Previewing Masters of Sex: Season Three

Late last season on Masters of Sex, Virginia's ex-husband George showed up looking to alter their custody arrangement much to her chagrin. I actually thought he had a good case because at that point I had completely forgotten she had children, they were MIA for most of the season and the only time I even remember them being mentioned was when Libby wanted to piggyback Virginia's babysitter to spend more time with her nanny's brother. It seems like there will not be a lack of Johnson children this season because they have enough of a storyline this year to warrant a title card at the end of each episode (or the very least the first two) letting us know that though the sex study is based on their real research, the children on the show are completely fictitious.

When the Johnson children did pop up at the end of last season during the custody battles I was a bit surprised that with all the time jumping that happen last season (five years had passed since the series started) the kids were played by the same actors that played them in the first season despite the five years that had passed in the time. Since another four year has passed since the end of last they have finally recast the kids to more age appropriate actor. Henry is now seventeen and looking like Steve Rogers before he got his Captain America super powers. While fifteen year old Tessa is now being played by Isabelle Fuhrman (the creepy girl from Orphan who did such a great job in an otherwise mediocre film that I had to go straight to her Wikipedia page to see if she really was a forty year old like her character or an actual teenager like she looked). Focusing more on teenagers has always been a drag on otherwise great television shows, but the best part of the early season is when Ginny suggests Dr. Masters, who has spent his life studying the subject, give Tessa the birds and the bees speech.

This comes when the Johnsons and Masters (who have added a third child since the last episode) descend on a cabin for vacation on the even of their book finally being publish. When we last left Libby she was finally admit her husband was having an affair and it seems like everyone now know this but never speak of it which leads to a bunch of awkward conversations even before the subject of birds and bees is brought up. The end of the premiere bring a bombshell that will shake up the new season which will result in the addition of Maggie Grace as fellow doctor (yes, the token hot chick from Lost will be playing an MD) who assists Dr. Masters when a very important person is in need of Masters's expertise.

Over two season, Masters of Sex has established itself as one of television's best, combining drama and sexual education with a wry sense of humor (thankfully Betty and Lester still working at the clinic) and it only continues to get better in its third season. And it may end up being the first great television show that can make kids of the characters entertaining.

Masters of Sex airs Sundays at 10:00 on Showtime. You can download previous season of Masters of Sex on iTunes.

Previewing Ray Donovan: Season Three

For seven years fans of Justified were hoping that Raylan Givens would run into his alter ego's nemesis Al Swearengen. Unfortunately all we got instead was a dreadful Michael Rappaport season. We may have never gotten the Deadwood reunion we wanted on Justified but we will be getting one on Ray Donovan with Ian McShane showing up on his favorite prostitute's show. He plays a very powerful (and kind of shady) billionaire in need of Ray's by any means necessary approach when his son is held for ransom. That one favor turns into two and when Ray needs a favor, McShane then completely owns Rays (but it is a really big favor).

I had some big problems with the first season of Ray Donovan. It really epitomized what I considered the post-golden age era television is currently in: the acting is ghe writing is good, but something is just missing, and in this case, the show just was not entertaining. The show did improve in its sophomore outing as it found its humor; the Conner birthday was a highlight of last season. Yeah it did still have some rough spots; Bunchy was still a useless character (well so are the kids, but that was the case even during the Golden Age). The show also would have been better off had they just killed off Micky at the end of the first season instead of Sully. But Wendell Pierce was a great addition as Micky's parole officer.

Unfortunately we may not be see much of Pierce this season as apparently his parole expired in between seasons (he does show up in the third episode) and Micky has moved on to babysitting a five year old girl (seriously). Instead we get a recurring Katie Holmes as McShane's sports agents daughter which disappointingly brings Ray back to his first season self where Ray finds himself bailing athletes out of sticky situations that the lower half of their bodies get them into. And it does not happen early in the run, but it seems safe to assume Ray will forcibly have sex with her at some time and will disturbingly like it.

Much like Ray himself, the show is seriously flawed but is working hard at what he does. It is not clear if the third season is where the show can finally turn a corner but at the very least, it will be nice have l Swearengen back on a channel where he can say his favorite word (which sadly, I doubt will chance, a lot has changed in the decade since Deadwood) but it will be interesting if the writers can figure out a reunion with Trixie. But at the very least the second episode is worth checking out just to hear Terry's (who is absent in the season premiere) cellmate sing his favorite Huey Lewis and the News song.

Ray Donovan airs Sundays at 9:00 on Showtime. You can also download previous seasons of Ray Donovan on iTunes.

Previewing Destination Wild

In a measure of full disclousure I should mention that I have never actually played Angry Birds. I think I got the Star Wars edition when some site offered it for free but never got around to tranfering it to a mobile devise let alone play it yet. But I understand that the mobile game is a cultural phenomanon. It is even getting its own tie in special on Nat Geo Wild this Sunday with the appropriately titled Real Angry Bird. And these birds more than live up to their title with the birds going wild on other animals and even some bird on bird action like one species who go one on one with what look like a female cheering them on like someone is filming a white trash family reunion. And in a rarity on these animal specials, us human beings get featured as a target o some aerial assults.

Real Angry Birds is part of a twelve week Destination Wild branded events all starting Sundays at 9:00. Here is a full down of what is airing this summer:

Real Angry Birds
Premieres Sunday, July 12, 9/8c
“Angry Birds” is an addictive game, but are there real angry birds out there? What happens when they stop being polite and start getting mad? For the aviary set, every day is a battle to survive, find food and shelter, and stay out of harm’s way. Tune in for a bird’s-eye view of our feathered friends’ fights, singing battles and dance-offs.

The Eagles
Premieres Sunday, July 12, 10/9c
Eagles are top predators that battle fiercely for survival and diligently raise their young. This eagle clan has 60 members, united by their acute eyesight, powerful wings, sharp talons and hooked beaks. We follow one eagle from hatchling to home ownership. Her fight to survive shows what it takes to be queen of the sky. In the words of another reality diva: “It’s Gone With the Wind fabulous.”

