Rachel and Charlie Matheson spend some overdue quality time together, fabricating chemical warfare materials and debating whether Grandpa Gene should live or die.
“Revolution” 11/13/2013 (spoilers): Benedict Grandpa
Category Archives: TV/DVD
“Sleepy Hollow” 11/11/2013 (spoilers): To Catch a Death
Death doesn’t need eyes to aim!
For those who missed out, my attempt to streamline the basic events follows after this courtesy spoiler alert for the sake of time-shifted viewers.
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“Revolution” 11/6/2013 (spoilers): the Abominable Dr. Horn
For Doctor Horn, life is a big ball of stibby stabby torturey worturey stuff.
One key part that definitely worked: the addition of Ċ½eljko Ivanek as the sinister Dr. Calvin Horn. Before the blackout he toiled away in the Department of Defense’s Alternative Energies Projects division, the same workplace as Ben and Rachel Matheson, whose fault all of this is. He scaled the ladder of post-blackout career advancement and is now “the President’s senior science adviser”, which is more impressive if you accept the Patriots’ as-yet-unseen “President” as the true leader of the withered husk that represents what’s left of America. He doesn’t brook liars, he has his ear on the ground, and he thinks more than one step ahead. He’s not quite up to two steps ahead, but the potential’s in him.
“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”: Exploring the Possibilities of 0.00001% of the Marvel Universe
Drama! Excitement! Danger! Peaceful forest walks!
I’m warming a little more to the show as the weeks progress. I’m no longer wishing for Skye the fake-hobo hacker to be dismissed and dropped off at her van down by the river. I’m no longer letting the mystery of Coulson’s alleged clinical death undermine my attention. I’ve stopped nitpicking at how Agent Ward looks 25 but we’re expected to believe he has the acumen and respectability of a 50-year-old war veteran. And I can’t remember the last time I was distracted by an underbudgeted special effect.
One major disappointment still looms: while it’s nice to see them playing with elements of the Marvel movie universe — what’s stopping them from exploring more deeply into the actual Marvel Universe?
(Fair warning: one bit later in this article is a mild spoiler for tonight’s new episode.)
“Sleepy Hollow” 11/4/2013 (spoilers): Does Sin Taste Like Chicken?
Indignant Minuteman Rages Against Oppressive Umpire.
For those who missed out, my attempt to streamline the basic events follows after this courtesy spoiler alert for the sake of time-shifted viewers.
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“Revolution” 10/30/2013 (spoilers): Tom Neville vs. the Manchurian Son
On tonight’s new episode of The Tom Neville Show, “Dead Man Walking”, the best scene was shockingly not a Neville scene. Near the very end, a new character rides into the town of Willoughby, a mysterious Dr. Horn whose high-level connection to the Patriots implies big trouble ahead for our man Neville and his gang. I’m excited because, even though all Dr. Horn did this week was literally ride into town and wave hi, he’s played by Ċ½eljko Ivanek (at right in the above photo), a recurring supporter from the great Homicide: Life on the Street who’s popped into dozens of movies throughout my lifetime and made them better places to be, for at least the span of his own scenes. If Revolution is adding him as a Big Bad, then…well, between him and last week’s strong episode, I may consider being excited about the frequent scenes that don’t have Giancarlo Esposito in them.
Enough about Ivanek. What about this week in Tom Neville news?
“Revolution” 10/23/2013 (spoilers): Tom Neville on Her Majesty’s Secret Service
Tom Neville, Defender of Wagon Force One!
“Revolution” 10/16/2013 (spoilers): Tom Neville and the Corporate Ladder of Evil
Born down in a dead man’s town! The first kick he took was…and so on.
“Sleepy Hollow” 10/14/2013 (spoilers): the Chaucer Whisperer
BIG ICHABOD IS WATCHING YOU. Even though he has no idea how it works.
For those who missed out, my attempt to streamline the basic events follows after this courtesy spoiler alert for the sake of time-shifted viewers.
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“Revolution” 10/9/2013 (spoilers): Tom Neville for Your Oscar Consideration
If the show must keep swiping episode titles from sources cooler than it is, then “Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun” was a missed opportunity.
“Sleepy Hollow” 10/7/2013 (spoilers): That Distracting Tea Party
What lies within…Item 37? (Hint: it’s bigger than a breadbox, smaller than the Ark of the Covenant.)
