Around the Tubes: 5/16/15

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on The Strain, The Mindy Project, 3AM, Live Nation Music Awards, Breaking Bad, Mummies Alive, TruTV, and The Carol Burnett Show.

- This Summer, fight or die. Watch the OFFICIAL TRAILER for the all new season of FX's hit original series, The Strain.


- Hulu announced this week that it has ordered season four - 26 new episodes - of the critically acclaimed series The Mindy Project. The series will join Hulu’s Original Programming slate in a new agreement with Universal Television. Hulu subscribers will be able to stream past and future episodes of The Mindy Project exclusively on Hulu. Since its network premiere in 2012, The Mindy Project has been a top show on Hulu and has consistently remained popular with Hulu subscribers. Hulu is currently the exclusive streaming home to all past episodes of the series, which were previously acquired in a library deal with NBCUniversal announced in April 2014.


- 3AM is a docu-series that weaves together the stories of five New Yorkers – Josh ("The Fat Jew"), an internet celebrity and self-described “Magellan” of nightlife in the Big Apple; Kirill (“Kirill Was Here") a nightlife photographer who gets even the most uptight girls to strip in the clubs; Vashtie ("Va$htie") a gorgeous DJ forced to deal with her troubled past; Markus, a glamorous doorman and stand-up comedian who decides who’s in and who’s out; and Samantha (“Abby”) a beautiful escort who longs for a more normal life but struggles to walk away. In each episode, characters are tracked across a single night, building to a special “3am moment,” when something important and life changing happens. Stories cross not only the night but also the season. Our subjects’ lives may all be different but they all share one thing in common – a love for the wild ride that only happens at 3am. Buckle up! The late night docu-series premieres Thursday, May 28 at 11:00.

- Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. and Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) today announced the Live Nation Music Awards, a new television event honoring the best live musical performances of the year. Set to be simulcast on TNT and TBS on Oct. 1, 2015, the star-studded ceremony will be produced by Live Nation Entertainment in collaboration with IMG and dick clark productions.

- Breaking Bad: the Official Book (Sterling, April 2015) is the ultimate guide to the show—covering everything from the pilot, to the final episode, and beyond! Adapted and expanded from Breaking Bad: Alchemy, the winner of iTunes Best Multi-Touch Book of the Year for 2013, it highlights the groundbreaking elements that made the series so magnetic. The book is filled with insider secrets about the making of the show and the meanings behind its iconography, as well as a complete timeline of Breaking Bad moments. It includes an in-depth look at the series’ groundbreaking cinematography, music, special effects, and “Easter eggs.”

- A new Smithsonian Channel series narrated by two-time Golden Globe nominee Jason Priestley (Beverly Hills 90210) traverses four continents to reveal the extraordinary stories behind the world's most enigmatic mummies. Mummies Alive, premiering Sunday, June 7 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, spans 5,000 years of history, with each of the six episodes focusing on one mummy including: a legendary cowboy gunslinger of the American Wild West, a 3,000-year-old Egyptian pharaoh, and a 14-year-old girl found on top of a 22,000-foot volcano in South America. These mummies are time travelers from the past and the most precious human link we have to our ancestors. By investigating their incredible preserved remains and bringing them to back to life through cutting-edge CGI, their stories and the secrets of past civilizations come to light.

- As truTV prepares to join its sister brands for Turner Upfront 2015, the network is building on the momentum of its recent brand refresh with several major original programming moves. First up, truTV has greenlit two new series: Adam Ruins Everything, an investigative comedy in which Adam Conover hilariously debunks social conventions that most people take for granted, and The Driver's Seat (working title), a show that literally hits the road to discover what people really dish about in the privacy of their own cars. truTV has also given the go-ahead on three specials from the fan-favorite Impractical Jokers. And on the development front, the network has ordered five new pilots, including a television version of CollegeHumor's long-running Jake and Amir. Also going to pilot are a guerilla-style game show, a docu-series about a weed distribution business run by four women, a new project from How to Be a Grownup's Tom Segura & Christina Pazsistky and a docuseries that will follow a season of the FXFL's Brooklyn Bolts football team.

- Every legend has a beginning. And this fall, Time Life, one of the premiere distributors of Classic TV on DVD, will unveil the very first steps of a TV icon with The Carol Burnett Show: The Lost Episodes. Showcasing the early days of one of the most honored and beloved shows in television history, the DVD set will feature episodes from the program's first five seasons - unseen by the public for more than 40 years! Fans of the show interested in receiving updates and exclusive content from THE LOS EPISODES can visit LostCarolEpisodes.com, the official Time Life site for this highly-anticipated release.

Previewing Barkfest

When I received the screener for Is Your Dog a Genius? my initial response was, "that is easy: no." Really I have considered my dogs to be dumb and dumber. But as I watched the couple of episodes included, the answer became a little murkier. The three part series airs part of Barkfest running all weekend starting tonight on Nat Geo Wild with a three hour block starting at 8:00 each night devoted to our canine friends the next three days.

Barkfest starts off tonight with World's Greatest Dogs where viewers will be introduced to special dogs that range from surfing therapy dogs, a dog with four bionic legs after a frostbite incident as a pup, as well as a dog who owns the world record for scootering which needs to be seen to believe (next up for the dog: breaking the world record for riding a bicycle). That is followed at 9:00 by the season finale of Cesar 911. The episode sees Cesar Millan being recruited by a father who's daughter's pit bull attacks every dog he sees including the daughter's boyfriend's dog. Be warned: there will be blood in the episode and a twist ending.

Saturday starts off with a special episode of The Incredible Dr. Pol: Deja Moo!: Dog-a-POL-ooza, followed by a canine focused episode of Unlikely Animal Friends: Barktacular! featuring uncanny pals like cheetahs, rats, and goats. Sunday starts off with the special Super Underdogs where you will meet the largest and smallest living dogs (the former of who costs his owners over a hundred dollars of food every week). You will also be introduced to medical marvels like the boxer who rejected any mechanical legs and only gets around on two and another who only has a half sized spine. While some of you may already be familiar with Tuna, a Chiweenie with over a million followers on social media.

The highlight of Barkfest is Is Your Dog a Genius? which airs new episodes at 10:00 the next three nights. The series follows Dr. Brian Hare to determine the personality traits of all dogs best on five criteria. And his test are so simple all you need to do them at home are two plastic cups, two bowls, aluminum foil, and a decent amount of treats. Then by the end of the weekend you should have a better understanding if your dog a genius or not. Since the show if fun and interactive, it is basically the dog version of Brain Games which airs on Nat Geo Wild's sister station the National Geographic Channel.

Barkfest runs all weekend with forty-eight hours of all dog programming with all new specials and episodes premiering every evening starting at 8:00.

The Five Most (and Least) Anticipated New Shows of 2015-16

When the descriptions of the new fall shows came rolling in over the weekend, my first impression was they better release some great trailers for these new shows because right now Blindspot is the only one that sounds interesting (well, I would probably end up hate watching Supergirl too). Some of the trailer did give some some hope, but overall the crop of new shows are pretty dreadful this year. To be honest, this list should be called The Single Most Anticipated Show of 2015-16 and Four That Hopefully Do Not Suck.

1. Blindside (Mondays at 10:00 on NBC): A Memento rip off starring Lady Sif with tattoois all over her body? Sign me up. My only complaint is that it is airing after The Voice, I was kind of hoping it was going to get the post-football Sunday treatment which is where NBC puts its high concept one and done shows because I am not sure this concept can hold up for over fifteen episodes.


2. Quantico (Tuesdays at 10:00 on ABC): The show that benefited most from a really good trailer. The logline made it sound like another boring rookie law enforcement type show but the trailer unveiled a deeper conspiracy that makes the show a lot more interested.


3. Wicked City (Tuesdays, Midseason at 10:00 on ABC): Not only did ABC renew bubble shows Agent Carter and Galavant, the network is doubling down on filler winter break type shows with seven different time slots taking winter breaks while a different show takes its place. Wicked City will be taking over Quantico over the winter (or possibly full time if that show fails). The show has a weird American Psycho vibe to it but instead of cooperate America, it takes place on the Sunset Strip in the eighties.


4. The Muppets (Tuesdays at 8:00 on ABC): I was tepid on a faux documentary show on The Muppets, and then Wynn Duffy showed up as the father of Fozzy Bear's girlfriend. Fine, I will watch.


