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

 

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

  

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

Mondays

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

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

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

 

Tuesdays

Reboot (Hulu, September 20)

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

 

 Wednesdays

Wedding Season (Hulu, September 7)

Tell Me Lies (Hulu, September 7)

The Handmaid’s Tale (September 14)

Andor (Disney+, September 21)

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

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

8:00 – Survivor (CBS, September 21)

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

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

10:00 – Big Sky (ABC, September 21)

 

Thursdays

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

She-Hulk (Disney+, already started)

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

A Friend of the Family (Peacock, October 6)

8:30 – Ghosts (CBS, September 29)

 

Fridays

Ramy (Hulu, September 30)

8:00 – Young Rock (NBC, November 4)

 

Sundays

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

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

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

The Five Most (and Least) Anticipated Question of the 2021-22 Television Season

Usually I do my fall television preview in early September to coincide with some cable show that gets a jump before the networks premiere their fall state in the finale week of the month. Except this year, I already have seven shows that already started this month that will extend into the fall with one more starting today. August used to be the quietest month on the television calendar so I am not sure if this was COVID related or maybe the new normal in the streaming era where you cannot take the month off if you want to keep people subscribed. 

 After COVID slowed Hollywood to a halt, it seems like we have finally returned to Peak TV with a steady stream of shows coming this way this fall. Here are some of my burning questions for the next television season. 

 1. Is Disney Really Going to Make Nerds Have a Sophie’s Choice? Last December, Disney+ announced nine Marvel shows (four have already premiered and four have been announced since then) and nine Star Wars shows in addition to The Mandalorian and the previously announced Book of Boba Fett (one has already premiered). Thanks to COVID, it has taken some time for many of them to hit the small screen, but it seems as early as this fall, when both Hawkeye and The Book of Boba Fett are set to air, there will be Marvel and Star Wars airing concurrently setting up a Sophie Choice for us nerds as to what to watch first. Disney+ seemed like there were going to solve this problem when they moved Loki from their usual Friday premiere day to Wednesday but shortly announced all their television shows would premiere on Wednesday too and thus back to the Sophie’s choice. 

 So are they going to stick to this and have the conversations on Wednesday split or will they end up moving to more of a traditional network of model of premiering shows throughout the week? Most streamers have a stick release day they stick to though Hulu, which has traditions put out weekly releases on Wednesdays and binge releases on Fridays, will be releasing Only Murders in the Building on a Tuesday (FX on Hulu shows are also releasing on different days of the week). Hopefully Disney+ learns from their sister streamer and start experimenting with different release days so we do not have to decide between Marvel and Star Wars Tuesdays Nights / Wednesday mornings. 

 2. Who Will Win the Uncivil War Between Catherine and Peter? Okay, anyone who paid attention in history class knows who win, so maybe the better question is how it was won. While history class seemingly can also answer that, The Great took some pretty huge poetic licenses in the first season, so the second could take just as many. Though I think it is safe to say, there will be plenty of “Huzzah’s” in the process. 

 3. Can Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist Be Saved Beyond a Movie? While there has been no official announcement that Roku will be airing a movie around Christmas, Pitch Mr. Perfect, Skylar Austin recently said in an interview that the movie is being written right now and filming will start in September so it sure seems like a done deal. Initial reports said that if the movie is successful, it can lead to another full season. Up until now, Roku has only acquired programs but have not made anything new. Zoey would be the first the original made specifically for the Roku Channel along with some recently renewed Quibi castoffs. Speaking of Quibi, those shows matched the viewership in days what those shows did over the life of Quibi, so can Zoey have that sort of success? Hopefully so because I would really like a third season even though the Roku ads can be a bit much. 

 4. Is Y: The Last Man Really Going to Happen? I have been joking for a while that Y: The Last Man is the Chinese Democracy of television. In development at FX since 2015 (there were attempts at a movie going back to 2007), it seems like we will finally get to see it after the titular last man, female lead and showrunners have all been replaced at some point. There is a trailer and everything, though I am not exactly convinced it was a real trailer and not one of those fan made trailers. Guess we will have to wait until September 13 when we open up Hulu to know for sure. 

 5. How Will These COVID Delay Shows Pick Back Up? Did the last season of Doom Patrol seem like it ended abruptly? It felt that way because they were starting to film the season finale when COVID shut everything down and they just decided to end the season there instead of coming back months later just for one episode. This will be one of the last shows to finally get around finishing telling the story that was shut down by COVID. The final episode ended with the Candlemaker encasing our heroes to wax. However this cliffhanger is resolved, hopefully it is resolved in a way that the chief’s daughter is no longer on the show. But the third season will see the addition of The Flight Attendant’s Michelle Gomez as Madame Rouge who sounds like an evil version of Elasta-Girl. The other cut off while filming was Billion which finished filming seven of twelve episodes. After fifteen months they will finally get to finish their fifth season. What happened in those first seven episodes? Who know? I vaguely remember Frank Grillo playing a painter. But on the bright side, there will not be a long wait until season six which they started filming after concluding season five and is expected to premiere in early 2022. 

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

 1. Who Thought Ordinary Joe Would Do Better Than Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist and/or Good Girls? Neither Zoey nor Good Girls were a ratings goldmine, but do the people at NBC actually think Ordinary Joe is going to do any better? 

 2. Why Did Netflix Revive Manifest? NBC made some questionable decision for the 2021-22 season, but the smartest thing they did was finally put Manifest out of its mystery after a particularly bad season where everyone became extremely unlikable. It was easily one of the worst shows I have watched in my life. But then Netflix inexplicably saved it forcing me with my inability to stop anything I started to watch 20 more episodes of that crap. 

 3. Just How Bad Was the Powerpuff Girls Pilot? There is nothing The CW loves more than IP, I believe they are just down to two non IP shows on their channel, one if they opt not to renew the currently airing Republic of Sarah which is currently getting ratings in the just friends and family are watching range. So it came as a shock when they chose not to pick up their biggest IP Pilot of last Pilot season The Powerpuff Girls. Makes me wonder just how bad it could possibly be that The CW will not air it. The show is being retooled and may make it to air later this season but without Chloe Bennett who seemingly was wise not to get her contract renewed. 

