Category: External TV (Page 161 of 419)

Baccano!: Volume Three

The third volume of “Baccano!” is decidedly less plot-heavy than the two that came before it, but what it lacks in exposition, it more than makes up for with a relentless supply of bloody, bloody violence. Though the series has certainly featured its share of bullets, knives and soul-sucking immortals in the past, Volume Three goes into overdrive as the Flying Pussyfoot literally transforms into death on wheels. The bloodbath isn’t just the work of the Rail Tracer, either, but he does figure heavily into the story this time around due in part to the fact that he’s finally properly introduced. As it turns out, the Rail Tracer isn’t much of a demon at all (at least, not in the traditional sense), but rather Claire Stanfield (now going by the name Vino), who’s adopted the persona of the Rail Tracer for his own amusement. Meanwhile, Ladd gets into a fight with Chane on top of the Flying Pussyfoot; Rachel (the mysterious woman seen on the outside of the train in Volume Two) is revealed to be working as a spy for the Daily Days; and Czeslaw is killed several times, only to be revived by the powers of the elixir. This might just be the craziest batch of episodes yet, but with tensions at an all-time high and plenty of questions still left unanswered, the fourth and final volume should easily trump that.

Click to buy “Baccano!: Volume Three”

A Chat with “Harper’s Island” Victim #9

This was, for my money, the best episode of “Harper’s Island” to date. It was fast-moving, full of action, scares, and information. More importantly, however, the characters finally started to get to the same approximate place that we the viewers are. So raise your hands: who was surprised to see this week’s victim get it? There was a constant suspicion that, as a suspect, this person was almost too likely to be the killer, but having their name taken off the list leaves the pool as wide open as it’s ever been.

Head over the interview with this week’s victim. It’s waiting for you after the jump…

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There is No Such Thing as a Free Movie

There is absolutely no doubt that the way we watch movies is changing, and changing fast. The film business has managed to avoid the wholesale slaughter of the music industry because of the higher bandwidth needed to convey a movie and the importance (to some of us, anyway) of picture and sound quality. Still, it’s only a matter of time before movies become easily available online, and distinctions between computers and TV sets as entertainment delivery systems is breaking down rapidly.

Hulu has become huge overnight by breaking down the barrier for TV shows and a limited but interesting selection of films despite sometimes erratic technical performance issues (at least on my iMac). Disney/ABC, Universal/NBC and, of course, the brain eating aliens are involved, though the enterprise was started by a force far more sinister and implacable: Rupert Murdoch’s NewsCorp.

Mashable’s Ben Parr today writes about Epix, which he describes as a joint venture of Paramount, Lionsgate, and MGM. Parr was allowed an early look at the site and, as a film fanboy, it sounds pretty great. If I understand it correctly, you would get the service as part of your cable TV or satellite package and would then be able to choose from a Hulu-like library to view either on television or via computer. If you’re into this stuff, you really should read for yourself. For me, one interesting aspect is that it’s unclear how deep that library would be, both because of marketing issues and because of the various confusing deals that have been struck over the years for MGM’s huge back catalog. (If you’re a masochist or just dig this stuff, here’s a Wikipedia taste.)

It all sounds great to me, except, just as there may be with Hulu, much as I enjoy the service it provides, it strikes me that there could be some anti-trust issues here. Or not. I’m only a lawyer in my mother’s fantasies. Cord Bloomquist, however, has a good rundown of the situation vis a vis Hulu from a libertarian perspective, but I’m no libertarian when it comes to megabusiness. I’m really more of a latte-sipping Hollywood (well, Anaheim) librul who thinks that media consolidation is perhaps the single most serious issue underlying all the other issues we deal with, so I’m a bit suspicious of all the studios getting into bed together for these kind of things.

Short version: Bob the liberal is wary, but Bob the movie geek is intrigued. And, let’s face it, one way or another, this the direction we’re going in. I’d just like to see more flowers blooming.

Get ready for Top Chef Masters on Bravo this Wednesday June 10

If you’ve been jonesing for your “Top Chef” fix since Hosea was crowned Season 5 champ a few months back, you’re in for a summer treat–a new reality series called “Top Chef Masters.” Unlike the original series, “Masters” pits top-notch professional chefs against one another each week for charity, and then the winners of the first six rounds will square off the last few weeks of the season, with one chef being eliminated each week until someone is named Top Chef Master. That winner will receive $100,000 for their charity.

Guest stars and judges will include Neil Patrick Harris, Zooey Deschanel and Jeff Lewis, as well as “Top Chef” regulars Tom Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi and Gail Simmons.

The first episode airs this Wednesday, June 10 on Bravo at 10pm ET/PT and 9pm central and will feature chefs Hubert Keller, Christopher Lee, Tim Love, and Michael Schlow. Hosting the show is Kelly Choi, food journalist and creator/producer/host of “Eat Out NY.”

After watching a screener of the first episode, I can only say that I cannot wait to see more of this show and to see how it all unfolds over the course of the summer. It doesn’t matter if you’ve seen “Top Chef” before or not–if you’re a foodie, or if you just like good reality TV, you’ll want to watch this or season pass it on your TiVo. We’ll also be blogging the show each Thursday after Wednesday’s episode, so follow it all here on Premium Hollywood as well.

The Next Food Network Star: Into the fire to start Season 5

Nothing like being thrown into the fire, huh? Last night, Season 5 of “The Next Food Network Star” kicked off with the ten finalists meeting in their cramped living quarters, and then being basically being thrown into a cage with wild animals…..well, you know what I mean. They had to cater a party for the network’s “sweet 16” party, where celebrities and Food Network stars would be eating their creations and critiquing them. Yikes.

The ten (Brett August (Washington Heights, N.Y.), Katie Cavuto (Philadelphia, Pa.), Melissa d’Arabian (Keller, Texas), Teddy Folkman (Alexandria, Va.), Eddie Gilbert (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), Jen Isham (Orlando, Fla.), Debbie Lee (West Hollywood, Calif.), Jamika Pessoa (Atlanta, Ga.), Michael Proietti (New York, N.Y.) and Jeffrey Saad (Los Angeles, Calif.). were broken up into two teams of five, with Bobby Flay picking those teams. Bretty, Teddy, Jamika, Melissa, and Jen made up one team and Michael, Debbie, Katie, Jeffrey and Eddie the other. Each team had $1200 to shop for their ingredients and five hours to prepare their dishes. The event would be held at Alex Guarnaschelli’s Butter restaurant.

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