Previewing Brain Games: The Series

Kiddies, come on in so I can tell you a little story: getting old sucks. Your body will start to ache with little physical exertion, it is extremely easy to gain weight and harder to take it off, and you have trouble remember what you did yesterday let alone every chapter of Trapped in the Closet verbatim like you used to. And possibly the worse, you will feel the urge to scare all the young people you know with the horror of growing old.

Maybe I was too dire with how bad your memory gets as you age (but you definitely will find it harder and harder to find your car keys) because I do remember a couple years ago National Geographic Channel ran a special called Brain Games which featured tricks to improve your memory. Okay it may not have helped me much because I only vaguely remember something about impaired driving and how unreliable police lineups are.

National Geographic Channel is resurrecting Brain Games and this time as a weekly series. Hosted by Jason Silva, the show takes an in depth look at how our brains work and what you can do to harness the power of the brain. You may think you would notice something like cheerleaders taking off their clothes, but there I was watching the premiere and completely missed it on my screen and the show explains how and why. Upcoming episodes will help you face your fears, and learn the difference between fear, dread, and anxiety. But the most fascinating was the fact that seventy percent of elections can be predicted just by looking at the candidates.

Brain Games airs Mondays at 9:00 on the National Geographic Channel including back to back episodes tonight.

Previewing Chasing Ice

We have probably reached the point in the climate change debate where no one is changing their mind on the subject, you either believe it is happening or you are a simpleton who cannot be bothered to turn on the Weather Channel or even look out your own window to actually see it for themselves as we are currently living in a time of record hurricanes, tornadoes, flood, droughts, even the Earth has started opening up and swallowing people more often.

So it is doubtful that anyone’s mind is going to be changed by Chasing Ice, the award winning documentary that is airing tomorrow at 8:00 on the National Geographic Channel (ironically almost all the footage from the climate change deniers montage comes from Fox News as both channels are owned by News Corp). Though anyone who sees the time lapse of glaciers receding at almost a mile per year, it is disturbing to think that there are people out there that would think it is a hoax.

Chasing Ice comes from acclaimed environmental photographer James Balog and his Extreme Ice Survey who set up time-lapse equipment in Greenland, Alaska, and Montana in sub-zero conditions where the technology had been untested before for over three years. There is even a subplot that threatens the whole project when Balog has to undergo his third knee replacement surgery as all the walking up and down mountains has done serious damage to his body. But silly debates, aside, Chasing Ice is a visual wonder with plenty of breathtaking pictures and video of the frozen north.

Chasing Ice premieres Friday at 8:00 on the National Geographic Channel.

Previewing Locked Up Abroad 8.x

John McCain on Locked Up Abroad seems so obvious it is a bit surprising that he has not appeared on the show before as the Senator may be the most famous person ever to be “locked up abroad.” Maybe it is because most people know the stories of the Navy bomber pilot who was shot down over Hanoi and spent five years in the infamous Hanoi Hilton where he was tortured for most of his stay. We have all seen the photos of his bloody body being dragged around by the Vietcong and him hobbling off the plane after his release.

Though in solitary confinement for most of his stay, McCain was not alone, communicating in code with neighbors in the next room, one of which was Ernie Brace (the two do not meet face to face until years later) who was the longest prisoner of war in Vietnam being held behind enemy lines two months short of eight years. Ernie actually spent the first half of his time in a small bamboo jail which only became more confining after each failed escape attempt before being moved to the Hanoi Hilton three and a half years after originally being captured. His story is so harrowing you will not even notice that half the episode goes by before the more famous McCain shows up.

There is a second episode tonight which you will want to stick around for if only because the episode is entitled Snake on a Plane. It is the story of Tom Crutchfield, the self proclaimed “Mick Jagger of the reptile industry” who would successfully smuggle crocodiles, tarantulas, king cobras, and yes, snakes around the world who escapes to Belize to avoid prosecution, but ends up being imprisoned there with no electricity, plumbing, toilets or running water in his cell. The show gets back to drug related roots next week when an English stockbroker moves to America to be an ecstasy dealer in Arizona only to be thrown into one of America’s deadliest jails where he witnesses firsthand skinheads murdering someone.

