Showing posts with label Orphan Black. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Orphan Black. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 03, 2023

The 13 Most Anticipated Events of 2023

 

The great Adam Duritz told us that it was a long December but there is reason to believe that this year will be better than last.  Here are thirteen reason why 2023 may actually be better than last year.

 

 

13.  Obligatory Superhero Mention:  It was a rough year for superheroes in 2022 and it looks like fatigue is finally settling in.  Marvel Phase 4 fizzled to an incoherent end.  It was even worse for DC which saw a Batgirl film get canned when it was almost finished filming and chaos ensued when the control given to James Gunn.  Henry Cavill was out as Superman days after it being announced he would return so Gunn could direct a Superman movie himself (that is some Big Dick Cheney Energy).  But as of now, DC will be releasing four zombie films tied to the last regime: Shazam! Fury of the Gods (March 7), The Flash (June 16), Blue Beetle (August 18), and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, half of which star someone with a lot of bad press last year and it is unlikely anyone in these movies will be seen again in these roles.

 

12.  Marvel launches Phase 5 with Ant-Man: Quantumania (February 17) featuring the theatrical debut of Kang who was last seen in the season finale of Loki, though this Kang is a variant of that one.  Yeah, that was one of the problems with Phase 4, it started getting confusing.  That will be followed by Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 (May 5), which will likely be Gunn’s last contribution to Marvel (at least until he gets fired by DC), The Marvels (July 28), featuring one of the few bright spots of Phase 4: Ms. Marvel.  On the small screen, there will be new seasons of What If…? and Loki, spin-offs starring Echo and Agatha as well new show Secret Invasion (featuring Emilia Clarke’s MCU debut after unsuccessful stints in the terminator and Star Wars franchises)  and Ironheart.  Oh, and Sony is still trying to make their Spider-Man Cinematic Universe a thing and will release something called Kraven the Hunter (October 6).  Oof.  But at least they have Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (June 2), a sequel to the entertaining animated movie.

 

12.  The Drop (January 13, Hulu):   I am not sure if this is a mockup of The Slap, but I am just going to pretend it is.

 

11.  Orphan Black: Echoes (TBD, AMC):  Does we need more Orphan Black, especially without Tatiana Maslany?  And how exactly do you do this show without her if there are about a hundred people in this world who look like her?  Little is known about this show other than it stars Krysten Ritter, though we do not know how many Krysten Ritters there will be.

 

10.  Evil Dead Rises (April 21, theaters):  This is the second attempt to revive the Evil Dead franchise without Sam Rami writing or director or starring Bruce Campbell (both or producing).  This is the first one to take outside a cabin in the woods but instead the Book of the Dead will be found in the bowels of an apartment building.  Hopefully the change of scenery will add something to this film that the first reboot did not.  Unfortunately this is one of the films that Discovery took off the HBO Max schedule and put it in theaters.  So I guess I will have to wait an extra 45 days to watch.

 

9.  Community: Six Seasons and Finally the Movie (TBD, Peacock):  During the third season, Community was preempted for couple months to air The Cape.  In the show, Abed became obsessed with the show even declaring that it would run for six seasons and a movie, a phrase that became a rallying cry for the show’s fans as it was perpetually on the bubble.  Of course NBC canceled it one season shy.  Yet, somehow, Yahoo! Screen (almost a big footnote as The Cape) picked it up for that sixth season.  Then seven year after its six season, the show is finally getting a movie on Peacock. 

 

8.  Party Down (February 23, Starz):  Speaking of long gestating revivals of cult comedies, rumors of a Party Down movie date back over a decade but it is getting a full series return to the same network that axed it thirteen years ago.  Everyone from the second season is back except Lizzy Caplan (Chloe Zoe joins the cast to replace her) and as depressing their lives were when the original aired, I can only imagine how more depressing it will be this time.  My one hope for the revival is that, much like Rob Thomas’ last revival, he brings back Jason Doring (I believe he played a Young Republican in the first season) just to kill him off.  That would be hilarious.

 

7.  The Last of Us (January 15, HBO):  I never played the video game, but if the adaptation is half as good they say the game is, we will start off 2023 on a high note.

 

6.  The Curse (TBD, Showtime):  Emma Stone is quickly becoming the queen of weird television shows.  She recently appeared in the trippy Maniac and next up is this comedy which also stars Nathan Fielder (who is also set to direct) about a cursed house being renovated by an HGTV show.  Sounds wild.

 

5.  More Star Wars:  Not as rough as the superhero movies and shows, but quite an uneven year for Star Wars.  The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan were not highly regarded and while Andor was one of the most critically acclaimed shows of the year, it was also, reportedly, the least watched live action Star Wars show yet.   Oh, and no The Mandalorian, though the titular character and his little green friend did pop up a couple times on The Book of Boba Fett.  Oh, and it is now three years since the last movie and still no official date for the next one.  But the little green savior will be back on the small screen this year (March 1).  The Asoka spin-off will also be this year as well as a new show Skeleton Crew from the guy behind the latest Spider-Man movies.  But the year will be kicked off by a second season of The Bad Batch (January 4).  A new season of Visions and new animated show Young Jedi Adventures are also expected early this year.

 

4.  Only Murders in the Building Season 3 (TBD, Hulu):  Shockingly, Paul Rudd showed up in season two finale.  Even more shocking, he died in his second season.  Even more shocking than that, the show then announce, despite just killing him off, Rudd would be joining the cast for season three setting up a Fundamentals of Caring reunion and a reunion of 5-timers club members.  I am guessing there will be copious amounts of flashbacks in season three, though evil twin brother cannot be ruled out in a show like this.

 

3.  Women’s World Cup (July 20, Fox):  You know it has been a bad World Cup when  journalist dies at a game and most people think the government had him killed because he dared to wear a rainbow shirt to a game.  The men’s world cup was an unmitigated disaster from all the migrant worker deaths, FIFA banning arm bands, and the government banning beer hours before kickoff and getting caught bussing in fans to cheer for their team.  The good thing about the women’s world cup is that most despots are too sexists to bid on them.   The field has been expanded 32 teams which has led to first time world cup appeared by the Philippines and Zambia in either men’s or women’s cups.  Two time defending champs America have to be the favorite going in, but after a three game losing streak last fall, it looks like European teams are starting to catch up.  Despite the games on the other side of the world in Australian and New Zealand, the first two games for the US are at 9:00 EST, though the third start at 3:00 in thr morning.

 

2.  Yellowjackets Season 2 (March 26, Showtime):  All hail our new Antler Queen Lottie Forking Mathews!!!  Unfortunately the PR people at Showtime ruined that both Lottie and Van will make it to present day with casting of their adult versions (Elijah Wood has also been cast as a Citizen Detective).  But despite that annoyance, I am extremely excited to see the teenagers dissolve into madness as winter quickly fell on the Canadian forest, and mostly fell on poor Jackie.

 

1. Justified: City Primeval (TBD, FX):  One of the five greatest shows of this century is getting a reboot.  While Raylan Givens does not actually appear in the Elmore Leonard book, they are fudging that for the show.  As of now it looks like Raylan will be the only one from the show to return, unless you count his daughter who will be played by Timothy Olyphant’s real life daughter. 

