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 Twin Peaks, Guerrilla, Little Steven, Brian Wilson, Maggie Rogers, 45th AFI Life Achievement Award Tribute to Diane Keaton, and SMILF.
- Showtime has released a new video teaser from the limited event series Twin Peaks, which will debut with a two-part premiere on Sunday, May 21 at 9:00 on air, on demand and over the internet. To watch and share the new Twin Peaks promo, which reveals a glimpse at some new and returning faces.
- The critically acclaimed SHOWTIME limited event series Guerrilla will air its final two episodes back-to-back on Sunday, May 14 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on air, on demand and over the internet. As the series comes to a close, Marcus (Babou Ceesay) and Jas (Screen Actors Guild Award® winner Freida Pinto) are tested in the wake of tragic loss. Meanwhile, Kent’s (Golden Globe® winner Idris Elba) actions have a disastrous effect on the black community, while the Black Power Desk launches a reign of terror. Infighting threatens to split the radicals, throwing their final mission into jeopardy. Can they come together in time?
- Little Steven shares his new song "Love On The Wrong Side Of Town," co-written with Bruce Springsteen, from his eagerly anticipated new album, SOULFIRE (Wicked Cool/Big Machine/UMe). "Love On The Wrong Side Of Town" is the third song the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has released from the album set to arrive everywhere on Friday, May 19th. Entertainment Weekly premiered the song last week. Pre-order SOULFIRE here.
- With one of the most in-demand concert outings the last year music legend Brian Wilson is once again extending the final performance run of his critically-acclaimed Pet Sounds 50TH Anniversary World Tour and announcing a slate of new UK, European and North American show dates for 2017 to celebrate the iconic Pet Sounds album for a final time. Currently on tour now in the US, additional performances will be added in Hawaii, UK and Europe this summer, and again in the summer with 22 new dates overseas and 20+ new fall dates added in the U.S. VIP ticket pre-sales begin today with general on-sale beginning Friday May 12. A full list of tour dates is below with up-to-date ticketing, show information and more at BrianWilson.com.
- Maggie Rogers: Alaska on Late Night with Seth Myers
- Following the 45th AFI Life Achievement Award Tribute to Diane Keaton on June 8 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Turner's TNT will televise the celebration as a one-hour special, AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Diane Keaton, premiering Thursday, June 15, at 10:00. Sister network Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will then encore the special on Monday, July 31, during a night of programming dedicated to Keaton's work. This marks the fifth year the Emmy®-winning AFI special has aired on Turner networks.
- Showtime has announced the pick-up of the new half-hour comedy series SMILF from Frankie Shaw, based on her Sundance Film Festival Jury Award-winning short film of the same name. The series order will include 10 episodes that will begin airing this fall. Set in Boston, SMILF will take a raw and honest comedic look at a single, 20-something from Southie whose desires for relationships, sex, and a career collide with the realities of young, single motherhood. Shaw will star, write, produce and direct the semi-autobiographical comedy, with Oscar® nominee Michael London (Sideways) and Emmy® nominees Janice Williams (Confirmation), Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky (The Office, Bad Teacher) executive producing. Multiple Emmy winner Rosie O’Donnell will co-star in her first series regular TV role as “Tutu”, Bridgette’s (Shaw) mother, who is completely oblivious to social convention. The series is produced by ABC Signature Studios as a co-production with Showtime.
Billions: “We didn’t have computers.” God bless Dollar Bill. But usually much of the money stuff goes over my head, but I think I actually followed what happened this week. Well mostly because it in involved old school sabotage with Axe bribing people to get sick on the new product Chuck invested in. But what I do not understand is does Chuck want Axe so bad he was willing to lose his entire trust (along with his father and buddy’s savings too) or does he have a plan for that? Did he know Wendy would bet against him? I am thinking she may go down with Axe on this. I do hope Axe does go down for this and we get a season on his trail because I am not sure if they can continue to do this cat and mouse game between Axe and Chuck for very much longer.
Into the Badlands: I hate dream sequences. The only thing worse than dream sequences are dream sequences with bad Japanese horror rip offs.
You can download Into the Badlands on iTunes.
Gotham: Wasn’t Poison Ivy a sex pot earlier this season? Now she is back to acting like a tn year old. Her scenes were just really weird.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.
Supergirl: Can we please get rid of the lady cop for next season please? She is ruining the show worse than Mon-El.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.
Harlots: “You always tell mama the truth in the end.” Wait, was that literal? Or was that just an allusion what Mrs. Wells just used to work for her. But poor Lucy, she was just not made for this profession. When does she just run away?
You can stream Harlots on Hulu.
The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions: A two part finale after last week they basically just wasted an hour on nothing? Ugg, I have been waiting for the season to be over for about a month now.
You can download The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions on iTunes.
The Americans: Oh hey, Martha still exists. When they shipped her off to Russia I figured she would have a Nina type storyline but I do not think we have seen her since. And after kicking out Gabriel I wonder if we will ever see her again after this.
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: So they just left Mac in the Framework? Um, how about forcing him into the back door? Or just lie to him that his daughter was still alive. If he forgot his daughter was no longer around in the framework, maybe he will not remember anything in the framework when he is out. Won’t he die when they shut down the framework, or is just going to be in a state of animation for the rest of his life? Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.
The Handmaid’s Tale: So now we know the reason behind the creepy Ceremony Night, granted it does not make it any less creepy. Also creepy, how these people do not even let the doctors see the faces of the patients when they treat them. Not that it stopped Donnie from Orphan Black from looking. Always a weido that guy. But what happened to Rory Gilmore? I thought maybe she would be back to great Offred at the end of the episode to great her like before. Is her storyline over or will she be back in her house eventually?
Survivor: Game Changers: Last week a calm came over me when Sierra said it was time for Andrea to go, but nothing is more calming than Andrea actually winning Immunity. Then I can just sit back and enjoy the show. And what a weird show. When they did not show Andrea vote for Zeke, giver her hope to see you never speech a second try, I figure, oh, Sarah won the argument and the six is voting for Sierra. Then Tai got a couple. Then Zeke got a couple. Then Probst told Zeke the tribe had spoken leaving me to wonder just how did that vote go down?
So the six minus Zeke voted for Zeke but the bizarre thing was the four (plus Zeke) voted for each other. Andrea has never gotten her just due, but that was just a masterclass of Survivor. She wins Immunity, gets her alliance to turn on the person who tried to turn on her two episodes ago, and got the opposing alliance to turn on each other.
It will be a shame if Brad, Sierra, Tai, or Troyzan win this season because that was just embarrassing this week; I am talking near ice crème scooper level of bad play. Seriously, you four have three Idols amongst you and at the very least think you know who the other alliance is voting for. If Brad, Sierra, and Troyzan just tell Tai he is being targeted, or Tai tells them he was told to vote for Sierra, they could have figured out how to ply their Idols correctly. I bet Tai would have played his Idol and maybe even given the other to Sierra just in case had they just talked to each other. Now Tai and his Idols may be a free agent for the other alliance. Now if only Andrea can convince Tai to give her one ice crème scooper style.
You can download Survivor: Game Changers on iTunes.
Blindplot: I understand going undercover, but I do not see why not letting the prison staff know what is up. Certainly that would have been beneficial during the breakout.
You can download Blindspot on iTunes.
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 Twin Peaks, Power, Emogenius, Becoming Carey Grant, The Putin Interviews, America's Secret Space Heroes, Tony Lucca, Alisan Porter, Karoondinha Music & Arts Festival, Freakish, and The Looming Tower.
- Showtime has released a new promo from the limited event series Twin Peaks, which will debut with a two-part premiere on Sunday, May 21 at 9:00 on air, on demand and over the internet.
- Starz announced the highly-anticipated Season Four return of the #1 hit STARZ Original series Power on Sunday, June 25, starting at 12:01 am on the STARZ app and On Demand. The network on-air premiere will be at its regularly scheduled time of 9:00 pm ET/PT. Season Four of “Power” will consist 10 one-hour episodes.