Locked Up Abroad airs Wednesdays at 9:00 on the National Geographic Channel. You can watch select episodes on Hulu. You can also download Locked Up Abroad on iTunes.

Previewing Who Gets the Last Laugh?

For anyone who watched MTV Punk'd and thought to themselves, this would be much better as a game show, you are in luck because that is the basic premise of Who Gets the Last Laugh? and wouldn’t you know it, the show comes from Punk’d co-creators Jason Goldberg and Ashton Kutcher. Kutcher is absent on screen, instead Who Gets the Last Laugh? Is hosted by Donald Faison (Clueless) and three comics complete to produce the best pranks on regular citizens with a studio audience picking a winner who gets to donate $10,000 to a charity of their choice. Sorry losers, your charities do not even get mentioned.

Tonight The Big Bang Theory’s Kunal Nayyer, who surprisingly does have an accent in real life (or TBS made him use it not disorient their viewers who watch the ten hours of The Big Bang Theory programming the network airs in a week), Bill Bellamy, who reminisces over Rock and Jock Basketball with the host (which begs the question, is it not time for a Rock and Jock reboot? Certainly Dan Cortese is not busy) and Jeff Dye. Each comedian controls the action off sit much like Kutcher did but it may be the people actually pulling the pranks to keep an eye on. Remember Punk’d launched the careers of Dax Sheppard, Bill Hader, Whitney Cummings, B.J. Novak, Kaitlin Olson, and Jill Wagner.

Coming up this season Actor/comedian D.L. Hughley gets a new car at the car wash. Danny Masterson, star of TBS's Men at Work, exposes a cheating wife. And Saturday Night Live’s Cheri Oteri has everyone screaming about ice cream. MADtv's Aries Spears puts a locksmith in lockdown (which is personal favorite set up of the first couple episodes). Comedian Natasha Leggero gives gas station customers an unwanted friend. And Andy Dick gives a bride's hairdresser the blues. Comedian Charlie Murphy is a limo driver's worst nightmare. Owen Benjamin, co-star of TBS's Sullivan & Son, arranges an unusual family dinner. And The Middle’s Chris Kattan creates a security breach. And Saturday Night Live’s Finesse Mitchell does a bang-up job at the car wash. Comedian Luenell tests the loyalty of office temps. And Growing Pains' Alan Thicke (Mr. Seaver!) turns a club VIP list into Purgatory. Also competing this season will be Tome Green, Bam Margera, and Nicole Sullivan.

Who Gets the Last Laugh? Airs Tuesdays at 10:00 on TBS.

Previewing The Borgias

With the recent announcement of The Vatican starring Coach Taylor and Charlotte “Chuck” Charles, it may be easy to forget that Showtime already has series about the Catholic Church. But where The Vatican takes place in modern time, The Borgias goes back to the fifteenth century. But just like the modern time, The Borgias may be looking for a new pope soon as last season ended with Pope Alexander VI consuming a copious amount of poison, delivered to him ironically enough by his food taster.

I cannot comment on if the Pope survives the poisoning, but since this is based on historic events, I am sure spoiler fans can look up how Alexander dies on his Wikipedia page. I will say by the end of the episode, you will know his fate. And that was not the only big event that happened at the end of the last season. Cesare killed his brother Juan and that will certainly have repercussions in the upcoming season. While Lucrezia got engaged to a guy from Naples to secure an alliance with the kingdom of Naples. And Joffre remains M.I.A. I thought his marriage was supposed to tie the Pope to Naples? Even as his father lies dyeing, he barely gets mentioned and does not even show up at all. Please note I only complain because I liked looking at his wife played by Emmanuelle Chriqui. But anyway.

As the third season stars and the uncertainty of the Pope, Caterina Sforza grows stronger in his opposition to the Borgias and recruits a very deadly relative to help her. Another enemy Cardinal Della Rovere boldly shows up to the Vatican to see if his master plan succeeded or not. We also get to meet the new kings of Naples, who introduces us to the term “two bag woman,” and France who apparently is married to a two sack woman and would like to get out of the marriage. We also get to witness the weirdest consummation scene probably ever put to film (but there is precedent). And for anyone who thought the sexual tension between Cesare and Lucrezia was creepy in the first two seasons, get ready for it to get ramped up for the third. And of course being The Borgia, there will also be plenty of murder, deceit, sabotage, defrocking, and the occasional orgy this season.

