Around the Tubes: November 27, 2021

  

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting.  This post includes blurbs on Ray Donovan: The Movie, Candified: Home For The Holidays, Super Pumped, Claire Rosinkranz, Licorice Pizza, Glass Animals, Taylor Swift, and Hulu Originals Winter 2021-22 Programming Slate.

- SHOWTIME has released the trailer and key art for RAY DONOVAN: THE MOVIE, set to premiere on Friday, January 14 at 9 p.m. ET/PT and will replay across all platforms on Saturday, January 15 at 8:15 p.m. and Sunday, January 16 at 8:15 p.m. The film follows the hit drama series’ seven-season run on the network and stars Liev Schreiber in his Emmy^® nominated role. Schreiber also co-wrote the script with series showrunner David Hollander, who directed the film. Original cast members reprising their roles include Eddie Marsan as Ray’s brother Terry, Dash Mihok as Ray’s brother Bunchy, Pooch Hall as the Donovan’s half-brother Daryll, Kerris Dorsey as Ray’s daughter Bridget, Katherine Moennig as Lena, along with Kerry Condon as Molly Sullivan and Oscar^® winner Jon Voight as Mickey Donovan. During its 82-episode run from 2013 to 2020, the series earned multiple Emmy, Writers Guild and Critics’ Choice award nominations.

- It's almost here! All episodes of "Candified: Home For The Holidays" premiere this Wednesday, December 1st on Hulu. Get a taste of this sweet series with the new trailer!  The challenge - create a life-size house made of ...CANDY!  Watch as Candy Queen Jackie Sorkin and her team of candy artists design, glue, melt and shape hundreds of thousands of sweet pieces to build a fantasy come to life….just in time for the holidays.

- SHOWTIME has announced that SUPER PUMPED: THE BATTLE FOR UBER, the first installment of a new anthology series, will premiere on Sunday, February 27 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Starring Emmy^® winner Joseph Gordon-Levitt (The Trial of the Chicago 7), Emmy winner Kyle Chandler (Bloodline, Friday Night Lights) and Oscar^® and Emmy nominee Uma Thurman (Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction), the first season is based on Mike Isaac’s bestselling book Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber. Brian Koppelman and David Levien (BILLIONS, Rounders) and Beth Schacter (Soundtrack) executive produce, write and serve as showrunners on the series.  SUPER PUMPED:THE BATTLE FOR UBER tells the story of one of Silicon Valley’s most successful and most destructive unicorns, Uber. The season pivots on Travis Kalanick (Gordon-Levitt), Uber’s hard-charging CEO who was ultimately ousted in a boardroom coup, and his sometimes tumultuous relationship with his mentor Bill Gurley (Chandler), the plainspoken, brilliant Texan venture capitalist who bets his sterling reputation on Uber’s success – and then has to live with the consequences. Thurman stars as Arianna Huffington, the savvy businesswoman and co-founder of The Huffington Post, who was an Uber board member. The SHOWTIME series will depict the roller-coaster ride of the upstart transportation company, embodying the highs and lows of Silicon Valley. Even amid the radical upheaval generated within the global tech capital, Uber stands out as both a marvel and a cautionary tale, featuring internal and external battles that ripple with unpredictable consequences. The series also stars Elisabeth Shue (Leaving Las Vegas), Kerry Bishé (Halt and Catch Fire, PENNY DREADFUL: CITY OF ANGELS), Jon Bass (Miracle Workers), Bridget Gao Hollitt (Home and Away) and Babak Tafti (Succession).

- Continuing a breakthrough 2021, 17-year-old Southern California singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Claire Rosinkranz unveils a new song entitled “don’t miss me” today via slowplay and Republic Records.  Listen to “don’t miss me”—HERE.  Once again, she gets in her feels over the bounce of an unpredictable and undeniable soundscape. Uplifted by boisterous horns and handclaps, a jazz-y rhythm underscores her energetic delivery as she admits, “I can’t take my feelings, I can’t trust my heart, so I’ll never take my chances, because I know I’ll break apart.”

- Republic Records releases the highly anticipated Licorice Pizza Original Motion Picture Soundtrack out now. The album accompanies the new film from eight-time Academy® Award-nominated writer and director Paul Thomas Anderson which opens today in select New York and Los Angeles Theaters and across the country on Christmas Day December 25^th, 2021 via United Artists Releasing.  The soundtrack will also be available on vinyl via a limited edition first pressing on December 10^th with a special red vinyl available only at indie record stores.  Experience the Licorice Pizza Original Motion Picture Soundtrack—HERE and limited edition first pressing vinyl HERE.