5. Supergirl (Mondays at 8:00 on CBS): Odd that CBS would put this on opposite Gotham. Granted pre-pubescent Batman vs. female Superman might be as interesting as the movie that is coming out on the big screen next year. I really cannot comment on the show that much because as I wrote this, CBS had not released a trailer yet, but it has to be better than the one they released for Superman v Batman: Dawn of Justice? Right?
Scooter Update: CBS finally released a trailer and to answer my own question: shockingly no. The first two minutes I thought I was watching a trailer for a bad nineties rom-com where Ally McBeal stole Anne Heche's face Face-Off style. And then it somehow got worse from there. Oh goodness, why can DC seem to not do anything right? Still I will watch every episode, which may not be that many as I expect this may not even make it to Christmas, and that is even with it not starting until November.


As the great philosopher Butt-Head once pondered, how would we know if something was cool if there weren't things that sucked, here are the five shows you could not pay me to watch next fall (click on their names to watch the trailers).

Heartbreaker (Tuesdays at 9:00 on NBC): After three failed seasons, NBC has abandoned trying to launch comedies after The Voice on Tuesdays, but looking at Heartbreaker (about, oh goodness, a heart surgeon) maybe they should tried one more time because this looks like a Greys Anatomy parody that Lorne Michaels passed on airing on Saturday Night Live. Melissa George should really fire her agent after being on the two worst new show in consecutive years with this and The Slap.

The Catch (Thursdays Midseason at 10:00 on ABC): "From Shonda Rhymes" is an instant pass for me, but this looks like her worst show yet. Seriously, what is with the chick from The Killing's voice? And who thought she could pull off sexy? Go back to shows where you can wear oversized sweaters.

Limitless (Tuesdays at 10:00 on CBS), Minority Report (Mondays at 9:00 on Fox), Rush Hour (Midseason, CBS), and Uncle Buck (Fridays Midseason at 8:30 on ABC): Networks have tried before to take a big screen and shrink it to the small screen, but to the best of my memory, Parenthood was the only one that was good. Sure the Captain America spin-off Agent Carter was great, but do not ask me why next season will feature four shows based on movies (five if you want to count Supergirl) each sounding more dreadful than the next.

Dr. Ken (Friday at 8:30 on ABC): Ken Jeong is funny at bursts on Community but I really have no desire seeing him top line a show. Then the trailer made it look worse than I expected which stole a plot from the About a Boy trailer from two seasons ago.

Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders (Midseason, CBS): Another year, another CBS spin off I will not be watching.

Here is the full schedule of what I will be watching come next fall

Mondays
8:00 - Gotham (FOX)
8:00 - Supergirl (CBS)
8:00 - The Voice (NBC)
10:00 - Blindspot (NBC)
10:00 - Castle (ABC)

Tuesdays
8:00 - The Muppets (ABC)
8:00 - The Voice (NBC)
9:00 - Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (ABC)
10:00 - Quantico (ABC)

Wednesdays
8:00 - Survivor: Second Chances (CBC)
8:00 - The Middle (ABC)
8:30 - The Goldbergs (ABC)
9:00 - Modern Family (ABC)
9:30 - Blackish (ABC)
10:00 - Nashville (ABC)

Thursdays
8:00 - The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
9:00 - The Blacklist (NBC)

Fridays
9:00 - Grimm (NBC)

Sundays
8:00 - Once Upon a Time (ABC)

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 5/10/15

Mad Man: I do not care that an organ just randomly popped up in the desolate offices of Sterling Cooper and Partners, I am just glad it did because those were some of the best scenes in the history of the show, especially Peggy drunkenly roller skating around. Don, on the other hand, chasing down the waitress' ex-husband was not.
You can download Mad Men on iTunes.

Revenge: Holy Abbott reunion! Nice of Amy to retain the services of her father after getting arrested. It is weird to think both of the Abbott children are now superheroes. But anyway. Oh yeah, Courtney Love the hitman that I believe Margot hired to kill Emily is still out there and for some reason she is hanging out with a not so surprisingly not dead Victoria. Does Courtney also do security too and that is why she is there or is she there in a hitman capacity? Thankfully there is only one episode left ever.
You can download Revenge on iTunes.

American Odyssey: I was harsh on the the premiere because it was looking like another rich people are evil and will stay in power by any means necessary type story, something we have seen many times before and done much better. And yeah, that story line is still kind of annoying, but the show has managed to get more entertaining thanks to the transvestite Arab television star who seduces the Malian general for help. Yeah the show has not gotten to Homeland levels of absurdity yet (you know Carrie would have seduced Aslam by now) but at least it has gotten watchable.
You can download American Odyssey on iTunes.

Gotham: What a cluster of a finale, and yet it was still very enjoyable. That was one of the best chick fights in recent memory. I cannot remember a time before when a character has had that many personality changes in one season than Barbra did this season. Where do they actually go from here with her? You pretty much has to turn her into a supervillian at this point because it is hard to redeem her at this point after attacking the good doctor. And there seems to be some darkness lurking in the doctor too, knowing to beak the mirror to make a weapon to banging Barabra's way more than she really had too.

But my favorite part was all twists at the Falcone "safe house." Just when you thought it was the end, some one else would turn or someone else would randomly find a gun. My favorite point was Harvey just hanging out in the gallery while his partner still was hung by a meat hook.

My two biggest problems were they really just shoehorned in the Riddler, they might as well have just ended the last episode with that scene and left him out of the finale where it felt out of place. Then the ending was just annoying because they teased that scene about three or four weeks ago.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Castle: I was really hoping Carly Rae Jepsen, as her self, was going to turn out to be the killer. Instead it just turned out to be the accountant. Yawn.  Seriously, why even go on a cop show if you do not get to be the killer?

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Well that was a tense meeting. You had to figure something bad was going to happen, the big question was what. Ward with the twin jet seemed like the most likely considering Raina's premonition; Raina herself was another contender; you of course could not count out the two people meeting, both seemed to be on the right side but a little shady. Now just how long will this SHIELD / Inhumans war goes on? Is it over at the end of the season which is just two hours away, or does this drag into next season (or does it drag on until the Inhumans movie comes out in, oh goodness, 2019, eleven Marvel movies away)?
You can download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

Survivor: Blue Collar vs. White Collar. vs. No Collar: When the vote came down to Dan and Tyler I figured Dan had to use his special vote now right and hope Mike and Seirra also vote Tyler just in case? Shockingly not only does he keeps it in his pocket he does not even vote for Tyler, sticking with the Mike split vote. Tyler even did the same thing. Wow, those two were morons. But the biggest part of the episode happened during the commercial break when Probst announced the next season of Survivor will be Second Chances with us the viewing public voting. This got me excited until I saw the list which was fifty percent who and thirty percent why. But, hey, at least they included Ciera, the most entertaining contestant of the past decade. On the other hand there was Mike and Carolyn, and since this is a second chance season of non-winner it pretty much means neither of them will be winning this season (after someone asked him about it, Probst said if either of them win, their votes would be null and void, but c'mon, they already knew if those two won or not why include them if they did; and anyway, who would even vote for Carolyn anyway?). Here are the twenty people I will be voting for everyday until the finale:

Kelly Wiglesworth
Peig-Gee Law
Monica Padilla
Natalie Tenerelli
Mikayla Wingle
Sabrina Thompson
Abi-Maria Gomes
Ciera Eastin
Tasha Fox
Kelley Wentworth (after seeing them on the same list, maybe Kelly Wiglesworth and Kelley Wentworth on the same season will be extremely confusing; I may switch to Shirin instead)

Jeff Varner
Andrew Savage
Stephen Fishbach
Troyzan Robertson
Vytas Baskauskas
Woooooooooooooooooooooooo Hwang
Spencer Bledsoe
Jeremy Collins
Keith Nale
Max Dawson
You can download Survivor: White Collar vs. Blue Collar vs. No Collar on iTunes.

The Blacklist: It seems like I have been lost most of the season having little to no clue. I again had trouble keeping up with most of this episode until everything finally became clear at the end when it seemed like the whole season was leading up to Lizzie being outed as a Russian spy. A little clunky getting there, but hopefully it plays out a lot better. Maybe Lizzie should get on that boat with Tom.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Around the Tubes: 5/8/15

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Montage of Heck, Bob Seger, Safari Live, Tyrant, Big Blue Live, MetroPCS Friday Night Knockout, Conan, Ties that Bind, Brave New World, The Magicians, Chiller, and Red Nose Day.

- Hailed as one of the most innovative and intimate documentaries of all time, experience Kurt Cobain like never before in the only ever fully authorized portrait of the famed music icon. Acclaimed filmmaker Brett Morgen expertly blends Cobain’s personal archive of art, music, never seen before movies, animation and revelatory interviews from his family and closest friends. Wildly creative and highly acclaimed, the documentary follows Kurt from his earliest years in this visceral and detailed cinematic insight of an artist at odds with his surroundings. Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, will be released by Universal Music Enterprises on both Blu-ray and DVD formats in the fall of 2015.