 

 

Here is everything else I will be watching this winter:

 

Mondays

8:00 – The Neighborhood (January 16, CBS)

10:00 – Quantum Leap (January 2, NBC)

10:30 – Miracle Workers: End Times (January 16, TBS)

 

Tuesdays

Leverage Redemption (already back, Freevee)

How I Met Your Father (January 24, Hulu)

Extraordinary (January 24, Hulu)

8:00 – Night Court (January 17, NBC)

9:00 – La Brea (January 31, NBC)

 

Wednesdays

The Bad Batch (January 4, Disney+)

Wu-Tang: An American Saga (February 15, Hulu)

The Mandalorian (March 1, Disney+)

8:00 – The Challenge (already back, MTV)

8:00 – Survivor (March 1, CBS)

8:30 – The Goldbergs (January 11, ABC)

9:00 – Abbott Elementary (January 4, ABC)

10:00 – Big Sky (January 4, ABC) 

10:00 – Grown’ish (January 18, Freeform)

 

Thursdays

8:30 – Ghosts (CBS, January 5, CBS)

 

Fridays

8:00 - Young Rock (January 6, NBC)

 

Sundays

8:00 – The Blacklist (Febuary 26, NBC)

9:00 – Mayfiar Witches (January 8, AMC)

9:00 – The Last of Us (January 15, HBO)

9:00 – Your Honor (January 15, Showtime)

9:00 – Yellowjackets (March 26, Showtime)


Saturday, August 19, 2017

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 8/19/2017



Orphan Black: 147 clones? Wow, Dyad was busy. They are apparently all dead now but I wonder how many dude clones were there. I was just disappointed they ruined Alison, turning her into a hippy for no apparent reason with two episodes left. I was hoping we would get a cheesy sitcom spin off with her and Donnie.
You can download Orphan Black on iTunes.

Ray Donovan: So are they going to continue to tease Abby’s death without actually saying the word or at least show the body? Sure Ray found her convulsing and foaming from the mouth, but we never heard what happened to her. Ray did mention the head injury from the car accident which of course was cause by the hot leaked actress. Except Ray did not bring that up when she showed of at his office. But I did find it interesting that she told Ray she “shot” her husband, not that she killed her. It would be more interesting if the husband is not dead because it seems like Ray cleans up a dead body at least one a season. I believe the very first scene of the series was Ray getting rid of a dead body.

Claws: I am not sure what was more entertaining, the Whitney Houston scene or the Humpty Dance scene. Still I do not understand why Roller and Uncle Daddy let Desna, and Virginia, live for trying to kill the former. And I am not sure if I am racist and think every black man looks the same, but I am pretty sure that was Desna’s doctor friend that the Dixie Mafia met with in the last scene.
You can download Claws on iTunes.

The Strain: So Setrakian has been part of a bone marrow experiment this whole time? And that was kind of an easy escape, why not try that earlier? And why I am complaining, why did the Master not swarm Eph after learning his location. New Horizons was right there presumably swarming with Strigoli.
You can download The Strain on iTunes.

I’m Dying Up Here: Bill got the chair? I know the show positioned him as the next big thing, but never really deserved it in my eyes. Then he did not even bother to kill himself afterward. The other big question beside how did Bill get on Carson, let alone the chair is what happened to Teddy’s club? Did someone set it on fire or was it electrical because the pimp said it passed inspection but not because he updated it. Not that I really cared because after watching the whole season, I wish we would have gotten a second season of Roadies instead.

Preacher: What the fork is up with the freaky dude with the eye? Seriously, the butter thing, what was that?
You can download Preacher on iTunes.

The Challenge: Dirty 30: She may look and act like a ditz, but, wow, Jenna looked like a beast as the only one who pushed her opponent off and she did it twice.
You can download The Challenge: Dirty 30 on iTunes.

Sunday, June 18, 2017

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 6/18/2017



Orphan Black: I needed that "previously on" segment to be longer. This show just got way too complicated over the years.
You can download Orphan Black on iTunes.

Fear the Walking Dead: Well preppers are an interesting character study in an actual apocalypse, but has society ended that quickly? They were on a boat and in Mexico for maybe a month and society has already fallen? And didn’t the Mexican daddy burn up last season? I guess this could be a hallucination. And where is his daughter? She is still in the credits.
You can download Fear the Walking Dead on iTunes

I’m Dying Up Here: Oh my, Let’s Make a Deal. I was going to say how seventies, but I think there was a reboot recently with Wayne Brady as host. But what a horrible show.

Casual: Oh Leon, you need to be on this show more. Oh course you are into Magic: The Gathering. And oh hey, Judy Greer: always a plus.
You can stream Casual on Hulu.

Pretty Little Liars: Last week when Hannah and Caleb got engaged, following Aria and Ezra’s engagement (still icky) and Emily and Allison bizarrely having a kid together, I felt bad for Spencer whose one night stand with a detective has gotten worse and worse. But of course Toby came back this week so they could do one huge Lairs’ sex montage. Le sigh. Only two more episode until I can start wearing my I Watched Every Episode of Pretty Little Liars and all I Got Was This Stupid T-Shirt t-shirt.
Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

The Challenge: Champs vs. Pros: Oh wow, I actually thought Kameron maybe could win that challenge by himself. But poor Ashley and Lolo, going into every elimination this season.
You can download The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions on iTunes.

The Handmaid’s Tale: So why exactly are they taking Offred? The easy answer is that it is because of the stunt she pulled in the stoning. But that was everyone who refused to throw a stone, they are not going to round up all the Handmaids are they? It could be because of the package, which was kind of lame, just a bunch of letters. There could be a very small chance the resistance is poising as the black van people. But my best working theory is that the driver, who is part of the eye, is getting who he thinks is his baby mama out of a dangerous situation. Wherever Offred ends up going, I just hope she runs into Rory Gilmore, my one complaint is she got hauled away early in the season and we never got to see what happened to her. And with a season of great musical cues, American Girl was another one. Remember America is not much of a thing anymore, but Offred but the show reminds us as the show goes on hiatus that Offred is still an American girl ay heart.

The show has been cruel since the beginning but they really racheted that up for the finale. Making the Handmaids stone one of their own (but “don’t throw too hard” was a great line), the Waterfords were equally harsh to each other. But number one on that list was Mrs. Waterford driving Offred over to where Offred’s daughter is being kept, Waterford talked to the daughter within sight but out of earshot completely out of spite. But here is the thing: that is secretly a gift because now Offred knows where her daughter is. I can imagine Offred will find her way there in season two.
You can stream The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu.

Monday, January 02, 2017

The Seven Most Anticipated Events of 2017



2016 sucked. Massively. We lost too many people who shaped my childhood to named. I have not been as ashamed of my Best Songs of the year’s list since 1999. Music was so bad last year; somehow Justin Beiber landed a Best Album nomination. Really, since music was so bad last year and so many great artists, died, the Grammy’s this year should just be a three hour tribute show. In some years, Leon Russell or Leonard Cohan would have gotten a lengthy tribute but they may just get stuffed in the In Memorium package this year as neither are in the top five this year (and that is not even counting David Bowie or Glen Frye who were paid tribute at last year’s ceremony). Oh yeah, and we also witnessed the worst presidential election in my lifetime, probably ever. Also as hit musical Hamilton taught us, at least no one is participation in duels. Instead we had dudes bragging about the size of his penis at a televised debate, bragging about being able to molest women, claiming political opponent’s father was involved in the JFK assassination, openly admitted to wanting to have sex with his daughter, promising to lock up his political opponents, and siding with Russia over our CIA. And that is just the guy that won. But as the great philosopher Adam Duritz one said, there is reason to believe that this year will be better than the last. So with that said, here are seven things to look forward to in 2017.

