Category: TV Dramas (Page 108 of 235)

ABC greenlights “V” pilot

January 27, 2009 /

When I was a kid, one of my favorite miniseries was “V,” the story about an alien invasion of Earth. I remember thinking that it was the coolest thing I had seen since “Star Wars.” I watched it again a few years ago and thought it was brutal. Ah, the innocence of childhood!

Anyhoo, according to Variety, ABC has given the go-ahead to a pilot that will re-imagine the ’80s miniseries.

New adaptation of the franchise was written by “The 4400” co-creator/exec producer Scott Peters. Peters is aboard to exec produce along with HDFilms principal Jason Hall. Warner Bros. TV, which was behind the original longform, is producing.

The new “V” centers on Erica Evans, a Homeland Security agent with an aimless son. When the aliens arrive, her son gloms on to them — causing tension within the family.

Like the original, show centers on visitors who say they’ve come to help the Earth — but their motives are nefarious.

“Battlestar Galactica” has set the bar for re-imagined series and I have a feeling that the new version of “V” will be a disappointment. I could never get into “The 4400” — and I love sci-fi — so Scott Peters’ involvement doesn’t fill me with warm, fuzzy feelings. Also, ABC has already bailed on a good alien invasion story — “Invasion” — that had a great cast, so I don’t have confidence that the network knows how to make this kind of story work.

But then again, they gave us “Lost,” so you never know.

Battlestar Galactica, External Entertainment, External TV, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi

Moonlight: The Complete Series

January 26, 2009 /

“Jericho” fans seemed bewildered when, after all the hype their show received upon its last-second reprieve from cancellation, its second season didn’t find a huge surge in viewership. They shouldn’t have been. There have been precious few occasions when series have been saved from oblivion and suddenly had the masses respond by saying, “Wow, you guys were right! This is awesome!” That’s just not how the mind of the average TV viewer works. They’re not thinking, “Say, if all these people like the show that much, there must be something to it.” Obsessive fans freak out the average TV viewers, and their actions generally only serve to convince Joe Average that this show, whatever it may be, can’t possibly live up to the hype that’s being heaped upon it, and since it can’t, then why bother tuning in?

But here’s a dirty little secret for you: the minds of critics have been known to work the exact same way.

“Moonlight” seemed like a perfectly viable concept when it was originally pitched by CBS. Certainly, “Angel” fans were immediately on edge when word got out about this new series about a vampire private detective…and so, for that matter, were the rabid “Forever Knight” aficionados… but, still, it was going to be produced by David Greenwalt, who had actually worked on “Angel,” so there was hope that the vampire mythos would at least be done right. But then things got a little dodgy on the creative end, with cast and creators being switched out left and right, including the aforementioned Mr. Greenwalt, and critics were left lingering in wait for a pilot episode that took forever to come to fruition. Once it did, we were grumpy and, frankly, we just couldn’t see what all the fuss was about…but, dear God, those Alex O’Loughlin fans sure as hell could. They attacked in droves, criticizing my opinion of the series while invariably finding a way to mention how incredibly hot O’Loughlin was in the role of Mick St. John (the aforementioned vampire), yet they rarely offered much in the way of reasons beyond his sex appeal for me to give the show a second chance.

So I didn’t…until now.

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Actors, Actresses, Celebrities, External Entertainment, External TV, Reviews, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas, TV DVDs, TV Sci-Fi

Old Show, New Season (sort of): “The Closer”

January 26, 2009 /

Man, I love “The Closer.”

This should be already be evident to anyone who’s read my reviews of the show’s previous DVD sets over on Bullz-Eye, but even as the show continues onward through its fourth season (tonight brings us the mid-season premiere), it continues to produce episodes which are just as strong now as when it originally premiered. Part of that comes from the fact that its structure feels a bit more free-flowing than your average drama, moving in and out of both the professional and the personal lives of Deputy Police Chief Brenda Johnson – played with a it-grows-on-you Southern drawl by the lovely Kyra Sedgwick – and her fiance, FBI Special Agent Fritz Howard (Jon Tenney). Mostly, though, it’s the combination of a diverse ensemble of actors and a writing team that makes sure to spread the storylines around the offices of the Priority Homicide Division of the LAPD.