- GSN, the leader in game shows and competitive entertainment, announced today the premiere of its newest game show, Emogenius, hosted by Hunter March (AwesomenessTV). The show debuts Wednesday, June 7 at 9:00pm ET/PT (8pm CT) with back-to-back episodes.
- Showtime Documentary Films will debut the new documentary Becoming Carey Grant, a definitive biography of the extraordinary Hollywood icon, at the Cannes Film Festival. Following the festival, the film will have its world television debut on Showtime on Friday, June 9 at 9:00 on air, on demand and over the internet. Directed by Mark Kidel (Elvis Costello: Mystery Dance, A Journey With Peter Sellars), the captivating biopic reveals Cary Grant’s inner search to find himself at the height of his fame.
- – Showtime Documentary Films will release The Putin Interviews, a revealing series of interviews between renowned filmmaker Oliver Stone and Vladimir Putin, the Russian president who has reemerged as the central antagonist and wild card to the United States on the world stage. The Putin Interviews will have its world television premiere on SHOWTIME over four consecutive nights starting on Monday, June 12 at 9:00.
- America’s conquest of space may be our nation’s finest moment. But behind the faces of fearless astronauts like John Glenn and Buzz Aldrin and a crusading president stood an army of unsung heroes and heroines: the engineers, mathematicians, designers and technicians who actually built the machines that put humanity in space. AMERICA’S SECRET SPACE HEROES unearths the untold stories of the space program – from the men and woman who created everything from the Saturn V moon rocket to the first successful Mars lander. America's Secret Space Heroes premieres on Smithsonian Channel on Sunday, May 14 at 9:00.
- Nashville-based singer-songwriter Tony Lucca has confirmed a residency in Nashville this summer with a series of four free shows at The Country (110 28th Avenue North, Nashville) on June 28th (8 p.m.), July 27th (6 p.m.), August 23rd (8 p.m.), and September 6th (8 p.m.). Billed as “Tony Lucca and Friends,” the residency is an opportunity for Lucca to work on some new material for a forthcoming album in a live setting. “I plan on getting into the studio at some point this year for a new record, so I will be utilizing the shows to work out some new material and putting songs up on their feet for the first time in front of an audience,” says Lucca. “That environment can be extremely helpful and constructive. And hopefully entertaining.”
- Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, and history-making Season 10 victor of NBC's The Voice Alisan Porter released her brand new single "Deep Water" at all digital retailers, now trending on iTunes at number 18. Available now on iTunes and Spotify. On Tuesday May 2, she made her triumphant return to NBC's The Voice for the song's very first television performance. Watch her perform her new single HERE now.
- wk Eye Presents, LLC announces its full artist lineup for the first annual Karoondinha Music & Arts Festival {pronounced ka-roon-din-ha} to take place on Friday, July 21, Saturday, July 22, and Sunday, July 23, 2017, with a kick-off party on Thursday, July 20th at Penn’s Cave & Wildlife Park, America’s only all-water cavern and wildlife park in Centre Hall, PA. Set on 1,600 unspoiled acres of rolling hills and rich farmland, the festival site, the largest in the northeast, boasts acres of sunflowers, world-class trout fishing, off-road tours, native North American wildlife, including mountain lions, wolves, bison, bears, longhorn cattle, bighorn sheep and more.
- Hulu and AwesomenessTV announced this week that Freakish will be returning for a second season.
- Hulu announced this week that Alec Baldwin has been cast as a guest star in Hulu's original new drama series The Looming Tower.
Haim put out one of the best debut albums this decade, an indie pop band that was heavily influenced but nineties rock and RnB. So I have been eagerly anticipating the follow up but the first single is kind of boring. And why even get Paul Thomas Anderson to direct if you are just going to record a studio video? Hopefully there are better things to come.
Does that make me less racist that I did not know what DNA stands for? Though I do not understand how a lie detector can make Don Cheadle channel Kendrick Lamar. Art, I guess.
Paramore have always been a power-pop band but a lot of songs on their last album lost that “power” part of their sound. This just sounds like something that come out of the new wave eighties, and visuals to match. But much like their power pop days, this is mostly mediocre.
Total Entertainment Forever - John Mayer Misty
I know Father John Misty is making some comment on pop culture with his new album, but it is getting harder and harder to enjoy his stuff anymore. Mackuly Culkin as Kurt Cobain? Pass.
Once Upon a Time: Um, so what happened to the Tin Man? How about now that the Wicked Witch has drained her magic into that heart you give it to the Tin Man?
You can download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.
Billions: Oh yeah, Chuck is into kinky stuff. I thought it was finally going to catch up with him but he stole the laptop himself. And syncing up “My hands are tied” to him and Wendy reuniting was a little too on the nose. And I have a feeling Taylor with have a change of conscious before the end of the season.
Gotham: So the Riddler has finally gone full green. Um, yeah? But of course the Penguin did not die, the only question would be how he would return. Um, Poison Ivy fished him out of the river? Alright. I guess maybe they will finally give her something to do.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.
Supergirl: Thank goodness Kara got her job back, blogger just seemed like a horrible cover for a Superhero.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.
The Voice: I hate Adam, sure Shakira and Gwen are worse coaches but Adam does plenty of head scratching things. One thing he does almost every season and every time he does it it backfires miserably is that he almost always gives a Battle Round pairing a song by the mentor and it always suck. Every time but twice since season four. That is seven times and never has any of these Battles ended in a Steal. So why the fork does he give Lilli Passero a Shania Twain song other than she was the mentor this week? And more importantly, why did he give Lilli that song? Maybe had he given her You’re Still the One or You’ve Got a Way that could have worked with Lilli’s style. Instead Adam’s inner dialogue said, “Lilli’s sassy, this song is sassy… gold!” Seriously I hate Adam. But by some miraculous event, America took pity on Lilli, be it the horrendous song choice or she was rushed to urgent care earlier that week and still seemed out of it after her performance. So hopefully Lilli is back at one hundred percent this week and Adam does not give her a G-Eazy song.
Bates Motel: Wait, what just happened? Did they really kill of Norman Bates well before he was supposed to? I believe in artistic licenses, but it is weird to build this as a prequel to the movie and then kill him before he gets there.
You can download Bates Motel on iTunes.
Harlots: Awesome, the goat is still around. But poor Emily, she just cannot find a place anywhere. But what actually does she do now, start her own house? Then you have Charlotte and her relationship just get weirder by the episode.
You can stream Harlots on Hulu.
The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions: So they finish the Men’s challenge in five minutes, announced these are your finalists, but did not actually start the Final Challenge until about five minutes before the credits. Then in between all we got was fifty minutes of filler. Why not run the final this week instead of wasting my time?
You can download The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions on iTunes.
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Oh snap! Daisy just tossed Aida out that window. Which begs the question; if a robot dies in the framework does it die in the real world? Real world Aida seemed fine after the fall. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.
The Handmaid’s Tale: So what the fork did they do the Rory Gilmore?!? Is this the gental mutilation I hear from time to time but never bother to read the article to find out exactly what it is? That is the only thing I can think off.
You can stream The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu.
Survivor: Game Changers: When Zeke flipped last week and starting targeting Andrea I got worried she might actually go home. This week when Sierra said it time to get rid of Andrea in the post challenge confessional I had a sense of calm. The season premiere was the five hundredth episode of Survivor and probably of the five hundred and nine episodes in the history of the show, I would venture to guess whoever’s name is mentioned in the pre-commercial confessional does not actually go home. And in the end, Michaela was snacking while Andrea name was read except Debbie’s name was written down more often (really, how big must your stones be to have your name brought up only to have a snack while votes are read; she was sipping away when JT was blindsided too).
Though I am not sure if that was the right move for Sarah. In her old alliance, I would be worried sitting next to Brad or Sierra, but in the new one, I would be worried about everyone except for Michaela. And she may not know this but she just left an alliance with three Hidden Immunity Idols and the Legacy Advantage which make her Stolen Vote thing look worthless. Unless of course the deck shuffles next week. The promo looks like the deck will shuffle with all the females on one side (Sierra does approach Andrea and Cirie) and the male identifiers on the other (Zeke talks to Not-Dante and Troyzan). Of course the dudes may have the advantage despite being out numbered six to four with enough Idols to cover everyone if one of them wins Immunity. Still that would be enough to keep them around for another week and maybe the deck will reshuffle again after that.
