2015 Spring Music Preview

The big news for albums this spring that it was recently decided that their will be a world album release date on Fridays. No word on when this switch is official but it looks like iTunes has some albums released on Friday and others on Tuesday while Amazon is stick with Tuesday for now. I was excited for the new Mumford and Sons album until I heard the first single and now I am kind of dreading it. Actually this list is littered with underwhelming first singles (Death Cab for Cutie, Alabama Shakes, Snoop Dogg, and Of Monsters of Men among them). But as D'Angelo and Kendrick Lamar have shown, album release dates are no longer fluid so maybe their will be more surpised album that will be coming in the next couple months that will be more enticing to earlobees than those listed below which may only be worth a spin on Spotify or two. If you are interested in preordering the album on Amazon, click on its title. Click on the artist's name to be taken to their iTunes.

March 23
Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit - Courtney Barnett
To Pimp A Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar
Short Movie - Laura Marling
Mr. Wonderful - Action Bronson
Toto XIV - Toto
Nothing But The Silence - Striking Matches

March 31
Kintsugi - Death Cab for Cutie
The Past, The Present, The Future - Jodeci
Southern Style - Darius Rucker
Carrie & Lowell - Sufjan Stevens
The Day Is My Enemy - The Prodigy
The Album About Nothing - Wale
Tokyo Dome In Concert - Van Halen
Ludaversal - Ludacris
Postcards From Paradise - Ringo Starr

April 7
No Pier Pressure - Brian Wilson
After It All - After It All - Delta Rae
Blow Up The Moon - Blues Traveler
Small Town Dreams - Will Hoge
New Glow - Matt and Kim
Clueless Soundtrack (20th Anniversary Vinyl Release)

April 21
Sound & Color - Alabama Shakes
Kindred - Passion Pit
Ten Songs from Live at Carnegie Hall - Ryan Adams

April 28
Jekyll + Hyde - Zac Brown Band
Sirens - The Weepies
The Magic Whip - Blur
Fly International Luxurious Art - Raekwon

May 5
Wilder Mind [Deluxe Edition] - Mumford & Sons
The Waterfall - My Morning Jacket
I Can't Imagine - Shelby Lynne
California Nights - Best Coast

May 12
Trust Fall EP- Incubus
Bush - Snoop Dogg

May 19
The Desired Effect - Brandon Flowers
Sol Invictus - Faith No More

June 2
How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful - Florence + The Machine

June 9
Beneath The Skin - Of Monsters and Men

TBD
So Help Me God - Kanye West
Through the Eyes of Wonder - Stevie Wonder
This Is Acting - Sia
Clefication - Wyclef Jean
Adele
Ashley Monroe
Dawes
David Gilmore
Deftones
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Filter
Heart
Jill Scott
Kacey Musgraves
Metallica
Nate Ruess
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Band Perry

The Voice Season Eight Battle Round Power Rankings

During his long winded Battle decision, Pharrell gave us a huge insight into his decision making process. He said his decision boiled down to either pick the best, most polished singer or the one that needed his help the most. He ended up going with Lowell Oakley even though Kimberley was the clear winner. This, of course, was a horrible decision. Though not outwardly stated I am pretty sure Shakira went with the same philosophy her two season in the same chair and finished last both times. This philosophy is bad for everyone except the "winner" of the battle, the person who deserves it goes home, you lessen you lessen your chance of winning, and the audience has to endure lesser singers.

I pretty much disagreed with every decision Pharrell made this round with the exception of Anthony over Travis. Of course the difference between Pharrell and Shakira was that Pharrell actually had singers worth stealing and both Christina and Blake strengthened their teams with two Pharrell outcasts (okay, Blake's second steal was one of trademark Knockout Round fodder steals; whoever gets Travis next round will obviously be his favorite this season; it is a shame Blake wasted a Steal on him and did not have one for the vastly more deserving Noelle Bybee). It was not as if Adam had anyone worth stealing as half his team was montaged, something that usually happens to Blake.

1. India Carney (Team Christina)
2. Ashley Morgan (Team Pharrell Christina)
3. Hannah Kirby (Team Blake Pharrell)
4. Brooke Adee (Team Blake)
5. Rob Taylor (Team Christina)
6. Joshua Davis (Team Blake Adam)
7. Kimberly Nichole (Team Pharrell Christina)
8. Anthony Riley (Team Pharrell)
9. Meghan Linsey (Team Pharrell Blake)
10. Sarah Potenza (Team Blake)
11. Treeva Gibson (Team Christina)
12. Brian Johnson (Team Blake)
13. Tonya Boyd-Cannon (Team Adam)
14. Kelsie May (Team Blake)
15. Barry Minniefield (Team Adam)
16. Deanna Johnson (Team Adam)
17. Sawyer Fredericks (Team Pharrell)
18. Koryn Hawthorne (Team Christina)
19. Paul Pfau (Team Pharrell)
20. Mia Z (Team Pharrell)
21. Caitlin Caporale (Team Pharrell)
22. Nathan Hermida (Team Adam)
23. Blaze Johnson (Team Adam)
24. Cody Wickline (Team Blake)
25. Clinton Washington (Team Christina Adam)
26. Lowell Oakley (Team Pharrell)
27. Lexi Dávila (Team Adam)
28. Joe Tolo (Team Christina)
29. Jacob Rummell (Team Blake Pharrell)
30. Corey Kent White (Team Blake)
31. Sonic (Team Christina)
32. Travis Ewing (Team Pharrell Blake)

