57 Channels and Only This Is On: 5/30/15

Orphan Black: The show should never put Allison on the shelf for an entire episode but they almost made up for it this week with her and Donnie's dance party which rivals the nineties dance party back in season one as the best scene in the show's history.
You can download Orphan Black on iTunes.

Penny Dreadful: Whoa, for I believe is the first time in the show's history, it was having a bit of fun with the dress shopping sequence (is Dr. Frankenstein really going to fall in love with his creation). Of course that did not last long as it had to go back to creepy which the wall people definitely were.
You can download Penny Dreadful on iTunes.

American Odyssy: Oh no, they killed the arab transvestite television host who trades sexual favors with the Malian general, (s)he was the best part of the show. But hey, Chloe Sullivan showed up this week (though her name has been in the credits for the last couple weeks, have they brought her in just to show the back of her head all those eavesdropping scenes). I wonder what she has been up to since the end of Smallville.
You can download American Odyssey on iTunes

Aquarius: I have weirdly enjoyed NBC's midseason attempts the last couple years, the shows have been ambitious even if they tend to fall short of the cable quality they clearly are trying for. Plus they are almost guaranteed to be low commitment because I believe Hannibal is the only one of these shows to get a second season (although based solely on ratings, even that probably should have been canned but luckily returns for its third season this week. I am not sure I really needed to see a highly fictitious show built around Charlie Manson (though I would have said that about Hannibal Lecter three years ago too) but there is almost nothing else on this week. Plus it is nice to have Fox Mulder back on free television plus it also has my favorite Bunhead. Unfortunately is also stars the worst actor Friday Night Lights. Seriously, why is Smash Williams relegated to recurring when the dude whose name I never bothered to learn in the main cast? Then there is a hot blond cop (cue Sir Psycho Sexy) who may have the worst American accent in the history of television.

 Still Aquarius did have its moments be it funny (though I am not entirely sure all were meant to be intentionally funny) or weird (Charlie Manson tries to rape a dude... twice). But I fear the most interesting part of the show will be NBC's decision to release every episode for purchase, streaming and On Demand the day after the premiere. As a creature of habit, I will probably will still end up watching the show live since I will be watching Hannibal afterwards anyway, but I do like it when networks try something new. I am not sure what will qualify as a success but I do hope this leads the networks to new innovation.
You can download the full season of Aquarius on iTunes.

As I just mentioned, there was not much to watch on television this week. So I had to make a little hart to let myself know when summer shows start premiering. Apparently Wednesday will be movie or video game night for me. Even Monday looks pretty barren until late August.

Sundays
9:00 - Ray Donavan (July 12, Showtime)
9:00 - The Last Ship (June 22, TNT)
10:00 - Masters of Sex (July 12, Showtime)
10:00 - Falling Skies (June 28, TNT)
10:00 - The Strain (July 12, FX)

Mondays
Switched at Birth (August 24, ABC Family)

Tuesdays
8:00 - Pretty Little Liars (June 2, ABC Family)
10:00 - Royal Pains (June 2, USA)
10:00 - Tyrant (June 16, FX)
10:00 - Public Morals (August 25, TNT)

Wednesdays

Thursdays
9:00 - Aquarius (already airing, NBC)
9:00 - Under the Dome (June 25)
10:00 - Hannibal (June 4, NBC)
10:00 - Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll (July 16, FX)
10:30 - Married (July 16, FX)

Fridays
8:00 - Defiance (June 12, Syfy)

Around the Tubes: 5/29/15

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 Bob Segar, Stitchers, The Hotwives of Las Vegas, Deadbeat, Anne Frank’s Holocaust, Ike Reilly, and Ray Donovan

- Capitol Records recording artist Bob Seger’s classic album, Night Moves, makes its debut on 180-gram vinyl on June 16, 2015 – Just in time for Father’s Day! 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” Presale is available now.