 4. Just How Much Dick Wolf Is Too Much Dick Wolf? When the networks schedules were announced, Dick Wolf controlled the entire night for a network on three different nights: FBI Tuesdays on CBS, Chicago Wednesdays on NBC, and Law and Order Thursdays also on NBC. Now NBC did pull the plug on the latest Law and Order and replaced it with The Blacklist, but still remains a lot of Dick Wolf. Who exactly watches all those crime shows? 

 5. Is Anyone Really Going to Watch Tik-Tokers on a Television? Hulu has a very impressive fall line-up, the have seven of maybe the fifteen shows I am most looking to this fall. Then there is The D’Amato Show. Sigh. It seems like they are trying to recreate their version of the Kardasians, except they already poached the Kardasians from E! so why do they need The D’Amato’s too? Plus has anyone actually successfully transitioned their social media fame to the small screen? This seems to have disaster written all over it. 

 Here is everything I plan on watching this fall and when they premiere:

Mondays

Reservation Dogs (already started, FX on Hulu)

Y: The Last Man (September 13, FX on Hulu)

8:00 – The Neighborhood (September 20, CBS)

 

 Tuesdays

Only Murders in the Building (Today, Hulu)

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

9:00 – Supergirl (already started, The CW)

9:00 – La Brea (September 28, NBC)

 

 Wednesdays

Nine Perfect Strangers (already started, Hulu)

Wu-Tang: An American Saga (September 8, Hulu)

Dopesick (October 13, Hulu)

Hawkeye (November 24, Disney+)

8:00 – The Challenge: Spies, Lies, and Allies (already started, MTV)

8:00 – Survivor (September 22, CBS)

8:00 – The Goldbergs (September 22, ABC)

8:30 – The Wonder Years (September 22, ABC)

 

 Thursdays

Titans (already started, HBO Max)

Doom Patrol (September 23, HBO Max)

8:00 – Brooklyn Nine-Nine (already started, NBC)

8:00 – The Blacklist (October 21, NBC)

8:00 – Annie Live! (December 2, NBC)

9:00 – Ghosts (October 7, CBS)

9:30 – B Positive (October 7, CBS)

10:00 – What We Do in the Shadows (September 2, FX)

10:00 – Big Sky (September 30, ABC)

 

Fridays

The Great (November 19, Hulu)

 

 Sundays

9:00 – The Walking Dead (already started, AMC)

9:00 – Billions (September 5, Showtime)

9:00 - Fear the Walking Dead (October 17, AMC)

9:00 – Dexter: New Blood (November 7, Showtime)

10:00 – American Rust (September 12, Showtime)

10:00 – The Walking Dead: World’s Beyond (October 3, AMC)

10:00 – Yellowjackets (November 14, Showtime)

Summer 2021 TV Schedule

 

Some spring shows still have an episode or two left, but Summer television kicks into high gear with the premiere of Loki today.  Interestingly this will be the first Disney Ploose show to debut on a day that is not Friday.  I wonder if going forward we will be getting Marvel shows on Wednesday and Star Wars shows stay on Fridays because we are getting close to the place where they will likely start airing concurrently.

 

Wednesday was the day when Disney’s other streaming service, Hulu, released their weekly shows, and 9 Perfect Strangers will come out that day, but later in the summer, they are releasing Only Murders in the Building on Tuesdays.  Then there will be two FX on Hulu shows airing on Mondays while two others will premiere on Thursdays.  It is nice that it looks like they are spreading things out so we do not have to cram everything in on weekends.  Now if only they would release the episodes in prime time so we do not have to wake up early to watch so we do not have to spend all say avoiding spoilers.  I have a Sophie’s Choice for the next two weeks as what to watch in the morning on Wednesdays: Loki, Cruel Summer, or The Handmaid’s Tale (all a part of the Disney cooperate family).

 

Speaking of FX on Hulu, one of those shows will be Y: The Last Man which I long ago dubbed the Chinese Democracy of television.  We will see if it actually does come out.  Hopefully it will be more worth the wait than the Guns ‘n’ Roses album was.  Here is everything else I will be watching while trying to stay cool.

 

 Mondays

Reservations Dogs (FX on Hulu, August 9)

Y: The Last Man (FX on Hulu, September 13)

 

Tuesdays

Only Murders in the Building (Hulu, August 31)

8:00 – DC’s Stargirl (The CW, August 10)

9:00 – Supergirl (The CW, August 24)

  

Wednesdays

Loki (Disney Plus, June 9)

Nine Perfect Strangers (Hulu, August 18)

9:00 – In the Dark (The CW, June 23)

10:00 – The Bold Type (Freeform, already started)

 

Thursdays

Behind the Music (Paramount+, July 29)

Grown-ish (Freeform, July 8)

8:00 - Brooklyn 99 (NBC, August 12)

10;00 -What We Do in the Shadows (FX, September, 2)

Fridays

The Olympics (NBC, July 23)

 

Sundays

7:00 – A Discovery of Witches (AMC, June 27)

9:00 - The Chi (Showtime, already started)

9:00 – Kevin Can Fork Himself (AMC, June 20)

9:00 - The White Lotus – (HBO, July 11)

9:00 - Wellington Paranormal (The CW/HBO Max, July 11)

9:00 – The Walking Dead (AMC, August 22)

10:00 - Black Monday (Showtime, already started)

10:30 - Flatbush Misdemeanors (Showtime, already started)

The Five Most Anticipated New Shows of 2021-22

 

I waited a week to release my Fall Television schedule after most of the networks released theirs to wait for The CW except none of their new shows made my Most Anticipated list and I will be watching nothing on their fall schedule.    Though, is it wring that I am more interested the live action Powerpuff Girls show after the head of the CW called it a mess?  I kind of want to start a #ReleaseThePowerCut movement.  As for shows that actually made my list, well, it is only comedies.  Really, this season is almost as dreadful as last one, but at least the networks last year could blame the pandemic.  I really do not have much to say about any of these other that they look mostly watchable.  Hopefully the streaming services offer something better this fall.  Hulu is premiering two new shows in late August, Nine Perfect Strangers and Only Murders in the Building, which should trickle into fall.