Looking over the teams, giving each an numerical value, here is how the teams stack up based on my list after the Battle Round:

Christina: 161
Blake: 129
Pharrell: 121
Adam: 117

Christina was the big winner of the Battle Rounds stealing two of Pharrell's strongest singers and managed to pick her strongest singers almost every Battle (she did shed one of her better iTunes compeditors Gabriel Wolfchild for the boring Joe Tolo). Blake was his methodical self taking his five strongest singer even if they were not actually the best in their Battle (both male country singers should have lost their Battles but are more likely to garner votes in the Live Rounds). Though he had one decent Steal, Adam is still the weakest and will need another great Steal in the Knockout Round to compete this season and not come in dead last. Of course this is entirely possible consider Pharrell picks singers based on who needs his help the most not who was best. But who cares what I think, here are how the singers ranked on iTunes at their highest peak over the past two weeks as well as a few Blind Audition still hanging around (although it seemed like less of those reentered the charts then have in past seasons).


1. Noelle Bybee and Sawyer Fredricks (13)
2. India Carney and Clinton Washington (60)
3. Brian Johnson and Joshua Davis (106)
4. Meghan Linsey and Paul Pfau (198)
5. Nathan Hermida (235)
6. Hannah Kirby and Sarah Potenza (246)
7. Saywer Fredricks (249)
8. Ashley Morgan and Mia Z (309)
9. Deanna Johnson (319)
10. Cory Kent White and Jacob Rummel (321)
11. Kimberley Nichole and Lowell Oakley (349)
12. Paul Pfau (411)
13. Cody Wickline (509)
14. Cody Wickline and Matt Snoook (510)
15. Briar Johnson and Caitlin Caporale (672)
16. Caitlin Caporale (725)
17. Jermery Gaynor and Rob Taylor (771)
18. Brenna Yeager and Kelsie May (819)
19. Ameera Delandro and Sonic (841)
20. James McNeiece and Tonya Boyd-Cannon (898)
21. Brooke Adee (961)
22. Travis Ewing (968)
23. Anthony Riley and Travis Ewing (1189)
24. Blaze Johnson and Michael Leier (1206)
25. Barry Minnifield and Jack Gregori (1296)
26. Joshua Davis (1377)
27. Michael Leier (1452)
28. Hannah Kirby (1472)

In previous seasons, this is where I would average the highest peak of the artists Battle and Blind Audition songs to see who is the clear frontrunner after two round (at least on iTunes). It is a little trickier now that they are selling Battle duets with both singers. For instance we are not sure if people bought Stay because of India or because of Clinton or maybe the duet would have outsold indiviual version of the song. It may become clearer after we check the charts when the Knockout Rounds. Until then here is hows each singer ranks when you average their Blind Audition with their Battle duet (for those that did not crack the top 1500 wit one of their songs I asigned them with 1500 and put an asterick by their name):

1. Sawyer Fredricks (19.5)
2. Joshua Davis (109)
3. India Carney (172)
4. Mia Z (284)
5. Meghan Linsey (290)
6. Cody Wickline (291.5)
7. Paul Pfau (304.5)
8. Brian Johnson (329)
9. Sarah Potenza (331)
10. Cory Kent White (372.5)
11. Ashley Morgan (478.5)
12. Lowell Oakley (504.5)
13. Jacob Rummell (530)
14. Travis Ewing (671)
15. Caitlin Caporale (698)
16. Anthony Riley (754)
17. Rob Taylor (775.5)
18. Clinton Washington (780)*
19. Deanna Johnson (799.5)*
20. Blaze Johnson (829)
21. Brooke Adee (828.5)*
22. Hannah Kirby (859)
23. Tonya Boyd-Cannon (864)
24. Nathan Hermida (867.5)*
25. Treeva Gibson (912)*
26. Kimberley Nichole (924)*
27. Kelsey May (942)
28. Barry Minnifield (1154)
29. Sonic (1170.5)*
30. Joe Tolo (1244.5)*
31. Lexi Dávila (1500)**
32. Koryn Hawthorne (1500)**

Wow, Pharrell is really dominating the iTunes charts, stupid decisions and all. Blake is not that far behind (it did not help that Brooke, who was one of the best sellers last round was montaged this round; another frontrunner, Deanna Johnson also lost a lot of steam after the montage treatment). Adam, who used to be the iTunes king, clearly had a really bad Blind Auditions because his top two iTunes composite were his two steals. #19 is the highest ranking singer who was orginally on his team. Christina looks just as bad once you get by India (of course, on this show you only need one). Her next highest is her steal of Ashley.

Prediction time, the preview did not reveal many match ups: Ashley vs. Sonic, Sarah vs. Brian, Meghan vs. Travis, and for the first time in Voice history, a three way Knockout between Sawyer, Mia, and Paul. Here is who I think will be in the Live Playoff, (though not necessarily on the same team on now) ranked by how confident I am that not only will the make it to the next round but how confident they will be one of the final three on their team.