As we return to “The Closer,” the wedding of Brenda and Fritz is coming ever closer, so Brenda’s parents – played in their usual fantastic form by Frances Sternhagen and Barry Corbin – have stopped off on their way to Hawaii to help their daughter get fitted for her dress…and find a venue for the ceremony…and pick out the cake. (If you’re surprised by Brenda’s procrastination, you clearly haven’t been watching the show enough.) As ever, however, Brenda finds herself caught up in a case, this time one with a suicide that possibly isn’t a suicide, and it takes up so much of her time that she ends up having to tell one of her patented well-intentioned lies to keep her mama and daddy in the dark. The episode features a horrifying moment that will chill longtime fans of the series to the bone, but it’s one which nonetheless manages to inspire Brenda to follow her intuition toward a break in the case that hadn’t occurred to her before.

Good stuff, as usual, which is no doubt why TNT so readily sent out an advance screener of the episode, but let me tell you in advance that you really, really don’t want to miss the February 9th episode, “Power of Attorney,” which offers an ending that will blow your freaking mind.

You have been warned.

Actors, Actresses, Celebrities, External Entertainment, External TV, Reviews, TV, TV Comedies, TV Dramas

Battlestar Galactica 4.14: A Disquiet That Follows My Soul

January 24, 2009 /

Politics has always played a major role in this series, but lately it has taken a back seat to the more spiritual storylines as the fleet sought out Earth. But as is often the case, when there’s a spiritual crisis, there are people who would seek to capitalize and attempt to seize power, and that’s just what Tom Zarek tried to do this week.

The disagreement revolved around an FTL upgrade that would require Cylons to board all of the ships in the fleet. The upgrade would (at least) triple the chances of the fleet finding a suitable planet to colonize, but the Cylons want full citizenship in return. Zarek and his supporters don’t want the any part of a permanent alliance with the Cylons.

Strictly speaking, this felt like a setup episode, and was a bit tedious at times. However, there were a couple of major plot points. First, we learned that Tyrol is not Nicholas’ father. I thought for a moment that the father would turn out to be another major (or minor) character, but it turned out to be some dude we’ve never seen before a very minor character, Hot Dog, so it was kind of a letdown. I wonder if this was the plan all along with Nicholas or if it was a last-minute decision by the creators to wrap up his storyline.

The other major revelation was Gaeta’s decision to align himself with Zarek. After Bill nimbly tricked Zarek into giving up the position of the fuel ship, I thought the politicking might be over for a while, but it looks as if Gaeta intends to lead some sort of an uprising. It’s kind of surprising, really – Felix has never been all that popular with the crew, but now he’s going to rally the troops? It just seems odd is all.

Meanwhile, it appears that Roslin has checked out. Given the show’s penchant for twists and turns, it has always been in the back of my mind that she was in fact not the “dying leader” that found a home for the fleet. It will be interesting to see how this storyline shakes out, because more and more it looks as if Bill is taking over control of the fleet’s direction.

Two more things about this episode…

– I loved Baltar’s line at the beginning of his speech: “Are you all just children? Well, obviously, you’re a child.”

– Something is going on with the nurse in the infirmary. When Tigh and Six were looking at the ultrasound and talking about the “future of the Cylon race,” the nurse was looking awfully suspicious. It’s possible that her reaction was meant to characterize the uncertainty of the fleet about its association with the enemy, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if she tries to do something to Six’s baby.

It wasn’t a bad episode; it was just kind of slow and lacking drama. Based on the scenes from next week, it looks like things will pick up very soon.

Battlestar Galactica, External Entertainment, External TV, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi

“Lie to Me” beats “Lost” premiere

January 23, 2009 /

I’m stunned.

Lie to Me pulled in 12.4 million viewers and a 4.9 rating/12 share among the 18-49 demo, but lost a substantial amount of viewers over the course of its 60 minutes. I guess people were waiting for Tim Roth to sing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Lost’s two-hour premiere averaged 11.4 million viewers but grabbed a 5/12 in the 18-49 demo–just barely topping Lie to Me.

Lost’s premiere was down 25 percent from last season in the prized demo, but had more competition in the form of whatever-is-on-behind-American Idol. Surprisingly, the one-hour clip-show of Lost fared fairly well against Idol, raking in 8.4 million and a 3.3/9. Lost’s numbers are expected to go up dramatically thanks to those people in your office who are running around with their hands clasped over their ears screaming, “Don’t tell me! Don’t tell me!” because they’re going to watch it tonight on their DVRs.

This is a classic battle between a procedural show and one with a serialized format. It sounds like “Lie to Me” lost a good portion of its viewers throughout the hour, so it will be interesting to see how the show does next week. Many people watch the premiere of a new show (especially one with as much pub as “Lie to Me” received from Fox) and decide then if they’re going to return the following week. Sounds like more than a few people decided midstream that it wasn’t for them.

External Entertainment, External TV, Lost, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi

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