- Critically acclaimed global sensations Glass Animals received a GRAMMY® Award nomination for Best New Artist. This is the first time the band has been nominated at the GRAMMY® Awards.  Frontman Dave Bayley reacted to the nomination on socials (see post here), “can’t believe it!!! when starting this little project a grammy nomination was beyond our wildest dreams. to be on the list feels wonderful after thinking we might have lost it all. this past year it was tough for anyone to look at the news, get out of bed, or do pretty much anything…much less make yourself vulnerable and release music. so to anybody who put something out: you deserve a bloody medal. we survived it because of the support from everyone who listened/shared/believed/encouraged in any way. thank you. this is because of you. and this is for you. you are all as much a part of this record as any of us ass glanimals. love forever. dave and co.”

-  Taylor Swift has made history once again presenting the definitive version of her 2012 classic, Red (Taylor’s Version).  Marking her 10th album to move over 1 Million album equivalents during its release week and arriving to worldwide critical acclaim, Red (Taylor’s Version) adds a brilliant new chapter to her legacy.  Red (Taylor’s Version) boasts a staggering 30 songs, including nine previously unreleased tracks – “Better Man (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault),” “Nothing New (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)” [feat. Phoebe Bridgers], “Babe (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault),” “Message in a Bottle (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault),” “I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)” [feat. Chris Stapleton], “Forever Winter (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault),” “Run (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)” [feat. Ed Sheeran], “The Very First Night (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault),” and “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)” [10 Minute Version].

- Hulu Originals Winter 2021-22 Programming Slate (link to trailer in title name where available)

FILMS & DOCUMENTARIES

THE HOUSEWIFE & THE SHAH SHOCKER - Premiere Date: November 29, 2021

THE NEW YORK TIMES PRESENTS: TO LIVE AND DIE IN ALABAMA - Premiere Date: December 3, 2021

DEAD ASLEEP - Premiere Date: December 16, 2021 - NEW ANNOUNCEMENT

MOTHER/ANDROID - Premiere Date: December 17, 2021

SEX APPEAL - Premiere Date: January 14, 2022 - NEW ANNOUNCEMENT

  

SERIES

TASTE THE NATION: HOLIDAY EDITION - Premiere Date: November 4, 2021 (binge)

SOLAR OPPOSITES HOLIDAY SPECIAL - Premiere Date: November 22, 2021

CITY OF ANGELS | CITY OF DEATH - Premiere Date: November 24, 2021 (binge)

CANDIFIED: HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS - Premiere Date: December 1, 2021 (binge)

PEN15 - Premiere Date: December 3, 2021 (binge)

CROSSING SWORDS - Premiere Date: December 10, 2021 (binge)

LETTERKENNY - Premiere Date: December 26, 2021 (binge)

HOW I MET YOUR FATHER - Premiere Date: January 18, 2022 (weekly)

PAM & TOMMY - Premiere Date: February 2, 2022 (weekly)

DOLLFACE - Premiere Date: February 11, 2022 (binge) - NEW ANNOUNCEMENT

 

KIDS

HOLLY HOBBIE - Premiere Date: November 23, 2021 (binge)

MADAGASCAR: A LITTLE WILD HOLIDAY GOOSE CHASE - Premiere Date: November 26, 2021

TROLLS: TROLLSTOPIA - Premiere Date: December 9, 2021 (binge)

DRAGONS: THE NINE REALMS - Premiere Date: December 23, 2021(binge)

57 Channels and Only This Is On: November 21, 2021

  

Dexter: New Blood:  So Dexter killed the son of the local serial killer?  Considering the previous seasons, I should have seen that one coming.  But does that dude, who seeming got pay off someone to take the wrap for something his son did money from his truck stop, also run the shelter?  He does charitably donate supplies to the fire department.  But running a shelter seems like it take a lot of work especially if you need to hide that you are not letting your guest leave before killing them.  But I guess that explains why so many indigenous women wind up missing in the area.  One more thing I found confusing, didn’t Dexter and Harrison drive over some blood.  It looked like Dexter intentionally drove over it, but it does not seem like that would cover it up.

 

Fear the Walking Dead:  The Walking Dead is ten years old, spanning three different show, but I do not remember a zombie death as entertaining as someone giving a tombstone pile driver to smash a skull.  It is a complete absurd and logistically stupid way to kill a zombie but I loved every second of it.  I am struggling to remember anything else that happened this week.

 

Yellowjackets:  I did not want to put any predictions into my review of this show, buy I have a very strong belief that despite there not being an older version of her in the cast, Jackie is not dead.  Not only that, she is number one on my list of suspects of who sent out the postcards to everyone.  If I am right, hopefully they cast one of my nineties teen star suggestions I made in my review.  Keri Russell probably best looks the part.  Too bad Emmy Rossum is too young, as she looks like a dead ringer for older Ella Purnell.  It also look like the naked chick running in the flash… um what do you call something that flashes forward and back to the two main timeline?  But anyways, that really looked like Lottie to me.

 

The Walking Dead: World Beyond:  Hey scientist lady, how about spending less time banging the door to get someone to let you out and spend more time figuring out a way to bash in the zombie’s skull.  How can someone survive that long into a zombie apocalypse and die so easily?  But anyway.  The CRM is just going to kill everyone who is not them for no apparent reason.  Well that is stupid.