You can download Survivor: Game Changers on iTunes.
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 American Race, Labyrinth, Diana Ross, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee's "Not the White House Correspondents' Dinner", Losing Sight of Shore, Site Unseen: An Emma Fielding Mystery, People of Earth, and The Detour.
- TNT has released a trailer for its new docu-series series American Race with host Charles Barkley:
- Extending the 30th anniversary celebration of the beloved film, Labyrinth, Jim Henson’s mesmerizing and enduring fantasy classic, David Bowie and Trevor Jones’ iconic soundtrack will be remastered and reissued on vinyl on May 12 for the first time since its original 1986 release. Long out of print, the album, which was remastered at Capitol Studios, will be available on high quality 120gm black vinyl and include the faithfully replicated original jacket and artwork, including the original EMI America logo and the printed inner sleeve featuring photos of Bowie from the film. Pre-order Labyrinth here.
- Sought after by collectors and considered the rarest of Motown’s rare grooves, Diana Ross’ diana – the original CHIC mix, will make its long-awaited debut on vinyl on April 21, on Motown/UMe/UMGI, with a twist: it will be a double-LP set on pink vinyl at 45rpm for maximum fidelity. This edition of diana includes alternate-mix versions of such classics as “Upside Down” and “I’m Coming Out,” as envisioned by Chic’s Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame member Nile Rodgers and the late Bernard Edwards.
- Turner's TBS is crying-with-joy-emoji to announce that Full Frontal with Samantha Bee's "Not the White House Correspondents' Dinner" will stream on Twitter following the special's premiere on TBS. Hosted by Samantha Bee, the event will take place at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, April 29. It will then air that evening as a one-hour special on TBS at 10 p.m. (ET/PT), with an additional broadcast on Twitter at 11 p.m. (ET). Fans on Twitter in the United States will be able to access the stream by going to samanthabee.twitter.com, as well as via the @FullFrontalSamB Twitter handle.
- Elvis Costello will bring his legendary guitar licks and vocal stylings to Washington, D.C., this Saturday, April 29, when he performs at the official after-party for Full Frontal with Samantha Bee's first annual Not the White House Correspondents' Dinner, presented by TBS.
- Losing Sight of Shore follows the extraordinary journey of four brave women known as the Coxless Crew that set out to row the Pacific Ocean from America to Australia unsupported. As they row over 8,000 miles during their nine months at sea, they face extreme mental and physical challenges they must overcome in order to go down in history. Available on Netflix May 1.
- Site Unseen: An Emma Fielding Mystery; Stars: Courtney Thorne-Smith (“According to Jim,” “Melrose Place”) and James Tupper (“Revenge,” “Big Little Lies”). Emma (Thorne-Smith) is a brilliant, dedicated, and driven archaeologist who discovers artifacts that have been lost for hundreds of years--and she's very, very good at it. Emma has recently unearthed evidence of a possible 17th century coastal Maine settlement that predates Jamestown, one of the most significant archaeological finds in years. But the dead body she uncovers on the site pushes Emma into a different kind of exploration. Her dig site is suddenly in jeopardy of being shut down, due to the meddling of local treasure-hunters and a second suspicious murder. Emma must team with the handsome FBI Agent investigating the case to dig up dirt on the killer, before Emma and her excavation are ancient history. Premieres Sunday, June 4 (9 p.m. ET/PT) on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.
- Saturday Night Live alum Nasim Pedrad (Scream Queens, New Girl) has joined TBS's hit comedy People of Earth as a series regular, beginning this summer with the show's second season. People of Earth centers on a group of alien abductees – or "experiencers" – living in the small town of Beacon, N.Y. The series is executive-produced by Emmy® winners Conan O'Brien and Greg Daniels, along with creator David Jenkins and showrunner Norm Hiscock.
- Turner's TBS has ordered a third season of its hit series The Detour, cable's most watched original comedy for the year-to-date. Created, written and executive-produced by Jason Jones and Samantha Bee, The Detour is an all-too-honest look at the family dynamic. Jones stars in the acclaimed comedy with Natalie Zea, Ashley Gerasimovich, Liam Carroll and Daniella Pineda.
“Better doesn’t mean better for everyone.” There are many striking things about The Handmaid’s Tale, but this quote sticks out more than them all. In our highly polarized society, it is surprising a politician has not come right out and said this while defending legislation like health care where there seems to be no good law that helps everyone in a fiscal way. Of course if any politician said that it would probably be a good way to not get reelected.
But that is a thing you can say in a totalitarian regime that is in control of the alternative timeline of The Handmaid’s Tale. It is a little unclear how he got here but flashbacks slowly put the puzzle pieces in place. At first this regime slaughtered Congress, blamed terrorists, and suspended the constitution temporary until it became permanent. Anchorage is now the capital and there are only two states left while there is still war going outside.
This unrest all started with a plague of infertility over the majority of women and much like the Biblical plagues, some religious types thought this was brought on by God punishing us for birth control and other immoral acts. And now this new world is being run by the Leaders of the Faithful who make the Westboro Baptist Church look like Sodom and Gomorrah in comparison. The abduct fertile women and turn them into sex slaves for Commanders whose wives cannot give birth resulting in maybe the creepiest sex scene you will ever see. But yet aside from being devotedly religious, these people seem to forget one of the Ten Commandments is Thou Shall Not Kill. And the whole thing about coveting your neighbor’s wife is mostly of broken by them too.
Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men) plays the titular character and narrator who is taken prisoner because she had just given birth so the Leaders of the Faithful know she is fertile. It is a little weird seeing Peggy Olsen in modern time except she is quickly outfitted in a handmaid’s garb which looks straight out of the Puritan’s collection, a muted red floor length dress with a “winged” white hat. The Leaders on the other hand are always dressed like they are heading to the opera. Moss’s Leaders are played by Joseph Fiennes (FlashForward), who utters that first line, and Yvonne Strahovski (Chuck) who is really good in this Stepfordian role.
But it is Moss who is great here. She always seems to have this dead behind the eyes stares as the life has been almost completely sucked out of her in the two short months she has been a Handmaid. And the camera always seems to be in a close up shot of that black stare. Juxtaposed her creepy blank stare to her very lively narration where she plots a way to get back to her son. Alexis Bledel (Sin City) shows up as a fellow Handmaid, they are not allowed to travel by themselves, with a secret which gets very dark by the third episode.
And just when the show starts getting too dark, there are moments of levity, a quick quip from Moss as narrator, a random game of Scrabble, and most notably a weird and random musical cue that closes out the second episode. Really, the weirder the show gets the more I enjoy it. It has been a rough start for Hulu since it has flipped over to their pay only tier, but The Handmaid’s Tale is finally a new show worth paying for their service.
The first three episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale are now able to stream on Hulu with new episodes premiering every Wednesday.
Morgan Freeman has filmed fifty-eight episodes of Through the Wormhole and tonight premieres the one of the last four episode ever (or at least until it is rebooted because shows never truly die anymore). For seven years Freeman has been asking the hard questions like the existence of god, the science of racism, life on other planets, the future of robots and many others.
Tonight’s episode is dedicated to the fortieth anniversary of Star Wars this year by asking is there really a mystical “force” out there? On the surface kind of a silly question but there really are forces out there that we cannot see that are working in mysterious ways. Einstein even theorized that space is not truly empty. Other topics discussed tonight is the idea of entanglement, the double split where light can split in two to go into two different places, and can we send messages to our future selves through wormholes, because I guess a time capsule is just too easy.
Later this season Morgan will also be asking, can we cheat death? Death is life’s greatest certainty. But that may be about to change. Scientists have discovered an immortal animal that may hold the secret of endless regeneration. They’re on the brink of editing our DNA so that we can cure death like a disease. Or is dying necessary for the survival of our species? Can we hack the planet? Humanity is under threat – from storms that seem to get ever fiercer, earthquakes that seem ever more deadly, and killer viruses that are engulfing the globe. Some scientists think it’s time for us to fight back. Can we – should we –hack the planet? And is gun crime a virus? Every seventeen minutes in America, someone is killed with a gun. Politicians can’t seem to stop the violence. But epidemiologists, psychologists and big data crunchers are discovering that gun crime spreads like a virus –and science may be able to stop its spread.
Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman airs Tuesdays at 10:00 on Science.
Once Upon a Time: Was this our first look at Tigerlily on the show? They ruined Peter Pan so much it is hard to remember. But Emma being able to bring Hook back to Storybrooke seemed silly. He had some curse that preventing him from getting back there so what was so different about the door Emma created?
You can download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.
Billions: Does a billionaire really a VR experience with a doomsday bunker when he can build one that is real and probably better? How about a bunker on the moon or Mars? But what exactly do you get a man who can buy anything?
The Voice: Someone mentioned their team on The Voice App and I thought, oh yeah, I have one of those but I have not even looked at it since the Battle Rounds. I was shocked to see my team was still in tack (Lauren, TSoul Chris, Lilli, and Jesse). Usually I am lucky to have two people make it to the Top 12. Aliyah was the big shock getting voted through over Casi (though I think Blake would have saved her anyway). Vanessa was another big shock that night, she was singing a crappy EDM song and still made it in over the overhyped Stephanie and Partridge legacy Jack. The big shocks Tuesday came with the coaches saves, I figured Gwen would save either Quizz because of her creepy obsession with teenagers or the much hyped JChosen. Instead she went with the easily forgettable Troy who has to be most likely to get booted first next week. Then I thought Adam would save one of his rockers but instead boring teen singer Mark who is most likely to be in the bottom two every week yet inexplicably saved by Twitter up until the Semi-Finals. Ugg. But anyway, here is my top 12 Power Rankings:
Harlots: You know what they say, a party never truly starts until someone brings a goat. And poor Lucy, again stuck the war between her sister and her fiancé. That final song was so sad.
Pretty Little Liars: Should I remember who Holden is. Wasn’t the murdered cop named Detective Holden? And please more Ali and Paige mean women scenes.
You can download Pretty Little Liars on iTuness.
The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions: Do you believe in highly unlikely’s!!! Camilla over Laurel. Wow. And Camillia is the only Champion girl left. Double wow.
You can download The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions on iTunes.
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: So The Patriot is dead dead right? Dead in the framework is dead in real life. That is not to say they cannot bring him back somehow I guess. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.
Survivor: Game Changers: Oh my, two hours is just too much. And it was turning out to be a horrible two hours: Debbie grinding on Cirie, Tai streaking, Hali getting booted, and then Andrea almost went home. Instead Ozzy got the boot so it was not all bad. A lot of bad game play this week. When Cirie was debating bringing in Michayla to her alliance and get rid of Hali instead, I had to wonder, why not bring in both and then vote out someone like Brad or Sierra? And did these people really think Hali was smart enough to find an Idol? Really, she could have had come in handy for Cirie’s alliance at the second Tribal. But before that Zeke made a horrible move breaking from what looked like a very tight alliance with Andrea. So Andrea tells Zeke not to tell Debbie her plan, Zeke tells Debbie and they should target Andrea, Debbie than says forget than and then conspires to get rid of Ozzy and does not even let Zeke in on the plan as he is the only one who votes for Aubrey for no apparent reason (did we miss a scene where they told them they were splitting votes just in case Andrea had an Idol and that is why Zeke voted for Aubrey?). So now Debbie does not trust Zeke, Sierra does not trust Zeke, Andrea is still in the game and gunning for Zeke (on the flip side, Andrea will have to go back to camp after saying, “see you never” in her vote). So note to future players, if Andrea tells you to not do something do not do it.
The Blacklist: Wait, Red’s cleaner used to be Lizzy’s babysitter? Huh? But really, I am not sure we really needed an entire episode devoted to her.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.
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 Bob Marley & the Wailers, Sheryl Crow, Will, Animal Kingdom, American Race, Jackson, Al MadrigalL: Shrimpin’ Ain’t Easy, Power, and Alfa Anderson.
- Bob Marley & the Wailers’ classic Exodus album, the ninth studio album of the band, was released on June 3, 1977, featuring a new backing band including brothers Carlton and Aston “Family Man” Barrett on drums and bass, Tyrone Downie on keyboards, Alvin “Seeco” Patterson on percussion, and the I Threes, Judy Mowatt, Marcia Griffiths and Rita Marley on backing vocals, and newest member Julian “Junior Marvin” on guitar. The album was released on June 3, 1977, just six months after an assassination attempt was made on Bob Marley's life in Jamaica in December, forcing him to flee to London, where Exodus was recorded. On June 2, UMe will release a version of Exodus 40 - The Movement Continues in a two-CD package that includes the original album and the Ziggy Marley “restatement”; a three-CD set (and digital equivalent) that includes the original Exodus, Exodus 40 - The Movement Continues and Exodus Live. A limited edition gold vinyl version of the original 1977 album will also be available.
- Tune in to the AUDIENCE Network concert special Sheryl Crow airing Friday, April 21, at 9:00 via DIRECTV Ch 239, AT&T U-verse Ch 1114 and DIRECTV NOW. As she nears the release of her ninth studio album titled Be Myself--out April 21 via Warner Bros. Records--multi-platinum-selling singer, songwriter, and musician Sheryl Crow will be the featured artist on AT&T AUDIENCE Network. The show will delve into the American music icon's history in an interview with series host Ted Stryker as well as a full concert featuring her hits and new fan favorites.
- In celebration of Shakespeare’s birthday on Sunday, April 23, TNT is releasing the premiere date and a new trailer for its upcoming series Will, slated to launch on Monday, July 10, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT) across TNT's U.S. platforms.
- n anticipation of the return of Animal Kingdom, check out the latest trailer featuring season two of TNT’s hit series. Brace yourself for what the Codys are up to as family bonds are broken and new alliances are formed. The second season of Animal Kingdom is slated to launch Tuesday, May 30, at 9:00 on TNT.
In celebration of Shakespeare’s birthday on Sunday, April 23, TNT is releasing the premiere date and a new trailer for its upcoming series Will, slated to launch on Monday, July 10, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT) across TNT's U.S. platforms.
- Showtime will air the television premiere of the critically acclaimed documentary Jackson on Tuesday, May 2 at 7:30. From award-winning director Maisie Crow (A Life Alone, The Last Clinic), Jackson is an intimate look at the lives of three women caught in the complex issues surrounding access to abortion in the Deep South.
- In American Race, formerly The Race Card, a two-night television event from Turner's TNT, Charles Barkley is taking a journey across the country to explore the issue of race from different angles and engage in thoughtful but spirited dialogue with a diverse cross section of Americans. He brings with him a truly ambitious goal of building the kind of mutual understanding that can lead to productive solutions. TNT's American Race will air over two nights – Thursday, May 11, and Friday, May 12 – with two episodes each night at 9 and 10 p.m. (ET/PT).
- Comedian and I’m Dying Up Here star Al Madrigal returns to the stage in the debut of his new one-hour comedy special Al MadrigalL: Shrimpin’ Ain’t Easy on Friday, May 5 at 9:00. ET/PT on Showtime. Madrigal’s sidesplitting stand-up kicks off the first of three standalone comedy specials from the stars of the new Showtime drama series I’m Dying Up Here premiering Sunday, June 4 at 10:00. Following Madrigal’s special will be the premieres of Andrew Santigo: Home Field Adventure on Friday, June 2 and Erik Griffin: The Ugly Truth on Friday, July 7.
- Starz’s most watched series ever returns when Power: The Complete Third Season arrives on Blu-ray and DVD on June 13 from Lionsgate. With record-breaking ratings for its premiere, season three — with its all-star cast, including Omari Hardwick (TV’s ”Being Mary Jane”), Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson (The Hangover), and Naturi Naughton (TV’s “Mad Men”) — finds James St. Patrick fighting to maintain his new lifestyle on the right side of the law.