- ABC Family, which dominates the social space for television, is now expanding into the virtual reality arena with a new app promoting the new procedural drama series Stitchers. The app, titled “Hack the Case,” is available starting today, Tuesday, May 19, 2015 on Stitchers.com, at the Google Play store and the Apple App store. Hack The Case” allows users to be immersed into the world of ‘stitching’ through a virtual reality experience using 360-degree video. Similar to the series, in which genius hacker Kirsten Clark is ‘stitched’ into the memories of the recently deceased in order to help solve their murders, “Hack The Case” will challenge users to find out if they have what it takes to be a ‘stitcher.’ Users will view multiple videos, collect clues and attempt to solve the case. Those who succeed in solving the case will be entered into a sweepstakes for the chance to win a trip to Los Angeles where they will have an action figure created in their own image. ABC Family will be distributing smartphone virtual reality viewers to enhance the experience via a number of different giveaways. Stitchers will premiere on Tuesday, June 2, 2015 at 9:00 on ABC Family.

- Hulu along with Paramount Digital Entertainment revealed their all-star cast of comedians who will join The Hotwives of Las Vegas, the follow up season to their hit original series The Hotwives of Orlando. The second season is set to premiere exclusively on Hulu and Hulu Plus with episodes to stream weekly starting on Tuesday, August 18. The series will see returning stars take on news roles with Casey Wilson (Marry Me, Gone Girl) as Jenfer Beudon; Tymberlee Hill (Marry Me, Drunk History) as Phe Phe Reed, Esq; Andrea Savage (Episodes, Dinner for Schmucks, Step Brothers) as Ivanka Silversan; Danielle Schneider (Marry Me, Hotwives of Orlando) as Denise Funt; Dannah Phirman (Newsreaders, The Hotwives of Orlando) as Leona Carpeze; along with series newcomer Erinn Hayes (Childrens Hospital) as Callie Silversan.

- Hulu announced this week that the Hulu Original series Deadbeat has been renewed for a third season with a 13-episode order. Produced by Lionsgate Television, the series is co-created by Cody Heller and Brett Konner (Wilfred, The Inbetweeners) and executive produced by showrunner Dan Lagana. Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Sarah Esberg from Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment are producers on the show.

- Anne Frank’s world famous diary came to an abrupt end shortly before the Franks were discovered hiding from the Nazis in a secret annex at the top of Otto Frank’s office building August 4, 1944. While Anne’s diary tells the story of her life, the story of her death reveals the atrocities encountered by millions of Jews during the Holocaust. In a solemn remembrance of the horrors that Anne Frank and millions of others suffered during the dark days of World War II, National Geographic Channel (NGC) takes viewers inside the concentration camps in a two-hour special, Anne Frank’s Holocaust, premiering Sunday, June 21, at 9:00. In keeping with NGC’s tradition of unparalleled storytelling, Anne Frank’s Holocaust incorporates new findings and rarely seen photographs to reintroduce the story of the massacre of Jews in one of the most comprehensive documentaries to date.

- Indie rock raconteur and singer-songwriter Ike Reilly will release his seventh studio album, Born On Fire, on June 16, 2015. The record will be issued as a joint release between Rock Ridge Music and Tom Morello’s new label Firebrand Records. Morello who hails from the same hometown as Reilly (Libertyville, IL), says, “There's something in the water in my hometown of Libertyville. Marlon Brando, Adam Jones of Tool, my humble self, and now Ike Reilly. Ike is not just a great, authentic songwriter of the highest caliber but he's always ready to throw down at a union rally... or a bar fight. Ike's songs are a poetic cracked window into the lives of the heartland heroes trying to get by, find and keep love, and carve a place for themselves with humor and dignity. But we love him most because at the drop of a hat he'll travel 1,000 miles to play one song for a dying anti-war veteran. We are very proud to have heartland hero, Ike Reilly, on Firebrand Records.”

