Around the Tubes: September 10, 2022

                          

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting.  This post includes blurbs on POV, Aqua Teen Forever, The Police, The Beach Boys, The Ed Sullivan Show, George Michaels, The Headies, King Shaka, and The Handmaid's Tale.

- POV, currently celebrating its 35th anniversary season as America’s longest running non-fiction series, offers an intriguing look at the high stakes quest for college admissions at a prep school in Louisiana, known for its viral videos of seniors being accepted to Ivy League schools in Accepted, directed by Dan Chen (Waiting For Mamu) and produced by Jason Y. Lee, Chen, Jesse Einstein and Mark Monroe.  Accepted, an official selection of the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival, will make its national broadcast premiere on Monday, October 10, 2022 (check local listings) and will be available to stream free until November 10, 2022 at pbs.org, and the  PBS Video app. In addition to standard closed captioning for the film, POV, in partnership with audio description service DiCapta, provides real time audio interpretations for audiences with sensory disabilities.

- We just released the never-before-seen movie trailer for Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm and wanted to share with you. Feast your eyes on the all-new mystery-adventure with Master Shake, Frylock, and Meatwad here: https://youtu.be/F59B9xfWQb8.  Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm is coming to Digital, 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray on November 8, 2022 from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. This is the second film adaptation inspired from one of Adult Swim’s longest running animated series – Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

- Ghost In The Machine, The Police’s fourth album which was first released in 1981, is to be reissued as a stunning limited edition picture disc, featuring the alternate, ‘original’ track-listing and sequencing.  To be released on November 4 and now available on pre-order, this special reissue features three additional tracks not included on the original album – “I Burn For You” - the single mix of the track from the “Brimstone and Treacle” album – “Once Upon A Daydream” and “Shambelle.”  To add to the unique nature of this release, and reflecting the personality of the band, four songs (“Spirits In The Material World,“ “Rehumanize Yourself,“ “One World (Not Three)“ and “Hungry For You“) feature Stewart Copeland counting in the tracks – distinctive audio from the recording studio that was not included on the 1981 release.

-  Four of The Beach Boys’ most timeless and legendary songs – “Barbara Ann,” “Don’t Worry Baby,” “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” and “God Only Knows” – serve as the soundtrack to a stunning, unprecedented four-part video series that builds on itself to become one long narrative when watched in order or can be enjoyed individually. Directed by Andrew Litten, who’s worked with Anderson .Paak, Pusha T, and Earth, Wind & Fire, the cinematic story, which was beautifully filmed in South Africa with a local cast of actors, captures what it’s like to be young and in love as it traces a high school romance between surfing-obsessed Helena (Zoe Manoek) and Lucas (Toby De Goede), an aspiring photographer who’s the new kid in town, and the difficult decisions they each must make as graduation looms and their future’s beckon.  The video series will play out over back-to-back weekends and kicked off today with the first installment, “Barbara Ann,” which introduces Helena, a young teen who spends her waking hours daydreaming about surfing and getting out of her small town. The story of Lucas, a boy who moves to town with his dad, will be told in the ensuing video, “Don’t Worry Baby,” which follows tomorrow, September 10th at 9 am PT on The Beach Boys Official YouTube Channel.  Watch “Barbara Ann” here: https://thebeachboys.lnk.to/BarbaraAnnMusicVideoPR

- From the late ‘50s through the early ’70s -- families across America gathered around their television every Sunday night to watch The Ed Sullivan Show. And while the country and its music underwent an enormous evolution over the course of those years, the show not only kept up with the times, but it informed them -- evidenced by the wide variety of acts fortunate enough to perform live on the stage of Studio 50. From slick-haired snarlers to soulful singing groups to rebellious rockers from across the Atlantic, Ed Sullivan’s musical guests were a who’s who of the era’s popular culture. And today, they’re regarded as some of the greatest artists of all time. The long and winding road of music history is full of forks, but from the 1950s through the early ’70s, one stop was essential: The Ed Sullivan Show.  This October, the acclaimed TV DVD archivists at Time Life invite music lovers and classic TV aficionados to experience the excitement of these once-in-a-lifetime performances in one spectacular DVD collection: ED SULLIVAN’S ROCK & ROLL CLASSICS. From rock ‘n’ roll legends to shimmering soul superstars, The British Invasion to Folk Rock, psychedelic pop, and so much more, Ed Sullivan showcased them all on his Sunday Night variety show, week after unforgettable week. This set brings the very best of these performances together in one memorable 10-disc set, featuring 128 live, uncut performances from the greatest performers and musical icons of the 20th century including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Elvis, The Supremes and so many more. This special DVD collection will be available to add to every home entertainment library for $119.96.