7. Obligatory Superhero Movie Mention: Superhero movies have been a mainstay on my Most Anticipated lists for a while now but honestly I am getting a bit worn out. I have had the Batman v. Superman blu-ray sitting on my desk for about a month now unopened, and I am two movies behind on the Marvel movies. Basically I did not watch one Superhero movie that was released in 2016. I am sure I will eventually and it may not happen this year, but eventually I am sure I will get around to watching Logan (March 3), Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (May 5), Wonder Woman (June 2), Spider-Man: Homecoming (July 7), Thor: Ragnorok (November 3), and Justice League (November 17). And really, you might as well put Star Wars: Episode VIII (December 15) in this category too.

6. Kong: Skull Island (March 10), The Mummy (June 9): Superhero’s are no longer the only films getting their own cinematic universes, now other movie studios are getting in on the action. Kong: Skull island takes place in the same universe as 2014’s Godzilla. Although that is a pretty limited universe because it is just the two large mutant animals that will not even appear on screen together until 2020. As lackluster the concept is, it is a pretty impressive cast: Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, and John Goodman. Universal is getting a bit more ambitious, rebooting the very first shared cinematic universe with its monster movies, first up, The Mummy. If all goes well, there will also be movies featuring Frankenstein's monster (starring Javier Bardem), Count Dracula, the Wolf Man, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Invisible Man (starring Johnny Depp), and Bride of Frankenstein.

5. A Few Good Men Live!(?): Hiding at the bottom of NBC’s press release for their upfronts last year was one line about adapting the Aaron Sorkin play, a break from their string of live musicals. Supposedly it was coming “early 2017.” Well here we are in early 2017 and I have not heard anything about it since. NBC.com does have a page for it and it just says, “coming soon.” Hopefully they are just making sure they are getting it right and not just quietly forgotten about it because I am much more interested in it than the Jennifer Lopez starring Bye Bye Birdie.

4. The Ends of Orphan Black and Pretty Little Liars: Two show on the opposite of the quality spectrum are ending this year. After introducing one of the more adventurous ideas in television history, Orphan Black will be coming to a close. Here is hoping there is an Alison spin-off into a bad CBS sitcom. Then there is Pretty Little Liars which stretched a murder mystery further than any show before. I long ago lost track of how many different A’s there have been. And yet, I was never able to stop watching.

3. Prisoner - Ryan Adams (February 17): In the first decade of this century, Ryan Adams put out ten albums, this decade he has only put out two proper albums and none since 2014 (obviously I am not counting his Taylor Swift cover album a “proper” album. After his output last decade, three years is a long time sso hopefully he has a lot of great tunes lined up and no Rihanna covers.

2. Powerless (February 2) – The last couple years saw multiple superhero shows hit the small screen but this current season will only see one network superhero show, and that does not even star someone with powers, hence the title. (Do not fret traditional funny book fans, Legion premieres next week on FX, the ongoing Netflix shows, and ABC has already greenlighted Inhumans to premiere this fall as well as the return of Young Justice to some yet announced channel or possibly streaming service). Instead the show will follow incurrence agents living in a superhero world that sees city blocks destroyed regularly. I cannot wait to not watch this show when it gets demoted to The CW in the fall.

1. On second thought about 2017…

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

The Twelfth Scooter Television Awards



Welcome to the 12th Annual Scooter Television Awards honoring show that aired a majority of their season between July 2015 and June 2016. Without further ado, here are the winners of the 2016 STA's:

Best Scripted Show: Mr. Robot

Best Sitcom: Angie Tribeca

Best Sci-Fi Show: Orphan Black

Best Comic Book Adaptation: Marvel's Agent Carter

Best Period Show: Masters of Sex

Best Animated Show: Star Wars Rebels

Best Reality Show (Competition): Survivor, Season 31: Cambodia - Second Chance

Best Remake, Reboot, or Adaptation: Ash vs. Evil Dead

Best Educational Program: Brain Games

Best Talk Show: Pardon the Interuption

Best New Show: Mr. Robot

Guiltiest Guilty Pleasure: Supergirl

Best Musical: Grease Live!

Worst Show I Made Though an Entire Season Of: Quantico

Best Awards Show: 2016 Grammy Awards

Best Hour of TV: eps1.0_hellofriend.mov – Mr. Robot

Best Half Hour of TV: Weird Al – The Goldbergs

Biggest Shocker: They actually killed Norma on Bates Motel

Best Line: “You made the jury.” - Abi-Maria Gomez (Survivor: Second Chances)

Worst Idea: Reimagining The Muppets as a faux reality show as a late night talk show

Worst Moment: Even more agro sexist moments on Survivor

Biggest Disappointment: Quantico being more political Grey’s Anatomy and less Homeland: Freshman Year

Best New Title Sequence: Into the Badlands

Best Character: Elliot Alderson (Mr. Robot)

Best Recurring Character: Hugo Strange (Gotham)

Best Guest Appearance: Jack White on The Muppets

Best Duo: Alison and Donny Hendrix (Orphan Black)

Most Entertaining Reality “Star”: Abi Maria Gomez (Survivor: Second Chance)

Most Annoying Reality “Star”: Kyle Jason (Survivor: Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty II)

Show That Should Be Brought Back: Marvel’s Agent Carter

Most Anticipated New Show of Next Season: The Good Place

Biggest Question for 2016-2017: Will I bother to watch Supergirl now that it’s been demoted to The CW?


Sunday, June 19, 2016

57 Channels and Only This Is On:




House of Lies: I hate when episode start in the third act before a “x amount of time earlier” title card, this was weird because we did not get just one scene in the future before flashing back to the beginning, we got five (and really the whole episode just jumped back and forth in time), but at least that was worth it for adding Doug making out with the old lady at the end. I guess it was good the show ended because I am not sure a season with Marty and Jeannie blissfully married. But still a weird way to end it. Before the season Kristen Bell was cast in an NBC sitcom but they said it would not interfere with House of Lies. Which makes sense, ten episode of one show, thirteen of another; some sitcoms air twenty-four episodes a year. Except when the Veronica Mars movie was being made there was talk of a television reboot but they said that could not be done because Kristen Bell could not be the face of two shows at the same time. But then David Duchovny did it with X-Files and Aquarius so maybe in that time people were lax on that. But then two weeks before the finale, Showtime announced it would be a series finale, not season. Has Showtime just decided to get out of the half-hour business? Happyish was a rare one and done on a premium network. House of Lies is now done; Episode only has one season left. So that leaves Dice as only half hour on the air that has not been canceled. Except that has not been renewed either, and not getting a renewal a month after the season ended is not a good sign. And I am not aware of any new comedies in the pipeline. Not that I am complaining, Showtime’s drama are much better. House of Lie is the best I have seen on the network and it is not in the top five all all shows.

Preacher: Being able to get people to do whatever you say in the most literal way has to be one of the lames superpowers to have. That may take a while for Preacher to master in his advantage. Okay, the scene with the Irish Vampire was fun.
You can download Preacher on iTunes.