The Borgias airs Sundays at 10:00 on Showtime and will be preceded by an all new season of Nurse Jackie at 9:00.

Previewing The 80's: The Decade That Made Us

Some may dismiss The 80’s: The Decade that Made Us as a cheap I Love the 80’s rip-off, but if you enjoyed the VH1 series, the National Geographic Channel version, airing Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, is a can’t miss series. Even if the subject matter is the same and utilize interviews from those that lived through it (David Hasselhoff! Robin Leach! Ronald Reagan’s doctor! Sorry, no Michael Ian Black), The Decade that Made Us take a more macro look at the decade. Instead of short, three minute segments about a singular topic, most subjects last about ten minutes and weaves its way as to why it is still important today, not just a simple trip to nostalgia.

And what launched the eighties? Hockey. More specifically the Miracle on Ice at Lake Placid and as silly as it may seem (I personally would have went with the election of Regan) the show makes a persuasive argument about how the gold medal changed the perception of ourselves after the gloomy seventies and even launched (allegedly) the “U.S.A.” chants that we still obnoxiously use everywhere we can to promote patriotism. Also in the first episode are segments on the rise of electronics and Jane Fonda’s fitness tapes (which were the highest selling VHS tapes of the decade), MTV and the start of the rap phenomenon Run-DMC, and what would the eighties be without a little greed, most exemplified by Dallas. Who knew J.R. Ewing brought down Romania, if you do not know what I am talking about, you must see how.

The second episode airing Sunday opens with the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan (recently also focused on by an episode of The Americans) which is believed to be the launch of CNN. It is wild now to look back at the reports with anchors talking on the phone live on television with reporters on the scene with one newsman actually reading a report wrong about the condition of the president with his co-anchor correcting him right then and there. Ted Turner and CNN is not the only “hippy capitalist” featured as this episode also focuses on Ben and Jerry, Steve Job, Calvin Kline, and Tony Hawk. Fear not conservatives, the Gipper is not completely surrounded by liberals in the episode because Alex P. Keaton also gets his own segment.

The 80’s: The Decade That Made Us is required viewing for anyone who lived through threw those ten year (and anyone who was not an want to know just how un-cool their parents were). My only complaint is that it is just six hour over three days. They really should had made a full series out of this with each segment its own half hour episode. And come to think of it, why has VH1 not done part four of I Love the 80’s?

The six-part series will roll out over three nights in the United States, beginning Sunday, April 14, 2013, at 8:00 and continuing Monday, April 15, and Tuesday, April 16, at 9:00 on the National Geographic Channel.

Previewing Men at Work 2.x

The first season of Men at Work did not win any awards, get any critical acclaim, or create a rabid fan base, but I have to admit, I did laugh occasionally during some of the episodes I watched. Even more so then some award winning, critically acclaimed comedies with rabid fan bases. It reminded me of the sitcom I grew up with which put the situation in sitcom. Sure it seemed a little silly to set a modern day television show in a magazine office, but shouldn’t sitcoms be silly?

There are no major changes going into the new season except Peri Gilpin (Frasier) has been brought in as the magazine’s new editor, but her presence is not felt that much after she is hired. Other guests who pop up this season include Seth Green as a homeless nemesis for Milo, Jason Lee as an annoying office mate, whle J.K. Simmons reprises his role as the magazine owner and father Neal’s girlfriend Amy.

Some of the other situations the boys get themselves into include Milo trying to scam a girlfriend with a misleading online personal ad. Tyler dates a single mom, but ends up bonding with her ex-husband. But the best episode of the season, which I believe is also the season finale (assuming there are only ten episodes this season), involves two wedding, moonshine, and Zach Morris.

