Around the Tubes: November 13, 2021

      

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Previewing Yellowjackets

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

57 Channels and Only This Is On: November 6, 2021

 

 

Fear the Walking Dead: I completely forgot Dakota chose to stay out during the blast.  What a way to go… and them come back as a nuked zombie.  But after months of trying to contact people on the radio, so evil group, Stand’s people, and Morgan all found the duo’s bomb shelter in short succession.  How convenient.

 

American Rust:  So what does Del know what he has to do?  My first thought is kill the dude.  But I am not sure that will help Billy much if he already is jail.  Del already mentioned if he brings him in, the higher up will just rehabilitate him to get a conviction on Billy. If there a third option?  Though there may not be need for a third option if Isaac comes home to admit what he did.

 

Then you have Grace who burned down her house, which now makes me wonder if she also firebombed her car.  If you are willing to burn down your house, you are clearly willing to do that to your car.  Though why?  Well, one episode to answer all these questions.

 

The Walking Dead: World Beyond:  Well, that plan failed miserably.  Does somebody know something and was prepared to ambush the truck?

 

Y: The Last Man:  Maybe you should not wait until after you are canceled to make an entertaining episode.  The amazons hunting Yorick is actually kind of interesting.  So is the fall of the government.  But the show had to waste the first episode on the world before the fall and waited too long for Yorick and Hero to reunited. if just briefly.

Stargirl:  I came to the realization what was off about this season: it was way too dark.  That and Shiv’s new JSA and The Shade were much more interesting antagonists than Eclipso.  The best episode of the season was when Sportsmaster and Tigress broke out of prison so hopefully with them moving next door, next season is much better, though the Frienamies theme is very stupid.  And just how can the convicts buy the house next door?  Did they get a pardon for helping to bring down Eclipso even though they have very little to do with it?  Comic book logic I guess.

 

La Brea:  Why did everyone think they were saved because they got the plane working again?  Every ship that went through the portal wrecked, why would you think that plane was going to now all the sudden take multiple trips with no problems?  But there goes my prediction that the father and daughter were going to join everyone in the past.  So now what?  Just wait until the next sink hole?  But there seems to be plenty of them throughout history if there is Civil War era gold there.  And I thought that group inside the fortress was the last pilots that went down, but it turned out only two survived and those two are both dead now.  Could those people from the fortress be from the Civil War, or descendants of the people who brought the gold?

 

Supergirl:  Oh no, William died.  Oh well.   But why not contact anyone when the alarms went off?  Why waste all your energy on sending Andrea the video?

 

Dopesick:  Here is why these multiple timelines are annoying.  We see Rosaria Dawson shout she got them in the bathroom.  But we see a later version of her dejected in a bar sounding like she never actual got them.

 

Survivor:  Not surprisingly Erika smashed the hourglass and Danny was righty upset of how dumb that twist was.  I wonder is Probst will get the message.  Unfortunately season 42 has already been filmed.  But poor Sydney got extra screwed.  The one person who she really needed to not get Immunity did so seconds before her.  Then Xander played Liana perfectly and somehow guess right not to play the Idol.  Though I am not sure why they put more votes on Sydney than Evie.

 

The Challenge: Spies, Lies, and Allies: So the team with the most members wins again.  It is almost like every single one of these team challenges gives an unfair advantage to the team with the most members.  And even though the team with the most member dominates once again, yet again the winner of the Lair chose not to join them for no apparent reason.

 

Doom Patrol:  They realy just yadda yadda’ed Madame Rouge getting her memories back.  It was silly enough that Elasta-Girl got hers back the same way she lost them.  And what exactly was Madam Rouge’s plan?  Seems like a very bad plan to impersonate a baby that was already in the manor.  But at least that scene was extremely hilarious.

 

Love Life:  My boy Chidi, getting it on with two chicks at the same time.  Except he could not pace himself and knocked one of them up.  But I guess it could be worse, he could have knocked them both up.

 

The Blacklist:  What is Red talking about want his own secret cult.  Did he not become the head of one last episode?  And had the description not said the villain of the week was a previous Blacklister, I may have never known until very late in the episode..