 

La Brea:  Well, that is a plot twist; the dad was having visions of the prehistoric era but memories.  That would explain why he was abandoned.   But that just opens a whole can of worms.  How did he get to modern times?  Where did he and his grandfather even come from?  Where, who, are his parents?  Does anyone else get to modern times with him?  It is weird how invested I am in this show after watching it as a joke.

 

Dopesick:  I mostly scrolled by headlines involving opioids because thankfully I and no one I know have been affected by the drug so I was kind of going in blind to the finale.  I know people still refer to it as a crisis so I figured that Oxy never went away.  But it is really infuriating that our government balked at prosecuting anyone even though they were caught red-handed lying to Congress.

 

Survivor:  We have seen a countless amount of times where someone gets targeted early in the episode only to end up winning Immunity, but this was the first time remembering when two people get targeting for split voting and they both ended up getting Immunity. But Xander finally got his bluff called, managed to not play his Idol at the merger after a good bluff, was smart enough to not use his Idol last week when Ricard poorly bluffed telling him he need his Idol.  But without Ricard pouring it on way too heavy, was feeling himself too much by not playing his Idol for Evie.

 

Xander may really regret that (he could have also used his Extra Vote to get out Liane that way and save his Idol).  So now it is Black alliance (and Ricard) with five and Xander on the bottom with Erika and Heather.  What could have been 4v4 is now down two numbers so know you have a one in three chance to properly play your Idol, and the other alliance has two Idols to play with.  So basically Xander really needs than Shan / Deshawn feud to boil over very quickly for you to have a chance.

 

The Challenge: Spies, Lies, and Allies: Good riddance.  And TJ stop saying we will see Josh again.  Please never ask him back ever.  But of course Kyle beat Josh in the Lair, not only because he is uncoordinated and cannot even hit a swinging bell, but we still have not seen that scene from the mid-season promo of Kyle and Devin arguing about the latter possibly sending the former in.  So I guess we will have to wait two more weeks for that scene to happen for the next guys week to roll around.

 

The Challenge: All-Stars: It is time for all the women to be scared of Ayanna.  It looked like she would have dominated both guys in that elimination.  Though, she was the only one smart enough to shorten the chains which makes it resistance less.  You know the old saying, work smarter not harder. She likely will have a free ride to the final because unless she comes in last again, I do not see anyone throwing her name out.  I also do not see anyone mocking the clothes of the winners again either.

 

Guilty Party:  I am with Marco, you just cannot write of naked pictures on someone’s phone as just being a source.  If that is the case, delete them immediately, you just do not keep them around.

 

Big Sky:  So is the marshal going to go back and find Ronald?  Seems like he figured it out.  And it does not seem like T-Loc is long for this world.  I am guessing the cartel will find him sooner than later, but will he turn on the kids and tell them they still have the money?

 

The Blacklist:  Turns I was right agent Park is pregnant, or was.  That was sad.

Around the Tubes: November 20, 2021

 

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting.  This post includes blurbs on Pam & Tommy, The Expanse, Mother/Android, Crossing Swords, How I Met Your Father, U2, Eddie Vedder, Lyn Lapid, Frank Sinatra, Neon Trees, Yusuf / Cat Stevens, Aerosmith, DC’s Stargirl, Letterkenny, Adrienne, and The D’Amelio Show.

- Hulu Original limited series "Pam & Tommy" premieres with the first three episodes on Wednesday, Feb. 2. New episodes stream weekly.

-  Prime Video released the official trailer for the sixth and final season of the sci-fi fan-favorite The Expanse. The new season will debut on Friday, December 10th with the first episode and continue weekly for six weeks, culminating with an epic series finale on January 14, 2022. The Amazon Original series will be available exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 territories around the world, and is produced by Alcon Television Group.  This season of The Expanse picks up with the solar system at war, as Marco Inaros and his Free Navy continue to launch devastating asteroid attacks on Earth and Mars. As the tensions of war and shared loss threaten to pull the crew of the Rocinante apart, Chrisjen Avasarala makes a bold move and sends former Martian Marine Bobbie Draper on a secret mission that could turn the tide. Meanwhile in the Belt, Drummer and what’s left of her family are on the run and hunted for betraying Marco. And on a distant planet beyond the Rings, a new power begins to rise.

- Check out the official trailer for Hulu Original Film "Mother/Android" starring Chloë Grace Moretz!  The film premieres Friday, December 17, 2021 on Hulu.  Set in the near future, “Mother/Android” follows Georgia (Chloë Grace Moretz) and her boyfriend Sam (Algee Smith) through their treacherous journey of escape as their country is caught in an unexpected war with artificial intelligence. Days away from the arrival of their first child, they must face No Man’s Land – a stronghold of the android uprising, in hopes of reaching safety before giving birth. 