Penny Dreadful: When shows like Lost were on I obsessed on every little detail, noticed every callback, every Easter egg, just straight off the dome. Fast forward a decade and I do not even notice that museum guy and Dracula was the same guy. Getting old really sucks. At the start of the episode when museum guy lifted up the vampire I thought, oh, I wonder what Victorian monster this guy could be. It was not until it donned on Vanessa that she was hooking up with Dracula the whole time that the lightbulb slowly flickered over my head too. But what exactly does that ending mean? Dracula want to serve Vanessa but it was still him that drank her blood. Does that mean she is a vampire now too? The hot Mr. Lyle replacement said not to believe the mythology behind Dracula, so maybe not. She definitely turned evil. But we did learn from her phycologist that she has at least three distinct personalities so there is probably still a good version or two in there.

Speaking of split personalities, Lily may be getting one soon after Dorian turned on her to team up with Dr. Frankenstein and will soon get injected with Dr. Jekyll’s formula. I have been waiting all season for Dr. Jekyll to turn into Mr. Hyde, maybe it will be Lily who turns into Mr. Hyde. Well that theory does really work because Mr. Hyde is a hideous, evil creature without compassion or remorse and, well, Lily is already there.

BrainDead: Man, this show got killed by critics (and in the ratings) but I really enjoyed the whole sixties B-movie with modern day production feel to it. It is more enjoyable than the other Ramona Flowers show that aired earlier this year.
You can download BrainDead on Amazon Instant Video, free with a Prime membership.

Casual: Nice to see Pete Campbell is still an intolerable douchebag. Here is hoping someone on this show punches him too. And here we are in the third episode and Laura is on her third learning environment. During the meet and greet, right around the “good job” discussion (speaking of intolerable people) I thought she might be on a fourth one next episode but looks like she may actually be sticking around for a while. And apparently Alex’s phase three phase is officially over after bedding one of the annoying mother. Is he back to phase one or is there a phase four?
You can watch Casual on Hulu.

The Challenge: Rivals III: For years I have been advocating that Survivor poach The Challenge challenge makers. But maybe The Challenge challenge makers have finally run out of ideas because almost all of them this season have been horrible and this week’s grab a flag going off the cliff challenge may have been the worst yet. Then they stole that build something until it reaches a certain height Jungle challenge from Survivor, albeit adding a silly ice cooler bath component to it.
You can download The Challenge: Rivals III on iTunes.

Aquarius: I spent most of last season talking about what was happening behind the scenes than what was actually happening on screen. And that is continuing for the surprise second season. No binge watch option like season one where NBC released every episode On Demand after the premiere, but instead this year we get a two hour commercial free premiere. When they announced this I thought we would get two extended episodes. But when the credits ran I noticed writers and directors for “part 3.” So instead of two extended episodes, the two hour premiere was three shortened episodes (though not by much, most hour longs run forty-two minutes so we basically got two minutes less than usual). Did this stunt work? I cannot see how it possibly could. When Angie Tribeca ran its commercial free marathon, it still had a “presenting sponsor,” Aquarius did not even have that. On a personal level it was pretty much a failure because I found myself nodding off about halfway through. But I vaguely remember Denis Wilson showing up. And guess the people that are killed in the future are the Sharon Tate murders. Meh.
You can download Aquarius on iTunes.

Orphan Black: So before season finale we learned next season will be the last raising the bar for the episode. The big reveal is that Rachel will soon meet the person behind everything that apparently is too good for dying and has been around for over a hundred years. So have we met this person yet or is going to be someone new. My first thought was Leekie, or more specifically someone who looks like him, we really cannot rule out the big bad being a clone themselves. Or will it look like Sarah and the rest of the clones that we already know and this person is the real original clone?
You can download Orphan Black on iTunes.

Saturday, June 11, 2016

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 6/11/16




House of Lies: This show was the first US production to film in Cuba since they lifted the embargo and, well, it kind of looks like every Central / South American setting.

Preacher: So the Irish dude is a vampire, the way he devoured the cow I though he was going to be something more demonic. Though there is still some question of what is up with the Preacher, something inhabited him last week and clearly he thinks he now has some power of persuasion telling the girl to wake up at the end, except we have to wait a week to find out if she does.
You can download Preacher on iTunes.

Penny Dreadful: Oh man, why are they getting rid of Mr. Lyle? He was the most entertaining part of the show. But of course since this is television they replaced him with a younger hotter model. But I guess they also needed to replace the hot demon chick even though you would think a witch could survive a simple gunshot wound. I guess this helps put Ethan back on the good side (he did walk away from his father instead of killing him). And now the gang can get back together just in to help Vanessa battle Dracula. But what a weird scene with Vanessa telling the museum guy there is some ancient evil trying to take her soul and not only does not run, goes on a monologue about the vampire bat before having sex with her. How long until he dies or at least getting under Dracula’s spell? I give I two episodes.

The Americans: So this is the closest Spy Philip has been to FBI Agent Stan since that time Elizabeth got caught back in I think season two being at the same park at the same time. But now that they have officially announce an end date after two more season I am just going to assume the Jennings are never going to be caught. Now my big question is when in the eighties will the show end? The season finale took place in January 1984. I was kind of surprised when I looked up the date of the Oakland-Washington Super Bowl because it seemed like it should be later. I thought the premiere took place during the Reagan inauguration which means only three years have elapsed in four seasons. If the Jennings did not get caught, I was hoping the series would at least last until at least the fall of communism but the fall of the Berlin Wall is five years and a half away and eight year until the end of The Soviet Union. So unless there is a sizable time jump we will not get there.
You can download The Americans on iTunes.

The Challenge: Rivals III: Really, another episode where no one was sent home. So what are we up to, the sixth episode and only one team has sent home via the Jungle and actually stayed away. Except since another team went home voluntarily, will Jessica and Johnny replace them next week? And I kind of have to side with Camilla on the whole token scandal. It is Christina’s responsibility to keep track of her token and should not just be throwing it around willy nilly. How hard is it to tuck it in your sports bra so it does not get lost like I saw many people do? Now I was too lazy to go back and re-watch it, but if it was a situation where the tokens were color coded to the teams, then I can see disqualifying Camellia if she picked up, say, Christina’s blue token when her teams were red. But of course all that drama did not matter because another dude when home because of his girlfriend (at least this time was noble as she was entering the emergency room) and of course Nany and Wes did not draw a black skull.
You can download The Challenge: Rivals III on iTunes.

Orphan Black: Welcome back Helena. Way to spray your clone with copious amount of blood. Speaking of welcome back, holy Delphine sighting. That was so unexpected, during that final scene I originally thought it was Felix; sister until they kept talking about Delphine during the “next time on” package.
You can download Orphan Black on iTunes.

Sunday, June 05, 2016

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 6/5/16




House of Lies: Oh Jennie, why re you making out with the fourth member out of four of a boy band? At least hold out for the second banana. I was going to laugh at the mayoral candidate getting in a fight with that boy bander, but it reminds me too much of what Donald Trump is capable of. You know Trump would punch the fourth banana from One Direction. And his poll numbers would go up.