Men at Work airs Thursdays at 10:00 on TBS. You can download Men at Work on iTunes. Check out a preview of the second season below:

Previewing Bates Motel

In a measure of full disclosure, I should mention it has been a very long time since I have watched Psycho. It has been so long that I may have just assumed I saw it but really all I have seen was the famous shower scene which over the year morphed into me thinking I have seen the entire movie. I definitely never watched Psycho II (or Psych III or Psycho IV: The Beginning or the shot for shot Gus Van Sant remake of the original or the recent Hitchcock film starring Anthony Hopkins that focused on the filming of the original). So I really had had no expectations going into Bates Motel, a series focusing on a teenage Norman Bates whose mother just bought a motel.

The show stars Freddie Highmore as the future psycho. I actually thought Highmore was one of the interchange guys who all look the same on Pretty Little Liars, but apparently he was never on the show but was the titular character in the Tim Burton Charlie and the Chocolate Factory reboot which I avoided out of respect for Gene Wilder. The big name in the cast is Vera Farmiga (The Departed) as Norma Bates who is much more interesting in the new series that the creepy boy she raises. The show also boasts a few familiar faces, some that ma stick around while others definitely will not be seen again including Nestor Carbonell (The Tick) and Max Thieriot (House at the End of the Street) play local cops. Keegan Connor Tracy (Once Upon a Time’s blue fairy) is Bates teacher who tries to him more involved at school. W. Earl Brown (Deadwood’s Dan Dority) shows up as the former heir to the Bates Motel. The show also stars a couple of Norman’s classmates in newcomers Nicola Peltz as one of the popular girls and Olivia Cooke (who should be cast as Rachael Leigh Cook’s younger sister in something) as the school’s outsider.

Weirdly, Bates Motel starts out in the fifties, or least it looked very much like the fifties in what the Bates were wearing, watching, and driving, when the twosome move from Arizona to the Bates Motel. Then unexplained, after what I assume will be a commercial break, Norman is listening to Cults on his iPod and inexplicably in modern times. And a warning to horror movies purist, there is a scene in the first episode which depicts the young Norman Bates riding around in a convertible with a couple cheerleader types listening to Taylor Swift. I wish I were joking.

But Bates Motel really does not seem like it is the story of Norman Bates which may be a good thing because the high school stuff is very run of the mill: teenagers sneaking out or pretending to study so they can go drink and drug out at a house party (and I think Rosie Larsen’s douchebag boyfriend plays a douchebag on this show too). If there is a reason to watch Bates Motel it is because of Vera Farmiga portal of Norma. Even though he seems relatively normal now, you can tell even after one episode how Norma will drive Norman to grow up to be a psycho. But Vera is not over the top and the subtlety in her performance is really captivating and may have racked up her some awards if the show was better written and acted around her. But if you are to only watch one famous serial killer prequel over the next, I have a feeling Bryan Fuller’s Hannibal will probably be a better bet (at least in terms of quality, Bates Motel may end up airing more episodes since the young Lecter's series airs in NBC's death slot).

Bates Motel airs Mondays at 10:00 on A&E. You will be able to download Bates Motel on iTunes.

Previewing The Client List 2.x

In a measure of full discourse, I should mention I am a straight man so in my lifetime, I have managed to avoid the Lifetime network. I think it is somewhere in between the local sports network and MSNBC (natch). I am not entirely sure, but I also think the Lifetime Movie Channel (which I think are affiliated with each other) is among that tier of three digit channels I never go into (which begs the question why am I paying so much for cable when I watch less than twenty of the a thousand channels I have, but anyway).

But recently Lifetime was kind enough to give me access to their screeners so I decided to check out all they have to offer (I fear I will be spending the weekend watching all the Lifetime movies they have to offer including Restless Virgins starring Switched at Birth’s Vanessa Marano premiering this Saturday) one of which is the second season premiere of The Client List. Since I did not have time to watch the entire first season, I watched the eight minute recap video embedded below:

So Jennifer Love Hewitt has to turn to prostitution after her husband leaves her for a mountain of debt and has to juggle being a single mom, dating, and breaking the law. And then her husband comes back to make things even more complicated. But forget about Love, who knew that Bridget from R Kelly was on the show!?! Please tell me on the show she is having an affair black midget that cannot control his bladder while married to Chalky White from Boardwalk Empire. I am actually excited to watch now, let move on to season two.