- Check out the all-new trailer and key art for the upcoming second season of Hulu's "Crossing Swords." All episodes premiere Friday, December 10th only on Hulu. Another ten episodes of bingeable mayhem, representing the next chapter in the adventures of Patrick the long-suffering squire (Nicholas Hoult) as he climbs the ladder of knighthood in the service of the volatile King Merriman (Luke Evans). There are new friends to make, new enemies to vanquish, and new horrors to scar Patrick for life; including bloodthirsty leprechauns, an island of killer monkeys, and a shadowy villain who could destroy everything Patrick has ever known! From creators John Harvatine IV and Tom Root, and Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, the producers of Robot Chicken and Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K.! 

- Hulu's "How I Met Your Father" premieres on Tuesday, January 18 2022.  In the near future, Sophie (Hilary Duff) is telling her son the story of how she met his father: a story that catapults us back to the year 2021 where Sophie and her close-knit group of friends are in the midst of figuring out who they are, what they want out of life, and how to fall in love in the age of dating apps and limitless options. 

- Island Records, Interscope, and UMe today announce the 30^th Anniversary Edition release of U2’s seminal album Achtung Baby, which will see a special Standard and Deluxe vinyl release on November 19, ahead of a 50-track digital boxset available December 3, 2021.  Thirty years ago, Bono described Achtung Baby as “the sound of four men chopping down The Joshua Tree” while Jon Pareles of the New York Times wrote that “stripped-down and defying its old formulas, U2 has given itself a fighting chance for the 1990's”. The album won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance and became one of the most significant records of the nineties and of U2’s career.  Recorded over six months at Hansa Studio in Berlin and Windmill Lane in Dublin, Achtung Baby is U2’s seventh studio album. Produced by long-time U2 collaborators Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno with Steve Lillywhite, Achtung Baby was engineered by Flood and released on November 18, 1991. Lead by The Fly, four other singles followed: Mysterious Ways, One, Even Better Than The Real Thing, and Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses. Watch here:

- Eddie Vedder announces the release date for his highly anticipated new album Earthling available on February 11^th via Seattle Surf/Republic Records and launched the physical pre-order (cd, vinyl & cassette). In addition, today he has released the second song from the upcoming album titled “The Haves.”  Pre-Order Earthling HERE (cd, vinyl & cassette), listen to “The Haves” HERE and watch the official lyric video HERE.  Earthling, which was produced by Grammy Award® winning producer Andrew Watt, is the first album since Vedder’s 2011 Ukulele Songs. Available today, fans can purchase a special limited-edition 7-inch vinyl featuring “Long Way” and “The Haves” HERE and HERE via Pearl Jam’s Ten Club.

- Lyn Lapid releases XMAS 01, which features two new original holiday songs, “Messed Up On Christmas” and “Candy Cane Kisses”—listen HERE.  Lyn says, “I’m so excited for my first Christmas themed release. The first song of the bundle is called ‘Messed Up On Christmas,’ and it’s a little sad girl song about feeling lonely around the holiday season. I feel like a lot of people can relate to wanting to spend Christmas with someone special, but not being able to. Ironically, the second song of the bundle is called ‘Candy Cane Kisses,’ which is sonically the literal opposite of the first song, and it’s dedicated to that special someone, whoever that may be, and not wanting anybody or anything else but that person for Christmas. I hope y’all enjoy it! It was so fun recording them.”

- An animated silhouette of Frank Sinatra, one of popular culture’s most captivating singers, opens a new video for his heartfelt “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” available here.  As the song continues, the animation beautifully reveals a tender story about facing the holiday season in a new city while trying to build a life. The video is dedicated to those who have made these courageous journeys.  WATCH/SHARE VIDEO FOR “HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS”  

- The platinum selling group Neon Trees has released the video for their latest single “Holiday Rock.” Co-written and co-produced by lead singer Tyler Glenn and producer Dan Book, the single arrives just in time to kick off the season of cheer. The video, which was filmed at Encircle Salt Lake City, features the band celebrating the holidays with friends and family. Watch it here.  “As early as I can remember, when I think of the holidays I think of Christmas music and my Mom, decorating the house to the nines, making sure our house felt the holiday warmth,” states Tyler Glenn.  “I wanted to capture that feeling of cheer that my Mom always seemed to invoke around the holiday season, no matter the year, no matter the struggles: we were going to have Christmas! I wanted to use that classic holiday song template. Simple and feel good, and a bit nostalgic.”  

