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Tuesday, July 25, 2023
View From the Peak - Everything Coming to Paramount+ in August
Sunday, July 23, 2023
57 Channels and Only This Is On: July 23, 2023
The Walking Dead: Dead
City: I do not get why the bald dude
let the Croat that they were coming? What
exactly think what would happen? And
where did all the Croat’s people go, and more importantly, where is Hershel? It seems like he has been abandoned. Do they have a backup lair?
Cruel Summer: Well, we already know that the dude was grazed,
so pretty obviously Isabella did not kill him with the cliffhanger shot. The question is did all the drugs and alcohol
actually kill him? Since there are a
couple episodes left, I guess the obvious answer is no. My theory is that after what they did this
night, the girls decide to keep him captive (how season one), he gets loose, and
then someone kills him.
Justified: City
Primeval: It is great to have this
show back even though Raylan’s daughter is annoying (okay, ordering the dumbest
drink on the menu was hilarious, right up there with when the Crowe attempted
the 12 Foot Rule on Raylan and the time Dewey thought he had four kidneys). Hopefully he puts her on the first flight to
Florida at the start of the next episode.
These are also lower tier Justified villain. He is too much of a mustache twirling villain
with no depth.
Secret Invasion: So the dad is dead-dead, burial and all. But is Fury’s wife just going to try and kill
everyone that Gravik sends? Speaking of
Gravik, how exactly do you kill someone who indestructible? Bomb?
Full Circle: Is this a comedy? I laughed a few times, there is noted comedian
Jim Gaffigan, but it still feels very much like a drama despite the multiple
comedies of errors. I feel like I would
have liked the show more if it were an over the top comedy.
Saturday, July 22, 2023
Around the Tubes: July 22, 2023
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 The Chi, Secret Invasion, Solar Opposites, All up in the Biz, Yellowjackets, The Beach Boys, Taylor Swift, Babylon 5, Rick and Morty, and POV.
- In advance of the much-anticipated expanded season of THE CHI, SHOWTIME has released the official trailer for its hit drama series returning this summer. After reaching a series high in streaming last season, the first eight episodes of the extended 16-episode sixth season will stream weekly on the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan beginning Friday, August 4, with the season premiere debuting on linear Sunday, August 6 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME.
- To celebrate the highly anticipated “Secret Invasion” finale on Disney+, The Walt Disney Company will offer viewers a special opportunity to watch the first three episodes of the hit series on its Hulu platform, starting tomorrow. Marking the occasion, a Skrull invasion is imminent at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend: fans attending the convention may bump into – or become – one of the menacing shapeshifters. “Secret Invasion” episodes “Resurrection,” “Promises” and “Betrayed” will stream on Hulu from Friday, July 21, through Thursday, August 17. Marvel Studios’ thrilling espionage series “Secret Invasion” is streaming on Disney+, where subscribers currently have access to the first five episodes, with Episode 6, the finale, premiering next Wednesday, July 26.
- Citizens of Earth, prepare yourselves for an epic new season of “Solar Opposites,” crash landing on Hulu on Monday, August 14 with 11 episodes, followed by a Valentine’s Day special coming in 2024.TRAILER: HERE “Solar Opposites” centers around a team of four aliens who are evenly split on whether Earth is awful or awesome. Korvo (Dan Stevens) and Yumyulack (Sean Giambrone) only see the pollution, crass consumerism, and human frailty while Terry (Thomas Middleditch) and Jesse (Mary Mack) love TV, junk food and fun stuff. In Season 4, we pack up the sci-fi and get normal… for a second. Then it’s back to classic Solar chaos, mayhem in the Wall, and some all new Silvercops adventures!
