57 Channels and Only This Is On: 5/30/15

Orphan Black: The show should never put Allison on the shelf for an entire episode but they almost made up for it this week with her and Donnie's dance party which rivals the nineties dance party back in season one as the best scene in the show's history.
You can download Orphan Black on iTunes.

Penny Dreadful: Whoa, for I believe is the first time in the show's history, it was having a bit of fun with the dress shopping sequence (is Dr. Frankenstein really going to fall in love with his creation). Of course that did not last long as it had to go back to creepy which the wall people definitely were.
You can download Penny Dreadful on iTunes.

American Odyssy: Oh no, they killed the arab transvestite television host who trades sexual favors with the Malian general, (s)he was the best part of the show. But hey, Chloe Sullivan showed up this week (though her name has been in the credits for the last couple weeks, have they brought her in just to show the back of her head all those eavesdropping scenes). I wonder what she has been up to since the end of Smallville.
You can download American Odyssey on iTunes

Aquarius: I have weirdly enjoyed NBC's midseason attempts the last couple years, the shows have been ambitious even if they tend to fall short of the cable quality they clearly are trying for. Plus they are almost guaranteed to be low commitment because I believe Hannibal is the only one of these shows to get a second season (although based solely on ratings, even that probably should have been canned but luckily returns for its third season this week. I am not sure I really needed to see a highly fictitious show built around Charlie Manson (though I would have said that about Hannibal Lecter three years ago too) but there is almost nothing else on this week. Plus it is nice to have Fox Mulder back on free television plus it also has my favorite Bunhead. Unfortunately is also stars the worst actor Friday Night Lights. Seriously, why is Smash Williams relegated to recurring when the dude whose name I never bothered to learn in the main cast? Then there is a hot blond cop (cue Sir Psycho Sexy) who may have the worst American accent in the history of television.

 Still Aquarius did have its moments be it funny (though I am not entirely sure all were meant to be intentionally funny) or weird (Charlie Manson tries to rape a dude... twice). But I fear the most interesting part of the show will be NBC's decision to release every episode for purchase, streaming and On Demand the day after the premiere. As a creature of habit, I will probably will still end up watching the show live since I will be watching Hannibal afterwards anyway, but I do like it when networks try something new. I am not sure what will qualify as a success but I do hope this leads the networks to new innovation.
You can download the full season of Aquarius on iTunes.

As I just mentioned, there was not much to watch on television this week. So I had to make a little hart to let myself know when summer shows start premiering. Apparently Wednesday will be movie or video game night for me. Even Monday looks pretty barren until late August.

Sundays
9:00 - Ray Donavan (July 12, Showtime)
9:00 - The Last Ship (June 22, TNT)
10:00 - Masters of Sex (July 12, Showtime)
10:00 - Falling Skies (June 28, TNT)
10:00 - The Strain (July 12, FX)

Mondays
Switched at Birth (August 24, ABC Family)

Tuesdays
8:00 - Pretty Little Liars (June 2, ABC Family)
10:00 - Royal Pains (June 2, USA)
10:00 - Tyrant (June 16, FX)
10:00 - Public Morals (August 25, TNT)

Wednesdays

Thursdays
9:00 - Aquarius (already airing, NBC)
9:00 - Under the Dome (June 25)
10:00 - Hannibal (June 4, NBC)
10:00 - Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll (July 16, FX)
10:30 - Married (July 16, FX)

Fridays
8:00 - Defiance (June 12, Syfy)

Around the Tubes: 5/29/15

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Bob Segar, Stitchers, The Hotwives of Las Vegas, Deadbeat, Anne Frank’s Holocaust, Ike Reilly, and Ray Donovan

- Capitol Records recording artist Bob Seger’s classic album, Night Moves, makes its debut on 180-gram vinyl on June 16, 2015 – Just in time for Father’s Day! Seger’s breakthrough album, powerful and personal, is the newest vinyl reissue addition to the GRAMMY® Award-winning rocker’s extraordinary catalogue. Originally released in 1976, Night Moves was Bob Seger’s first studio album with the Silver Bullet Band. Much of the album was recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama with the incomparable Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. The album went on to garner overwhelming critical praise, as well as, the hit singles “Night Moves,” “Mainstreet,” and “Rock and Roll Never Forgets” Presale is available now.

- ABC Family, which dominates the social space for television, is now expanding into the virtual reality arena with a new app promoting the new procedural drama series Stitchers. The app, titled “Hack the Case,” is available starting today, Tuesday, May 19, 2015 on Stitchers.com, at the Google Play store and the Apple App store. Hack The Case” allows users to be immersed into the world of ‘stitching’ through a virtual reality experience using 360-degree video. Similar to the series, in which genius hacker Kirsten Clark is ‘stitched’ into the memories of the recently deceased in order to help solve their murders, “Hack The Case” will challenge users to find out if they have what it takes to be a ‘stitcher.’ Users will view multiple videos, collect clues and attempt to solve the case. Those who succeed in solving the case will be entered into a sweepstakes for the chance to win a trip to Los Angeles where they will have an action figure created in their own image. ABC Family will be distributing smartphone virtual reality viewers to enhance the experience via a number of different giveaways. Stitchers will premiere on Tuesday, June 2, 2015 at 9:00 on ABC Family.