-  Following last year’s 50^th anniversaries of the era-defining albums, Tea for the Tillerman and Mona Bone Jakon, Yusuf / Cat Stevens is celebrating the succeeding album that immortalized his status as a forerunner in the singer-songwriter movement – the 1971 multi-platinum selling landmark record, Teaser and the Firecat – with a suite of 50^th anniversary editions, available now via A&M/UMe.  Cat Stevens achieved phenomenal success with his early work, but it was Teaser and the Firecat, his third LP with Island Records – A&M in the U.S. – that propelled Cat Stevens into superstardom, spawning some of his most unforgettable hits including “Moonshadow,” “Peace Train” and “Morning Has Broken,” songs by a youthful spiritual seeker, wise beyond his years that would lay the pretext for a poignant new wave of soulful troubadours and poets. Later, “The Wind” would see Teaser and the Firecat celebrated anew, rising to prominence following the song’s use in Wes Anderson’s much celebrated film “Rushmore” as well as the Oscar-winning Cameron Crowe film, “Almost Famous.” Through his spell-binding gift for songwriting and his introspective vision, Cat delivered a universal sense of hope and peace in Teaser and the Firecat that still resonates profoundly to this day.

 

- On November 26, 2021, the four-time GRAMMY® winning and Diamond-certified rock legends Aerosmith will release Aerosmith – 1971: The Road Starts Hear (UMe), a rare and previously unheard rehearsal from 1971 as part of Record Store Day 2021, available locations HERE.  Recently discovered in the Aerosmith vaults, the original tape had not been touched in decades. This historic recording features seven extraordinary tracks showcasing the early, unbridled talent of the future Hall of Fame members including a nascent version of “Dream On,” which they would later record and release on their 1973 eponymous major label debut. Aerosmith is one of the few bands to chart with the same song 5 decades later, the song was a hit in 1973 reaching No. 59 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and re-entered the charts in 2020 at No. 4 on the Hard Rock Streaming Songs chart.

- It’s time to suit up and get ready to face the darkness with the release of DC’s Stargirl: The Complete Second Season on Blu-ray and DVD on February 8, 2022 from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. Prepare to shine with an exhilarating ride with all 13 episodes from the second season plus a featurette, and gag reel. DC’s Stargirl: The Complete Second Season is priced to own at $24.98 SRP ($29.98 in Canada) for the DVD and $29.98 SRP ($39.99 in Canada) for the Blu-ray, which includes a Digital Copy (US Only). DC’s Stargirl: The Complete Second Season is also available to own on Digital via purchase from digital retailers.  DC’s Stargirl follows high school sophomore Courtney Whitmore (Brec Bassinger) and her stepfather Pat Dugan (Luke Wilson) as she leads an unlikely group of young heroes to take on the legacy of DC’s very first Super Hero team, the Justice Society of America. In the thrilling second season, Courtney and her friends take on one of the most frightening adversaries in DC’s mythology – the dark entity of corruption known as Eclipso (Nick Tarabay).

- Join us on December 26th back in Ontario as LETTERKENNY returns for its 10th season on Hulu!  Watch the date announcement video here!  The residents of Letterkenny belong to one of three groups: the Hicks, the Skids, and the Hockey Players, who are constantly feuding with each other over seemingly trivial matters that often end with someone getting their ass kicked. In season 10, McMurray and Wayne do some dickering, the Hicks attend a sausage party, the Hockey Players and Skids have a video game battle, the men of Letterkenny receive head to toe physicals…and that’s just for starters, buddy.

- HBO feature documentary ADRIENNE, debuting WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1 (8:00 -9:40 p.m. ET/PT) and directed by Andy Ostroy, the late Adrienne Shelly’s husband, is a celebration of the life and work of the actor, filmmaker, wife and mother and a personal exploration of grief. Shelly starred in over twenty films including Hal Hartley’s indie classics “The Unbelievable Truth” and “Trust.” Known for her early ingenue roles, Shelly strove to tell her own female-centric stories and wrote and directed several movies including the Sundance Film Festival hit, “Waitress.” 

- Hulu announced that it has picked up a second season of “The D’Amelio Show.” The Hulu Original docuseries starring two of social media’s biggest stars – Dixie and Charli D’Amelio along with their parents Marc and Heidi – set a new viewership record on the platform as the most-watched unscripted series among all first-season unscripted SVOD titles for the month following its premiere.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: November 14, 2021

 

 Fear the Walking Dead:  The zombie head was able to wound that dog so much it had to be put down after one bite?  I thought the virus was only in humans.  Seems like a bit of a stretch.  But then again, all these characters are walking around a nuclear fallout willie-nillie, so maybe it is silly to nit-pick. But I will some more.  So they have this ranch outside the blast radius, but Morgan wants everyone to move to the submarine?

 

American Rust:  There has been an increasing problem I have had with a bunch of television shows lately where for some reason I think the show is a limited series only to realize late in to it run that it is actually a full series.  I have spent most of this show under the assumption that it was one and done.  But after that ending I went back to the press release and it turned out that it got a full series order meaning it could come back (granted multiple limited series like Showtime’s own Your Honor ended up getting renewed).  So I guess we have to hope the show gets renewed to see how everything plays out.