- SHOWTIME announced that ALL UP IN THE BIZ, directed by Sacha Jenkins (WU-TANG CLAN: OF MICS AND MEN, Louis Armstrong’s Black and Blues) will premiere Friday, August 11, streaming on Paramount+ with SHOWTIME before making its on-air debut that same day at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME. The documentary feature, which premiered at Tribeca Festival(R) last month, is the definitive story of late, great rapper Biz Markie, who is best known for his mega hit “Just a Friend.” Featuring never before seen footage, musical interludes, animation, puppetry, and interviews with Biz Markie and other prominent figures in hip hop – from Fat Joe to Nick Cannon to Tracy Morgan – ALL UP IN THE BIZ is a heartwarming portrait of how one underdog’s dreams – fortified by an unwavering determination and a wicked sense of humor – would come true inside the world of hip hop and far beyond. The film traces how Markie created a lane for himself in hip hop while also helping his friends, many of whom (Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, De La Soul, E.P.M.D.) would become legends in their own right. Crowned “The Clown Prince of Hip Hop,” Markie was a beatbox wiz who was known for his comical rhymes and generally whimsical ways. A native of Long Island, Markie’s gift swiftly propelled him through hip hop history; he would inspire rap icons like Rakim and Big Daddy Kane in the process. The ride had a few bumps (like the groundbreaking sampling lawsuit he was wrapped up in) but in the end, Biz Markie was recognized as the actual personification of hip hop. ALL UP IN THE BIZ chronicles Markie’s extraordinary tale, from humble beginnings, often living with a foster family after the death of his mother, to pop culture ubiquity, and ultimately speaks to how an individual can chart their own destiny and shape the future of a culture.
- Universal Music Canada (UMC) and SHOWTIME announce Yellowjackets Season 2 Official Soundtrack: Music from the Original Series for release on September 1 in CD and digital formats. The official soundtrack from the SHOWTIME Emmy®-nominated drama series YELLOWJACKETS is available for pre-order now including instant grat access to the previously released Alanis Morrisette single, “No Return (Extended Version)” and new alternative version, “No Return (Lottie’s Dream Sequence).” This past April, seven-time Grammy® Award-winning singer/songwriter Alanis Morissette released “No Return (Extended Version)” to critical acclaim. Billboard commended Morissette’s rendition of the track and the way in which it added, “an industrial gothic layer to the original while spiking it with her signature keening, mesmerizing vocals.” “No Return” (Main Title Theme) by YELLOWJACKETS composers, Craig Wedren and Anna Waronker, was originally released in January 2022.
- Summer isn’t quite summer without the sunshiny melodies and irresistible harmonies of The Beach Boys, and this summer is chock full of exciting activity from “America’s Band,” from new Dolby Atmos® mixes of iconic hits, the return of their highly popular SiriusXM channel, Good Vibrations: The Beach Boys Channel, a stunning and definitive official tome, a fun coloring book, a high octane EDM remix of “Fun, Fun, Fun” by multi-platinum artist, producer and DJ, Steve Aoki, and Barbie herself, Margot Robbie, sharing her love for The Beach Boys. Starting yesterday, five of the group’s classic albums from 1963 and 1964, Surfin’ USA, Surfer Girl, Little Deuce Coupe, Shut Down Vol. 2 and All Summer Long, are available to stream in immersive Dolby Atmos audio at Apple Music, Amazon Music Unlimited and Tidal HiFi Plus. The albums were mixed by The Beach Boys’ longtime producer and engineer, three-time GRAMMY® award winner Mark Linett, from the original tapes, and follow the recently released, critically hailed Dolby Atmos mix of Pet Sounds mixed by producer Giles Martin. The new Dolby Atmos mixes retain the feel of the revered albums while offering a fresh perspective, putting listeners in the center of the music by revealing details with unparalleled clarity and depth.
Stream the albums in Dolby Atmos here:
- Taylor Swift has made history by achieving “the biggest debut for an album this year” with Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), registering first-week sales of 716 thousand album equivalents in the US and over 1 million album equivalents worldwide, landing her at #1 on the Billboard 200. At the same time, it makes history by scoring “the biggest sales week for a re-recorded album ever,” besting even the 1 million first-week global consumption of Red (Taylor’s Version) in 2021. Plus, it notched the “second biggest vinyl sales week in Nielsen history,” following Taylor Swift’s Midnights. In addition, Taylor is the first living artist in nearly 60 years with four of the top ten on the Billboard 200 with Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), Midnights, Lover, and Folklore. Listen HERE.
