Previewing Leverage 2.x

Leverage was the surprise hit of last year and really the only new watchable show of last season that didn’t involve a bunch of tools. No these were a bunch of thieves hit with a touch of the Robin Hood syndrome when they realized they could make as much money stealing from the rich and corrupt and giving back to the poor and needy and live off their cut of the profits. Granted the end of last season saw the group going their own separate ways.

Naturally by the time the second season starts up this Wednesday at 9:00, the gang will somehow find their way back to each other, this time in a new town and even a new coast three months after the events of last season. The first case back is ripped from the headlines. Well sort of in that it involves evil bankers who put both hand out to the government after their ineptitude. But there is definitely a twist that you won’t see in any newspaper.

Leverage airs Wednesdays at 9:00 on TNT and is followed at 10:00 by new show Dark Blue. You can stream recent episodes at TNT.tv. You can also download Leverage on iTunes or Amazon Video on Demand (see below). If you cannot get enough Leverage, head over to LeverageHQ to play the Get Ready to Get Even game.

Previewing Locked Up Abroad 3.x

When I talked about the second season of Locked Up Abroad I suggested they profile Michael Fey, the dude who got a bunch of lashes for graffiti in The Philippines in the nineties. Unfortunately that incident isn’t features for the third season starting up this Wednesday at 10:00 on the National Geographic Channel.

The season does starts off with something a little more topical these days than Fey with a couple of journalist getting captured by insurgents in Iraq. Since both war reporter Scott Taylor and Turkish journalist Zeynep Tugrul are both interviewed about their experienced, it is obvious that both make it out of the country unscaved after five days of capture, it doesn’t make all the twist and turns of their journey any less exciting as there were a good four times one, or both, could have easily been killed by somehow escaped the predicament they were in.

Later in the season, Locked Up Abroad travels to Barbados, Ecuador, Jamaica and India. Like previous season, the episodes are heavy on drug smuggling, be it knowingly or unwillingly. Seriously, if you or one of your friends are offered to go to a tropical location all expense paid and then some, you really want to watch an episode of Locked Up Abroad before accepting. The season also features a Royal Marine caught in the middle of a civil war of Sierra Leone.

For those not familiar with Locked Up Abroad, it is a documentary style program that features no narrator or anyone else except the voices of those captured in a strange country while actors recreate the trials they went through during their ordeal. Below you can check out a behind the scenes preview of the season premiere.



Locked Up Abroad airs Wednesdays at 10:00 on the National Geographic Channel. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.

Around the Tubes vol. XIII

Before I get into some press releases that that have come across my inbox, let’s take a look at what other members of the TV Blogger Coalition have been talking about this past week:

So You Think You Can Dance has finally cut it down to the Top 10! Vance still doesn't really know who his favorite is yet. (Tapeworthy)

Sex and Candy! This week, Jace had an exclusive interview with True Blood's baby vampire Jessica Hamby, a.k.a. actress Deborah Ann Woll. (Televisionary)

After watching 16 and Pregnant, Marisa felt pretty good about her decision to not get knocked up in high school. And to not buy that baby a dirtbike. (TiFaux)

Ashley checked out ABC Family's 10 Things I Hate About You and decided it didn't live up to the Heath Ledger classic. (Tube Talk)

The premiere was too long, and the characters a bit too cliched, but Matt will stick with Warehouse 13 this summer. (TV Fanatic)

Buzz wondered: Are there any TV genres you just won't watch under any circumstances? (BuzzSugar)


One more link before I move on, as I have mentioned earlier, I was invited to be a panelist for the recent Hulu Awards which have been revealed one award at a time for the last couple weeks. I did a write up for the winner for Best TV Drama, Friday Night Lights. Head over to The Hulu Review to see what I had to say and to check out all the winners announced so far.

Below you will see blurbs on The Top 7 TV Moments of the Week, The Tonight Show, Untamed and Uncut, Meteor, and Warehouse 13.

- Also taking about what has been happening this past week on television is TV Guide who is counting down the Top 7 Moments of the Week including Michael Jackson, Wimbledon, and um, Bill O’Reilly?