- Capitol Records recording artist Bob Seger’s classic album, Night Moves, makes its debut on 180-gram vinyl on June 16, 2015. Seger’s breakthrough album, powerful and personal, is the newest vinyl reissue addition to the GRAMMY® Award-winning rocker’s extraordinary catalogue. Originally released in 1976, Night Moves was Bob Seger’s first studio album with the Silver Bullet Band. Much of the album was recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama with the incomparable Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. The album went on to garner overwhelming critical praise, as well as, the hit singles “Night Moves,” “Mainstreet,” and “Rock and Roll Never Forgets.”

- Need a Mother’s Day gift? Nat Geo WILD has you covered. We are bringing back our popular Safari Live event. A special Mother’s Day weekend treat the whole family can share and enjoy, Safari Live premieres Saturday, May 9, and Sunday, May 10, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET on Nat Geo WILD and online at WILDSafariLive.com. Grab your mom and the family for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go on a live safari to see lions roar, hyenas fight for food and giraffes run wild — and, if you’re lucky, maybe even some mother-child bonding, wild style — in real time.

- Blood guarantees nothing. Tyrant returns to power Tuesday, June 16 at 10:00 on FX.


- Leading public service broadcasters BBC and PBS announced today a live television and multimedia event, Big Blue Live. Scientists, filmmakers and photographers, animal behaviorists and other experts will come together for two amazing live weeks in late August and early September to document the extraordinary rejuvenation of the once endangered and now thriving ecosystem of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in California. Some of the world’s most charismatic marine creatures – humpback whales, blue whales, sea lions, dolphins, elephant seals, sea otters, great white sharks, shearwaters, and brown pelicans – convene in this once-a-year confluence. Big Blue Live airs live on PBS over three nights, Aug. 31-Sept. 2, 2015, at 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET, with another live feed to the West Coast at 8:00-9:00 p.m. PT. In both feeds, as well as streaming online and in social media, viewers can watch one of nature’s great “reality shows” delivered through state-of-the-art filming technologies and live reports from air, sea, and below the waves. The multi-platform event will be anchored by four on-air correspondents from a reporting hub at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and from aboard NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Office of National Marine Sanctuaries’ research vessels. Leading scientists and other experts will provide additional insights. The week prior to the PBS broadcast, BBC will air its live broadcast in the UK, and will be streaming online and through social media for UK viewers.

- truTV and Top Rank will exclusively present the MetroPCS Friday Night Knockout on truTV, a live primetime boxing series tonight at 10:00 from Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The new boxing series, produced in association with Turner Sports and HBO Sports, will feature two title fights this week headlined by Top 10 contenders Glen “Jersey Boy” Tapia (23-1, 15 KOs) from Passaic, N.J., and “Irish” Seanie Monaghan (23-0, 15 KOs). Tapia will defend his NABO junior middleweight title against Michel Soro (25-1-1, 15 KOs) from France, with Monaghan defending his WBC Continental Americas light heavyweight title against Cleiton Conceicao (20-6-2, 16 KOs) from Brazil.

- TBS’s late-night show Conan has set the dates for its upcoming episodes from San Diego during Comic-Con® International, including rare Friday and Saturday night episodes. Conan O'Brien will host the show from San Diego's historic Spreckels Theater, with the episodes slated to air on TBS Wednesday, July 8 – Saturday, July 11. This will mark the first time ever a late-night show has broadcast from San Diego during Comic-Con.

- Production began this week in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on UP’s first original scripted drama series Ties That Bind, a hybrid police procedural and family drama, starring Kelli Williams (“The Practice,” ”Army Wives”) Jonathan Scarfe (“Hell On Wheels,” “Perception”) and Dion Johnstone (The Tempest, “Defiance”), with special guest star Luke Perry (Black Beauty, “Beverly Hills 90210”). Created by Sheryl J. Anderson (“Charmed,” UP’s The Town that Came A-Courtin) and produced by Reel One Entertainment, this 10-episode, hour-long series is set to premiere exclusively on UP in August. The ensemble cast includes teen actors Mitchell Kummen (Horns, “The Tomorrow People”), Natasha Calis (The Possession, “The Firm”), Rhys Matthew Bond (The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story, “The Good Witch”) and Matreya Scarrwener (“Strange Empire,” “Once Upon a Time”).

- Adding to its growing roster of major productions featuring science fiction’s most acclaimed franchises, Syfy is reuniting with Emmy® Award-winning Amblin Television to develop a scripted series based on Aldous Huxley’s classic novel Brave New World. Syfy and Amblin previously collaborated on Steven Spielberg Presents: Taken, which won a 2003 Emmy® for Best Miniseries, as well as nominations in six other categories.

- Continuing its commitment to developing bold, high profile scripted dramas, Syfy today announced it has greenlit The Magicians to series. Based upon Lev Grossman’s best-selling books, The Magicians stars Jason Ralph (A Most Violent Year, Aquarius) as Quentin Coldwater, a brilliant grad student who enrolls in Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy, a secret upstate New York university specializing in magic. He and his 20-something friends soon discover that the magical fantasy world they read about as children is all too real – and poses grave danger to humanity. Stella Maeve (Chicago P.D.), Hale Appleman (Teeth), Arjun Gupta (Nurse Jackie) and Summer Bishil (Towelhead, Lucky 7) also star in this one hour drama.

- On the heels of its most-watched original movie to date (Animal) and the SXSW 2015 premiere of its original movie The Boy, Chiller announces new original content for 2015 and 2016, including its first-ever original series, Slasher, and two new original movies, Lifeforce and Siren.

- Today, NBC announced the second lineup of the biggest stars coming together to have fun, raise money, and change lives on Red Nose Day! On May 21, the UK’s biggest charity event will land in the US for the first time with a great night of comedy, music, and fundraising to help 12 charity organizations lift children and young people out of poverty, in the U.S. and throughout the world.

Stars in the TV special include: Julia Roberts, Coldplay, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Julianne Moore, Paul Rudd, Eddie Redmayne, Benedict Cumberbatch, Leslie Mann, January Jones and newly announced Neil Patrick Harris! If that wasn’t enough, NBC Entertainment announced today that they’ve launched its first-ever social good app in support of Red Nose Day that encourages social sharing and donations ahead of May 21 telecast. You can find it here.

Previewing Penny Dreadful: Season Two

For years Showtime played second banana to HBO until Homeland came along and won all the awards and praise in its first season. Sure it was basically a one season wonder that burned out quicker than maybe any series in the history of television (even if it was almost able to regain its footing last season). Homeland did get an identity with Homeland, but in the years since has been chasing that critical and commercial buzz ever since with what I call post-Golden Age Television: shows with good acting, good premise, but something is just keeping it from being great. Showtime's post Homeland shows Ray Donovan, The Affair and Penny Dreadful all fit in this category (The only other new drama since then, Masters of Sex is legitimately great, but is in the same category as The Americans where it seems like only critics watch because no one else actually seems to talks about them). And the less we say about the Twin Peaks reboot right now may be the best because we may never actually get to see it.

One of my biggest problem with the first season of Penny Dreadful was it seemed very paint by numbers. All season long they teased Ethan was the Wolfman, and as the season closed out, he went all Beast Mode. From the moment Brona started coughing up blood, it was safe to assume she would end up being the Bride of Frankenstein which also came to fruition by season's end. Then there was Dorian Grey who seem utterly useless in the first season, only there to have sex with everyone else. That was not to say the whole season was completely predictable, Frankenstein's monster getting ripped opened by the original prototype early on was extremely shocking and I certainly did not see Sir Malcolm spending the entire season looking for his daughter to find her and kill her after telling her, "I already have a daughter."

But what may Penny Dreadful's biggest flaw is that it pales in comparison to Hannibal in the horror department even though the latter is hamstrung by the standards and practices of a network series. Sure Eva Green put on a very haunting performance, but I would be more frightened to see Mads Mikkelsen at the end of a darkened hallway than Green.

As season two starts off, it seems like Penny Dreadful and done better to quash my biggest complaints on the show. Now that we all know the real and new identities of Ethan and Brona, we can finally move on to new less predictable territories. It also looks like they are giving Dorian Grey something to do this season, tied in the season's big bad, and coven of witches than can transform themselves into something that looks like Marilyn Manson circa The Dope Show but sans any hair at all. And they are actually look more scary than Hannibal Lector himself and at the end of the second episode one of the witches does something as creepy as anything Hannibal has done on his show. Many shows have a sophomore slump in their second season, but Penny Dreadful may just be finding its footing in its second and may quickly become the scariest show on television.

