Around the Tubes: 7/8/16

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 wild_life With Bertie Gregory, Money and Violence, Los East High, Conaan, Boyz II Men, Diana Ross, Cobi, In Their Own Words: The American Masters Digital Archive, Building Star Trek, The Country Network, and Turner Channels renewals.

- Nat Geo WILD inspires people to let the wild in every day. The network is dedicated to creating content for animal lovers everywhere to enjoy, whether it’s on TV, in magazines, or in books. Now, Nat Geo WILD is bringing the wild online with the launch of its first-ever digital series, wild_life With Bertie Gregory, premiering Wednesday, Aug. 3, on the network’s YouTube Channel, as well as on NationalGeographic.com.

- Reluctant gangsters, stick-up kids, and scammers hustle for survival on the unforgiving streets of Flatbush, Brooklyn, in Money and Violence: Seasons 1 & 2, available on Digital HD on August 16, 2016 from Lionsgate. The first 3 episodes of Season 1 will be available for free the first 60 days of release.

- Los East High returns for a fourth season with an addictive mix of love, dance, sex and true-to-life drama. It’s a first ever summer season and the Bomb Squad heads off to dance camp with sexy new teammates who tempt Gina (Alex Rodriguez) and Eddie’s (Carlito Olivero) relationship, on and off the dance floor. Camila (Vannessa Vasquez) and Jesus (J.D. Pardo) rekindle their love affair and must fight the odds against them as they attempt to live a crime-free life. And when Jacob (Gabe Chavarria) misbehaves, hearts are broken and the family business is threatened in more ways than one. This season, wedding bells ring while danger lurks in the streets of East LA and the students must rise to action for what they believe in. Someone will need to risk it all to fight for her future and for true love – making this an unforgettable summer.


- Conan O'Brien will welcome an all-star lineup of guests when he returns to San Diego for a week of shows to be taped during Comic-Con® International. The roster includes the stars of the new movie Suicide Squad, the casts of the television hits Game of Thrones and Silicon Valley, "Weird Al" Yankovic and more to be announced later. Conaan's Comic-Con® International shows will be taped at San Diego's historic Spreckels Theatre from Wednesday, July 20 – Saturday, July 23. Each episode will air on TBS at 11 p.m. (ET/PT), with availability across TBS and Team Coco's digital, mobile and VOD platforms the following day.

- Formed at Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts by Nathan Morris and Marc Nelson (who eventually left), later joined by fellow school choir members Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman and Michael McCrary, Boyz II Men found their inspiration in the echoes of their school bathroom and their city’s tradition in classic a cappella and doo-wop harmonies. Inspired by New Edition, they took their name from one of the group’s songs, and then impressed the band’s lead singer Michael Bivins with an impromptu backstage audition of “Can You Stand the Rain,” leading to his agreeing to manage and produce them. UMe is marking the 25th anniversary of the release of Boyz II Men’s 1991, GRAMMY®-winning debut, Cooleyhighharmony and its multi- GRAMMY®-winning 1994 follow-up, II, with exclusive vinyl releases of both, with the latter, a two-LP set, for the first time ever on that format, on August 19.

- Diana Ross was six years into her wildly successful solo career from the Supremes when she outdid herself, releasing a self-titled project, her seventh studio album, that included two No. 1 pop smashes, “Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To)” and the dance-floor classic, “Love Hangover.” Ms. Ross also took two more tracks from the album up the charts, “I Thought It Took A Little Time (But Today I Fell In Love),” which hit the top five of Billboard magazine’s Easy Listening (now known as Adult Contemporary) chart, and “One Love In My Lifetime,” no. 5 on the Soul charts. Diana Ross, the album, peaked at no. 5 on the Billboard 200, no. 4 on the Soul album chart and no. 5 in the U.K. Marking 40 years from its original Motown release in February 1976, UMe is reissuing Diana Ross in vinyl for the first time since then on July 15, following a 2012 two-CD expanded set on the Hip-o-Select/Motown label.

- While singing the blues in dive bars throughout Northern Minnesota, a 12-year-old Cobi dreamt one day of performing on the biggest and most renowned stages in the world. He knew that music made him feel more alive than anything else and that he wanted to bring his art to a much larger audience.



- In a never-before-seen video from In Their Own Words: The American Masters Digital Archive, singer, dancer, actress and civil rights activist Lena Horne shares her disappointment in the lack of progress made toward racial equality throughout her lifetime:


- Smithsonian Channel will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Star Trek with a two-hour special that will take a look at the lasting influence the original Star Trek series has had on the world. Building Star Trek will premiere Sunday, September 4 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Smithsonian Channel.

- This past weekend, as America was celebrating Independence Day and shooting off fireworks, The Country Network (TCN) launched its broadcast in two more viewership markets: Oklahoma City and Memphis--KBZC (UHF Channel 42) and WQEK (UHF Channel 18/PSIP Channel 36) respectively. These two markets will add well over a million DMA market households to TCN's initial 40+ million DMA household-reach across digital subchannel tiers since the network was announced just over three months ago.