 

So it seems like the detectives from Pittsburg showed up and seemingly know something Del does not.  Del’s deputy has noticed that there is a bulletproof vest and handgun missing from the armory and I am not sure he buys Del’s bum arm excuse.  As smart as Del seems sometimes, taking a gun from the armory to kill people seems pretty stupid.  Aren’t the cops in West Virginia going to run the gun which he gave to the pharmacist?  One other major mistake he made, while getting his bullet out of the wall, what about the buckshot that went into the wall with a human cutout missing, but no one in the room having buckshot in them?  I cannot see Del surviving a second season.  Plus Grace seems to be in it too if Del goes away because her husband got plenty of evidence she burned down the trailer.

 

La Brea:  I expected the evil son to vote off his mom, but the other one?  That is some Survivor level betrayal.  But of course they earned their way back. 

 

Supergirl:  I feel like I deserve a “I Watched Every Episode of Supergirl and all I Got Was This Stupid T-Shirt” t-shirt.  What a dumb finale.  They vanquich Lex in the first fifteen minutes with the help of Mon-El, who did not even bring back Saturn Girl with him, and then they wasted the final forty-five minutes on some boring wedding, a wedding that did not even feature the titular character.  And is the future just forked now because Brainiac 5 did not merge with the big brain?

 

Dopesick:  Oh no, poor Loretta McCready could not get out of Harlan alive.  But still infuriating that Oxy gets the black box warning, but even that did not seems to slow the growth of the drug.

 

Survivor:  Yet another live tribal where we, the viewer, are left wondering what the fork was going on.  So was the vote going to be split between Xander and Tiffany but Heather and Naseer managed to get other people to vote for the other one?  Then you had Ricard who had the single worst poker hand telling Xander he better play his Idol.  Well, if you insist so much, seems smart to do the episode.  What a stupid way to try and flush an Idol.  You know what a good way to flush an Idol is: put the most votes on the person if you have enough votes to split, which they did.  But then too many people tried to get cute.

 

The Challenge: Spies, Lies, and Allies: Oh joy, another person gets sent home for a reason we are not even told.  That is the third (?) time that has happened this season.  Remember when this show loved the drama around sending people home.  Of course, back then, Smashley would have never got sent home for what she allegedly said.  But what I do not understand, if Big T was allowed to stay to take the place of Smashley, why did she go back to her team and not Smashley’s team?  But at least someone finally broke up the Emerald team.  They were just complete absurd at elimination, attacking Amanda for not doing what is in their best interest,

 

Doom Patrol:  I am not sure if using a time machine that wipes your memory is the best way to teleport a couple hundred miles.  Giant robot Cliff did seem to make good time going from Florida to Ohio using his giant body.  Though I am not entirely sure how the time travel memory thing works.  Rita got hers back when she traveled the second time by Madame Rouge, who somehow got hers back thanks to Rita, traveled somewhere, but then came back to this time lost her memory once again.  So Cliff no longer has his body, Cyborg no longer has his powers, and Jane (seemingly) is no longer primary… but hey, Larry got his power back. 

 

The Challenge: All-Stars: Casey and Teck is the duo I never thought I needed and now I want it every episode / season.  Disappointing we did not get to see how that team was made because they have no obvious ties; Teck stopped appearing about half a decade before Casey popped.  It does seem likely they were the last two left.  But Casey still got it, a complete shame she was relegated to alternative for the first season, she is still very entertain.  Tina still got it two just coming through with one liner and putting TJ in his place after TJ mocked how no one walked across the beam.  If I am not mistaken, Tina, Veronica, and Jilsella attacked Johnny Mosley so bad back in the day, he never returned as host.  But can you blame the player?  Neimehah was the only one the tried and fall on his balls and came in last.

 

But all we got this week was the challenge, no elimination, not even nominations.  Before the main show went to ninety minutes, they would routinely do eliminations every other episode.  I wonder if that is going to happen on all-stars or that was just a one-time thing because there were so many people that need to be (re)introduced.  I would be fine with more episodes this season.

 

Guilty Party:  So Beth breaks into the house, manages not to find anything but some sticky icky, smokes it, that kisses the dude so the other dude does not kill her.  Well that was a waste of an episode.

 

Big Sky:  So creepy dude that has been following the kids that they pepper sprayed followed them to the cop’s house and killed the cop for them?  What is going on there?  The only thing I can think of is maybe he is one of their fathers.  But now we know why Rick’s brother is doing with Ronald, he wants to Stockholm him until he confesses to everything, clearing his family name.  Stupid.  I just want thuis storyline to end.

 

The Blacklist:  So what is left of Red’s hair is grown back to the very short length he was going it.  But I thought for sure when Park gave Ressler her urine, it was going to out she was pregnant.  It turned out to be worse.

 

 

Around the Tubes: November 13, 2021

      

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting.  This post includes blurbs on Solar Opposites, U2, John Legend, Christina Aguilera, Glass Animals, Don McLean, and Licorice Pizza.  