Team Adam
Joshua
Deanna
Tonya
Nathan
(Clearly Adam has no one worth stealing so I gave Pharrell an extra singer because it is more likely he will have multiple singers stolen unless Christina starts making her usual stupid decisions again and she is due)

Team Blake
Sarah
Meghan
Cody
Brooke
Brian (not beating Meghan but Stolen? maybe by Adam)

Team Christina
India
Ashley
Rob
Kimberly (maybe stolen back by Pharrell)
Treeva

Team Pharrell
Sawyer
Mia
Lowell
Hannah
Caitlin (I do not see him keeping her and Mia so maybe she goes to Christina where she probably rather be)
Jacob (I would put Anthony here but he is conspicuously absent in the preview and may be the reason for the three person battle; since Pharrell likes people he can help, no one on his team needs more help than Jacob; either that or Blake takes back Jacob or maybe Hannah for his Steal)

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 3/22/15

Shameless: I was hoping for a Carl / Chucky juvenile spinoff but it looks like we will be getting that on the main show with both being sentenced to hard time. Of course Chucky ended up with the white supremacists while Carl ended up with the hood gang. Elsewhere I really liked the doctor story line, I just wonder how long it will last. On one hand, Frank needs a place to stay, on the other, the last time he took care of a dying women in hopes of being left her estate did not work out very well for him. But then again, nothing really works out for him except for his inability to stay dead.

The Walking Dead: A couple weeks ago I floated out the theory that it was not Rick and company who should be weary of the residents of Alexandria because they always run into evil doers, it should be Alexandria that should be hesitant of the new group. It looks like I am not the only one as the reverend also voiced his concern over Rick. With the death of the congresswoman's son, I am guessing the coup will be coming next week (or at the very least in two weeks for the finale).And poor young Chris Rock, but how do you let one person out power two in the revolving door? And speaking of those two deaths, the camera really lingered way too long on those death scenes.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Bates Motel: So Norman maybe killed the token hot chick already? Bummer. But that was not her in the lake was it, it looked more like a dude, I first thought that was the creepy neighbor.
You can download Bates Motel on iTunes

Community: About a decade ago Arrested Development did everything it could to get a fourth season, they even slipped some in jokes about hoping to being picked up by HBO or Showtime into episodes. But alas, the show could not find a new home. Five years later, DirecTV saved Damages from cancellation opening up a flood gate an now five short years after that no beloved or cult television show is allowed to died because there are so many channels, band streaming sites looking for content. Even horrible shows that everyone hates like The Killing somehow manages a reprieve. Seven years later Arrested Development finally got its fourth season. So it is clear we are now living in an era when no media property will die as long as everyone involved wants it to live on (sorry Friday Night Lights fans, Kyle Chandler has no interest in reviving the series, probably for the best).

So when Community finally got the ax from NBC, the was little question on if it would get its prophetized six seasons a movie, the question would be where would it land. Hulu passed and surprisingly Yahoo! wanted to get in the streaming game. Even more surprising is that the show is basically commercial free and free to watch. I watched the first two episode and they only aired on ad before the first one. As for the content itself, it is still Community even though it is down yet another cast member (Shirley escaped to CBS multicam hell), it did not even relish in the lack of network standards and practices. Like always it is somewhat enjoyable but I really hope that this is it, well plus a movie. But even if this is it, it will probably be revived again in five years or so.
You can watch Community on Yahoo Screen.

Pretty Little Liars: I have been out on this show for a season or two now, but this episode finally pulled me back in with the characters acting like idiots (passing notes in jail with the lawyer calling them out for it; Aria's brother leaving the car after getting hit with an arrow... stay in the car and keep driving you moron, do not leave the car where there is not a windshield to protect you) and other characters just doing things for no apparent reason (Calab just sitting in the dark at the cabin) and a big plot twist: Alison gets convicted followed directly by all the Liars getting arrested. If only they had gone to the police after the first text. An let me predict one more time, a not so dead Mona will turn out to be the next A that will be revealed next week.
You can download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Marvel's Agents of SHIELD: So the big secret Bobbi and Mack have is they are covert operatives for "the real SHIELD." Alrighty. At least they only drug that secret out two episode. Granted if Edward James Olmos is involved, maybe it is the real SHIELD. And let me guess, he is going to want to lock Skye up but over Colson's dead body.
You can download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes

Justified: If you are dumb enough not to assume the evil crime boss lady does not keep a gun in her purse, you definitely deserve to die. The Ava finally tipped her hand and went with Raylan this week, unfortunately for her, Boyd did not get caught red handed as he did not make it through the bottom of the floor. Yeah, it probably was not the best idea to trust the crazy explosion expert.
You can download Justified on iTunes.

The Challenge: Battle of the Exes II: So Sarah has had two of her partners leave prematurely and was sent home too as a result; Leroy had two of his sent home and both times got a replacement partner. This time he got an upgrade right before the finale. Lucky boy. Why not just hand him the prize right then and there (well probably because Sarah ends up winning anyway). But the best part of the show was the After Show with Banana's saying he would never sell out a friend / cut to him selling out Paula. Did he forget all of this was on tape?
You can download The Challenge: Battle of the Exes II on iTunes.

Survivor: White Collar vs. Blue Collar vs. No Collar: Ask and you shall receive, just last week I was complaining about no Reward Challenges and we get two this week. The show flows a lot better with two challenges per episode. Then we had a Tribe Swap which could not have ended better for Blue Collar, a majority on one tribe and a swing vote on the other. Bearded dude brought up it ended up like the swap back in One World but it was also divided by strength back in the Fans vs. Favorites II season also. Maybe it is fixed.
You can download Survivor: White Collar vs. Blue Collar vs. No Collar on iTunes.

The Americans: Wait, is Martha really going to forgive Clark? Even more surprising, how does Clark kill Martha just in case?
You can download The Americans on iTunes.

