Around the Tubes: 12/7/2018

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 Hootie & the Blowfish, American Dream/American Knightmare, En Vogue, Eight Days that Made Rome, and Disasters at Sea.

- Hootie & the Blowfish: Only Wanna Be with You


- Showtime will debut the world premiere of the new documentary film American Dream/American Knightmare, on Friday, December 21 at 8:30 on-air, streaming and on demand. The documentary, which offers an uncensored look into the life of notorious rap mogul Marion “Suge” Knight, is directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, Southpaw).


- On Saturday, Vevo confirmed that thank u, next had broken the 24-hour Vevo record. Today, Vevo can confirm that Ariana Grande's video is now the fastest video to reach 100 million views, a feat managed in under four days following the release of the video on Friday, November 30 at 3pm ET.

- Tune in Friday, December 7 at 9:00 to watch the broadcast premiere of the concert special “En Vogue” on AT&T* AUDIENCE Network via DIRECTV Ch 239. The show will also be available streaming on-demand through DIRECTV NOW and WatchTV.

- Presented by award-winning historian, author and broadcaster Bettany Hughes – Oxford University scholar and one of the BBC’s 100 Global Women – Eight Days that Made Rome explores the eight key days that defined the great Roman Empire. To tell the story of Rome, Hughes travels across the region once held by the empire, delving into its rich history and uncovering brand new archeological evidence to bring ancient Rome back to life. The eight-part landmark series offers a fresh perspective on the building of arguably the most powerful empire of all time – examining how it came to dominate the ancient world and helping us to understand its astonishing success. Eight Days that Made Rome premieres on Monday, January 7 at 8:00 with a special premiere episode sneak peek the night before on Sunday, January 6 at 9:00 on Smithsonian Channel.

- From pleasure cruises to cargo carriers, even the calmest boat trips can end in tragedy. In the aftermath of the world’s most destructive naval catastrophes, loved ones and investigators are often left with unsatisfying answers. Following its acclaimed series AIR DISASTERS, which has uncovered shocking revelations behind aviation calamities for 11 seasons, Smithsonian Channel expands its search for the truth into the world of maritime incidents. New series Disasters at Sea premieres Sunday, January 13 at 9:00 on Smithsonian Channel.

Previewing: Into the Dark: Pooka!

The first “episode” of Into the Dark was a farcical slasher flick, the second was a very insularity psychological thriller, and for December, we get a third very different type of horror. Pooka! is a very disturbing mind trip where the further we get in the episode the harder it is to trust what exactly what we are seeing.

Directed by Nacho Vigalondo, the writer and director of Colossal, Pooka! stars Nyasha Hatendi (Casual) stars as a struggling actor who gets cast as the body of the hot new toy for this Christmas season. Pooka has headlight eyes, a weird oval mouth with lines on both sides (being right under the eyes makes me wonder if they may be tears), a big “O” on the belly, and repeats everything you say in its weird voice. Oh and Pooka, who is only available at pop-up stores, chooses to be naughty or nice, not the owner or anyone else. Of course throughout the episode, Pooka is more naughty than nice.

After putting on the suit for the gig, Hatendi starts to wonder if he is wearing the suit or is the suit wearing him. There are gaps in his memory and visions of the suit moving without him. Making things even more troublesome, a budding romance with a single mother. And just when you think there is no why this episode can end in a coherent way, it actually ends in a way that (kind of) makes sense. Here is my up to date Into the Dark Power Rankings:

1. The Body (October)
2. Pooka! (December)
3. Flesh and Bone (November)

Into the Dark: Pooka! premieres tomorrow only on Hulu. And look out later this month for “January’s” episode, because the New Year’s Eve episode premieres December 28.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 12/2/2018

Supergirl: I knew Manchester Black was a bad guy from the comics, but pretty cold to sell out Supergirl like that. And it did not even work, Captain Liberty was somewhere else. Although I kind of hope Manchester does exact some revenge because am ready for the Make Earth Great Again storyline to be over. Whatever happened to Soviet Supergirl?
Supergirl on iTunes.

Ray Donovan: You would think after getting blackmailed with a sex tape the mayoral candidate would not be so quick to fork another dude she just met even if he helped her out. And just what exactly is Bunchy up to? But is this the end of Conner? He finally gets out to New York with the rest of the family only to ship out by the end of the episode. Granted he is the least interesting Donovan so itt would be fine if he stays in Afghanistan or wherever he is going.

The Walking Dead: Way to spoil who survives that graveyard Promo Monkey. Geez. But is it really that hard to scale five foot wall? With Eugene pulling and two dudes pushing him over should not have been as hard as they made it out to be. And did Maggie really die in the time jump? She has only been vaguely mentioned and her kid has been whole absent. Maybe they just sent her away assuming her ABC show gets quickly canceled and she will be back next season.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Manifest: Wait, they killed off the Homeland Security guy? Or at least hot lady cop was told he did not make it. Of course my number one rule of television is, if you do not see someone die, they probably are not dead. Me thinks he was taken by the shady government agency.
You can download Manifest on iTunes.

Survivor: David vs. Goliath: Wait, Probst offered up extra rice for exchange of someone sitting out an immunity challenge? Lame. Dude’s taken everything before. Should have at least made multiple people sit out. But Angelina is just that keeps on giving this season. She could have been booted that week after the jacket incident and still would have been an all-timer, but lack of self-awareness is just pure entertainment. She finally thinks she is in with the David’s and the look on her face when she realized that Carl was getting more votes than expected was just priceless. She is almost the second coming of Eliza.
You can download Survivor: David vs. Goliath on iTunes.

Blindspot: So Kurt finally realized Jane was not who she was pretending to be and… they ended up having to still work together because they got caught up in a home invasion. But now that she has escaped, it should make things a little more interesting as the FBI will now be chasing two rouge agents. So how long until Jane hooks up with Zapata? Although doesn’t Jane need the FBI and their information? Patterson did find another file this week.
You can download Blindspot on iTunes.