- Alfa Anderson, former member of the iconic funk soul band Chic (Le Freak, Good Times, Everybody Dance), will release a new single, "When Luther Sings," in honor of her longtime friend Luther Vandross 66th birthday. The rousing, heartfelt tribute is written by Anderson and co-produced by multi-talented Bert Price. Available nationwide on April 20, When Luther Sings is the first single from Anderson’s long-awaited debut solo album, From My Heart (set for release summer 2017).
John Mayer have done some soul infused songs before, but this is the first time he has done what sounds like a straight up RnB song. But I could have done without the really bad dancing.
This song by OThe Wild Reeds may be my favorite song of the early year.
Lights Out – Royal Blood
I have a short leash these days when watching new music videos, you better do something quickly or I may move on. About fifteen seconds into this video for Royal Blood, I was typing the name of the next video I was going to watch and right before I hit enter, something creeped out of the ceiling. Okay, I am glad I finished it, because this video is freaky.
Good With God – Old 97’s featuring Brandi Carlile
An Hour and 60 Minutes, ha, good one Old 97's, though why get Jenna Fisher to replace Matt Pinfield?
So no key adviser this season. I guess they could not find anyone as big as the guy from Fun to help out this season. (Oh wait, Shaina Twain is coming in next week to mentor the Top 12). Instead for the first time ever, the contestants got to watch their opponent practice. Yawn. So basically fodder knew they were going home days before their performance instead of minutes. Except for some head scratching Steals. Seriously, what the fork? Lilli was the only one this round worthy of a reprieve. The other three should have been reserved for Felisha and… um, the Knockouts were pretty meh this season as a whole. Almost everyone gave their worst performance of the season. And much like the Steals, of the rumored Comeback Picks, I wonder why bother to them except for one. No spoilers, so here are the contestants we know for sure will be performing tonight.
1. Lauren Duski (Team Blake): Sure she has given the same performance three times but she has yet to falter. And without a clear frontrunner this season, being country on Team Blake, she may be the closest we got to a frontrunner right now.
2. Lilli Passero (Team Alicia Adam): Her weakest performance of the three, but like I said earlier, you can say that about just about everyone this season. Still leaps and bounds above Ashley. It seems like Alicia has been employing Pharrell’s keep the weaker singer if it seems like the other is going to get Stolen philosophy (which I hate). And on the plus side, it looks like it will be easier to get to the top 12 on Adam’s team.
3. Vanessa Ferguson (Team Alicia): I guess we now know why Alicia got rid of “Felisha Keys” because Vanessa is a much better imitation of her.
4. TSoul (Team Blake): Well that was kind of weird and I kind of liked it.
5. Aliyah Moulden (Team Blake): The best of the way too many teenagers this season, but it concerns me that she already went country.
6. Casi Joy (Team Blake): One of the few times I thought someone gave their best performance this round.
7. Chris Blue (Team Alicia): If you catch me on the right day, I may call Superstition the greatest song of all time. I will never call this the greatest Knockout performance of all time.
8. Brennley Brown (Team Blake Gwen: Well I was wrong about Blake letting her go just to Steal her back in the Knockouts (he ended up Stealing her opponent because, maybe he did not hear who won?). I still find her a bit squeaky.
9. Anatalia Villaranda (Team Alicia) – Her first two performances were high energy fun, but I am not sure if I want to her a teenage pop singer sing a country song about killing a dude.
10. Jesse Larson (Team Adam): He is fine already, but we have seen much better old rockers on this show before.
11. Hanna Eyre (Team Adam): I think I said this last time, but Hanna is much better when she keeps it young and fun, another song about adult love just seems off.
12. JChosen (Team Gwen): I am always annoyed when singers put too many gymnastics in their vocal performance; it gets really annoying after a while. Pick your spot s dude.
13. Stephanie Rice (Team Gwen Alicia): I was going to wonder why Alicia wasted a Steal but there was not much else out there worthy of one and this was not even the worst Steal of the season, not even the second worst.
14. Hunter Plake (Team Alicia Gwen): Looking at iTunes, Hunter is going to be this season’s token boring white dude who gets to the finals despite being very bland. Hopefully Gwen finds a way to screw this up.
15. Josh West (Team Adam): Sometimes you can tell who is going to win just by the pairing. Josh seems to be Adam’s favorite, but I liked Johnny much better. Josh may have the look but sound bar room karaoke.
16. Troy Ramey (Team Gwen): I liked his Blind Audition, but since then he was montaged and gave a slurry, weird Knockout performance. Not a good trajectory.
17. Ashley Levin (Team Blake Alicia): She started out bad and just got worse. And yet Alicia picking her over Lilli was not even the worst decision this season.
18. Mark Isaiah (Team Adam): Montage win… yawn. And though they put up the full performance on YouTube, I could not bring myself to watch him sing Justin Beiber. Hopefully they find a way to montage his Playoff too.
19. Quizz Swanigan (Team Alicia Gwen): I was going to call this the worst use of a Steal ever until….
20. Aaliyah Rose (Team GwenBlake: What the flying fork?!?! I thought Gwen’s Steal of Quizz would go down as the worst ever. No, this may have been the worst use of a Steal ever and worst Knockout performance ever. What the fork Blake, if you wanted to curry favors with your girlfriend, Steal Johnny.
Putting these placements into my patent pending formula to see who has the best team:
Blake – 69
Alicia – 56
Adam – 49
Gwen - 36
Despite the embarrassing Steal, Blake still had four of the top six. On the flip side, Gwen only had one person in the top half of the list. Adam’s Steal helped keep him out of the cellar as the rest of his team is in the bottom eleven. So it is really the Blake, Alicia, and Lilli show to me. Hopefully they can put those two teams on the same night so I can completely ignore the other night other than watching Lilli on YouTube and hopefully remembering to vote for her. But who cares what I think, here is what the iTunes
buyers purchased this round:
1. Hunter Plake (23)
2. Stephanie Rice (60)
3. Brennley Brown (63)
4. Lauren Duski (111)
5. Vanessa Ferguson (137) 6. Hunter Plake and Jack Cassidy (139)
7. TSoul (162)
8. Chris Blue (187)
9. Troy Ramsey (221)
10. Casi Joy (241)
11. JChosen (255)
12. Josh West (272)
13. Jesse Larson (327)
14. Lilli Passero (343)
15. Hanna Eyre (360)
16. Aliyah Moulden (535) 17. Hunter Plake – Carry On (613)
18. Mark Isaiah (785) 19. Jonny Gates and Sammie Zonana (1025)
20. Aaliyah Rose (1047)
21. Casi Joy - Blue (1066) 22. Brennley Brown and Lauren Duski (1189)
23. Anatalia Villaranda (1120) 24. Stephani Rice – Piece By Piece (1203)
25. Ashley Levin (1405)
And if you are looking for Quizz, he could not even crack the top 1500 so clearly I was not the only one scratching my head when he was Stolen. Now if you average their peaks from all three rounds this is where they rank this season:
1. Lauren Duski (135.3)
2. Stephanie Rice (179)
3. Hunter Plake (211)
4. Casi Joy (233.3)
5. Chris Blue (266)
6. Lilli Passero (279.6)
7. JChosen (400.6)
8. Vanessa Ferguson (421)
9. Brennley Brown (450.6)
10. TSoul (549.3)
11. Mark Isaiah (684)
12. Anatalia Villaranda (1178)
Only charted two of their three songs
13. Troy Ramsey (242)
14. Jesse Larson (370)
15. Josh West (437.5)
16. Aliyah Moulden (495)
17. Hannah Eyre (516.5)
18. Ashley Levin (822.5)
Only charted one song
19. Quizz (441)
20. Aaliyah Rose (1046)
Like I have said that without a clear frontrunner, Lauren may be the closest we got. I am not sure what iTunes buyers hear in Stephanie or Hunter. I am also surprised Lilli is not selling better. That indie-folk lane that she kind of controls this season usually sells very well (though not necessarily translates to votes). Amy Vashal even had that throwback vibe and rivaled Jordan that season on the iTunes charts (yet inexplicably could not even make it to the Twitter Save portion of the Semi-Final). So I am hesitant to even predict she will make the top 12 even though she is doing much better than everyone on her team, only Mark had all three songs chart and she averaged four hundred higher than him. And I guess iTunes votes do not even count this round because there will be instant results. I think they did this last season but I stopped watching a long time before that.
