fleshed out the character. He's funny, a lovable jerk in an opposite way from Daniel, and has some good development by proxy of the other characters, which is how shows should work in the grand scheme.

Johnny doesn't lose his edge and get neutered by any means, but they still drive home the point that he has a heart. This shows why in the first film, he goes from being the villain to not wanting to do what Kreese says, and ultimately tells Daniel that he's "all right".

John Kreese and Terry Silver

There's a reason these two villains have stuck around the longest. They're the best. Silver is an absolute mad man. Kreese is just rotten. I love seeing them as the antagonists and I really hope they have fitting ends to their stories in season 6 of Cobra Kai.

[A-TIER]

These are the second-best and are considered very good or great.

Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz

At first, I wasn't liking Eli when I thought he would just be a typical nerd who gets some self-esteem boost and that's it. When they decided to make him go full-on obsessive villain, that's where I started to actually dig the character. Eventually, he reached a point where he definitely needed to rein it back and turn babyface, and that's pretty much right when they did it. Hats off to a great creative team for knowing what to do with this character from day one.

Miguel Diaz

Miguel isn't my favorite character in Cobra Kai (obviously, hence him not being S-tier), but he's arguably the driving force that makes the show happen and the glue that holds it together.

Watching his journey has been a fun ride. He's got some traits similar to Daniel in that he's flawed, but you never doubt that he's a good kid.

Robby Keene

Part of me just wants Robby to win something outright and be the man, if I'm being honest. I loved how he became part of Miyagi-do instead of going straight to Cobra Kai. Bouncing around here and there has been good for him, learning from a variety of masters so each can help him develop answers to the issues he has to overcome.

Robby's reminiscent of Tommy Oliver from Power Rangers, in my mind, and since he's my favorite of that series, Keene's got a special place on this hierarchy for me.

Tory Nichols

Not quite at the same level as Robby and Miguel, but probably on par with Hawk, Tory was a fantastic addition to the cast and a major step up from Aisha. Her home life and the reasoning for her attitude is believable and her transition to a more heroic role was gradual enough that it didn't seem unjustified.

[B-TIER]

These are the third-best and are considered good, but not great.

Amanda LaRusso

At first, I wasn't super sold on her. Eventually, when she started to be more than just "Daniel's wife who he gets to talk to in certain scenes", I grew to like the character more.

Amanda isn't written to be overbearing like many wife characters fall into the trap of becoming. She's not the nagging "always right" part of the relationship, or the infallible heart that keeps the family together while the bumbling husband keeps screwing up. She's a rock for the family, sure, but you get a sense she's Daniel's partner and not the flip side of the coin we have to compare him to and an idealized parent he can't match up to.

Carmen Diaz

Similar to Amanda, being the mother character is often a thankless gig. You don't have as much to sink your teeth into when you're mostly just worried about your kid and not doing much else.

But Carmen's great in scenes where the adults are talking. I get a sense she's someone people just generally like being around. She loves Miguel, is justifiably upset over certain things but doesn't hold a grudge beyond reasonable doubt, and her relationship with Johnny progressed in a natural way.

Chozen Toguchi

Originally, I wasn't super fond of Chozen in the second film. He was my least favorite compared to Johnny Lawrence and Mike Barnes as far as a direct opposition for Daniel. But when they brought him back in Cobra Kai as a dishonored warrior who still hasn't reconciled all of what happened in that second film, it's given him a lot more to work with and made him a much more interesting character.

Demetri Alexopoulos

The stereotypical hyper-nerd who eventually grows a backbone, but is never "the man" by any means. It works for me.

Kumiko

She was so cute! I definitely liked her the best of Daniel's original three love interest types, by far. Smart, pretty, kind. Big fan of Kumiko.

Kyler Park

Raymond "Stingray" Porter

What a lovable loser.

Samantha LaRusso

While she's the female lead, I often find her the least interesting person to follow for the bigger arcs in comparison to Miguel or Robby. At the start, she was more of a D-tier. At times, she can be A-tier. Overall, she balances out to the B range for me. I hope she has an even better arc in season 6.

[C-TIER]

These are the fourth-best and are considered average or just okay.

Ali Mills

Frankly, I don't get what's so great about Ali to be gushing over her so much in the first film. Yeah, she's Elisabeth Shue, so points there, and she fills a girl next door vibe, but maybe I just missed the boat in having her be a childhood crush since I didn't watch these films 30 years ago.

With that being said, it's not like she's a bad character. She's just middle of the road.

Anoush Norouzi

The sad sack of the dealership. He fills the role perfectly. It just happens to be a character that doesn't need to appear too often.

Chris

If Chris left the show, it wouldn't really change anything. But when it comes to continuity, I like having him around as the biggest dude in any scene who is somewhat of a gentle giant.

Devon Lee

If this were just season 4, she'd be much lower. Season 5, she leveled up and started to have some true character development. I don't think they should spend too much time on her next season, but I don't want them to drop her off the show by any means. She's a great addition to the roster of kids.

Kenny Payne

I like the idea of Daniel's son being a bully, who inadvertently creates a much bigger bully. That story tracks. I just wish Kenny had a growth spurt so I could buy into him being more intimidating when he's consistently up against other characters who should realistically whoop him in any fight.

Kim Da-Eun

She was only in the show for a hot minute, but she quickly appeared to be a true bad ass and a rock solid villain.

Louie LaRusso, Jr.

