Category: TV (Page 446 of 595)

Better late than never: “The Tudors”

April 17, 2007 /

“You think you know a story, but you only know how it ends; to get to the heart of the story, you have to go back to the beginning.” So it is said at the beginning of the opening credits for Showtime’s new series, “The Tudors.”

I know, I know: new is relative. The show premiered on April 1st – in fact, it was the highest rated debut for any original series in the history of the network – so I’m probably one of the last people to get around to investigating this show, but I’ve finally had the chance to check out the first few episodes, and lemme tell ya, it ain’t bad.

Now, of course, by “it ain’t bad,” I first and foremost mean that it’s full of sex and violence, two things that tend to make any show worthy of investigation by a red-blooded American male. Understand that I’m not looking to dumb it down by claiming that those are the only two reasons to check it out; it’s just that there are no less than four sex scenes in the first episode alone, so it’s not as though you can really ignore that particular aspect of the series.

The series – intended to run for only 10 episodes – explores the early years of the reign of King Henry VIII of England. Jonathan Rhys Meyers stars as the King, and he does a fine job, but the real star of the show is Sam Neill, who plays Cardinal Wolsey; his performance might not be up the the standards set by Orson Welles and John Gielgud in their respective turns in “A Man for All Seasons,” but there’s little question that he raises the level of class within “The Tudors” considerably. The stand-out amongst the more fresh faces of the cast is Steven Waddington, who plays the Duke of Buckingham.

The show looks gorgeous, flows along at a rapid clip, and it’s extremely easy to get caught up in it; I’m not always swept up in period pieces so immediately, but “The Tudors” captures your attention from the start. Yes, as the narration freely admits, you do know how this story ends…but the events leading to that point are not quite so well-documented in film or on television. Given the the explicit nature, you won’t be seeing this show up on a necessary-viewing list for any high school history classes, but “The Tudors” continues to build Showtime’s slate of high-quality original programming to levels which should have HBO concerned.

UPDATE: So much for that 10-episode plan. Showtime has renewed the series for a second season. Sweet, does this mean it’s time to start making shit up?

External Entertainment, External TV, Reviews, TV

24, Hour 18: This is your brain. This is your brain on adrenaline. Any questions?

April 17, 2007 /

Scout’s honor: from the moment that Wheelbarrow Wayne said that he was getting out of the bunker to give his press conference, I said out loud, “Oh good, that way you can die on national television.” Come on, you all saw this coming, right? He had all of his ducks in a row. The suitcase nukes were secured, and Senator Roark was planning to resign. As a favor to Jack – and frankly, Wayne did owe Jack, since Jack agreed to be Wayne’s martyr a mere 17 hours earlier – he agreed to a zany plan to extract Audrey Raines from the clutches of the Chinese that involved potentially handing over Russian missile technology to the Chinese. There is no way in hell that the leader of any country agrees to this, of course, but dammit, we have six hours to kill.

Like I said, it was all in the cards. Wayne had to take a fall. And Roark didn’t waste any time swinging his dick around, smacking Karen Hayes on the forehead with it the first chance he got. Big surprise, that, though I did get a big laugh out of his assistant’s reaction when he said, before the President collapsed and Roark was planning on resigning, “At least we’ll have more time to spend together.” She seemed completely repulsed by the idea. That better come into play before season’s end.

The entire time that Jack was making his Draconian deal with the Chinese, I’m thinking, “Tell Buchanan.” Not because I thought that CTU would go along with it, but because I have grown tired of Jack always having to double-deal. When Morris forced Chloe’s hand, I was actually pleased. And when Palmer went down, I knew that the first thing Roark would do was repeal that order. Hell, I would have done the same thing in his shoes. I’m sorry, you want to give the Chinese what, exactly? Um, no. Sorry dude, tough break for your girlfriend. Pity her other TV show was canceled, or she wouldn’t be in this position.

So Jack has gone rogue, whatever the hell that means anymore. Roark has assumed the presidency for the foreseeable future, and I’m guessing his first Presidential act will be to have the Biscuit drawn and quartered on the White House lawn. Chloe has been taken out of the loop as Jack’s lifeline…oh, hell, I’ve already gotten bogged down in more minutiae than the writers have. But if the writers must remember one thing, it’s that we still haven’t forgotten that they have yet to reveal what Wayne had to do to get Jack out of prison in the first place. We won’t suffer flogging as well as Karen Hayes does. In fact, I’m pretty sure the Neilsen numbers already reflect that.

24, External TV, TV, TV Action

Can we save “Friday Night Lights”?

April 16, 2007 /

Any FNL fans out there? Last fall, I put “Friday Night Lights” on my list of five new shows that must survive the season, and it hasn’t disappointed. Simply stated, it’s one of the best-written and best-acted shows on television. Other than “Heroes,” I can’t think of a new show that’s any better than “Friday Night Lights.” It has struggled at times with its ratings, but it’s up against the “American Idol” juggernaut, so it’s tough to say how the show would do against normal competition.

The ratings have increased as the year has worn on, and CNN has reported that NBC has ordered six new scripts for a second season. This doesn’t mean that the show has been picked up for another year, but it’s a reason to be hopeful.

If you’re interested in watching the show, NBC has decided to stream the entire season on their website and if you’re already a fan, be sure to sign the petition to save the show. (Don’t worry, you don’t have to contribute any money to show your support.) I’m sure the network is keeping track of how many people are watching episodes online (as well as the petition) to get a feel for its potential audience next season, so here’s a case where you can actually help save a wonderful show.

External TV, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas

“Back in a flash, baby!”