- In celebration of its 30th anniversary, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment is releasing the groundbreaking original sci-fi TV series Babylon 5 on Blu-ray for the first time ever! On December 5, just in time for holiday gift giving, Babylon 5: The Complete Series will be available at online retailers with all 110 original episodes fully remastered in HD. The highly anticipated release is one fans don’t want to miss! Babylon 5 is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski that ran for five seasons from 1994–1998. The critically acclaimed franchise debuted in 1993 with the pilot film The Gathering. The series then launched a year later and ran for five seasons and 110 additional episodes. A future-history story covering the years 2257–2262, with each year corresponding to one season, Babylon 5 was the first series to introduce viewers to the concept of a five-year arc, with a defined beginning, middle, and end, paving the way for a number of such later series.
- OOH WEE! Go on an intergalactic adventure across the multi-verse with the epic release of the Rick and Morty: The Complete Seasons 1-6 boxed set on Blu-ray™ and DVD on September 12, 2023. Get Schwifty while you binge on one of cable’s #1 watched comedies that follows the sci-fi misadventures of genius scientist Rick and his family. Rick and Morty: The Complete Seasons 1-6 includes all 61 episodes from six seasons of the award-winning series, copious special features, audio commentary, deleted scenes, “Inside the Episode” segments, numerous featurettes, animatic sketches, and more. For a limited time, fans who purchase the set will also receive an exclusive Rick and Morty poster.
- POV, America’s longest running non-fiction series, provides a balanced, in-depth look at Kathryn, a woman paralyzed by late-stage ALS in the wryly moving family portrait, Eat Your Catfish. Reliant on round-the-clock care, she clings to a mordant wit while yearning to witness her daughter's wedding. Narrated by Kathryn and pictured entirely from her point of view, co-directors and producers Adam Isenberg, Senem Tüzen and Noah Amir Arjomand — who is Kathryn's son — deliver a brutally frank and darkly humorous portrait of a family teetering on the brink, grappling with the daily demands of disability and in-home caregiving. Eat Your Catfish makes its national broadcast premiere on POV Monday, July 24, 2023 at 10pmET/9C (check local listings) and will be available to stream at pbs.org, and the PBS App until October 22, 2023. In addition to standard closed captioning for the film, POV, in partnership with audio description service DiCapta, provides real time audio interpretations.
Sunday, July 16, 2023
57 Channels and Only This Is On: July 16, 2023
The Walking Dead: Dead
City: So no one notice Negan dispose
of a body and clean up the crime scene?
Lucky for him I guess. But trying
to humanize Negan by being upset that the Croat killed someone when dude went around
at this time bashing people’s skulls in is a bit much.
Cruel Summer: Well, the girls now have motive with him
trying to mack on both girls. I wonder
if they try to entrap him in a threesome but them torture him, but one goes too
far. Crazy neighbor seems more and more
like a red herring.
Secret Invasion: Of course she was not actually dead; Emilia
Clarke is too famous to be killed off halfway through a show. But what a stupid plot twist. If you have to explain your plot twist with a
flashback, it probably is not good. It was
still stupid of her not to shapeshift to get out of there. But are they really going to do the same silly
plot twist this week, but with her father?
Full Circle: I like the moral implications of what do you
do if someone claims to have kidnapped your kid but it turns out to be the
wrong kid. What do you do? Except so many comedy of errors, this may have
been a better show if it were an actual comedy. Oof, how exactly do you competently
explain why the other kid had the exact same hoodie and same shoes? And did the other kid not have an sort of ID
probing he was not who they thought they kidnapped? And did the guy really not notice he shot a
dummy? Shouldn’t the lack of blood be a
huge clue? Then I do not understand calling
for a ransom if you are not going to take it and were just going to kill him anyway.
The Blacklist: Ten years, and over 200 episodes and it was almost
worth it to watch the absolutely laughable stupid ending. Seriously, Red gets gored by a bull and never
explains to anyone why he shut down his criminal empire? Rood riddance.