Brazil
Premieres Sunday, July 19, 9/8c (two hours)
From the rolling mountains and luscious rain forests to the scorching desert and the iconic Amazon River, meet the extreme wildlife of Brazil. And we’re not talking about an episode of “Botched.” We’re talking giant anteaters, venomous snakes, capuchin monkeys, dolphins, boa constrictors and many more.

Clever Monkeys
Premieres Sunday, July 26, 10/9c
Narrated by natural history legend David Attenborough, Clever Monkeys opens our eyes to a world filled with intelligence, love, sadness, empathy, language, lying, social manipulation, stress and humor more touching than anything you might see on Bravo! Scientists around the world are listening to monkey calls and finding language with grammar. They have even discovered lying monkeys. Some monkeys suffer from depression, high blood pressure, ulcers and stress. Come along to a monkey world that looks strikingly similar to ours.

Kings of Baja
Premieres Sunday, Aug. 2, 10/9c
There are few places on Earth more forbidding and beautiful than Baja, Mexico. That said, Laguna Beach came close in its reality heyday. Eight hundred miles long and 10 million years in the making, Baja is home to a punishing desert and the most diverse sea on the planet. Kings of Baja showcases the unique evolutionary adaptations of the flora and mega fauna to survive in their slice of the ecosystem including sea lions, devil rays, great white sharks, hammerheads, giant mantas, whale sharks and gray whales.

Fur Seal Battleground
Premieres Sunday, Aug. 9, 9/8c
If you’re looking for the ultimate survival reality show, you won’t want to miss the adventures of Ruby and Oliver, two New Zealand fur seal pups struggling to learn the secret to staying alive. From the very start, they must stay out of the way of testosterone-charged bulls so they aren’t trampled to death. Every few days the pups are left to themselves while their mothers go off to feed. Only half of all fur seal pups survive the first year of life, so these pups must learn fast if they want to beat the odds.

Lemur Island
Premieres Sunday, Aug. 9, 10/9c
Millions of years ago, hundreds of castaway creatures crash-landed on Madagascar’s rugged shores. Isolated from the mainland, evolution went into overdrive. Of the tens of thousands of species found on the island, approximately 80 percent are unique. This myriad of bizarre life forms had a huge impact on the early human settlers — lemurs in particular shaped their culture, fueling folklore and legend that still guide their lives today. Legend has it that early reality sensation Puck is descended from a lemur.

The Kangaroo King
Premieres Sunday, Aug. 16, 10/9c
The scorching interior of the world’s oldest continent is home to the toughest kangaroo on the planet, the mighty Red. You won’t want to miss extremely rare footage of a red kangaroo birth and specialized in-pouch cameras that capture an intimate portrait of Red’s development. We are also introduced to the kangaroo’s formidable neighbors through close encounters with wedge-tailed eagles, dingoes, venomous snakes and giant monitor lizards. This is a story of survival against the odds and what it takes to endure drought, heat wave and bushfire.

Alpine Underworld
Premieres Sunday, Aug. 23, 8/7c
The Alps’ lofty mountain world is a holiday destination from January to December, but there is an unknown side to the picturesque vacation spot. Using the latest technology, our cameras summit lofty peaks and dive into ice-cold lakes to reveal zones of life and death. We’re talking real-world Life Below Zero here. The lakes’ abyss includes ghostly shipwrecks complete with ghastly residents, medieval trees felled by too much snow and fascinating sea life. High up on the mountaintops we meet the animals that breathe this rare air including lynx, the poisonous asp viper and the stone eagle. This alpine tour brings an entirely new perspective to one of Europe’s most fascinating landscapes.

Wild Spain
Premieres Sunday, Aug. 23, 9/8c
Arab emirs called it the Great River; today it is called the Guadalquivir and it flows for 400 miles from the Carzola mountain range in Spain to the Atlantic Ocean. Together with a lone fox, we embark on the ultimate reality road trip along the banks of the Guadalquivir, from the snow-covered summits to the seashore, enjoying the greatest biodiversity in Europe. The fox’s goal is safer ground, and on his way he meets a motley crew of animals including an Iberian lynx, golden eagle, spider crab, dragonflies and sturgeon. This spectacular variety of landscapes and fauna is a must-see.

Elephant Queen
Premieres Sunday, Aug. 30, 9/8c
After the tragic death of her daughter, the herd matriarch must lead her elephants to safety. This epic journey will take them across an arid desert, past mud swamps, a valley of dust storms and beyond the lion gatekeepers of a forbidden kingdom, into the herds’ ancient feeding grounds in the Okavango Delta. The route they will follow is an ancient one, etched in elephant memory that stitches waterhole to waterhole in an invisible map across the dry lands. However, if Mensah loses her way, her herd could all die of thirst, or worse.

Boteti
Premieres Sunday, Sept. 6, 10/9c
Twenty years of drought has turned the Boteti River into Botswana dust. The animals that live here endure hardship to stay alive and must adapt their behavior to survive. Herds of zebra fight over water, crocodiles dig tunnels to stay cool and elephants practice water conservation. Now for the first time in 30 years, rain has fallen, sending a stream of water through the riverbed. After years of extreme drought, the Boteti has returned in all its glory, transforming the landscape and bringing dramatic changes to the resident animals. It’s like when the contestants on “Survivor” get a food reward — buckle up for a wild ride.

DISNEYNATURE: WINGS OF LIFE Narrated by Meryl Streep (NETWORK TELEVISION PREMIERE)
Premieres Sunday, September Sept. 13, 8/7c (90 minutes)
WINGS OF LIFE is a stunning adventure full of intrigue, drama and mesmerizing beauty. Narrated by Academy Award® winner Meryl Streep, this intimate and unprecedented look at butterflies, hummingbirds, bees, bats and flowers is a celebration of life, as a third of the world’s food supply depends on these incredible — and increasingly threatened — creatures.

Behind Russia’s Frozen Curtain
Premieres Sunday, Sept. 20, 9/8c
Explore the stark landscape, frigid sea and wild animals in Franz Josef Land, one of the most remote and inhospitable places on Earth. National Geographic Pristine Seas Explorer-in-Residence Enric Sala leads a group of scientists and adventurers on the first international scientific expedition to Franz Josef Land. His team will work with some of Russia’s most formidable biologists, geomorphologists and ornithologists to see how climate change is affecting this untouched world. Behind Russia’s Frozen Curtain is also featured in Sala’s new book, “Pristine Seas: Journeys to the Ocean’s Last Wild Places,” on sale Sept. 22.