- Who really was George Michael? The new documentary GEORGE MICHAEL: PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST (Amazon Prime Video, Apple iTunes, Google Play), details just that, told candidly from the people who really knew him best – his music manager Simon Napier-Bell, his longtime lover and partner Kenny Goss, fellow luminaries Stevie Wonder, Rufus Wainwright, Stephen Fry, and many more. By far the most definitive feature documentary on George’s amazing life, the film explores the many ups and downs of the illustrious Grammy Award winner, considered one of the best-selling musicians of all time with sales of over 120 million records worldwide. We would love to set up an interview with you and the film’s director, Simon Napier-Bell and/or Kenny Goss to discuss the importance of the documentary and George’s legacy, as well as share anecdotes about who he really was.  TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZ59r8vp7ME

- When The Headies brings the best in Afrobeats and African music and culture to the States on September 4th, it will do so with the help of Emmy Award-nominated actor and host Anthony Anderson and Nigerian American actress and co-host, Osas Ighodaro. This A-list trio of dynamic talents will lead the proceedings at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta, GA, at 5 PM ET.  The star-studded lineup of performers includes Tiwa Savage,  Wizkid, FireBoyDML, Adekunle Gold, Davido, Flavour, Kcee, Buju, Lojay, Goya Menor,  Cohbams, 2Baba, Joeboy, Rugier, Olamide, Asake and more to be announced.

- SHOWTIME announced today that Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Lost, Oz), Mustafa Shakir (Luke Cage) will star and Terry Pheto (Tsotsi, The Bold & the Beautiful) and Lerato Mvelase (Justice Served) will guest star in the highly anticipated new series KING SHAKA, an epic drama centered around one man’s personal journey from stigmatized childhood to legendary king. They join previously announced cast Charles Babalola (The Outlaws) as Shaka, Aïssa Maïga (The Fear Index), Thando DIomo (The Woman King), Thapelo Mokoena (Bulletproof) and Warren Masemola (Queen Sono). The CBS Studios production, produced with Propagate and Fuqua Films and to be fully shot in South Africa, kicks off later this month in the historic KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) South Africa province, the birthplace of King Shaka, and will debut on SHOWTIME in 2023.  

- Hulu’s award-winning, hit drama series, “The Handmaid’s Tale” has been renewed for a sixth and final season ahead of its season five premiere. In addition to season six of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Bruce Miller (creator, showrunner and executive producer) is actively developing "The Testaments," a follow-up to “The Handmaid’s Tale,”  which picks up years later.  

 

The Most (and Least) Anticipated Questions of 2022-23 Television

 

The start of the television season is upon us, though it feels like it already started as many big shows started last week.  Though, it reality, it feels like the television season did not even end with a constant stream of notable shows popping up during what typically been a barren wasteland for scripted television.  But I digress.  The unofficial start of the television season is when I like to ask a couple questions that hopefully get answered by the end of the season… if the season actually ever ends in the era of streaming.

  

      1.       Who Will Win the IP War: Marvel, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, or Star Wars?  Labor Day is when temperatures start to fall with the unofficial end of summer, but things are already heating up on television.  We have three episodes of She-Hulk and House of the Dragon as well as two episodes of Rings of Power.  Then the day before the official first day of fall, Andor premieres.  Marvel, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars represent the three biggest names on television right now (sorry DC and Walking Dead who also recently launched less buzzworthy shows).  HBO says Hot D got 10 million viewers for its premiere and increased that for the second episode.  Then Prime said 25 million people watched Ring (though a bit apples to oranges because Hot D was just Americans and Rings were worldwide).  The Ploose did not give out She-Hulk numbers, but something called Samba TV claims 1.5 million households watched the premiere, but again households to people can be apple to oranges).  That viewership went up seems like Hot D is currently in prime position to win the IP wars.  The low states comedy of She-Hulk will probably come in last with Andor being the dark horse.  The last two Star Wars shows were not well received but Rogue One was one of the bright spots of the Disney era Star Wars properties.  But what is clear, there will be a round two.

      2.       Who the Fork Is Lottie Matthews?!?  Fewer things got me more hyped while watching television over the past year than listening to Natalie’s voice mail on Yellowjackets when her AA sponsor found out who emptied Travis’s bank account and asked her, “Who the fork is Lottie Matthews.”  Sure, my theory that Lottie was Pit Girl went out the window, but considering how Lottie went from a background character to a crazy Antler Queen, I am not disappointed.  If she could go off the rails after a couple months, just how crazy has she become twenty-five year later?  Unfortunately the show already spoiled her acolyte Van is still alive when they announced Lauren Ambrose has been cast as an adult version.  Elijah Wood has also been cast, but thankfully not as adult Javi in another spoiler, but as one of Misty’s Citizen Detectives.