But I will still make some predictions even though they seem harder than usually this season. Except for Blake. His team is always the easiest to predict. And his top three will likely make the Semi-Finals
Team Adam:
America Saves: Lilli, Jesse (or Adam’s comeback artist, but I do not want to spoil)
Adam Saves: Josh (or Lilli if his Comeback Artist takes her spot)
Team Alicia
America Saves: Chris, Ashley
Alicia Saves: Anatalia
Team Blake
America Saves: Lauren, Casi
Blake Saves: TSoul
Team Gwen
America Saves: Brennley, Troy
Gwen Saves: Quizz (because Gwen hates America)
Once Upon a Time: Plot twist! So Gideon was controlled by the Black Fairy this whole time. And apparently the Buffy rules apply here and dying temporary is good enough.
You can download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.
Homeland: So Dar is evil enough to discredit the President Elect (and use enhanced interrogation on a sitting Senator) but not enough to actually kill her. After time jump, the first question I had was what happened to Dar. Sure he orchestrated much of this up to the assassination attempt, but he did save the president’s life by calling Carrie. But if the president is arresting Saul, of course Dar would get tapped too. But of all the people arrested, they did not grab the talk radio guy? The guy had a huge role in all of this. And just what did he do to Max. He gets detained, almost escapes, next we see is three months later and he shows up drunk at Carrie’s. Clearly he could point out radio guy was more involved than Saul. And for the second time in the show’s history, they killed off a male lead probably a season too late. The story of this season was really good, but watching Quinn being barely human was just unbearable at times.
Billions: It happens so few times but when Axe and Chuck get in the same room it is going to be epic. There was a point in the episode where I thought the two were going to team up to take down “The Kingmaker” but Chuck decided instead to kiss his ring. I take it this season ends with Axe ruining Chuck’s gubernatorial run? But Chuck still has the former Axe worker in his back pocket for emergencies now.
Into the Badlands: Oh hey, dude killed his son. I guess the Badland in turmoil should be entertaining… I hope.
You can download Into the Badlands on iTunes.
Harlots: There is the case for commercials. When Lucy shoots her gun and cuts to commercial, if you have the ad version of Hulu, you actually have to sit there and stew about who she just shot, but without the ads, it comes back and it is just a deer. Yet apparently she ended up being punished for something else, granted off screen (for a premium show where presumably anything goes, a lot of the more graphic things happen off screen).
You can stream Harlots on Hulu.
The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions: So we got our Underdog Bloodbath but apparently that is not it looks like they are going to eliminate two more people on each team before the final leaving just one dude and one chick per team. Meh. I am kind of ready for this season to end all ready.
You can download The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions on iTunes.
The Americans: So Elizabeth learned yoga this week. Interesting. But I guess the bigger news was that Paige met Gabriel before he goes home. Can she just go on a mission already?
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: So Ward is a secret agent in the Framework too. He better not come back with them whenever they escape. The Framework is just inside their heads right? There would be no physical form for him, right? Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.
The Path: Man, Hawk is the only one with actual conviction on a show about faith. Seriously, how do you trade Sarah’s freedom, someone who clearly deserves to be punished, for someone who is making whole comminutes sick? Sarah was even splattered with black cow’s blood and will let that continue to happen to avoid jail time. Just kind of a letdown of an episode. I spent most of the first season wanting more especially coming from the guy who created Friday Night Light. And this season actually seemed to be building to something, I started to care about some of the characters, and then in the end no one is punished for their bad deeds. At least we got that final scene of Eddie brining in his Denyers which clearly sets up a fight between him and Cal next season.
You can stream The Path on Hulu.
Survivor: Game Changers: When they did not cut to commercial after the Immunity Challenge I knew something was up. When they went to Tribal Council about ten minute earlier in the episode than they usually do, I thought, oh no, they are going to rocks. But when they sat down and there were seven, that would be odd for a split vote (though I guess the Varner voting for Ozzie, the other guys voting for Varner, and the girls voting for Zeke would be plausible).
Then Varner turned to Zeke and asked why he has not told anyone he was transgendered. Oh, that is why we are getting an extended Tribal. Pretty cheap Probst canceled voting, it could have been a very cathartic exercise to write Varner’s name down after that. Of course my big question now is does Zeke just get the pity win now? If not, who is the first person to broach the subject of targeting Zeke? These are all returning players so they have to know Zeke is now the biggest threat in the game, and in a game where they are continually talking about getting rid of the big threats, they all have to be thinking of it, who will be the first to mention it? And the first who does get axed like Cierra who was the first voted out because she was the first person to being up someone else’s name.
You can download Survivor: Game Changers on iTunes.
The Blacklist: Redemption: So Tom’s dad turned out to be the bad guy all along. Alrighty. But why did Scotty’s hot assistant walk all the way to Tom’s to give him the hard drive? Get to a hospital. Now the question, does he stay there and get his mother out of prison or go home for the birthday party? (Looking at the ratings, that may be resolved off screen and he will be back next season on the main show. So the real quiention is will he mention it, only mention it in passing, or will they devote an episode to resolve his family’s storyline.)
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.
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 BarkFest, Rise, Hollywood Game Night, The Path, and The Arrangement.
- Nat Geo WILD’s third annual BarkFest weekend is a celebration of our furever friends. We turn up the cuteness factor with new specials Puppies vs. The World, and Boss Dog, and are serving up fun dog-focused episodes of Cesar Millan’s Dog Nation, Pet Talk and The Incredible Dr. Pol. The third annual BarkFest premieres on Friday, April 14, on Nat Geo WILD.
Highlights include:
Puppies vs. The World (Premieres Friday, April 14 at 8:00): For puppies, it’s a brand-new world out there, full of obstacles, setbacks and amazing new experiences. We challenge puppies to do the simplest tasks like drink water, climb stairs and escape the clutches of a toddler, and the outcome is uproarious misadventure. Along the way, we include quick and fascinating facts about puppy development and peek in on The Puppy House, which is just what is sounds like: a house full of puppies!
Boss Dog (Premieres Saturday, April 15 at 9:00): As one of Los Angeles’ top dog trainers, Stevo Henderson is on a mission to help dog owners achieve their perfect dog through his innovative training methods and uncanny understanding of canine behavior. Stevo doesn't just train dogs — he saves relationships through his coaching and assured leadership. Watch Stevo work through struggles with owners, help dogs that others have given up on and ultimately celebrate small and large victories together.
- Showtime Documentary Films will release Rise, the latest documentary from Academy Award winner Laura Poitras (CITIZENFOUR). Filmed over six years including through the 2016 presidential election and up to the present moment, RISK takes viewers closer than they have ever been before to Julian Assange and those who surround him. With unprecedented access, Poitras give us the WikiLeaks story from the inside, allowing viewers to understand our current era of massive leaks, headline-grabbing news, and the revolutionary impact of the internet on global politics. RISK is a portrait of power, principles, betrayal, and sacrifice when the stakes could not be any higher. It is a first-person geopolitical thriller told from the perspective of a filmmaker immersed in the worlds of state surveillance and the cypherpunk movement. RISK confirms Poitras' directorial ability to record history as it unfolds on camera, and craft narratives at the highest level. Showtime Networks has partnered with NEON to release Rise theatrically nationwide, with a television premiere on SHOWTIME this summer.
- GSN, the leader in game shows and competitive entertainment, announced today it will begin airing the first four seasons of the hit game show, Hollywood Game Night, beginning with a special five-night event, with the show airing Monday through Friday at 9:00 beginning Monday, April 17. The show will then move into its regular Tuesdays at 9:00 and 10:00 timeslots beginning April 25.
- Hulu renewed The Path for a third season.