Penny Dreadful airs Sundays at 10:00 on Showtime.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 5/2/15

Mad Men: Right before the episode started, I thought to myself, I hope we get a Trudy sighting before the series runs out. Luckily we actually got one moments later with one of the more entertaining scenes in the series history with Pete and his family's hundred years feud with the headmaster (ironically the episode was actually directed by Lane Price himself as Lane punching Pete may be the number one best scene and Pete finally got his revenge on someone else's face). The rest of the episode felt like deja vu with Sterling Cooper looking to break free from their overlords once again. But surprisingly is did not work this time. But the most shocking moment of the episode was Peggy actually talking about her kid for the first time since I believe the second season when he was being taken care of by her mother. I just thought they completely dumped that story line and would never mention it again.
You can download Mad Men on iTunes.

Revenge: I was not totally convinced Victoria killed herself last week, and this week I am convinced she is still around somewhere. But then that begs the question of did she actually implanted her teeth into a corpse or payed someone to change the records. And sure her video was deleted from the server, but couldn't Nolan and his infinite computer knowledge just undelete it? Seems like something that can easily be done. Or at the very least, wouldn't it still be saved in Emily's cashe? Not that it should matter at all because there has to be surveillance footage of Emily at the air field, it would be hard to believe that is the only air field in America without cameras all over the grounds.
You can download Revenge on iTunes.

Gotham: Well, we finally learned where Harvey's proverbial line is this week and it is donkeys. Funniest part of an otherwise dark episode. Odd that Barbara told The Ogre to kill her parents, I just assumed she would say to target the good doctor instead. And where does that love triangle from from her, will the guilt drive Jim back into Barbara's arms despite the Stockholm Syndrome? I kind of hope they stray from the funny books and have Barbara become the new Ogre because that may be the only way they make the character interesting.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Bates Motel: It actually took me to this week to realize that Bob Paris is the same guy who plays Ted Chaough... I was not voted Least Observant in high school for nothing. But anyway. The big new though this week was the return of Bradley... maybe. Is she really there or just a figment of Norman's imagination?
You can download Bates Motel on iTunes.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Boooo, they should have let Simmons kill Ward, would have been poetic. But hey, we got an Age of Ultron spoiler: the Avengers are going to go after Loki's spear. Um, nice tie in, I guess.
You can download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

Survivor: Blue Collar vs. White Collar vs. No Collar: Shame that Shirin did not win Immunity too, that would have made for an interesting Tribal. Granted we almost got an almost was an all time Tribal Council with Mike threatening to use his Hidden Immunity Idol. Too bad Will was the only one dumb enough to switch his vote (Tyler definitely had to just in case Mike was not bluffing, but Will, again, showed he was a moron) but it was obvious that Mike was bluffing if he was not willing to hand over the Idol pre-vote. Now the question is if Dan finally realized he is on the bottom. Too bad it may have been too late because if he does team back up with Mike and is able to pull in Sierra, the best they could do is tie the vote even with his extra vote. Then again they could always get Will to do something stupid again.
You can download Survivor: White Collar vs. Blue Collar vs. No Collar on iTunes.

Around the Tubes: 5/1/15

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Penny Dreadful, Jim Breuer: Comic Frenzy, Moone Boy, Ohio Players, The Last Ship, Driving America, David Attenborough’s Rise of Animals – Triumph of the Vertebrates, Barely Famous, Park Bench with Steve Buscemi, and Hulu.

- Showtime has partnered with YouTube content creators Fine Brothers Entertainment, MadeYewLook and VSauce3, who today have debuted their custom Penny Dreadful videos, ahead of the second season premiere of the critically-acclaimed hit drama on Sunday, May 3rd at 10:00. The Fine Brothers, Benny and Rafi Fine, recap the entire first season of Penny Dreadful in one fast-talking eight minute take, dedicating one minute per episode. Their comprehensive synopsis recounts everything fans need to know in order to catch up with the series and prepare for the second season. Also today, makeup artist Alexys Fleming unveiled the first of five videos on her channel MadeYewLook, teaching fans how to recreate their favorite Penny Dreadful characters including the Werewolf and the Creature. Finally, VSauce3 creator Jake Roper explores a prevalent theme within the series, the real-life possibility of immortality, while on the set of Penny Dreadful in Dublin, Ireland.

To view the videos, visit:
The Fine Brothers
MadeYewLook
VSauce3

- Jim Breuer: Comic Frenzy marks the comedian's return to EPIX. "Jim Breuer: And Laughter For All" aired on the network in 2013. Filmed at The Paramount in Huntington, New York, Jim Breuer: Comic Frenzy focuses on what Breuer's life (and all of our lives) truly consist of: dealing with the elderly, becoming our parents' caretakers, parenting teenagers, and what it takes to be a "marriage warrior." As an added bonus, Breuer also sheds some light on what it's like to perform on "heavy metal-themed" cruises. It's not nearly as glamorous as one might think. Check out the trailer below:


- The critically acclaimed series Moone Boy will return to Hulu for a third and final season with six all-new episodes on Wednesday, May 13. The 2013 International Emmy® Award-winning comedy series stars David Rawle as Martin Moone, a youngster in small-town Ireland, and co-creator/co-writer Chris O'Dowd (St. Vincent, Bridesmaids, The I.T. Crowd, Girls) as his imaginary best friend, Sean Murphy. Distributed by BBC Worldwide North America.

- The original Ohio Players members of James ‘Diamond’ Williams (Drummer), Billy Beck, (Keyboardist), Clarence ‘Chet’ Willis (Guitarist) and Robert ‘Kuumba’ Jones (Percussionist) have been back in the studio recording the new album ‘Reset’ and rest assured; that Player groove is back! Mature and refined and complete with that earthy timeless signature sound that made Ohio Players international superstars. Hearing the depth of feeling in the first single is like a breath of fresh air that puts the well needed soul back into modern music. Check out their Indiegogo campaign for more information.

TNT and Madefire are bringing The Last Ship, basic cable's #1 new series, to the thrilling realm of Motion Books™ with a five-part digital comic book series that follows a pre-season-2 story arc. The Motion Books will be made available online for free and through Madefire’s top-rated app during the weeks leading up to the second season of The Last Ship, which is slated to launch with a two-hour premiere on Sunday, June 21, at 9:00. In addition, Madefire and TNT make an exclusive print of the first six pages available for Free Comic Book Day (FCBD), which takes place Saturday, May 2, at participating comic book specialty shops across the U.S. & Canada and worldwide (freecomicbookday.com/StoreLocator).

- This summer, millions of friends, families and thrill seekers will participate in a ritual that our ancestors have done for more than century: take a road trip. Trips like these wouldn’t be possible today without motels, highways and fast food restaurants, and those things wouldn’t be a part of the landscape if not for one driving force: the automobile. This Memorial Day weekend, National Geographic Channel invites viewers to buckle in for Driving America (Monday, May 25, at 9:00), a two-hour ride through the social, political and economic impact of the automobile on America.

- Smithsonian Channel will premiere the two-part series David Attenborough’s Rise of Animals – Triumph of the Vertebrates on Wednesday, May 13 at 8:00 and 9:00. From Atlantic Productions, the team that produced Sir David Attenborough’s Emmy® Award-winning series First Life, comes a new landmark series about the astonishing evolutionary advances that created the dazzling diversity of vertebrates which now dominate our planet, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and ultimately, mammals like us. Vertebrates have produced the largest, fastest, most intelligent creatures the world has ever seen.

- VH1 has renewed the critically-acclaimed series “Barely Famous” featuring Erin and Sara Foster for a second season. Season two is slated to premiere in 2016.

- AOL announced today that its Emmy-nominated Park Bench with Steve Buscemi will return for a second season. Created by and starring Steve Buscemi, Park Bench continues its local's take on the special people, places, and spirit of New York City. New celebrity friends, new misadventures, same bench!

- This week at the Hulu Upfront Presentation in New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom, Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins, Head of Advertising Sales, Peter Naylor, and SVP, Head of Content, Craig Erwich, announced that Hulu has acquired the exclusive subscription video on-demand (SVOD) rights to all episodes of iconic sitcom Seinfeld, as well as a new, multi-year agreement with AMC that grants Hulu the streaming rights to future programming from AMC Networks.

Previewing HAPPYish

Last fall Rolling Stone in their television preview issue included a list of The Greatest TV Series That Never Were. Most of the shows that made up that list were just shows that were passed on by the networks that developed them. One curious case was HAPPYish, a show that Showtime was high on but was shelved when star Philip Seymour Hoffman died of an overdose after the pilot was filmed. In the interim, ABC pretty much co opted the title for one of its sitcom before Showtime decided what to do with the project.

