Previewing Homeland: Season Six

At the end of last season of Homeland, it looked like this season would revert back to familiar time when Saul offered her a job back at the CIA with full autonomy of her team. But shockingly, she turned it down to continue working with her philanthropist fiancée. The other big new from the end of last season was Quinn pretty much dying after being the giunie pig for a chemical bomb Except the show left his death ambiguous as the season went to black, but basically he needed a miracle to survive,

I thought the show was going to tease out Quinn’s fate after the lack of a title sequence to see if the actor’s name was still in the credits, but it is easy to deduce his fate in the first scene of the season and confirmed in the second. At the start, Carrie has moved back to the United States (which means a return of computer guy Max), taking up roots in New York City still working for the foundation But instead of working for the poor like in the past, she has steered the new New York chapter towards unjust Muslim arrests.

Saul and Dar are still at the CIA and start the season meeting with the new Madam President Elect. Before you decry the presumptuous liberal Hollywood for already electing Hilary Clinton before the votes were cast, this female president is vert dovish whose one of the first questions she has is why do we just pull out of the Middle East completely? But what exactly does this have to do with Carrie who last we saw had no interest with the CIA. Well the first time Saul and Carrie meet this season, he points out the President Elect is friends with Carrie’s boss and point blank accuses her of being the president-elect’s secret council.

Okay, enough beating around the bush, I am going to talk about the fate of Quinn since the premiere has been on the internet for a while. So SPOILER ALERT if you have not watched it.

Brody should have died at the end of season one. Clearly in hindsight because of the horrible and eventual Carrie/Brody romance that completely ruined the show for a season and a half, but I think most people in the moment knew he should have exploded his vest at the end of the first season. I fear things will be repeating itself. Quinn should have died last season. It is completely inexplicable that he survive the chemical booth. And goodness is he annoying this year as a half dead person who still pining over Carrie. If they actually hookup it may be worse than Brody because that means the writers have not learned their lesson. But other than that, a female president elect… how novel.

Homeland airs Sundays at 9:00 on Showtime.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 1/14/17

The Affair: Finally another duel perspective episode. And of course Noah’s sex scene was creepy and kind of violent (also interesting that Helen kept her top on during her act and Noah had it off). I am kind of hoping for a Gunter act coming up just to see if what Noah sees is real or not, I am questioning his point of view. Would seem like a long haul to drive from upstate New York into the city just to taunt Noah and not retaliate when he cuts you (I have to imagine that cut will come into play at some point.

:Good Behavior: My big takeaway from the season finale: Just how did Javier get both cars to the house? But anyway. It was a satisfying finale. I am not sure how exactly the show is doing in the ratings or even critically, but if this is also the series finale, I would be fine with how the season played out.
You can download Good Behavior on iTunes.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Oh man, good one Dr. Ratcliff, program your robot to make it seem like she has overwrote their own programming. Really brilliant. But when does Ada actually go Ex-Machina?
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

Around the Tubes: 1/13/17

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 New Edition Story, Seven Songs for a Long Life, From Dusk till Dawn: The Series, The Obama Years: The Power of Words, and news from Showtime.

- BET Network’s upcoming biopic The New Edition Story is a 6 hour, 3 night star studded mini-series that will air on January 24, 25, and 26, 2017. Check out the trailer below.


- Hospice care is rarely associated with song and dance, unless the songs happen to be dirges or solemn hymns. But a new hospice-centered documentary, Seven Songs for a Long Life, sings a very different tune. Filmmaker Amy Hardie goes inside Strathcarron Hospice in Scotland, where six patients, some stricken with terminal illness, face pain and uncertainty with song and bravery. Three years in the making, Seven Songs for a Long Life captures the often quirky patients’ reflections on life and their own mortality, as well as their heart-tugging renditions of pop music classics by everyone from Sinatra to R.E.M. The film debuts on the PBS POV series on Monday, Jan. 30, 2017.

- This February, home audiences will be whisked deep into the vortex of a culebra underworld on the verge exploding in From Dusk till Dawn: The Series - Season Three. Across 10 new horror-packed episodes, MIRAMAX and El Rey's fan-favorite, supernatural crime saga returns on loaded blu-ray and DVD, available only from Entertainment One. Both sets include hours of specially-produced extras including audio commentary with the cast & crew, featurettes including "Season 3 Catch Up," "Inside the Episodes," "Season 3 Best Kills," "Evolution of a Fight Scenes" and much more!