Eyyyy paisan! What a gagootz.

Lyle

The running gag of Johnny going to Lyle's pawn shop, only to walk away worse than before, continues to make me laugh.

Mike Barnes

Generic villain in the third film, but someone who I bought into as a physical threat. In Cobra Kai, they took the character in a direction I wasn't expecting. I'm not super fond of this decision, as I think I would have rather seen him continue to be a villain, but I see where they're going with the idea of redemption for nearly everyone. Middle of the road.

Mitch / "Penis Breath"

I get why this kid keeps having heel turn moments. They keep calling him Penis Breath, for God's sake! He's a serviceable supporting character.

Moon

Her usefulness in the story dwindled episode by episode to the point that she doesn't even need to be around anymore. But she's had some good moments as the hot hippie popular chick.

Rosa Diaz

If she didn't appear in the final season, I would be disappointed, but I'd be fine with her only having one or two scenes. She's there to spice up a moment and get a laugh and not much else.

Sato Toguchi

Decent villain with a massive grudge. I'll take it.

Tom Cole

What a dick.

Yasmine

Like Moon, her role in the show has basically been sidelined, but she filled a necessary spot of the uber popular mean girl. I like how they had her eventually fall for Demetri.

[D-TIER]

These are the fifth-best and are considered disappointing as they have more bad than good but aren't entirely irredeemable.

Aisha Robinson

Sam's sad sack friend. It was good to see her join Cobra Kai, but I didn't miss the character when she was written off. There are too many balls to juggle and she was one that fell, but I was okay with it.

Anthony LaRusso

At first, they made him too unlikable for me. Then, he disappeared. By the time they got back around to telling the story of his attitude and turning around into a change of heart, it felt a bit rushed, oddly. I think they had more potential for Anthony that they didn't properly tap into. Good idea, poor execution.

Armand Zarkarian

Couple laughs here and there, but I'm fine never seeing the guy again.

Bert

He's not giving us much, but he's a fine extra.

Brucks

I thought this dude was going to be more of a villain and I'm disappointed he fizzled out.

Captain George Turner

Massive jerk character. He had more potential than what that script ended up revolving around. But he's still a lesser version of Kreese.

Hector Salazar

Miguel hears these stories about his father being a bad guy. We finally get to see him, he's engaging enough of a character, and then, he disappears. Yup. He was a bad guy. See ya!

Maybe it's being harsh to rank him this low considering I liked enough of the character in the tiny bit we did see, but I'm also ranking based on how he was written. For him to not become something more was disappointing.

Nathaniel / Nate

Background extra kid. I like him, but there isn't much to talk about.

Nestor

When you only have a few lines, it's hard to rank you higher, but he's good for some minor jokes here and there.

Shannon Keene

What a mess. But I buy into her being one of the hot girls Johnny was able to get with, only for them to have no actual chemistry together as a couple. It's good they had her go to rehab.

Shawn Payne

He would have been more effective if he stayed 100 percent a villain, I think.

Sid Weinberg

It took a while for this character to feel like he had any real purpose in my mind. Originally, it seemed like he was written into the show as a "what if" holdover from the first draft and that they didn't have a purpose for him. Making him the reason Johnny came from money, but didn't ACTUALLY come from money, was a good call. But he's still a minor character who I can't justify going higher than this.

Tommy

If it weren't for his death episode of Cobra Kai, I wouldn't even be able to tell you who he was.

Vanessa LaRusso

Fun for a gag. I like that she and Anoush hooked up.

[E-TIER]

These are the sixth-best and are considered just flat out bad with next to nothing good about them.

Cruz and Trey

Robby's gang friends are generic characters who are fine in their scenes, but nothing memorable. I honestly couldn't tell you which one is which.

Homeless Lynn

What was this character's purpose??

Jessica Andrews

In the third film, she's garbage. I didn't understand why they gave Daniel a new best friend character who was constantly in these pseudo-romantic scenes while remaining platonic and having no chemistry with Ralph Macchio.

Thankfully, having her be Amanda's cousin at least justified her role retroactively. But that doesn't stop her from being a bore, and I couldn't care less about any of her plot in that third film.

Julie Pierce

You're pushing it, girl. You were almost on the F-Tier bottom of the barrel part of this list.

Julie was pretty insufferable for most of the film. Her energy was very much "I don't CARE that I'm being a bitch. My PARENTS died!" and then running away with her arms flailing.

Eventually, she leveled out, but not enough to place her any higher. I still want to see her appear in some fashion for Cobra Kai, though.

Lia Cabrera

She was introduced as a love interest for Anthony and Kenny. Then, promptly pushed aside. Outside of a few moments of just talking to those two to initially start their issues, she wasn't much. They moved on where Anthony and Kenny just bullied each other and it had nothing to do with her anymore.

Lucille LaRusso

Mom's there to drive home some plot points and not much else. She's an overall blah character who they knowingly wrote out of the second and third films because focusing any more on her would have been a drag.

Piper Elswith

She seemed like she was going to be a bigger character than she turned out to be. In my mind, they introduced her, had her join up, then she disappeared.

[F-TIER]

These are the absolute worst of the worst.

Basically Every Character in The Next Karate Kid

Colonel Dugan, Eric McGowen, Ned Randall....they're all just trash.

How would you rank everything?

Drop your list in the comments below to keep the discussion going!

Everyone has their blind spots with movies and television shows, where they ask themselves "Why haven't I seen that yet?" despite how massive it is in pop culture. One of those for me was The Karate Kid series.