Saturday, July 15, 2023
Around the Tubes: July 15, 2023
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 Beastie Boys, MisterWives, Chelsea Cutler, Lord Huron, Claire Rosinkranz, This Fool, The Hardy Boys, Goliath, and A House Made of Splinters.
- Celebrating the 25th anniversary of Beastie Boys’ multi-platinum selling album ‘Hello Nasty,’ on September 8, 2023, UME will reissue the highly sought after and long out-of-print limited deluxe edition 4LP box set originally released as a limited run in 2009 featuring 21 bonus tracks including rarities, remixes, and b-sides. Pressed on 180g vinyl in an 8-panel gatefold package housed in a hardcover “coffee table book” slipcase with a removable sew-on patch, ‘Beastie Boys - Hello Nasty (4LP Deluxe Edition)’ is now available for pre-order at Beastie Boys’ official online store, HERE. Preceded by the universal smash “Intergalactic,” Hello Nasty crashed into the #1 spots of charts worldwide upon its July 1998 release, with first week sales of nearly 700,000 in the U.S. alone. Buoyed by the launch of the 360 in the round tour, Hello Nasty would yield B Boys classics “Body Movin’,” “Three MCs and One DJ,” “Remote Control,” “Super Disco Breakin’” and more, win two Grammys, see the band presented with an MTV Video Vanguard lifetime achievement award, and ultimately sell some 7 million copies worldwide.
- New York City/Los Angeles-based alt-pop group MisterWives share their fervent, highly anticipated fourth studio album Nosebleeds out everywhere now. Alongside the full album, the band share focus tracks "Dagger" and "Sideways" out now. Plus, The Don't Look Down Tour with Bishop Briggs will set out across North America this fall beginning September 8 with tickets on sale now via misterwives.com/tour. Nosebleeds, the highly anticipated fourth studio album by MisterWives out today, propels the group into all new territory, this time, equipped with bravery, confidence and strength. Through a decade-long career, of tremendous highs and lows, the forthcoming project meets the band at their most evolved as they turn their pain into power. Over ten compelling tracks, the band digs deeper than they ever have before, capturing the nuances of life's highs and lows and re-defining what it means to succeed and to fail.
- Following a fabulous plaque presentation by Hoda Kotb from TODAY at her sold-out Madison Square Garden show last night, Shania Twain announces the release of multiple expanded U.S. and International Diamond Editions of her all-time classic third studio album, November 1997’s Come On Over – due for release on August 25, 2023 via Mercury/UMe. Come On Over is the record that confirmed Twain’s status as an international crossover-format superstar, having been certified as being both the top-selling country album and the highest-selling album by a female artist of all time. In celebration of this benchmark album’s 25th anniversary and its accumulation of over 40 million-plus in global album sales, both the U.S. and International versions of Come On Over have been remastered from the original tapes for the first time ever. Come On Over will be released in the following formats: 3CD Super Deluxe, 3LP Super Deluxe, 3LP International Super Deluxe, 2LP Deluxe, 2CD Deluxe, and Digital. 2LP Deluxe Retail Exclusives will also be available in the U.S. All versions of Come On Over can be pre-ordered HERE.
- Platinum-Certified singer, songwriter, and producer Chelsea Cutler is back with her new single, “I Don’t Feel Alive”—listen HERE & watch the visualizer HERE. The song is the latest track from her anxiously awaited and soon-to-be-announced third studio album, set for release later this year. “I Don’t Feel Alive” highlights Chelsea’s unfiltered honesty front-and-center. Written and produced in a burst of inspiration, breezy guitar coasts through handclaps as she confesses, “I’m writing feelings in a journal, ‘cause that’s what people who have their shit together seem to do.” Overwhelming self-doubt gives way to reflection on the refrain, “I swim against the current with two arms that can not fly, and I don’t feel alive.” On the song, Chelsea openly shares, “‘I Don’t Feel Alive’ is a song about existing versus truly living. There is a crucial difference between going through the motions of your day and actually being present in your body to experience everything around you. While it’s a bit scary to put this one out, I’d like to be done with all of my beating around the bush. This song is the elephant in the room, the things I’ve been too afraid to talk about. It is my crippling fear of failure and my reluctance to take up more space. But now that I say these things aloud, I am free. I hope this song brings comfort and emboldens others to confront their biggest fears as well.” Read more about Chelsea’s statement on the song HERE.