 

1.       1,  Ghosts (Thursdays at 9:00 on CBS)

2.       2.  Maggie  (Midseason ABC)

3.       3,  Abbott Elementary (Midseason ABC)

4.       4.  Smallwood (Midseason CBS)

5.       5.  The Wonder Years (Wednesdays At 8:30 on ABC)

 

Here is my complete network fall schedule: 

 

Mondays

8:00 – The Neighborhood (CBS)

 

Tuesdays

Nothing

 

Wednesdays

8:00 – Survivor (CBS)

8:00 – The Goldbergs (ABC)

8:30 – The Wonder Years (ABC)  

 

Thursdays

9:00 – Ghosts (CBS)

9:30 – B Positive (CBS)

 

Fridays

8:00 – The Blacklist (NBC)

 

Sundays

Nothing, wow, this schedule is really dreadful.

The Most and Least Anticipated Questions of Fall 2016

Fall cable shows have been trinkling back all month but tonight is the start of fall television for me with the first network premiere Blindspot (okay, Dancing with… um Vanilla Ice and Rick Perry did start Monday, God help us all) after the season finale of America’s Got Talent even though next week it will be airing at an earlier time. I do wonder if these special times before regular timeslots work. But alas.

People have been talking about Peak TV for a while now, it was not until I saw there were 350 new and returning show having a premiere this fall, more than half (150) starting up in September alone. My goodness. Right now I plan on watching 28 of them which seems like a lot, 23 hours a week seems slightly more manageable but that is still over three hours per day even though some seasons will end before others begin. And I may still give try to some new show; I really have not been grabbed in by the trailers from Good Behavior, Notorious, People of Earth, This Is Us, and Search Party but may give an episode or two a try. And these numbers do not even include The Voice which I have demoted watching performances on YouTube to avoid Miley Cyrus. Maybe if I am lucky, some of these shows get canceled. But anyway. As I do every year, is my list of the most anticipated questions of the new season:

1. Who will be playing the Life Model Decoy? We got a tease at the end of the third season of Agents of SHIELD going ahead six months. We learn Daisy has gone rouge and Coulsen is no longer in charge. The more interesting tease came after the commercial break when we see the Irish doctor that the team saved earlier in the episode working on something called a “L. M. D.” which I think is safe to assume stand for Life Model Decoy, a life like android. But who did he model it on? It looked kind of feminine so is this how they bring back Mockingbird after her show did not get picked up? Not that could not end up being a dude. Electro-boy is the first person I thought of. If it ends up being Ward, I just may stop watching.
2. Where does Blindspot go in the second season? Last year I said I was going to enjoy the first season but was weary of it going on for multiple season. They almost reset the show with Jane avoiding the memory erasing serum, instead the season ended with Jane being arrested for Mayfair’s murder. So is the show going to be even more like The Blacklist with Jane as a federal prisoner helping the FBI or are we going to get something new?
3. Will Powerless get demoted to The CW next year? One of the more shocking news out of Upfronts this year was Supergirl moving from CBS to The CW giving DC Comics four straight nights on the network. Powerless was the lone network superhero show picked up this year (fear not funny book fans, there are countless new DC and Marvel properties coming to cable and streaming sites over the next year) and another DC property. If it fails on NBC, will The CW be willing to go five for five?
4. Will TNT and/or USA be the next prestige cable network? For years viewers flocked to USA for “blue skies” shows and TNT for CBS type procedurals why channels like FX and AMC racked up the awards with usually fractions of the audience (The walking Dead notwithstanding). But viewers are shrinking across the board (The Walking Dead notwithstanding). USA was first to breakout of the mold last year with Mr. Robot. Since then both channels have gone bold with little success this past summer be it Queen of the South or Animal Kingdom. Both have ambitious shows coming this fall; TNT has Good Behavior, a rare female lead anti-hero show at a time when male anti-hero shows are waning (see the previously mentioned Animal Kingdom). The USA has a weird looking show Falling Water that is about people entering other people’s dream. Mr. Robot was able to hit during a downtown in television, can these two show hit when there are so many other new shows to try?
5. Will The Good Place live up to its name? The show had me at “starring Veronica Mars and Sam Malone.” And though I laughed multiple times at the trailer, I fear for the show. Will it be too high brow comedy to those that watched NBC back when it was Must See TV around the last time Ted Danson was on the Peacock Network? Will it get crushed by the CBS comedies (and that is after NFL for the first couple weeks)? And just where does a show about a bad person in heaven go? Will Ronnie be sent to the Bad Place for the second season? If there is one?

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

1. Will Premier Trump ban NBC from airing the Arnold version of The Apprentice? I fear for this country.
2. How many episodes of Miley Cyrus before I (and the rest of America) give up on The Voice? Seriously, I fear for this country.
3. Will people watch music on MTV again? It seems like every five years MTV tries to remember what the M in their name stands for and this fall they are going to give it a try once again with an Unplugged reboot which was last dusted off with an embarrassing Miley Cyrus special two years ago, but its been five years since it was an actual series. Then there is Wonderland which is being described as “first weekly live music performance series in nearly twenty years” (Um, wasn’t there a short live Pete Wentz live show that aired on Fridays a couple years ago?) which will feature three live performances and stand up acts. If these show are populated by the acts that were featured during the most recent VMA’s, or really any VMA’s in the past decade, hard pass on both shows. But to answer the question: no, people only watch music on YouTube these days.
4. Will Quantico continue to suck? I believe this was the worst show ever that I made it through a full season of. I was shocked that ABC renewed it. Now the question is will I bother to continue to watch?
5. Will The CW ruin Supergirl? No Cat Grant, a musical crossover with The Flash, not to mention a week long crossover with all the other DC show. I think we already know the answer to this.

And here is my way to big list of show I plan on watching this fall (Seriously, what happed to Tuesdays? Can we move some Monday or Sunday shows there?).