The Blacklist: Wait, so they just let Tom walk after confessing to killing harbor master just to keep Lizzy out of jail even though the AG guy could have made the whole thing go away anyway? Maybe Tom should have been taken to a black site. I really hope he does not end up joining the team somewhere down the road.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Previewing Aloha Vet

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

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

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

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

Around the Tubes: 3/20/15

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Blues Traveler, Backstrom, Idiotest, It Takes a Church, Deep Web, StarTalk, CPO Sharkey, Broadchurch, Loaded, and VH1 Save The Music Foundation.

- The legendary, Grammy-winning Blues Traveler have just finished recording a highly anticipated new album via Loud & Proud Records, and have turned to direct-to-fan platform PledgeMusic to allow fans to pre-order and interact with the band leading up to the album release. A clever collaboration between various artists, Blow Up The Moon sees Blues Traveler keep an open-minded perspective on making music and enlists an eclectic mix of songwriters. For Blow Up the Moon, featuring "Castaway", the first track premiered, the band collaborated with respected musicians such as Thompson Square, Plain White T's, 3OH!3, Hanson, Jewel, Secondhand Serenade, Dirty Heads & Rome Ramirez (Sublime), JC Chasez (*NSYNC), Bowling for Soup, New Hollow and Thomas Ian Nicholas. Plain White T's, Secondhand Serenade, Thomas Ian Nicholas and Bowling for Soup have also used PledgeMusic to release their music.

- This Saturday, March 21 from 11pm – 2am FX will air the first three episodes of FOX’s new crime series Backstrom. Backstrom stars Rainn Wilson as Det. Lt. Everett Backstrom; Genevieve Angelson as Det. Nicole Gravely; Dennis Haysbert as Det. Sgt. John Almond; Kristoffer Polaha as Sgt. Peter Niedermayer; Page Kennedy as Officer Frank Moto; Beatrice Rosen as Nadia Paquet; Thomas Dekker as Gregory Valentine.

- GSN is dishing out the laughs and plenty of April Fool’s-themed fun for the Season 2 premiere of hit game show Idiotest, on Wednesday, April 1 at 8:00. Comedian Ben Gleib (“Chelsea Lately”) returns as the wildly witty host dishing out even tougher brainteasers to contestants competing for a $10,000 cash prize. Gleib will also play an integral role in the season two premiere which will feature some April Fool’s-related stunts being kept under wraps. The remainder of the season will feature new types of tests and rivalries, as well as a variety of themes amongst the competitors.

- GSN’s hit matchmaking show, It Takes a Church returns for a second season on Thursday, March 26 at 8:00. Each week, It Takes a Church visits a congregation from across the country to surprise one unsuspecting single with the news that they’re about to be saved from the dating world. The church's Pastor will task their congregation of aspiring matchmakers, to find the best possible catch for our dater, but in the end, our single will decide which suitor to put their faith in. The congregant who brought the chosen suitor will make a difference to their church by winning a donation on its behalf.

- Reunited for the first time since working together on the Bill and Ted film franchise, Keanu Reeves joins Alex Winter's documentary Deep Web as the narrator. Y ou can hear Keanu's voice in this NEW Clip explaining what the Deep Web really is! This upcoming documentary premieres at SXSW this Sunday March 15 with a world television premiere following on EPIX in Spring 2015!

- National Geographic Channel took SXSW-goers on a deep dive into outer space last night during a sneak peek presentation of its first-ever late-night talk series StarTalk, where show host and prominent astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) — joining via Skype — answered fan questions and revealed the series premiere date of Monday, April 20, at 11 p.m. ET/10 p.m. CT (with encores each Friday at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT). World-renowned cultural luminaries across science, entertainment and politics, like President Jimmy Carter, Richard Dawkins, Chris Hadfield, Norman Lear, Christopher Nolan, George Takei and others, were announced as guests.

- This May, the TV DVD archivists at Time Life invite home audiences to enlist for high seas hilarity and military madness with a never-before-released television classic: CPO Sharkey: The Complete First Season. Previously unavailable on any format, the '70s-era sitcom was a showcase for iconic comedian Don Rickles, who played U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Otto Sharkey, an abrasive, sharp-tongued veteran in charge of a company of new seaman recruits on a San Diego naval base. Setting sail on May 19 and sure to thrill any fan of classic comedy or television, the 3-disc set ($29.95srp) will feature all 15 30-minute long episodes from Season One, along with a special Johnny Carson clip from "The Tonight Show".

- Called "a bona fide national obsession", the critically acclaimed second season of the top-rated British mystery series Broadchurch returned to the U.S. airwaves this March on BBC America. And on May 19, mystery buffs, TV DVD aficionados and anglophiles are invited to return to the stunning Dorset coastal town of Broadchurch for more mystery, heightened drama, and taut thrills with Broadchrurch: The Complete Second Season, a 2-disc DVD set from Entertainment One.

- It’s a different kind of road trip in Loaded, starring Patrick John Flueger (Chicago P.D., Brothers, Scoundrels), Kumail Nanjiani (HBO’s Silicon Valley, which returns for season 2 on April 12, and co-host of Comedy Central’s The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail), Andrew W. Walker (Wedding Planner Mystery, Against the Wall) and Alexandra Holden (In a World…, Rizzoli & Isles), when two estranged friends come together under the pretense of moving a third back home, who desperately needs an intervention. The unexpected reunion turns bitter at times, as past wounds are revealed, and they’re forced to confront the choices they made leading to the current direction of their lives. Stranded overnight, the strain comes to a head in an explosive night of drinking and purging. Set along the California freeways, Loaded takes the audience on a funny, but prickly trip in which lost friendships are found again. The journey will change each of them, and their lives will–hopefully–never be the same.

