57 Channels and Only This Is On: 9/10/16

BrainDead: So you cannot kill the queen bug with a rolled up magazine. Oh no. Better stock up on some Raid. I wonder if the CIA guy was telling us the right story or if he was just misleading him as some devious plan with Red.
You can download BrainDead on Amazon Instant Video, free with a Prime membership.

Fear the Walking Dead: So drunken mom and gay dude were able to escape being surrounded by zombies? Alrighty. And why do the writers on these walkers show love splitting everyone up all the time? We started out with three separate storylines, maybe four depending where the hot chick went off to. I guess she was probably hijacked by the wedding party because lost people on these shows never turn out to be dead. Well except for Carol’s kid.
You can download Fear the Walking Dead on iTunes.

Mr. Robot: Ever since Joanna and Elliot first met, I thought she knew more than she let on (my working theory was Tyrell was also one of Elliot’s delusion and Joanna knew and did not want Elliot to know she knew). So when the last episode ended with Joanna driving up on Elliot I was expecting some Joanna shoe to drop. Hurumph. All she did was have Elliot hack the phone that may or may have not been given to her by Tyrell. Then we end (kind of) on another cliffhanger with two backs of heads approaching Angela after Elliot made out with her. I really could not make out who they are so it may not be someone we have met already. Then poor Dom, stuck in another Dark Army shootout. But who died? It will be quite convenient that Dom and Darla escape but the boyfriend target managed to die in the spray of bullets like (presumably) intended.
You can download Mr. Robot on iTunes.

Tyrant: Penny Dreadful really perfected how to handle the last minute cancellation with a “The End” place card at the end of the episode. Instead Tyrant was canceled hours before the now season finale aired. I was always bearish on the show, but one thing I will say about the show is that it did have a radical shift every season, something no other show really have the gull to do. They exiled Barry to start off the second season and killed off Jamal to start the second, so there was always the hope the show would course correct, it just never manage to be as great as it wanted to be. So even though we did not get tto see how the show ended on its own term, it is apropos that it ended how it did because there are no end to these holy wars and so the wars in Abudian will wage in perpetuity just like they do in the real world and the titular character was not Jamal, or any of the Al-Fayad’s, but it is all of us.
You can download Tyrant on iTunes.

Around the Tubes: 9/9/16

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 The Contenders: 16 For ’16, Facing Suge Knight, Roots, Window Warriors, Hailee Steinfeld, Puppies Make Me Happy, and The Last Ship.

- The Contenders: 16 For ’16 – an eight-week series that spotlights former presidential candidates and the campaigns that lost them their bids for the White House, premieres on PBS on Tuesday, September 13 at 8:00 p.m. (check local listings) Exactly what does it take to win the most important job in the world? The Contenders: 16 For ’16 attempts to take on this question with insight from Jesse Jackson, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Howard Dean, Gary Hart, Michael Dukakis, among others, who are vocal in discussing what went wrong and what they would do differently if given the chance. The Contenders: 16 For ’16 is part of PBS Election 2016, a multi-platform initiative that brings together PBS news, public affairs, documentary and digital programming to create the country’s most complete and objective coverage of the 2016 election cycle.

- National Geographic Channel docu-series Facing takes an immersive look at the real stories behind some of modern history’s most larger-than-life characters. Each hour long episode will tackle the myths, legends and truths behind powerful headline-makers, including Pablo Escobar, Saddam Hussein, Suge Knight, Vladimir Putin and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Facing Suge Knight premieres Tuesday, Sept. 13, at 9:00. From his shattered dream of playing in the NFL to Tupac and Biggie Smalls, old foes and former friends connect the bullet holes to map the billion-dollar rise and fall of Suge Knight. Interviewees include Vanilla Ice; Virgil Roberts, music industry lawyer and Suge Knight’s mentor; Gary Ballen, former road manager for N.W.A.; Los Angeles Police Department detective Greg Kading, lead investigator of the Death Row Records file; Sharitha Golden, Suge Knight’s former wife; and Death Row Records artists The D.O.C. and Danny Boy.

- The Emmy nominated event series Roots, exclusively streaming on Hulu starting Monday, September 15th.

-GSN, the leader in game shows and competitive entertainment, will premiere its new skill-based competition series Window Warriors, Tuesday, November 15 at 9:00. The network also revealed today the three judges for the series, including Carson Kressley, the Emmy®-winning television star, style expert, best-selling author and fashion designer known to TV viewers for his appearances on “Dancing With the Stars,” “How To Look Good Naked,” and his breakthrough role as fashion guru on the iconic series “Queer Eye For The Straight Guy” – he will also appear in the upcoming season of “Celebrity Apprentice”; Tai Beauchamp, a former magazine editor turned style influencer, content creator, public speaker, media personality, and entrepreneur, who engages women around the world with her genuine approach to celebrating inner and outer beauty; and Douglas Little, a master in the world of visual merchandising whose work includes some of the most beloved store windows on New York’s 5th Avenue, as well as design work for movies, TV and Broadway. His client list includes Van Cleef & Arpels, Barney’s New York, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus and many more. The judges join host, Garcelle Beauvais (“Hollywood Today Live,” “Spider-Man: Homecoming”) in determining the country’s top window designer.