Mondays
8:00 – Gotham (September 19)
8:00 – The Big Bang Theory (September 19)
8:00 – Supergirl (October 10)
9:00 – Lucifer (September 19)
9:00 – 2 Broke Girls (October 10)
9:30 – The Odd Couple (October 17)
10:00 – Timeless (October 3)
10:00 – Conviction (October 3)

Tuesdays
8:00 – The Middle (October 11)
10:00 – Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD (September 20)

Wednesdays
8:00 – Blindspot (September 14 at 10:00; timeslot premiere September 21)
8:00 – Survivor (September 21)
8:00 – The Goldbergs (September 21)
9:00 – Modern Family (September 21)
9:30 – Black-ish (September 21)

Thursdays
8:00 – The Big Bang Theory (October 27)
8:00 – Superstore (September 22)
8:30 – The Good Place (two episode after the Voice September 19; timeslot premiere September 22)
10:00 – The Blacklist (September 22)

Fridays
8:00 – Last Man Standing (September 23)

Sundays
8:00 - Once Upon a Time (September 25)
8:00 – The Librarians (November 20)
9:00 – Fear the Walking Dead (already started)
9:00 – Shameless (October 2)
9:00 – The Walking Dead (October 23)
10:00 – The Strain (already Started)
10:00 – Masters of Sex (September 11)
10:00 – Quantico (September 25)
10:00 – The Affair (November 20)

The Five Most (and Least) Anticipated Shows of 2016-17

What a horrible week for female comic book leads, Agent Carter gets canceled, then ABC passes on the Mockingbird spinoff, and Supergirl gets demoted to The CW (and has to pick up shop and move to Vancouver from sunny LA). Last season was big for comic books, this season not so much only two will pop up and one is based on the Archie's comic and the one that will feature superheroes is a comedy that has an insurance salesman as a lead.

The other big trend from last year, movie adaptations, continued to this year despite everyone from last year failing miserable. One of the lone success stories of last year was The X-Files reboot and Fox has two more reboots, Prison Break and 24, while CBS is resurrecting MacGyver (Showtime’s reboot of Twin Peak may see the light of day next season too).

The big theme of this season is time travel; surprisingly none are a Quantum Leap reboot. Oh, and there are a crapload of comedies coming next season (fifteen by my count and emphasis on crap, seriously, there is an imaginary friend show and Kevin James is coming back to the small screen; and those two did not even my least anticipated list). CBS is going back to a two-hour block on Mondays, ABC is expanding its Tuesday lineup to two hours, and NBC is try to resurrect Must See TV on Thursdays though they still only have one lone hour devoted to comedy like last season, but this time on a school night instead of the Friday dead zone. At any rate here are the five shows that piqued my interest.

1. The Good Place (Thursdays at 8:30 on NBC): This show had me at Veronica Mars and Sam Malone. Thankfully the promo did not suck. The show even has the greatest bit of self-censorship since Battlestar Gallatica invented the word “frack.”


2. Powerless (Midseason, NBC): We hit superhero saturation a season or two ago but this different as it is the first superhero comedy (or least the first since The Tick which of course is getting rebooted on Amazon). And the lead is not actual superheroes but “insurance adjuster specializing in regular-people coverage against damage caused by the crime-fighting superheroes.” This is a DC property so hypothetically we could see cameos by so big names in tights but since Batman is a boy on Gotham and we can only see Superman from afar or in a lenses flare on Supergirl I am guessing we will see more DC deep cut like The Wonder Twins, Skeets (not even with Booster Gold), Plastic Man, Apache Chief, and, one can only hope, Black Manta stops by to pollute the local bay. Although the lack of a trailer makes me a bit weary.

3. Timeless (Mondays at 10:00 on NBC): They had me at Abigail Spencer (Sally Draper's teacher that of course Don hooked up with) and created by Shawn Ryan (Terriers) but I will stick around for lines like “I am black, there is literally no place in American history that will be awesome for me.”


4. Conviction (Mondays at 10:00 on ABC): Okay we are already starting to scrap the bottom of the barrel to get to five “anticipated” series. But hey, it does star Hayley Atwell even if it is not as Peggy Carter. But, sigh, that American accent needs work. C’mon, couldn’t have she played the Prime Minister’s daughter who moved to America for a sliver of anonymity and kept the accent? I never understood why studio execs keep on hiring actors with iffy American accents to play Yankees. Either let them keep their foreign accent or just hire an actual American.


5. Downward Dog (Midseason, ABC): Yeah, this season’s slate of shows are really bad when a talking dog show makes my most anticipated shows list, but I will admit, I laughed a couple times and will watch just to see if he ends up killing that fracking cat.


Bonus. A Few Good Men Live! (TBA, NBC): Hidden deep within NBC's press release was their first ever live adaptation of a play after three musicals of varying success.  It was literally one sentence and the third to last line before listing all the returning shows and legal mambo jumbo. No casting, no director, or even a producer yet, but I am more excited for this than their announce live musical. And one of the big problems with the musicals is getting big enough names to give up three or four months of rehearsals for one performance but I am guessing a play will need less time to prepare so maybe we will get more bankable names. May I suggest Coach Taylor as Tom Cruise, Lieutenant Dan as Jack Nicholson, Dr. Dre as Kiefer Sutherland, Lyla Garrity as Demi Moore, and, well, Kevin Bacon can just reprise his role because dude just does not age.


As the great philosopher Butt-Head once pondered, how would we know if something was cool if there weren't things that sucked, here are the five shows you could not pay me to watch next fall (click on their names to watch the trailers where available; networks were pretty stingy on mid season trailers this year)).

1. Taken (Midseason, NBC), Lethal Weapon (Wednesday at 8:00 on FOX), The Exorcist (Friday at 9:00 on FOX), Training Day (Midseason, CBS), Frequency (TBA, The CW): The Muppets had a quick slide last fall, Minority Report and Rush Hour were DOA, and Uncle Buck was pushed to summer to probably die quietly, while Limitless is currently in limbo but if it returns it will likely be on channel other than CBS. Yet the networks are actually increasing the number of movie adaptations (and that does not even count Time After Time based on a book that also inspired a movie, the MacGyver reboot, or Riverdale based on the Archie's comic). But hey, at least NBC was smart enough to pass on a proposed Cruel Intentions reboot (something FOX tried a decade and a half ago with a pre-fame Amy Adams) and Taken sounds the least bad. I was actually excited with the Taken-prequil sounding Legends on TNT when it started, unfortunately that did not turn out very well.