- Turner's powerhouse media brands TBS and TNT have renewed three original series currently airing on the networks: the critically acclaimed TNT drama Animal Kingdom, the new TBS series Wrecked and the hit TBS comedy Angie Tribeca.

I Want My Music Television: 7/5/16

Sledgehammer – Rihanna


In a post monoculture world you need a big hook to get your music in front of a lot of eyes and ears. So Rihanna released her new music video as the very first one ever shot in IMAX, apropos for s song from the new Star Trek movie. It does look cool enough for something that could fill an IMAX screen though I have no desire to actually go to one. This was not even the only big music video event Rihanna stared recently as an atomically correct lifelike doll of her popped in Kanye West’s Famous video which I will not be sharing, not because I am offended by the graphic nature but I was offended by how boring it was. Seriously, ten minutes of fake people not moving? Yawn. My big complaint of the Rihanna song though, is you cannot have a song entitled Sledgehammer without making people think of Peter Gabriel much like when Fifth Harmony released a song of the same title a couple years ago. Ironically the both came out with songs named Work this year though Fifth Harmony ended up changing theirs to Work From Home to avoid confusion even though both songs still chanted Work obnoxiously.


Heathens – twenty one pilots


Patrick Carney of The Black Keys once philosophized that the reason rock music was dying was because we let Nickelback become the biggest band in the world. So what does that mean twenty one pilots is now the biggest band in the world? I at least got Nickelback, it was frat rock. Who exactly is listening to twenty one pilots? But I can ask that about half of the top forty (seriously people, Panda?!?). But hey, we get a couple new images from Suicide Squad. I have said it before, but DC should scrap their five year Justice League plan and just start doing Suicide Squad standalone movies, which they may actually do as word on the internets is there are mulling over a Harley Quinn female antihero team up movie. Then after the standaloine, bring the Suicide Squad back together to fight the Injustice League headed by Black Manta.


Fake My Own Death – Sum 41


I will admit it, I have a couple Sum 41 songs in my library, like a lot of songs from the punk-pop era; those early songs were dumb fun. But like many other acts from that era, that act got old fast. The band always had a heavy metal side and it is probably wise to embrace that side but I am just not that into it. And Weezer already did a way past their prime music video where they took on internet memes and did it much better than this.


Bored to Death – Blink-182


Speaking of punk-pop band still at it, blink-182 was the one of the few of those bands that made it a decade of being relevant. The may be down a core member (apparently guitarist Tom DeLong is too buy rating about UFO’s) but this sound sounds like it could have been in a time capsule for the past decade, for better or worse.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 7/3/16

BrainDead: I am not sure how practical red solo cups duct taped over your ears are and it may have been wise to set the trap, leave, and check them later, but it made for one funny sight gag. But does that ending mean the aliens invaded the cat too? Aren’t cats evil enough that they do not need to be taken over by aliens?
You can download BrainDead on Amazon Instant Video, free with a Prime membership.

Pretty Little Liars: Finally someone is calling out the Aria/Ezra relationship as really creepy. Though I fear Aria will be able to talk her ex-boyfriend into the idea.
You can download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Casual: I knew it, one of the friends would try to become more than friends. Though I missed what went on with Alex’s dad. They made it seem like the dad told Alex the ex-girlfriend was committed when she just moved away. But then she stole the lightbulbs first?
You can watch Casual on Hulu.

The Challenge: Rivals III: I am shocked that every team but one was able to finish that challenge. I did a Cancer Walk that I was actually prepared for and still could not function for a week afterwards. And what is with that ball during The Jungle? The thing got dented really early. How is well above average soccer player Wes (insert eye roll here) supposed to show off his skills with a ball that is concaved?
You can download The Challenge: Rivals III on iTunes.

Aquarius: The chick with the historically bad accent has always been the best part of the show, but her pretending to be a cop pretending to be an anti-war activist is just awesomely bad. Almost make up for the unnecessary flashforwards of an event we all know is coming anyway.
You can download Aquarius on iTunes.

Around the Tubes: 7/1/16

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 Marvin Gaye, Dreamers, VH1 Live!, The Unknown Flag Raiser of Iwo Jima, Guerrilla, and Turner Classic Movies.

- UMe marks 45th anniversary of Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On with a special What’s Going On 10” vinyl EP that features a duet version featuring with new Motown artist BJ The Chicago Kid, available June 24.

- When DREAMERS—Nick Wold (vocals/guitar), Nelson (bass), and Jacob Wick (drums)—talk about its debut LP This Album Does Not Exist, they assume a collective tone of considerate existentialism. They seek to counter the crassness of pop, the snobbery of jazz, and the pretention of indie that zaps the fun out of any music with meaning. Yet, they want to draw you in, indiscriminate of taste, style, or ideology. This Album Does Not Exist due August 26 via Fairfax Recordings.