Land of 10,000 Grizzlies
Premieres Sunday, Sept. 27, 8/7c
Russia’s Far East is a wild and isolated realm that was closed to outsiders by the Soviet military for most of the past hundred years, but wildlife was left to flourish. Compelled by the instinct to reproduce, millions of salmon journey to Russia’s remote Kamchatka Peninsula every summer, drawing some 10,000 grizzly bears to its shores. Talk about an “Amazing Race.” Journey with us to this harsh and beautiful terrain to find Northern fur seals, the artic fox and Steller’s sea eagle.

Previewing Falling Skies: The Final Season

Last week The Last Ship premiered with a two hour premiere pushing the new season of Falling Skies to tonight. I found this odd considering it seemed like every other season premiere for Falling Skies itself opened up with back to back episodes and it is weir that it would stop that streak for its final season. I guess the TNT action baton has been passed early.

The penultimate season of Falling Skies ended with a bang as Tom destroyed the alien power source on the moon with the help of his two year old Khalissi like daughter who sacrificed herself to save her father. Expect his Beamer was sent into space without any power. The new season starts up with a dream sequence ... or something like it with Tom's dead wife giving him a pep talk. It is unclear what is going on or how he gets back on Earth but it is clear that these "dreams" will have a big bearing on the new season.

Once reunited with the 2nd Mass, Tom uses these dreams to wipe out the remains of the Espheni fighting force left on the planet including wild roaming Skidder no longer linked to the Overlords. And what would a new season would be without a new alien creature harassing them and this season introduces a new mutated wasp which only becomes more creepy when they get it under a microscope. Though it it remains unclear in the early episodes who created them or what they were created for. My money would be whoever saved Tom.

Falling Skies airs Sundays at 10:00 on TNT. You can download Falling Skies on iTunes.

Previewing Anne Frank's Holocaust and Brazil

It is depressing to think the last time most people thought about Anne Frank was during the silly debate over whether she would have been a fan of Justin Bieber. I really hate society sometime. Now we have all had to read The Diary of Anne Frank at some point in our lives but what it is easy to overlook was that there was more to Anne Frank after she was separated from her diary. Anne Frank's Holocaust retraces Frank's steps after being found in her father's annex August 4, 1944.

We are maybe a decade or so away from having any more first person accounts of World War II and the new special manages to find two childhood friends of Anne Frank in the Netherlands who would again cross paths at a concentration camp just months before the end of the war. They provide rarely seen photographs and provide a more vivid insight of Frank's early life and that spent in the concentration camps.

Anne Frank's Holocaust premieres tonight at 9:00 on the National Geographic Channel.


If the Holocaust is too dark for you, National Geographic Channel's sister station Nat Geo Wild is premiering a new mini series also airing tonight for three straight hours. Brazil is having a moment in the sports world now, hosting the World Cup last year and the Olympic next year. The mini-series Brazil takes you out of the cities away from the people going deep into the many jungles rain forests in the nation. Where here in North America we had cold and warm seasons, in Brazil they have wet and dry season where different species thrive and have to survive in the other which is not as easy as hibernating like our local animals. Most fascinating of which are the fish the have to "jump" back to the rivers during the dry season when their habitat dries up.

Brazil premieres tonight at 8:00 on Nat Geo Wild.

Previewing Proof and Rizzoli and Isles: Season Six

The truth is out there. But what if the truth was not the existence of aliens but the proof of an afterlife. And Scully was a practicing medical doctor who, like every doctor in the post-House world, would be considered a horrible person if it were not for the whole saving lives thing. And Mulder was some rich amalgamation of of Steve Jobs and Richard Branson. Except he is too rich go out into the field and send an underling as a proxy so he is more like the Skinner and, um... okay, my The X-Files comparison to the new TNT drama Proof is starting to break down.

Proof stars Jennifer Beals (Flashdance) as the Sully stand in who is propositioned by Matthew Modine (Jobs) to determine what happens after we die after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer and cannot wait a couple months to learn what happens first hand. And they say money is wasted on the rich. Beals is chosen because her scientific mind and her own near death experience (she is a horrible person but she will go to Haiti after the Earthquake or almost drown why aiding tsunami victims).

If there is a Smoking Man of the series it is Callum Blue (Dead Like Me), a supposed physic medium and best selling author. He is probably the most interesting character on the show. Either him or Beals daughter who has taken to pushing mean girls into lockers to cope with her dead brother and pending divorce (he is not so coincidentally works at the same hospital as Beals) and reminds me as a more dramatic version of Jane Levy on Suburgatory who herself was just Emma Stone adjacent.

So the series features Beals and her team (Modine's underling and an African intern played by Justified's Jean Baptiste) go on the look for X-Files type cases dealing with death including a girl who died and came back to life with drawings of dead relatives she had never met, a jealous ex-wife, and an Iraqi War vet who has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder... from a past life who participated in the Korean War. Proof feels like an X-Files episode that is being stretched into a full full season and makes the mistake many professional dramas do these days and thinks we actually want to see what goes on when they go home (dear television writers: we don't) which would be an alright concept if the X Files was not returning this winter. And if I am only going to watch one second rate X-Files this year, it is going to be the reboot.

Proof airs Tuesdays at 10:00 on TNT.


It seems odd that Rizzoli and Isles would start off their new season with an officer involved shooting, in a subway platform of all places, considering what has been going on in the real world over the last couple month. But at least the suspect is white (and since it was done by one of the main castmembers probably actually justified even if the perp's gun disappears after the shooting). On a lighter note, Dr. Isles is getting a new assistant medical examiner who may be as eccentric as Maura. There is an even lighter note next week when Boston's finest investigate a murder at a bass fishing tournament which also features a new suitor for Jane.

Rizzoli and Isles airs Tuesdays at 9:00 on TNT.