Preacher: With the proliferation of comic book adaptations and the limited amount of competent actors, it is only a matter time because everyone starts being in two or more properties; heck, despite being a much maligned franchise Fantastic Four’s Johnny Storm has found his way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe twice (Chris Evans as Captain America and Michael B. Jordan in an undisclosed role in the upcoming Black Panther standalone). I wish there were some nineties east-coast / west coast rap level of loyalty when it comes to the two big comic book companies, but alas here we have Howard Stark in the DC property (granted a DC imprint Vertigo which I do not believe is tied into the DC Universe; not that the television shows and movies are connected unless you want to believe they are all art of the multi-verse). The lady who plays Tulip was even on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

I really did not know much about the comic the show was based on but the premiere was mostly enjoyable but suffered a little from overhype (seriously writers of the world, can we please stop with the “best pilot ever” tag, I think most people are smart enough to realize you say that just in the hopes of getting your name in the promo). The star of the episode had to be the Irish dude (though honorable mention to the homemade bazooka); what is up with that dude? I am tempted to go to the comic wiki page. Dude jumps out of a plane with nothing but an umbrella (an a bottle of wine) but The Penguin he is not as he splats on the ground with his intestines all out then gets back together by depowering a cow. Yep this should be a fun summer show.
You can download Preacher on iTunes.

Penny Dreadful Last week we spent the entire episode with Vanessa in the loony bin learning how she met Dracula and this week we (pretty much) spent the whole episode with Ethan (okay we got a couple scenes with Dr. Jekyll but really until Mr. Hyde shows up, those scene are inconsequential). And the two episodes were very glaring, I kind of got bored last week, but the Ethan backstory was fascinating and well put together. My one complaint was I just knew right when his father drew his gun, that the episode was going to end on that cliffhanger. Crap. Now we have to wait a week to see if Ethan embraces the dark side or the light. Okay, daddy’s gotta die. Right?

The Americans: So the FBI are inkling closer to the Russian scientist (thanks to the promo monkeys for letting us know how that turns out) so we have one week to see if this is the time when the Jennings actually get caught by the FBI or maybe the scientist dies before he can talk. But what I found interesting was Oleg taking about the Challenger. Are the writers going to suggest the Russians had something to do with that?
You can download The Americans on iTunes.

The Challenge: Rivals III: So here we are in the fourth week and only two teams were sent home from the jungle. Well actually only one went home because the first team came back for no apparently reason. If you were going to do that, how about have the loser of this Jungle battle the returning team to see who gets back in the game? I would have much rather have Jessica and Johnny back than the other team whose only memory I have of is remember writing I have no idea these people were in this game when they were eliminated the first time.
You can download The Challenge: Rivals III on iTunes.

Orphan Black: Can the next NBC live musical please be Jesus Christ Superstar starring Tatiana Maslany? Or even better Maslany as Alison Hendrix playing Judas?
You can download Orphan Black on iTunes.


We have reached that time of the year where most of the spring shows have ended (there are one more Americans, two more House of Lies ever after tonight, two more of Orphan Black, and four more of Penny Dreadful) and summer shows are slowly trickle out. Actually looking like it will be a very slow summer, it seems like everything is airing at 10:00 on either Wednesday or Sunday, but not much else. Maybe some of the new shows that really have not grabbed my attention with lackluster trailers (Animal Kingdom, Good Behavior, Queen of the South) will end up being this year’s Mr. Robot which had a meh trailer but ended up being great (TNT which airs those first two is in definitely need of a hit as it has launched a critical or commercial hit since maybe Falling Skies; and that show is not on the air anymore). Here is what I will be watching while trying to avoid allergens outside over the next couple months.

Mondays
9:00 - Angie Tribeca (TBS, June 6)
10:00 – BrainDead (CBS, June 13)

Tuesdays
Casual (Hulu, June 7)
8:00 – Pretty Little Liars (Freeform, June 21)
10:00 – Wrecked (TBS, June 14)

Wednesdays
10:00 – The Challenge Rivals III (MTV, already started)
10:00 – Royal Pains (USA, already started)
10:00 – Tyrant (FX, July 6)
10:00 – Mr. Robot (USA, July 13)
10:00 – You’re the Worst (FXX, August 31)

Thursdays
10:00 - Aquarius (NBC, June 16)
10:00 - Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll (FX, June 30)

Sundays

9:00 – The Last Ship (TNT, June 12)
9:00 – Ray Donovan (Showtime, June 25)
10:00 - Preacher (AMC, already started)
10:00 - Murder in the First (TNT, June 19)
10:00 – Roadies (Showtime, June 25)
10:00 - The Strain (FX, August 28)


Sunday, May 29, 2016

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 5/29/16



House of Lies: This was the second time this season the group got high to close a deal. Nice work if you can get it.

Penny Dreadful: So we do get a full flashback episode with Vanessa in the mental hospital and it was Frankenstein’s monster as the orderly. Kind of horror movies set up, girl in mental hospital and orderly learn to accept each other, a quick scare in the middle, and then at the end we finally see the Lucifer.. and then his brother… Dracula? And Lucifer is scared of Dracula? Mmm, alright. I kind of wish this was mixed in with other character’s segments because there was not much going on to fill an entire hour.

Gotham: I think I actually liked Clayface as Gordon more than I liked Gordon himself. Of course none of the guys figured out it was an imposter and it took Barbra only thirty seconds spot that it was not him. Speaking of doppelgangers, that last person out of the bus certainly looked a lot like Bruce with Edward Scissorhand hair.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Blindspot: So just who is Jane Doe? Taylor Shaw was a very compelling story arc that apparently is not who she is (though this is television, they can always have a twist next season and be like, nope, she really was Taylor, the bones were planted and Kurt’s dad was brainwashed; and of course my clone theory could still be in play). So Kurt arrests Jane, who surprisingly goes willingly. Sure he does not even give a reason, what exactly is she under arrest for? He does not know she killed a dude. She did not still someone else’s identity, it was assigned to her by the FBI themselves. I do have a sinking suspicion that the start of the next season, one of her tattoos will be integral to a case Kurt is working on and he will begrudgingly let her out of custody.

The Path: So the season ends where the first episode did, but instead of Eddie hallucination the leader dying with a snake slithering on him, he actually sees the cancer stricken leader up and walking around… or did he? A pretty vague ending. Still some other plot points things left unresolved. I spent most of the season wondering if certain characters were going to leave the cult while other would join. It seemed like the husband died under iffy circumstances yet that was not brought up this week and it seemed that the FBI guy may actually be back in, especially if he starts to believe Eddie’s prayer helped. And I am not entirely sure what I saw at the end. Cal spoke of a miracle a couple episodes ago, is the leader now cured and that is the miracle? Is Eddie hallucinating the leader, who is already dead, and the leader came to him in a passing of the torch situation?
You can stream The Path on Hulu.

The Americans: If one would flip, I always thought Philip would be the one as he actually seem to have empathy for his victims while Elizabeth is more single minded at her tasks. Last week was the first time I remember seeing empathy from her asking out of her con on the Asian people and then again when she got a call from the wife. Of course all that went out the window when she stabbed a dude in the neck in front of her daughter. Hard to claim to be a non-violent spy when you can kill a man that easily and not blink.
You can download The Americans on iTunes.

Nashville: The show was a late cancel and it did seem like there was a good chance it was coming back (they just hired a new showrunner for a potential next season) but it did seem like they rushed to put a nice bow on every storyline (well, except Juliet’s plane going missing and of course Layla can never end up happy). Especially the Maddie, she gets mad when Deacon tries to save her from a skeevy dude at a concert caressing her leg, but is glad when he is there when a skeevy producer does the same thing. But it was definitely time for this show to go, probably could have ended last season.