Almost half a year after Hoffman's death Showtime dusted off the script, casting Steve Coogan as the lead. It is an interesting choice as Hoffman was a well regarded dramatic actor while Coogan seems to come from the Monty Python school of British comedy. And actually casting a comedic actor as a lead in their comedy is actually kind of rare for Showtime. Kathryn Hahn returned to the project as the lead's wife while Rhys Ifans has been replaced by Bradley Whitford as the lead's boss (apparently there is room for only one Englishman on the show).

Though the general public never got to see the Hoffman version of the HAPPYsh pilot, from the description of the critics that saw the trailer that Showtime produced, the new version seems to be unchanged aside from the lead aging an extra two years to forty-four. There is even still a Keebler Elf dream sequence in both. It is hard watching Coogan version without think about how Hoffman would have approached the scene.

Coogan plays a happyish forty-something with two small kids who is dealing with being an old person in a world that only appreciates younger people. Making things worse, he works in an industry that only enforces the spotlight on being younger: marketing. Where Black-ish works as if features a black man raising his children in a white suburban world, HAPPYish is completely misleading as non of the characters have any slice of happiness in their lives. Instead everyone on the show ranges on the anger scale somewhere between curmudgeon and a Ted Cruz voter.

So if you like the idea of old people complaining about basically everything, this show is for you (i.e. anyone planning to vote for Ted Cruz). Really everyone is so angry, they really should have just gone ahead and cast Lewis Black instead. Sure the angry rants can be funny (Coogan is right, why would anyone follow Pepto Bismol on Twitter?) the show is at its best when it goes completely absurdist, be it a homicidal and over-sexed Keebler Elf, a talking Amazon smile, or a fowl mouthed Geico Gecko.

HAPPYish airs Sundays at 9:30 on Showtime.

57 Channel and Only This Is On: 4/25/15

Orphan Black: Oh Allison, how have I missed you. Now that Raylan Givens has retired to Florida, you are now the best character on television. But I did not appreciate them teasing that she might die. Not cool.
You can download Orphan Black on iTunes.

Once Upon a Time: When Ursala got her happy ending with papa Winston Zedmore, I theorized Cruella who have some sappy reunion with her puppies. Boy was I far off from that. So is Emma really going to turn dark and she will end up being the Big Bad next season kind of like the Willow season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer?
You can download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Mad Men: Oh hey, Creepy Glen, of course you get to come back to say goodbye one last time. Usually I would complain about him, but there was such a big gathering of horrible acting in that lobby season that it was almost entertaining. But not as entertaining as Don telling his realtor how to sell his apartment. Too bad they could not string that out for the last couple episodes.
You can download Mad Men on iTunes.

Revenge: Oh snap, Victoria actually killed herself in hopes that Amanda takes the fall. Bold move. I just hope they do not try bring her back saying she made it out in time and then planted another body there to make people think it was her. That would make it the second time that the writers wanted us to think Victoria died when she did not really.
You can download Revenge on iTunes.

Gotham: And there in lies the problem with prequils: where is the suspense that Barbara is going to be the Ogre's next victim when anyone familiar with the comic knows she is going to survive long enough to marry Jim (um, spoiler alert for those not familiar with the comics)? Though I do wish the writers were actually bold enough to kill off Barbara because she has been pretty worthless as a character so far.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Castle: Oh yeah, I forgot the season started off with Castle with amnesia that they never figured out. Maybe they should have kept it that way because the explanation was pretty thin. Sadly I do not believe that saga is over.
You can download Castle on iTunes.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Meh, I really wished they killed Ward off back in season one along with Garrett, him now playing both sides is just silly. The only way to make it worse if they do wipe his memories and make him a good guy again.
You can download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

Survivor: Blue Collar. vs. White Collar. vs. No Collar: Ooooh, a new twist. So Dan can add an extra vote whenever he wants (or did they give a final date like they do with the Hidden Immunity Idol). Could be interesting. But it could end up like the Hidden Immunity Idol which has become inconsequential because if someone in the majority alliance has it, it never gets used, if it is in the minority alliance, that person is just voted out at a later date. The only time I could remember an Idol having any bearing on a season was when Paravti whipped out two during the Heroes vs. Villains season.

The other big news is Mike turned out to be an even bigger idiot than I thought. Seriously, if you are not going to buy the letter from home, then just say you are not going to do it, ad if you are stupid enough to try and lie about it, do not go back on it. Between that and his blow up after the action, this may have been one of the dumbest power moves in the history of the game. All he had to do was pull Sierra and Dan aide, point out the Masshole's four person alliance, say that if they vote out Shirin and Jenn, we would be the next three so we should recruit Shirin and Jenn, vote out the flippers, then vote out Shirin and Jenn for an all Blue Collar Final Three. Instead he managed to get booted from his alliance and did not even get the extra vote from the auction. Moron.
You can download Survivor: White Collar vs. Blue Collar vs. No Collar on iTunes.

Black-iah: Was it not enough for Michael Rappaport to ruin Justified last year, he had to bring down the funniest show on television too?
You can download Black-ish on iTunes.

The American: Oooh, Paige talk Pastor Tim about her parents. Yet I will feel this will not end up with them being caught but it will be like when Martha learned of her husband and nothing will come of it. Look at Stan, just like I predicted, his correspondence with Oleg will make him look like the buy who planted the bug, but not only does he not get arrested for treason, he gets a promotion. I really wish someone will actually get caught soon.
You can download The Americans on iTunes.

Nashville: Sure Christina Aguilera cannot act, but that three way cat fight in the bathroom was almost as entertaining as the bad acting meet on Mad Men this week. I always thought Layla made a much better foil to Juliet than Rayna, it is nice that the writers are finally figuring that out again.
You can download Nashville on iTunes.

Around the Tubes: 4/24/15

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Happyish, Penny Dreadful, Turner on Hulu, Childhood's End, First Peoples, Dead End Express, Inside Comedy, Red Nose Day, BBQ with Franklin, Journey to the Draft, Iverson, Bitten, The Spy Inside the Hanoi Hilton and The Breaks.

- Showtime is giving viewers an early opportunity to sample the series premiere of the new half-hour comedy HAPPYish and the second season premiere of the critically-acclaimed psychological thriller PENNY DREADFUL across multiple platforms before their debut on Showtime. Viewers can sample the premiere of HAPPYish (sho.com/HAPPYish1), and the TV-14 rated version of Penny Dreadful (sho.com/PennyDreadful201) for free now on YouTube and on SHO.com. The premieres are also available via a number of television providers' free On Demand channels and websites, on Showtime on Demand® and various partner sites and applications. The episodes will also be available via Showtime Anytime® on desktop, iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ phones and tablets, Kindle Fire™, Roku, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox 360®, Xbox One and Apple TV streaming players anywhere in the U.S., as well as for download as a free video podcast on iTunes. PENNY DREADFUL will also be available on the Showtime Preview app on Smart TVs from Samsung, LG and Panasonic. HAPPYish will premiere on Sunday, April 26th at 9:30 and Penny Deadful will premiere on Sunday, May 3rd at 10:00.

- Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., and Hulu today announced an extensive, multi-year licensing agreement that will grant Hulu the exclusive SVOD rights to previous seasons of Turner's popular programming from Cartoon Network and Adult Swim as well as select current and upcoming series from TNT and TBS. The deal marks the first-ever licensing agreement between Turner Broadcasting and Hulu. All episodes from past seasons of TNT's The Last Ship and Murder in the First will be available to stream exclusively for Hulu subscribers. Additionally, all episodes from past seasons of popular Adult Swim original series including Rick and Morty, Black Jesus,NTSF:SD:SUV and Cartoon Network original series such as The Amazing World of Gumball, Steven Universe, Over the Garden Wall and Clarence will be made available to stream through an SVOD service for the first time ever on Hulu. All Cartoon Network series will be available to stream ad-free in the Hulu Kids environment.

- This sci-fi classic gets an adaptation at last. Childhood’s End, starring Charles Dance of Game of Thrones, premieres in December. Check out the teaser below:


- 200,000 years ago our ancestors took their first steps on the African savanna. Today, seven billion of us live across the planet. How did we beat the odds and spread from continent to continent? First Peoples is a global detective story that traces the arrival of the first Homo sapiens on five continents. Airing Wednesdays on June 24-July 1 at 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. ET and July 8 at 9:00, First Peoples is part of PBS’ “Think Wednesday” programming block.