2. Still Star Cross (Midseason, ABC) – People complain about Gotham calling it, “Batman without Batman.” But there still is young Bruce Wayne who is supposed to grow up to be Batman (though doubtful we will ever see it on the show). Sill Star Crossed features Romeo and Juliet without the star crossed lovers. Instead the story takes place after their deaths and their cousins are now forced to marry to end the Capulet and Montague feud. What the frack? Oh and it was created by Shonda Rhimes, the worst thing to happen to television since they stopped letting you fast forward On Demand. She used to make ABC’s Thursdays unwatchable, and now she is soon to make the whole network unwatchable with five shows on the All Broads Network (not to be confused with CBS who passed on Nancy Drew for being “too feminine” and touts their most diverse lineup ever despite all their new fall shows being led by a white dude).

3. Doubt (Midseason, CBS): When are television executives going to learn what the movie executives learned a long time ago: America hates Katherine Heigl. Her crappy CIA show remains the lone show ever to air most of its episodes after The Voice not to get a second season.

4. Marlon (Midseason, NBC), Lethal Weapon (Wednesday at 8:00 on FOX): The Wayans family started out great with In Living Color, but has a member of the family done anything funny since? And what ever happened to the In Living Color reboot, wasn’t that supposed to happen a year or two ago?

5. This Is Us (Tuesdays at 9:00 on NBC): This show started out good enough, welcome back Mandy Moore! From the writer and directors of Crazy Stupid Love (and The Neighbors and Galavant)!! But everything goes wrong after that. Seriously, how does the guy from Heroes still get work? He can hide behind a bad Keanu Reeves beard all he wants but he still cannot act. Same goes for the Smallville version of Green Arrow. And what is this show even about? A bunch of people are born on the same day and… what? I may still end up hate watching.

Bonus. Hairspray Live! (TBA, NBC), The Rocky Horror Show (Halloween, FOX), Dirty Dancing the Musical (TBA, ABC): We are living in a golden age of live musicals, NBC got things started and sure it was a rough state, but hey, The Sound of Music Live! and Peter Pan Live!. They final figured out the formula with The Wiz Live!. Then Grease: Live showed up on FOX and raised the bar even hired. Unfortunately the musicals set for next season are based on three musicals I do not really care about and two of them are not even live. Why bother? Meh, can someone please take may idea of through copious amounts of money at Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling for Guys and Dolls Live! And is Selena Gomez and Jason Street in West Side Story Live! too obvious?


And here is what I tentatively plan on watching next season.

Mondays
8:00 – Gotham (FOX)
8:00 – The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
9:00 – Lucifer (FOX)
9:00 – 2 Broke Girls (CBS)
9:30 – The Odd Couple (CBS)
10:00 – Timeless (NBC)
10:00 – Conviction (ABC)

Tuesdays
8:00 – The Middle (ABC)
10:00 – Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (ABC)

Wednesdays
8:00 – Survivor (CBS)
8:00 – Blindspot (NBC)
8:00 – The Goldbergs (ABC)
9:00 – Modern Family (ABC)
9:30 – Black-ish (ABC)

Thursdays
8:00 – The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
8:30 – The Good Place (NBC)
9:00 – Notorious (ABC)
10:00 – The Blacklist (NBC)

Fridays
8:00 – Last Man Standing (ABC)
9:00 – Grimm (NBC)

Sundays
8:00 – Once Upon a Time (ABC)
10:00 – Quantico (ABC)

The Five Most (and Least) Anticipated Question for 2015-16 Television

Tomorrow is the official start of Fall television with all four networks premiering new seasons as well as three new shows including Blindspot which tops my most anticipated list. Of course with a new season comes new questions and these are the five I am most interested in:

1. What exactly is the saturation point for comic book shows? Three years ago Arrow was the lone live action funny book on network television (and that is only if you consider The CW a network). Marvel got into the game two years with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Things exploded last year, both of those shows got a spin-off with The Flash and Agent Carter respectively along with Gotham, iZombie, and the only one that did not make it to a second season Constantine (but as a consolation prize the titular character is showing up on Arrow this season). That does not even include the five Marvel Shows that are planned to air on Netflix (Daredevil being the only one that has been released; Jessica Jones is getting released later this year). The networks have adding a couple more this season with yet another Arrow spinoff Legends of Tomorrow and not officially a spin-off but share the same showrunner so a crossover is possible Supergirl. Then on Fox they are adapting Lucifer coming mid-season.

On cable The Walking Dead has remained the lone comic adaptation despite being the biggest show on all television (okay technically that is a graphic novel if you want to split hairs). But that is about to change too and that is not even count The Walking Dead spin-off that is not based on a print version. AMC is developing a show based on the DC property Preacher (ironically starring two Marvel vets Dominic Cooper, the younger Howard Stark and Raina from SHIELD) while TNT is getting into the game with a live action Teen Titans. While over at Syfy they have two funny books in development including a Superman prequil set on Krypton (which will likely have nothing to do with the CBS show just to make things confusing). And in addition to the Netflix series, Playstation's first scripted show Powers was already renewed for a second season. So that is ten comic book adaptations this season on television, six on streaming sites with three coming soon to cable. Even if you only watch comic books adaptations, that is a lot of television to watch.

2. What happened to Gemma Simmons? Speaking of comic books, the biggest cliff hanger to come from one last season was what became of our favorite biochem scientist? A lot happened in the season finale of Agents of SHIELD, Coulson had his hand cut off, the Inhumans mist thing got turned into fish oil pills, Ward was recruiting his own supervillian team, The Avengers came in and saved the day (okay the last one did not, and will never happen), but I want to know is what happened to Gemma after getting sucked into Kree obelisk? I doubt she is gone from the show and snce the obelisk is supposed to destroy Inhumans I am guessing she come out with a new superpower and possibly a new desire to kill Skye Daisy. Of course being a Joss Whedon show, thoughts of Fred who had her body taken over by a God has also crossed my mind. Whatever it is, I am sure the scientist we knew and loved will be much different this season.