Like Back to the Future (which I didn't watch until 2019—I know, I know. But I liked them, so it's all good!), this was a franchise I simply hadn't watched when I was a kid (I'm a product of '87, mind you) like most people who tend to love this.

I'm always worried that with those films and television shows, not watching it when I'm a kid will spoil much of the mystique and wonder that gets people hooked, as that's happened before with me. And, to be honest, there are films and shows that I loved as a child and teenager that don't hold up now that I'm in my mid-30s, so why would I believe anything other than that could be the case for this, too?

Surely, if I watch it now, I won't like it, because I'll be watching it with the eyes of a 35 year old. Then, I'll have to always say to people that I don't like it, rather than have plausible deniability by saying I haven't seen it.

Well, finally, in September 2022, I decided enough was enough and that I needed to just pop on The Karate Kid and see what I thought. Frankly, it came out of pretty much nowhere. My brain just told me now was the time.

And boy am I glad that I had that random urge to binge.

So, while I was watching these movies and the Cobra Kai television show, I decided to tweet out some of impressions, rather than to do a full review for each project, or one generalized franchise review after it was all said and done. This way, you could get my potentially changing opinions throughout.

I did hold off on talking about anything until after watching the first three films, and I regret not tweeting out some thoughts midway through and at the end of each of those movies for some little gems about how great the song "Cruel Summer" is and such.

Nevertheless, I present to you my tweets, first impressions, running thoughts, review commentary and random asides during what I ended up referring to as a binge series called "Watch On, Watch Off" of the four Karate Kid films and every season of Cobra Kai. Enjoy.

Thoughts After Karate Kid Part III

I got done #3 earlier. Going to start The Next Karate Kid sometime tonight. Here are my takes so far:

• Mr. Miyagi is THE MAN. Definitive. From the start. Easily the best part of the series.
• I love how Daniel is equal parts kind of a jerk sometimes, but with a heart of gold. He never breaches that line of being a punk kid or annoying, or too sappy.
• Pure 80s. I love it. They even take the time twice to remind us with "it's the 80s" dialogue haha
• The easy-to-spot yuppie villain (give a guy a slicked back ponytail, an ill-fitting suit and a giant cell phone and make him smile, he's your bad guy) and all, too lol
• Kumiko >>>> Ali Mills >> Jessica Andrews
• Johnny Lawrence >> Mike Barnes > Chozen Toguchi
• John Kreese >> Sato > Terry Silver
• John Kreese says no actual dialogue to Daniel. He only grunts and such, and talks to other characters. Weird, right?
• It's funny how with #2 and #3, they promptly went "Yeah, we don't need to see the mom. Miyagi is all we need." And they're right. She would have only taken away, because Miyagi is the heart and soul and, I repeat, THE MAN. We all need one of him in our lives.
• Its interesting watching this as an adult instead of a kid. I'm sure people who watched it in the 80s/90s and grew up on it identify more with putting themselves in Daniel's shoes, having a crush on Ali and so on. As per usual, I hate that I missed out on that.
• More thoughts maybe to come. I might write up something about this or do a podcast or whatever. And I'll check back in with a follow-up after I watch The Next Karate Kid, which I'll admit I'm not as excited about, but maybe I'll be proven wrong.

Thoughts After Watching The Next Karate Kid

• Trash all across the board haha.
• Miyagi is still great, but it's all so bad. Julie-san is insufferable compared to Daniel-san.
• Had I watched this back in 94, though, add Hilary Swank to the list of crushes (like the Pink Power Ranger lol)
• Gotta love that the grandmother is so fed up with Julie that she just takes a vacation and never returns at the end to be like "Wow, you've grown so much and we're going to be fine now" haha

2 Episodes Into Cobra Kai Season 1

Continuing on with my Karate Kid binge expedition, I've decided to skip the remake (at least for now) and start Cobra Kai. 2 episodes in, here are my initial thoughts. Let's see how they change over time, if at all.

• Daniel-san running a car dealership makes PERFECT sense. I don't know why I didn't think of that ahead of time. He's using his skills he's picked up from helping Miyagi run the bonsai business (nice touch with giving every customer a bonsai tree) and the appreciation he had of the car in the first film. He's a good talker / salesman, too, so that fits.
• Nice to see that they've kept his character as he was: goodhearted, but realistically a bit abrasive, and someone you could imagine someone else calling a prick. Even with Johnny Lawrence framed as the protagonist, we haven't grown to dislike Daniel. Lesser projects take that avenue of "but now, your hero is a jerk" because they don't know anything better (cough * The Last Jedi * cough)
• Great job with Johnny Lawrence, too. He's still a jerk and a bully, but not a cartoonish bad guy impossible to connect with. As a protagonist with faults, he works super well. There's clear room for growth, but he doesn't need "redemption". He's already a guy we can root for.
• Big fan of Miguel. Likable from the start. Not falling into the "annoying kid" or "insufferable loser you're frustrated to see is in this scene" or "too cool for school" tropes. I like the dynamic he has with Johnny. They can teach each other along the journey.
• I haaaaate Daniel's kids and all their friends. Good job if that's the intention. While I get a sense that I'm not supposed to fully dislike Samantha, since she's already proven herself to have a conscience, she's going to need to do more to win me over. Anthony, though? Nope
• Bo Mitchell would be the absolute perfect fan casting for Bulk in a Power Rangers reboot. He steals each scene he's in.
• Random Ed Asner was random. I wasn't expecting that. But he's always a win. I hope he pops up some more.
• I'm fully on board to see cameos from EVERYONE, so long as it makes sense, of course.
• Martin Kove, Mike Barnes and the lunatic Terry Silver should DEFINITELY return as villains to put Johnny into perspective. Not sure if Chozen would make sense to pop back up, but I'm down.
• Definitely give me Kumiko. Frankly, I'm a bit disappointed she's not Daniel's wife, but whatever.
• Ali coming back would make sense for a typical "This is your ex?" tension storyline with Amanda.
• I'm fine with no Jessica Andrews. She was meh. But I do want Julie to show up.
• Amanda's okay so far. She's a voice of reason and not too preachy. Hopefully, she grows on me even more.
• The same for most others. All the other kids like Robby and Aisha and Eli are just sort of there. Here's hoping they end up being worth connecting with.
• MAN do I miss Mr. Miyagi. He was the best part of the series. RIP.