The Challenge: Rivals III: So this is the fourth episode and we still have had only one elimination. As much as I enjoy see Camillinator just going H.A.M. on everyone, let’s cut some of that down and get back to one elimination per episode. Or cut down on time spent on challenges by getting rid of heat based challenges. Sure I enjoy seeing people dropping from heights into water, but we only saw three heats this week and we still have three or four left to get through. (also ending on a is Camilla hurt cliffhanger loses its suspense when we see her at the elimination on the promo for next week, stupid promo monkeys.) Figure out how to have everyone go at once because these heat based challenges are getting too repetitive. Or do a spelling bee, c’mon, who’s against a spelling be challenge (except the actual contestants)?
You can download The Challenge: Rivals III on iTunes.

Orphan Black: The Donny getting arrested scene was great, probably the most entertaining this season, but why did Allison not go down for the drug business too? As great as Donny in jail will likely be, Allison in prison would be so much better.
You can download Orphan Black on iTunes.

Sunday, May 22, 2016

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 5/22/16



Once Upon a Time: The best part (and really, increasingly the only good part) of the show is the pre-tease break. Except this season they defeated Hades in the anti-penultimate episode and we got a two hour tease of what is to come next. Color me uninterested already. So we meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde who split themselves into two different entities which was just introduced to have the Evil Queen and Regina at the same time. I am guess they are going to explain the Evil Queen did not die from her heart being crushed because she is so evil she does not even have a heart. And how good is purely good Regina if she is willing crush someone’s heart? I was more in in the quick page flip in the books in the library where we saw Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. I would rather take a trip through American folklore than a severely watered down version of Penny Dreadful.
You can download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

House of Lies: It was pretty clear that movie producers in the eighties were doing copious amounts of cocaine by the types of movies they greenlit: a mannequin romantic comedy, one with a dead guy as the main character, both inexplicably got sequels. But the most shocking movie that got made with 20/20 hindsight was the feel good racist comedy Soul Man where noted white dude C. Thomas Howell takes tanning pills to get a scholarship for African-Americans. With all the outrage of blackface and cultural appropriation these days I thought we would never see that storyline ever again. It probably also lessens the outrage by having black guy (with a white mother) play the faker as white people do not care much about whiteface. Though I still do not know how there was not more outrage surrounding White Chicks.

Penny Dreadful: So Vanessa has met Dracula before. I thought we would get a lengthy flashback in a future episode; instead we get a one minute scene tacked on the end of the episode. Maybe it is just a tease for a lot more flashbacks next week. And was that even Dracula? It looked more like Frankenstein’s monster in his previous life without hair. And about Frank, was that remembering his younger self? Bu it looked like that kid was near death. Unless Dr. Frankenstein implanted a child’s brain into the monster’s body. Or maybe he has residual memories of all his body parts. As for his creator, we did learn his buddy’s experiment is only temporary. The question now is has Dr. Jekle already taken his cure or does that come later?

Quantico: No wonder Asher could not make it at Quantico, dude was not even smart enough to jump out of the car before it went over the bridge. But then again, how smart am I for making it all the way through the season?
You can download Quantico on iTunes.

Gotham: How disappointing that Hugo Strange is implanting new personas in the people he resurrects but Fish Mooney remembers who she was. I thought we were finally going to learn what Batman villain she turns in to. But we did get Clayface… I think.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Blindspot: Wow that was the worst death scene in recent memory. But I guess when you are killed off a show, why bother trying anymore (well except if you hope to get more work somewhere else). But maybe the bigger bombshell was that Kurt’s father confessed to killing Taylor Shaw like everyone thought prior to Jane Doe showing up with markers saying she was and was not Taylor. We do have to wait until the finale to see if this was the ratings of a delusional man or a real bedside confession, but you have to assume it is the latter. Unless, could this be an Orphan Black situation and Jane Doe is a clone of Taylor? That could be really interesting and explain the DNA inconsistencies.
You can download Blindspot on iTunes.

Castle: It was probably for the best that ABC canned this show, most shows have a shelf life of five seasons if they are lucky so eight is enough (bad old person’s pun intended). But oh, was that final scene crammed in. I guess we can assume had the show been renewed and Kate was not returning, she does not survive the gunshot. Actually that scene seemed crammed in to as if they tacked that on after learning Stana Katic was not coming back.
You can download Castle on iTunes.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Gee, and I just got done talking about the worst death scene, this one came pretty close with Hive and low rent Electro bro-ing down before their inevitable deaths. And this is exactly why I hate it when shows open up X amount of time in the future before flashing back, we knew someone die and Yoyo’s cross had something to do with it and then in the last episode five different characters played hot potatoes with it. But of course Electro ended up with it because there can be no happy couples on a Weadon show (Really the only fake out they had was when Fitz had the cross for a scene). But hey at least we finally got rid of Ward… unless he turns out to be what the Irish doctor was working on. Please no. That body did look feminine. A mate for Vision? Also six months in the future Daisy has gone rouge and Coulson is reporting to a director (is that Talbert or is there a new head of SHIELD). And why six months? The show seems to move in real time and six months puts us in November when presumably the season will start in late September. Doctor Strange comes out in November but I doubt there will be much cross over with that movie. I wonder if we will have to wait a month or two until we see that scene and prior to that is Coulson searching for Daisy or in that basically where the season will start?
You can download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

The Path: All season I have ping-ponged back and forth predicting this character is going to join the cult while that one would be joining. Here we are with one episode left and it looks like I was wrong every time. There was a time I thought FBI guy would join, but after his diatribe with Eddie, that is never going to happen, especially after learning Allison’s husband did die under suspicious circumstances. And Allison looks to be coming back into the fold (although that may not last long after she sees the autopsy. I thought the teens would run away together, and Hawk actually did leave, but sneaky Cal nipped that in the bud. But the biggest transition is Eddie. They teased his moments of doubt early in the season, but mostly re-found his way after time in the program in the room. Was that punch his way of exiting the cult?
You can stream The Path on Hulu.

Survivor: Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty II: Usually I have a good sense of how the winds are blowing going into the finals but I was a bit shocked at how Aubrey did not win and it was not even because of that silly evict a jury member (worst twist since Redemption Island). Sure her Final Tribal was less than stellar (how do you not play up how well you adapted after your two biggest allies were pulled from the game?). But congratulations to Michele who did a much better job playing up her underdog role than Aubrey. Poor Tai, does not even get a pity vote. I originally thought it was a bad decision to split the votes and not take Cydney to the final three but in retrospect, I am not sure it matter with Michele winning either way. Maybe Cydney wins the Jury Veto (which is a stretch because for a Brawn, she was not that great in challenges) and bans Julia, then maybe Tai could have gotten Aubrey, Joe, Neil, and Debbie, but I think instead, Michele wins by a larger margin.

But Michele winning was not the biggest shock of the night, seriously, what was Sia doing there? And was that even really her? In real time it sounded to me her accent was coming and going. If it was, Sia just continues to get weirder. Wow. Then we got a tease for next season: Millennials vs. Gen X. Meh. Didn’t the last time they separated end up being an epic fail (that would be the Jimmy Johnson season that was won by Fabio). Probably one of the bottom five seasons of all time. And just by the trailer the Millennials were getting on my nerve already. If they are going to divide by age, I wish they would have done three of four tribes: people in the their twenties, thirties, and forties plus, and maybe fifties plus.
You can download Survivor: Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty II on iTunes.