 

Around the Tubes: November 6, 2021

     

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting.  This post includes blurbs on Yellowjackets, Pen15, The Curse of Von Dutch: A Brand to Die For, Even More Funny Women of a Certain Age, Animaniacs,   Lorde, Eddie Vedder, Foxes, James Blake, Chelsea Cutler, Soul Train Awards, JFK Resisted: Through the Looking Glass.

- SHOWTIME has released the premiere episode of its new survival drama YELLOWJACKETS for free sampling on streaming platforms and on demand. The episode is now available on Sho.com, Showtime.com and YouTube, as well as across multiple SHOWTIME partner platforms.  Starring Melanie Lynskey (Castle Rock), Oscar^® and Emmy^® nominee Juliette Lewis (Camping), Emmy nominee Christina Ricci (Z: The Beginning of Everything) and Tawny Cypress (Unforgettable), the series is created and executive produced by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson (Narcos) and will officially premiere on Sunday, November 14 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.  Equal parts survival epic, psychological horror story and coming-of-age drama, YELLOWJACKETS is the saga of a team of wildly talented high school girls soccer players who become the (un)lucky survivors of a plane crash deep in the remote northern wilderness. The series chronicles their descent from a complicated but thriving team to savage clans, while also tracking the lives they’ve attempted to piece back together nearly 25 years later, proving that the past is never really past and what began out in the wilderness is far from over.

- Everyone’s favorite middle-schoolers are back with the return of Hulu Original Comedy series “Pen15.” Check out the official trailer below and get ready to binge all seven new episodes Friday, December 3rd only on Hulu!

- “The Curse of Von Dutch: A Brand to Die For” chronicles the unbelievable true story behind the rise and fall of the 2000s most iconic fashion trend. In this epic character-driven saga, Venice Beach surfers, gangsters, European garmentos and Hollywood movers and shakers all vie for control of the infamous brand — pushing it from obscurity to one of the most recognizable labels on Earth. After a decade of backstabbing, greed, and bloodshed, their lives – and pop culture – will never be the same.  All three episodes premiere Thursday, November 18 only on Hulu. 

- The hit comedy showcase FUNNY WOMEN OF A CERTAIN AGE makes its return to SHOWTIME with a third comedy special, EVEN MORE FUNNY WOMEN OF A CERTAIN AGE.  Emmy nominee and SAG Award winner Teri Hatcher (Desperate Housewives) leads a cast of female comedy veterans in her debut comedy special for a night of over-the-top uninhibited stand-up. The hour-long special also stars Carole Montgomery, Wendy Liebman, Monique Marvez, Leighann Lord and Marsha Warfield, who talk sex, dating and how they hilariously made it through the pandemic. Filmed at the Irvine Improv in Orange County, California, EVEN MORE FUNNY WOMEN OF A CERTAIN AGE premieres on Wednesday, November 24 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.  To watch and share a trailer from EVEN MORE FUNNY WOMEN OF A CERTAIN AGE go to: https://youtu.be/ErjsPhSLg8s

-  Hellloooo, season two! Hulu, Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation have joined forces once again to bring you “Animaniacs.” This Emmy® award-winning animated series—and one of Hulu’s all-time most talked about shows on social media—returns with 13 brand new episodes out now.  Yakko, Wakko and Dot return for an all-new season of this iconic, family-friendly series with something for everyone: pop culture parodies, musical showstoppers, takedowns of historical baddies...and even some important safety tips. Join the Warners and Pinky and the Brain as they wreak havoc everywhere they go, from the Warner Bros. lot to an international beauty pageant and all the way into outer space. And keep an eye out for season one favorites Starbox & Cindy, as well as some rejected Animaniacs characters that were left on the cutting room floor.

- GRAMMY® Award-winning multiplatinum artist LORDE took to her Solar Power Institute Bulletin earlier this week to drop the surprise music video for “Fallen Fruit” and announce the release of her Solar Power bonus tracks, “Helen of Troy” and “Hold No Grudge” to DSPs. The songs are available to stream everywhere and the music video is available to watch now. Listen to “Helen of Troy” HERE.  Listen to “Hold No Grudge” HERE.  Watch the video for “Fallen Fruit” HERE.