- While in NYC to open for Meghan Trainor at Radio City Music Hall as part of The Untouchable Tour, Hailee Steinfeld stopped by Late Night with Seth Meyers to perform her new hit single, Starving. The track, released earlier this summer with production duo Grey and featuring GRAMMY award-winning artist/DJ/producer Zedd, is already climbing the Top 25 at Top 40 radio, has hit #13 on the iTunes US Pop Chart, is Top 10 in Spotify’s US Top 50, currently approaching 60M streams, and hit top 5 on the Shazam future hits chart.

- Puppies Make Me Happy will be at the Surf City Surf Dog event on September 25th. Dog owners from Florida to Australia will be at the event- it's centerpiece… a multi-heat surfing competition with dogs as contestants. Last year our team, Bakio and Brian Downes came in second place and this epic photo was taken! Hawaii natives Brian and Bakio have been surfing for years and make an incredible team. I would love to connect you to Brian to discuss this unique event, working with the Puppies Make Me Happy team and what it's like to surf with your dog!

- TNT, a division of Turner, has extended its recent renewal for The Last Ship, adding a fifth season of the epic drama. Currently in its third season, The Last Ship is reaching an average of 7.1 million viewers per episode across multiple platforms and ranks as one of basic cable's Top 10 summer dramas with adults 18-49. The action-packed series airs Sundays at 9:00, with the season finale slated for this weekend. The entire third season is also available through TNT's digital, mobile and VOD platforms.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 9/4/16

Ray Donovan: So the Russian gangster wanted to meet the movie star because he beat up a hundred Russians in a movie just to beat him up? That is some Kim Jong Il stuff. At least they killed off Lisa Bonet, that storyline went on way too long. Now just what exactly is Ray going to get from him that will satisfy the Russian? Is take a dive too obvious?

Roadies: Bad form by Taylor Swift not to show up to the memorial for her former tour manager. And Eddie Vedder can show up but not Mike McCreedy, I was hoping for a showdown between him and Machine Gun Kelly. Oh well, maybe in season two… if there is a season two. There used to be a joke, if you were on Showtime, you would run an automatic seven seasons. But recently they have been pretty trigger happy; they canceled all their comedies, including Happyish after one season. It was announced Penny Dreadful was canceled with a “The End” place card at the end of the third season finale. Last month Ray Donovan was renewed, but no word on this show. But Roadies did not have a “The End” before the credits so it seems like the show thinks there will be more when you end with Reg running back to Kelly-Anne (natch). I guess if there is a second season, the band will not actually split up and we will get an European tour. I kind of hope everyone gets hired by My Morning Jacket just so there is more Jim James.

BrainDead: Finally someone pointing out what is wrong with politics, both parties have been taken over by extremist who would rather burn down the government than compromise on anything. These politicians need to stop listening to the loudest people and start doing what is the best for everyone again.
You can download BrainDead on Amazon Instant Video, free with a Prime membership.

The Strain: When the premiere started up, I had to ask myself, did I actually like this show or have I been hatewatching it. As the episode progressed, I remembered it was kind of both. All the vampire stuff is scary but, goodness, these characters are morons and the kid is really annoying. It was more of the same with the new season especially with Gus and his mother. C’mon, how did he manage to get a straitjacket on her without getting bitten?

Pretty Little Liars: I am not sure what was more awkward, Spencer kissing the cop while collecting evidence at her house, or when she asked to kiss Toby one last time. But anyway. After the blood test we learn Noel was not Mary’s kid, that meant it had to be Jenna right? It certainly would make more sense she was Mary’s kid and AD than Charlotte being the original A. But nope, Mary Drake saved Spencer and told her she was her mother. Wait, what!?! Didn;tr we already have paternity issues with Spencer? So we learned Spencer’s father was not really her father, but instead Papa DiLarentas, but her mother is not even her mother too? Again, what!?!
You can download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Mr. Robot: So we got the backstory of Elliot going to prison and it was the Ashley Madison guy. I was hoping we would get more of Craig Robinson and how that went down in reality. So did he really just invite Elliot into his office, play chess, and as Elliot was leaving, the FBI stormed his office? Alrighty. But next week it looks like we are going to get what I have hoped for since late last season with Mrs. American Psycho going face to face with Elliot. I have thought since their first meeting she knows a lot more than she lets on, hopefully we will finally learn if that is true.
You can download Mr. Robot on iTunes.