- From global independent studio Entertainment One (eOne), Sienna Films, Wildcats Productions and Executive Producer Frank Spotnitz's Big Light Productions comes the suspense drama series Ransom, which follows crisis and hostage negotiator Eric Beaumont whose team is brought in to save lives when no one else can. Ransom airs Saturdays at 8:00 on CBS. eOne will release new episodes for purchase on iTunes, Amazon and all other leading digital platforms weekly.

- Over eight years, President Obama delivered more than 3,500 speeches and statements – officially ending his era with a farewell address on Tuesday in Chicago. His speeches ranged from redefining patriotism, candidly addressing race relations, inspiring hope and healing, and turning divisive moments into an opportunity for national unification. But which are the moments that history will remember? A new hour-long Smithsonian Channel special tells the story of Barack Obama, “writer in chief,” and takes viewers inside the defining moments of his political career through the prism of his most memorable speeches. The Obama Years: The Power of Words, narrated by actor and producer Jesse Williams, premieres on Monday, February 27, 2017 at 8:00.

Showtime Sports® announced a powerful new documentary, Prison Fighters: 5 Rounds To Freedom, which examines a controversial practice in Thailand’s criminal justice system whereby inmates can earn their freedom by winning a series of Muay Thai fights. A Showtime Sports original production, the 90-minute film will premiere on Friday, Feb. 24 at 8:30 on Showtime.

- Showtime has announced the airdates for its two highly-anticipated new series GUERRILLA and I’M DYING UP HERE. The new six-part limited event series GUERRILLA will premiere on Sunday, April 16 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Showtime. The drama will premiere in the U.S. on Showtime and in the U.K. on Sky in the same week. The new one-hour drama series I’M DYING UP HERE will premiere on SHOWTIME on Sunday, June 4 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, kicking off the network’s summer line-up which will include new seasons of RAY DONOVAN, DICE and EPISODES. The announcement was made today by David Nevins, President and CEO, Showtime Networks Inc. at the 2017 Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour.

- Showtime has announced the premiere date for the highly anticipated, new TWIN PEAKS. The 18-hour limited event series will debut with a two-hour premiere on Sunday, May 21 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Immediately following the premiere, Showtime subscribers will have access to the third and fourth hours, exclusively across the Showtime streaming service, Showtime Showtime® and Showtime ON DEMAND®. In its second week, TWIN PEAKS will air the third and fourth hours back-to-back on the linear network, starting at 9 p.m. ET/PT, followed by one-hour episodes in subsequent weeks. The announcement was made today by David Nevins, President and CEO, Showtime Networks Inc. at the 2017 Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour.

- Days after the inauguration of Donald J. Trump, Showtime Documentary Films presents TRUMPED: INSIDE THE GREATEST POLITICAL UPSET OF ALL TIME at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. This world premiere screening at the prestigious festival will be followed by the Showtime premiere of the film on Friday, February 3 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on-air, On Demand and the Showtime streaming service. The film was produced by the team behind The Circus on Showtime. The announcement was made today by David Nevins, President and CEO, Showtime Networks Inc., at the 2017 Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour.

I Want My Music Television: 2017 Artist to Watch Edition

Even though I usually check them out, I not a big fan of the Artists to Watch for the next year that pop up at the end or beginning of each year. My ears usually meet each artist with a resounding yawn. Most are not really that new, usually artists that put out albums or singles months before to crickets and outlets are dusting them off now because they have to write about something and less and less artists are putting out music in the winter. Really there are just less and less big name artists that push the needle period.


One artist that caught my ear on Billboard’s list was Maggie Rogers. Her song Alaska was somehow familiar and weird at the same time. Then the song kept popping up again and again over the last couple month until one day I heard it and realized, oh wait, this song is kind of great. So I went on a deep dive and there was a viral video of Pharrell listening to her song in front of her at the NYU Clive Davis Insitut where she talks about coming to the school as a banjo player who fell in love with French dance music, hence the “familiar and weird at the same time” vive. Maggie’s segment starts at 18:18.