- Ever wonder where the musical guests hang out before performing on The Tonight Show? Take a look at the video below to find out:

- A new episode of Untamed and Uncut on Animal Planet tomorrow at 9:00 and here is a video of what you can expect (and yes it is as wild as the title suggests):

Anaconda Attacks TV Host


- Did ABC’s recent Impact leave you wanting more something’s going to crash into the Earth mini-series? Well you are in luck because tomorrow at 9:00 starts NBC’s Meteor. And as an added bonus, it has better actors in it including Jason Alexander, Ernie Hudson and Christopher Lloyd. Check out a sneak peak below:



- Warehouse 13 launched the new SyFy channel and it seemed like everyone either loved it or hated it. To see for yourself if you have not already, you can watch the first episode on Hulu or as I write this you can download it from iTunes for free and in HD.

- A few debuts coming this week, so be on the lookout for previews in the next couple of days for Locked Up Abroad, Leverage, Dark Blue, The Bill Engvall Show, and new online program CTRL.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. LXXXVIII

Quote of the Week: This is Armani. Pimp! Armani! (The Hateable Dan LeBatard, Pardon the Interruption)

Song of the Week: Say, Say, Say – Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson (as sung by The Hateable Dan LeBatard and J.A. Adande, Pardon the Interuption)

Big News of the Week: ABC Trickles onto Hulu: Three weeks ago Hulu announced their Hulu Days of Summer releasing something new for two months straight. The first two week saw the addition of Dead Like Me and mostly movies but I wondered how they would actually be able to do so all summer. Well this past Monday saw the inclusion of Grey’s Anatomy thus launching ABC’s addition to the video streaming site. That was followed by Desperate Housewives, Better Off Ted, The Superstars and I Survived a Japanese Game Show. So far only shows from ABC proper had been added but I expect other subsidiaries (ABC Family, Disney Channel, Soap Net, etc.) will soon follow in upcoming weeks.

Kings: See, I told you the Queen should kill that chick. Seriously, what took her so long? And it looks like Silas is back to flip flopping on David. Ugg. You can stream current episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download Kings on iTunes.

Eli Stone: What was with the random Grace-centric episode? She was only in one episode and was never heard about for most of the season with Eli moving on to Maggie and then out of nowhere Eli is thinking about her only for him to see her in a flashback. Just odd. You can stream current episodes over at ABC.com. You can also download Eli Stone on iTunes.

Charm School with Ricki Lake: This is what I hate about this show, they boot the person who has changed the most for the one that “needs more work.” When you are done to the final five you can’t pull they, they should know by now not to call other people “retards.” Not that it will keep me from watching. You can also download Charm School with Ricki Lake on iTunes.

Rescue Me: No drug induced musical number this week? Well of course the male stripper doesn’t count. That scene just went on too long
You can stream current episodes over at Hulu.

The Philanthropist: I an era where every show seems to use narration ad nausea, the show is sure clever with it’s narration, be it trying to impress a barmaid, avoiding a hostile takeover in the board room or chatting up a prime minister. Creativity always gets points in my book. Although Paris is certainly not as exotic as Nigeria or Burma. You can stream current episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download The Philanthropist on iTunes.

Free Download of the Week: X5 Free Sampler - Golden Voices
(Amazon MP3): Here is one for the fans of the classics with songs by Dean Martin, Ella Fitzgerald and three others to ask your grandparents about. Not as old, but while at Amazon you will want to also pick up this free live Sam Cooke song.

Deal of the Week: Save up to 45% on First Seasons (Pushing Daisies, Deadwood, Alf)

Video of the Week: One show that was ready for Upfronts was Day One and the first glimpse of the show leaked to the interwebs this week. It actually had me sucked in until the curly headed dude started screaming, “it doesn’t matter, they’re already dead!” which caused me to laugh and it was all downhill from there. But it still stars the highly likeable Julie Gonzalo so I may still give it a try. And hey, it can’t possibly be worse than Heroes. Right? Hopefully NBC releases a better quality trailer soon. When they do I will repost it.

NBC’s Day One Trailer


Next Week Pick of the Week: Leverage, Wednesday at 9:00 on TNT: Leverage was the surprise show of last season having just the right mix of action, drama, and comedy. With a new season comes a new game to coincide with the new season. Head over to LeverageHQ.com to play Get Ready to Get Even.

Leverage will be followed by new show Dark Blue which comes with its own game you can find at DarkBlueUndercover.com. Look out for more on both shows before their premieres.