- VH1 this week announced a new late night talk show entitled VH1 Live! debuting Sunday, July 17th at 10:00. CNN commentator and BET News host Marc Lamont Hill will anchor the weekly series delivering VH1’s pop culture spin on the hottest entertainment news and gossip.

- Academy Award winning actor Gene Hackman has signed on to narrate Smithsonian Channel’s The Unknown Flag Raiser of Iwo Jima, airing July 3 at 9:00. The one-hour special, produced by Lucky 8 TV, provides new evidence and analysis proving that U.S. Marine Corps Pfc. and Purple Heart recipient Harold Schultz was one of the flag raisers in Joe Rosenthal’s iconic Iwo Jima photo on Mount Suribachi. This evidence led the United States Marine Corps to correct the historical record.

- Screen Actors Guild® Award winner Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire) has joined the cast of the new six-part limited series Guerrilla in the lead role of “Jas Mitra.” Set to air on Showtime and Sky Atlantic next year, GUERRILLA centers on a couple, “Jas” and “Marcus” (casting to be revealed soon), whose passion propels them into making the leap from political activism to radical militancy. Academy Award® winner John Ridley (American Crime) will write, direct and executive produce the limited series. Golden Globe® winner Idris Elba (Luther, Beasts of No Nation) will co-star and serve as an executive producer through his Green Door Pictures. Ridley will write the majority of the episodes and will direct the first two episodes and the finale, with Emmy Award nominee Sam Miller (Luther, No Good Deed) directing the other episodes.

- Turner Classic Movies (TCM) pays tribute the oldest film genre, and perhaps most classically American, with Shane Plus A Hundred More Great Westerns, a month-long programming special featuring more than 100 of the greatest Western movies ever made. Hosted by acclaimed actor and Academy Award® winning songwriter Keith Carradine, programming begins July 5th and airs from sun-up to sundown every Tuesday and Wednesday in July.

Shane Plus A Hundred More Great Westerns will feature themed programming including:

The Early Years (July 5) – in addition to The Great Train Robbery (1903), these pioneer Westerns include The Squaw Man (1914), the first producing-directing effort by the legendary Cecil B. DeMille
John Wayne/John Ford (July 5) – takes a look at the partnership of the quintessential Western star and director which encompassed 14 films ranging from Stagecoach (1939), the pairs first collaboration, to The Searchers (1956), which many consider the team’s greatest masterpiece
Directed by Sam Peckinpah (July 6) – provides examples of the iconic director’s work including Ride the High Country (1962) and The Wild Bunch (1969), which was noted for taking the Western into unprecedented levels of violence
Epic Westerns (July 12) – includes the Kirk Douglas vehicle The Big Sky (1952) and MGM’s How the West Was Won (1962), a multi-part, star-heavy epic originally filmed in Cinerama
Singing Cowboys (July 13) – a staple of the 1930s and ‘40s in a series of modest and innocently entertaining Westerns, many of them starring Gene Autry or Roy Rogers
Spaghetti Westerns/Clint Eastwood (July 19) – includes two TCM premieres - A Bullet for Sandoval (1970) and Red Sun (1971) - and overlaps with the “Starring Clint Eastwood” theme, which includes Sergio Leone’s spaghetti western classics A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1968)
Western Comedies (July 26) – ranging from Go West (1925), starring Buster Keaton, to Hearts of the West, starring Jeff Bridges, as a writer who becomes a star of B Westerns
Great Barroom Brawls (July 26) – highlighting the legendary and elusive Shane (1953), directed by George Stevens and starring Alan Ladd
True Stories? (July 27) – includes far-fetched accounts of Western legends such as Billy the Kid (1941) and Annie Get Your Gun (1950)

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

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

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

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

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

Barely Famous airs Wednesdays at 10:00 on VH1.


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

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

Dating Naked airs Wednesdays at 9:00 on VH1.

The Twelfth Scooter Television Awards

Welcome to the 12th Annual Scooter Television Awards honoring show that aired a majority of their season between July 2015 and June 2016. Without further ado, here are the winners of the 2016 STA's:

Best Scripted Show: Mr. Robot

Best Sitcom: Angie Tribeca

Best Sci-Fi Show: Orphan Black

Best Comic Book Adaptation: Marvel's Agent Carter

Best Period Show: Masters of Sex

Best Animated Show: Star Wars Rebels

Best Reality Show (Competition): Survivor, Season 31: Cambodia - Second Chance

Best Remake, Reboot, or Adaptation: Ash vs. Evil Dead

Best Educational Program: Brain Games

Best Talk Show: Pardon the Interuption

Best New Show: Mr. Robot

Guiltiest Guilty Pleasure: Supergirl

Best Musical: Grease Live!

