Previewing The Affair: Season Three

As Showtime usually does with many of its shows, they premiered the first episode of The Affair new season early through various outlets. If you have not seen it yet, be warned I am going to spoil it because something huge happens at the end that I do not want to be vague about it, so head to your On Demand station or Showtime Anytime pass to watch it now. I will be vague about the other episodes I have seen. You have been warned.

At the surface, you would think The Affair was some intense family drama, but it was sneakily a murder mystery too as we learned early in the series that one of the characters was murdered. We finally learned last season that it was in fact Helen that ran over Scott Lockhart but Noah actually stood up in court and took the rap for his ex-wife. The new season picks up three years later, because apparently vehicular manslaughter is not a very serious crime in New York State. There is still the multiple act structure, but just like in the second season, it looks like some episodes, one person’s POV will take up the entire hour.

With that murder now solved, they replaced with another mystery, who stabbed Noah (I will no spoil whether he survived the attack yet, on account I do not know if he did or not yet). And what a bizarre scene, Noah clearly knew someone was there but does not turn around. And what kind of attacker just stabs once and leaves not making sure they got the job done? Of course the potential killer list is very long with all the Lockhart’s, really all of Montauk, he son was very cold at the funeral, and the eldest daughter did not even bother to show up.

I believe last season, the first couple episodes were solo perspective episodes, but in the early episodes of season three, Noah I the only one who gets a full hour to himself. The second episode gets split between Helen and Allison split time. Although this is a split from previous seasons because the two never cross paths in each other act, but we do get to see Helen’s visit to the prison from her perspective. And much like last season which saw the addition of the perspectives of Helen and Cole, this season we get the point of view of Juliette, a French Lit professor Noah meets in the first episode and we get to see the dinner party he attends (Haddie Braverman also is there as a student of both Juliette and Noah's) from her perspective in episode three.

Hopefully this opens up the show even more as the two person point of view got stale pretty quickly in season one as you were confined to following just two characters around. Even upping that to four got tedious at the end of season for. Maybe everyone is a possibly this season. I would wager a guess that Cole’s bride will get an act or two. But really, I just hope the bratty daughter gets her own episode. C’mon, who would not want to see how she ended up in a hot tub with her father last season? And this season is even better now she is dating an erotic photographer who calls himself Furkat who livens up the episode where Helen comes to visit. Actually I am now kind of hoping for a Furkat perspective episode.

The Affair airs Sundays at 10:00 on Showtime.

Previewing The Librarians: Season Three

I was a bit surprised to learn The Librarians are just on their third season, it seems like it has been on for much longer than that. I guess maybe the movies makes the series seem older than it really is. Like it has been the last two winters, The Librarians is a fun and silly diversion while other more serious shows go on a winter hiatus.

This season it looks like the team will be attacked on two fronts, one from a familiar mystical threat, this time in the form of the Egyptian God of Chaos who looks to unlock pure evil. But new this season is the new government agency with the normal jumbled governmental words of the Department of Statistical Anomalies headed by Vanessa Williams. The Librarians may not be reinventing television, but it remains cheesy fun that will keep your television glowing warmth while you wait for your shows to slowly return after the holidays.

The Librarians airs Sundays at 8:00 on TNT. You can also download The Librarians on iTunes.

Previewing Good Behavior

There may be fewer people better at what they do then the people who make trailers. If only the trailer editors were the ones actually made the movies because ninety percent of the time, the actual movie does not live up to the trailers. Even when you know there is no way the movie was going to be any good, these trailers put that seed of doubt in your head. So it is very noticeable when there is a bad trailer (like the Ghostbusters reboot). Weirdly enough, the best show in recent memory, Mr. Robot, also had a really bad trailer. It was so bad I was going to pass on it until I saw Dalia Royce had a starring role.

I had a similar reaction when I saw the first trailer for Good Behavior. Like Mr. Robot, the Good Behavior trailer was very vague and like many shows in the post-Golden Age era seemed way too self-important. After seeing the first episode I understand why the trailer is vague; there is a pretty big plot twist at the end of the first episode and it would be hard to properly market the show effectively without spoiling the very interesting reveal. But wisely, TNT is running back to back episodes for the premiere so you will not have to stew waiting to see where the show goes next.

Unfortunately the show is not running back-to-back-to-back episode for the premiere because the second episode could give you a false idea where the show is going next because another curveball comes in episode three. And I cannot really talk much about it because I do not want to spoil anything for you. But the thing is, three episodes in and I still am not sure where exactly the show is heading and that is a refreshing when most everything on television these days is telegraphed from the first frame.

It is hard to explain the show without spoiling it (which is probably why this is one of the few trailer fails in recent memory. One of the few things you can deduct from the title Good Behavior is that our main character, played by Dontown Abby’s Michelle Dockery, is a recent parolee who is released from prison early because of good behavior. Now she has to decide to continue that good streak, which could lead her to reuniting with her son, now under the supervision of her mother, or go back to her petty theft past. A chance encounter throws all that up in the air.

