This Week: Secret Invasion, Extraction, and William Sadler

The Agents of Doux discuss what we're watching this week. We are easily distracted.

Mikey Heinrich: So, I've been trying to write my Deep Space Nine review of "Extreme Measures," but it keeps turning into William Sadler erotic fan fiction where he breaks into my house and takes me away to his magical kingdom where he cuddles me all day while relating amusing behind-the-scenes anecdotes from Shawshank Redemption.

Anybody else...?

Just me...?

Adam D. Jones: Dude. William Sadler is the man. But I have not had this problem. You might need to contact IT.

However, I've been having a similar problem when writing about The Flash. Every time I type a review, my keyboard screws up and all of my posts become stories about being sucked into the show where I assist Caitlin in her lab. At some point, we reach for the same Erlenmeyer flask and our hands meet...

Mikey: Go on...

Adam: At that point, my wife wakes me up to ask why I keep shouting, "Call me Grodd!" in my sleep.

Mikey: Please let this be the beginning of this week's This Week column. I promise never to ask for anything ever again.

Adam: I can't be the only person who relates to Grodd. He's isolated, big, hairy, and he has a crush on Caitlin. That's got to describe at least half of the show's fans.

Some of the people at home have noticed I make a lot of typos. I do my best. But the good news is that I have a new editor! Her name is Nebula, and she's a big help.

Mikey: Awww... So cute.

In other news, I continue with The West Wing. I'm about to finish season two and really enjoying it. I can't believe that I totally missed this when it was on. To be honest, I'm having trouble getting into Secret Invasion. Is anybody else struggling with it?

Billie Doux: OMG, what a cute editor! Nebula could be Kara and Dax's little sister.

(I know you're all dying to see a picture of Kara and Dax. Here you go. :)

I fell asleep during the first episode of Secret Invasion and have no idea what I watched. I might wait for some consensus about its quality before trying again.

Adam: Dax? Dang. We almost named her Ezri.

CoramDeo: Yeah, I checked out of Secret Invasion at the end of the first episode. I found it dull and uninteresting, and the only thing that moderately interested me was a handful of little bits from Sam Jackson's performances. And if I wanted that I’d just watch any of his other great performances.

Billie: Since we're talking MCU, I just saw the movies Extraction and Extraction II on Netflix. They star Chris Hemsworth, are written by Joe and Anthony Russo and Ande Parks, and are directed by Sam Hargrave. Hemsworth plays a mercenary who takes on nearly impossible missions. In the first movie, he extracts the kidnapped child of a crime lord, taking him out through the territory of a competing crime lord. It gets unbelievably violent.

Movies like this usually don't do much for me, but I got pulled right in and stayed hooked until the end. What elevates them is well drawn characters, unusual settings, and exceptionally well-filmed action and fight scenes. And Chris Hemsworth. In the second movie, they brought in Idris Elba just so we could exclaim, "Heimdall!"

Shari: Once again, I'm late to the party. I never gave a thought to my role in any potential fanfic but I'm sure it would either entail either Oliver Queen after a salmon ladder workout, or Dean, Baby and the open road. Sorry, Sam.

I'm up to date on Secret Invasion. I can't say that I've been blown away. Though seeing Nick Fury stripped of all the trappings of power and still fighting to make a difference has kept me curious enough to keep watching.

As for Extraction, I watched part of the first movie when it first came out. I've never thought of myself as being particularly squeamish but the violence was so brutal that I turned it off. Now I'm wondering if I should give it another chance.

I did a rewatch of Dangerous Liaisons the other day. I'd forgotten Uma Thurman and Keanu Reeves were in it. I don't think that movie could be made in our post #MeToo era. At least not like that.

The only other thing I've been watching lately is Strange New Worlds. I love the show so much that twiddling my thumbs for a week between episodes drives me batty. Then again, I would probably binge all the episodes in a couple of days and then be waiting even longer until the next season. So maybe I should be grateful.

Samantha M. Quinn: I should probably admit I'm a fan fiction writer, but I will not reveal what my works are based on here. :) I will say that I kind of love all your ideas, save for Grodd, your argument is perfectly valid, Adam, but too Beauty and the Beast for my liking.

I too stopped watching Secret Invasion about halfway through the first episode. Now I've been spoiled by what happens at the end of that episode and I'm not sure I want to watch that. Still, I will probably end up sitting through it because I'm still actively invested in the MCU.

Extraction is oddly good, kind of like a mix of John Wick and the Expendables with a healthy dab of Die Hard thrown in for good measure. I really ended up liking Rake (Chris Hemsworth), especially how he interacts with kids, even when he has to fight a gang of teenagers he actively tries not to hurt them too badly. Golshifteh Farahani is also a stand out as his tough-as-nails partner Nik, who gets a lot more to do in the second movie. I think what elevates it above just your standard action movie is the characters and how they managed to make you care about them.

To think of Uma and Keanu in Dangerous Liaisons now is kind of fun, try to impose The Bride and John Wick into those roles and the story goes in a very different direction. Hey now, there's a fun fan fic idea.

Strange New Worlds is still amazing, I have no idea how they are keeping up the quality but I don't want it to stop. That last episode was just awesome, and it was a freaking courtroom drama. I put it up there with "Measure of a Man," and if you've read my review, you know that's high praise.

Mikey: If your fan fiction involves William Sadler, Beebo, and cuddling, we may need to collaborate on future projects.

Billie: Shari, I am also on the road with Dean and Baby. Jensen Ackles has been a favorite of mine for what seems like forever and not just because of his looks. I like Jared Padalecki too, but not the same way. I didn't review fifteen seasons of Supernatural because of anyone's looks, though.

Mikey, just for you: a shot of William Sadler in "Extreme Measures." He's definitely devilish here.

Samantha: Some of my work is in the Arrowverse and might eventually have a Beebo reference, but unfortunately no William Sadler.

Billie: Re: Extraction, it absolutely could be too much violence for some. Possibly even most. I was just surprised that it held my interest all the way through and that I wanted to watch the second one. And the second one was actually better.

Adam: Almost forgot. The last time we spoke I had finished Gilmore Girls and was embarking on A Year in the Life. I... never picked it back up. The funny thing is, I didn't notice until just now that I'd abandoned it after one dismal episode. I didn't miss it at all.

I just saw the first episode of Secret Invasion. My one word review: laborious.

CoramDeo: I found the first Extraction moderately diverting, but really nothing special. I’m interested in the second one, but pretty much only to see Golshifteh Farahani as an action star.

Samantha: Farahani's scenes are pretty awesome, and brutal. One in particular was edge of your seat.

Billie: I have amazing news to close out this week's This Week: the second season of Is It Cake? just dropped on Netflix. I have no idea why I find this show so amusing, but I do.

Samantha: Is it Cake!!!