Thoughts After Cobra Kai Season 2

I've finished Cobra Kai season 2. Still haven't seen the reboot film, which I'll probably save for last.

Here's where I'm standing on some stuff:

• I definitely ship Robby + Sam rather than Miguel + Sam.
• My favorite parts of the show are Daniel and Johnny becoming reluctant buds. I want to see them actually join forces against Kreese.
• Terry Silver DEFINITELY needs to return now in season 3. No spoilers!
• I'm not sure what I want out of Ali's potential appearance now. It seems odd if she were to end up with Johnny. She's got a family and all. They could do the "yeah, well, things are better on social media than behind the scenes and we've split up" angle, but is that really where I want Johnny's story to go? I'm not so sure.
• I know Carmen + Johnny just feels too convenient. Even though I wouldn't be opposed to it, they still need to build more on that before I'm okay with that as the 100% endgame, especially since Miguel means more to Johnny than Carmen in the grand scope. No reason why he can't be more "Uncle Johnny" in a sense more so than "my new step-dad" which is a bit on the nose.
• I like Miguel + Tory. She's feisty. He's more reserved. That's a balance.
• Stingray FTW.
• Good for Moon, breaking up with Hawk. Fuck that guy. (Fan of the character, but in that universe, what a dick)
• Anthony and Louie and a few others just totally got sidelined haha Some make sense, though.
• I kind of want to see Kreese get increasingly more militaristic with Cobra Kai to the point they become a full-blown gang & this expands beyond a karate rivalry into a "heroic vigilante Miyagi-Do vs. Gang Cobra Kai" thing? Or is that just the superhero fan in me coming out?

Thoughts After Cobra Kai Season 3

Season 3 of Cobra Kai down on my Karate Kid series binge. Latest thoughts are as follows:

• Kumiko continues to be great. Super glad to see her return. I loved how Yuna came back as a good karma thing to help save the dealership.
• Chozen's face turn works, too. More evidence of redemption that we're applying to Johnny and now, even Kreese, with his backstory making him more sympathetic.
• Speaking of that backstory, it is cool we got to see that more fleshed out.
• I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who thought Ponytail was supposed to be Terry Silver. That confused me at first when he died haha
• Ali's comeback was basically what I was hoping for. I'm glad they didn't lean into the cliche of Amanda or Carmen being jealous, too.
• I still think Robby + Sam is better than Miguel + Sam.
• Nice to see Hawk turn away from Cobra Kai.
• I dig the face/tweener/heel dynamic (in wrestling terms) for Miyagi-Do, Eagle Fang and Cobra Kai. Good balance.
• Eagle Fang. LOL. Iron Eagle was taken.
• Louie and Anoush returning was done well, overall, as far as just playing bit parts.
• Big fan of Kyler coming back as a Cobra Kai. That makes perfect sense.
• It's a good thing the LaRusso family has money, cause their shit keeps getting ruined all the time.
• So I guess Tory + Robby is going to be a thing next season. Meehhh we'll see.
• Get it, Demetri. Just don't give Yasmine a front-wedgie.
• I want to try that chicken cacciatore.
• Lots of product placement on this season. "It's just Crystal Light" and such
• Interesting that they nixed Aisha. I wonder if they just couldn't think of what to do with her.
• Speaking of not knowing what to do with someone, Anthony's been a nonfactor from the start.
• Moon just went away, too.
• It sure is convenient none of these kids has turned 18 yet to be disqualified from the Under-18 tournament haha
• Still want a Julie-san cameo where she and Daniel can talk about their bond over Mr. Miyagi.

Looking forward to season 4!

Thoughts After Cobra Kai Season 4

Season 4 of Cobra Kai down on my Karate Kid series binge. Here are my latest thoughts:

• I warmed up more to the Miguel/Sam pairing instead of Robby/Sam. After all, Robby's endgame isn't Sam, it's his relationship with his father, Johnny.
• The Whopper Jr comment for Anthony's growth spurt was great.
• So Sam and Aisha haven't talked pretty much at all about her moving and her new school and all? They don't text or anything? haha
• Thumbs down on the Carrie Underwood cameo
• Miagyi-Fang FTW. My favorite part of the show is perpetually Daniel/Johnny teaming up.
• "Queen Cobra" vs "Bonsai Badass" = nice
• Love madman Silver turning on Kreese and just being the worst piece of shit. He's awesome.
• I'm not sure I feel like going down the rabbit hole of Miguel looking for his father, but hopefully, I'll be wrong about that.
• LOL at LaRusso just going "Yeah, that deal to leave? Nah. Fuck that."
• Chozen showing up at the end was a surprise.
• Good call on the cheating finale to the tournament. I liked Amanda's interactions with Tory this season and it'll be nice to see Tory turn to the good side in season 5 (I'm assuming).
• It's a good thing the new students have cheat codes and can fast forward their training
• So the All Valley Under 18 Tournament really forces this story to end once these kids all turn 18, doesn't it?
• I can't see the series lasting on the foundation of Anthony vs Kenny in comparison to the core cast of Miguel, Sam, Robby, Hawk, etc.

Looking forward to season 5!!

Thoughts After Cobra Kai Season 5

Holy shit was this a good season!! Here are some specific thoughts:

• It might mean nothing to some, but being able to say "fuck" really does help this feel more grounded.
• Big fan of Hawk getting the Miyagi-do cover-up tattoo. I'm curious what hair color he's going to stick with.
• That story about Miguel's father was wrapped up super fast, but I'm down for it. Short and sweet.
• Mike Barnes looks more of a bad ass now than in KK3. Glad he returned.
• I still want to see Julie-san at least referenced, even though Next Karate Kid was awful.
• Making Jessica Amanda's cousin and the way Daniel met her was a GREAT touch. It finally gives her purpose.
• Great joke where Johnny's internet search auto-fills are "How to tell my student that I'm banging his mom" and "How to get rid of graffiti" and "how to find hot babes" - This show's writers not only have so much appreciation for the original films, but their own continuity.
• Always great job on little details and callbacks, like using "protect the egg" at the end.
• I'm glad Robby and Miguel worked out their issues AND responded so positively to the new baby, instead of it being a whole jealousy thing. It's totally going to be a girl.
• "No mercy mother fucker" HELL YEAH. One of Daniel's best moments in the entire franchise.
• Cutting off a finger and such? Nice way to up the stakes.
• The Kreese death situation was SO GOOD
• Chozen + Kumiko is a good way to wrap that up.
• Season 6 feels like it pretty much has to be the finale. Where else could they go from here? Even though I only started watching this franchise a month ago, I've grown attached, so if they've got more seasons in them past #6, I trust this crew.
• FANTASTIC work. SO GOOD.

So....when does season 6 come out? Cause now, I just realized I'm out of material to watch until then, outside of the reboot film, and I'm going to go through some withdraw!

Eventually, I will watch that movie and add that information in here, as well as my thoughts on the next and likely last season of Cobra Kai. Maybe for that one, I'll go episode by episode to fully flesh this out.

In the meantime, let me know what you think about this franchise by leaving a comment below to keep the discussion going!

Welcome to another edition of MOUNT RUSHMORE, where we will be taking on the task of picking four people to best represent the pillars of a specific corner of geek culture.

This time around, our focus will be surrounding the theme of Spider-Man's rogues gallery. Despite being a Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Peter Parker has some of the most amazing enemies in the history of media. The Webslinger just can't catch a break. But who are the four best Spider-Man villains of all time?

The panelists for the Fanboys Anonymous podcast will present their own lists and their reasons why they chose their options to be the representational figureheads of this topic, with the goal being to reach a consensus to make up the definitive list.

Make sure to subscribe/follow on whatever platform you're listening, leave your comments on the videos or this post, share this with your friends and geek out with us!

Subscribe to Fanboys Anonymous on:
YouTube - Google Podcasts - iTunes - Spotify
and more!

Welcome to another edition of the Fanboys Anonymous FanTracks podcast! For this episode, we'll be watching season 3 episode 1 of Spider-Man: The Animated Series entitled "Doctor Strange".

For copyright reasons, we cannot provide the movie itself, but after a short introduction, you will be told when to sync your copy of the episode so you can following along with us and listen to our thoughts on the movie as we crack some jokes, expose plot holes, and discuss anything else that comes to our minds for commentary.

FanTracks Episode 56 hosted by Tony Mango along with Robert DeFelice .

Make sure to subscribe/follow on whatever platform you're listening, leave your comments on the videos or this post, share this with your friends and geek out with us!

Subscribe to Fanboys Anonymous on:
YouTube - Google Podcasts - iTunes - Spotify
and more!

Welcome to another edition of MOUNT RUSHMORE, where we will be taking on the task of picking four people to best represent the pillars of a specific corner of geek culture.

This time around, our focus will be surrounding the theme of Batman's rogues gallery. The Dark Knight has some of the most amazing enemies in the history of media, but who are the four best Batman villains of all time?

The panelists for the Fanboys Anonymous podcast will present their own lists and their reasons why they chose their options to be the representational figureheads of this topic, with the goal being to reach a consensus to make up the definitive list.

Make sure to subscribe/follow on whatever platform you're listening, leave your comments on the videos or this post, share this with your friends and geek out with us!

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Mission report December 16, 1991. Baron Zemo is back! The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is the latest chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and to celebrate Helmut Zemo finally getting his trademark purple sock mask over his head, Fanboys Anonymous is partnering up with Fun.com to give out a special Baron Zemo Funko Pop! figure of the character!

Whether he's toppling governments or causing a rift in The Avengers (or possibly setting up the Thunderbolts...theory for another time), this cute little guy is the perfect addition to your collection.