- At this year’s Ohana Festival, Eddie Vedder performed his single “Long Way” for the first time during his headlining set. The song is the first track from his highly anticipated album Earthling. Fans can now be a part of the amazing performance which was shot and edited by Pearl Jam video director Blue Leach.  Vedder was joined by an all-star backing band including Chad Smith, Pino Palladino, Josh Klinghoffer, Andrew Watt and Glen Hansard who performed with Vedder two nights in a row during the festival’s first weekend.  Watch the video here

- Foxes releases her euphoric new single "Sky Love," the third track to be lifted from her highly-anticipated new album, The Kick, due for release on February 11, 2022 via [PIAS] Recordings. The disco-tinged track, produced by Roosevelt, comes accompanied by a stunning video directed by Florence Kosky. Alongside the single, Foxes also announces further details of The Kick including the artwork and tracklisting. The Kick will available on February 11, 2022 on Standard and Deluxe CD. Vinyl will be available later in 2022.  Discussing "Sky Love," Foxes says it’s about “craving the kind of love that seems unimaginable, drives you crazy and is all-consuming. A love that feels otherworldly and like nothing you’ve felt before.”  "Sky Love" follows on from previous singles "Dance Magic" and "Sister Ray," the first two tastes of her upcoming album. Her first album in over five years, The Kick was written and recorded remotely via zoom during the height of the pandemic, offering a form of escapism for Foxes. Inspired by the desire for freedom that the world collectively shared over the last 18 months of lockdowns, the near-animalistic desperation to socialise, and a longing to dance again, Louisa naturally pivoted the sonics to feed that escapism and create a record that simultaneously feels close to her euphoric, dancefloor-filling pop roots that brought us hits like ‘Let Go For Tonight’, ‘Youth’ and ‘Body Talk’, while still feeling completely fresh. Unafraid of the art of the well-loved melancholic-banger, lyrically The Kick touches on themes of loss and heartbreak, narrating painful places and soundtracking new beginnings to create an album for the post-pandemic world and a summer of never leaving the party early.

- GRAMMY® Award-winning UK singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer James Blake uncovers the music video for “Famous Last Words.”  Watch “Famous Last Words”: HERE.  It stands out as the latest single from his critically acclaimed 2021 album, Friends That Break Your Heart, out now via Republic Records – listen HERE. The album notably marks Blake’s first new full-length album in three years. Right out of the gate, it attracted universal applause.

-  In celebration of her new album When I Close My Eyes, Platinum-Certified singer, songwriter, and producer Chelsea Cutler announces her upcoming 2022 headline tour today. Kicking off in Austin at Stubb’s Outdoors on March 9^th, the “When I Close My Eyes Tour” makes stops in Boston, Washington, D.C., Seattle, Portland, and more—see the full list of tour dates below. Adam Melchor and ROSIE will join as support.  Tickets will go on-sale via artist pre-sale this Wednesday, November 3^rd at 10AM local time, Spotify pre-sale on Wednesday, November 3^rd at 12PM local time, and official on-sale on Friday, November 5^th at 10AM local time at www.chelseacutler.com/.

- BET announced three-time GRAMMY® award-winning singer-songwriter and producer Maxwell will receive the ‘Legend’ award at the 2021 “Soul Train Awards.” Award-winning and multiplatinum singer/songwriter, actor, entrepreneur, and author Ashanti will be the recipient of the ‘Lady of Soul’ honor. The 2021 “Soul Train Awards” premieres Sunday, November 28 at 8 PM ET/PT on BET and BET Her.   “It’s an honor to be presented with the Legend award by a community that’s been growing with me throughout my career,” said Maxwell. “I’m so grateful to be sharing this moment with everyone and returning to the Apollo for an evening of excellence.”