- It’s official earthlings…You’re invited to join us this holiday season, as “Solar Opposites” returns with an all-new episode “A Very Solar Holiday Opposites Special,” premiering Monday, November 22nd on Hulu!  And in the meantime, ask yourself “WTF is Christmas?”

- In advance of Sing 2, Illumination, Universal Pictures and Republic Records have joined forces with U2 to support nonprofit organization Education Through Music (ETM)—which provides music as a core subject for all children in under-resourced schools across North America. As part of this partnership, ETM figures prominently in the music video for the first release from the Sing 2 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, U2’s “Your Song Saved My Life”—out today. Watch it HERE.

- Incomparable EGOT (EMMY®, GRAMMY®, Oscar®, Tony®)-winning singer, songwriter, producer, actor, and social activist John Legend has signed with Republic Records the label announced today. The move kicks off another creative renaissance for the 12-time Grammy Award winning superstar.  “I am excited to partner with Republic Records in this next chapter of my career,” says Legend. “Everyone at the label has been so wonderful to work with. I am thrilled to take this new artistic and creative journey with them and look forward to sharing new music with people soon.”  Listen to “You Deserve It All”—HERE.  Watch the “You Deserve It All” Lyric Video—HERE

- GRAMMY® award-winning global superstar, singer, songwriter, producer, entrepreneur, Christina Aguilera, has announced that her LadyLand 2021 headlining performance will stream for one night only via the premium social live media platform Moment House on Tuesday, November 30th. Filmed at the iconic Brooklyn Mirage at the annual LadyLand music festival celebrating some of the very best of queer talent & gay icons, Aguilera will bring the complete live experience to fans around the world who weren’t able to see this performance in person. Watch a trailer for the Moment now HERE.

- Critically acclaimed global sensations Glass Animals have broken the record of the longest climb to the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with their Double Platinum smash hit “Heat Waves.” This week, the single entered the Top 10, a first for the band in their career, after an impressive and record-breaking 42-week streak on the Hot 100 Chart.  This news arrives following recent excitement surrounding Glass Animals’ nominations for two 2021 American Music Awards—“Favorite Pop Duo or Group” and “Favorite Rock Artist.” 2021 has been the band’s biggest year of their career thus far, with “Heat Waves” becoming the UK’s biggest export from a British contemporary band and making Glass Animals the biggest band in the world right now.

- Don McLean’s 1971 masterpiece American Pie was released 50 years ago on October 24, 1971. Both the song “American Pie” went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent 4 weeks at #1 in the first two months of 1972. The album also went to #1 for 3 consecutive weeks in January 1972. His many accolades include induction into the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame, his song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and artists of all genres and generations have covered his songs including Madonna, Fred Astaire, Chet Atkins, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Elvis Presley, Josh Groban, and Perry Como. He recently received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, CA, and "American Pie" was featured in 2021's Black Widow and FINCH.

- Republic Records announces the release of the Licorice Pizza Original Motion Picture Soundtrack on November 26^th. The album accompanies this year’s highly anticipated new film from eight-time Academy® Award-nominated writer and director Paul Thomas Anderson. United Artists Releasing is opening the film in select New York and Los Angeles Theaters Friday November 26, 2021 and across the country on Christmas Day December 25, 2021.  The soundtrack will also be available on vinyl via a limited edition first pressing on December 10^th with a special red vinyl available only at indie record stores.  Pre-order the Licorice Pizza Original Motion Picture Soundtrack—HERE and limited edition first pressing vinyl HERE.

Previewing Yellowjackets

 

American Rust recently had its season finale and when that show started I remarked how it unfortunately premiered after shows with a similar premise like Your Honor and Mare of Easttown.  The show that replaces it on the Showtime schedule is Yellowjackets which also has the unfortunate timing of premiering close to similarly sounding shows.  About a year ago, Amazon premiered its own Lord of the Flies but teenage girls survive a plane crash in a remote area show The Wilds (to be fair, Showtime actually announced their version on May 9, 2018, while Amazon was announced June 28 of that year).

 

Given the mid-nineties setting, it is also hard not to think of Cruel Summer which aired earlier this year on Freeform (who did not greenlight the series until September 2019).  While Yellowjackets takes place the year (1996) the trio of years Cruel Summer takes place they do share a similar soundtrack.  But where Cruel Summer had one of their actresses sing Smashing Pumpkins for the show along with other various cover songs, the budget for a Showtime show is much higher and can afford getting the actual Smashing Pumpkins song as well as a copious amount of nineties jams.  Though I do not remember anyone still listening to Marky Mark or Snow in 1996 and the ending of the premiere does feature a cover of an eighties power ballad.  Okay, one of the characters on Yellowjackets does a kind of disturbing rendition of Breakfast at Tiffany’s to another character.  Then each of the episode (at least of the ones I watched) are named after a nineties pop culture references including a certain Red Hot Chili Peppers album which episode features a lot of two of the words in the title, none of the third, while the fourth… well, the fourth is still up to some debate.