Previewing Clipped

We are living in the age of the comeback, groups ranging from Jodeci to the Afghan Whigs have come back after a decade long hiatus. Those the musical landscape is littered with comebacks, actors never really have comebacks because with the advent of cable and now the internet, there are countless hours to be filled. So actor never really go away, they are just relegated to channels you did not even now where on your cable package. Seriously, turn on the Hallmark or its Movie channel, you will undoubtedly see an actor you have not seen in five to ten years that you forgot you liked in a movie you will not be able to watch for more than five minutes (oh hey there Lyla Garrity and Earl Hickey).

So you may not have seen George Wendt since Cheers went off the air, but don't call Clipped his comeback, George's been here for year. Okay, Norm on a TBS show is not like Al Bundy on Modern Family but it is a step up from the ABC Family Christmas movies he has been in lately. And sure Al Bundy may be on a show that has won five straight Best Comedy Emmy's, but Norm is on a show where he makes out with Carl Winslow. Seriously.

Yeah The Big Bang Theory and the previously mentioned Modern Family are doing fine, but television comedies audience are becoming more and more fractured with niche type rating. I think it has been five years since an NBC comedy has gotten more than two season and shows airing after The Big Bang Theory and The Voice, the two highest rates shows on television routinely get axed because of pitiful retention rates. As we move into the nicheification of comedy, TBS has weirdly gone into a retro direction green lighting laugh-track heavy show multi-camera shows that feel like their are from the eighties even though none of these shows get more than three seasons (there only interesting programs are when they play with the format like with Glory Daze but that only got one season and King of the Nerds).

Clipped is another workplace comedy taking place at a barber chop populated by six high school friends (and Wendt) in Boston complete with poor Masshole accents. Thankfully Ashley Tisdale (Scary Movie 5) does not even try. Tensions start off the first episode when the owner decides he has to fire someone because of Obamacare premiums and makes his employees decide which one gets the boot. Though it was unclear how up to this point he was able to employ five barbers and an receptions to work at the same time in a shady part of Boston. The plot plays out exactly how you would expect.

Worst of all is the characters are all kind of boring. Two of the character's main attribute is they are hot (and of course they are destined to be together though things will keep them apart for a season or two). There is the necrotic one but he is not necrotic enough t. The overly bubbly receptionist. The douchebag boss. The only interesting character is the Jewish black girl ("Dr. Dreidel" is the funniest joke in the Pilot, possibly the only funny joke). Like TBS's previous sitcoms, Clipped my get a second season, but I would be surprised if it gets to a third.

Clipped airs Tuesdays at 10:00 on TBS. You can download the first episode of Clipped for free on iTunes.

Pilot - Clipped

Previewing Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos

Pink flamingos are always the highlight of any of the nature shows that populate the weekly specials that have popped up on the television over the the past decade so it is not surprising that DisneyNature would give them their own film (spoiler alert: it turns out they are not pink by birth but their pink cue comes from staining their feathers). Tonight is the premiere of The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos at 8:00 on Nat Geo Wild. The documentary give you the lifespan of the bird, from the courtship to the laying of the egg, to learning to fly and the hazards a young flamingo has to get through to make it to adulthood. A warning to those with small children, there are graphic death scenes. But for those with children already familiar with the circle of life, Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos makes for a great family movie. Check out the trailer from the teatrical relerase of the film below:

Previewing Murder in the First: Season Two and Major Crimes: Season Four

I like a good murder mystery, I even enjoy bad ones too, hey I made it through two seasons of The Killing (but I stopped after I learned who killed Rosie Larsen, I am not a sadomasochist). The first season of Murder in the First was alight, when the detectives went home to their families (or lack there of in one case) was a bit of a drag but we did get a conclusion that satisfying for the most part. I did not give much thought of it after the finale and to honest was a bit surprised there is a second season.

But hey, the new season features the addition of Emmanuelle Chriqui (You Don't Mess with the Zohan) so it has to be on an upswing on that bit of casting alone. Sure he plays a member of the Gang Task Force but she does not even crack the top ten list of least believable law enforcement agents in the history of television. The new season also features of shift in storytelling. Gone is the murder mystery (at least for now) and instead of one case, the log lines promises "a series of crimes" that will take the time of the San Francisco Police Department.

Sure we have all seen our fair share of fictitious school shooting that have police and high school dramas since Columbine, but the season starts off with a slightly new take with two kids taking out their classmate on a school bus before escaping on the streets of the city with a few smoke bombs that will instantly make anyone who has picked up a controller of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Though the theme is familiar, the season premiere is very gripping, tense, and a better hour than any of the first season episodes. You may think it cannot possibly take too long to hunt down a pair of teenagers, you would be right, that case seems to be closed by the time I watched all the episodes TNT sent over. It is unclear where they will go next, but a couple time over the first two episodes the department talked about an undercover officer who has gone missing while ingratiating a prostitution ring.

Murder in the First airs Mondays at 10:00 on TNT.


Prior to the new season of Murder in the First is the fourth season of Major Crimes. The new season starts off as it usually does, Lt. Provenza is being grumpy and looking a way to dump their current case on another department because he does not think it is a "major crime." It almost works this time until someone come out crying from a neighboring house with what he has to admit actually is a major crime. The neighbor's mother has been murder which may be linked to a rash of break-ins around town.

Also this season, the team will be investigating a case involving a dead body left in the trunk of a car that is wrecked during a high-speed chase and a gangland shooting case involving an 11-year-old witness. During his first drive-along as a Reserve Officer, Buzz Watson will be dragged into the latest Flynn and Provenza investigative debacle after a dead body in a bathtub threatens an extremely expensive wedding. And Sanchez will return to the Major Crimes unit, but struggle to rebuild relationships and trust with his fellow officers. Back at home, Sharon Raydor’s newly adopted son, Rusty, will discover a passion for journalism that tests his mother’s patience, and could threaten the prosecution of a confessed murderer.

Major Crimes airs Mondays at 9:00 on TNT.

Previewing T. rex Autopsy

Two decades ago an alien autopsy swept the nation leading to countless debates f its authenticity and even became the focus of an episode of The X-Files. This was right around the time the original Jurassic Park came out and just in time for the fourth one, the National Geographic Channel is conducting a T. rex Autopsy Sunday at 9:00. But conspiracy theorist do not need to debate the authenticity, though the special plays it pretty coy throughout, at the end they go into detail about how the dinosaur was created and how it took six months to do so.