Worst Show I Made Though an Entire Season Of: Quantico

Best Awards Show: 2016 Grammy Awards

Best Hour of TV: eps1.0_hellofriend.mov – Mr. Robot

Best Half Hour of TV: Weird Al – The Goldbergs

Biggest Shocker: They actually killed Norma on Bates Motel

Best Line: “You made the jury.” - Abi-Maria Gomez (Survivor: Second Chances)

Worst Idea: Reimagining The Muppets as a faux reality show as a late night talk show

Worst Moment: Even more agro sexist moments on Survivor

Biggest Disappointment: Quantico being more political Grey’s Anatomy and less Homeland: Freshman Year

Best New Title Sequence: Into the Badlands

Best Character: Elliot Alderson (Mr. Robot)

Best Recurring Character: Hugo Strange (Gotham)

Best Guest Appearance: Jack White on The Muppets

Best Duo: Alison and Donny Hendrix (Orphan Black)

Most Entertaining Reality “Star”: Abi Maria Gomez (Survivor: Second Chance)

Most Annoying Reality “Star”: Kyle Jason (Survivor: Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty II)

Show That Should Be Brought Back: Marvel’s Agent Carter

Most Anticipated New Show of Next Season: The Good Place

Biggest Question for 2016-2017: Will I bother to watch Supergirl now that it’s been demoted to The CW?

The Ten Best Television Shows of 2015-16

For my list of best shows of the year, I only consider shows that finished their seasons between July 2015 and June 2016.

1. Mr. Robot 1.x

2. Hannibal3.x

3. Masters of Sex 3.x

4. Angie Tribeca 1.x

5. The Americans 4.x

6. Marvel's Agent Carter 2.x

7. Ash vs. Evil Dead 1.x

8. Orphan Black 4.x'

9. Blindspot 1.x

10. Black-ish 2.x

Previewing Ray Donovan: Season Four

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

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

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

Ray Donovan airs Sundays at 9:00 on Showtime.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 6/25/16

Penny Dreadful: What is going on over at Showtime. About a month ago they announced House of Lies was ending with just episodes to go in the season. Then they announce the end of Penny Dreadful by added a “The End” title card to the end of the season finale, adding a press release saying yes this is the end the next day. Add that to the recent announcement of its flagship show Homeland will not be airing in its normal fall slot, instead being delayed to winter. I actually do like the surprise “The End” title card because sometime the anticipation of the final couple episodes of a series can really drag on the enjoyment of the show as you spend too much time worrying if the show will stick the landing.

Of course when the show ends, you still are left to decide if the show did stick the landing. The death of Vanessa did bring things full circle and it was probably for the best to put her out of her suffering. Same with Frankenstein’s monster who realized that it is for the best for everyone to let someone stay dead, no matter how much you loved them. Other storylines just kind of fell flat. Dorian was always the weakest link on the show and never really fit. Then I spent most of the season waiting for Mr. Hyde to show up, instead all we got was Lord Hyde who does not seem all that different from Dr. Jekyll. I guess you can say metaphorically that Lily was the split personally, or even Vanessa. But in the end it is probably the right call to just end the show here, it was enjoyable while it lasted but it was never going to be great. I will just be slightly disappointed the show did not last long enough to introduce the Invisible Man.

BrainDead: What a bizarre way to do a “previously On” package. I would expect it from a show like Galavant, but I wonder what possessed the writers on this show to do a musical recap about alien brain bugs and exploding heads. And I am not sure if it really exists, but sadly I can totally believe that there actually is a “Tax Prom” every year. But my big complaint with this show is I really do not understand what is going on with the aliens. Are half conservative and half liberal and just happen to inhabit different brains to continue their partisan war? Do they take on the traits of the brains they inhabit and just amplify those ideas? And why do some brains explode?
You can download BrainDead on Amazon Instant Video, free with a Prime membership.

Pretty Little Liars: There are few things I hate more than the “x amount of time earlier” title card at the end of the first scene of an episode. The only thing that is worse is when they do even resolve that scene until later in that season. So we start off the season with the Liars sans Hannah burying someone (or something, I am not entirely sold on them burying a dead body). The title card only said four days ago so hopefully we do not have to wait the whole season to get there.
You can download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Casual: It only took four episodes, but I finally see what they are doing. The first season was all about casual romantic relationships and this season is all about casual friendships. Valerie has her work neighbor, Laura has her study group buddy, and Ale, well, he still has the British dude. But now that I realized that, I have to start wondering at which point do any of the friends try to make a romantic move?
A lot was made at all the women Don Draper bedded, but if we are talking quality over quantity, Pete Campbell had Don beat hands down: Alison Brie, Sarah Wright, Alexis Bledel, Jessy Schram. So I was expecting bit more with his finance on this show. Granted if she ended up stealing all of Alex’s lightbulbs later in this season, her stock will rise greatly. And if I were the Asian chick, I would be a bit offended by being called Bill Wennington. C’mon, at least give her Horace Grant.
You can watch Casual on Hulu.