 

Thankfully I did not watch The Wilds so I did not spend much time comparing the song, and aside from the music and the time jumping (Yellowjackets does not stay entirely in the nineties, it does flash forward to present day), there is not much comparison to the Freeform show.  The show follows an undefeated soccer team from New Jersey area that is heading to Washington State to compete in nationals when their plane, a charter flight by one of the player’s rich father (do not ask me why that father, or any other of the parents did not bother going with them; just two coaches and two sons of one of the coaches are along for the trip), crashes in the Canadian wilderness after bad weather causes the plane to go off course.  Then they have to defend for themselves for nineteen months before being found.  Do not ask me why none of them over that year and a half just says,” Hey, why don’t some of us just walk south until we hit civilization and then send help?”

 

I have one more comparison to a recent show (and not even because it has a mostly female cast).  The Yellowjackets premiere suffers from the same issue as the Y: The Last Man premiere had. Y: The Last Man was marketed as a show with one dude left in civilization, but they wasted an entire episode until finally killing off all the guys in the final moments.  Similarly, we were told Yellowjackets was a survival show, but the plane does not even start going down until the last scene.  Granted, while that Y: The Last Man first episode was mostly boring, I would totally watch a Friday Night Lights type show about girls’ soccer set in the nineties.  But while I have compared Yellowjackets to many different shows and movies, and couple I could have also brought other like Lost (plane crash, weird stuff going on, flashback./forwards), Alive (plane crash in a remote place, possible cannibalisms), I Know What You Did Last Summer (someone seems to know what they did twenty-five years ago) Yellowjackets takes all those tropes and mixes them up into something that still manages to feel unique.

 

The show stars Sophie Nélisse (The Book Thief) as the straight laced member of the team (okay she has one very dark secret) who grows up to be Melanie Lynskey (The Informant!), a bored housewife who now has a daughter about the same age as her when she boarded the plane.  Jasmin Savoy Brown (the upcoming Scream reboot) is the ruthless senior who has no problem being hard on the underclassmen and grows up to be Tawny Cypress (The Blacklist: Redemption) a ruthless politician who is described as a “Queer Kamala.”  Sophie Thacher (who also has the same, what I can best described as a mullet with bang hairstyle, in another nineties set show When the Streetlights Come On even though I never met someone in the nineties with such a hairstyle) is the team rebel who grows up to be Juliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers) who pays for that teenage rebellion by going in and out of rehab.  Sammi Hanratty (Pushing Daisies) is the over-excitable team equipment manager who grows into Christina Ricci (Casper), a nurse with plenty of extracurricular activities.  Ella Purcell (Army of the Dead) is the team’s captain, not because she is the best player, but is a born leader.  In the future, she is played by… um, nobody.   So… I guess she does not make it out of Canada alive.  Spoiler alert?  Though I do have a theory about her character Jackie that I will share on the upcoming 57 Channels post.

 

The slow start in the nineties timeline which takes a whole episode until the plane crashed is matched by a slow start to the present day timeline.  Lynskey and Cypress seemingly are on different shows for the first couple episodes, not really tied to the plane crash like the other modern characters are.  Sure the both receive a mysterious postcard which all the girls got (though it is very vague who made it to present day other than those four main characters, two of which talk about there have been no sign of the other survivors in months, though by my count about twenty survived the crash), but after discussing with each other once, and a reporter snoops around offering a seven figure book deal (no one has yet to give the full story of what went on in those nineteen months) it seems completely forgotten by those two for a while.  That Ricci does not even show up until late into the first episode also hurts that first episode.

 

Christina Ricci is the best thing about Yellowjackets and does a perfect grown up Tracy Flick impression (unfortunately the younger version does not; but for the younger cast, the goalkeeper is the most entertaining which tracks because you gotta be a little weird to be a goalkeeper).  She is so good in this, it makes me wonder why she really has not gotten more high profile roes since her nineties child star days (well, I do know, good roles for women over twenty-five are not easy to find and Reece Witherspoon got most of them).  But it is inspired casting along with another huge in the nineties actress Juliette Lewis.  It is a shame they could not get Claire Danes, Kirsten Dunst, Keri Russell, Rachel Leigh Cook, Alicia Silverstone, Tatiana Ali and / or Gabrielle Union to fill out the other adult survivors.

 

From the soundtrack to the return of Christina Ricci in my life, Yellowjackets hits that nostalgia from the era much like Cruel Summer did earlier this year.  The Lord of the Flies but Ladies in the woods instead of a desert island keeps the show entertaining past the nostalgia.  Then the mystery of who sent the postcard in the present days adds an added layer to the show.  Yellowjackets is aiming to be the next great mystery box show and almost gets there.

 

Yellowjackets airs Sundays at 10:00 on Showtime.  But why wait until Sunday for the first episode to hit linear television; you can watch it on via Showtime website or app or on YouTube below: