Category: TV Action (Page 37 of 145)

Bret Harrison and Tyler Labine speak out on “Reaper” finale

June 15, 2009 /

I recently had a chance to do a joint phoner with Bret Harrison and Tyler Labine in connection with Season 2 of “Reaper” being released on DVD, though it will probably come as no surprise that a sizable chunk of the conversation ended up being about the likely demise of the series. Rest assured, I pointed out that the general tone of the comments from Premium Hollywood about the season finale…well, at least those of John Paulsen, anyway (though it’s clear others share his opinion, too)…were along the lines of, “Oh, my God, this is the biggest gyp I’ve ever seen in my life!”

“Yeah, I’ve heard a lot of that, too,” laughed Labine. “All in all, maybe it could’ve been a better ending for the season, regardless of whether it was the wrap-up or not, but you have to understand that there were a lot of cooks in the kitchen by the end with, like, where you have to leave it. There were a lot of notes coming down from on high, and I think things just get a little bit scrambled at the end of a show that’s on the bubble, technically. I think we have to give the writers a little bit more credit, but, yeah, I think we were all…well, I guess we can speak freely. The show’s canceled. We weren’t super happy with the ending of the show, I feel. But that’s just me. I don’t know. What about you, Bret?”

“No, no, I wasn’t happy,” admitted Harrison. “But I was excited that I got to play Quarters.

“Oh, yeah,” agreed Labine. “We all were.”

The full interview will appear on Bullz-Eye on Wednesday, but to tease you until then, here are a few more choice quotes from the conversation:

“All in all, for a second season, I thought it went well. We introduced some cool characters. But I can officially go on record now as saying that I was not happy with the storyline with me trying to fuck my stepsister.” – Tyler Labine

“I think they were planning on leading (Alan Townsend, played by Sean Patrick Thomas) to be kind of part of the finale, from the little bit I heard them talking about it, but deals don’t work out all the time, and I don’t really want to get into too much detail, but…it just didn’t work out, for whatever reason.” – Bret Harrison

“If we’d been able to come back and tell the story in Season 3, Andi would’ve been a Reaper, there could’ve been a whole new rebellion with Michael Ian Black as Sam’s guardian angel now, basically, and a full-scale battle between Heaven and Hell might’ve actually started to go on. It would’ve taken a whole new turn.” – Tyler Labine

Admit it: you’re already chomping at the bit for the interview, aren’t you? Stay tuned, “Reaper” fans!

External Entertainment, External TV, Interviews, News, Reaper, TV, TV Action, TV Comedies, TV Dramas, TV DVDs, TV Sci-Fi

A Chat with Antonio Elias

June 12, 2009 /

Can you imagine being an actor who’s worked in TV for the past few years and, when you finally score your first movie gig, it’s “Star Trek”? Nice work if you can get it, as the song says, and Antonio Elias – who plays one of the officers of the Kelvin in the opening sequence of the film – will be the first to tell you that the work was very nice, indeed. We chatted with Elias about how he got into the acting game, got the story on how close he came to picking up a series-regular gig with Dylan McDermott a few years ago, found out a bit more about how “Star Trek” originally would have opened, and learned about his next film, “Spoken Word.”

Stay tuned for…

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External Entertainment, External Movies, External TV, Interviews, Movie Dramas, Movies, News, Sci-Fi Movies, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi

“Generation Kill” is must-see TV

June 10, 2009 /

I just mowed through the seven-hour HBO mini-series, “Generation Kill,” like nobody’s business.

It’s based on Evan Wright’s book of the same name. At the time, Wright was a Rolling Stone writer that was embedded with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion‎ of the United States Marine Corps during the first days of the invasion of Iraq. The teleplay was written by “The Wire” creator David Simon, so it’s no surprise that it has the same gritty feel and sense of humor of that series.

The story revolves around the Hummer in which Wright rode, which often was the point vehicle as the battalion moved deeper into Iraq, but the miniseries branches out at times to follow the events of other parts of the battalion. It relies heavily on the dynamic between Sgt. Brad “Iceman” Colbert and Cpl. Josh Ray Person. The former plays the straight man to the non-stop shtick running from Person’s mouth. This humor balances out the nail-biting intensity of the group’s military missions.

Politically speaking, the miniseries doesn’t get on a soapbox, but it dives into both the positives and negatives that resulted from the invasion. There’s an overwhelming sense of naivety amongst the officers and soldiers about just what kind of a clusterf*ck they were getting themselves into. Once Saddam’s army fell, they thought their mission was over, but little did they know that they were just getting started.

“Generation Kill” is not for the faint of heart, but I’d highly recommend it for anyone who enjoyed “Band of Brothers.” It’s available on DVD now.

For a much more in-depth review, check out Jason Zingale’s take on Bullz-Eye.com.