Unlike Mr. Robot, the Pilot of Good Behavior is not a tell all your friend to get on board early type of show but what I really liked about it was that I had no idea where the show was going. Okay, I was not a fan of the direction I thought the show was taking after the big plot twist at the end of the first episode, but by the end of the third episode I was back to guessing just exactly where the show was heading next and in a landscape where most television shows are telegraphed fairly easily, Good Behavior is a refreshing show that actually leaves you guessing as to what is coming next.

Good Behavior airs Tuesdays at 9:00 on TNT. You can download Good Behavior on iTunes.

Previewing People of Earth

The Daily Show used to be my right before bedtime ritual, turn it on and watch the first segment while the dogs did their last doggy business of the day so they do not have an accident at night. I did give Trevor Noah a try but it was rough and never really got much better. I guess having a foreigner tell us how messed up our country comes across as mocking while when New Jersian John Stewart did it the show was more cathartic. What makes the transition worse is that The Daily Show had a deep bench of correspondent yet no of them were the ones that got promoted. John Oliver started the mass exodus going to HBO, but since then a few former Daily Show members have found a soft landing at TBS. First husband and wife team Jason Jones and Samantha Bee got a pair of shows, she is doing a weekly version of The Daily Show while he is headlining The Detour.

Now Wyatt Cenac has found himself on the latest TBS comedy, People of Earth. He plays a skeptical journalist sent to report on an alien abduction support group lead by Ana Gasteyer (Suburgatory) meeting in a church overseen by Oscar Nuñez (The Office). But it comes more and more obvious that Cenac may have a close encounter while traveling to the small town after seeing deer everywhere he goes. See animal attracts are the number one cover up for alien abductions, or so the support group would have others believe.

The reoccurring line the aliens tell the abductees is, “Don’t get weird.” Thankfully few people in the group take their advice. There is the guy who blames the lizard people for everything wrong in his life including abducting his wife, though she may have just left a year ago. But the weirdest of them all may be Gerry, the one guy in the group who was not actually abducted but wants nothing more than to be taken away. And though they ask the humans not to get weird, the aliens are just that. And by weird, I mean the funniest part of the show, I just wished they were a bigger part of the show.

People of Earth airs Mondays at 9:00 on TBS.

Previewing China’s Megatomb Revealed

We have known for a while now that ancient rulers had very expansive thoughts of the afterlife, just look at the enormous pyramids in Egypt that houses the tombs of the pharaohs. But a recent tomb uncovered in China puts those Egyptians to same with a tomb to an emperor there that is the size of Manhattan and features an entire army made out of clay, including horses, carved in exquisite detail. And now explorer Albert Lin has been given unprecedented access to the tomb of China’s first empower for the new special China’s Megatomb Revealed premiering Sunday at 9:00 on the National Geographic Channel.

“The Terracotta warriors are just the tip of the iceberg in the largest tomb complex ever discovered, which has gone largely unexcavated… until now. These silent statues guard explosive, macabre findings that paint a very different picture of the ancient world from what we thought we knew.” Some new information uncovered include evidence that Europeans were in contact with the Chinese millennia before Marco Polo. A skull with a crossbow bolt embedded in the back. And much more.

China’s Megatomb Revealed premieres tomorrow, Sunday, at 9:00 on the National Geographic Channel.

Previewing Freakish

I tend to think I am up on television news, even if the show does not even air on television. Yet I had no clue what Freakish was when Hulu sent over their screener link for the show. Nor did I even recognize anyone in the cast other than The Walking Dead’s Chad L. Coleman. The press release actually had links from the cast list to their YouTube and Vine pages which also gave me pause. Then I started to watch the first episode and realized that the reason I had never heard of the show was because it was not made for me really looking back, casting YouTube and Vine stars should have also tipped me off).

So it was pretty clear that I am well out of the show’s targeted demographic as it is more aimed to teens. But the story is still as old as time… or at least as old as John Hughes because the detention setting has a very Breakfast Club feel to it, with Coleman as the coach is supervising. Except the school is extremely busy for a Saturday morning as computer club, orchestra practice, and a basketball pickup game are all going on.

Oh yeah, there is also a chemical plant explosion that happens on the same day and everyone has to head to the bomb shelter at the bottom of the school. Except most of the students do not want to spend the week their waiting fr the all clear, and that is when things get a little, are I say, Freakish.

Like I said, I am out of the show’s demographics but the show gave me some nostalgia vibes to the stuff I watched on Nickelodeon as a kid or the Saturday morning teen block of shows with a supernatural twist that gives it a modern flavor. Of course all the main characters (the bad boy, the basketball star and his cheerleading girlfriend, the computer nerd, the normal guy, and his violinist sister) have a secret. So if you have a teen in middle school (or are one), this may be something to watch together. Although I should point out to overprotective parents, even though the show seems to be geared to the younger set there is one curse word in the first episode.