- Lord Huron and Ben Schneider present Music for The Starling Girl, the Original Soundtrack accompanying the acclaimed film The Starling Girl. The album consists of both the movie’s original score by Lord Huron vocalist/songwriter Ben Schneider and the new Lord Huron song “Ace Up My Sleeve.” Listen to Music for The Starling Girl—HERE. Meanwhile, The Starling Girl is now available to stream on VOD. “Ace Up My Sleeve” has already collected over 1 million Spotify streams and counting. Beyond plugs from Stereogum and Under The Radar Magazine, Brooklyn Vegan hailed the song as “lovely, tender alt-country.” Listen to “Ace Up My Sleeve” HERE.
- Gearing up for a major moment, 19-year-old Southern California singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Claire Rosinkranz serves up a new single and music video entitled “Screw Time” today. Listen to “Screw Time”— HERE. Watch the music video—HERE. Most importantly, it paves the way for her highly anticipated debut album Just Because, landing on October 6th via slowplay/Republic Records. Pre-order/Pre-save Just Because—HERE. She further opened up the world of the record by sharing the Official Album Trailer too. Watch HERE.
- Wake up and smell the coffee... "This Fool" is back! The critically-acclaimed series returns on Friday, July 28th with a whole lot of Mugs, Not Thugs. Trailer: HERE. "This Fool" is an irreverent, cinematic half-hour comedy set in working class South Central Los Angeles. After Julio's job and love life blew up at the end of last season, this season, new roommates Julio and Luis embark on finding new careers and romances with the help of Minister Payne, Chef Percy and other former Huggers.
- "The Hardy Boys" returns for its third and final season on July 26, and things are getting dangerous for our heroes. Getting in on the action is guest star Bailee Madison ("Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin"), who joins the mix as the mysterious Drew Darrow. Trailer: HERE. When Frank (Rohan Campbell) and Joe Hardy (Alexander Elliot) receive mysterious posthumous instructions from their grandmother, they find themselves on the hunt for a third powerful relic — the same one their Great Grandfather was after. However, they aren’t the only ones looking it…so the race is on to stop a power from being unleashed on the world! Nothing is what it seems, as The Hardy Boys and their friends face their most dangerous and unpredictable case yet. The future is coming for our heroes, whether they’re ready or not.
- SHOWTIME SPORTS has released a sneak peek from Episode One of GOLIATH, the three-part documentary series that examines the historic life, career and impact of Wilt Chamberlain, one of the greatest and most misunderstood athletes of all time. GOLIATH premieres on Friday, July 14 on demand and on streaming platforms for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers before making its on-air debut on SHOWTIME® on Sunday, July 16 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, with additional episodes premiering each Sunday. To watch and share the clip, go to: https://youtu.be/HRwQaW23X0A. In the teaser clip, Chamberlain’s two living sisters, Selina Chamberlain Gross and Barbara Lewis, talk about their parents and childhoods together in West Philadelphia. Selina recalls how her parents, even though they were poor, had a big family and never finished school, were still proud homeowners, while Barbara reminisces on Wilt’s tremendous growth spurts and how his height surprised his mom after a summer away on a farm in the South.
- Following its award winning festival run, the Oscar® nominated A House Made of Splinters directed by POV alum Simon Lemeng Wilmont (The Distant Barking of Dogs) and produced by Oscars® nominee Monica Hellström (Flee) will make its national broadcast premiere next Monday, July 17, 2023 (check local listings) and will be available to stream until October 15, 2023 at pbs.org, and the PBS App. In addition to standard closed captioning for the film, POV, in partnership with audio description service DiCapta, provides real time audio interpretations for audiences with sensory disabilities.