Around the Tubes: 11/12/16

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 Affair, The Breakthrough Prize, Underfire: The Untold Story of PFC. Tont Vaccaro, and Vice News Tonight.

Showtime is giving viewers nationwide the opportunity to sample the season three premiere of the network’s Golden Globe-winning drama series The Affair for free, ahead of its linear debut on Sunday, November 20 at 10:00. In addition, immediately following the third season premiere on-air, Showtime will make the second episode available early only to subscribers starting at 11 p.m. ET on SHOWTIME ANYTIME® and to subscribers of its stand-alone streaming service Showtime, and at midnight on Showtime On Demand®. With the premiere episode being told from the perspective of Noah (Golden Globe nominee Dominic West), the second episode will offer viewers a more comprehensive picture of the season ahead, providing additional perspectives from Alison (Golden Globe winner Ruth Wilson) and Helen (Emmy Award® nominee Maura Tierney). This season, BAFTA and César Award-nominated Irène Jacob joins the cast, providing the series’ new fifth perspective. THE AFFAIR also stars Screen Actors Guild® nominee Joshua Jackson. Consumers who do not subscribe to Showtime can watch the TV-14 rated version of the season three premiere for free now on YouTube and SHO.com. The episode is also available for download as a free video podcast on iTunes. Consumers can also sample the premiere of THE AFFAIR for free across multiple television and streaming providers’ devices, websites and applications and free On Demand channels.

- The Breakthrough Prize will mark its fifth anniversary celebrating top achievements in the fields of physics, life sciences and mathematics, with a star-studded ceremony on Sunday, Dec. 4, at the NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. The ceremony, to be broadcast live on NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, will be hosted by Academy Award®-winning actor Morgan Freeman and will feature a special performance by 15-time Grammy®-winning singer, songwriter and producer Alicia Keys. The ceremony will be directed and produced, for the fourth time, by Don Mischer, alongside executive producers Charlie Haykel and Juliane Hare of Don Mischer Productions.

- In World War II, Tony Vaccaro played two risky roles, serving as a combat infantryman on the front lines, as well as a photographer who shot 8,000 photographs. Though he began as a young GI eager to record the war, he vowed never to take another war photo on the day the conflict ended, horrified by what he had seen. Directed by Max Lewkowicz (the New York Emmy®-winning “Morgenthau”), Underfire: The Untold Story of PFC. Tont Vaccaro chronicles the life and vision of this remarkable man, exploring how photography defines the way the public perceives armed conflict, and revealing the sheer difficulty of survival while taking photos in a war zone. The poignant documentary debuts MONDAY, NOV. 14 (8:00-9:15 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.

- For some Americans, abstaining from voting this year was a statement. Vice News Tonight's Dexter Thomas spent election day with 22-year-old Ohio resident Danielle Anderson, who made a point of staying home instead of heading to the polls. Thomas' full interview with Danielle is available on HBO Go and HBO Now. Watch VICE News Tonight weeknights on HBO at 7:30pm.

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

Once Upon a Time: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea? Again, if the Animal Farm animals show up, I am out. And didn’t Hook’s brother already die in Neverland? Did he have another one I forgot about already?
You can download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Shameless: You gotta love that Carl turns out to be part Indian and he cop mentor ends up being part Puritan, who oppressed Carl’s “People”. But haven’t they already done the Fiona and Vee on the outs storyline? I am ready for them to just reconcile or at least just completely blow things up.

The Walking Dead: I was just whining last week how depressing the show had gotten, to the point is was moving into torture porn territory. And this week they introduce a self-professed king and his pet tiger who does not seem to be evil at all. Where has King Ezekiel been hiding all this time?

Masters of Sex: So the first time (I think) Virginia ever professed her love was while pretending to be other people. Kind of sums up that relationship. And of course while they are off looking for clinics stealing their method, Nancy is plotting her own exodus who got even more underhanded by telling Art she is tired with the swinging lifestyle only to go back to her favorite swing afterwards. Should be interesting to see what her endgame is.

The Strain: Wow, what a brat, setting off a nuclear bomb because his father killed his undead mother. Little Godweather may have just vaulted up to the top of the list of the worst TV kid ever, and that is a pretty extensive list.
You can download The Strain on iTunes.

Gotham: “Stop the press,” good original Batman shout out. But I am getting tired of the Mad Hatter storyline, that is not a villain that deserves his own season long story arc, a villain of the week episode would have sufficed.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Supergirl: I get a strong Smallville vibe between Kara and Lena. I just hope if that is the case we do not have to wait five long and slow seasons to have the two turn against each other as she embrasses the darkside. But on the flipside of that, having Kara and Mon-El accept each other after one episode when their races have been in a blood feud for centuries seemed a bit fast. It would be a bit disappointing if all the new characters (Mon-E;, Lena Luther, Miss Martian, hot lesbian vop) turn out to be allies with only an episode or two of being an anagonist at top. One of them has tto go full heel at some point.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

Timeless: Wait, why did Flynn go back to the Alamo again? Just to kill everyone four days earlier? Kind of a waste of a time machine if you ask me. But one interesting part was Flynn teling Santa Anna he should grant quarter to the women and children as he is also a father. Could Flynn be Lucy’s currently unknown father? Seems obvious until I actually think about the logistics as he does not seem that much older than her (not that stops Hollywood as I believe the Gilmore Girls are only about nine years apart in real life). But then ago, current day Flynn could have gone back thirty-ish years and impregnated Lucy’s mother.
You can download Timeless on iTunes.

Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen. X: So three post swap Tribal and three times the majority generation sent home one of their own. The Millennials go into the merge with the advantage but a lot of bad blood so it may very well be one of them heading off to the jury first. Except here we are at the merge and I still have no interest in rooting for any of these people.
Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen. X on iTunes.

The Good Place: The DJ monk finally got found out by his “lifepartner” though I was a bit disappointed that there was not his “real” version of him on The Bad Place train. But what was with the no new episodes until January? Why are they not airing up to the week before Thanksgiving? What exactly is NBC airing the next two weeks then? I looked up next week, but the regular line up is being pre-empted here for the Browns Thursday Night Football game. So expect the NFL primetime game ratings to continue to decline.
You can download The Good Place on iTunes.