Feed Your iPod vol. XXXI: On the Radio

With the recent release of her latest album, I went back and took a listen to some of the earlier work of Regina Spektor. Fidelity may have been the song the broke her and featured on a few television shows, but my favorite of hers is still On the Radio. It is hard not to enjoy a singer-songwriter on the piano wax poetic about November Rain.

On the Radio – Regina Spektor

Get Off My Lawn

I am very cautious when it comes to award winning and critically acclaimed movies. I am still bitter at checking out Crash after it garnered an Academy Award for best movie only for it to be the worst thing I have ever seen on film (naturally it ended winning the top honors that year). So I wasn’t quick to check out one of the most critically acclaimed movies of last year, Gran Torino. If fact the only reason why I did was because I had a free rental for Redbox, but there was some slim pickings, it was either that or An American Carol.

What the pretentious critics failed to mention in their reviews was how Gran Torino basically was the feel good racist movie, possibly not of just last years, but for all of the 00’s. Basically the movie was a hundred minutes of Clint Eastwood (Space Cowboys) spouting every racial slur you could think of, and even some I have never even heard before. I am not sure it was the intent of the movie to be so funny, but I laughed throughout.

Certainly the critics didn’t enjoy the movie for its possible humor but how the movie depicted urban plight and the artsy ending. As for the urban plight, the movie centers around Eastwood after the death of his wife stuck in Detroit with just his dog to keep him company after the middle class moved out of the city, including his sons who currently reside in McMansions with their disrespectful offspring, with minorities replacing them.

It is the Hmong neighbors that take a liking to him after standing up to local gang members that are harassing them. It is the daughter of the family (Ahneh Her in her first ever role and steals every scene she is in) that despite getting called ever name Eastwood can think of invites him over for a family cookout. Luckily for the viewers, he is out of beer and is promised that dog isn’t on the menu so he decides to take her up on the offer.

For anyone who gets upsets at getting called named, pay close attention to the scene where Eastwood takes the Hmong boy to his barber (played by Drew Carey’s cross-dressing brother). For those that don’t just sit back and enjoy the feel good racist movie of the decade.

Gran Torino gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

Previewing 10 Things I Hate About You

Sometimes you have to wonder if producers have some sort of IMDB randomizer to decide what crappy remake they are going to do next. Seriously, is anyone clamoring for a TJ Hooker movie? The latest randomizer apparently landed on 10 Things I Hate About You, the late nineties modern adaptation of Taming of the Shrew. So for those keeping track at home, it is a play made into a movie, made into a television series.

The names and characters remain the same from the movie, but the circumstances have changed a little as it is the Stratford sisters are the new ones at the school. But the big rule of Bianca not being able to date until Kat does is still in place, but on the television show it doesn’t look like either will be doing so anytime soon.

One of the major problems with this reboot is the acting. Both Ethan Peck (he has a grandfather named Gregory) as Patrick and Dana Davis (Prom Night) as Chastity try too hard to be cool, or at least too cool for school. Nicholas Braun (Princess Protection Program) is likeable enough but his AV friend is just straight up annoying. While Lindsey Shaw (Aliens in America) has her moments, like the Kim Jong-Il reference, but still has yet to find a footing in the role yet.

The writing isn’t that engaging either. The show doesn’t quite decide yet if it just wants stretch out the storyline of the movie or plot its own course. And though it seems like it wants to match the mix of comedy and drama that fellow channel show Greek does, but is rarely funny or has anything to emotionally invest in just yet.

The only redeeming qualities of the first episode are the always reliable Larry Miller (10 Things I Hate About You) who reprises his role as the overcautious dad who dishes out a pretty ingenious punishment to one of his daughters. The other being Meaghan Jette Martin (Camp Rock) who is just cute as a button (I am choosing my words very carefully here as not to raise the attention of Chris Hansen) and has the daunting task of filling the shoes of Alex Mac k and does a decent job doing so.

It is possible that the show can iron out its problems quite quickly and turn into a likeable younger version of Greek, but personally I may pass and wait until the inevitable televised version of She's All That.

10 Things I Hate About You airs Tuesdays at 8:00 on ABC Family. For those that cannot wait until tonight, or just want to watch the show without commercials, you can currently download the Pilot for free on iTunes.