The Americans: Kind of a throwaway episode because I never thought Reverend Tim was ever in much danger. Really having an emotionally pregnant woman now knowing their secret was the bigger danger. The more ingesting part of the episode was Stan’s old boss getting approached by the KGB. I kind of wanted him to take the offer. Instead he runs through a glass door. Not the best escape plan. It will be interesting how this effects the main storyline.
You can download The Americans on iTunes.

The Challenge: Rivals III: The first challenge really suck, now this, this is the challenge I have come to know and love, grinding on a bar of soap. Awesome. Not so awesome is replacing LeRoy with some nobodies. Actually worse than nobody, somebody who thinks acting crazy will get them more screen time. More annoying was T.J. canceling the Jungle for no good reason. So that is two of three episodes where no one when home.
You can download The Challenge: Rivals III on iTunes.

The Blacklist: There was never a point where I thought Lizzie was dead, the only question I had was who helped her. I had thought it was whoever was trying to kidnap Lizzie but it ended up being Tom and Red’s henchwoman. And I long assumed the person that was trying to kidnap was her not so dead mother. Nope, wrong again, it was her dad, or someone claiming to be her dad. That puts a crinkle in my long theory that Red was Lizzy’s dad. After the chunkiness of this season (somewhat reasonable due to a real life pregnancy) this sets up a very interesting season four.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Orphan Black: Crystal is quickly moving up my Clone Power Ranking. She almost made me forget there was no Allison this week. Almost. Seriously, do not make me go a week without an Allison fix.
You can download Orphan Black on iTunes.


Sunday, April 24, 2016

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 4/24/16



Once Upon a Time: When they said Dorothy did not have anyone to give her true love’s kiss, my first thought was, are they really going to turn red Riding Hood lesbian? But then I vaguely remember Mulan being into chicks, so maybe it would be her. For a fleeting moment I thought true love’ kiss would come from Toto, but no, they actually turned Red Riding Hood gay. Alrighty.
You can download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

House of Lies: So did the cobra and lion fight or have sex? But they could have had a longer “previously on” segment because I barely remember who Steven Weber or that other guy talked to were. Then I completely forgot Clyde and the weird chick was still a thing.

Fear the Walking Dead: I am they guy who always thinks the people on these show should be more trusting and should be taking in as many people as they can to ward off the zombies, but even I would say no to taking in someone else’s kid. I may take kindness on an orphan but survivalist dad and grown son can take care of the two small children
You can download Fear the Walking Dead on iTunes.

Supergirl: This show is cheesy, and I am fine with that, but there is cheesy fun and eye rolling cheesy and Surpergirl being able to break the mind control with some speech about hope was eye rolling cheesy. But I did like that it did not work completely and Non still had the ability to explode every human’s skull even if they were no longer under his spell. Of course the big question was who, or what, was in pod at the end? I vote for Krpto.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

Gotham: So we actually learned who killed Bruce’s parents: Hugo Strange. Maybe it is because I have seen the Wayne’s die so many times in my life; the reveal was not the biggest reveal. The bigger Hugo Strange reveal of the week was he was finally able to resurrect someone and that someone was Theo Gallavan. Just how many more will he be able to resurrect before Jim is able to shut him down? I think we have seen bodies that liik like Fish and Jerome in those floating tanks.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Blindspot: Oh wow, what a great plan by Rich Dot Com. Get that guy his own spin off.
You can download Blindspot on iTunes.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Early in the series, Skye wad the clear weakest link in the acting department but over the seasons became more comfortable in the role. But goodness, evil Daisy was hard to watch. They need to cure her quick, or at the very least do what they did in those early episodes and have her jump in a swimming pool while wearing a red dress to distract from her acting.
You can download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

The Path: So the cult may be a drug smuggling front, I guess that make the whole Peru trips make more sense. If true, the question is who knows? Will Eddie learn of the drugs when he gets to 7R? Is Cal one of the few because he is 10R? Are the drugs they get people off other drugs what they are smuggling or are they also smuggling other more conventional drugs. And I am starting to thinking the FBI guy might be buying into some of this. Mary’s story last week was convincing and itb is weird to open up about your real life problems while undercover.
You can stream The Path on Hulu.

Survivor: Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty II: When they introduced the SuperIdol I was a bit skeptical because someone only has two Idols at the same time about once every four seasons, and though it does not look like it will be used this season, the SuperIdol did play a huge part in the episode when Tai refused to Voltron his Idol with Jason’s to save Scot. We have had wild Tribal Councils but that was the first wild post vote Tribal with Hot Chick #3 imploring Tai to use his Idol to save himself, the two douchebags being over confident when Tai did not, then Scot gets the most votes, asks Tai for his Idol, and Tai was just like, “Nope.” And just when you think it could not get any better, in Scot’s goodbye at the end of the episode, he mentions he went home with Jason’s Idol in his pocket. Awesome. So Jason goes from thinking he has a clear path to the finale with an Idol in his pocket, his buddy has another that can form a SuperIdol and a mole in the other alliance to hiss only true ally getting voted out with his Idol in his pocket. I guess we are going to get more fires getting put out next week.
You can download Survivor: Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty II on iTunes.

The Americans: Leaving Martha along in a house with an old man and a cane was not the smartest idea the Russians ever had. So who is going to get to her first? Probably the Russians, but do not think she will be getting that trip to Moscow. Although that would have been a fun fish out of water story had Nina still be around to be Martha’s escort.
You can download The Americans on iTunes.

The Blacklist: Interesting the episode after they killed Lizzie (or so we are led to believe) with a very introspective episode with very little dialogue. And was the supposed to be Lizzie’s mother? With Red reenacting their first meeting? Or was she just a completely delusion?
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Orphan Black: We did get some more Beth but they already got to the point where she steps in front of the train, or presumably the point where she left her apartment on the way to the train station. As much time they spent in the premiere, I thought we would get a full season of flashback. Back in present day, Sarah learns she has some biotech living in her check. Creepy. Just how many of the clones have that?
You can download Orphan Black on iTunes.

Vikings: So Ragnor was gone for “years” but looking at his eldest son’s hair, and his youngest sons who are now teenagers, it seems like he has been gone at least a decade. Which begs the questions just how long has it been since the first season. It seemed like they already jumped a decade when they first aged up the eldest son who went from pre-teen to twenty-something in between seasons. It has to be at least twenty-five years. And just where was Ragnor? I wonder if we will get flashbacks of his pilgrimage when the show returns.
You can download Vikings on iTunes.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 4/17/16


The Girlfriend Experience: Awe, free preview weekends, three days when I plop myself on the couch and am reminded why I do not watch many movies anymore because there are not that many being made. Except when I went to check out Starz free preview last weekend they had taken all but one movie off their On Demand channel. It is one thing to waste an entire weekend watching crappy movies On Demand, but I am not sitting around waiting for them to start (well, except Ant-Man so I am now caught up on Marvel movies… which will last less than a month).

But while Starz took off all their movies from On Demand to keep people like me from exploiting the free weekend, they did upload the entire first season of The Girlfriend Experience the day it premiere. I was not expecting much since the movie was horrible. Yet is was surprisingly compelling and actually the prostitution part was the least interesting as the lead character as an intern stumbling on some shady dealing at the law firm she is at was much more fascinating. The show kind of reminded me of last year’s best new show Mr. Robot in the show is very cold, you could sub in the shady law firm with Evil Corp. Both the leads sever mental issues but as introverted as Elliot is, Christine is that much more an extrovert. And where Elliot had friends, family, a therapist, and some drugs to keep him grounded, Christine lives in a world where being an extrovert is encouraged and even rewarded.