That is not to say the autopsy is not freaky and extremely gross (I was able to get through most of it up until they started to remove and dissect the eyeball... ewww). The creation is so lifelike it is disappointing to think all the dinosaurs in the upcoming movie are probably almost all created inside a computer because I am sure a few people could be fooled by this special War of the Worlds radio special style. As the show says, "Using cutting edge special effects techniques, and in consultation with esteemed veterinary surgeons, anatomists, and paleontologists, T. rex Autopsy features the first full-size anatomically complete Tyrannosaurus rex, based on the very latest research and findings. The massive monster is lifelike inside (Scooter's note: literally two of the scientists hang out in the belly at the same time while dissecting it) and out, giving scientists the chance to touch it, smell it, and cut it open from head to toe for the first time."

If that is not enough dinosaurs for you as you wait for Jurassic World to come to your local cinema, there are three additional dinosaur themed premieres this weekend including:

- Dino Death Match (Saturday, June 6, at 9 p.m. ET/PT): A fossil known as the “dueling dinosaurs” depicts predator and prey as they died in combat. A dramatic fossil, but also one that is central to a controversial debate; does it provide evidence of the existence of a separate tyrannosaur species? It could reveal a pygmy tyrant — the Nanotyrannus. As the evidence for and against this predator is reviewed, dinosaur like no other is revealed, brought to life in stunning CGI.

- Jurassic CSI Special (wt) (Saturday, June 6, at 10 p.m. ET/PT): Today, all that is left of the dinosaurs are fossilized bones. But, using modern technology, we can now go beyond the bones and use fossils to answer eye-opening questions about dinosaur appearance, behavior and lifestyle.

- Ultimate Dino Survivor (Sunday, June 7, at 8 p.m. ET/PT): Tyrannosaurus rex was a top predator of its day. Well-armed with terrifying jaws, it was seemingly impervious to attack. But new fossils are revealing that the life of T. rex and its cousins was brutal. Fossils are probed with cutting-edge techniques to reveal the source of injuries, predation attempts that went wrong and titanic battles where T. rex teeth were sunk into adversaries.

Previewing American Genius

When you hear there is a show called American Genius you would expect an episode featuring Albert Einstein, probably the most famous and revered genius in this nation's history. But the genesis of the National Geographic Channel miniseries is that the nation's brightest all had rivals to push them to greater heights. So instead of an episode devoted to the best and brightest this nation has ever seen, they focus on two (or more) that raced to create new industries.

Obviously the premiere tonight focuses on the most recent that has taken over the nation's interest over the past quarter century and just recently ended: Steve Jobs vs. Bill Gates. Sure the former is already up to his second posthumous bioflick since his death due to his charismatic personality, but it was Gates, who had the upper hand for most of the duo's rivalry (you can argue it was not until the iPhone until Jobs took the pole position).

Also on tonight is a rivalry I did not even know existed until now. Thanks to a paragraph in ever US History textbook, we all know Orville and Wilber Wright were the first in flight but there is much more to that story thanks to a man named Glenn Curtis whose rivalry ended up most more bitter than that of Jobs and Gates (as well as more deadlier).

Future episodes feature other familiar names: Hearst vs Pulitzer (journalism), Colt vs. Wesson (revolvers), Oppenheimer vs. Heisenberg (the atomic bomb), and Edison vs Tesla (electricity). The only names I did not recognize from the episode title are Farnsworth vs. Sarnoff which turns out to be the story of beginning of the television. There is also an episode dedicated to the space race.

American Genius airs Mondays with back to back episodes starting at 9:00 on the National Geographic Cha
nnel.

Previewing Barkfest

When I received the screener for Is Your Dog a Genius? my initial response was, "that is easy: no." Really I have considered my dogs to be dumb and dumber. But as I watched the couple of episodes included, the answer became a little murkier. The three part series airs part of Barkfest running all weekend starting tonight on Nat Geo Wild with a three hour block starting at 8:00 each night devoted to our canine friends the next three days.

Barkfest starts off tonight with World's Greatest Dogs where viewers will be introduced to special dogs that range from surfing therapy dogs, a dog with four bionic legs after a frostbite incident as a pup, as well as a dog who owns the world record for scootering which needs to be seen to believe (next up for the dog: breaking the world record for riding a bicycle). That is followed at 9:00 by the season finale of Cesar 911. The episode sees Cesar Millan being recruited by a father who's daughter's pit bull attacks every dog he sees including the daughter's boyfriend's dog. Be warned: there will be blood in the episode and a twist ending.

Saturday starts off with a special episode of The Incredible Dr. Pol: Deja Moo!: Dog-a-POL-ooza, followed by a canine focused episode of Unlikely Animal Friends: Barktacular! featuring uncanny pals like cheetahs, rats, and goats. Sunday starts off with the special Super Underdogs where you will meet the largest and smallest living dogs (the former of who costs his owners over a hundred dollars of food every week). You will also be introduced to medical marvels like the boxer who rejected any mechanical legs and only gets around on two and another who only has a half sized spine. While some of you may already be familiar with Tuna, a Chiweenie with over a million followers on social media.

The highlight of Barkfest is Is Your Dog a Genius? which airs new episodes at 10:00 the next three nights. The series follows Dr. Brian Hare to determine the personality traits of all dogs best on five criteria. And his test are so simple all you need to do them at home are two plastic cups, two bowls, aluminum foil, and a decent amount of treats. Then by the end of the weekend you should have a better understanding if your dog a genius or not. Since the show if fun and interactive, it is basically the dog version of Brain Games which airs on Nat Geo Wild's sister station the National Geographic Channel.

Barkfest runs all weekend with forty-eight hours of all dog programming with all new specials and episodes premiering every evening starting at 8:00.

Previewing HAPPYish

Last fall Rolling Stone in their television preview issue included a list of The Greatest TV Series That Never Were. Most of the shows that made up that list were just shows that were passed on by the networks that developed them. One curious case was HAPPYish, a show that Showtime was high on but was shelved when star Philip Seymour Hoffman died of an overdose after the pilot was filmed. In the interim, ABC pretty much co opted the title for one of its sitcom before Showtime decided what to do with the project.