You can stream all ten episodes of Freakish starting today on Hulu.

Previewing Shameless: Season Seven

One of these days, someone should go back and count the number of times Frank Gallagher should have died. In the previous six seasons of Shameless, it has definitely gotten over double digits. And add another one on at the end of the season when his family dumped his body off a bridge and let him sink. He somehow wakes up in the hospital after almost a month with a sizable bill for being taken care of during the coma. But luckily for Frank, I guess it is hard to collect that from a John Doe with no ID.

The rest of the Gallagher clan is also recovering from the events of the finale. With Sean out of the picture, Fiona is the temporary manager until they find a new one. Lip is just out of rehab (and disturbingly becoming more like his father every day). New mom Debbie is still adjusting to her new life and needs to find a way to support her child (again, she gets by doing things much like her father).

Then you have Kev and V who opened their home and bed to a new partner last season and now have to adapt to the polygamous relationship that looks like it will be messier than anything on Big Love. And what would the new season be without a new low in shamelessness and this season Carl learns he has a little extra going on than his brothers and goes to extreme measures to assimilate.

Shameless airs Sundays at 9:00 on Showtime.

Previewing Masters of Sex: Season Four

Every season Masters of Sex has a time jump a couple months or years, but the way last season ended, with Virginia hoping Bill would stop her from getting married to the Smell King and Bill giving up and then getting arrested, I was hoping the new season would start of not that far in the future. As luck will have it, season four starts up while Virginia is still on her honeymoon and Bill still behind bars for paying one of his sex surrogates, which kind of made it prostitution.

Despite being on her honeymoon, Virginia’s new husband is conspicuously absent throughout the whole first episode though Virginia still manages to keep herself busy attending a sex seminar that just so happens to take place at her hotel and by, um, other means. Bill on the other hand is out of jail pretty quickly but is slow to make it back to the office where Betty hilariously holds down the fort after everyone takes an unannounced extended leave.

Even though the season resumes in 1968, the gang will eventually find themselves in the swinging seventies. Libby will find that her name may be short for “liberation” a she will be part of bra burning crowd after finally admitting her husband is having an affair. One new face this year is Niecy Nash as a local AA - chairperson running Masters’ court-ordered daily meetings. And what would be the swinging seventies be without a little Hef as the Playboy founder plays a pivotal role in at the end of the premiere.

Masters of Sex airs Sundays at 10:00 on Showtime.

Previewing Barely Famous: Season Two and Dating Naked: Season Three

When Barely Famous premiered I heralded a changing at VH1. After year of being an trashy urban reality show channel, they seemed to be switching coarse going back to it musical roots with the nineties nostalgia Hindsight which fit in perfectly at the channel that used to run I Love the 90’s about fifty hours a week. Then there also were staking a claim in faux reality show based around eighties heavyweights Lionel Richie and David Foster’s daughters. Then there was a changing of the guard at the channel and they quickly decided to cancel Hindsight because the second season started filming and then greenlit more trashy reality shows including a Black Ink Crew spin off and a The Game dating show with an Amber Rose talk show coming next month. I got excited for a moment when it was announced VH1 was bringing back Hip Hop Honors after a six year hiatus

But hey, they still have Barely Famous and Dating Naked, both returning tonight as their lone none-trashy urban reality shows (and possibly Candidly Nicole and Twinning which may or may not be canceled; and really, no big loss if they are). The first season Was a fun summer diversion which was wisely keep to a short and easy six episodes. Another sic episodes are coming your way this summer but even though the new season is short and sweet, it really just seems like a rehash of last season.

Sara and Erin are back and it is basically just a continuation of last season where the sisters commiserate with each other on their social staus while desperately trying to move up the ladder. That shtick was wear thin even after six episodes las season and is stretch even thin this season. The season premiere sees Sara trying to extend her brand (okay, try to create one) with an energy drink while Erin tries to get on Jessica Alba’s new show’s writing staff. Also tonight, there is a second episode where VH1 sends the duo to Orlando for a vacation episode where they run into the fourth most successful former NSync member at Universal Studios.

Later in the season, there will be more celebrity cameos including Kate Hudson, Zach Braff, Kate Upton, Cindy Crawford, Brooke Burke, Dr. Phil, Ali Larter, and Lauren London. But all these cameos fall into one of two categories much like the ones last season. There are just there to look down on the barely famous sisters and be indignant of being around a reality show or play completely opposite of their public person like when Alba drunkenly twerks at a karaoke bar (I am kind of depressed that Microsoft Word recognizes “twerk” as a real word). Upton is the best of the bunch as a brain surgeon on Sara latest crap movie.  It just really feels like VH1, and everyone who used to watch the channel, is just waiting four more year so they can finally do I Love the 10’s. And that is if they even wait, they did premiere I Love the New Millennium in 2008.