Unfortunately after six and a half hours on the couch Sunday, the show ended with a huge thud. I would even say it was the worst season finale of a great first season of a show since Lost (if you saw the entire first season too, insert your own, both seasons ended with the camera panning into a deep dark hole here). Really the season finale was basically everything that was wrong with the movie. I do not know where the show goes in season, but if the season finale is any indication, I was a lot less interested had they ended the season an episode earlier. Granted I probably will not see it until the nest Starz free weekend, and that is only if they do not take the season off On Demand.

House of Lies: Oh Veronica Mars, you had to know Vinnie Van Lowe would do something sleazy. But you had to know, just like every other time the group gets split up, they would end up back all together, I am just a little surprised it happened as early as the second episode.

Fear the Walking Dead: Could they have come up with a more boring season premiere? It is becoming pretty clear why the flagship show flash forward a couple months and went straight into the middle of the zombie apocalypse.
You can download Fear the Walking Dead on iTunes.

Billions: At the start of the season, Showtime, of all the networks, had to know they could not keep Sargent Brody on the show too long. The season had to end with him get arrested. They just could not do a cat and mouse game for multiple season. Maybe season two is the trial, but there had to be some payoff. Yet here we are at the end of the season and the biggest thing that happened in the season finale was Wendy quitting (and getting a very nice severance package). What is worse it seemed like the writers had this big plan to end the season with a big show down between Axe and Chuck (okay the Axe tearing up Axe Capital and then “going deeper” was pretty cool) but we already had that scene in the season premiere and again in the middle of the season and really all I came away from that scene is, goodness both of these people are really horrible people who deserve to lose.

Quantico: So the big twist at the end was Shelby was driving the van. Meh, it seemed pretty obvious she was doing this against her will so it was not as if the big twist was she was the one behind the phone call.
You can download Quantico on iTunes.

Supergirl: This is the second time the show ended an episode with Supergirl charging an antagonist. Not cool. Also not cool was having Martian Manhunter show up in the Next Time On promo even though I never thought he was actually dead. I do think he is playing possum and this was his and Alex’s plan all along to make Non think she was a mindless drone. Also not cool, Superman as a mindless drone so he cannot help his cousin. Seriously, having him off the planet presumably helping the Green Lantern Corp. (though I doubt he will ever hear that term on the show) was good enough, having him join the mindless drones way off in the distance was really cheesy. Really my big takeaway from the episode was Maxwell Lord calling the president “she.” I guess it should not be that surprising that there was not a president Lex Luther in this universe. I wonder if we will get to meet her, if it is someone from the comics, or it was some cheap, hey a woman can be president Hollywood ploy.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

Gotham: I thought Penquin killing the dog was going to be the most despicable thing he did this week but feeding his step-brother and sister to his step-mother… that is some Eric Cartman level evil right there.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

The Voice: During my last Power Rankings I mentioned hoe diverse the top twenty was, but for some inexplicable reason, all four Coach’s Comeback were boring white dude and of course the bored housewives ate that up and two got voted through making half of America’s Saves white males. I looked back and in the Live Playoff seasons, white guys have made up at least half of America’s saves five of seven seasons (interesting enough, not one white guy was voted through by America in season four). I do not understand why the producers are letting bored housewives to run the show into the ground the way they did America Idol and their obsession with WGWG over there. It was pretty appropriate that The Voice hit a series low in the ratings for the results show. Count me as one of the many they have lost for the season because I have no interest in another boring white dude dominated season.

Lucifer: Well that was an interesting twist that Lucifer can only be hurt when the lady cop is around. So what exactly is her deal? We already know the Jedi mind tricks thing does not work on him and now she can hurt him. Was she sent, or blessed, by God?
You can download Lucifer on iTunes.

Blindspot: Oh Chrissy Seaver, your boyfriend dies going after a clue on his own, why are you doing the same? And if you are going to have Chrissy talking to people in her head, at lead make her Mr. Robot level paranoid about it.
You can download Blindspot on iTunes.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: I had to laugh when the guy Daisy was hunting down commented on her partner’s “boy band hair.” Well that was until we actually got a good look at the guy and he looked even more like a male model. And that is pretty cheap to offer a trade and then renig. I actually want to know what his power is now.
You can download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

The Path: I have a long standing rule to never believe someone is dead until you see the body (and even then still be suspicious), but I was pretty confident that Lyla Garrity was dead at the end of the last episode. Apparently not and not only that the Kool-Aide is strong because not only did she not call the police when she went to the hospital, she went even deeper down the rabbit hole and now is taking a bigger opposition within the cult out west. As much as I enjoyed Hannibal, I thought its cancelation was probably a good thing for Hugh Dancy’s mental health, but his new role is pretty dark too. That one scene in the bedroom was almost as disturbing as anything he did on Hannibal. And I wonder if 7R is just an excuse to torture Eddie. Then after Mary’s story, I wonder if FBI is more reluctant to take her back to her father.
You can stream The Path on Hulu.

Survivor: Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty II: In the two seasons they have done this gimmick, one running theme is that everyone on the Brains tribe just completely overthinks everything. Aubry targeting the hot chick was just a really bad idea. If she is wrong, hot chick loyal, now you do not have the ability to split your votes, if you are right, the other alliance has two Idols to play with. Aubry lucked out that hot chick won Immunity, except Aubry came up with a dumber idea; vote out Debbie simply for telling hot chick the plan. Oh, and it gets dumberer, when the old dude tells Aubry how dumb the idea is and he will not vote for Debbie, Aubry tries to recruit hot chick, the person she originally wanted to get out, the person she was now targeting Debbie for because she did not trust with the vote splitting plan, to get the deciding vote. What?!?

That was just comically stupid. Now Aubry loses a loyal member of her alliance, is stuck with a potential flipper in the hot chick, the douchebag alliance still has two Idols, and now you do not have enough people to split the vote. Had Aubry just stuck with the vote splitting, best case scenario, they pick right, one of the douchebags go home; worst case scenario, both Idols get played, they chose the wrong two people to place votes on, and body builder goes home, but both Idols are at of play. Of course it seems like Aubry does not know what exactly the SuperIdol does so she may not realize that whoever they split their votes for could Voltron the two Idols after the votes are read, but still, even if that happens, both Idols are flushed and they are still down an alliance member.
You can download Survivor: Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty II on iTunes.

The Americans: Nina got the ax last week, will Martha be joining her soon? It does not seem like she can keep things up like they are for very much longer.
You can download The Americans on iTunes.

The Blacklist: Well that was unexpected. That is not to say that it crossed my mind that Lizzie faked her death to get away from Red. It was noticeable that she said something to extent that she thought that doctor was going to be the one on call. Did she make a plot with him? It would be weird to kill Lizzie now, basically killed by the guys who were being very careful not to harm her. And he never learned who hired them. Maybe it was Lizzie who hired them as part of the decoy.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Orphan Black: There is nothing more annoying on television these days than the proliferation of hashtags blanketing the screen. Just the show’s name is annoying enough, but it is worse when they try to create new hashtags for specific scenes. Though I kind of liked when Orphan Black let me know to the effect they were going #BackToTheBeginning because it may have taken longer for me to realize they started the season with a flashback. I wonder if we will get more Beth this season, since the flashback did not go all the way up to running into Sarah, I have a feeling we may see her again.
You can downloadvOrphan Black on iTunes.