Almost half a year after Hoffman's death Showtime dusted off the script, casting Steve Coogan as the lead. It is an interesting choice as Hoffman was a well regarded dramatic actor while Coogan seems to come from the Monty Python school of British comedy. And actually casting a comedic actor as a lead in their comedy is actually kind of rare for Showtime. Kathryn Hahn returned to the project as the lead's wife while Rhys Ifans has been replaced by Bradley Whitford as the lead's boss (apparently there is room for only one Englishman on the show).

Though the general public never got to see the Hoffman version of the HAPPYsh pilot, from the description of the critics that saw the trailer that Showtime produced, the new version seems to be unchanged aside from the lead aging an extra two years to forty-four. There is even still a Keebler Elf dream sequence in both. It is hard watching Coogan version without think about how Hoffman would have approached the scene.

Coogan plays a happyish forty-something with two small kids who is dealing with being an old person in a world that only appreciates younger people. Making things worse, he works in an industry that only enforces the spotlight on being younger: marketing. Where Black-ish works as if features a black man raising his children in a white suburban world, HAPPYish is completely misleading as non of the characters have any slice of happiness in their lives. Instead everyone on the show ranges on the anger scale somewhere between curmudgeon and a Ted Cruz voter.

So if you like the idea of old people complaining about basically everything, this show is for you (i.e. anyone planning to vote for Ted Cruz). Really everyone is so angry, they really should have just gone ahead and cast Lewis Black instead. Sure the angry rants can be funny (Coogan is right, why would anyone follow Pepto Bismol on Twitter?) the show is at its best when it goes completely absurdist, be it a homicidal and over-sexed Keebler Elf, a talking Amazon smile, or a fowl mouthed Geico Gecko.

HAPPYish airs Sundays at 9:30 on Showtime.

Previewing Olypmus

Syfy is a weird channel that I sometimes am not sure what it is trying to be. One thing that ties all of its programs together is they all look fairly low budget, just a step up from Ed Wood type movies. But sometime they try to make legitimate television show that just fail (like last year's Ascension), sometimes they make movies that are meant to be bad (they are on their third Sharknado) sometimes they just buy Canadian show to fill up airtime. Speaking of trying to make legitimate television shows, I do not think they have produced a new one that had any sort of acclaim since Battlestar Gallactica and that ended six years ago.

Their latest attempt at scripted programming is Olympus and to be honest I am not entirely sure if Syfy produced it as a legitimate program or if they are in on the joke like a serialized version of Sharknado. If you do turn in I highly recommend you go into it with a Sharknado state of mind because watching ironically may be the only way anyone can find any enjoyment of it.

The story follows... some dude. No I did not forget the name between watching the first episode and by the time I wrote this. The main protagonist's name is never spoke because, as he explains, anyone who speaks it turns to stone and he does not want to test if that he would also turn to stone if spoken. Was he cursed by Medusa? Are they withholding the name so they can shock you that he will turn out to be Hercules or some other famous name in Greek Mythology? You will have to let me know if they ever bother to reveal the name?

So random dude has been tasked to rescue an Oracle from Cyclops (Syfy is finally putting the Face Off contestants to use because Cyclops is kind of creepy especially where they put his one eye) to take her back to the Temple of Gaia. There is also a secondary political plot that seems like it is trying way too hard to be like better shows in the genre like Game of Thrones, but Olympus is not even Spartacus. Maybe it should be as it is a bit distracting as it go from fantasy type CGI background with piratical background. But again, if this is meant to be a Sharknado type farce that is so bad it starts to almost be good, they are doing a pretty good job at it.

Olympus airs Thursdays at 10:00 on Syfy.

Previewing Killing Jesus

After the success of Killing Lincoln it was only a matter of time National Geographic Channel would commission Killing Kennedy and Killing Jesus, the next two books in Bill O'Reilly's assassination anthology, would follow. But not only have they have been done in successive year, they have also gotten bigger in scope. The first one was mostly focused on narrator Tom Hanks with Dateline type quality recreations in the background. For Killing Kennedy, they actually were able to recruit a name actor, Rob Lowe (okay, not the biggest get considering this is the same guy who said yes to a Lifetime movie about Scott Peterson) while the movie looked like a legitimate made for television movie.

National Geographic Channel raised the bar again for Killing Jesus. Sure it is no Ben Hur, but you can definitely check out the production value. Though they went unknown for the titular character (some dude named Haaz Sleiman... looking at IMDB, oh hey, he was in an episode of Veronica Mars), that are a few recognizable faces. Kelsey Grammer shows up as King Herod, the first person who tries to kill Jesus. Do not worry, this is not a full bio-flick on the life of Jesus (NBC's A.D.: The Bible Continues will probably go more in depth on that) as the film quickly fast forwards thirty years to Jesus first meeting Simon.

Getting the top line in the movie is Stephen Moyer (who really need to redeem himself in his first role since somehow being more stiff than Carrie Underwood in The Sound of Music Live) as the man who sentences Jesus to death (um, spoiler alert?) Pontius Pilate. Rufus Sewell (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) and Emmanuelle Chriqui (You Don't Mess With the Zohan) play characters in the shadows who put Jesus's Crucifixion into motion. And for anyone who wanted to know what Irisa from Syfy's Defiance looked like sans her alien makeup, she also makes an appearance in the film (weirdly as Chriqui's daughter despite their six year age difference).

The previous Killing movies focuses as much on the eventual assassins as it did the titular characters, but focus of Killing Jesus remains mostly on the Son of God despite the three hour run time. We have all heard the story of Jesus before and I assume it will be getting a large chuck of screen time during A.D. I was hoping we would be getting more information on the conspiracy happening behind the scenes that led to his death than the story of his life that everyone who had been to Sunday School already know. Still Killing Jesus will be a huge success, probably beating the previous two movies in viewers. Though he is the least know of the series, I am actually looking forward to the inevitable Killing Patton, because that is a story I really do not know much about and will probably learn a lot of new information, unlike the fairly predictable and already well known story of Killing Jesus.

Killing Jesus airs Sunday at 8:00 on the National Geographic Channel.