Barely Famous airs Wednesdays at 10:00 on VH1.


Speaking of that other non-urban housewife show, Dating Naked also returns tonight. The first season of the show was cheesy fun. Sure I did not watch a single episode in its entirety, basically just channel surfed upon it and kept surfing when it went to commercial. It is probably why in the second season the show made a more continuous switch to two permanent daters to keep people from going in and out on the show. Okay that did not work with me because I ended up watching the show less.

There will be two permanent daters again this season, dancer Natalie and former college basketball player David who is the first minority main contestant on a dating show. The only big change to the third season is there is a new host who is about as forgettable (and fully clothed) as the last one. Except the more the new host talks, the more she sounds like Fran Dresher. After dating themselves, Natalie and David find themselves on two more dates, one of which they pick to be their “keeper” who will show up next week. It is pretty obvious who both pick this week as one dud clearly had adult ADHD and one chick thinks the guy should come to her even though he is the one doing the picking. The “This season on” montage is not very inspiring either other than there being what will likely be the oldest naked dude in the history of television (hard pass on that episode) and a chick who kind of looks like Sara Bareilles. I watched less of season two of Dating Naked than season one and based on the first episode I will likely watch less of season three.

Dating Naked airs Wednesdays at 9:00 on VH1.

Previewing Ray Donovan: Season Four

I am sure someone like Ray Donovan has woken up in some weird places, but where he starts off the fourth season of the show named after him may be his weirdest yet: in an unknown room with a blind priest reading what I presume to be a braille Bible in what I presume to be Latin. He got there after last season getting shot in the gut during a shootout with Armenian gangsters and instead of a doctor, when to a church and collapsed.

We quickly flash forward to a time in the future where Ray is back to work, Bridget has still not come home but at least is on talking status with her family, Bunchy’s lucha wrestling bride is about to pop a baby out any day. Then there is Micky, last seen leaving California as part of a deal with Ray for taking care of his Armenian problem, actually has a new job on an Indian reservation. That is not to say he still is not up to his old tricks, because, as always with Micky, he has an angle.

Back in California, Ray met a boxer during his sabbatical in the church, and now in present time, the boxer of course needs Ray’s services when cops are called during a shouting match at a cheap motel. No, it is not what you think, the woman in question is the boxer’s sister (welcome back Lisa Bonet) who may be the most difficult person Donovan and associates have ever had to deal with, and that says a lot from the lowlife he has run into the past three seasons.

Ray Donovan airs Sundays at 9:00 on Showtime.

Previewing Murder in the First: Season Three

Cop shows have populated television as long as anyone can remember. There would be a crime at the start of the episode and solved by the end and then repeat for a hundred episodes and then probably spin it off. About a decade ago shows became more serialized and we got a few cop shows that would take a whole season to solve… or two in case of the first high profile one The Killing. At least the first season of Murder in the First ended with the murderer getting caught. Then in the second season, the show got a little creative, there was a school shooting in the first episode, except by the end of the episode, one suspect was dead the other was in custody. The rest of the season followed that case to trail and there was a secondary plot about the murder of a cop that involved the drug trade in Los Angeles.

The third season of Murder in the First starts off with a dinner meeting involving the District Attorney who not so conspicuously gets up to “make a phone call” moment as the younger hot chick leaves the table. We do get a murder in the second scene at the birthday party of a star quarterback. Sure every cop show has done the celebrity murder episode, sometimes once or twice a season, but the second death of the episode is much more shocking, especially when it comes to who does it, which will likely be the more interesting storyline of the season.

One thing the season long cases do is allow the viewers to go home with the cops, for better or worse (I would argue the latter; there were fewer things I wanted to see on The Killing than the frumpy cop in the sweater spend an entire episode looking for her kid). It is a bit eye rolling when Hildy’s eleven year old gets caught with something you do not want your kid to have. But things get worse for her when she get a call from her doctor with news they do not want to share over the phone.

Murder in the First airs Sundays at 10:00 on TNT. You can also download Murder in the First on iTunes.

Previewing Roadies

I am a Cameron Crowe loyalist. I really enjoyed Elizabethtown (hot take alert: the Freebird scene is better Tiny Dancer) and will even defend Aloha (c’mon people, it featured Emma Stone and Bill Murray dancing). But even the biggest critics his most recent work has to admit that Almost Famous is great. The film features a young writer who goes on the road with a rock band (based on Crowe’s time at Rolling Stone) so you have to get excited when Crowe’s first venture to the small screen sees Crowe get back on the traveling concerts business with Roadies.