It dawned on me while watching the second season premiere that this may be the first time I have seen anything with Jennifer Love Hewitt in it since Heartbreakers. Actually, has she even been in anything since Heartbreakers besides Ghost Whisperer? It is amazing to think how Love went from the hottest thing on the planet for a year and half to just completely drop off the cultural zeitgeist.

I really cannot talk much about the actual second season premiere because like many advanced viewing, I am forbidden by the network from reporting any big spoilers, and there is a pretty big plot twist at the start of the episode (which opens where the last season ended with a state trooper getting out of his patrol car) and that plot carries through the entire episode. I can tease that someone quits The Rub, another finds love, there is an unintentionally funny training montage set to Kelly Clarkson, and someone actually utters the line, “You’re really going to blow the clients away, pun intended.” I can also sadly report that Bridget does not have any run-ins with any black midgets. Oh well, maybe next episode.

The Client List airs Sundays at 10:00 on Lifetime. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Client List on iTunes.

Previewing Boston's Finest

It has been well documented on this site my dislike of the city of Boston and everything about it (see Previewing Wicked Tuna) but if there is one thing about Beantown that I do not hate massively it is the musical styling’s of the Dropkick Murphys. So TNT’s latest foray into unscripted drama, Boston’s Finest, where cameras follow the lives of Boston police officers both on and off the job, gets a small pass. Granted that pass is revoked when it turns out the show is narrated Donnie Wahlberg (New Kids On the Block) who also serves as an executive producer. That darn chowderhead

The premiere follows members of three different departments on the force: beat officers, the gang unit, and fugitive retrieval while future episode will also film the daily routines of detectives, SWAT, and special task forces. Going deeper than your average episode of Cops (but with 90% less shirtless perps), you get to know more of the officers profiled as the camera follow them home where you meet their wives (one segment devolves into an episode of The Real Housewives of the Boston Police Department while the men stay home and look after the children) and even document one officer as she sees her twin sister for the first time in two years. There are even partners that may or may not be sharing some extra time off duty.

Boston’s Finest is a gripping look at one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet. Tensions run high when you do not know if these officers will be coming home alive, and seeing their loved ones back home, it makes every bust and home invasion more heart- pounding. Unfortunately you will have to put up with more than a few annoying accents. But for those that enjoy drinking games while watching television, take a shot every time you see a Brady jersey (the irony being that currently Walberg stars alongside Brady’s baby mama). Also I had to roll my eyes when after an officer calls a perp an “OG” Wahlberg comes on explains that the initials stands for “Original Gangsta” for those that did not get the explanation from the Ice-T song twenty years ago. Thanks Donnie.

Boston’s Finest airs Wednesdays at 9:00 on TNT. You will be able to download Boston's Finest on iTunes.

Previewing Inside Combat Rescue

With all the talk of drones these days, let us not forget there are still plenty of brave men and women fighting in Afghanistan putting their lives on the line for this country. On Monday, the National Geographic Channel will highlight some of those that try to help those injured behind enemy lines on Inside Combat Rescue. This is not a reality show version of M.A.S.H., these are the people that take the wounded to the M.A.S.H. units and have to get them there inside the “golden hour” to give the wounded the best chances of survival.

Inside Combat Rescue is the first time in history the United States Air Force is allowing cameras follow the Pararescuemen (you can just call them PJ’s) while they try to save critically wounded soldiers, American or Afghan. The show followed around the PJ’s for four months crossed 130 missions which saved 108 lives. This job is so dangerous, they have to travel in two helicopters, one caring the wounded and a second one trailing to protect the first helicopter.

The six part series is as real as it gets, if you cannot handle fake medical dramas, you may want to skip Inside Combat Rescue because it shows everything including missing limbs (I spent about ten minutes per episode watching through my fingers). But the show also follows the seven men, ranging from someone on his sixth deployment to a rookie, featured during their downtime also, from communicating with family back home (one of them is a soon to be father) to pulling pranks on each other. You even get to witness the crew debate a moral dilemma of whether to go to the rescue of an Afghan kid even though new rules of engagement state that any Afghan citizen should be left to be rescued by the Afghan rescue units. Inside Combat Rescue is a harrowing reminder of the wars that are still being fought and should be watched by anyone who can stomach the more graphic scenes.