What is great about the video, beside Pharrell bizarrely comparing her to Wu-Tang Clan which he manages to make a convincing argument, is Maggie awkwardly trying to sneak a look at Pharrell’s expression but clearly to scared to. And like I mentioned, she went to music school to play the banjo so clearly there is musicianship to her behind the French dance music esthetic which you can definitely her in the acoustic version of the song which turns the song into a heartbreak anthem that could have been been on one of Ryan Adams more sad albums.


Maggie has released a new single since them with an EP coming February 17 called Now That the Light Is Fading, (she also released two albums in high school that you can find on Bandcamp if you are interested in her banjo phase). Dog Years is another great song that gives me a modern update of Laurel Canyon feel to it. After a dire year for new music last year, and really music in general, 2017 is already looking up.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 1/8/17

The Affair: Wait, what just happened? They teased Noah going crazy in the lake and his act ends with the exact same moment, except there was someone there. Or was there? That was young Noah right? But yeah, there should be a Noah segment every episode.

Conviction: I am not entirely sure why I am still watching this dead show walking (oh yeah, my irrational love of Peggy Carter) but that had to be one of the most awkward kisses in television history.
You can download Conviction on iTunes.

:Good Behavior: 57 Channels was off last week so here are my thought on the post Christmas episode followed by this week’s episode: The previous week’s with the ballad of Javier’s family was a bit of a drag, but boy did they made up for it this week with shocker after twist after shocker. I guess you have to start at the end with Letty asking Javier to kill her baby daddy. Oh, yeah, we learned Jacob’s father was a porn director turned video fitness guru. And to think, most episodes I would have started off with Nelson being played at a wedding reception. Oh yeah, and then the Godmother learned her husband enjoys getting rammed by dudes in his office. I was thinking the Godmother may be the only one on this show worth rooting for. Then the parole office popped into my mind. Where has that guy been? If my memory is correct, the last we saw of him was being questioned by the FBI after he and Letty robbed the hotel. That thread has to be tied by the end of the season.

1/3 – So that is what happened to the parole officer; just waiting for the right time to have him and his new FBI buddy to try to get Letty to turn on Javier. Quite a pickle, turn him in seems obvious until you realize dude is resourceful. Maybe the smart thing would have been to give him a heads up, I do think him just leaving town is good enough. Should make for an interesting finale.
You can download Good Behavior on iTunes.

Blindplot: Well I was completely wrong about who was going to die because apparently no one did. Meh. But the big bad let Kurt live again, what could she possibly want with him? Is he going to turn out to be a Manchurian Candidate?
You can download Blindspot on iTunes.

Emerald City: I will say this, the show looks very beautiful (NBC got the guy who directed The Cell to direct all ten episodes) but it became clear pretty quickly that we probably do not need a dark re-imagining of The Wizard of Oz with a Christ-like Scarecrow with amnesia.
You can download Emerald City on iTunes.

Around the Tubes: 1/6/17

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 Sea of Hope: America’s Underwater Treasures, OBAMA: The Price of Hope, Independent Lens, The Detour, Rock'N’Roll Inventions, Let It Fall: LA 1982-1992, Titanic: The New Evidence, Debbie Reynolds, The Handmaid's Tale, and Shameless.

- As the country prepares for Donald Trump to be sworn in as the 45th U.S. president, both critics and supporters believe they’re saying farewell to one of the most memorable presidencies in the nation’s history. On Sunday, Jan. 15, just days before the inauguration, National Geographic commemorates President Obama’s legacy with a night of programming, beginning at 8:00 with the one-hour documentary Sea of Hope: America’s Underwater Treasures, followed by the two-hour special OBAMA: The Price of Hope, premiering at 9:00.

- BS uncovers the awesome and terrifying power of the atom in a three-night marathon of nuclear-themed programming from January 9-11, 2017 (check local listings). Exploring nuclear power and global nuclear arsenal, the programming block will explore the many sides of the nuclear issue by looking to history, examining the present and imagining the future. The following programs will air January 9-11, 2017: Independent Lens’ “Containment”, a disturbing documentary that explores attempts to plan for a radioactive future and the failures in managing millions of gallons of waste left over from the Cold War, premieres Monday, January 9 from 10:00-11:30 p.m. ET.