- This week, Ian Axel and Chad Vaccarino, members of the songwriting duo A Great Big World, joined forces with the VH1 Save The Music Foundation to announce their participation in the second annual Keys + Kids initiative open to K-12 public schools. The program was created in response to the growing need for high-quality, functional pianos in schools, and to provide students with an opportunity to have their school be an environment where their talent can shine. Beginning March 16th and through April 17th, interested K – 12 public schools can submit their application at h1savethemusic.org/keyskids to receive one of ten packages valued at $10,000.  Each grant includes a Kawai piano to support their music and arts program. A Committee made up of members of the Foundation’s Board of Directors, VH1 Senior Staff and patrons of the Keys + Kids Leadership Circle will judge applications. Grant winners will be announced on the Foundation’s website on May 20, 2015. For more information, contest rules or to see how you can get involved please visit www.vh1savethemusic.org.

Previewing Barely Famous and Walk of Shame Shuttle

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 3/15/15

Once Upon a Time: So Snow White had something to do with Malicifant losing her baby and she had something to do with Cora's death... are we sure he is really pure at heart?
You can download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Shameless: Considering all the horrible things Frank has done, I am not sure this tops the list, but getting your grandson arrested by selling out your son at the same time is pretty high on the list. I have long advocated for a Justified spinoff starring Dewey and Dicky in prison, but a Shameless spinoff with Chucky and Uncle Carl in prison may just be as entertaining.

House of Lies: As soon as Clyde hooked up with Kelsey after Doug got there first last week my first thought was, oh no, we are going to have to sit though a threesome of them. Kelsey quickly brought it up shortly afterwards, joking or not, but I really fear they will go through with it. You know Doug will have no qualms about it, no will Clyde just talk himself into it.

Revenge: So the chick from Firefly is Victoria's ex-mother-in-law... What? It is really time for this show to end.
You can download Revenge on iTunes.

The Returned: As I teased in my preview, the sisters turning out be twins was extremely freaky. Twins are kind of freaky on their own but this takes it to another level. And to tease upcoming episodes, their twin connection get only more freaky in upcoming episodes. I did not get to bring it up in the preview, so just let me now point out just how wrong having sex with a "psychic" to connect with your daughter is. And if you are a fake physic, why add they sex part to it?
You can download The Returned on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: I was expecting the trial to be a little more explosive than that. Sure it came out that Mama Marrin hooked up with Jason and the prosecutor theorized that Alison was never kidnapped without any actual proof. Hopefully they are much more fireworks in the season finale which promises another "A" reveal which I think with be the fifth in the show's history. Let me go and predict a not so dead Mona is pulling the strings.
You can download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Marvel's Agents of SHIELD: If ABC decides not to bring Agent Carter back, they should definitely go with a Lady Sif spin-off for a mid season filler for SHIELD. Or even better, cut SHIELD to ten episodes, then ten of Agent Carter and Lad Sif.
You can download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes

Switched at Birth: Whoa, Bay, of course Emmett is going to break up with you when you go all crazy girlfriend on him, interrupting his movie not once but twice. But very smooth for Emmett to pull they maybe we can hook back up after college if I cannot find anything better while I am here ploy. Has that actually ever worked for anyone?
You can download Switched At Birth on iTunes.

Justified: What a weird ending to the episode as Raylan gets Shakespearean with his father in his old hiding space which turned out to be as empty as Al Capone's vault. Just a weird departure for a show with about a month left before going off the air.
You can download Justified on iTunes.

The Challenge: Battle of the Exes II: At the beginning of the season TJ asked Nany which of the guys was going to be her partner and she mentioned it could have well been half of them. For the inevitable next Rivals season, there are just as many possibilities and it looks like you can add Nia and Sarah to that list. Of course Sarah made the right decision, you eliminate a strong team right before the finals. If Bananas or Leroy think they deserve to be in the finals, they should have won the last challenge, and they definitely should not have lost it.
You can download The Challenge: Battle of the Exes II on iTunes.

Survivor: White Collar vs. Blue Collar vs. No Collar: zit seems like I say this every season, but the show really needs to bring back the Reward Challenge, with only one challenge per episode we get way too much filler, like watching monkeys having sex.
You can download Survivor: White Collar vs. Blue Collar vs. No Collar on iTunes.

Hindsight: So Lolly, who was okay with Becca hooking up Kevin, now thinks its is an unforgivable act because a Lolly in another timeline shunned future Becca for it. Chicks, man, chicks. What a depressing way to end a season, Becca pretty much screwed everything up, her future husband ended up marrying someone else, her brother, and possibly father, are going to jail, she ruined her friendship with Lolly a whole decade earlier. Really, they only one whose life improved was her ex-husband who managed to sell some paintings. Then the ending was pretty vague, clearly she went into the elevator hoping to be transported back to current day. The musical cue of Numb would have us to believe that there was some time traveling involving involved but I would be surprised if she ends up back in 2015. Of course I would be more surprised if there is a second two. But if there is I would guess Becca wakes up in a different year, maybe 2005. The Killers! Jack Johnson!! Gorillaz!!! A sane Kanye West!!!! Sure I'd watch that.
You can download Hindsight on iTunes.

The Americans: This is beginning to be one of those show where the promos are more entertaining than the actual show. Last week they made it seem like Martha was going to confront Clarke, this week she realized that the spying equipment was inadvertently brought in by her, but she never ended up confronting Clarke about it. And wasn't Paige supposed to confront her parents this week? Are they really going to drag this out for the rest of the season?
You can download The Americans on iTunes.

