Drama
The Walking Dead: Dead City
Maggie Rhee teams up with her husband’s murderer in order to save her son from a new villain in this continuation of the Walking Dead’s gory storyline.
Remember Stuart Bloom?
In The Big Bang Theory, he was the somewhat self-deprecating acquaintance of Sheldon, Leonard, Howard and Raj—owner of their favorite Pasadena comic book store and most certainly a side character in the popular sitcom.
But perhaps during Stuart’s brief seconds of screen time, you wondered to yourself, “What would happen if this comic book store owner were tasked with restoring the fabric of reality?”
Oh, you never wondered that?
Well Chuck Lorre—co-creator of The Big Bang Theory and its other spinoffs, Young Sheldon and Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage—deemed that question important enough to warrant a 10-episode sci-fi series on HBO Max. In Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, Stuart operates his Pasadena comic book store in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Other than the zombie hands reaching through the ground and dimensional rifts floating in the air, things at the store are business as usual: Geeks still bicker about the Avengers, and nerds still shell out valuable resources in exchange for mint condition comic books.
That is, until a version of Stuart from another stream of reality appears.
This alternate-reality Stuart tells apocalypse Stuart that Caltech scientists Leonard, Howard and Sheldon created a quantum interference device. The device malfunctioned and altered the universe, history and reality itself. Now it’s up to Stuart—the apocalypse version—to fix the device and set things right.
Unfortunately, former Caltech quantum physicist Barry Kripke wants to keep the universe in disarray. But still, Stuart rises to the challenge with help from his ex-girlfriend, Denise, and former Caltech geologist Bert.
This unlikely group of heroes—led by their unlikelier leader, Stuart—will either restore reality or fail to save the universe.
Writer and producer of numerous comedy TV shows—including Two and a Half Men, Mike & Molly and Mom—Chuck Lorre has gained a reputation as the sitcom king (according to the Associated Press). The popularity of his shows is undeniable, yet his reputation is less … ahh … favorable here at Plugged In.
Much of Lorre’s comedy leans on sexual references, crass jokes and profanity. And Lorre’s newest comedic endeavor, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe on HBO Max, meets—and, in some ways, exceeds—these content hallmarks.
Unencumbered by the constraints of traditional network TV, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe includes harsher profanities than its predecessors, including the f-word, s-word and misuses of God’s name paired with “d–n.” Like other Chuck Lorre series, characters make many crass comments (including bathroom humor), and sexual references are played for comedy.
Uniquely, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe also features violence. As people fight for survival in post-apocalyptic Pasadena, blood and severed limbs can be seen littering the streets. Some individuals shoot people with guns, which causes exaggerated volumes of blood to spill from their victims. And most of these violent moments are played for laughs.
Comedy fans who want to reminisce about the geeky jokes in The Big Bang Theory would probably be better off watching reruns (though, that too can come with its own set of problems). After all, with its intensified content issues, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe fails to be appropriate for most families. And frankly, the show even fails to deliver the witty comedy that most sitcom fans would expect.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
A post-apocalyptic version of Stuart Bloom is told by a Stuart from an alternate reality that he must save the universe by fixing a quantum interference device. Accompanied by his ex-girlfriend, Denise, and geologist Bert, Stuart’s first stop is Caltech, where he runs into quantum physicist Barry Kripke—who does not want Stuart to save the universe.
Someone stabs a man with an arrow, and blood spurts from the wound. Later, people dispose of the dead body by throwing it into a portal. A bloody zombie hand reaches out of the ground, and someone steps on it. A frightening-looking dog attacks a man, biting his face. A man gets bit by a rat. Later, the man stomps on the rat, and its blood spurts out. Someone mentions that a person was eaten by cannibals. Multiple people get shot with guns, showering them in blood. Stuart and Bert make grenades and blow up a few people. Some of their victims fly through the air in the explosion. A woman smashes a man’s head into a desk repeatedly and then hits him when he falls to the floor. Dead bodies and severed limbs are seen scattered in a hallway. A man chokes and punches another man.
There is one use of the f-word (heard in background music), two uses of the s-word (once seen in writing) and several misuses of God’s name and “d–n,” sometimes strung together. Several characters make sexual references and allude to sexual encounters. One character implies that he wants to have sex with a woman he just met. There is a rather crude use of bathroom humor.
Stuart tells a story about drinking alcohol at his high school prom and then vomiting on his date. Someone alludes to the “god of thunder” (aka Thor) from the Avengers franchise.
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