Watched Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Set in the 1950s it is, unfortunately, a confused cross between Grease and The X-Files. The Roswell-extraterrestrial connection-Maya subject matter is interesting to me, but, I am certain, comes across as utterly unfocused to audiences that are not in the know.

Cate Blanchett is in this one, and Ray Winstone as the token Ke Huy Quan. It is even hinted at that the producers might be open to continuing the series with Ray Winstone taking over Harrison Ford, who is much older in this episode despite the water of immortality that he drank in The Last Crusade (which, evidently, didn't work and even more evidently wasn't the last crusade).

The screenplay is a tired hodgepodge of ancient mythology and the urban mythology of extraterrestrials. There is less action than in previous episodes, and there is too much verbal exposition. Many of the exteriors actually look like studio sets; the lighting is too carefully designed and, as a result, the scenes are too carefully dark. There is more smashing of gates, doors, and artifacts, making me feel that this series is the complete opposite of heritage conservation.

Like The Last Crusade, this episode hinges on a fatherhood issue. On the whole, however, Crystal Skull is boring because, as the audience, we really cannot understand what everyone is looking for and why they should even be looking for it.

My granddaughter Aubrey's crystal skull