- Hospice care is rarely associated with song and dance, unless the songs happen to be dirges or solemn hymns. But a new hospice-centered documentary, Seven Songs for a Long Life, sings a very different tune. Filmmaker Amy Hardie goes inside Strathcarron Hospice in Scotland, where six patients, some stricken with terminal illness, face pain and uncertainty with song and bravery. Three years in the making, Seven Songs for a Long Life captures the often quirky patients’ reflections on life and their own mortality, as well as their heart-tugging renditions of pop music classics by everyone from Sinatra to R.E.M. The film debuts on the PBS POV series on Monday, Jan. 30.

- TBS's hit comedy series The Detour is making its way back for its second season, slated to launch with back-to-back episodes on Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 10:00. Created, written and executive-produced by Jason Jones and Samantha Bee, The Detour stars Jones, along with Natalie Zea, Ashley Gerasimovich, Liam Carroll and Daniella Pineda.

- A new Smithsonian Channel series is about to make some noise as some of the biggest names from the recording industry break out their drumsticks, synthesizers, and everything in between to explain the technology and innovations that have provided the soundtrack to our lives. The new six-episode series, Rock'N’Roll Inventions premieres Monday, January 16 at 8:00.

- Academy Award-winner John Ridley has teamed up with ABC News’ Lincoln Square Productions to produce a feature-length documentary titled Let It Fall: LA 1982-1992 about the Los Angeles uprising of April 1992. The two-hour documentary is scheduled to air on the ABC television network in the spring of 2017 pegged to the 25th Anniversary of the rioting, looting and gun violence that unfolded after the verdict in the Rodney King case.

- The sinking of the RMS Titanic has been the subject of countless investigations, and the true cause of the tragedy is hotly debated. Now, explosive new photographs have surfaced containing shocking revelations about a series of shortcomings which contributed to the legendary ship’s tragic sinking. The images are unveiled in a new one-hour Smithsonian Channel documentary that tells the story of the unluckiest ship in maritime history. Titanic: The New Evidence (WT) premieres Saturday, January 21 at 8:00.

- Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will celebrate the life and career of legendary actress Debbie Reynolds, the vivacious actress, singer and dancer who entertained audiences in musicals such as Singin’ in the Rain (1952) and Tammy and the Bachelor (1957) with a 24-hour film tribute on Friday, January, 27. Reynolds, who passed away Wednesday, Dec. 28 at the age of 84, became a sensation after starring with legendary hoofers Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor in the immortal MGM musical Singin’ in the Rain (1952) and received her only Oscar® nomination for pla ying the title role in The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964). Reynolds recording of “Tammy” spent five weeks at No. 1 in 1957 and was nominated for an Academy Award for best Original Song.

- Last week, Hulu announced Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale will premiere on Wednesday, April 26th, 2017. The drama series, based on the award-winning, best-selling novel by Margaret Atwood, is the story of life in the dystopia of Gilead, a totalitarian society in what was formerly part of the United States. Facing environmental disasters and a plunging birthrate, Gilead is ruled by a twisted fundamentalist regime that treats women as property of the state. As one of the few remaining fertile women, Offred (Elisabeth Moss) is a Handmaid in the Commander’s household, one of the caste of women forced into sexual servitude as a last desperate attempt to repopulate a devastated world. In this terrifying society where one wrong word could end her life, Offred navigates between Commanders, their cruel Wives, domestic Marthas, and her fellow Handmaids – where anyone could be a spy for Gilead – all with one goal: to survive and find the daughter that was taken from her.

- On the heels of its seventh season finale last night, Showtime has ordered an eighth season of Shameless. The announcement was made today by David Nevins, President and CEO, Showtime Networks Inc. One of the network’s longest-running and most successful series ever, Showtime season seven ranks as its highest-rated season to date. The series stars Oscar® nominee and Emmy® winner William H. Macy and Golden Globe® nominee Emmy Rossum. Production on twelve new episodes will begin in 2017.

- ast week, Main Street Alliance member businesses joined a national day of action–urging their Senators and Representatives in Congress to oppose efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The GOP leadership's health plan, to be voted on in early January, would take health coverage away from 30 million people nationwide and collapse the insurance market–leaving small business owners scrambling to find health insurance.