- The second season of the critically-acclaimed Shotime hit drama series Ray Donovan is available now for purchase on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Google Play, VUDU, Sony’s Video Unlimited and PlayStation store and Verizon FiOS. Ray Donovan: The Second Season also arrives on Blu-ray and DVD today from Showtime Networks, CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Media Distribution. The series stars two-time Golden Globe® and Emmy® nominee Liev Schreiber as LA’s best professional fixer, the man called in to make the city’s celebrities, superstar athletes, and business moguls’ most complicated and combustible situations go away. Ray Donovan ranks as one of the network’s highest-rated series, and earned two Golden Globe wins and multiple Emmy nominations in its first two seasons. Season three will premiere on Sunday, July 12th at 9:00 on Showtime.

Viewers can go to the following platforms now to purchase the second season of Ray Donovan:

iTunes: http://s.sho.com/RD2iTunes
Amazon Instant Video: http://s.sho.com/RD2Amazon
Google Play: http://s.sho.com/RD2GooglePlay
VUDU: http://s.sho.com/RD2VUDU
Sony’s Video Unlimited and PlayStation Store: http://s.sho.com/RD2SonyP
Verizon FiOS: http://s.sho.com/RD2FiOS

I Want My Music Television: 5/28/15

She's Not Me Jenny Lewis


It would be hard for Jenny Lewis to follow up Just One of the Guys, but it looks like she did just that with her new video, this time recruiting SNL vets Vanessa Bayer and Fred Armison along with fellow singer-songwriter Fiest to poke fun as Lewis's time as a child star when she guested on Golden Girls and starred in movies like Troop Beverly Hills and the video game championship epic The Wizard starring Fred Savage (which begs the question where is the reboot starring Luke Dunfey as Fred's son? Actually why is Boy Meets World the only reboot in the Savage clan? Where are the reboots to The Princess Bride, Vice Versa, or Little Monsters?)

1,2 1,2 - Raekwon featuring Snoop Dogg


After some embarrassingly bad years it is weird hearing Snoop Dogg on an actual hot track.  There is one that is kind of good that was also released on his album out last week (the embarrassingly titled Bush) but it is not nearly as hot as this song with Raekwon with its nineties remix posse vibe for the video.

California Roll - Snoop Dogg featuring Stevie Wonder


As for the previously mentioned Snoop Dogg, this is probably the best song off of the new album except that I would actually would like the song much more if the song was just Pharrell and Stevie Wonder instead. And is this video supposed to be a tie in to Tomorrowland?

Photograph - Ed Sheeran


Ed Sheeran does not really like being in his own music videos (Think Out Loud being the lone exception), it is weird to see he really mugged for the camera as a child.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 5/23/15

Orphan Black: Meh, an episode without Allison is not an episode worth watching.
You can download Orphan Black on iTunes.

Mad Men: I know the show was about advertising, but ended the series with a Coke ad was silly, not autistic boy imagined the whole thing a snowglobe silly, but silly nonetheless. Matthew Weiner had stated that last season's ending of Don showing his kids was how he originally was going to end the series (not to be confused of last year's half season finale of Bert Cooper dancing his way off this mortal coil). That worked as a much better ending to the show than the one we got. Mad Men was depressing and everyone getting a happy ending (well, except Betty) just did not fit with the ending of the show, everybody finds love and / or gets a better or more full filling job then after "retiring" Don comes up with what some call the best commercial of advertising (at least that is what I am assuming that final scene was about).
You can download Mad Men on iTunes.

Penny Dreadful: I always find it interesting when shows go full flashback for an entire episode. Basically it is a flashing "This Is Important!" for the viewers, or least the writers want you to think that. Sometimes it seems like the writers came up short breaking a story so they add a flashback episode to fill the season. Timing is also interesting, this show was smart to have it at the beginning of the season because when it falls near the end, it just breaks the momentum of a show going to a conclusion (Lost comes to mind who would always try to cute with stunts like that). Overall, I am not sure if this episode added much to the overall arch of the season, we already knew the witches were evil, we may not needed that reinforced by having her manipulate someone to burn the witch in between her Vanessa. And I am not sure we really learned enough of Vanessa's past to really warrant an entire episode. All I was left with was wondering once Vanessa left the premises, how did it take the witch a couple more years to track Vanessa down again?