As the title suggests, the new show focuses on the men and women who move tours from town to town and (hopefully) makes sure everything move slowly. The cast includes Luke Wilson (Legally Blonde) as the tour manager, Carla Gugino (Son in Law) as the production manager, Imogen Poots (That Awkward Moment) takes care of lighting, Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider), Ron White (Horrible Bosses) as the road manager, Richard Baker (Machine Gun Kelly) just wants any job on the tour (and gets a pretty humorous one). And since every show needs a little conflict, Rafe Spall (One Day) shows up as a financial guy who tries to make the tour run more efficiently (i.e. fire people), and when pressed about the type of music he listens to says Queen and The Mumford Sons.

Much like Almost Famous, the band on tour is fake, in this case The Station-House Band. It seems like the band was big last decade and can now live off touring, Kings of Leon being the best comparison I can think of. And wisely instead of trying to create fake hit songs for the band, we (as of yet) do not get to hear the band play a song. Though the headliners are fake, the opening acts are real. The Head and the Heart show up in the premiere, Reignwolf in the second, Lindsey Buckingham pops up in the third (those were all the episodes I have seen but I hope that the opening acts turn into a Spinal Tap drummer situation where the band just cannot seem to hold on to them).

Not only did Cameron Crowe create the show, he also wrote and directed the first episode (and third, he just listed as director for the second), for better or worse. The show has all the charm you get with his movies and you can add Imogen Poots to the long list of great female leads that Crowe was able to get a career defining performance out of. Even Machine Gun Kelly, whose music I find unbearable and despite not even being a good actor, comes off as a likeable goof reciting Crowe’s words. And of course the music curation is great, each episode even features a “song of the day” which is cool even if is just a cheap way to fit in a montage. But along with what is great about Cameron Crowe the show also includes its flaw like how he can be too earnest at time. What Poots goes on a diatribe about how fake climatic running scenes at the end of movies are, you just know she is going to break out into a sprint by the end of the first episode, set to Pearl Jam to boot.

Still with its flaws, Roadies is the best music themed show I have ever seen. Sure Cameron Crowe’s plots are not always coherent (what was Aloha about again) but the journey is always great. And what better journey than going town to town following a rock band. And even if you are not sold on the premiere (which you can watch for free below or check your On Demand channel for an uncensored version) I suggest at least give it to the third episode when Rainn Wilson (who played a Rolling Stone staffer in Almost Famous) shows up as a jaded rock critic who gave a negative review based solely on a fan’s YouTube video and Lindsey Buckingham who turns in his best work since his guest stint on What’s Up with That?

Roadies airs Sundays at 10:00 on Showtime.

Previewing Animal Kingdom

There has been a lot of discussion of how hard times are for networks over the last five years or so, for the first time ever, a show that averaged sub 1.0 rating got renewed last May on the big, and actually it was five that were granted a reprieve. Though not as discussed, thing are looking bad on cable too. TNT and USA have historically been the most viewed cable channels but things are getting dire. Both used to have very distinct visions, TNT had dramas in vein of network procedurals while USA was known for its fun in the sun show. But those procedurals are getting long in the tooth and low in the ratings while the sunny shows no longer have bright rating.

With brands of shows no longer working, both channels are trying something different and trying to go after FX brand of more prestige show. USA hit it out of the park last summer with Mr. Robot, the most critically acclaimed show in recent memory. Though follow up, Colony did not get much buzz, and Shooter, based on the Marky Mark movie does not really pique my interest either. Up first for TNT’s attempt at prestige drama is Animal Kingdom from John Wells who has worked on everything from ER to most recently Shameless.

Animal Kingdom starts off with one of the stranger openers fo show without any sci-fi element with a dude nonchalantly watching Press Your Luck while what looked o be an overdosed woman next to him before paramedics look her over. The first hour also ends with the same kid walking through a house nonchalantly while equally troubling scenes are unfolding before he makes I to his room and turns on Press Your Luck.

The kid in question is now in his grandmother’s care and time could not be worse because granny (played by Ellen Barkin) is the matriarch of a family of thieves and it is unclear if they can trust the son of her estranged daughter. The kid’s three uncles are almost ready to put their latest heist in motion and things get even more complicated when uncle number four gets paroled after six years in prison.

I have talked a lot about Silver Age television, prestige shows with good acting, good plot; they are just missing that thing making them great. Ray Donovan is maybe the show that epitomizes the Silver Age and that is one of the biggest comparisons I have for Animal Kingdom, it is just a family of blue color Rays. Another big comparison is Sons of Anarchy (and not because of all the gratuitous male nudity) but instead of a surrogate family of a biker gang, it is an actual family.

But unlike those two shows, the characters of Animal Kingdom do not cross the preverbal line. As the matriarch explains, “We don’t set out to hurt people, we don’t get greedy.” There is not as much violence and it is certainly not as graphic… yet. Clearly one of the uncles has problem and is inches closer and closer to an “any means necessary” philosophy. As with any families there are dark secrets hiding underneath the surface, and the more they seep out, the more interesting Animal Kingdom gets. But I doubt it will ever reach the highs of Mr. Robot.