Inside Combat Rescue airs Mondays at 10:00 on the National Geographic Channel. Check out the trailer below:

Previewing Killing Lincoln

It is weird to think that Presidents Day lines up with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln but Friday marks the 148 anniversary of his death. And almost a century and a half after his death, Abe is having a banner twelve months with three separate movies made about him, the Oscar nominated Lincoln which is odds on favorite to clean up at the awards later this month, one that re-imagined as a Vampire Hunter, and this Sunday, a day before his shared holiday, the National Geographic Channel will be airing their first originally scripted drama, Killing Lincoln based on the book of the same name written by Bill O’Reilly.

Despite being the title character, Lincoln is almost a secondary character with John Wilkes Booth taking center stage for most of the film. Lincoln is even dead by the halfway point (spoiler alert for those that fell asleep during history class and ignored the title of the film). With the focus on the murderer, there are plenty of facts that are brought up that I was unaware of (keep in mind I never read the book) like Booth originally planned to just kidnap Lincoln, along with Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward. Killing Lincoln may be the first in-depth look on the man who was the first to assassinate a sitting president. Even the film The Conspirator, Booth was resigned to a background character.

In this installment Billy Campbell (The Killing) is the one who puts Lincoln’s top hat while Jesse Johnson (Don’s son) is the man behind the gun. It is hard to follow up Daniel Day-Lewis but Campbell play Abe with a calm cool while Johnson treats Booth as an overacting bad guy who pull everything from an actor’s arsenal short of twirling his mustache (probably because it is not long enough). The film is narrated by Tom Hanks who is show in what looks like an abandon stage set where he occasionally fiddles with plots I am not entirely sure ties in with what he is talking about.

But Killing Lincoln is a profound look at one of the darkest days in our counties history with plenty of new information for anyone who has just read the textbook in history class (like it was actually the Chief Justice who conducted the murder investigation). It is also interesting how they portrayed John Wilkes Booth because I do not think it is a coincidences there are a few monologues that Booth sound exactly like what you would hear from a Tea Party member (and, ironically an O’Reilly viewer) talking today about Barack Obama. Killing Lincoln is certainly worth watching and I have a feeling that O’Reilly’s follow up book, Killing Kennedy, will be on air by next Presidents Day.

Killing Lincoln premieres Sunday at 8:00 on the National Geographic Channel. You can also check out the extended trailer below or check out the Interactive Killing Lincoln page.

Previewing Inside Comedy

Showtime is launching its second season of Inside Comedy Monday with a new lineup of comedians that sit down and chat with director David Steinberg. This season will feature Judd Apatow, Carol Burnett, Jim Carrey, Louis C.K., Susie Essman, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Bill Maher, Mike Myers, Bob Newhart, Ben Stiller, Lily Tomlin, Keenen Ivory Wayans and Betty White, among others.

The season opens up with Bob Newhart and Louis C.K. but the most interesting of the first couple episodes is the one with Jim Carrey and Keenen Ivory Wayans because of their shared history and even though each comedian is interviewed separately, their crossed paths does get brought up as well as what Carrey thought about being “The White Guy” on In Living Color. It is unclear when these interviews were tapped by Tina Fey mentioned a film she is filming with Steve Carell which I assumed was 2010’s Date Night.

Some highlights from the first couple episode includes C.K. talking about Pootie Tang and why you should never ask him for a picture, Newhart talks about who gave up with the iconic series finale and also puts country music fans on blast. Fey talks about portraying Sarah Palin while Apatow talks about his time being roommates with Adam Sandler. Drew Carey talks about how he missed his first chance to be on The Tonight Show and Wayans reminisces on his first gig… which was at a Racquetball convention.

Inside Comedy airs Mondays at 11:00 on Showtime. You can download the previous season of Inside Comedy on iTunes.

Previewing Alpha Dogs

If you happen to wonder what I do with my free time, it is mostly spent thinking of possible Hollywood reboots like Turner and Hooch with Steve Stiffler filling in for Tom Hanks, Ramona Flowers as the vet love interest and Carl Winslow would naturally get promoted to chief (surprisingly no studio executives have hired me as a consultant for their reboot departments yet). Despite all the time I have devoted to resurrecting the dog cop classic, I never gave much thought about how you train a K-9 unit.