Previewing Aloha Vet

If you like any of Nat Geo Wild's veterinarian show, you will want to check out its latest Aloha Vet. As the title suggest, this show takes place in Hawaii and you guessed it with the exotic location there are going to be some exotic patrons to the vet's office. Dr. Scott Sims treats both domestic and wild animals and has no problem making house calls be it by riding a horse, scuba diving, or even flying his own plane.

As Nat Geo Wild describes the show:Island hop with one of Hawaii's best known veterinarians Dr. Scott Sims, as he treats animals on the go. Unlike most vets, Dr. Sims sees animals both wild and domestic, large and small, and he's known to o whatever it takes to give them the care they need. He even built his own private plane to go on house calls.

A true adventurer, he'll perform procedures on beaches, mountaintops, near waterfalls, and even on the tailgate of a truck. Watch Dr. Sims rescue a sea turtle in a fishing line, save an unconscious horse stuck in a riverbed and bring sight back to a pig blinded for years. Don't miss Aloha Vet as he ventures across the rural islands of Hawaii, doing whatever it takes to help all creatures great and small.

Aloha Vet airs Saturdays at 9:00 on Nat Geo Wild.

Previewing Barely Famous and Walk of Shame Shuttle

We live in a country that reveres one hit wonders in pop music. There are lists made, radio stations devote entire weekends to them, Dexy's Midnight Runners have been living off of Come on Eileen for three decades while bands that stupidly achieved a second trip on the charts end up getting day jobs. There is really no equivalent for movie stars that are known for only one film, they are not even famous enough to get an invite to Dancing with the Stars which routinely recruits "stars" over half the country have never heard of.

It was over a decade ago when Sara Foster was poised for a star turn opposite Luke Wilson in The Big Bounce. The only problem was the movie bombed and was critically panned. In the eleven years since, her IMDB page touts three television episodes, a stint on the 90210 reboot, three movies you have never heard of and one you never knew exist (wait, there was a second Bachelor Party movie?).

Since the acting career never really took off, Sara looks to be joining the family business. Nope, she is not going into music production like her father David who was probably the second most famous one of the eighties after Quincy Jones. Nope she is taking on her father's latter day career as reality star. He starred in The Princes of Malibu with third wife Linda and most recently on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills with fourth wife Yolanda.

Now Sara stars in the appropriately titled Barely Famous with her little sister Erin who is dubbed a writer on the show. According to IMDB her lone writing credit was for the horrible NBC sitcom The New Normal. Though she actually does have more acting credits than her sister popping up on twelve different shows as well as a few movies you never heard of.

This probably will come as a shock to nobody, but in recent court deposition, it came out that Love and Hip Hop, as well as pretty much every VH1 reality show, is a complete fake. Not that the Fosters mind that one bit because they are going out of their way to make sure everyone know Barely Famous is not a "real" reality show. Of course Erin receive a James Franco booty call every episode, even in the middle of a date with an Apple employee, is fake.

But the thing is, Barely Famous is actually kind of funny. The big problem is that it has been down before and done in the more reasonable web series form. A mockumentary on not really being a star is not a television series, it is better served in bitesize, five to ten minute intervals no matter how many celebrity cameos you get (Kate Hudson and Nicole Richie in the first, Jessica Alba in number two, Courntney Cox in the third; presumably Franco will pop up in the finale because James Franco has never said no in his career).

Remember how I said Love and Hip Hop, and basically every VH1 show was outed as fake? Well The Walk of Shame Shuttle is extremely fake too. Sure, like Love and Hip Hop, it wants you to think it is real, but there is no way that is true. One big red flag is they actually air the address of the walk of shamees, many of who are clearly actors. Sure there are a few that are plausibly real because we clearly live in a TMI society, but it is hard to believe they found enough to air their dirty laundry on basic channel to fill a series.

The Walk of Shame Shuttle is basically Taxicab Confession set during the morning. The enterprising Kellyann Wargo, who came up withe the idea in college, is one of the drivers along with comedians Jordan Pease and Michelle Collins. But it is Kellyann who is the star of the show, where the other two try to upstage their fairs, Wargo says more with her reaction shots. Yeah the passengers may or may not be fake, but Kellyann's facial expressions to the craziness are priceless. Neither The Walk of Shame Shuttle or Barely Famous are must see television, or even worth space on your DVR, but if you find yourself flipping through your channels and happen on either, you may actually be entertained for a minute or two before moving nto the next channel.

Walk of Shame Shuttle airs at 9:00 followed by Barely Famous airs Wednesdays at 9:30 both on VH1.

Previewing The Returned

Back in 2009 after watching Zombieland I declared the era of the vampire over and the teens (if that what we are calling this decade?) the era of zombies. I made that statement in part jest and part wishful thinking after growing tired of bloodsuckers. even stop watching anything starring one since the series finale of Angel (Let Me In being the one exception in the decade since). Shocking one of my predictions actually came true, vampire are passe and The Walking Dead is the biggest show on television.

Now there is a new subsection of stories of people returning from the dead, but they do not come back immortal like vampires or want to eat human flesh or brains like zombies, they return pretty much like nothing happened. And to make things confusing, they are all called The Returned. So try not to confuse the new show The Returned, based on the 2012 French show Les Revenants, (which aired as The Returned on Sundance TV in 2013) which was based on the 2004 Fresh film of the same name (but named They Came Back for English release) premiering on A&E tonight with ABC's Resurrection which premiered last year and was based on the 2013 novel also named The Returned but has no connection to the French film or television show.

Yeah, that kind of gets confusing and only more show when you watch the premiere episode which starts with a kid returning home after dying four years earlier. Though she does not wake up in China, this girl climbs out of a ravine from where her bus drove over four years ago. A couple other souls (presumably) return to the dead but much of the narrative stays with the teenage girl in the first episode. Each episode is named after a Returned which focuses on them, a very Lost type of storytelling which has specific character-centric episodes (both shows being run by Carlton Cuse).  There are even flashbacks, though they seem to only happen one at the beginning of the episode with the only exception so far being the end of the Pilot.