Animal Kingdom airs Tuesdays at 9:00 on TNT including a back to back premiere tonight. You can also download Animal Kingdom on iTunes.

Previewing Major Crimes

The big new at the start of the new season of Major Crimes is that Rusty got a haircut! Okay not exactly life changing but all jokes aside, there are three characters at the end of the episode who actually do make life changing decisions that will certainly play out for the rest of season five; one by himself, and two who make the plans together.

But before that, there is a case to solve (and that case inspires one of those big life changes). The case of the week involves a volunteer at a homeless outreach program who gets in a fight with her boyfriend while helping. Oh, and after the fight, the boyfriend goes down to Tijuana with friends and conveniently left his cell phone at home. Douchebag boyfriend or mentally unstable homeless person who mistakes kindness for an attack? And of course on a show like this, there are still more red herrings to find along the way.

And while a few characters are looking at big changes to their future, Buzz is looking backward. He has requested the thirty old cold case of his father and uncle and look to finally close that chapter of his life by looking for clues that reopen the case. I smell a season finale case of the week plot cooking.

Major Crimes airs Mondays at 10:00 on TNT. You can also download Major Crimes on iTunes.

Previewing The Last Ship: Season Three

On the cover of Jane’s Addiction’s Nothing's Shocking is a sculpture of a pair of nude female conjoined twins sitting on a sideways rocking chair with their heads on fire, which was pretty shocking for 1988. The band was just a little early because truly nothing is shocking anymore especially on television where deaths have become so commonplace no one even bats an eye. Oh, The Walking Dead killed off another black dude; it must be that time of the season. But I have to admit I was pretty shocked when The Last Ship ended last season with someone walking up to Doctor Scott and shot her point blank. Sure I am the guy who likes to see the cold body until I see I believe someone is dead (and am still a bit suspicious even then… I am looking at you The Blacklist), but a child could kill someone at point blank range, certainly militia man can, right?

I will not spoil Dr. Scott’s fate except to say we get definitive word before the title sequence rolls. Dr. Scott or not, it does not really matter, they were able to mass produce the cure even before she was shot and season three starts off one hundred and fifty-four days into the new president’s tenure who has now taken up shop in St. Louis where the area now has consistent power and some people can even watch his address to the nation on television.

So, um, why is there even a season three if everything is hunky dory? Well those evil Chinese are possibly hording the cure, letting the virus mutate across Asia so the Nathan James has to travel half way around the world to once again try to get the cure in the hands of the sick while fighting off power hungry warlords who gain more power with every death. Except they are down a captain as Chandler has taken a post in the new administration and has stayed in the land-locked new capital and Slattery has now taken the helm of the destroyer. New mother Lieutenant Foster has also traded her navy blues for some civilian clothes in the administration, separating her from her baby daddy.

Of course a diplomacy mission takes Chandler to Japan, not too far from where the Nathan James is sailing. It is also not far from a former flame in the form of Bridget Reagan (Agent Carter) who has taken up in the Chinese consulate during the virus outbreak and is also visiting the same Asian summit. Oh and at the end of the first hour of the two hour premiere someone dies. But to be honest, despite being a recognizable face, I would say this death was nothing shocking.

The Last Ship airs Sundays at 9:00. You can also download The Last Ship on iTunes.

Previewing Wrecked

Longtime readers know I have an irrational hatred of Lost. For six years I thought I was watching a sci-fi show with some relationship aspects but when the how ended I realized all those sci-fi elements did not matter and Lost was no different than all the other nighttime soaps on ABC at that time that just happened to take place in different places. Desperate Housewives took place in the suburbs, Grey’s Anatomy took place in a hospital; Lost just happened to take place on a deserted island with mystical power. But ignored the random four toed statue just offshore, the show was more about Jack and the relationship with his imaginary son. If I could turn a frozen donkey wheel to go back in time to tell my younger self to not watch that show I would.

The first time I saw the trailer for Wrecked, it was completely cold. I had never heard of the show, did not know what to expect. So when the promo started with a group of strangers stranded on a deserted island, I thought, oh goodness no. Then the previous serious tone of the ad ended with a joke and the comedy station TBS logo splashed on the screen, I realized it was not a cheap Lost rip-off, it was actually a cheap Lost parody.

Wrecked is more in vein of a Mel Brookes broad parody than the horible Wayans brother cram in as many references in a minute as they can. Sure the show opens up with the close up of a dude’s face and there is a character in the premiere that I am pretty sure the casting agent said, “get someone who looks exactly like Matthew Fox.” And unlike the creators of Lost who famously wanted to kill off Jack in the first episode of Lost, the writers gleefully do it in the promo for the show. Um, spoiler alert for anyone who did not see that promo.