The Seven Most Anticipated Events of 2017

2016 sucked. Massively. We lost too many people who shaped my childhood to named. I have not been as ashamed of my Best Songs of the year’s list since 1999. Music was so bad last year; somehow Justin Beiber landed a Best Album nomination. Really, since music was so bad last year and so many great artists, died, the Grammy’s this year should just be a three hour tribute show. In some years, Leon Russell or Leonard Cohan would have gotten a lengthy tribute but they may just get stuffed in the In Memorium package this year as neither are in the top five this year (and that is not even counting David Bowie or Glen Frye who were paid tribute at last year’s ceremony). Oh yeah, and we also witnessed the worst presidential election in my lifetime, probably ever. Also as hit musical Hamilton taught us, at least no one is participation in duels. Instead we had dudes bragging about the size of his penis at a televised debate, bragging about being able to molest women, claiming political opponent’s father was involved in the JFK assassination, openly admitted to wanting to have sex with his daughter, promising to lock up his political opponents, and siding with Russia over our CIA. And that is just the guy that won. But as the great philosopher Adam Duritz one said, there is reason to believe that this year will be better than the last. So with that said, here are seven things to look forward to in 2017.

7. Obligatory Superhero Movie Mention: Superhero movies have been a mainstay on my Most Anticipated lists for a while now but honestly I am getting a bit worn out. I have had the Batman v. Superman blu-ray sitting on my desk for about a month now unopened, and I am two movies behind on the Marvel movies. Basically I did not watch one Superhero movie that was released in 2016. I am sure I will eventually and it may not happen this year, but eventually I am sure I will get around to watching Logan (March 3), Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (May 5), Wonder Woman (June 2), Spider-Man: Homecoming (July 7), Thor: Ragnorok (November 3), and Justice League (November 17). And really, you might as well put Star Wars: Episode VIII (December 15) in this category too.

6. Kong: Skull Island (March 10), The Mummy (June 9): Superhero’s are no longer the only films getting their own cinematic universes, now other movie studios are getting in on the action. Kong: Skull island takes place in the same universe as 2014’s Godzilla. Although that is a pretty limited universe because it is just the two large mutant animals that will not even appear on screen together until 2020. As lackluster the concept is, it is a pretty impressive cast: Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, and John Goodman. Universal is getting a bit more ambitious, rebooting the very first shared cinematic universe with its monster movies, first up, The Mummy. If all goes well, there will also be movies featuring Frankenstein's monster (starring Javier Bardem), Count Dracula, the Wolf Man, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Invisible Man (starring Johnny Depp), and Bride of Frankenstein.

5. A Few Good Men Live!(?): Hiding at the bottom of NBC’s press release for their upfronts last year was one line about adapting the Aaron Sorkin play, a break from their string of live musicals. Supposedly it was coming “early 2017.” Well here we are in early 2017 and I have not heard anything about it since. NBC.com does have a page for it and it just says, “coming soon.” Hopefully they are just making sure they are getting it right and not just quietly forgotten about it because I am much more interested in it than the Jennifer Lopez starring Bye Bye Birdie.

4. The Ends of Orphan Black and Pretty Little Liars: Two show on the opposite of the quality spectrum are ending this year. After introducing one of the more adventurous ideas in television history, Orphan Black will be coming to a close. Here is hoping there is an Alison spin-off into a bad CBS sitcom. Then there is Pretty Little Liars which stretched a murder mystery further than any show before. I long ago lost track of how many different A’s there have been. And yet, I was never able to stop watching.

3. Prisoner - Ryan Adams (February 17): In the first decade of this century, Ryan Adams put out ten albums, this decade he has only put out two proper albums and none since 2014 (obviously I am not counting his Taylor Swift cover album a “proper” album. After his output last decade, three years is a long time sso hopefully he has a lot of great tunes lined up and no Rihanna covers.

2. Powerless (February 2) – The last couple years saw multiple superhero shows hit the small screen but this current season will only see one network superhero show, and that does not even star someone with powers, hence the title. (Do not fret traditional funny book fans, Legion premieres next week on FX, the ongoing Netflix shows, and ABC has already greenlighted Inhumans to premiere this fall as well as the return of Young Justice to some yet announced channel or possibly streaming service). Instead the show will follow incurrence agents living in a superhero world that sees city blocks destroyed regularly. I cannot wait to not watch this show when it gets demoted to The CW in the fall.

1. On second thought about 2017…