External Entertainment, External Movies, External TV, Movies, TV Action, TV Dramas

Land of the Lost – Season Three: Enik the Dick

June 5, 2009 /

The third and final season of “Land of the Lost” is often considered the ugly, misshapen, redheaded bastard stepchild of the series. Indeed, if the 13 episodes of which it consists were the only “Land of the Lost” ever created, the show would have been long since forgotten. But it’s worth mentioning that the initial impetus for doing this three part retrospective came from the desire to come to the defense of Season Three, and try to give a little bit of respect to the episodes that are routinely shunned even by the people who display their love of this show as a badge of honor.

Season Three again saw shifts in the production team, and even more noticeably, in front of the camera. As I understand it, Spencer Milligan couldn’t reach an amicable contract agreement and so he abruptly left the show. With his departure came new lyrics for the opening credits:

Will and Holly Marshall
As the earth beneath them trembled
Lost their father through the door of time
Uncle Jack went searching
And found those kids at last
Looking for a way to escape
From the Land of the Lost

Uncle Jack replaced Ranger Rick, and he was played by Ron Harper, best known to genre fans as astronaut Alan Virdon in the TV series incarnation of “Planet of the Apes.” He was a true uncle, rather than a father – instead of being preachy and bestowing wisdom, he was more often than not a man of action; a guy trying to get things done. I like Ron Harper, and if there’s a reason I’ve got some love for Season Three, much of it’s due to his presence. Would Spencer Milligan’s Rick have been as believable in many of these situations? Likely not. He’d accrued too much info during his time in the Land for these stories to work. In contrast, Uncle Jack was experiencing this madness through fresh eyes, and so he was more accepting.

Behind the scenes, Jon Kubichan and Sam Roeca took over as producer and story editor respectively, and between the two of them, they scripted the majority of the season. Their vision of the series was quite the departure from the two seasons that came before. Nearly everything – including the iconic elements such as the Sleestak, the Pakuni and the ubiquitous dinosaurs – got a major overhaul.

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External Entertainment, External TV, Reviews, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas, TV DVDs, TV Sci-Fi

Please, won’t you lend a television critic a hand?

June 4, 2009 /

The Television Critics Association has officially begun the gearing-up process for its 25th annual awards, which will honor the finest work of the 2008-09 season as selected by the association’s 200-plus member critics and journalists. One of those members is yours truly, and I figured I’d see what the readers of Premium Hollywood had to say about the nominations and who they’d like to see win the various categories. I’ll have to submit my votes by June 10th, but since the winners won’t be announced until August 1st (the ceremony takes place at The Langham Huntington Hotel and Spa in Pasadena, CA, with Chelsea Handler opening the ceremony), so speak up quickly. There are a couple of things I’m on the fence about, and I’d be interested to hear your thoughts before I make my final selections.

PROGRAM OF THE YEAR

* “Battlestar Galactica” (SciFi Channel)
* “Lost” (ABC)
* “Mad Men” (AMC)
* “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
* “The Shield” (FX)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY

* “30 Rock” (NBC)
* “The Big Bang Theory” (CBS)
* “The Daily Show” (Comedy Central)
* “How I Met Your Mother” (CBS)
* “The Office” (NBC)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA

* “Breaking Bad” (AMC)
* “Friday Night Lights” (NBC/DirecTV)
* “Lost” (ABC)
* “Mad Men” (AMC)
* “The Shield” (FX)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT MOVIES, MINI-SERIES AND SPECIALS

* Summer Olympic Coverage (NBC)
* “24: Redemption” (Fox)
* “Generation Kill” (HBO)
* “Grey Gardens” (HBO)
* “Taking Chance” (HBO)

OUTSTANDING NEW PROGRAM OF THE YEAR

“Fringe” (Fox)
“The Mentalist” (CBS)
“No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency” (HBO)
“True Blood” (HBO)
“United States of Tara” (Showtime)

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY

* Alec Baldwin (“30 Rock”)
* Steve Carell (“The Office”)
* Tina Fey (“30 Rock”)
* Neil Patrick Harris (“How I Met Your Mother”)
* Jim Parsons (“The Big Bang Theory”)

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA

* Glenn Close (“Damages”)
* Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad”)
* Walton Goggins (“The Shield”)
* Jon Hamm (“Mad Men”)
* Hugh Laurie (“House”)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CHILDREN’S PROGRAMMING

* “Camp Rock” (The Disney Channel)
* “The Electric Company” (PBS)
* “Nick News” (Nickelodeon)
* “Sid the Science Kid” (PBS)
* “Yo Gabba Gabba” (Nickelodeon)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN NEWS & INFORMATION

* “60 Minutes” (CBS)
* “The Alzheimer’s Project” (HBO)
* “Frontline” (PBS)
* “The Rachel Maddow Show” (MSNBC)
* “We Shall Remain” (PBS)

HERITAGE AWARD

* “ER” (NBC)
* “M*A*S*H” (CBS)
* “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
* “The Shield” (FX)
* “Star Trek” (NBC)

24, Battlestar Galactica, External Entertainment, External TV, Friday Night Lights, Lost, News, Saturday Night Live, TCA Press Tour, The Office, The Shield, TV, TV Action, TV Cartoons, TV Comedies, TV Dramas, TV Reality, TV Sci-Fi

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