      3.       What Now on The Handmaid’s Tale?  After three seasons of torture porn, June actually managed to escape Gilliad last season and celebrated by brutally murdering Commander Waterford.  So what do you do after escaping and killing your capture?  Well, June still needs to rescue her daughter who is still in Gilliad.  Hopefully that does not take three seasons to accomplish.  And while the Commander is dead, his widow is still very much alive.  Though one person we will not be seeing is Emily who has been written off the show.  Though no big loss as she had not added much to the show after escaping back in season two.

      4.       Will Dr. Ben Seong Run Into Dr. Samuel Beckett?  For years I have been asking for a Quantum Leap reboot with Sam playing the Al role.  While we are getting a Quantum Leap reboot, the leaper is still a dude and the Al sand in will be played by Ernie Hudson.  Sigh.  Now the question is, will the new leaper eventually run into Sam?   Here is hoping he will and it will be sooner rather than later.

      5.       Who Killed Pail Rudd and When Will We Find Out?  Much like the first season of Only Murders in the Building ended with a teaser of a new murder, season two ended will Paul Rudd dying on stage shortly after having a tense exchange with Charles Hayden Savage and a notably shaken Mabel in shock.  Was Mabel the “she” Charles told Paul Rudd to stay away from?  The list of alternatives is not very long.  Lucy is too young but could Lucy’s mom be back in the picture.  Then there is the question of when will the third season premiere.  Season two actually arrived two months earlier than the first, could we get the third season two more months earlier?  That would put it in late April.  For Emmy reason, it is doubtful, but the Emmy window ending in late May, a premiere around that time does not seem out of the question.  Then the other question remains, if Paul Rudd was murdered on stage, will they need to change the name of Only Murders in the Building?

 

As the great philosopher Butt-Head once pondered, how would we know if something was cool if there weren't things that sucked; here are the five least anticipated questions

      1.       Who Will Survive the Walking Dead?  It is the end of the era, after ten seasons, the last as which was split into three parts; The Waling Dead is coming to an end.  So who will survive?  Well, Daryl and Carole have already been announced for a spin-off show (though Carole dropped out) as well as one with Maggie and Negan so I am guess those four survive unless those shows will just be those zombiefied four around eating stupid humans.  Actually, that may actually be better than what we will likely get.

      2.       Who Will Survive The CW Sale?  It was a bloodbath last spring when The CW canceled three of its female fronted superhero television shows (Stargirl was lucky in that it had not aired yet).  The Flash has already been announced for a final season which will leave just Stargirl, Superman, and the upcoming Gotham Knights as the lone superhero shows.  Will any of them or the other low performing show make the cut after the new owners have full control?  Who care, no one will likely watch either way.

      3.       Who Will Survive the HBO Max / Discovery Merger?  The new CEO comes in, axes the almost completed Batgirl and the internet turns into Chicken Little.  Someone even claimed HBO Max would stop making originals and current originals would move to HBO.  Stupid people.  While this month HBO Max will premiering… um, just about nothing, a sizzle real that launched with Hot D promises new seasons of Pennyworth (coming next month) Titans, Doom Patrol, Hacks Minx, Our Flag Means Death, coming soon.  Okay, the only new show is some new show with Elizabeth Olsen based on a story Hulu already did earlier this year.  So the merger may mean less content coming from HBO Max / Discover, but in an era of too much television, that may not be such a bad thing

      4.       Who Will Survive NBC Axing the 10:00 Hour?  This rumor just hit the internet recently launching a thousand Jay Leno jokes.  But if NBC does end up axing six hours every week, what will be left?  Sadly, it will probably not be what historically NBC has done best: comedies.  They are no sitcoms premiering this month, though Young Rock and some George Lopez show are coming to Fridays in November.  But losing 10:00 would also mean no full nights of Chicago or Law and Order shows.  Though what will become of ambitious shows like La Brea that NBC tries every year?  What surprises me about this is that linear television is still very profitable and NBC’s streaming sister, Peacock is the one that seems to be struggling the most.  It seems like a very poor business move.  But if we get less procedurals, maybe that will not be such a bad thing.  Speaking of which…

      5.       Just How Many Spin-Off Are There?  Law and Order and Chicago are not the only shows that dominate an entire night, FBI, All-American, and Walker all take up a full day of programing.  NCIS and The Rookie do have shows on different nights while Grey’s Anatomy takes up multiple timeslots on Thursday .  Surprisingly we are down to just the original CSI this fall.  Who are watching all these shows and their spin-offs?

 

Here is everything I will be watching this fall... Why the fork are there so many shows on Wednesdays?  How about spreading things out?