That is until I saw Alpha Dogs which premieres this Friday at 9:00 on Nat Geo Wild. The new series follows the trainers at Vohne Liche Kennels located in Indiana, one of the largest K-9 kennels in the world which provides law assisting pups to local police, SWAT teams, border patrol, and every branch of the military, including some outfits us average citizens are not privy to. They even have top security clearances and some of the people they train to use their dogs have to have their faces blocked out “for national security reasons”. The team teaches handlers and dogs to leap from helicopters, rappel down buildings, search buildings and cars for explosives and drugs, and chase down human targets. The dogs can even be trained to find illicit cell phones in prison cells and money being brought through airports as part of laundering schemes.

The show, brought to you be Jack Osborne (before you scratch your head, if I am not mistaken, Jack starred in a misguided celebrity police show that also took place in Indiana so he obviously made some connections), is full of a couple characters that you would expect on a show like this, really anyone willing to play a bad guy decoy for dogs or hang out with live explosives is probably going to be an interesting person (or just really hard up for cash). These are the type of people where you are going to see more mullets than sleeves and go turtling in their down time. If you want to know what turtling is, you will have to tune in to find out. I will give you a hint by saying it is something you will never see me doing.

Alpha Dogs airs Friday at 9:00 on Nat Geo Wild with back to back episodes.

Previewing Monday Mornings

I like to complain that the only shows on television these days feature cops, lawyers, or doctors but with House and Private Practice ending last year, if I am not mistaken one of the few doctors left on television last fall was Dr. Sheldon Cooper and as a theoretical physicist, he faints at the sight of blood so he won’t be performing surgery anytime soon. For those that miss the more traditional doctors, tonight sees the premiere of Monday Mornings created by David E Kelly, his first trek back into the operating room since creating Chicago Hope in 1994, and based on the book of CNN’s chief medical correspondent (and almost Surgeon General of the United States) Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

What sets Monday Mornings apart is at the start of every week the chief of staff Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2) sits down with his surgeons and makes everyone who made a mistake the previous week come up to the front of the lecture hall to explain in agonizing detail just what wrong in the operating room and what they should have done differently. These meetings are painful and Molina is relentless and scary in his line of questioning it is surprising he has not made one cry (yet). These scenes are so great that if these meeting made up the majority of the show I would be tuning in every week.

Unfortunately much like Dr. Sheldon Cooper, I hate the sight of blood except when it is cartoonish horror movie blood. But for those that do like medical porn, you will see inside a person’s brain within the first minute of the show. And since there are a couple neurosurgeons on the show, you will be seeing inside the skulls of many of patients throughout the series. Other cases you will see this season is a woman with incontrollable (except when consuming wine) hand tremors, a thirteen year old who refuses surgery, and a schizophrenic (played by Once Upon a Time’s Jiminy Cricket) who cannot provide the consent for life-saving surgery.

Joining Molina is Ving Rhames (Con Air), the Trauma Chief who is about as menacing as Alfred. The always intimidating Bill Irwin (Hot Shots!) is the local Chief of Transplantation who gets under the skin of the other doctors who thinks he just stands around hoping for their patients to die so he can harvest their parts. With all that hardheadedness, Jamie Barber (Battlestar Galactica) is the complete opposite of his co-workers who gets way too sensitive whenever he loses a patient (and my bet for the first doctor to cry at a Monday morning meeting). His partner, in possibly more ways than one, is Jennifer Finnigan (Committed) a neurosurgeon just as compassionate as Barber.

But my favorite character, which is saying a lot whenever Ving in a part of a cast, is Keong Sim (The Last Airbender) as a Korean emigrant and English speaking challenged who gives simple blunt answers like when asked what the worse case scenario is, “worse case: dead.” The rest of the cast includes Sarayu Roa (Lions for Lambs) who dates Finnigan’s real life husband Jonathan Silverman (Weekend at Bernie's) and Emily Swallow (Southland), the most inexperienced doctor on staff.

Monday Mornings airs Mondays at 10:00 (in the evenings, not the mornings) on TNT. You will be able to download Monday Mornings on iTunes.