April 16, 2007 /

Mr. Zingale is away this week, so I’ll be stepping in to handle all of your “Entourage” needs. With none of the major storylines moving forward, this week’s episode could be considered filler, but for the most part, it was good filler.

E and Vince attempt to plan a couples weekend in Napa, only Vince isn’t in a relationship and Sloan would rather have E to himself. While things stayed pretty light, Sloan could eventually threaten the Vince/E friendship. She seems a little manipulative (consider the secret smile at the end of the episode) and has acted a bit insecure about where she stands in E’s life. (On a side note, Carla Gugino was completely wasted this week as Vince stalled on the Sam Mendes project. Amanda has spunk and she is a great foil for Ari – let’s hope that her character sticks around for a while. For those interested in seeing a little more of Gugino, check out these racy stills [copy link and paste into your browser] from her appearance in “Sin City.” She just might be the hottest 36 year-old on the planet.)

In by far the least interesting thread of the week, Turtle and Drama are up their old tricks, doing anything and everything to……um……get laid. The lame storyline reminded me of the schticky Turtle/Drama that we had to endure during the show’s first season. The characters developed a lot more depth during season two, and it really helped the show as a whole, but this episode represented a giant step backward for the duo.

Meanwhile, it’s clear that the Vince/Ari split has been good for the show. It has allowed the writers to develop the Ari/Lloyd relationship, and this week Ari showed that he does indeed have a soul when he saved Lloyd from a rough night with a potential client. We here at Premium Hollywood have always been big fans of these two, whether it’s Ari and his quips (“Sacrifice, Lloyd. Like the kamikaze pilots used to do” or “Know that today your love of cock is a huge asset to the company.”) or Lloyd’s undying (and sometimes mystifying) loyalty. If they’re able to thrive in a non-Vince universe (and they certainly did this week), it should provide a lot of juicy storylines in the weeks to come.

Entourage, External TV, TV, TV Comedies

Well…you DID have his fiancee whacked

April 15, 2007 /

There was a very telling moment in tonight’s episode, and as is often the case, it came in Dr. Melfi’s office. After attending a screening for “Cleaver,” Chris’ just-wrapped horror flick, Tony breaks down and tells Dr. Melfi that Chris despises him. It was obvious during the screening that the boss in the film, played by Daniel Baldwin (“Fuck Ben Kinglsey. Danny Baldwin took him to fucking acting school!”), was based on Tony – the open white bathrobe in the basement scene was a dead giveaway – but not until Carm confronted Tony about the scene where Baldwin fucks the fiancée of Michael “The Cleaver” did Tony stop to think about what that could mean.

So Tony tells Dr. Melfi about how Chris was more like a son after Chris’ dad died, and it bothered him that Chris now seemed to hate him. In fact, the big fella actually broke down and cried during the session before saying, “He wants to see me dead,” a reasonable conclusion considering Baldwin (I didn’t catch his character’s name in the movie) wound up with a cleaver in his skull. But here’s the thing: Tony didn’t seem too concerned about the possibility of Chris making a move against him; he was broken up by the fact that – by his estimation, anyway – Chris despises him.

By this point I think everyone can agree that, whatever goes down in these final few episodes, Chris is going to be right in the middle of it. What exactly that means, of course, remains to be seen, but after agent Harris told Tony that he had recently talked to Chris before adding, “maybe he never told you about it,” I’m hanging on to my original theory: Chris is going to rat Tony out. Maybe he really does despise Tony after having Adrianna killed, or maybe he’s just trying to save his own ass, but all the signs are there, including the scene tonight where Chris was talking to Shooter McGavin (for all you “Happy Gilmore” fans out there) and an FBI agent showed up to talk to him.

Of course, the possibility exists that David Chase is leading me around by my nose and he wants everyone, including Tony, to think that Chris has flipped. That could very well be the case, but at the very least it’s clear that Chris, like little Carmine, has started to distance himself from the family, intentionally or not. He’s clean (allegedly), he’s got a wife and a baby now, and his movie is about to hit theaters. Chris seems to be following Carmine’s lead and trying to find happiness in his life.

Not much happiness in the New York family these days, though. Stage 4 lung cancer took Johnny Sack out at the end of the episode while everyone – even people on the freaking news – speculated about who would be his replacement. Phil apparently doesn’t want the gig after his heart condition last season, and the apparent favorite, Jerry Torciano, was whacked while having dinner with Sil and some lovely ladies in the coolest scene of the episode. Meanwhile, Tony wants Carmine to take over but, as he told Tony over lunch, he’s not interested, and his reasoning certainly seemed to strike a chord with Tony. Is it time for Tony to find happiness in his life? Is that even possible at this point?

I’ve heard and read complaints by people who say not enough happens on “The Sopranos” anymore, but I don’t think those people are appreciating the story that Chase is creating. This is a mob show, sure, but it doesn’t need to be all guns and blood and “fuggedaboutits”. Chase is building toward something, with the trouble brewing between Tony and Chris, last week’s brawl between Tony and Bobby, the drama in New York and the potential problem Phil poses, and Carm’s refusal to leave the Adrianna situation alone. And beneath it all runs Tony’s mounting questions about the choices he’s made and the state of his life, capped off by the fact that the guy he loves like a son seemingly hates him. Changes are coming, big things will happen. Maybe they’re not happening fast enough for some fans, or maybe there just aren’t enough corpses along the way. But as long as Chase gives us the payoff he seems to be moving toward, I’m going to enjoy the ride.

External Entertainment, External TV, The Sopranos, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas

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