- SHOWTIME will air the world streaming and television premiere of Oliver Stone’s documentary film JFK REVISITED: THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS, starting November 12 on streaming and on demand. The film – which premiered this summer at the Cannes Film Festival – presents a fresh look at the vast archive of material that has been declassified, re-examined and placed in the public records since JFK, Stone’s renowned film on the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 30 years ago.  JFK REVISITED: THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS will inform a new generation that this unresolved murder was indeed shocking and perhaps even calculated. Stone presents powerful evidence that in the Kennedy case, "conspiracy theory" is now "conspiracy fact." Narrated by Oscar^® winners Whoopi Goldberg and Donald Sutherland and featuring a renowned team of historians and witnesses, JFK REVISITED: THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS will make its linear debut on SHOWTIME on November 22 at 7 p.m. ET/PT, the anniversary of JFK’s death.

- Imagicomm Entertainment has announced the availability of the first season of the popular new original series, Wild West Chronicles, on IMDb TV.  “This series has garnered unprecedented viewership and has consistently set new ratings records on the INSP Linear channel,” said Collins. “So many people are fascinated with the stories of the iconic characters, and famous heroes of the old West, and we are proud that this series is now available on IMDb TV where even more viewers can discover this treasure.”

 

 

Previewing Dexter: New Blood

A wise man once said, “Well, now, everything dies, baby, that’s a fact.  But maybe everything that dies someday comes back.”  In a time when the creators of the upcoming I Know What You Did Last Summer television show get announced as also doing a Cruel Intentions reboot television show, it may be time to take the “maybe” out of that quote, at least when dealing with the entertainment business.  From here on out, it seems like IP will never really die.  So it is probably only a matter of time before the creators of those previously mentioned shows complete the Sarah Michelle Gellar trifecta and makes a The Grudge television show.

 

The latest reboot is going to undo what was probably the most maligned series finale in television history, at least until Game of Thrones came along: Dexter.  The first couple seasons of the show were very good, a serial killer who only kills bad guys that he vets through his day job in the Miami Police Department.  In true Showtime fashion, the show went on far too long to the point that it was laughable that no one at the police department figured it out.  Well, except Doakes who figured that out in the first season and LaGuarta and Deb finally caught on to Dexter by the final season, but even then it took too long.

 

That knowledge wrecked Deb that led to a spiral and was eventually fatally shot.  In the end Dexter took her lifeless body out to sea during a hurricane and was presumed dead, leaving his son to be raised by another serial killer in a South American country, only for the final scene of the show to feature a heavily bearded Dexter working at as a lumberjack. 

 

It seems like the people behind the show want to let that show die and the show now has a new name, Dexter: New Blood.  But this is the same Dexter with the same back story of the pervious show.  Okay, he does have a new name, James Lindsey (Jeff Lindsey was the author of Dexter series of books), but to the rest of the world, Dexter Morgan is dead.  Despite the same main character, the show could not be further from the original, the show went from the sunny coastal city of Miami to the wooded small town up north.  Okay, one thing the two shows have in common is there is still a multi-ethnic cast of characters as there is a sizable indigenous population in the town.

 

Dexter, err, James, now has a more lo-key job working at a sporting good show (you may recognize his boss as the cat guy from Only Murders in the Building).  But the biggest change is that James is not a serial killer.  It is implied Dexter has not killed anyone since we last saw him.  He does not even kill animals anymore despite living in a big hunting community and sells most of the hunters their guns.  In fact, now he owns plenty of animals that he takes care of.  Instead of his surrogate father helping him cover up his crimes, now Dexter is visited by his sister who tries to guilt him into not killing whenever the urge bubbles to the surface.

 

Much like the rebooted Veronica Mars, Dexter: New Blood is dropping the case, or kill, of the week format with an overarching storyline which seemingly is going to cover the entire season.  But Dexter still has a Big Bad to take down and this time around that comes in the form of Clancy Brown, an imposing figure who runs the local truck stop diner, but has some other extracurricular activities no one else know about.