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The finale of Marvel's WandaVision has fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe divided. Was the show a refreshing change of pace and an interesting one-shot that was worth the ride? Or was it an underwhelming disappointment that didn't deliver on its hype and could have been condensed into less episodes?

On the latest edition of the Fanboys Anonymous REVIEWPOINT podcast, hosts Tony Mango and Robert DeFelice break down the hits and misses of the full season of Marvel's WandaVision by discussing what worked, what didn't, and where this takes the MCU going forward.

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Why is it that we can refer to baseball, basketball, football, etc as "sports" and other types of hypernyms, but there's not one word that we can use that collectively means "television shows and movies"?

Every single suggestion I've ever heard doesn't actually apply.

Media = Too broad. Newspapers are media. Weather broadcasts are media. Twitter is media.

Cinema = That implies just movies/films and not television, as it revolves around going to a theater. But this might be the best thing, as we might just shift away from thinking there's a difference between seeing a movie in a theater and watching it at home, as well as watching a TV show at home or at a theater. The more we have films making their debuts at home on streaming services, the more "cinema" will be accepted, I think—especially if the lines blur more between a television series and a multi-part movie.

Film = Things are digital nowadays. Plus, that implies more so just movies and not TV. Also, you can film things that aren't movies or television shows.

Shows = A broadway play is a show, isn't it? Plus, nobody says "shows" and means "movies".

Motion Pictures = Everyone will just think that means movies. Also, the recordings you make of your kid's recital are motion pictures, but not movies or television shows.

Programs = What do you call a pamphlet that they give you at an event? What do you call when you set something up to record or to perform an action? You program your TV tor DVR a show. No real distinctive tie to movies, either.

Screen = That's just what you view these things on. Also, what type of screen? My cell phone is a screen and I can be on a phone call. That's not this. Neither are video games on your TV screen or monitor. Video games aren't part of this word we're going for at all.

Entertainment = What do you call all the other forms of entertainment, like music?

We need to create a word that means strictly "films, movies or whatever you call motion pictures that are of the cinematic nature along those lines, as well as television shows, made for TV movies, etc."

If it weren't for video games, I would say we should just merge screen and entertainment together to be screentertainment (but that's also a mouthful) because you ultimately do have to watch either of these things on some sort of screen.

In my mind, "movies" is more general than "films" and "television" is becoming outdated, too, as more and more people are watching TV shows on their phones or computers instead of specifically on their television sets. Thus, we need a word that means "a motion picture that is created for the purpose of storytelling as entertainment, with a writer and a story, that you experience by watching on some sort of screen, but isn't a video game."

Cinema should be the root of it. Ultimately, these are plays that are put on a screen instead of a live performance. But But maybe there should be an acronym, kind of like TV, DVD, etc.

These aren't the catchiest terms, but all I can think of right now are the following suggestions:

• Cinemedia / Cinemadia = Cinema Media
• ie, "Superhero movies and television shows are my favorite types of cinemedia."
  
• VEC = Visual Entertainment Cinema
• ie, "What times of VECs do you like to watch?"
  
• MoPEM / MoPEC = Motion Picture Entertainment Media / Cinema
  
• ie, "I'm really into MOPEM. I usually watch a couple MOPEMs each day."
  

Could someone else think of something better? Sure. But it's been decades and we still don't have a word for this, so someone has to step in and suggest it.

I want to know your ideas. What word should we invent to be a catch-all for movies and television shows? Drop your comments below!

The 72nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards will be taking place September 20, 2020 broadcast by ABC.

Stay tuned for updates on the list of the winners and results from all of the categories.

Lucifer has finally returned to Netflix with part 1 of season 5. In what might be one of the most confusing timelines of cancellations and finishes ever for a TV series, Lucifer went from done to coming back for one season on Netflix, to coming back for another, to splitting that one in half, to having a sixth season.

But hey, you're not going to hear me complaining about it. I get more of one of my favorite shows that way!

So how did this season play out, and did I think it was an upgrade, a downgrade, or a lateral move from season 4 and what came before it?

I wasn't fortune enough to have the time to binge these episodes in one go like I had planned. This week was swamped with WWE coverage over on my other site, Smark Out Moment, so I could only watch about an episode and a half per day when I was trying to sleep (and I averaged 2 hours of sleep per day). But I wish I had been able to check them all out in once, as it was a breeze to get through them. I don't think I would have reached a moment where I would have gotten annoyed with still having more episodes left.

I had stated before that I like Netflix as a much better home for the show than before. They don't push the boundaries too much, but they're still able to play around with a bit more risque material, but most importantly, timing. Not having to adhere to the same commercial breaks or placing certain episodes on sweeps weeks or anything like that allows much more flexibility.

I do think maybe this could have used two more episodes, though. Sometimes, it did feel as though a plot thread was introduced and resolved in the same hour and could have had a bit longer to build.

Last season, for instance, was Amenadiel having a protege of sorts who died in something like the next episode. This time, it was Maze and Lilith. I think one more episode's worth of that could have been better. The same for another whole episode of Dan dealing with having found out Lucifer is the real devil.

I'm overall a fan of that, by the way. Not necessarily how they did it (as that's not at all how I imagined it would have gone down) but the fact that it happened. It had been a little while since someone new learned the truth. Now, it's just Ella, oddly. I actually thought Ella might be before Dan, who would be the main antagonist of the final few episodes of the show before ultimately being okay with things, as a ceremonial "I'm okay with you and Chloe, too" type of thing. But hey, maybe they have something better in store for that.