The Challenge: Rivals III: Wow, that was cheap. Vince actually throws punches and gets off with a warning, Tony hovers over his parter and gets tossed. That is like in baseball where a pitcher throws at a dudes head as hard as he can, both teams gets a warning, then a couple innings later some middling reliever drills someone between the shoulder blades with a sixty mile per hour retaliation pitch and gets the boot. To add insult to injury, it was even Vince who basically instigated the whole thing by knocking Camilla to the ground making her go full drunken Brazilian mode leading to Vince and Johnny to wake up the blacked out Tony. Karma should dictate Vince should automatically go to the Junglee. And with a memory challenge, he may very well depending how attentive Jenna is.
You can download The Challenge: Rivals III on iTunes.

Aquarius: Not a good sign for the second week in a row I fell asleep while watching. I did wake up in time to see the chick with the bad accent turn on the creepy biker dude. Worse sign, I did not even bother to look up a recap to see what I missed.
You can download Aquarius on iTunes.

Around the Tubes: 6/24/2016

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 Ray Donovan, Difficult People, The Unknown Flag Raiser of Iwo Jima, Live at 9:30, Tesla, Tony Lucca, Josh Kaufman, One and Done, Casual, Penny Dreadful, and Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.

- Showtime is giving viewers a chance to sample the season four premiere of its hit drama series Ray Donovan ahead of its linear premiere on Sunday, June 26th at 9:00. Ray Donovan stars Liev Schreiber in his three-time Golden Globe® and Emmy-nominated role as L.A.’s best professional fixer – the man called in to make the city’s celebrities, superstar athletes, and business moguls’ most complicated and combustible situations go away. The series is currently in production on 12 episodes in Los Angeles. Consumers who do not subscribe to Showtime can watch the TV-14 rated version of the season four premiere for free on YouTube and SHO.com. The episode is also available for download as a free video podcast on iTunes. Consumers can also sample the premiere of RAY DONOVAN for free across multiple television and streaming providers’ devices, websites and applications and free On Demand channels.

In season two of Difficult People, premiering Tuesday, July 12 on Hulu, Julie and Billy continue to search for fame, to diminishing returns. Billy embarks on the journey of finding a boyfriend while Julie tries her best to avoid a deeper commitment to Arthur and not become her mother. Julie and Billy continue to have contempt for the word around them while remaining loyal to each other, and, as they get in their own way, learn no lessons.


- For over 70 years, the iconic flag-raising photograph at Iwo Jima has been one of the most reproduced images in history, inspiring books, movies and the Marine Corps War Memorial in Washington, DC. In a new one-hour Smithsonian Channel special, the United States Marine Corps will confirm the identity of a previously unknown flag raiser on Iwo Jima. Forensic evidence provided by Smithsonian Channel and production company Lucky 8 TV reveals that unsung hero U.S. Marine Corps Pfc. and Purple Heart recipient Harold Schultz was one of the flag raisers in Joe Rosenthal’s famed Iwo Jima photo taken on February 23, 1945. The full forensic investigation unfolds with never-before-seen evidence in The Unknown Flag Raiser of Iwo Jima, premiering Sunday, July 3 at 9:00 on Smithsonian Channel.

- Live At 9:30 is excited to announce the launch of LiveAt930.com. Hosted by Squarespace, LiveAt930.com will be the exclusive online destination for the program and feature clips, behind the scenes blogs, and much more from the groundbreaking TV music variety series. Episodes of “Live At 9:30” began airing on public television stations earlier this month. Viewers should contact their local public television station to learn more about when “Live At 9:30” will air locally. After each episode has aired on public television, it will be available in full at LiveAt930.com.

- Tesla’s third album, Psychotic Supper, the band’s third studio album, released on August 30, 1991, was the follow-up to the live Five Man Acoustical Jam, peaking at #13 on the Billboard 200, featuring an aggressive change in direction from the previous disc, landing an impressive five songs on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, including “What You Give,” which went to #7 and even cracked the Billboard Hot 100 at #86. Other memorable songs include “Edison’s Medicine,” which spotlights how its subject received credit for harnessing electricity over the band’s own namesake, Nikola Tesla, which climbed to #20 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks, along with “Call It What You Want” (#19), “Song & Emotion” (#13) and “Stir It Up” (#35). Produced by Michael Barbiero (Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Anthrax) – who also helmed the band’s first two studio efforts -- the album was eventually certified platinum in 1993 by the RIAA, and was included in German magazine Rock Hard’s book of “The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.” The band themselves have been quoted as considering Psychotic Supper their best record. To help mark the album’s 25th anniversary in August, UMe is reissuing the album for the first time as a two-LP standard issue vinyl set on July 22.

- Nashville-based singer-songwriter Tony Lucca is set to hit the road this fall for an extensive cross-country tour (see full tour schedule below). Lucca has planned a Southeast, Northeast and Midwest series of co-headlining dates with labelmate Alex Dezen (of The Damnwells) which they are billing as the “Heads or Tails Tour.” (Joining Dezen and Lucca on their run will be Christian Lopez.) Lucca also plans to head out after that with Tyrone Wells for a series of twelve West Coast and Texas shows. For full dates and ticket information, head over to TonyLucca.com.