- Across the vast and untamed wildernesses of the U.S., a hardy breed of American still lives a life set apart. Not just off the beaten path, these families and individuals are physically cut off from society by Rocky Mountains, roaring rivers and frozen tundra. However self-sufficient they might be, no man is an island, and sooner or later, those isolated in these remote locales must replenish their diminishing resources, whether fuel or ammo, or life-saving essentials like food and medicine. Dead End Express follows five rugged adventurers as they live and breathe the high-stakes life of hauling critical cargo into treacherous tracts of wilderness. Produced for National Geographic Channel by Original Media, a subsidiary of Endemol Shine North America, and Punchdrunk, the new series premieres Thursday, May 7, at 10:00.

- Inside Comedy, the critically-acclaimed SHOWTIME documentary series from comedy forces David Steinberg and Steve Carell, will premiere its fourth season on Tuesday, May 5th at 11:00. The six, half hour episodes will feature some of the buzziest names in entertainment including Dan Aykroyd, Stephen Colbert, Dane Cook, Bryan Cranston, Ted Danson, Michael Keaton, Carol Leifer, Jon Stewart, Wanda Sykes, and newest additions Conan O’Brien, Cheech & Chong, and Jeffrey Tambor. Steinberg will continue as host.

- Watch as the first red nose is sold to a lucky - and unsuspecting - customer at a Chicago Walgreens. Noses are available now for $1 exclusively at your local Walgreens.

- Pitmaster Aaron Franklin takes viewers on a boisterous road trip through BBQ culture — the people, the places and, of course, the food — in the new original series BBQ with Franklin, premiering on PBS in May 2015 ( check local listings). Ten half-hour episodes celebrate the traditions, techniques and histories passed along through generations, while serving up a new take on this distinctly American passion. The tour guide for this adventure is the owner and chief firestarter at Austin’s Franklin Barbecue, Aaron Franklin, widely regarded as one of the most influential pitmasters in the U.S. Part pilgrimage, part noble quest, the series brings viewers into Franklin’s world as he visits notable BBQ joints and their legendary masters, tries new recipes, answers burning questions such as “Is it done yet?” and shovels wood at his own BBQ pits.

- AOL announced today the release of its upcoming digital docu-series, Journey to the Draft, which will premiere on April 28th. The series will release nine episodes on April 28th, followed by the finale on May 6th for 10 episodes in total streaming on journeytothedraft.com. NFL Hall-of-Famer Deion Sanders serves as executive producer and narrator for the series. Journey to the Draft is an organic, unscripted, docu-series that follows three college football players, all with promising professional careers. These young men attend different schools across the country and play a variety of positions on the field, but at the end of the day they share one goal: to play in the NFL. The AOL docu-series follows players Leonard Williams, Kevin White and Marcus Peters.

- Showtime Sports® will present Iverson, a feature-length film on the legacy of NBA great Allen Iverson premiering on Saturday, May 16 at 9:00 on Showtime®.
The film, which debuted at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival, is an in-depth look into 11-time NBA All-Star Allen Iverson whose audacious rejection of conservative NBA convention and unapologetic embrace of hip-hop culture sent shockwaves throughout the league and influenced an entire generation.

- In 2014, Syfy introduced genre audiences to Elena Michaels, the world's only female werewolf, in Bitten, a steamy, emotionally charged supernatural series based on the novels by #1 New York Times best-selling author Kelley Armstrong. On April 17 at 8pm ET, Season 2 sees the return of Laura Vandervoort as Elena, the world's only female werewolf; Greyston Holt as Elena's passionate partner Clay Danvers; and Greg Bryk as the Alpha Pack leader Jeremy Danvers. And on April 18, Entertainment One (eOne) - also a Bitten producer - will begin to release each stunt and VFX-fueled SEASON TWO episode for purchase on all leading digital platforms the day after premiering on Syfy.

- A new Smithsonian Channel special will reveal one of the greatest secrets of the Vietnam War. The Spy in the Hanoi Hilton, premiering Monday, April 27 at 8:00, uncovers the true story of POWs inside the Hỏa Lò Prison, known as the Hanoi Hilton, who created a high-level espionage operation that reached all the way to the CIA and the White House. This included sending radio transmissions to the Pentagon and President Nixon’s White House during the brutal Christmas Bombings of 1972, signaling that POWs inside the Hanoi Hilton were still alive and that the raid should continue.

- VH1 has tapped legendary New York music producer DJ Premier to compose score and serve as executive music producer of the new original movie The Breaks. Inspired by journalist Dan Charnas’ book “The Big Payback,” a narrative history of the hip-hop business, “The Breaks” will be written, directed and executive produced by Seith Mann (“The Wire,” “The Walking Dead,” “Homeland”). VH1 plans to start principal photography in June with a premiere date set for late Fall 2015.

- Vibrant TV, the new, online network offering American viewers exclusive internationally-produced television entertainment, launches today with award-winning programming from the UK, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Presenting popular international shows, Vibrant TV gives American viewers the chance to experience cultures from around the world – embracing their differences, celebrating their similarities and coming away with a fuller view of how people live. Vibrant TV features a full range of program categories including lifestyle, comedy, action adventure, drama, reality, travel, food, sports and family. Vibrant TV offers new subscribers a free, two-week trial followed by a $4.99 per month charge. Highlighted among Vibrant’s many noted offerings are a trio of highly-acclaimed series never before available in the U.S.

I Want My Music Television: 4/21/15

American Oxygen - Rihanna


Before I even heard the new Rihanna song (I had to wait because, though I may subscribe to a streaming music site one day, it certainly will not be Tidal where the song had its exclusive premiere) I read an interview with the song's songwriter who cited Born In the U.S.A. This piqued my interest because the Bruce Springsteen song on its surface sounds like a jingoistic anthem, is really dark condemnation of the Vietnam War. Of course Springsteen can bring up darker moments in our history coming from New Jersey, Rihanna, a pop singer from Barbados may be a harder sale. Not only are the lyrics of American Oxygen touch on hardships of the nation, the video double downs on this spanning from the Klan to Eric Garner. But the songs's worst crime is that it just is not very good. But personally I cannot wait until some Republican mistakes the lyrics and using it in their 2016 campaign the way Reagan try to co-opt Born in the U.S.A. I predict Rand Paul.

Uma Thurman - Fall Out Boy


Babe of the nineties are really having a moment, first Michelle Pheiffer gets a shout out from Bruno Mars in the biggest song of the year, now Fall Out Boy has devoted an entire song to her Pulp Fiction dance. This makes me wonder what Kathy Ireland is up to these days. The video is sort of entertaining in a Up For Anything Bud Light commercial kind of way that get tiring easily.

Still Want You - Brandon Flowers


Last month Brandon Flowers released his first single off his sophomore album which was met with a resounding yawn and general, so when is the next The Killers album coming? I do actually kind of like the new single even if it is a bit on the cheesy eighties side of things (the music video only makes it cheesier). It is probably his best solo song yet. Still, I would rather have another Killers album instead.

Catch in the Dark - Passenger


In this week's installment of One Hit Wonder Watch, Passenger had a surprise hit two years ago with the sleepy Let Her Go in a time when radio was only play annoyingly upbeat songs. He followed that up with a faux rap song in the style of Ed Sheeran that failed to gain any steam. He is back with another sleepy song off his second album since the one featuring Let Her Go, but Catch in the Dark lack the instantly recognizable hook that Let Her Go had so it looks like Passenger will be saying in One Hit Wonderdom for a bit longer.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 4/19/15

Once Upon a Time: Oh yeah, I forgot Robin Hood was out there somewhere. I also forgot just how boring he is. Maybe the show can turn him into a wolf or something.

Mad Men: Weird that Betty and company showed up in the first scene and were not seen again after that. I audibly groaned when I saw them thinking we were going to have to sit through another boring Betty story line. Instead we got the loathsome Harry who managed to to creep on Megan before the ink on the divorcee papers was even dry, or technically before there was any ink on them at all. Overall a pretty meh episode even if we mostly avoided the Francis clan, it definitely needed more Ken.
You can download Mad Men on iTunes.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Holy Billy Riggins sighting! But why are they wasting his talents on just knocking on the door to a bathroom? He did not even get to run into his sister-in-law. Oh well. So we finally learned how May get her title of The Calvary before taking a desk job until Coulson brought her back into the field. Fine, whatever, But maybe the most interesting part of SHIELD this week was Clarke Gregg Skyping into Jimmy Kimmel Live during a fan Q and A segment to ask any of the Avengers if they ever thought about working on the small screen which was met by deafening silence by the six movie stars. Ouch. Guess none of The Avengers will learn Coulson is not so dead anytime soon.
You can download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

Justified: For the third time in the series history, the finale episode featured the song No One Gets Out of Harlan Alive. This turned out to be one big red herring because everyone who has been around from the first season was able to get out of Harlan with their heart still beating: Raylan, Boyd, Ava, even Wynn Duffy moved to an undisclosed location presumably to to door to door dog grooming.

