(S01E03) "I like my miracles with more smiting and lightning." - Burke
Would the FBI really help a bad guy get a church Bible back? Sure, it turned out to be a very important Bible, but the way that Barelli just comes into the FBI and asks for their help in getting the book back and the chief takes him seriously from the get-go didn't ring true to me. Sure, Burke told him to just go to the local police, but then the chief pulls him aside and says that he doesn't need the Archdiocese breathing down his neck about it. That just seemed like a way for the writers to justify the plot in the first place.
I'm all for more Westerns on television. It's a genre that lends itself well to the ongoing storytelling format that a regular TV series allows. So when I saw an article that FX was gearing up Reconstruction, a series set in the post-Civil War era of American history, I was pretty excited.
Creators Joshua Brand and Peter Horton thought it would make a good allegory for today's world, dealing with the economic crisis and even the ongoing war. "How does one heal after (a war)? How do you find your humanity again?" asked Horton. These are things the show hopes to deal with.
It centers around Jason, an East Coaster who comes back from the war changed. He finds refuge in a small town in Missour, where the saga will unfold. All of this was great, until I got to one line in the Reuters story: "Brand, the co-creator of St. Elsewhere, is writing the script for the project, which will include magical elements, with thirtysomething actor-turned-director Horton attached to take the helm." Magical elements? What?! Why?
Last night was the season finale of Greek, the somewhat-overlooked ABC Family show with the small but rabid fan base. If you have no idea what's going on in the picture above, the ZBZs competed in Songfest. There was also a battle of the bots between Rusty and Dale, which means it sounds like this show appeals to people who like both Glee and G4.
I consider this a huge coup for NBC. After traveling through time and space in the TARDIS the past several years, it looks like Doctor Who'sDavid Tennant is heading stateside to take the lead in Rex is Not Your Lawyer. Tennant will star as Rex, a top Chicago litigator who becomes so crippled by anxiety that he takes to coaching his clients into representing themselves.
The idea is completely madcap, but I think Tennant has just the right kind of wacky tenacity and cavalier bravado to pull off the role. In fact, it was apparently difficulty in casting the role that delayed the project until Tennant bounced in and nailed it.
It'll be interesting to see what they do about his accent. Tennant is Scottish, but adopted an "Estuary English" accent for his role as the Doctor. I think the Doctor's accent would work tremendously with the comedic role described here, but I can see the showrunners pushing him to make like Hugh Laurie (House) and so many others and go American with it.
Ah, how good it is to get back to The Wire. I've been steered off track by other DVDs landing on my doorstep for Jane After Dark, so season five of The Wire has been a while coming. One again, the show blows me away with the writing, characters, cinematography and realism. I'm just part-way into season one, but I love all of the references to everything that's happened thus far in the series, and the crew's continued attempts to bring down Marlo's organization. And, apparently, Omar is still in the game ...
It took a few weeks to get it done, but at least all of the produced episodes of Southland have a home now. The show developed a little bit of buzz with its first seven episodes last season. Then it developed a lot of buzz this year when NBC pulled the plug on it before its second season had even begun, leaving six episodes created and in limbo.
Apparently, its darker tone didn't fit in with the network's plans anymore. After all, the 10 p.m. slot, where most of your more sophisticated shows used to live on NBC, is the home of Leno now. Immediately word came out that various cable networks were looking to pick up the series, but no one knew exactly what that meant. There were theories, of course, and TNT emerged as the front-runner.
Now we know, and it looks like everyone was right. TNT has secured the rights to Southland; primarily the right to broadcast the 13 episodes produced so far.
(S01E02) "Please don't try anything. I have five bars and free long distance. I can be far away and still cause you pain."- bad guy with phone bomb
First the bad news.
I can buy the FBI spending $5000 on a party featuring 65 supermodels and a rooftop terrace to catch a crook. I can buy a rich woman giving a complete stranger an apartment for $700 a month even though he's an ex-con. I can buy a fancy dress with some security device inside of it that a master criminal would kill for. There's a lot of stuff I'll buy in a show like this.
What I can't buy is that hat Matthew Bomer insists on wearing. He wants to be Rat Pack-era cool but with the hat and the vest and rolled up sleeves, he looks more like he's doing a fashion shoot for Details or maybe fronting a boy band.
I know I'm dating myself, but I'm really looking forward to watching the second season of thirtsysomething on DVD.