Josh Kaufman, Season 6 Champion of NBC’s The Voice, releases his first self-titled EP today, now available on all music platforms. The EP features a total of six songs, including his first single “Truth Be Told,” which was released on May 27. Other songs on the EP include the soulfully upbeat “All I Ask,” powerful vocal ballad “Avalanche,” jazzy foot-tapper “Paycheck,” love-inspired “The World,” and catchy radio-ready hit “Digging Deep.”

- Conan O'Brien will once again be immortalized with a set of four Pop! Vinyl figures to be available this July, when TBS's late-night series Conan returns to San Diego for Comic-Con® International. Created by Funko for TBS, a division of Turner, this year's collectible figure designs include "Superman™ Conan," "Stormtrooper™ Conan," "Ghostbuster™ Conan" and "The Joker™ Conan." In addition, the world of Conan will be put on full display through a virtual reality experience at the TBS Comic-Con® booth on the convention floor. During the week of Comic-Con® International, Conan will be taped at San Diego's historic Spreckels Theatre on Wednesday, July 20 – Saturday, July 23, including two rare weekend shows. Episodes will air that Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at 11 p.m. (ET/PT) on all TBS platforms and will be available across TBS and Team Coco's digital, mobile and VOD platforms the day after airing.

- Showtime Sports continues its expansion of unscripted, timely and compelling sports programming with a documentary film featuring projected No. 1 NBA Draft pick Ben Simmons. The network is collaborating with MAGGIEVISION Productions on the Simmons story and his journey to the NBA titled One and Done. The feature length film will premiere in October just prior to the start of Simmons’ rookie NBA season. The announcement was made today by Executive Vice President & General Manager of Showtime Sports Stephen Espinoza.

- The Golden Globe®-nominated Hulu Original and Lionsgate Television comedy Casual from Oscar®-nominated director Jason Reitman and creator Zander Lehmann - which just premiered its second season to critical acclaim earlier this month - will return for a third season in 2017. In addition, Jason Reitman has signed a first look deal with Hulu for all television related projects. This is Hulu’s first development deal of this kind.

- The critically acclaimed SHOWTIME drama Penny Dreadful has slayed its final demon – last night’s jaw-dropping finale marked the series finale of the three-season opus envisioned by creator, writer and executive producer John Logan, it was announced today by Logan and David Nevins, President and CEO, Showtime Networks Inc. This unique mash-up of literary horror has followed Vanessa Ives (Eva Green, in her Golden Globe®-nominated role), Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett), and Sir Malcolm (Timothy Dalton) as they’ve worked together, at all costs, to vanquish the evil that relentlessly pursues them.

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Previewing Murder in the First: Season Three

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

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

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

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

Previewing Roadies

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

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

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

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

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

Roadies airs Sundays at 10:00 on Showtime.

2016 Summer Music Preview

As it seems like every time I do a quarterly round up of albums coming soon, things just seem to be getting more and more dire. These are supposed to be the albums that will be the soundtrack to out collective summer, but most everything is a resounding meh to me. The only album I can even get a little excited for is the new Avett Brothers album. Everything else I will at least give a spin on Spotify hopping for a gem. In the past, at the "TBD" section was where a bulk of the anticipated albums landed before airdropping with little to no notice, but even that is getting thin. If you want to pre-order the album on Amazon, click on the album title, click the artist's name to be taken to their iTunes page.


Last Week
The Getaway - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Johannesburg - Mumford & Sons
Undercurrent - Sarah Jarosz
The Joker Live - Steve Miller Band

This Week
True Sadness - The Avett Brothers
Moving Day - Meiko
Conscious - Broods
Caroline Glaser - Caroline Glaser

July 1
blackSUMMERS'night - Maxwell
Young In All The Wrong Ways - Sara Watkins
The Bride - Bat for Lashes
California - blink-182
King Paten - Holly Henry

July 8
Where the Light Shines Through - Switchfoot
Blank Face LP - ScHoolboy Q
Wildflower - The Avalanches

July 15
H A R D L O V E - Needtobreathe
Love and Hate - Michael Kiwanuka

July 22
Dress to Impress - Keith Sweat

August 5
Give A Glimpse Of What Yer Not - Dinosaur Jr.
XX - O.A.R.

August 12
Home of the Strange - Young the Giant

August 26
and the Anonymous Nobody... - De La Soul
Stay Gold - Butch Walker
I'm Alone, No You're Not - Joseph

September 2
My Women - Angel Olsen

September 9
Signs of Light - The Head and the Heart
Away - Okkervil River

September 16
Three - Phantogram

October 7
50 - Rick Astley
12 Voices - Sum 41

TBD
Songs of Experience - U2
Cool Aid - Snoop Dogg
LP2 - Bastille
Echosmith
HAIM
The Rolling Stones
The Stone Roses
The Shins
Tears for Fears

And this may be the quarter when Dr. Dre releases Detox.