Survivor: Blue Collar vs. White Collar vs. No Collar: Watching the reunion just reminded me just how horrible this season was considering the spent almost the entire show talking about just how horrible Dan and Will were. And they did not even have enough time to get to the Masshole who said some pretty offensive things too. Thankfully they had the Second Chance vote which meant five less minutes spent on this cast.

As for the actual finale, I was shocked that Mike won. Not that he did not deserve it, I thought for sure the Second Chance voting was a spoiler and his inclusion meant he would not win. But win he did, taking home the last two Immunity Necklaces and even somehow convinced Dan to vote for him in the end even though Dan refused to forgive him during the game which could have meant he had been in the finale. I was a bit surprised Carolyn did not get more votes, tying Will for second. Tyler ended up being more bitter than I expected and I originally though the Blue Collar would end up voting for her. But in retrospect that was stupid thinking Dan and the Masshole would actually vote for a woman.

Even more shocking than Carolyn's lack of votes at the Final Tribal was her lack of votes in the Second Chance voting. I figured everyone from the last two seasons would be a lock (with maybe the exception of Max who was booted early this season and lacked a defining moment). I was also shocked Not-Dante Culpepper was also passed on considering Probst man crush on him that may only be rivaled by his man crush on Boston Rob. I am glad more people were with me than Probst. And Not-Dante should have had an easier route than Carolyn since Mike became ineligible. I wonder who took Mike's spot. My guess would be one of the elder men from the early season be it Terry or Andrew.

As for the shocking inclusions, I am a bit befuddled with who voted for Kass and to a lesser extent Kimmi. I was also surprised Kelley Wentworth got one of the two token hot chick nods considering I did not even remember her despite her being on last season (I did vote for her solely for physical reasons). Hopefully she gets on an opposite tribe from Kelly Wiglesworth because that could be annoying. I thought Mikayla may get the other out of pity for absurdly of being voted out solely so Brandon Hantz would not do something immoral to her.

Overall I am surpised that of the twenty people I voted for fifteen made it. Sure I wouild swapped Kass and Kimmi for Mikayla and Sabrina. I did not vote for Shirin but I am fine with her addition and will probably will be better than Natalie whom I voted for instead (mostly because no one on thirty seasons looked better in a bikini than her). I am also fine with the two guys I did not vote for, Terry and Joe (I went with Max and Troyzan but did not felt strong about either). But after one historically bad season and one meh season I m really looking forward to Second Chances. Which could only mean Kass and Kimmi will be making the finals.

I did not have a place to put it in earlier, but I have to say the way Probst revealed the cast was extremely awkward. It felt like a Maury Pauvich type reveal. As a stats guy it is also interesting that of the six runner ups on their seasons, half gote voted onto Second Chance while half went home (Carolyn, Natalie, and Sabrina). Weirdly, there were five tenth placed finisher and all of them are heading to Cambodia. Then Kimmi and Kelley (not to be confused with Kelly) were the only two that finished worse than tenth to board the bus. The other five double digit finishers are going home. Five was an unlucky number, because besides the three runner ups and the five double digit finishers, two of the other three not boarding the plane (T-Bird and Shane) finished fifth. Granted Ciera and Peih-Gee also finished fifth.
You can download Survivor: White Collar vs. Blue Collar vs. No Collar on iTunes.

Around the Tubes: 5/22/15

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 B.B. King, The Island, The Strain, Seinfeld, T. rex Autopsy, Turner Classic Movies, EPIX, and the Stars For Second Harvest.


- B.B. King personified blues music for the whole world,” says Austin City Limits (ACL) executive producer Terry Lickona, "but when he first appeared on Austin City Limits in 1983 it was rare for a blues artist to command a full hour on national television.” In honor of the late, undisputed King of the Blues, ACL is proud to bring that iconic hour out from the vault and back to television for the first time in 22 years. This special encore episode airs Saturday, May 23rd at 8:00 on PBS stations (check local listings for times).