The first season was released back in August, and I had a blast catching up with great characters like Michael and Melissa Steadman, Elliot Weston and Gary Shepherd. Season two hits DVD in January, thanks to the good folks at Shout! Factory, known for putting out great sets like the packed Freaks and Geeks collection and the recent Transformers "G1" collector's set.
Some people might only think of thirtysomething as "that '80s show about whiny yuppies," and that's fine. But the Emmy-award winning drama brings back a lot of great memories for me. As I mentioned before, I used to watch it with my mom, who I'm pretty sure related to Patricia Wettig's frustrated homemaker Nancy Weston and free spirit Melissa Steadman, played by Melanie Mayron. (As for my dad, I'm not ashamed to say that he's more of a Timothy Busfield type!)
The network has given the greenlight to a pilot for a new drama that will feature a magician who solves crimes. It will be produced and directed by Jon Amiel and written by NCIS' Dan Fesman. No title yet, but I bet NBC will lean towards something like The Magician (hey, it's sorta like The Mentalist!) instead of something lame like Hocus Pocus or Now You See It or something other magic cliche.
Of course, NBC already had a show called The Magician that was about... a crime-solving magician! I loved this show. It starred Bill Bixby, pre-Hulk. It's the show Mulder was watching when Samantha was kidnapped.
(S01E06) "It's like you've stepped out of a 70's porno and into my life." - Roxie to Darryl
It's Halloween, and there's no better place to be than Eastwick. Unless you've got an insane pastor on your tail who's bound and determined to make you pay for your past sins (see photo above).
But first, the celebration! Everyone decorates coffins, fills them up with whatever's been bothering them this past year, brings them to the giant witch statue, and watches them burn. Sounds like a party, doesn't it?
You really can't leave your computer or your TV screen anymore or you'll miss the latest news/cancellation from NBC. The latest? Trauma, the new, heavily-hyped medical drama that had that big splashy pilot with the helicopter and car crashes.
I used to be a devoted fan of General Hospital, and some of my favorite episodes involved Luke and Laura, and later, their son, Lucky. In fact, now that I think about it, I started to stray from the show about the time that Jonathan Jackson, who played the first Lucky, left the show in 1999.
The other actors who played Lucky -- Jacob Young and Greg Vaughan -- did a fine job, but I so associated the role with Jackson that it was impossible for me to accept anyone else as Lucky.
As luck would have it, I just happened to flip on One Life to Live yesterday and saw a promo for Jonathan Jackson coming back to General Hospital as Lucky. What a stroke of "luck" for me!
About two weeks ago, with much fanfare, ABC issued a press release about a big promotion for the new sci-fi remake of V. The idea was skywriting giant red "V's" over national monuments around the country. When I read about it, I thought it was pretty clever.
Like ABC media, I didn't contemplate the environment hazard posed by spraying the skies with red skywriting materials. The skywriting stunt has been canceled because one clever reporter did. She snagged ABC in its own press net.
Have you seen the new ads for the new TNT comedy-drama Men of a Certain Age? It stars Ray Romano, Scott Bakula, and Andre Braugher as husbands and dads dealing with middle age. It has been announced that Robert Loggia will play Romano's dad on the show. He's one of those actors that's great in everything he does and it's cool to have him in this show and in that recent Apple ad.
But instead of that ad I'll post this classic from the early 90s. If you say so Mr. Loggia!
I don't know why Greek isn't talked about more. It seems to have everything all those other nighttime soaps have: a young cast, quirky characters, hip music. Maybe being on ABC Family means it gets lost in the shuffle.
Last night's episode was actually a Thanksgiving episode (they're a little ahead of things I guess), with Casey and Rusty's parents going off to Maui and stranding them on campus. What did you think?
[Watch clips and episodes of Greek at SlashControl.]
I'm all for more Westerns on television. It's a genre that lends itself well to the ongoing storytelling format that a regular TV series allows. So when I saw an article that FX was gearing up Reconstruction, a series set in the post-Civil War era of American history, I was pretty excited.
I consider this a huge coup for NBC. After traveling through time and space in the TARDIS the past several years, it looks like Doctor Who's 
It took a few weeks to get it done, but at least all of the produced episodes of 
I know I'm dating myself, but I'm really looking forward to watching the second season of 
You really can't leave your computer or your TV screen anymore or you'll miss the latest news/cancellation from NBC. The latest? 
I used to be a devoted fan of 
I don't know why 
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