Not that it was a satisfying ending. Raylan got in a few more great zingers, the best being, "Try this one" as he kicked a gun to Boyd after admitting he was out of bullets. Then Raylan did get his one last showdown with Boone that even though you knew was coming the moment he stepped on screen did not make it any less epic. Raylan is actually losing his touch because he actually let Boone get a shot off.

As it seems to becoming standard for television shows, we got a "four years later" coda, most surprising being that Raylan did not get the girl (whatever did happen to Jackie Nevada), Ava had a chid of her own and we finally learn why Boyd and Raylan just could not kill each other: they were brothers in arms who just took different paths, and they managed to help each other get out of Harlan alive.

All that is left now is figuring out where the show lands in the Pantheon of all time great television shows. I am ready to call it the best of the first half of this decade. As for all time, the show boasts the all time greatest opening of all time (Raylan giving the crime boss twenty-four hours to leave town and the time is up), one of the greatest antagonist of all time in Mags Bennett (sorry Boyd). Really only two demerits: the drag of the Michael Rappaport season and the flimsy heal turn by Ava, shaking up with her brother-in-law who was more evil than the man she killed. Still, if there were a Television Hall of Fame, you could make an easy argument for Justified in five years.
You can download Justified on iTunes.


Survivor: Blue Collar vs. White Collar. vs. No Collar: I liked how Probst refused to verify the validity of the Hidden Immunity Idol for Mike. Fake Idols are not made on this show enough anymore. Other that, a pretty boring episode as we are in the long decimation of the smaller alliance post merge that happens most seasons. They should really double up those eliminations into one episode when that happens to speed things up. Hopefully the promo for next week was not a red herring and that Mike and the Masshole go after each other (which hopefully results in the Masshole's elimination).
You can download Survivor: White Collar vs. Blue Collar vs. No Collar on iTunes.

The American's: When Martha found out Clark was not who he said he was I thought, well he has to kill her now. With her cracking and about to go home I thought, oh yeah, Clark is taking off his wig so Martha knows exactly who he is before he kills her. Except the episode just faded to black. But she cannot possibly survive the season. And with the season finale next week, someone has to finally take the fall for the bugged pen. Martha death making it look like a suicide because of guilt over betraying her country but I still think Stan may actually going to get caught trying to free Nina that he gets fingered.
The Americans on iTunes.

Nashville: Juliet's irrational post pregnancy moods is really the most entertaining she has ever been.
You can download Nashville on iTunes.

Around the Tubes: 4/17/15

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Dark Matter, The Draft, The Wonder Years, BarkFest Weekend, Geeks Who Drink, Megadeath, and Human Voice.

- The official trailer for Syfy's Dark Matter. Premieres June 12 at 10:00.


- The United States military draft has always stirred controversy, exposing fault lines in race, class and culture. PBS’ The Draft explores the turbulent history of the draft, from the Revolutionary War to present, including the debate over its termination. Airing Monday, April 27 at 9:00, The Draft is the first program to air as part of PBS’ special block of programming related to the Vietnam War.

- In The Wonder Years: The Complete Third Season, the newest retail installment of the fan-favorite series, the education of Kevin Arnold continues. He gets his first French kiss during an otherwise forgettable family vacation at the beach, and once back in school, he goes to his first make-out party. The boyfriend-girlfriend thing still puzzles him; his relationship with Winnie (Danica McKellar) and Paul (Josh Saviano) simply adds to the confusion. Cars enter the picture when his knucklehead brother Wayne (Jason Hervey) gets his driver's license. And the young Kevin flirts with potential rock 'n' roll stardom after new kid Larry Beeman (Joshua Miller) gets The Electric Shoes up and running. Street Date: May 26, 2015.

- Nat Geo WILD is gearing up for a weekend of all bark, no bite TV featuring some of the smartest, most unique and cutest canines in the world. There will be surfing dogs, service dogs, games to find out if your dog is a genius, Cesar Millan marathons and much more. Calling all dog lovers! Nat Geo WILD’s inaugural BarkFest weekend features the world premiere of the three-part series Is Your Dog a Genius?, beginning Friday, May 15, at 10:00 and continuing Saturday and Sunday at 10:00. Duke University dog scientist Dr. Brian Hare uses his groundbreaking research to help dog owners better understand their canine companions. He introduces at-home games that reveal your dog’s personality and introduces us to extraordinary dogs with remarkable problem-solving abilities. This interactive series will help dog owners everywhere unlock their canine’s true potential. BarkFest kicks off with World’s Greatest Dogs on Friday, May 15, at 8:00. These are the stories of extraordinary dogs: a surfing therapy dog, a bionic dog, a dog with the world record in scootering and many more. We’ll meet these incredible canines and their dedicated owners.

- Syfy announced today that Zachary Levi, star of NBC’s Chuck and upcoming Heroes Reborn, will executive produce and host the game show Geeks Who Drink through one of his production arms, The Nerd Machine. The weekly series is based on the pub trivia contest of the same name, which has become a nationwide phenomenon with more than 25,000 people participating in over 600 bars across 35 states. Produced by Kinetic Contact (Married at First Sight, Little Women, The Taste) and Condé Nast Entertainment, Geeks Who Drink will premiere on Syfy Thursday, July 16th.

- PledgeMusic is excited to announce their partnership Megadeth. The band has entered the studio to begin recording their 15th album and they want to bring you along for the ride. For the first time, Megadeth is going to bring you into the studio to be a part of the recording process, and give you a window into the world of Dave Mustaine, Kiko Loureiro, David Ellefson and Chris Adler. Some of the exclusive items available when you pledge are a pre-order the album digitally, on CD or vinyl, a signed copy of Dave Mustaine's book, a signed copy of David Ellefson's book, a 2-hour guitar lesson with Dave Mustaine, a day in the studio with Megadeth, signed guitars, Chris Adler's drum kit, a disposable camera with one-of-a-kind photos from the studio, a jam session with the band and much more.

- Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will host the U.S. Television premiere of filmmaker Edoardo Ponti’s short film Human Voice, starring Sophia Loren as part of the networks five-film tribute to the actress on Tuesday, April. 21. The evening is scheduled to kick off at 8 p.m. (ET) with the U.S. television debut of the internationally acclaimed Human Voice (2013), directed by Loren’s son Edoardo Ponti, based on Jean Cocteau's iconic one woman play of the same name. Human Voice, directed by Edoardo Ponti, tells the story of a woman in her twilight years, who rides the emotional roller coaster of her last telephone conversation with the man she loves as he is leaving her for another woman. The film earned Loren the 2014 David Di Donatello award for her performance and was also the Official Selection at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival and the 2014 HollyShorts Film Festival.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 4/12/15

Shameless: Yeah I was totally wrong about never seeing Sammi again. Why end the episode there, between that and juvi showdown I was the most excited about this season in its final three minutes. The rest was not very shocking with Fiona choosing wrongly once again, Frank's sugar momma dying on him (or so we are lewd to believe), and Ian finding his way home. Really only shocking part of the finale was Debbie announcing she was pregnant... I think. That was kind of unclear. But having a fourteen year old pregnant really is a very Shameless storyline.

Mad Men: I was a little grumpy going into the premiere because of the stupid half season stunt and I could barely remember the first half of the season (I really only remember Bert dying and dancing his way off the show), but whoa, that is how you start off an episode after a long break (fun fact: the girl in the fur coat was Andie McDowell's daughter). Though why was Sterling Cooper still auditioning anyone after that, hire her right then and there. The rest of the episode had its ups and down and should I know what is happening (I was not entirely the chick from season one was the chick in Don's dream until her named popped up in the credits and did not even realize that was a dream until Don brought it up to the waitress). But the clear winner of the episode was Ken Cosgrove who gets one over on Rodger, that should be a fun dynamic for the rest of the season, the only way it could be more entertaining is if Ken hires Paul Kinsey to work with him.
You can download Mad Men on iTunes.

American Odyssey: The has been a glut of Homeland rip-offs networks have tried out over the past three seasons with The Blacklist the only one to get a second season (Crisis being the only other one I personally enjoyed). So I did not have much hope going into this show and it pretty much live up to my low expectations. Add in the extremely cliched rich people are evil and do everything in their power to hide their evilness with the government's help and the show will probably end up being a very tedious watch.
You can download American Odyssey on iTunes.