Really aside from the setting and the brief stint from a Jack-like character, there is not else tying the show to Lost. No flashback, no smoke monster (yet) for better or worse. When the cop admits to another character he was not actually a cop prior to crashing I was fully expecting a flashback with a sight gag of him being the furthest thing from a respectable cop.

Also where the characters on Lost all had roles and their uses, Wrecked is populated by some useless and incompetent people. There is the grown up douchebag frat boy and his long suffering sorority girlfriend, an incompetent male flight attendant, a vapid sports agent, the pretentious liberal, and maybe the most reliable castaway is a podiatrist. Sure there is someone who can kill a boar (possibly with her bare hand), but she is not all there. The cast is rounded out with a loveable lunk who is upbeat despite having his legs crushed by debris and is played by the only recognizable member of the cast played by the lizard man from the best episode of the recent The X-Files reboot. Happy Endings’s Eliza Coupe does show up in the premiere as the higher strung flight attendant but is not seen after the plane crash. We do not see her die so possible she is on the other end of the island with The Others.

After years of putting on traditional sitcoms in vein of eighties multi-cams, TBS is ramping up more adventurous programming starting earlier this year with Angie Tribeca which is currently the funniest show on television and followed that up with the everything goes hilariously wrong The Detour. Wrecked may not be as funny, but in a summer which is lacking anything else in the funny department there are plenty of laughs to be found. My favorite bit being when one castaway finds a DVD player with two hours left of charge and then has to decide whether to watch the important and powerful Selma as possibly their last movie they ever watch, or watch Dumb or Dumber To.

Wrecked airs Tuesdays at 10:00 on TBS.

Previewing Casual: Season Two

The first season of Casual ended in maybe the most casual way, with someone walking in on the girl who he is seeing (who has another serious boyfriend in their open relationship) in bed with his sister. The same sister whose one night stand the guy participated in a foursome with and the girl in the open relationship. Well that was the start of the finale, the season ended just like it began, with the guy, the sister, her daughter in the back of a church. But instead of an imaginary funeral of their father, it is his real wedding to their mother.

The first season of Casual was about dating at different stages of life. Valerie was a recent divorcée dealing with the grief of that ending and trying to find something new, usually disastrously (like ending up in your brother’s bed with his girlfriend). Alex has never had a serious relationship but your aimless twenties start to get old when you are well into your thirties. Then there is Valerie’s daughter Laura who is navigation high school while possibly making the worse decision of the all by making a sex tape in hopes of making her photography teacher jealous.

As the second season start, the family is still together in the same house but there are plenty of changes. Alex has moved into Phase 3 of his life which apparently involves running at dawn, fresh fruit drinks, and yoga. And he is not even picking up chick at yoga either. Laura cannot go back to her old school after a sex scandal and her mother sleeping with photographer teacher. While Vanessa, well, he is dealing with birds and construction in a neighboring office.

There are big changes in the personal lives as well as professional. After what happened last season, Alex’s dating app need help to stay afloat. In walked the very person you do not want see walk into your office: Pete Campbell. Even worse, no one punches him in the first couple episode, granted we had to wait four or five seasons before Lane did something every viewer wanted to see. Disappointment of not seeing Pete Campbell getting decked by a British dude aside (c’mon Leon, you can do it), if you enjoyed the first season, there is plenty in the second to renew your Hulu subscription.

New episodes of Casual premiere Tuesdays on Hulu where the first two episodes of season two (and the entire first season) are available now.

Previewing Angie Tribeca: Season Two

Networks are getting creative with how the roll out new shows these days but none were are bizarre as how TBS debuted Angie Tribeca with a twenty-five hour commercial free marathon and then if you missed it, you could watch all episode via On Demand or if you only watch shows on weekly televised schedules, the season re-aired Mondays. Oh, and before it aired, TBS renewed it for ten more seasons. Okay each season would last one episode so basically it was just like greenlighting a ten episode second season because dumb jokes is what the show does best.

Because of its unconventional rollout it is hard to tell if it was a success or not. The TBS PR department has spun it into one touting 65 million social media impressions and 32% of all binge a thon viewers being first time TBS viewers. We will see how many turn into regular viewers when Angie Tribeca has a more traditional second season. The second season starts Monday with new episodes weekly. Okay to ween you in, the first week there is back to back episodes.

The first season ended on a cliffhanger with a bomb strapped to J. Geils’ chest and Angie refusing to leave his side while it counted down to zero. We do learn the fate of the two cops early on before we flashfoward one year later. Despite the possible gme changing episode and the time jump, the show continues with it dumb fun vibe leave no joke unmade. There are actually a couple changes. Unfortunately the screaming guy coming out of the title sequence is no more (c’mon, South Park made it about ten seasons before running out of ways to kill Kenny, you cannot go more than one; but alas).