3. Will any new show be as good as Mr. Robot? The surprise hit of the summer was easily Mr. Robot who just owned the conversation on the internet. I certainly did not see it coming as I initally had no interest in another attempt at television for Christian Slater until I learned Dalia Royce was also part of the cast. Can anything premiering this fall garner as much attention? My guess is no. Blindspot will probably be the best new show by how long can a procedural that rips off Memento stay in the conversation. Maybe the best at reaching Mr. Robot type hype on network television could be Quantico which looks like it could at its best be Homeland season four. Granted worst case scenario the show devolves into Homeland season three.

4. How will Continuum end? Continuum was has been one of the quietly good shows on television for the past three years and the best time traveling show since Quantum Leap. Of course it got canceled but not before airing six final fourth season episodes (two of which already aired). Evil minions from a dark future timeline showed up in the season premiere and reeked havoc on Keira. Will she finally be able to back to her time? Is there a time for her to go back to now? It will be a fun ride to see if she does.

5. Will Ash vs. The Evil Dead be any good?: We have been inundated with Heroes Reborn promos for the last couple month leading to most people who watch the original wondering, why? The show was widely reviled with most people saying it went off the rails in the second season (I contend the first season pretty much sucked too aside from the one episode Bryan Fuller scripted). On the flip side there has been little press for a reboot that people have been hankering for decades. I remember seeing Army of Darkness in high school thinking it was the greatest thing ever (I eventually went back to watch the two horror Evil Dead movies but much preferred the campiness of the third movie). Pretty much ever since there have been talks of a fourth movie in the Evil Dead saga. The closest came about a decade ago when there was talks of an Ash vs. Freddy vs. Jason movie after the first two horror legends faced off (there have been a couple of comics and video games). There was also hope when the reboot of Evil Dead (which featured Bruce Campbell in a post credits teaser) was released two years ago with a sequel that would see the two franchises combining with both Campbell and Tessa Altman starring. Instead at Comic Con last year Sam Raimi announced there would be a television show to continue the original Evil Dead to air on Starz best known for... um, well, their aired Party Down foe two seasons a couple years ago. Will it be any good? Well it is written by the Raimi brothers (Sam is directing the first episode) and Bruce is staring. As of there there seems to be no ties to the reboot as there has been no announcement of Tessa Altman's involvement, instead Xena the Warrior Princess is in the cast. Since I do not have Starz I can hear what other people say about it and can temper my expectation whenever I get around to seeing it. But as of now I am hopeful. It certainly has to be better than the the Heroes reboot or the televised versions of Limitless or Minority Report which both look dreadful (though I am a bit hopeful the former is successful enough for someone to greenlight a televised Lucy show as that movie was significantly better than Limitless; Tyra Collett as Lucy).


As the great philosopher Butt-Head once pondered, “If it weren’t for things that sucked, how would we know if something was awesome,” so here are the five least anticipated questions of the new television season.

1. Who is going to win the worst reality show this season? No I am not talking about Dancing with the Has Beens and Never Weres or even the final season of American Karaoke but by far the worst reality show on television this season is the Republican Primaries. Four years ago we had the clown car of candidates where nut jobs like Herman Cain and Michelle Bachmann each got a week a top the polls before everyone realized just how crazy they were and just ended up nomination Mitt Romney, the human robot. Things were supposed to be different this time around after the Republican conducted an autopsy realizing they need to do a better job courting minorities and women after losing to Barack Obama again. Then Donald Trump got into the race by calling Mexican immigrants rapists and mad sexist statements about Megyn Kelly after she asked if he was sexist... and then went to the top of the Republican polls. He called war hero John McCain a loser for being captured... and rose higher. Most recently he insulted the lone woman in the race, Carly Fioarino's looks in a Rolling Stone interview... and still leads. NBC had and do the biggest troll in history by replacing him on The Celebrity Apprentice with an immigrant who fathered an anchor baby.

Or course this is not to say go ahead and pencil in a Democrat for 2016 because their nomination process is in as much chaos, it is just a lot less entertaining. Seriously, is there a more boring scandal than Hilary Clinton's e-mails? It makes Chris Christie's bridge problems look like a scene out of Wolf of Wall Street in comparison. Unfortunately the only other Democrat who decided to run (so far) is Bernie Sanders who just come across as your crazy Jewish uncle. He is just basically the socialist Ron Paul. How depressing we have to root for Joe Biden to get into the race as the best way to avoid a President Trump or Clinton Part Deux and as we learned from Bush, the sequel is always significantly worse than the original.

2. What happened to Becca in the Elevator at the End of Hindsight? After failing at her second chance in the nineties, actually making a bigger mess of it then she did the first time around, Becca rushed to the elevator that flashed her back to the last great decade, Numb starts playing again... and fade to black. Surprisingly VH1 renewed the lowly rated show thus making wonder where the show would go in the second season. Would it go back to present day? Go back even further? Flash forward to the 00's? Then out of nowhere, late last month VH1 sent out a press release saying "nevermind, Hindsight is canceled." What? If they wanted to cancel it outright after the first season, fine, whatever, but you cannot renew it and then renig later. Renewed shows have gotten shortened before and Southland got canned after getting renewed but that was instantly picked up by TNT, this is the first time I remember a renewed show getting canceled outright before (greenlighted shows get canned before making it to air occasionally, most recently the NBC Coach reboot). And to add insult to injury, days after canceling Hindsight, VH1 announced Black Ink Crew: Chicago, maybe the most befuddling decision by a network since The CW dumped Veronica Mars only to announce Farmer Takes a Wife shortly after.

3. Who is dumb enough to hire Carrie Mathison? I know this is a television show and it would be a boring show if Carrie was forced to get a job at the local mall because she could not get a job in defense again but no one has failed upward more than Carrie, not even Lane Kiffin or Ben Silverman. But on the new season of Homeland, Carrie finds herself with a cushy private contractors job in Germany for some millionaire.