- Discover the fascinating musical fusions that propelled Latin music to the top of the US charts with Latin Music USA, coming back for audiences on Fridays, April 28th and May 5th at 9:00 P.M. ET (check local listings). Produced by public media leader WGBH Boston in co-production with the BBC, this two-part, four-hour documentary explores the Latin rhythms that influenced jazz, rock, country, and rhythm and blues, highlighting the enduring contributions made by Latino musicians to the American songbook.
- This week, Hulu renewed The Path for a third season.
- E! Entertainment has greenlit a second season of its latest original scripted series The Arrangement. From Universal Cable Productions and Emmy Award-Winning writer/EP Jonathan Abrahams (“Mad Men”), the series debuted Sunday, March 5 at 10:00. Starring Josh Henderson (“Dallas”), Christine Evangelista (“The Walking Dead”), Lexa Doig (“Continuum”) and Michael Vartan (“Alias”), this multi-layered, sophisticated Hollywood love story brings to life the darker side of fame. Season two will consist of 10, one-hour episodes.
I am anti-spoiler, have not actively looked for them in over a decade, but there is something about historical dramas that make me want to at the very least go to Wikipedia to see what really happened. Luckily Guerrilla is more in the vein of The Americans where most everything is fiction instead of a show like Deadwood which was a mix of real and fake characters. Guerrilla is set in Britain 1971 where prison reform and immigration are hotly debated subjects, so yeah, kind of timely for current affairs too. A Character even says, “They’re changing the laws on us,” in the first episode.
Guerrilla comes from John Ridley (12 Years a Slave) who wrote, directed and executive produced most of the six episode limited series. Idris Elba (Luther) is also an executive producer who stars in the show. But the focal point are two lover Frida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire) and Babou Ceesay who get caught up in the black radial movement after a friend is beaten to death by the police during a protest match. The question for the main characters is just how far they should go to get their message out. Even after actions are taken, there still a lot of debate.
While the main characters may never have existed, the target of these protesters, the Black Power Desk, a true-life, secretive counter-intelligence unit within Special Branch dedicated to crushing all forms of black activism was very real and sets an even more harrowing tale with some basis in reality. And what is fascinating having the show set in 1971 is the primitive detective tactics at the disposal of Scotland Yard. You think about the Boston bombing the police were able to catch the perpetrators in days. But four and a half decades ago there were no surveillance camera, no social media, cell phone camera, so criminals could almost walk around almost freely, while the police had to rely heavily on informants, either those that were doing it willingly or heavily coerced. There is particularly graphic interrogation scene later this season.
Guerrilla is billed as a “limited series” at just six episode which is nice as it can essentially be viewed as about a five and a half hour movie. But the one thing that gave me pause is the amount of “limited series” recently that got renewed for a second season, though most of those ended up being anthology series after the fact. There is finality to these six episodes and it will be fine as is, but there is a speech at the end of the final episode that definitely sound like this character looks to be returning at some point.
Guerrilla airs Sundays at 9:00 on Showtime (yes the season premiere is Easter night).
Oh yeah, Angie had a kid last season on Angie Tribeca. I completely forgot about it. So the season starts off with a retirement party so she can raise the kid. Okay, clearly the retirement does not stick (though that would be funny if the show just became a bad family sitcom for a season). The kids ends up getting shipped off to boarding school not to be seen for a while (ever?) so Angie can get back to her police work.
The first season was you token police procedural with the second taking a serial approach. Season three seems like a weird hybrid. A serial killer is introduced in the premiere (his victims are the most vulnerable in our society: rich white dudes). But it seems like every other episode they forget that is an open case and just do a random killer of the week episode. There also seems to be a joke where the team goes to a new city (Miami! Mardi Gras!!), but again it is not every episode.
Still the show remains dumb fun. My favorite case of the episodes I have seen revolves around a college badminton player and the best episode title is easily This Sounds Unbelievable, but CSI: Miami Did It. And like previous seasons there are plenty of familiar faces including Chris Pine in the Hannibal Lecter role of the serial killer storyline, Rob Riggle, Buddy Garrity, Natalie Portman, Michelle Dockery very different from her Downton Abbey/Good Behavior roles, and Heather Graham returns.
Homeland: I wonder if the “not my president” protesters were hired extras or if the show just took Mandy Patikan to Trump Towers. But anyway. So the talk radio guy plotting to kill the president-elect and frame Quinn? How do Quinn’s old running buddies fit in, are they in cahoots with radio guy? I thought it was strange that they did not get rid of the van. They are smart enough to frame someone for a terrorist attack but not smart enough to dispose of the evidence? Or was this the plan all along, lure people to the house and make it explode? And just how many times has Carrie realized there was a bomb moments too late but just so happened to be far enough away from the blast radius? Still I am looking forward to the finale even after an uneven season. Considering one of the biggest flaws of the series was not having Brody blow up the vice-president in the first season, will they actually kill off the president-elect now?
The Walking Dead: When they revealed Sasha was stuck in the coffin, I first thought, um, aren’t those air tight. It turns out I was right. At least Eugene mentioned that possibility in the aftermath though I will not be surprised if he gets blamed for giving her those drugs. The bigger surprise is that the trash people turned on Rick. And then we had yet another near miss with a Carl death. Meh, but if the guy can survive a bullet to the eye, he may very well be indestructible.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.
Billions: With the lawsuit gone away, this was the first episode Chuck and Axe were not intertwined and it felt weird. I wonder if Chuck did something to mess up Axe’s gaming license deal. Maybe Chuck’s father is involved. They got to pull these two back together somehow.
The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions: So no Underdog elimination this week but next week there will be a “bloodbath.” Does that mean they will go down to four to be even with the Champions for the final?
You can download The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions on iTunes.
The Americans: When Stan was in bed with his new beau, I thought, what if she was actually a secret KGB agent that the Jennings do not know about. Then the very next scene is them discussing the very same thing.
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Bizzaro world can be interesting for an episode or two, but they are not really going to stuck in the framework for the rest of the season are they? Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.
The Path: Oh Richard, I thought when he locked the building, he was going to light that on fire, but, oh man, instead he burns the unburdening tapes with him in it. Oh my. He was was the best part of the show. And I just assumed last week that Mary knew where she was going, but she actually ran into a forrest in the dark without knowing where she was going while pregnant? Worse was Sean just let her go. Well, unless he knows in his heart that the kid is Cal’s (and the baby looked pretty whit), then it does not seem as cold. And is season three going to be warring cults? Sarah and Cal vs. Eddie and his group of deniers?
You can stream The Path on Hulu.
Survivor: Game Changers: The best thing I saw this week about the episode happened on Twitter when someone asked, what would be worse, being stuck on a boat with Debbie or being stuck on a boat with Cochran? But a pretty iniquitous return considering the possibilities that ran through my head. At least they are not letting Malcolm back in the game (yet… after the return of Exile Island, could Redemption Island be next).
Then we had yet another explosive Tribal where I actually started to think Tai may end up being the second person ever to be voted out with two Idols in their pocket. But in the end, the Queen was voted off for the very first time, and congrats to Sandra who made it this far, outlast all the former winners this season (really, was the person who sent both home) and it took a swap where she was in the severe minority to get voted out. And was really a dumb Tai move away from staying too.
You can download Survivor: Game Changers on iTunes.
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 Origins, I’m Dying Up Here, Claws, Meg Mac, The Circus: Inside the Biggest Story on Earth, Warning: This Drug May Kill You, NASA’s Unexplained Files, Not the White House Correspondents' Dinner, Nightmare on Everest, Biblical Conspiracies: Jesus Family Tomb?, Stevie Wonder, VH1 Hip Hop Squares, and Showtime.
- National Geographic’s new original series Origins is a full-sensory, time-travel adventure that delves deep into history to find the pivotal ‘origin’ moments that fueled our evolutionary ascension. While we are in a fast-growing technological age fueled by smart phones, satellites and the ‘next big discovery,’ Origins pauses to probe the biggest questions in the universe: How did we get here? How did Homo Sapiens evolve from apes swinging tree to tree to astronauts walking on the surface of the moon? On Monday, April 10, Origins turns its focus to the very important issue of Shelter. Shelter is one of our most basic human needs—and while we have come a long way from the cave dwellings of pre-historic times, one fact is inescapable: From treetops to skyscrapers, shelter, in any form, it is the foundation of human race.