- In the hour-long The Island, internationally acclaimed adventurer and survivalist Bear Grylls gives the modern American man the ultimate challenge: Can a man of today's world survive on a deserted island without the luxuries - or even the basics - of contemporary everyday life? Check out a preview below of the showw that premieres Monday at 10:00 on NBC.


- The Strain returns to FX this summer for its highly-anticipated second season on Sundays at 10:00, beginning July 12th. The award-winning thriller from Guillermo del Toro and Carlton Cuse, based off of the best-selling The Strain Trilogy by del Toro and Chuck Hogan, was the most-watched new cable drama of 2014.

- One of the most popular, most award-winning and longest-running comedy series of all time Seinfeld will be available to stream – in its entirety – for the first time ever on Hulu beginning June 24th. Jerry Seinfeld stars as a stand-up comedian whose life in New York City is made even more chaotic by his quirky group of friends who join him in wrestling with life's most perplexing, yet often trivial questions. Often described as "a show about nothing," Seinfeld mines the humor in life's mundane situations like waiting in line, searching for a lost item, or the trials and tribulations of dating.

- This summer, dinosaurs will again capture the world’s imagination with a trip to “Jurassic World.” And though National Geographic Channel cannot bring any dinosaurs back to life (at least not yet!), we will make our own attempt to crack the paleontological code with the new two-hour world premiere special T. rex Autopsy, premiering Sunday, June 7, at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

- Time Out New York reveals a killer feature where the Pixies’ Black Francis and TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe interview each other! As we set the stage for bringing together the two indie-rock heroes, the outcome makes for a once-in-a-lifetime, awesome conversation all on its own.

- Turner Classic Movies (TCM) today announced a collaboration with Ball State University and Canvas Network, an open online educational platform from Instructure, to present Into the Darkness: Investigating Film Noir, a free online multimedia course open to the general public. The open online course is one of several interactive initiatives TCM is launching in connection to its Summer of Darkness programming event for fans that want to dive deeper into the world of film noir. Enrollment begins today and noir fans can sign up for the course at tcm.com/summerofdarkness

- Ross William Ulbricht, the convicted 31-year-old entrepreneur accused of being Dread Pirate Roberts, and founder of the Silk Road drug marketplace, will be sentenced on May 29 in New York. Lyn Ulbricht, mother of Ross Ulbricht and Alex Winter (Downloaded), director, writer and producer of the EPIX Original Documentary Deep Web that chronicles Ulbricht's trial, will participate in a Periscope live video session immediately following the sentencing from the steps of the courthouse. In February 2015 Ulbricht was convicted of seven felony charges including drug trafficking, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit computer hacking and a kingpin charge. He faces a minimum sentence of thirty years, with a maximum sentence of life in prison. Deep Web makes its World Television Premiere on EPIX Sunday, May 31, 2015 at 8:00.

- Premium TV network EPIX announced today that it is adding original, scripted series to its programming slate, beginning with series from its joint-venture studio partners Paramount, Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Two of the series will begin production this fall for premiere autumn 2016. The series, "Graves" from Lionsgate Television and "Berlin Station" from Paramount Television, mark the first original series that will appear on EPIX across its channels, EPIX On Demand, EPIX.com and TV Everywhere platforms with its distribution partners. A third original series from MGM will be announced in the near future.

- ACM’s New Artist of the Year winner Cole Swindell , CMA nominee Sarah Buxton and BMI Songwriter of the Year Rodney Clawson join the All-Star lineup of singers and songwriters for the 11 th annual Stars For Second Harvest event on Tuesday, June 9 at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium. Presented by O’Charley’s, hosted by acclaimed hit songwriter Craig Wiseman , and benefitting Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, the show will feature unplugged acoustic style performances by some of country music’s most acclaimed songwriters and performers. Concert tickets are on-sale now for both general admission $35 plus applicable service charges and preferred seating $55 tickets and are available at Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com, Ryman box office, Ryman.com, or by calling 800-745-3000.