4. Will Community be back for season seven? It was only five short years ago since DirecTV started the modern trend of saving lowly rated but beloved franchises. The trend continues this fall after Hulu saved The Mindy Project. But the big news last year was Yahoo Screen was going to get into the scripted forum by saving Community even though it lost yet another castmember when Shirley went to hang out with Matthew Perry (not to mention the Pierce replacement left to costar in the Breaking Bad prequil). New episodes debuted last spring, I watched the first couple the weekend they came out but eventually forgot about it and still have two or three to watch. Yahoo Screen had said they have interest in doing another season (their two other two original comedies have yet to set the internet aflame even though the one with the AT&T girl, Other Space, is kind of, almost watchable) except star Joel McHale has pretty much said they do not have enough money to pay the cast what they expect now that their contracts expire. I am fine with this because I really could not get up watching the show on the interest, seriously Yahoo Screen, if you want to be taken seriously, at least make a Playstation app so I can watch this on my television. Really, just make a crappy Community movie and be done with it.

Did Deacon survive his surgery? The big Nashville cliffhanger left with Deacon's life hanging in the balance in the balance. Did he survive? Of course he did.


Here is everything I plan to watch this fall and when they premiere (and one bonus question: why is there so much television on Mondays and Wednesdays and basically nothing on Thursday?):

Mondays
8:00 - The Big Bang Theory (September 21)
8:00 - Supergirl (premieres at 8:30 on October 26, 8:00 the following week)
8:00 - Gotham (September 21, Fox)
8:00 - Switched at Birth (already started, ABC Family)
8:00 - The Voice (September 21, NBC)
10:00 - Blindspot (September 21, NBC)
10:00 - Castle (September 21, ABC)
10:00 - Legends (November 2, TNT)

Tuesdays
8:00 - The Muppets (September 22, ABC)
9:00 - Marvel's Agents of SHIELD (September 29, ABC)
10:00 - Wicked City (October 27, ABC)

Wednesdays
8:00 - Survivor: Second Chances (September 23, CBS)
8:00 - The Middle (September 23, ABC)
8:30 - The Goldbergs (September 23, ABC)
9:00 - Modern Family (September 23, ABC)
9:30 - Blask'ish (September 23, ABC)
10:00 - Nashville (September 23, ABC)
10:00 - South Park (September 16, Comedy Central)
10:30 - You're the Worst (September 9, FXX)

Thursdays
9:00 - The Blacklist (October 1, NBC)

Fridays
8:00 - Last Man Standing (September 25, ABC)
9:00 - Grimm (October 30, NBC)
11:00 - Continuum (Already Bac, Syfy)

Sundays
8:00 - Once Upon a Time (September 27, ABC)
8:00 - The Librarians (November 1, TNT)
9:00 - Homeland (October 4, Showtime)
9:00 - The Walking Dead (October 11, AMC)
10:00 - Quantico (September 27, ABC)
10:00 - The Affair (October 4, Showtime)

Catching Up with The Affair

It is hard to hear the description for The Affair and not think of last year's Betrayal which was one and done on ABC. That "one" was a season, but the show could have easily been pulled after one episode because it was a bit of a bore and it did not help that the lead's American accent came and went from scene to scene. Both shows followed the extracurricular activities of two married people; one seemed to be in the perfect married, the other q bit of a messy one. There is also a murder clumsily tacked onto the plot that just reeks of network meddling which was probably the case for ABC, Showtime seems more laissez faire).

Of course that is the biggest difference is that the same type of show is much more likely to be more watchable on premium channels compared to free television because Showtime can attract better actors, writers, it is easier to tell a concise story in ten episodes compared to twenty-two, and it is doubtful ABC could get Fiona Apple to write them a theme song. The biggest difference story wise is The Affair tells the story from the narrative view of each of the adulterers. Sure, again, ABC just did that again this season with yet another one and done series Manhattan Love Story but where that show just followed the inner monologue from the two leads, The Affair give each lead their side of the story of a single day during their tryst.

Before you have Lost flashbacks where that show would annoyingly re-film a scene from a different point of view, basically seeing the same scene from different camera angle up to four different times, the adulterers Noah and Allison had different recollections of how their dalliance happened. Sometimes it would be as minor as he would remember her hair down and she would have it in a ponytail. Sometimes it would be wildly different (the biggest of which comes in tonight's season finale) and in some cases, he would remember them hooking up in a field but when she retold the story, she was not even there. Really this has to be the best writing gig in town because any pothole or errors in continuity they can just blame the characters on miss remembering.

The most interesting part of this storytelling is just how Noah and Allison view each other and themselves. According to Noah, he is this noble super-dad and husband (well aside from that whole cheating thing), while his parents-in-law are the big bads despite providing his lifestyle probably even helped him transition into a man because his father is not even worth mentioning. To Noah, Allison is a flirty local who always makes the first step.

For Allison, she is the victim, taking no culpability in her son's death; it was either bad luck or her husbands fault. Noah is the emotional support that she can no longer get from her husband because talking to him would mean having to come to term with the death of her some even if Noah come across as a little sleazy, and of course he always makes the first move. Really all the guys in her life are kind of sleazy, her bothers in laws are drug dealers (of course she is an unwilling participant again refusing to admit her involvement), and her boss is constantly trying to have sex with her again for the first time in fifteen years. And again, her mother-in-law can be seen as the enemy even though she was there for Allison when her own mother was not.

The two even have two different views on the murder that happens sometime in the future, Noah thinks he went through a messy divorce while Allison thinks he has been happily married for over two decades. Are they juxtaposition their own realities on him or is the detective telling the two what they want to hear to make him seem more reliable. In the finale we get a third extremely different possibility to the detective’s love life when neither of the two leads is around.

Alrighty, this is the part I am going to get into a bit of the spoilers from the first season now, continue reading at you own risk.

Like I mentioned earlier, it seemed like ABC meddling when Betrayal inserted a murder plotline, but that does not seem like Showtime's MO. But the murder subplot seemed to be shoehorned into most episodes, given about a minute at the beginning or end of each act of the show. The murder victim seem like it was some big mystery, but halfway through the season, the detective just causally mentioned that Allison's bother-in-law Scott was the deceased. Up until that point the other time I remembered him was trying to sneak upstairs with Noah's daughter. Which of course put Noah high on my list of suspects (okay, he was basically the only one, aside from creepy diner owner and un-scene drug traffickers). Not surprisingly Scott turned out to be Whitney's baby daddy.