The Blacklist: Odd to have a glorified clip show at this point in the second season. And did we really learn that it was Red who hired Tom to get close to Lizzy instead of Berlin like we were told earlier? I guess that is why that interaction they had before Tom disappeared was weird.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

King of the Nerds: Finally, at long last, gender equality has become a reality now that a dude has actually been crowned King of the Nerds for the very first time. I was rooting for Kaitlyn, but it is hard to justify having a King of the Nerds be someone who works with NASA and cannot get a sun question right that even I guessed correctly.
You can download King of the Nerds on iTunes.

Around the Tubes: 3/13/15

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Happyish, Epix, Boash, Tubi TV, Killing Jesus, iHeartMusic Radio Music Awards, Knock Knock, It's Tig Notaro, The Ed Sullivan Show, Undateable, Last Comic Standing, and Sharknado 3.

- Showtime recently released a trailer for new show Happyish. To view the trailer, go to sho.com.

- EPIX is planning an all-day Friday the 13th movie marathon, so get ready to celebrate the many lives of Jason Voorhees (and his camp counselor victims) today! Please click here for a schedule of the movie marathon.

- This week, Audible Studios released Bosch: Behind the Scenes, the official podcast of the critically acclaimed Amazon Original series about LAPD homicide detective Harry Bosch – based on Michael Connelly’s bestselling novels. The interview show will provide listeners with exclusive, behind-the-scenes scoop on the show! The first two episodes will launch for free tomorrow, with subsequent episodes going on sale every week in March.

- Tubi TV boasts the largest collection of free streaming television and movies. Now, the leading free video streaming service has announced a new deal with Paramount Pictures to bring more than 50 classic feature films to the Tubi TV catalog – all available to watch completely for free. Movie buffs and film fanatics will go crazy over the abundance of fan favorites including hit blockbuster titles such as Top Gun, Basic Instinct, Total Recall and more. Horror fans will be pleased to find the entire Friday the 13th film series, Stephen King favorites and Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh, among others. Tubi TV is available completely for free, worldwide on tubitv.com, iTunes, Google Play and streaming devices including Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Xbox 360.

- National Geographic Channel today launched the second-screen experience for the upcoming three-hour television event Killing Jesus, one of the network’s most ambitious digital undertakings ever. Available now at natgeotv.com/killingjesus, and designed in collaboration with digital agency Mullen, the site builds on the story depicted in the film by providing an interactive, multi-point-of-view experience.

- The biggest names in entertainment will bring the music of the iHeartRadio app to life on Sunday, March 29 for the second edition of the iHeartRadio Music Awards hosted by Oscar and Grammy award winning actor and musician Jamie Foxx. The event will air live on NBC from 8:00 from the historic Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles and will be broadcast simultaneously on iHeartMedia stations nationwide and across the iHeartRadio digital music platform. The three hour telecast will truly reflect America’s favorite music and will showcase the year’s most popular artists and songs determined by the iHeartRadio Chart and fan voting through iHeartRadio stations nationwide. The evening will include performances by Rihanna, Iggy Azalea, Sam Smith, Madonna, Jason Aldean, Jamie Foxx, Meghan Trainor, Jason Derulo, Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson, Snoop Dogg, Nate Ruess, Alesso and Florida Georgia Line along with appearances from Taylor Swift and more. This year’s iHeartRadio Music Awards will also feature unexpected collaborations from some of the top names in music.

- The Showtime documentary Knock Knock, It's Tig Notaro, focused on the famed comedian, will premiere on Friday, April 17 at 9:00, following its debut at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival on Monday, March 16. The film follows Notaro’s travels as she embraces her most loyal fans by creating unique and intimate comedy experiences in their homes, backyards, barns, and basements.

- No one had a better eye for talent than Ed Sullivan. That simple fact was confirmed by the broad range of incredible acts he brought into America's living rooms from his Broadway stage between 1948 and 1971 on the greatest, longest-running prime timevariety show in the history of television. This May, StarVista Entertainment/Time Life will bring home audiences front row seats for The Best of the Ed Sullivan Show, a 6-disc collector's set never before available at retail. Priced to add to every TV aficionado's collection at $59.95srp, the special edition release delivers the biggest names in music, comedy and variety captured in the prime of their careers, as well as all the astonishing novelty acts selected by Ed as his personal favorites, culled from over 1,000 hours of classic television!

- Newest cast member Bridgit Mendler leads her Undateable co-stars in an original video.


- It was announced earlier that Norm Macdonald will be joining Last Comic Standing this summer as a judge, alongside current judges and comedy icons Roseanne Barr and Keenen Ivory Wayans. Anthony Jeselnik will join the fun as the new host of the season as well.

- TBS is giving longtime Daily Show correspondent Samantha Bee her own show. Hot on the heels of announcing a new scripted comedy series created and executive produced by Bee and her husband, Jason Jones, TBS is cementing its relationship with the prolific couple even further. The new show, which is in the early stages of development, is being planned as a platform for Bee to apply her smart and satirical point of view to current and relevant issues. In addition to hosting, Bee will serve as executive producer on the show, along with Jones. The series is being produced by TBS.

- David Hasselhoff (Baywatch) will trade his red swimming trunks for a chainsaw when he portrays Gilbert Sheperd, the father of Fin (Ian Ziering), in the eagerly anticipated Original Movie Sharknado 3, Syfy and The Asylum announced this week.