Where it is very hard not to think of Resurrection while watching The Returned I will say that I enjoyed The Returned premiere more than Resurrection because of a pretty shocking plot twist at the end of the first episode when they flashback and show you why exactly the girl dies the first time. And hopefully The Returned gives more answers than Resurrection did (and will probably ever will because it probably will not get a third season; plus my sources tell me the book it was based on was not very forthcoming with answers either). I am not sure if the French program gave many answers because I did not watch Les Revenants on account that I watch television to avoid reading.

Another advantage The Returned has is acting. Sure it was good to see Willie Mays Hayes #2 on the small screen, but The Returned has Ramona Flowers herself Mary Elizabeth Winstead herself in the cast. And she is not the only recognizable face: there is also Jacob from Lost! the dad from Suburgatory!! the daughter from Treme!!! Alice from Wonderland (the Once Upon a Time crappy spin-off, not the movie)!!!! Anna Nicole Smith from the Lifetime movie..... and that is just the main cast, you will also see Sydney's partner from Alias and the extremely depressing  mother from The Killing pop up from time to time too.

Those are just the recognizable cast members, and that is just half of them. It is very Lostian in size, ten in total (and to be honest about the acting, two of them are really kind of bad at it), granted not much in diversity in this very WASP-y community. Even worse the show is severely missing a Hurley type of comedic diversion. There is a nosy neighbor but she probably asks the wrong person if a cat has got his tongue that may cause her not to be around much in future episode.  But it does seem like Cuse is in a battle with his former partner Damien Lindeloff to who could create the more depressing show between The Returned and The Leftovers (which i hear is extremely depressing).

One aspect The Returned did successfully take from Lost is setting up what will be much talked about plot twists among fans, the huge and freaky one at the end of the first episode that I mentioned earlier made me quickly queue up episode two. Not surprisingly everyone in this small town has secrets in their pasts and much like the dead, the secrets will eventually rise to the surface (the dad from Suburgatory has a particularly juicy one which will undoubtedly come back to haunt him in more ways to one). Hopefully the producer from Lost has learned better timing this time around because one of the bigger flaw of that show it took way to long to pay off plot twists (did anyone still care how Locke lost the ability to walk by the time the show revealed it three or four season later?) and we do not have to wait to learn what is behind everyone secrets.

The Returned airs Mondays at 10:00 on A&E following an all new season of Bates Motel. Last season we learned that Norman gets very violent when he blackouts and can also pass lie detector tests while out, Dylan leaned his uncle is probably also his father (Kenny Johnson's name now presides in the main cast), and the town's biggest drug kingpins got offed. The third seasons starts with the DEA burning the town's cash crops, Norman getting ready for senior year, and Dylan is ready to go legal. Revolution's Tracy Spiridakos shows up as the motel's latest inhabitant and like the previous people who passed through she pays with money that was obtained not very legally. And if the promo's are correct, she will also inspire Norman to learn how to use a power drill.

Previewing Unlikely Animal Friends: Season Two

For those that have been seeing the Android commercial over the last month or so with animals of different specials paling around like a dog swimming with a dolphin in their "Be together, not the same" ads and thought to themselves, that should be its own television show, you are in luck. There is already one. Even better Unlikely Animal Friends returns tonight with all new episodes.

The premiere episode really starts off going for the heartstrings with a two legged Chihuahua and his best friend a silkie chicken (check out of a clip of the duo), both of who have become unofficial mascots of a veterinarian's office. Also on tonight is a squirrel who hides its nut in a dog's fur, mountaineer and his rock-climbing cat and hear the incredibly sweet tale of the goat who refuses to leave his donkey friend’s side. Later on this season, get to know a Hawaiian surfer who hangs ten with his pet pig, a blind woman who relies on a guide horse and an immobilized cat that’s protected by a faithful dachshund.

Learn more about a California man who hangs ten with his surfing goat, hear the tale of the cockatoo who enjoys giving massages to her once-feral feline friend and meet a hunting dog whose best friend and co-worker is a two-and-a-half-foot-tall Eurasian eagle owl. Get to know a farm dog who loves to mother a wild orphaned fawn, an autistic boy who connects deeply with his flock of chickens and a rat who loves to hang around with a feline friend. Meet a boy who was saved by his heroic family cat, a dog who mothers a “goat puppy” and a man who spoils his pet deer. Learn more abot a dog and cheetah cub duo, a soldier who found a friend in a time of war and a pair of Dalmatians who adopted a kitten.

It seems like every time I write about something from Nat Geo Wild I have to warn animal lovers there are multiple animal on animal attacks, Unlikely Animal Friends is one of the show where two animals that may be enemies in the wild become best friends. It is also the rare show the whole family can enjoy.

Unlikely Animal Friends airs Fridays at 10:00 on Nat Geo Wild.

Previewing Cesar Millan: Viva Las Vegas! and Cesar 911

For about a decade, Cesar Millan has been coming into our homes to train our dogs. The reason he has stuck around so long on television is that not only is he a dog trainer, he is also a showman. So with that knowledge it should not be all that surprising to learn he now has his own stage show which he recently brought to the place all showmen dream to headline: Las Vegas. Of course he brought some cameras along for his new two hour special airing tonight Cesar Millan: Viva Las Vegas!

Sure he rehabilitates some dog in his show but it is really more of a comedy show with Cesar stalking around the stage like he is Chris Rock, but instead of jokes about race, these jokes are family, and dog friendly. The stop at the Palms Casino Resort was actually the only American stop on his world tour.

Next week Cesar leaves the stage behind and returns to his day job on Cesar 911 where family members, neighbors, and friends call on the dog whisperer to help their loved ones and their best friend. In the season premiere Cesar receives a call from someone who was bit by a neighborhood Great Dane and an expecting mother who fears her kid will be bitten by her sister’s dog because of the number of times the Maltese mix has bitten her.

Later this season, Cesar is called on to help someone who was banned from the weekly family barbecue three years ago because of his German Shepard, a duo that has already been kick out of one apartment complex because of their unruly dogs and is close to getting kicked out of their current one, an American bulldog that is driving his owners towards a divorce after he bit the family’s toddler.

Cesar Millan: Viva Las Vegas (watch a preview) premieres tonight at 9:00 on Nat Geo Wild. Cesar 911 (watch a preview) airs Fridays at 9:00 on Nat Geo Wild starting next week.