Chloe quickly realizing Michael wasn't Lucifer is the type of thing that I enjoy not seeing dragged out. Had this been 20+ episodes on Fox, I think that would have been at least 6 episodes of meandering through that storyline. Here, they get right to it.

Also a thumbs up for how Chloe is quite mature about all this. You're in love with THE DEVIL and you're essentially like "Okay. Some weird shit goes on. But let's approach this like adults." I don't think I could do that. Kudos.

Poor Ella. I don't remember this random obsession with bad boys, but that helped set up Pete. I immediately liked him and then thought that it was way too easy for me to like him, so he must be evil. Look who was right.

The TV show parody of Lucifer and Chloe was great. I could have done without the flashback noir thing, though. Too campy for my tastes.

Some other quick notes and random tidbits I found interesting:

• I loved how Linda still holds the sex she had with Lucifer in reverence.
• No Eve? Damn.
• That tease of God at the end wasn't the best cliffhanger in the world, but the mere fact God is now in the show made me interested to see where this goes.
• Very curious what the end game is with Charlie. I'd imagine he's not just 100% normal mortal and that's the end of it, unless the story is about Amenadiel learning to come to terms with how his son isn't special in that way. Maybe he's the type of person who becomes a saint in the future or whatever.
• I dig Michael as a villain. I hope he's not taken out of the equation too fast in the next episodes.
  

I never bothered to watch The Office when it was running. I had convinced myself that since it was so popular and it was advertised as "that cooky Steve Carell show", I would hate it, so I shouldn't even bother.

What a mistake that was.

Many people have treated this COVID-19 pandemic as a means to catch up on movies and television, and while I haven't had the free time to do that, I did decide on a whim to give The Office a shot, if given the opportunity.

What's the worst that could happen? I watch a few episodes, hate it, figure "I was right all along" and move on to another thing?

Well, I liked it from the start and got hooked to the point where I loved it.

Binging all 9 seasons of a show like this during the span of one month was a journey. It wasn't nearly the same as growing 9 years older with these characters like most fans of the show, though. But even still, I decided to write down a lot of my thoughts along the way and share them so those fans could see how the series was viewed through different eyes—and yet, I get a sense we still came to the same conclusions about a lot of things.

There's no clean, organized way of doing this, so let's just dive right in.

Jim and Pam

The love story between Jim and Pam is the crux of the show. Had that not worked from the beginning and continued to be solid, the whole series has a bad foundation.

Thankfully, they never ran into much of the tropes so many of these shows fall victim to. Even the good ones, like How I Met Your Mother and Scrubs, are guilty of some really cliche situations and plot contrivances.

One of the things I absolutely loved about The Office was how there wasn't manufactured tension for extended periods that drove the show. Nearly every show has nearly every episode about how the characters are fighting with one another or there are entire seasons dedicated to a problem that could have been solved with a few seconds of talking.

Like "real people", there were moments of issues between Jim and Pam (and other characters), but it wasn't some sensational thing. They'd argue or have things in their way, but most of the time, it didn't feel like some writer just threw in a wrench because "wouldn't that be interesting?" That did happen a few times, but not often.

For example, a lesser show would have had Jim be a terrible person to Karen. Or for Karen to pop back into Jim's life and try to win him back so Pam is on the defense. Or, with the inclusion of Cathy, they would have had that awful trope where she kisses Jim and Pam sees it, walks away and doesn't see that a moment later, Jim scolds Cathy for doing something he didn't want. Then, a whole season revolves around him having to prove he didn't initiate the kiss or have feelings. Had that happened, it would have been awful textbook crap and I'm glad The Office was better than that.

Instead of just tolerating the romantic subplot, the Jim and Pam angle was one of my absolute favorite things about The Office. I rooted for them from the start and didn't feel disappointed along the way.

Immediately, I pegged Jim as the most likable character. I also thought Roy was shitty and needed to go, which made him a great foil. Katy as a fake Pam was a nice touch.

I'm glad the show didn't stall on their relationship. You know they're interested in each other right out of the gate, they establish their feelings early on, and each season they take one or two steps forward (until, admittedly, they hit a bit of a snag. We'll get to that with the season 8 problem or so.)

You can kind of live for those moments where Jim has spent time away at the Stamford branch and by the end of the season, he asks Pam on a date. You're thinking FINALLY, and it didn't take 6 seasons to get there. It was basically 2, since the first season's so short.

Good lord. The teapot note. My heart. When that came back at the end, that was a beautiful touch, and I'm glad we don't get to know what was said on it. We don't need to know.

I'm glad both Jim and Pam are more than just their relationship, too.

Pam's the heart of the show in a lot of ways and even though she didn't get to become some majorly famous artist, she got her moment in the sun. Also, what the hell, people? You didn't go to her art show? Awful friends. That was a great moment when Michael was so proud of her and bought the painting, though. I loved that. Major highlight moment for the series.

Jim's got his future career that he'll be much happier with, overall, than selling paper. Even though it's sad to think the gang can't all just keep hanging out, that's not life. You need endings to some things and this is a happy ending. That guy was always better than this job and now, he gets a chance to fulfill his true potential. He was there to meet Pam and develop these relationships and then to move on. Happy ending.

Jim and Pam make the show. Had they been written off or anything, it would have needed to been cancelled. They were both such great, lovable characters and their relationship was amazing.