 

To be honest, James is kind of a boring dude with his no killing edict.  And most of the first episode is also kind of boring as we see James go along his boring day.  He has a boring girlfriend (who seemingly has some secrets of her own, but it will take a couple episode to figure out what), a boring job, and is stuck in a boring routine.  Seriously who line dances to Heart of Glass?  The song that opens the reboot is very on the nose.  The only interesting parts of most of the first episode are his interactions with Deb and a douchebag customer who is so annoying you really hope Dexter breaks his no murdering pledge.  There is a point in the first episode where I realize there is not even some Dexter narration to break up the monotony of his day.  Every time something interesting is about to happen, it turns out to be a red herring… until something interesting happens and the narration finally kick in.

 

So does the reboot redeem the show?  Based on the episodes I have seen (four as I write this) it is way too early to tell.  The change of scenery does add to the show along with almost entirely new cast with just Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter reprising their roles (there is a recast character that does pop up).  Though I am not sure all the new characters are needed.  Jamie Chung as a true crime podcaster seems completely unnecessary so far.  Mabel Mora she is not.  But a disadvantage of dropping the kill of the week just to focus on one storyline puts a lot of emphasis on if the season sticks the preverbal landing.  Hopefully after an eight year hiatus, the writers were able to come up with a good one.

 

Dexter New Blood airs Sundays at 9:00 on Showtime.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: October 31, 2021

 

 Fear the Walking Dead:  Much like last week when I asked how exactly are the horses ok walking around when all the humans need gas masks, how exactly is it okay with the dog to jut roam outside.  And they really seemed to be playing fast and loose with that timer or I just cannot see very well.  It looked like when the car broke down they just had a half an hour left, so if they traveled for about five hours, how did they make it back to the sub safely?  But last week with the “Padre” letter, I was thinking it had to do with some father, but seeing it near the map, could South Padre Island be a safe place?

 

I had to look up who the guy at the end was.  Turns out it was Emile’s brother.  Okay.  So then I had to look up who the fork Emile was.  Turns out he was the bounty hunter Virgina sent to hunt down Morgan after they shot each other and was only in one episode.  Seriously, who actually remember these things?

 

American Rust:  I am no druggie, never even been in the presence of blow, but can one line of coke, even if it is laced with opioid, take down an teenage athlete within seconds?  I am also not an electrician, but if Harris cut the power, which I assume was to kill the alarm, but with the power out, how did he use the computer?

 

The Walking Dead: World Beyond:  So the one sister is not going back with the other.  Seems stupid.

 

Y: The Last Man:  They were really missing an episode following what happened to Y’s girlfriend.  She just shows up, leaves, and then is breaking in a couple episodes later.  How exactly did she get radicalize when she was dating a Senator’s kid.  What does this group even want?  But at least this group just executed the crazy Cabinet member.  She was a bit much.

 

Stargirl:  So they spent the whole back half of the season to break everyone up and now they are all back together in one episode.  But who exactly was Shiv calling?  The only one I can think of is Artimas who has not been seen since the big fight in the cafeteria.

 

La Brea:  Something strange happened in this episode: I kind of found it entertaining.  Sure everyone is still very dumb.  Like, when they were captured escaping, no one is going to say, oh you are from the future, I am from the future too, maybe we should team up to figure how to get back to the present.  But the sisters’ thing turned out to much creepier than expected.  I has predicted that the younger sister was really the older sister’s daughter, but it turns out she kidnapped the little sister.  But was the older sister really the father’s daughter or was she kidnapped too?

 

Supergirl:  Let me get this straight, that Lex is from the future alternative timeline where he was forking the imp?  What?!?  Thankfully only three more episodes of this crap.

 

Wu-Tang: An American Saga:  It seemed like they were wrapping the series up in a nice little bow in case it was not renewed as everyone was getting signed to their own solo deals, RZA was making beats for the solo albums… and then the pipe had to burst in RZA’s basement.  And that water came in pretty fast, getting waist deep even though the pipe busted a couple seconds earlier.  C’mon RZA, if you are getting a new place with a basement, you may want to make sure the sump pump is working first, especially if you are putting valuables down there.  But that stuff with him and the ODB was rough know just who put out his solo album.  But why not go back to Def Jam and tell them what Elektra Is offering and see if they will match, and at the very least run it by the ODB.  Sure getting your music back in twenty years is nice, but he did not even live to see that.