Bates Motel: The best part of the episode, if not the entire series, was Romero's reaction shots during Norma's blackmail attempt. I am surprised the evil businessman accepted, I am sure he does have other plans than the one Norma demanded.
You can download Bates Motel on iTunes.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Oh hey, Deathlok, I completely forgot about that guy. And oh hey, Sky's mom, I thought she was dead. I guess in addition to not aging she apparently cannot die even when disected. So when does she reveal that to Sky? You would think that would be part of the introduction.
You can download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

Justified: They really should have included the hill people in the "Previously On" package because took me until he started talking about putting Raylan and Boyd in a box to remember who he was. And poor Constable Bob, about to get his biggest criminal of his life only to get shot two times. Only one episode left but it feels like they may need another two or three episodes to wrap everything up at this point. Like just how is Raylan going to get away from the state troopers. His, "Don't suppose you'd believe me if I said no" still is one of his best one liners. But the biggest question is who, if anyone, will defy the song and get out of Harlen alive?
You can download Justified on iTunes.


Survivor: Blue Collar vs. White Collar. vs. No Collar: It is time again to bid fond farewell to the Token Hot Chick this season. Well at least we will get to see Hali on the jury. As the votes came in and I wondered why the White Collar did not flip like they pondered I realized the major flaw in Survivor, annoying people always go further than they deserve because smart players know they will be easy to beat in the Final Tribal. Sure it would have been much better television had the two White Collar players joined No Collar and voted off the annoying Blue Collar tribe. But it would be harder to beat them in a final tribal and if you believe the Masshole that they are a final four with Will, those are two very beatable players. This happens every season, I sit and wonder why they do not get rid of the annoying person or people, but that is the smartest strategy.
You can download Survivor: White Collar vs. Blue Collar vs. No Collar on iTunes.

The Voice: Much like the previous seasons, I have lost interest somewhere between the Blind Auditions and Live Playoffs and I have definitely reached that point this season which I am done with. Of course number one on my Power Ranking after the Knockout Round got the Preston Pohl Memorial for Worst Song Selection for the Live Playoffs. It seems like most people believe the coaches or producers do this to make sure their favorite advance (it does not help that Adam has openly admitted to sabotaging his team during the first season so Javier would have an easier path to the finale). I am not much of a conspiracy theorist (except when something questionable happens on Team Adam) but I do find it befuddling that they would give Love Me Like You Do to Brooke Adee. First off, the song just sucks. Second it is a little creepy having a teenager sing a song from a movie about a sex slave. And third, the song was already used earlier this season and apparently bombed so bad it was montaged. So are the coaches (or the producers) just really bad at figuring out songs for certain artists, especially more alternative singers (again, see Preston Pohl) or do they actually try to railroad certain artists. And if it is the latter, why sabotage Brooke if that means the boring and bland Corey advances? I could say I will never watch the show again, and I should not, but I am sure the turning chairs will draw me in again in the fall only to complain about the lack of talent by Thanksgiving.

Around the Tubes: 4/10/15

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Resident Advisors, Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll, Chewie, MTV Movie Awards, Kids Behind Bars: A Soledad O’Brien Special Report, Welcome to Sweden, The Ride, Filter, Soul Asylum, If I Were You, and Broadchurch.

- Paramount Digital Entertainment’s Resident Advisors, the raunchy comedy executive-produced by Elizabeth Banks starring Jamie Chung and Ryan Hansen is exclusively on Hulu now. Check out the trailer below:


- FX just posted a new trailer for Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll. The series premieres Thursday, July 16 at 10:00 only on FX.


- In the comedy series Chewie, the galaxy-weary Chewbacca offers us a look inside the Louis C.K-esque day-to-day ordeals of his quest to find love, someone who will let him win at dejarik and perform his hilarious brand of guttural stand-up. Produced by Nerdist Industries and shot on location in New York City, this Louie parody brings a slice of the galaxy far, far away to the City That Never Sleeps. Just don't interrupt one of his sets at the Comedy Cellar, because this Wookiee will tear you limb from limb -- like so many Trandoshan slavers.


- MTV this week announced that past “Movie Awards” host Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp and Hailee Steinfeld will thrill Pitch Perfect fans at the “2015 MTV Movie Awards” with the worldwide premiere of an exclusive sneak peek from the highly-anticipated sequel, Pitch Perfect 2. The night will also reach a fever pitch when headlining rockers, Fall Out Boy, bring the house down with a live performance from the band’s recently launched sixth studio album, American Beauty/American Psycho, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts and peaked at No. 1 in 22 countries.

- On Sunday, April 12th at 10:00, Al Jazeera America gives voice to the voiceless and shines a light on an under-reported story by going inside an institution for teenage thieves, arsonists, gang bangers…and even kids who kill. In the hour-long special, Kids Behind Bars: A Soledad O’Brien Special Report, Al Jazeera America was given extensive access inside a once-notorious juvenile lock-up, the J. Paul Taylor Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico, where the state is now trying something new: offering education, counseling, and maybe even a second chance for juvenile offenders.

- Americans best know Sweden for exports such as meatballs, Ikea furniture and Volvo. But on May 19, Entertainment One (eOne) adds "sitcoms" to the list with its co-produced series Welcome to Sweden: The Complete First Season, a 2-disc DVD set. The acclaimed NBC sitcom, an offbeat single-camera comedy from executive producers and siblings Greg & Amy Poehler ("Parks and Recreation") and created by and starring Greg, became one of the highest-rated summer broadcast comedies of the past five years when it debuted last July. And before its second season debuts, experience a strange land and its stranger customs, in this fish-out-of-water sitcom called "the best new NBC comedy in a long time".

- Every kid has a dream but a dream alone doesn’t provide a future. The Ride consists of 8 hour-long episodes featuring Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Linkin Park, T.I and various other trendsetting artists, which will go into the truth of how these artists got to where they are today. Filled with raw unfiltered interviews, the road to success is paved as artists recount the events that transformed their lives. THE RIDE premieres, Saturday April 18th, 2015 9:00.

- PledgeMusic is excited to announce its partnership with Filter for the recording of their 7th studio record, on Wind-up Records. Fans will be given the opportunity to purchase exclusive items such as autographed CDs and signed vinyl, your name in a special "thank you" section of the liner notes, a Skype session with Richard Patrick, a mixing mastering session and lots of other great items. They will also get exclusive access to campaign updates and videos from Patrick and the band. Go to pledgemusic.com/projects/filter to sign up and pledge your support.

- PledgeMusic is excited to announce their joining with Soul Asylum for an upcoming album of all new material, to be released later this year. Pledging will also give you access to a Pledger-only section of the site, like private backstage access into the creative process where the band will be posting video updates, audio clips, pictures, blogs and more. To be part of the process and see what other unique and one of a kind pledge prizes the band has to offer, please visit: pledgemusic.com/projects/soulasylum.

- Spreaker, the leading podcast platform, announced today the addition of “If I Were You,” the hit show from the Los Angeles-based comedy duo, Amir Blumenfeld and Jake Hurwitz. Starring in one of CollegeHumor’s most popular and longest-running shows, the pair now will bring not only their podcast series, but also their hundreds of thousands of followers to Spreaker beginning this week. In every podcast episode, Blumenfeld and Hurwitz (and sometimes a guest) offer their guidance on a wide variety of topics from relationships, to work, to school, and everything in between. They also perform and record their show live on stage around the world in front of their fans.

- Earlier I mentioned the street date for the Broadchurch: The Complete Second Season DVD, please note that the date has been changed to May 12.

I Want My Music Television: 4/9/15

King Kunta - Kendrick Lamar


For Kendrick Lamar's first album I have it a one word review: meh. I do like his follow up a little more by the deep jazz drive runs a little long but I did do not get all the love as if he is raps Beatles (who themselves are the most overrated band ever. King Kunta was one of my more favorite songs off the new album though I do not sure if the video meant to be a throw back or if it was just filmed on an iPhone.

The Night We Called it a Day - Bob Dylan


God bless Bob Dylan, the guy clearly does not care, widely regarded as one of the greatest songwriter of all time, releases a Sinatra cover album (with a second one that may come out soon). Then you have the first music video, a noir silent movie type short film with Bob in it barely acting. God bless you Bob, may you stay forever young.

I'll Be There - Chic


Riding high off his participation on Get Lucky, Nile Rodgers has reunited with Chic and released a song with a bassline reminiscent of the biggest hit Good Time and even references another of their songs Everybody Dance. For googling purposes, that is model and Taylor Swift buddy Karlie Kloss who provides the dancing in the video.


Sorry


It seems like no one is allowed to be as raw has Meg Myers these days for better or worse. If there were a music video station around to put it in heavy rotation, Desire could have been a new millennium Criminal. Her new music video also give off the same vibe as it is from a time when music videos seemed to actually matter.