Mondays

8:00 – The Neighborhood (CBS, September 19(

9:00 – Kevin Can Fork Himself (AMC, already started)

10:00 – Quantum Leap (NBC, September 19)

 

Tuesdays

Reboot (Hulu, September 20)

9:00 - La Brea (NBC, September 27)

 

 Wednesdays

Wedding Season (Hulu, September 7)

Tell Me Lies (Hulu, September 7)

The Handmaid’s Tale (September 14)

Andor (Disney+, September 21)

Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin (Peacock, November 23)

8:00 – Stargirl (The CW, already started)

8:00 – Survivor (CBS, September 21)

8:30 – The Goldbergs (ABC, September 21)

9:00 – Abbott Elementary (ABC, September 21)

10:00 – Big Sky (ABC, September 21)

 

Thursdays

Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head (Paramount+, already started)

She-Hulk (Disney+, already started)

The Lord of the Ring: The Rings of Power (Prime, already started)

A Friend of the Family (Peacock, October 6)

8:30 – Ghosts (CBS, September 29)

 

Fridays

Ramy (Hulu, September 30)

8:00 – Young Rock (NBC, November 4)

 

Sundays

9:00 – House of the Dragon (HBO, already started)

9:00 – The Walking Dead (AMC, October 2)

10:00 – Let the Right One In (Showtime, October 9)

57 Channels and Only This Is On: September 4, 2022

 

House of the Dragon:  I never really minded that Game of Thrones routinely went an hour because they usually juggled at least four storylines at a time, sometimes more.  With this show staying at King’s Landing most of the time and focusing solely on the Targarians, these episodes have dragged a bit.  They really need to get the Starks or Lannisters in there.  But the battle lines are starting to form.  The Sea Snake has thrown in with the Rouge Prince, the king has tied himself to the Hightowers (which I guess is less gross than marrying a twelve year old), and the current heir is kind of left out there on her own waiting for a half-brother to come along (which the promo spoils happens).

 

Tales of the Walking Dead:  I actually liked the idea of a swamp cruise to escape a zombie apocalypse; unfortunately they ruined it by making it an Alpha origin story, even though we already got her origin story.  I checked out after she left the boat.  This episode would have been much better had it been Death on the Zombie Nile, just keep have people disappearing, and then have the hijackers arrive in the final act.

 

The Chi:  Oh snap, they killed off the old kingpin.  Though he really felt insignificant this season.  It felt like he was just brought back so the former mayor could turn on him to make more nefarious.

 

City on a Hill:  Watching a lot of cop shows in my life, I have heard them talk about giving gun residue tests before, but in all my years, that was the first time I actually saw someone take that test.  That was a lot more complicated that I assumed.  I thought it was just a simple swab.  So Jackie actually lied to help Decoursey.  Then Jackie saw Decoursey’s boss at Sinclair’s house.  Everything is starting to tie together.  But why is Jenny having someone dive for her husband’s badge? If she wants her husband reinstated, could they not just issue a new one?

 

In the Dark:  Huh?  Did we not see Darnell get shot at the start of the season?  What bad editing bullshirt is this?  Mot that I am complaining Max died, I just wish that had happened a lot sooner.  But all this happened because Josh would rather the Blind Chick go to prison than bring down a drug organization that is killing people.  That has to be the dumbest plot mechanism in the history of television.  Then it looks like in the finale, the Blind Chick is going to torture and kill Josh.  I guess if you are going out, go out with a dumb bang.

 

The Challenge: USA:  Sigh, after all that big talk from Sarah last week, I was fully expecting her to get eliminated by Angela this week.  Unfortunately Danny turned out to be scared of Angela and sent in Cashey instead.  So the Fab 5 did not last very long, Desi turned on them and Cash is gone.  So is there just a Fab 3 or with the other two realize Sarah is too much of a loose cannon?

 

Stargirl:  As if Cindy did not look even guiltier, she had a literal smoking gun in her hand.  She really cannot talk her way out of that one, though she looks so guilty it probably is not her.  But which of the new friendamies could it be?  I suspect it was not anyone we saw.  Maybe someone in the Icicle family.  Are any of them still around?  I do wonder how, or if, the daughter plays into this.  But artimis coming though with a C+C Music Factory montage really made this episode.

 

Resident Alien: Well, that was confusing. It took me a second to realize that Harry is actually the artist.  So he is the baby alien’s actual father, just a six hundred year older version of him.  But why not go to Patience to warn Harry of the upcoming apocalypse?  Is this Back to the Future rules where he cannot see his younger self?  If so, why not send a note or something?

 

The Resort:  To quote the great philosopher Chidi Anagonye: What the fork?!?!  Really, that was it?  The kids were just hanging out in goo like nothing happened for the past 15 years?  I was expecting something a lot more interesting than that from the guys who did Palm Spring and Mr. Robot.