As I teased, tonight's episode features what is probably the most different retelling of a scene this season which features many of the show's main players finding themselves in the same place at the time. Where I tend to believe Allison over Noah, this scene is one of the few times I believe Noah's version more, plus his version of events may be the best scene this season.

Though it seems like an after thought in the first couple episodes, we do spend more time in the still undetermined future (unless I missed if they let us in on a date). But unlike Betrayal where we got the murder mystery wrapped up in a nice neat bow before the season series ended, The Affair leaves that a bit up in the air. But since this is a premium channel, even poorly rated series get at least a second season and The Affair has already been renewed And since the future seems at least five years away, it may take us a while to catch up.

The Affair airs its season finale tonight at 10:00 on Showtime preceded by the season finale of Homeland at 9:00.

I Haven't Been Gorged, Drowned, Plucked, and Roasted, Not Yet

Sequels get a bad rap but there are plenty of good sequels out there. Good prequels on the other hand are far and few in between. Patton Oswalt has a great bit on prequels equating them to being shown a picture of Jon Voight’s man region for those who think Angelina Jolie is attractive. Yet prequels, the ultimate where do we go next when we have run out of ideas solution, are still getting made. Just last year there were television shows that served as prequels to two horror icons. Surprisingly one of them did not suck. The other featured Norman Bates listening to Taylor Swift.

The other show, Hannibal probably should not have worked. In fact the previous prequel, Hannibal Rising focusing on a teenage Hannibal in Lithuania, was a commercial and critical flop. I know I had no desire to see yet another show about a serial killer especially since I have not seen any of the movies or read the books. Plus could such a story as gruesome murders and cannibalism be told on network television? Apparently yes as NBC somehow clawed its way back to the top of the ratings charts mixing the biggest draws (Sunday Night Football, The Voice) with low rated critical darling (Hannibal, Parenthood) and the show that is both (The Blacklist).

NBC gets plenty of credit for renewing Hannibal not once but twice. So for those that do not start watching shows fearing they will be canceled, it is time to catch up. Season one is currently streaming on Amazon Instant Video which is free for Prime members and season two will probably be available with enough time to catch up before season three premieres sometime in 2015. Although I never understood not watching a show because it may be canceled. I would rather a quality show that may end after thirteen to twenty-two episodes then one that will go on for around a hundred with diminishing returns. Just image how much more fondly we would remember Lost if it got canceled after one season. But anyway.

As I stated above, I had no interest in seeing a Hannibal Lecter prequel, but I still tuned into the series premiere for one reason: Bryan Fuller. This is the guy who gave us three of the greatest television shows of this millennium: Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls, and Pushing Daisies. Sure those three shows ran for a total of five seasons (and a movie!) but again, would it not have been better if Homeland only lasted a season or two? Those three shows all had their whimsy even if they dealt with death and sanity. Hannibal is completely without whimsy and is set in a very real world yet Fuller’s warped eye still seeps through with the death tableaus that are the focal point of each season one episode.

Plus this Hannibal, Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale) subtlety chews the scenes just as much as he eats on the show. Which is quite a lot, foodies will surely enjoy the show. Well once they get over the fact that much of the meat he prepares comes from rude people. Then there is Hugh Dancy (Ella Enchanted) who seems to go through a major mental breakdown each and every episode to the point you fear for the actor’s sanity for the number of times his character goes down the preverbal rabbit hole as Hannibal toys with him.

If you are not caught up on Hannibal, this is where you should stop reading because I am about to spoil the second season; but before you go, let me just say the second season finale was one of the finest and shocking hours of television I have seen in a while.

Okay, last spoiler warning. Turn away now if you do not want to know what happened this season.

I have never seen a movie featuring Hannibal Lecter or even read the books, but I still have an idea where the show is going since he is one of the most famous antagonists in pop culture history. So it was not that shocking when Will ended up in a mental hospital for the criminally insane. Nor I was when he was eventually release considering his role in the overarching narrative of the story. But this season’s finale that was a completely different story.

Though I know that Will Graham is the one that eventually catches Hannibal, the show did a very good job making me wonder if Will was on Hannibal’s side or on Jack’s. Even at the end of the season I still question Will loyalty (but after the events of the finale, it seems clear where Will falls). Of course for weeks we have known what was about to go down. In the season premiere we saw Jack enter Hannibal’s kitchen and met with one of his knives before ending out in the wine cellar with a shard of glass in his neck.

So for weeks we had to wonder who would come to Jack’s rescue. We got that answer last week when the promo monkeys showed us Alana showing up to the Lecter estate gun in hand. Of course Hannibal took the bullets out a long time ago. Which leads us to the first big shock of the episode: Holy Abigail Hobbs sighting! I do remember giving thought to the possibility that Hannibal did not kill her, just cut her ear off and force it down Will’s throat. But that theory faded a long time ago. But I did kept looking for the missing ear which was covered by hair until her final scene where she clearly was missing it.

So Alana goes out the window just in time for Will to show up (by taxi?). Well this has to be where Will finally captures Hannibal, catching up to the books. Nope. Hannibal guts Will then, while he is helpless, slashes Abigail’s neck with Will unable to stop him much like he did Jacob Hobbes. Then, as Bryan Fuller says in an interview, Hannibal drops the mic and leaves. Jack is lifeless in the wine cellar. Will is bleeding out his abdomen while trying to stop Abigail bleeding out her neck in the kitchen. And Alana, barely still conscience, is outside in the rain, laying in glass form a two story drop. I guess it is easy to predict that the main players will eventually pull through while Will is going to be haunted with Abigail’s death.

Oh, but that is not it, we did get a tease for season three with Hannibal taking a flight… with Dr. Du Maurier. Oooo, so what happened there? Earlier in the season, Hannibal arrived at Bedelia’s house in his clear murder lab coat just after she left town. The FBI later found her. I am guessing that she knew if the FBI could find her, so could Hannibal, so she told him of the FBI’s plan as a measure of self preservation. It will make for an interesting third season, the first ever for a Bryan Fuller show. Hopefully it does not turn out like the third season of Homeland.

Hannibal 2.x gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.