57 Channels and Only This Is On:

House of Lies: I hate when episode start in the third act before a “x amount of time earlier” title card, this was weird because we did not get just one scene in the future before flashing back to the beginning, we got five (and really the whole episode just jumped back and forth in time), but at least that was worth it for adding Doug making out with the old lady at the end. I guess it was good the show ended because I am not sure a season with Marty and Jeannie blissfully married. But still a weird way to end it. Before the season Kristen Bell was cast in an NBC sitcom but they said it would not interfere with House of Lies. Which makes sense, ten episode of one show, thirteen of another; some sitcoms air twenty-four episodes a year. Except when the Veronica Mars movie was being made there was talk of a television reboot but they said that could not be done because Kristen Bell could not be the face of two shows at the same time. But then David Duchovny did it with X-Files and Aquarius so maybe in that time people were lax on that. But then two weeks before the finale, Showtime announced it would be a series finale, not season. Has Showtime just decided to get out of the half-hour business? Happyish was a rare one and done on a premium network. House of Lies is now done; Episode only has one season left. So that leaves Dice as only half hour on the air that has not been canceled. Except that has not been renewed either, and not getting a renewal a month after the season ended is not a good sign. And I am not aware of any new comedies in the pipeline. Not that I am complaining, Showtime’s drama are much better. House of Lie is the best I have seen on the network and it is not in the top five all all shows.

Preacher: Being able to get people to do whatever you say in the most literal way has to be one of the lames superpowers to have. That may take a while for Preacher to master in his advantage. Okay, the scene with the Irish Vampire was fun.
You can download Preacher on iTunes.

Penny Dreadful: When shows like Lost were on I obsessed on every little detail, noticed every callback, every Easter egg, just straight off the dome. Fast forward a decade and I do not even notice that museum guy and Dracula was the same guy. Getting old really sucks. At the start of the episode when museum guy lifted up the vampire I thought, oh, I wonder what Victorian monster this guy could be. It was not until it donned on Vanessa that she was hooking up with Dracula the whole time that the lightbulb slowly flickered over my head too. But what exactly does that ending mean? Dracula want to serve Vanessa but it was still him that drank her blood. Does that mean she is a vampire now too? The hot Mr. Lyle replacement said not to believe the mythology behind Dracula, so maybe not. She definitely turned evil. But we did learn from her phycologist that she has at least three distinct personalities so there is probably still a good version or two in there.

Speaking of split personalities, Lily may be getting one soon after Dorian turned on her to team up with Dr. Frankenstein and will soon get injected with Dr. Jekyll’s formula. I have been waiting all season for Dr. Jekyll to turn into Mr. Hyde, maybe it will be Lily who turns into Mr. Hyde. Well that theory does really work because Mr. Hyde is a hideous, evil creature without compassion or remorse and, well, Lily is already there.

BrainDead: Man, this show got killed by critics (and in the ratings) but I really enjoyed the whole sixties B-movie with modern day production feel to it. It is more enjoyable than the other Ramona Flowers show that aired earlier this year.
You can download BrainDead on Amazon Instant Video, free with a Prime membership.

Casual: Nice to see Pete Campbell is still an intolerable douchebag. Here is hoping someone on this show punches him too. And here we are in the third episode and Laura is on her third learning environment. During the meet and greet, right around the “good job” discussion (speaking of intolerable people) I thought she might be on a fourth one next episode but looks like she may actually be sticking around for a while. And apparently Alex’s phase three phase is officially over after bedding one of the annoying mother. Is he back to phase one or is there a phase four?
You can watch Casual on Hulu.

The Challenge: Rivals III: For years I have been advocating that Survivor poach The Challenge challenge makers. But maybe The Challenge challenge makers have finally run out of ideas because almost all of them this season have been horrible and this week’s grab a flag going off the cliff challenge may have been the worst yet. Then they stole that build something until it reaches a certain height Jungle challenge from Survivor, albeit adding a silly ice cooler bath component to it.
You can download The Challenge: Rivals III on iTunes.

Aquarius: I spent most of last season talking about what was happening behind the scenes than what was actually happening on screen. And that is continuing for the surprise second season. No binge watch option like season one where NBC released every episode On Demand after the premiere, but instead this year we get a two hour commercial free premiere. When they announced this I thought we would get two extended episodes. But when the credits ran I noticed writers and directors for “part 3.” So instead of two extended episodes, the two hour premiere was three shortened episodes (though not by much, most hour longs run forty-two minutes so we basically got two minutes less than usual). Did this stunt work? I cannot see how it possibly could. When Angie Tribeca ran its commercial free marathon, it still had a “presenting sponsor,” Aquarius did not even have that. On a personal level it was pretty much a failure because I found myself nodding off about halfway through. But I vaguely remember Denis Wilson showing up. And guess the people that are killed in the future are the Sharon Tate murders. Meh.
You can download Aquarius on iTunes.

Orphan Black: So before season finale we learned next season will be the last raising the bar for the episode. The big reveal is that Rachel will soon meet the person behind everything that apparently is too good for dying and has been around for over a hundred years. So have we met this person yet or is going to be someone new. My first thought was Leekie, or more specifically someone who looks like him, we really cannot rule out the big bad being a clone themselves. Or will it look like Sarah and the rest of the clones that we already know and this person is the real original clone?
You can download Orphan Black on iTunes.