- Hulu along with Paramount Digital Entertainment revealed their all-star cast of comedians who will join The Hotwives of Las Vegas, the follow up season to their hit original series The Hotwives of Orlando. The second season is set to premiere exclusively on Hulu and Hulu Plus with episodes to stream weekly starting on Tuesday, August 18. The series will see returning stars take on news roles with Casey Wilson (Marry Me, Gone Girl) as Jenfer Beudon; Tymberlee Hill (Marry Me, Drunk History) as Phe Phe Reed, Esq; Andrea Savage (Episodes, Dinner for Schmucks, Step Brothers) as Ivanka Silversan; Danielle Schneider (Marry Me, Hotwives of Orlando) as Denise Funt; Dannah Phirman (Newsreaders, The Hotwives of Orlando) as Leona Carpeze; along with series newcomer Erinn Hayes (Childrens Hospital) as Callie Silversan.

- Hulu announced this week that the Hulu Original series Deadbeat has been renewed for a third season with a 13-episode order. Produced by Lionsgate Television, the series is co-created by Cody Heller and Brett Konner (Wilfred, The Inbetweeners) and executive produced by showrunner Dan Lagana. Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Sarah Esberg from Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment are producers on the show.

- Anne Frank’s world famous diary came to an abrupt end shortly before the Franks were discovered hiding from the Nazis in a secret annex at the top of Otto Frank’s office building August 4, 1944. While Anne’s diary tells the story of her life, the story of her death reveals the atrocities encountered by millions of Jews during the Holocaust. In a solemn remembrance of the horrors that Anne Frank and millions of others suffered during the dark days of World War II, National Geographic Channel (NGC) takes viewers inside the concentration camps in a two-hour special, Anne Frank’s Holocaust, premiering Sunday, June 21, at 9:00. In keeping with NGC’s tradition of unparalleled storytelling, Anne Frank’s Holocaust incorporates new findings and rarely seen photographs to reintroduce the story of the massacre of Jews in one of the most comprehensive documentaries to date.

- Indie rock raconteur and singer-songwriter Ike Reilly will release his seventh studio album, Born On Fire, on June 16, 2015. The record will be issued as a joint release between Rock Ridge Music and Tom Morello’s new label Firebrand Records. Morello who hails from the same hometown as Reilly (Libertyville, IL), says, “There's something in the water in my hometown of Libertyville. Marlon Brando, Adam Jones of Tool, my humble self, and now Ike Reilly. Ike is not just a great, authentic songwriter of the highest caliber but he's always ready to throw down at a union rally... or a bar fight. Ike's songs are a poetic cracked window into the lives of the heartland heroes trying to get by, find and keep love, and carve a place for themselves with humor and dignity. But we love him most because at the drop of a hat he'll travel 1,000 miles to play one song for a dying anti-war veteran. We are very proud to have heartland hero, Ike Reilly, on Firebrand Records.”

- The second season of the critically-acclaimed Shotime hit drama series Ray Donovan is available now for purchase on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Google Play, VUDU, Sony’s Video Unlimited and PlayStation store and Verizon FiOS. Ray Donovan: The Second Season also arrives on Blu-ray and DVD today from Showtime Networks, CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Media Distribution. The series stars two-time Golden Globe® and Emmy® nominee Liev Schreiber as LA’s best professional fixer, the man called in to make the city’s celebrities, superstar athletes, and business moguls’ most complicated and combustible situations go away. Ray Donovan ranks as one of the network’s highest-rated series, and earned two Golden Globe wins and multiple Emmy nominations in its first two seasons. Season three will premiere on Sunday, July 12th at 9:00 on Showtime.

Viewers can go to the following platforms now to purchase the second season of Ray Donovan:

iTunes: http://s.sho.com/RD2iTunes
Amazon Instant Video: http://s.sho.com/RD2Amazon
Google Play: http://s.sho.com/RD2GooglePlay
VUDU: http://s.sho.com/RD2VUDU
Sony’s Video Unlimited and PlayStation Store: http://s.sho.com/RD2SonyP
Verizon FiOS: http://s.sho.com/RD2FiOS

I Want My Music Television: 5/28/15

She's Not Me Jenny Lewis


It would be hard for Jenny Lewis to follow up Just One of the Guys, but it looks like she did just that with her new video, this time recruiting SNL vets Vanessa Bayer and Fred Armison along with fellow singer-songwriter Fiest to poke fun as Lewis's time as a child star when she guested on Golden Girls and starred in movies like Troop Beverly Hills and the video game championship epic The Wizard starring Fred Savage (which begs the question where is the reboot starring Luke Dunfey as Fred's son? Actually why is Boy Meets World the only reboot in the Savage clan? Where are the reboots to The Princess Bride, Vice Versa, or Little Monsters?)

1,2 1,2 - Raekwon featuring Snoop Dogg


After some embarrassingly bad years it is weird hearing Snoop Dogg on an actual hot track.  There is one that is kind of good that was also released on his album out last week (the embarrassingly titled Bush) but it is not nearly as hot as this song with Raekwon with its nineties remix posse vibe for the video.

California Roll - Snoop Dogg featuring Stevie Wonder


As for the previously mentioned Snoop Dogg, this is probably the best song off of the new album except that I would actually would like the song much more if the song was just Pharrell and Stevie Wonder instead. And is this video supposed to be a tie in to Tomorrowland?

Photograph - Ed Sheeran


Ed Sheeran does not really like being in his own music videos (Think Out Loud being the lone exception), it is weird to see he really mugged for the camera as a child.