The bigger change is there is an actual overarching plotline that weaves throughout the season involving a plot to bring down the mayor that brings in the FBI in the form of Heather Graham (playing Diane Duran, natch) and a not so dead guest from the first season. But there still are plenty of silly case of the week plots including a sushi chef murder which features a creative use of sub-titles, an spin on the ever increasing number of drug advertisements, and a dead boy bander that features actual former boy banders (surprisingly Joey Fatone does not play “the fat one”), and the conclusion of the season long plot is successfully enjoyable and slightly confusion in the most Angie Tribeca way possible at the same time (although they leave a very obvious Scooby Doo joke left unsaid; maybe the one missed joke the show has not made ever). Graham is not the only notable face; Maya Rudolph show up as a romance novelist brought in to help on a cast lampooning all the cop shows with wacky consultants (R.I.P. Castle), Dani Pudi as a app developer for cheaters, an ER reunion during the organ theft episode, and many blink and you will miss them cameos. But sorry, no Bill Murray this season, but if you enjoyed the first season, there is plenty to enjoy in season two. Or technically seasons two through eleven.

Angie Tribeca airs Mondays at 9:00 on TBS.

Previewing Penny Dreadful: Season Three

At the end of the last season of Penny Dreadful, everyone seemed to be leaving Vanessa, Ethan turned himself in to the American lawmen who hunted him for the past two seasons, Sir Malcolm went back to Africa, even the Creature even boarded a ship to an undisclosed location. The only people left in London with here were Ferdinand and Dr. Frankenstein who experienced his own abandonment when Lily chose the company of Dorian Gray over his.

So it is Ferdinand who visits Vanessa at the start of the season while she is living in squalor who shakes off her cobwebs and sends her to a doctor specializing in alienism (the study of mental illness) played by Patti Lupone, just not as the same character she played last season on account that she got tarred and feathered. Across the globe we meet up with Ethan on a train in the New Mexico territory along with his captor and other familiar face. The Creature finds himself at the start of the season on the same boat but is now frozen still in the arctic.

Sir Malcolm meanwhile is in Zanzibar runs into an Indian who has a connection with Ethan. Dr. Frankenstein is also visited by an Indian but this one is from the Asian subcontinent not North American and has a name that everyone will know. Victor’s visitor is not the only new familiar Victorian literary name we hear except the second one we hear is the last word we hear in the season premiere and do not actually get to see the person who introduces himself to a new acquaintance of Vanessa.

The start of the new season is a bit of a slow burn with the main characters spread across three continents and one undisclosed arctic climate, and only two actually interacting with each other (Dorian and Lily are completely absent aside from a couple glimpses in the “previous on” package). But with the introduction of the two new Victorian characters and Lupone’s new creation, the new season looks to shake things up as Penny Dreadful looks to claim the title as best horror show on television.

Penny Dreadful airs Sundays at 10:00 on Showtime. If you can not wait for the premiere you can watch it below (albeit the TV14 version):

Previewing Jack of the Red Hearts

Lifetime has gotten a much deserved reputation for cheesy, ripped from the headlines movies where you laugh along with the movie. But recently has been buying movies to air (and maybe more importantly to add to their new subscription Lifetime Movie Club) that are actually making the rounds at movie festivals and are usually the types of movies that end up on one of the premium channels that do not even air in HD . Last year Stockholm, Pennsylvania, starring future Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan, even nabbed a pair of Critics’ Choice TV Awards. Sure these movies still have very Lifetime Movies type themes, Stockholm, Pennsylvania was about a kidnapped child reuniting with a her family seventeen years later, they just do not have the cheesy connotation that made for Lifetime Movies tend to have.

The latest Lifetime acquisition, Jack of the Red Hearts was named Bentonville's 2015 Grand Jury Film Festival Award Winner but still has a theme familiar to Lifetime viewers. AnnaSophia Robb (Soul Surfer) plays a girl who bounced around foster care, now eighteen has to find a way to stay connected to her sister who is still in the system. This means taking out her nose ring, cutting out the streaks in her hair and getting a job. But that is not easy for a juvenile delinquent so she assumes the identity of a care taker unaware it is taking care of an autistic eleven year old.

Though pretty paint by numbers once you know the concept, of course the fake caregiver learns as much from the autistic girl as she I supposed to teach, but the movie is still very heartwarming with even some lighter moments sprinkled throughout despite the heavy subject matter, which one character desires as being co-workers in a mental hospital. It helps that the performances are strong all around. Robb is more believeable as the tender caregiver than the street smart hoodlum but the move really belongs to Taylor Richardson as the autistic Glory and the decision to shoot some scenes through her eyes to give the audience a small sample of what it looks like to be an autistic child.

Jack of the Red Hearts premieres tonight at 8:00 on Lifetime.