Around the Tubes: 6/17/16

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 Roadies, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Hell Below, Bitten, and Outside Television.

- Showtime is offering viewers an early opportunity to sample the highly-anticipated music series Roadies ahead of its linear premiere on Sunday, June 26th at 10:00. The first original series from creator, executive producer, writer and director Cameron Crowe, Roadies is a one-hour comedy featuring an ensemble cast headed by Luke Wilson (Old School, Enlightened) and Screen Actors Guild® Award nominee Carla Gugino (San Andreas). The series gives an insider’s look at the reckless, romantic, funny and often poignant lives of a committed group of roadies who live for music and the de facto family they’ve formed along the way. ROADIES chronicles the rock world through the eyes of music’s unsung heroes and pays homage to the backstage workers who put the show on the road while touring for the successful arena-level group, The Staton-House Band. Consumers who do not subscribe to Showtime are now able to sample the TV-14 rated version of the series premiere for free on YouTube, Facebook and SHO.com. The pilot is also available for download as a free video podcast on iTunes. Consumers can also sample the premiere episode for free across multiple television and streaming providers’ devices, websites and applications and free On Demand channels.

- Tune in to watch Red Hot Chili Peppers on AT&T Live at the iHeartRadio Theater L.A. airing exclusively via nationwide broadcast this Friday, June 17 at 9:00 on the AUDIENCE Network, DIRECTV Ch 239/U-verse Ch 1114.

- A new Smithsonian Channel series will chart the stealthy game of undersea warfare from the greatest submarine campaigns of World War II. The six-episode Hell Below premieres Sunday, July 17 at 9:00. It profiles the strategic masterminds behind the brutal tactics of Nazi U-boats and reveals the extraordinary feats of Allied subs in the Atlantic and Pacific. Both the Axis and Allies employed unrestricted submarine warfare to bring their enemies to their knees in World War II. Submariners on both sides were a special breed of warrior, always volunteers, often fighting alone. Sub warfare evolved rapidly during the war, as German U-Boats and American submarines attacked military targets and commercial shipping. Submarine attacks created chaos and unnerved adversaries. And while the world’s oceans provided concealment and protection, the environment was unforgiving. Each hour-long episode of HELL BELOW features expert analysis and stock footage along with dramatic re-enactments filmed aboard authentic World War II era submarines, placing viewers in the heart of the action.

- Based on the "Otherworld" novels by New York Times best-selling author Kelley Armstrong, Bitten stars Laura Vandervoort ("Smallville", "V", "Haven", Ted) as Elena Michaels, the world's only female werewolf. For three seasons, the show's rabid followers have tuned in as Elena evolved from a photographer who hides her dark secret after being bitten, to a ferocious leader of the Stonehaven pack. Bitten: The Final Season picks up several months after the harrowing battle in the season two finale. Bolstering their ranks in the wake of the carnage, the Stonehaven Pack is on the hunt for the Russian Alpha and his brethren, seeking to end a decades-old vendetta. Meanwhile, Elena struggles with Pack Alpha Jeremy Danvers' new draconian leadership style, and makes a shocking and surprising discovery about herself.

- OUTSIDE TELEVISION, America’s only national 24/7 network dedicated to the active adventure lifestyle, has big plans for the month of June. Next week, new seasons of DISPATCHES and LOCALS will premiere in addition to a new original series, MAVERICK MOMENTS. If that wasn’t enough, Outside TV has also dedicated a day’s worth of programming to celebrate International Surf Day on Monday June 20th followed by the world premiere of MAVERICK MOMENTS (9pm ET) and then season six premiere of DISPATCHES (9:30pm ET). Don’t have access to Outside TV? No worries – we’ve got you covered with a month long free preview through Sling TV which runs from June 20th to July 20th.

I Want My Music Television: 6/16/16

Kill Em with Kindness - Selena Gomez


Supposedly Selena Gomez just released a new music video but really, this is just a logo away from being a shampoo commercial.


Honky Talk Rules – Public Enemy


The only song that stood out on the latest Public Enemy album was this The Rolling Stones sampling song. How weird seeing Chuck D in a cowboy hat. Kind of look the dude from Hootie and the Blowfish who went country.


Remedy – Zac Brown Band


Man, that opening was dark, that is the very reason why I do not watch Teen Mom. Really this is less a Zac Brown Band music video and more a really dark short film because we barely hear the song at all. This was listed as part one, I may skip part two whenever it comes out.


Boyz n Poizn - Phoebe Ryan


A baseball themed video with mascots should be cool but really, had they not waited all that money on the aerial shot, maybe Phoebe Ryan would have had enough money to field a whole baseball team.

Previewing Animal Kingdom

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Previewing Major Crimes

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

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

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

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

Previewing The Last Ship: Season Three

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

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

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

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

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