 

Dopesick:  Ooof, that rehab scene was rough.  So does the rep become the whistleblower at some point?  He seems to have some sort of a conscience but is still working for the evil empire. 

 

Survivor:  Much like how Probst does not know how dice work, making you draw them out of a bag for the Shot in the Dark advantage, apparently he does not know how hourglasses work either.  If you smash an hourglass, you are in essence stopping time, not turning back time.  But that is the problem with this season, none of these advantages really seem that well planned out.

 

It was confusing enough what was going on with the first twist of the episode with two team and two people sitting out, now this.  But Erika has to break the hourglass.  Giving up immunity is stupid, especially if you are spending two days away from camp right before the vote.  Sure you piss off half your tribe, but hey, at least one is going home and then you would be in a majority with the people you save.  And then, only the person who gets voted out should be mad (well maybe someone who then has to burn an Idol or advantage may also be mad) and it does not seem like that person will be on the jury.

 

The Challenge: Spies, Lies, and Allies: How was Amanda the only one smart enough to realize that if you claim you are going to infiltrate the green team if you win will keep them from sending you in?  The outwardly said it and still no one else said it.  At least Betina should have said she would have pick Amanda if picked.  The rookies this season have to be the dumbest lot to ever play and are ruining the season.

 

Doom Patrol:  I was really disappointing that no one else turned into puppets when rescuing Crazy Jane.  And why did she stay a puppet while Cyborg no longer had to be an action figure.  Now the confusing part: So Madame Rouge got her time machine from the Brotherhood of Evil who reverse engineered from the time machine Rita stole, which turns out was the exact time machine the Brotherhood of Evil first built.  So how did time travel get invented if the Brotherhood of Evil needed to see the time machine that they themselves built? 

 

Love Life:  It is weird seeing a bearded Chidi without glasses who seemingly can make decisions without breaking out in a cold sweat, but at least he still is making weird chili recipes.  But poor Chidi, no way dude can compete with a basketball player.

 

Guilty Party:  Oh wow, I was not expecting the Real Eleanor to just straight up murder a dude.  Though, I guess Chekov’s Gun gotta go off sometime.  But why are the evil illegal gun makers just starring at the two women after the gun went off with a bloodied body on the ground?

 

The Blacklist:  If Red is dying a slow death that he needs some voodoo priestess to keep him alive, why is he rebooting The Blacklist and signing up to be the new leader of some secret pirate club?  And is Dembe the new Lizzie now?  But wasn't her role of the task force the profiler?  Isn't Dembe just a redundant Ressler?

 

Around the Tubes: October 30, 2021

     

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting.  This post includes blurbs on Hip Hop 50, The Real Charlie Chaplin, Carol Ades, Benee, Olivia Vedder, Of Monsters and Men, Glass Animals, and Conan Gray.

- This December, SHOWTIME will kick off HIP HOP 50, its multiyear, cross-platform programming initiative celebrating the 50^th anniversary of Hip Hop in collaboration with entertainment company Mass Appeal, with the premiere of three documentaries celebrating the storied history of the music genre. Directed by Emmy and Grammy Award-winning music legend and Mass Appeal partner Nasir “Nas” Jones (Survival 1), VIDEO MUSIC BOX (w/t) will premiere Friday, December 3 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. RICKY POWELL: THE INDIVIDUALIST, directed by Josh Swade, will premiere Friday, December 10 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. And ROLLING LIKE THUNDER, directed by Roger Gastman, will premiere Friday, December 17 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.  HIP HOP 50 will continue to run over the next three years and will encompass unscripted series and features, podcasts and digital shorts by and about some of the foremost names in the genre, culminating with the 50^th anniversary of the genre in 2023. The initiative is driven by Nas and Mass Appeal Chief Creative Officer and Emmy-nominated partner Sacha Jenkins (WU-TANG CLAN: OF MICS AND MEN, BITCHIN’: THE SOUND AND FURY OF RICK JAMES).