- Yesterday, Showtime debuted the new trailer for the network’s one-hour drama series I’m Dying Up Here, which will kick off the Showtime summer lineup on Sunday, June 4 at 10:00. The fictional series explores L.A.’s famed ’70s stand-up comedy scene and stars Academy Award® winner Melissa Leo (The Fighter, Treme), Ari Graynor (Bad Teacher), Michael Angarano (The Knick), Clark Duke (Hot Tub Time Machine), Andrew Santino (Mixology), Erik Griffin (Workaholics), RJ Cyler (Power Rangers), Al Madrigal (The Daily Show) and Jake Lacy (Obvious Child) as part of a large ensemble cast. The series is created and executive produced by Dave Flebotte and executive produced by Golden Globe® winner Jim Carrey, Michael Aguilar and Christina Wayne.
- TNT's Claws is a midnight-dark, wickedly funny meditation on female badness set in a Central Florida nail salon, where there is a lot more going on than silk wraps and pedicures. Niecy Nash (Getting On, The Soul Man), Carrie Preston (True Blood), Harold Perrineau (Lost, Oz), Jenn Lyon (Justified), Judy Reyes (Scrubs), Karrueche Tran (The Nice Guys), Jason Antoon (Famous in Love), Kevin Rankin (Dallas Buyers Club, Friday Night Lights), Jack Kesy (The Strain) and Dean Norris (Breaking Bad) star in this hour-long dramedy. Claws is slated to launch across TNT's television, mobile and digital platforms on Sunday, June 11, at 9:00.
- MEG MAC is back with her keenly anticipated new single ‘Low Blows’, a dynamic, soulful, personal exhortation that’s distinctly and uniquely MEG MAC. Recorded in Fort Worth, Texas at the Niles City Sound Studio with additional production at Electric Lady in New York. The song premiered exclusively on W Magazine.
- All eyes are on Donald Trump as he takes his first major military action as president, launching an air attack on Syria at the end of a week when three heads of state visit America, North Korea stages a missile launch, and the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee steps aside from the investigation of Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election. In this season’s fourth episode, “The Whole World is Watching,” The Circus: Inside the Biggest Story on Earth takes an in-depth look at Trump’s foreign policy and its implications as the new Commander in Chief grapples with the most serious global challenges he has faced so far. Airing Sunday, April 9, at 8:00 on Showtime, the episode features conversations with lawmakers and national security experts, as well as on-the-ground coverage of the visit of the Chinese president to Mar-a-Lago.
- With nearly a hundred Americans dying everyday from opioid overdoses, the U.S. currently faces the worst drug epidemic in its history. More people die from opioid overdoses annually in the U.S. than from car accidents or gun homicides, a number that has quadrupled since 1999. From journalist Perri Peltz (HBO’s “Risky Drinking”), Warning: This Drug May Kill You tells devastating personal stories of families who have lost a loved one to an opioid overdose, all of them the result of addictions that started with doctors’ prescriptions of dangerous painkillers such as OxyContin, Vicodin and Percocet. Also featuring harrowing pictures and cellphone videos, the documentary puts a human face on the epidemic of U.S. opioid addiction and its grave consequences when it debuts Monday, MAY 1 at 10:00, exclusively on HBO.
- Outer space is still largely an uncharted frontier filled with wonder and secrets. Over the years, bold pioneers have uncovered interstellar wonders including cosmic bodies, far away galaxies, and alien worlds. These groundbreaking explorations and findings are uncovered in two Science Channel returning series, Space's Deepest Secrets, premiering April 11 at 9PM ET/PT, and NASA’s Unexplained Files, premiering April 12 at 9:00.
- The stars will be out in Washington, D.C. later this month when TBS's late-night hit Full Frontal with Samantha Bee presents the first annual Not the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Samantha Bee, who has been hailed by The New Yorker as "America's new Comedian-in-Chief," will host the evening's festivities from D.C.'s largest concert hall, DAR Constitution Hall. This special installment of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee will premiere Saturday, April 29, at 10:00 on TBS.
- The spectacular natural beauty of the Himalayas draws thousands of tourists and thrill-seekers to Nepal every year, but the same great forces that created the beautiful mountains also have the power to destroy. In April 2015, a violent 7.8 magnitude earthquake triggered deadly landslides and avalanches across the country. On the second anniversary of the fatal disaster, Nightmare on Everest shares the exclusive stories of climbers on Mount Everest and hikers in Langtang National Park who survived, recounting their experience with never-before-broadcast footage and interviews. Produced by Arrow Media, Nightmare on Everest premieres on Smithsonian Channel, Monday, April 24 at 9:00.
- It is one of the most controversial ancient artifacts ever found and the center of a decade long controversy. The James Ossuary, a burial bone box that dates to the 1st century, has on it, an inscription that states, “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.” It has been considered by some to be fake, by others to be the first piece of hard archaeological evidence of the physical existence of Jesus of Nazareth. Biblical historian Simcha Jacobovici helps unpack the mystery surrounding this potentially explosive find in Biblical Conspiracies: Jesus Family Tomb?, premiering Easter weekend, Saturday, April 15 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Science Channel.
- Around the world, millions of people depend on fish for food and livelihood. But what if official government data is drastically underestimating how many fish are being caught? How close are we to a global catastrophe? Government and industry regulators track the quantity of fish caught and claim the oceans can handle it, but global fish numbers have dropped significantly in recent decades. A new Smithsonian Channel special showcases an exhaustive 15-year investigation – from the Atlantic coastline to the reefs of the Bahamas and the shores of Senegal – to reveal stark new findings about our marine ecosystems. Narrated by actor and conservationist Ted Danson, a passionate advocate for the world’s oceans, An Ocean Mystery: The Missing Catch premieres on Earth Day, Saturday, April 22, 2017 at 8:00 on Smithsonian Channel.
- ASCAP, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, announces that it will honor legendary musician Stevie Wonder with its inaugural “Key of Life” Award at this year’s ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO in Los Angeles, April 13 – 15, where he will also appear in a keynote “I Create Music” session.
- VH1, Ice Cube and his Cube Vision production company in conjunction with Jesse Collins Entertainment, Scott St. John and Jeff Kwatinetz’s The Firm, today announced that VH1 Hip Hop Squares has been renewed for a second season. The series debuted to over 3.2 million viewers across premiere night plays, is the #1 non-sports cable show in its time period with P18-34 and ranked as VH1’s highest rated new series in a year.
- For the first time, Showtime Networks is offering subscribers to the Showtime stand-alone streaming service and SHOWTIME ANYTIME the ability to download programming on mobile devices and tablets – allowing viewers to watch content offline at no extra cost.
The biggest eternal question in rock and roll history is “The Beatles or the Rolling Stone?” Syth rock band Metric even had a minor hit Gimme Sympathy based around that question. But whenever anyone asks be “Beatles or the Stone” my answers is always: The Beach Boys. Of all the classic rock era bands, the Beach Boys were always my favorite. And the thing about The Beach Boys is they are sneaky great, so you can instantly be attacked to their simple California themed songs as kids. Then as you grow you realize these simple songs when you listen to them very closely have very complex harmonies and musical compositions.
Those very complex harmonies and musical compositions all culminated with their album Pet Sounds (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) - The Beach Boys. Tonight takes a look at that landmark album with Beach Boys: Making Pet Sounds. Last year saw the fiftieth anniversary of the album and the documentary talks with the surviving members of The Beach Boys, (Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks) as well as musicians, writers and executives that helped shape the album. It also features exclusive interviews, classic archive and rare studio outtakes from the recording sessions
What is good about this documentary is it does not dwell too much on the Brian and Mike power struggle (there is a segment where Love defends the album and claims to have never hated like so many fans speculate). Other interesting aspects of the documentary are when Brian Wilson talks about the genius label and how the album featured a female bassist, something rare at the times. Making Pet Sounds should be something all Beach Boys fans, young and old should check out.
Beach Boys: Making Pet Sounds premieres tonight at 8:00 on Showtime.