I Want My Music Television: 3/12/15

Dearly Departed - Shakey Graves featuring Esmé Patterson


This song was one of my favorite songs of last year (it made the top fifteen on my list of the 100 Best Songs of 2015) and Shakey Graves has finally released a music video for the song which looks like it would make an awesome pitch for a Dead Like Me reboot (which he could actually star in as he played The Swede on Friday Night Lights). The video also answers the question, whatever happened to Schuyler Fisk? Orange County should have been her and Colin Hank's big break, but he ended up not being the next his father while she completely dropped off the map. Of course this means she would be available for my proposed Dead Like Me reboot.

Somebody New - Hozier


Why exactly did Hozier cast the hot chick from Game of Thrones to make out with everyone in his music video except him? That is rock star 101: 1) get a hit song, 2) cast hot chicks to make out with you in your music videos. Considering he is on One Hit Wonder watch (of which this song will not get him out of), this was a really bad missed opportunity.

I Really Like You - Carly Rae Jepsen


Speaking of One Hit Wonder watch (and Tom Hank!!!), Carly Rae Jepsen is a trick case because you can argue that she had a second hit in Good Time, but that was technically an Own City, she was just featured. Using that logic, you could call Trey Lorenz a one hit wonder, which no one does. I really do not seeing this song making that argument moot because it comes across as a cheap and blatant attempt to make a more romantic version of We Are Never Ever, Ever, Ever, Ever Getting Back Together, unless of course the video goes viral because who does not want to see Tom Hanks dance over and over again? Mmmm, that may actually work, curse you Carly Rae.

I Want You To Know - Zedd featuring Selena Gomez


Remember a couple years ago when someone caught Ryan Tedder giving Beyoncé, Kelly Clarkson, and a couple other singers the exact same backing track? Are we sure Zedd is not doing the same thing because every single one of his songs sound the same, the only thing that changes are the singers. Really, pretty much all the EDM-pop hybrids sound exactly the same, Zedd and Calvin Harris could very well be the exact same person but since they hide behind DJ tables, no one bothered to check. I would not be surprised if we learn that Calvin created Zedd so he could be at two shows at once so he could get double the money.

The Voice Season Eight Blind Auditions Power Rankings

It seems to me The Voice has been on a downward slide ever since season three. Sure season seven was a bit better since it was the first time in two seasons I made it to the live shows without giving up, but it was still pretty underwhelming making me consider giving up on the show all together. My biggest problem was that in the first three seasons the show recruited professional singer, be it Warped Tour singers or Alicia Keys backup singers. But around season four, the show started slowly morphing into the amateur show that made American Idol unwatchable. Where there were over ten singers from the first three season I already had music of in my library before they appeared on the show, only one singer has since.

I actually became hopeful for season eight when Jason Isbell, formally of The Drive-By Truckers of which I own a couple of songs by, mentioned on social media that the show invited him to a private audition. By his tone it sounded like we would not see him singing solo vocal and French horn rendition of Oh Comely by Neutral Milk Hotel to the back of four chairs anytime soon which he said he would do in a bikini (the guy's last album, which swept the Americana Music Awards, did better than every Voice winner's album except Cassadee Pope's) but it gave hope that they show will go back to recruiting professionals again.

Alas as we close out the Blind Audition the only recognizable names this season were someone who was in the somewhat successful Steel Magnolia country duo who once toured with Blake (one of their songs did find its way into my library) and someone who Carson claimed to be part of "the legendary DeBarge family" but it turned out she married into the family (on the flip side, there seemed to be even more teenagers than usual). The latter was montaged despite doing a Jill Scott song, a first on the show by the former (and arguably the best) adviser to the show. I am usually the pro montage guy but this season they skipped over a couple auditions I actually wanted to see (and there were a lot of montages as they cut the Blind Auditions by one hour this season for no apparent reason; hopefully the Battle Round gets cut too, I would much rather have less Battles than Blind Auditions). Aside from the first time anyone sang a Jill Scott song on the show, we also only got snippets of the first time for Jane's Addiction, Arctic Monkeys, Vampire Weekend (this show really hates alt-rock apparently), and Anna Nalick. But hey, at least They also montaged a Sam Smith song after using what seemed to be his entire catalouge last season.

Oh well. I do not know how long I will stick this season out because no one really overwhelmed me with their audition, but here is how I rank this year's contestants on their first impressions.

1. India Carney (Team Christina)
2. Deanna Johnson (Team Adam)
3. Brooke Adee(Team Blake)
4. Ashley Morgan (Team Pharrell)
5. Treeva Gibson (Team Christina)
6. Meghan Linsey (Team Pharrell)
7. Jack Gregori (Team Adam)
8. Anthony Riley (Team Pharrell)
9. Brenna Yaeger (Team Blake)
10. Kimberly Nichole (Team Pharrell)
11. Rob Taylor (Team Christina)
12. Brian Johnson (Team Blake)
13. Gabriel Wolfchild (Team Christina)
14. Jeremy Gaynor (Team Christina)
15. Tonya Boyd-Cannon (Team Adam)
16. Noelle Bybee (Team Pharrell)
17. Mia Z (Team Pharrell)
18. Koryn Hawthorne (Team Christina)
19. Barry Minniefield (Team Adam)
20. Joshua Davis (Team Blake)
21. Nathan Hermida (Team Adam)
22. Sarah Potenza (Team Blake)
23. Katelyn Read (Team Christina)
24. Briar Jonnee (Team Pharrell)
25. Kelsie May (Team Blake)
26. Sawyer Fredericks (Team Pharrell)
27. Bren'nae DeBarge (Team Adam)
28. Caitlin Caporale (Team Pharrell)
29. Hannah Kirby (Team Blake)
30. Cody Wickline (Team Blake)
31. Corey Kent White (Team Blake)
32. Lexi Dávila (Team Adam)
33. Nicolette Maré (Team Adam)
34. Paul Pfau (Team Pharrell)
35. Michael Leier (Team Adam)
36. Joe Tolo (Team Christina)
37. Blaze Johnson (Team Adam)
38. Sonic (Team Christina)
39. Travis Ewing (Team Pharrell)
40. Vance Smith (Team Christina)
41. Bay Brooks (Team Blake)
42. Jacob Rummell (Team Blake)
43. Lowell Oakley (Team Pharrell)
44. Ameera Delandro (Team Christina)
45. James McNeiece (Team Adam)
46. Clinton Washington (Team Christina)
47. Josh Batstone (Team Adam)
48. Matt Snook (Team Blake)