- SHOWTIME announced THE REAL CHARLIE CHAPLIN, a kaleidoscopic portrait of a man who became an immortal legend, whose life was as extraordinary as his art, will premiere Saturday, December 11, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. From award-winning directors Peter Middleton and James Spinney (Notes on Blindness) and narrated by Pearl Mackie (Doctor Who), the feature-length documentary begins its theatrical run at Cinema Village (New York) and Laemmle Monica (Los Angeles) on Friday, November 19.  To watch and share the trailer, visit https://youtu.be/0ApMSyQkk1c.  Having unprecedented access to the Chaplin archives, THE REAL CHARLIE CHAPLIN blends dramatic reconstructions with never-before-heard recordings, intimate home movies, behind-the-scenes material, and newly restored classic films to reveal a side of the worldwide icon that – until now – has been shrouded in mystery. Tracing back a century ago – when Chaplin first stepped onto the screen – the film recounts his meteoric rise from the slums of Victorian London to the heights of Hollywood superstardom to his scandalous fall from grace. For decades, he was the most famous man in the world. But who was THE REAL CHARLIE CHAPLIN?

- Globally successful singer-songwriter Carol Ades arrives today with the release of her debut EP. Through (AWAL) is a culmination of six deeply reflective songs from Ades, marking a powerful reclamation of personal artistry and creative control for the New-Jersey-born, LA-based rising star, who has penned fan-favorite hits by Demi Lovato, Benny Blanco, Ava Max and more. Years in the making, Through is finally available today at all DSPs HERE.  Two new songs are available to hear for the first-time today, including “Brunette Caroline” and the EP’s title track “Through,” co-produced by Mike Crossey (Wolf Alice, The 1975).

- Marking a momentous return, New Zealand’s platinum sensation BENEE proudly presents her new single entitled “Doesn’t Matter” today via Republic Records—listen HERE.  On the track, BENEE opens up like never before. Steady drums beat through dreamy guitar as her voice comes in and out of focus. The lyrics depict her mental health struggles with raw detail and poetic poise. Above this delicate musical hum, she confesses, “I know it doesn’t matter.” Shining light through the cracks, she asks, “there is a way through.”  BENEE recently announced the single on World Mental Health Day with a vulnerable post on Instagram—see HERE.
 

- At this year’s Ohana Festival, Olivia Vedder gave her first-ever live performance of “My Father’s Daughter”, her original, Oscar-contending song from the Flag Day soundtrack, which was written by her father, Eddie Vedder, and Glen Hansard. The film from director Sean Penn, MGM and United Artists Releasing was adapted from Jennifer Vogel’s memoir Flim-Flam Man: The True Story of My Father’s Counterfeit Life. The film also stars Sean Penn’s daughter Dylan Penn, with Katheryn Winnick, Josh Brolin, Norbert Leo Butz, Dale Dickey, Eddie Marsan, Bailey Noble and Hopper Jack Penn rounding out the cast.  “My Father’s Daughter” Live from Ohana Festival: FlagDay.lnk.to/MFDlive

- Multiplatinum Icelandic collective Of Monsters and Men release My Head Is An Animal (10^th Anniversary Edition) including two never before released songs: new single “Phantom” and “Sugar In A Bowl.”  Stream My Head Is An Animal (10^th Anniversary Edition) HERE and watch the official music video for “Phantom” HERE!

- Critically acclaimed, global-hit sensations Glass Animals made the late night television debut of their latest single “I Don’t Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance)” on The Late Late Show with James Corden—watch the performance and frontman Dave Bayley’s interview with James Corden HERE.  Following the exciting performance, this morning, Glass Animals were nominated for two 2021 American Music Awards—“Favorite Pop Duo or Group” and “Favorite Rock Artist.” The news arrives following the band’s biggest year of their career thus far, with their global and  Double Platinum smash hit “Heat Waves” becoming the UK’s biggest export from a British contemporary band and making Glass Animals the biggest band in the world right now.

- Gen Z pop king Conan Gray shares his new single “Telepath” today.  The new single is co-written by Conan Gray alongside powerhouse collaborators, Julia Michaels [Gwen Stefani], Ilya [Ariana Grande], and Caroline Ailin [Dua Lipa].  Listen to “Telepath” HERE via Republic Records.