I Want My Music Television: 5/20/15

Bad Blood - Taylor Swift featuring Kendrick Lamar


The build up to the new Taylor Swift music video ended up being more entertaining than the video itself. It ended up looking like a movie trailer with an endless cast who only gets three seconds of screen time each. And I feel bad for Selena Gomez, Taylor gets backed by all her friends while Selena just gets faceless drones. Of all the cameos, couldn't Taylor throw Selena one or two friends?


Feel Right - Mark Ronson featuring Mystikal


I have said this before, but casting children for your stand in for a music video always works. Thank you Mark Ronson, and an extra thank you to mini-Mystikal.


Crystals - Of Monsters and Men


In this week's installment of Adventures in One Hit Wonderdom, Of Monsters and Men had a surprised hit three years ago with the ultra-catchy Little Talks. Everything else off the album failed to stick tin public consciousness and now is back with its sophomore album soon. The first single is kind of sleepy (I can see it in a bunch of winter trailers) but I do like the freaky music video.


Sparks - Hilary Duff


I am not sure I just watched a Hilary Duff music video or a Tinder commercial nor am I sure which would be worse. I do kind of want to like the song because it has been too long since there has been a great whistle breakdown in a song, but unfortunately this just is not a good song either

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 5/17/15

Once Upon a Time: I came to the realization this week that having an author in the story he was writing was extremely stupid. Thankfully Henry broke the pen which hopefully that is the end of that. And apparently next season they are going to Camelot. Um, yeah?
You can download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Mad Men: It was about time one of the characters got lung cancer. Sorry Betty. Now, will any of these drunken fools have liver failure by the end of the show? Despite Betty's death sentence that was a pretty subdued penultimate episode. We did learn that Pete will be joining Joan and Don in the no longer employed by McCaan list. Will Peggy and Roger (who is basically already checked out) join them next week? Whatever happens, it is pretty clear by the last couple episodes, the show probably will not be going out with a bang.
You can download Mad Men on iTunes.

Revenge: Well after all the twists and turns, that was a pretty straight forward finale. Okay, Amanda getting Victoria heart (maybe, it also maybe have been a dream sequence) was a little weird. Even weirder was the revelation that Victoria hooked up with her father. What is with all the incest on television this decade: Game of Thrones, Bates Motel and now Revenge. This trend really needs to stop.
You can download Revenge on iTunes.

American Odyssey: I was really hoping the douchebag boyfriend would end up being just a douchebag boyfriend and the father was just losing it, but that is never the case in shows like this. Oh well.
You can download American Odyssey on iTunes.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Oh no, what just happened to Simmons? Of course in a Joss Wheadon show right when Fitz Simmons start discussing the "I love you" incident, something bad really happens. But what exactly happen? Was that The Blob and swallowed her whole? Did it take over her body like Fred on Angel? Is it a Vemon situation where she is really there but is just overtaken temporary but can be saved. A two hour season finale and the last minute is all I can think about.
You can download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

Survivor: Blue Collar vs. White Collar vs. No Collar: Wow, Mike was able to Jedi mind trick both Dan and Carolyn to use their Extra Vote and Hidden Immunity Idol at the same Tribal Council. I do wonder if Carolyn uses her Idol if Dan does not use his Extra Vote. Still, going into the Season Finale, I do not really care about any of them. I even kind of hope Carolyn wins just so she will not be allowed to show up next season.
You can download Survivor: White Collar vs. Blue Collar vs. No Collar on iTunes.

Nashville: What a silly cliffhanger, of course Deacon is not the bad new the doctor is taking about, the complications have to do with the sister. But I do wonder if she is dead or if she will need assistance that Deacon and Rayna will have to provide for the rest of her life. Almost as silly is Juliet jumping to Luke's label as if her contract with Rayna is that flimsy. At least Will finally came out even if it was two seasons too late.
You can download Nashville on iTunes.

The Blacklist: Oh wow, Lizzie actually killed the Attorney General, that is hard to come back from even if those investigative journalists uncover The Cabal. Of course if Red can join the task force, why not Lizzie? But will she be cleared by episode two of next season or will that be a season long arc?
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

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.