For reason unknown to any reasonable person, The Voice shaved the Blind Auditions by an hour leading to an awkward Best of the Blinds recap before the Blinds were actually over last week and an episode that had both Blind Auditions and Battles last night. I was hoping they would also cut the Battle Round by an hour or two but if the TV Guide is to believe, there will be six hours worth of Battles this season just like last with three Battles per hour like last season. Seriously, if you are going to cut a pre-taped round, it should be the Battles. Or at the very least go back to four Battles per hour. But anyway. Below is how strong the teams were not considering what happened in the second hour by assigning a reverse order to each singer and adding up each team from my ranking.

Pharrell - 333
Christina - 299
Blake - 276
Adam - 268

So Pharrell easily has the best team (granted he lost one of his best last night; I actually though two of the three winners should have been picked by their coaches; but they were both stolen anyway) Adam, who the producers what us to think he had a hard time recruiting anyone to his team in the first episode yet filled his team first, is pulling up the rear. Of course this may have been a correct narrative since Deanna was really the only marquee battle he was able to convince to join his team. But for a coach who seems to only care about one of his singers per season (the guy openly admitted in an interview to sabotaging his team back in season one to make it easier for Javier Colon to make the finals), one good singer is all he really needs.

But who cares what I think, here is how this season's contestants ranked on iTunes.

1. Sawyer Fredericks (26)
2. Cody Wickline (73)
3. Deanna Johnson (99)
4. Joshua Davis (112)
5. Travis Ewing (153)
6. Brooke Adee (157)
7. Mia Z (259)
8. India Carney (284)
9. Michael Leier (310)
10. Anthony Riley (319)
11. Treeva Gibson (325)
12. Meghan Linsey (382)
13. Nathan Hermida (403)
14. Sarah Potenza (416)
15. Cory Kent White (424)
16. Blaze Johnson (452)
17. Jeremy Gaynor (484)
18. Gabriel Wolfchild (494)
19. Brenna Yaeger (530)
20. Brian Johnson (552)
21. Josh Batstone (544)
22. Ashley Morgan (648)
23. Lowell Oakley (660)
24. Paul Pfau (682)
25. Jacob Rummell (739)
26. Rob Taylor (780)
27. Tonya Boyd-Cannon (830)
28. Joe Tolo (989)
29. Barry Minniefield (1012)
30. Kelsie May (1065)
31. Caitlin Caporale (1081)
32. Matt Snook (1225)
33. Jack Gregori (1224)
34. Bay Brooks (1465)

If you use the methodology I did above, here is how the team stack up on iTunes:

Team Blake - 184
Team Pharrell - 170
Team Adam - 129
Team Christina - 202

Thanks to only have one member of his team missing iTunes (even his two montaged contestants even made it on the list; the one that missed, Hanna performed last night so she may actually squeak on after this post goes up) he tops everyone. Poor Christina, half of her team did not even crack the top 1500 so if she does not chose wisely in the next two rounds, she could finish last for four of her five seasons.  Will she actually be smart enough for once to take singers who are iTunes bait like Treeva and Gabriel, two of her three best performers on iTunes, to the Live Shows or will again stack her team with mini-Christina's like Sonic and Koryn who will likely make quick exits like she usually does?


Alright, lets get to prediction time, here who I think will reach the Live Shows this season (though not on necessarily on the team they are currently on) ranked on how confidant I am with the singer advancing that far.

Team Adam
Deanna Johnson
Tonya Boyd-Cannon
Jack Gregori
Nathan Hermida
Joshua Davis

Team Blake
Cody Wickline
Brooke Adee
Sarah Potenza
Brian Johnson
Brenna Yeager

Team Christina
India Carney
Gabriel Wolfchild
Ashley Morgan
Rob Taylor
Treeva Gibson

Team Pharrell
Sawyer Fredericks
Meghan Linsey
Anthony Riley
Mia Z
Caitlin Caporale

I stuck with five per team, but I have feeling as many as eight singers who started out on Pharrell's team make it to the Live Shows with as little as three of original Team Adam members make it (I can also see Adam stealing Paul and taking him to the Lives with Josh and maybe even a third Steal). I was not bold enough to predict a montage contestant to advance even though there were an overabundance of them this year. If I were brave enough I would think about picking Noelle Bybee but only if she gets stolen because I highly doubt she beats Sawyer who got the pimpiest of all pimp slots, closing the first episode. But if she would get stolen it would probably be by Blake who would probably just use her as Knockout Round fodder.

Previewing The Returned

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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