Dwight K. Schrute

My first impression was "Dwight's a great character, but I can see myself getting annoyed of him once they try to make him break out too much."

There was only one instance of that, which was the episode The Farm.

It's to my understanding this was somewhat of a backdoor pilot to see if they could do a spin-off with that group and give Dwight his own show, right? If so, thank God it didn't happen. That would have been brutal, as I couldn't even take that episode.

Sometimes, they went a little too out there with the farm stuff in general and could have dialed it back a bit. But they'd frequently tone it down for some other episodes. My preference was always more of the office stuff with him, rather than getting deep into the weird, over-the-top rituals and such.

But how great is Dwight? They really found the right balance of making sure he's weird, but not annoying, and someone you could see yourself growing to pity-love if you were around the guy and could witness how strange he is.

He doesn't get nerfed when his character grows. As in, once he starts showing emotions, it's not like they destroyed his edge. They really, really did well with him.

I'm very glad they made it so he's Phillip was his son and Angela just didn't want Dwight to want to be with her for that reason. Nice touch. I'm also glad Dwight and Angela got together just in general. It was hard not to want that to happen once they had such good chemistry early on.

SO happy with the rapport Dwight and Jim had for the final episodes. Their rivalry was more like siblings than enemies, so you needed to have them end on good terms. Having them both endorse the other as a good potential manager shows they can put their egos aside. Hugging each other and Dwight making Clark move out of Jim's seat was a great gesture. And I LOVED the dynamic of A.A.R.M. I could have eaten up a whole season of that.

Dwight deserved to be the manager. That's the best ending I was hoping for him.

Michael Scott

It's odd. Michael was the main reason I didn't watch the show when it was on and now that I did, I'll flat out say when he left, the show got worse.

My first impression was that I didn't really like him, initially. It took a little while for me to warm up to the character. A few episodes in, though, I was pretty sold. I can't actually tell you even when it was that I started liking him, but it might have been The Dundies (season 2 episode 1). Eventually, the note I wrote was "Michael would be so infuriating to work for, but he's too nice of a person to dislike."

His rhythm of being the centerpiece with which everything revolved around worked so well because he was equal parts subdued for the cameras as well as crazy for the plot. It's a mundane setting and you get the sense that Michael's the driving force for a lot of the antics that go down. That's the way it should be. He serves a purpose as the main protagonist because he's the subject.

That's why it's such a downer when he leaves the show and they can't find a new rhythm. Again, we're going to address this further down in another section, but in short, I feel like once Michael leaves, the series goes downhill and doesn't recover until the finale.

Speaking of when he left. Maaaaan. I got a little choked up with his letter of recommendation for Dwight, but when he and Jim said their goodbyes that weren't really goodbyes, that got me really teary.

As far as his love life went, I'll admit that I grew a little tired of Jan at times. She went from a solid foil to a great character to one that overstayed her welcome. Then, after she left, I was glad to see her pop up for a cameo.

But Holly was key. She worked so well as his true love that it was great to see his exit from the show at least came about for a happy reason. Seeing that Michael has kids and is happy and grows up a bit (but not so much that he can't still crack a "that's what she said" joke) and be Dwight's best man (as Jim's surprise, nonetheless) was so so so so goooooood.

Andy Bernard

So much to unpack here. Where do I get started?

Andy was a roller coaster ride and not for the right reasons, most of the time. Here's the adventure I went on with his character:

1. Hated him. I thought he was just a side element that would be gone once the Stamford storyline ended and he was there just to be "a worse Dwight" to prove that Jim would rather work with Dwight in comparison. Totally wrong.
2. Totally right about one thing, though. When he was brought in with the other Stamfordites, I was hoping he and Karen would be the only two that would stay and they'd find a role for them on the show. Eventually, Karen started to prove herself as not having much of a character, so I was okay with her leaving the show, too.
3. However, once Andy started being the suck up to Michael, I liked the character a lot more. He served a purpose and was different from Dwight in that role.
4. Dating Angela? Not a huge fan of him during that time. He got a little obnoxious and they went a bit too far into the idea of poking at him so we'd prefer Dwight. It worked, but it made Andy more annoying.
5. Trying to date Erin? Endearing. I liked him again.
6. Andy's brought on as the manager and becomes Michael Lite. More on that later.
7. But hey, he went ahead with the tattoo. He's trying. Also, cute moment that its a Nard Dog. I really liked that camaraderie and it made me feel good that maybe he'd work out well as the new boss in the long run for the show.
8. Then, he became too much of a focal point and I'm annoyed with him again because too much of season 8 was about Andy and Robert California.
9. But hey, he's not anywhere near as bad as Nellie. Holy shit. Let's get rid of her and bring Andy back!
10. Aaaaand now I hate Andy again when he leaves on the boat trip because he's become an entirely unlikable character. It's almost as if they had a vendetta against Ed Helms for being busy with The Hangover.
11. Ultimately, he lands where he should have. Andy's better off at Cornell and while they made him a meme to get made fun of, they also didn't fully crap on him in the finale.

• Hilary Swank is hot. C'mon now.
• I love that the same stripper kept popping up.
• Whatever happened to Danny Cordray?
• I expected a little more payoff for the Scranton Strangler.
• So was Kevin's fudging of the numbers the reason why Scranton was always doing better?
• Astrid is Hunter's kid, right?
• Who the fuck is Louanne?