For those who missed out, my attempt to streamline the basic events follows after this courtesy spoiler alert for the sake of time-shifted viewers.
So…who wants to learn the Big Bad’s true name? Show of hands?
“Revolution” 10/2/2013 (spoilers): Tom Neville, Undercover Patriot
Tonight on the new episode of NBC’s Revolution, “There Will Be Blood”, the game is afoot for our hero, Tom Neville. The alleged President of the United States of America has returned to the mainland from his/her getaway in Guantanamo Bay and set up camp in Savannah, but his/her representatives are presenting themselves as the people’s rescuers through the use of big fat lies. Our hero knows the truth, believes nuclear madman Randall Flagg was working for them, and can second-guess their devious plan from a mile away: “Create the problem. Be the solution.” And Neville hates it when anyone lies but him.
“Sleepy Hollow” 9/30/2013 (spoilers): Dreams Along the Mohawk
The other six Endless cannot save you now!
For those who missed out, my attempt to streamline the basic events follows after this courtesy spoiler alert for the sake of time-shifted viewers.
“Revolution” 9/25/2013 (spoilers): Nevilles vs. Nukes
Tom Neville is back. And this time…he’s still mad.
Revolution is back! And this time, it’s sorry if it made you unhappy and it swears it can change!
“Sleepy Hollow” 9/23/2013 (spoilers): Donut Hole Tax Reform NOW!
The gentleman doth protest his receipt. From tonight’s cute scene in which Crane learns about the pitfalls of taxation with representation.
For those who missed out, my attempt to streamline the basic events follows after this courtesy spoiler alert for the sake of time-shifted viewers.
Tonight’s Sleepy Hollow was brought to you by Overtaxed Donut Holes. 8.25% government-levied, 100% delicious!
An Old Man’s Poor Little Scorecard for the 2013 Emmys
It’s a major award! To some!
The preceding paragraph was copied-‘n’-pasted from last year’s Emmys entry. Not much has changed, so why reinvent the butter knife?
Back then, I thought it would be fun to sort through all the Emmy nominations just to see how many would actually matter to me. I’d committed to that night’s writing topic before I analyzed the list. My conclusion: it wasn’t fun after all.
This year I altered my approach. Instead of painstakingly scrutinizing every last nominee, I decided to wait until the ceremonies were finished and the results were posted online, then check off only the winners, disregarding any of my shows that were nominated but beaten down.
The results were slightly surprising…
“Sleepy Hollow” 9/16/2013 (spoilers): Death Wields a Mean Shotgun
She’s a medium-town sheriff with FBI dreams. He’s a 250-year-old Minuteman. They fight crime!
With a swing of the axe and a shotgun blast into the air, Fox brazenly kicked off the 2013-2014 fall TV season Monday night with our first new series, Sleepy Hollow. From the early ads its simple but silly premise — Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horsemen, ripped from Washington Irving’s short story and transported to the World of Tomorrow (i.e., today) — felt to me like another uninspired Hollywood reboot, scraping the bottom of the public-domain intellectual-property barrel.
If you don’t mind the occasional hour of loony, far-fetched “popcorn TV”, you can do plenty of fun things with barrel scrapings.
ABC Family Consigns “Bunheads” to One-Season-Wonder Status
One last Bunheads pic for the road: Bailey Buntain, Kaitlyn Jenkins, Emma Dumont, and Julia Goldani Telles.
It’s never easy when one of your favorite shows ends prematurely without a chance for a tidy series finale.
After months of stalling on a decision, ABC Family finally revealed on Monday that Bunheads has been officially canceled. Despite internet buzz among select circles that now qualify for collective relabeling as a “cult following”, ratings among the Nielsen commoners were never great, especially compared to the performance of the rest of ABC Family’s mostly teen-soap lineup.
As created by Gilmore Girls mastermind Amy Sherman-Palladino and a talented staff working with minimal resources, Bunheads was a literate, tragicomic fusion of ballet, Broadway, a female-majority cast, Sorkin-speed dialogue, showtunes, obscure entertainment punchlines from previous decades, dexterous back-and-forth rhythms, and musical numbers not set to the tune of current Top-40 hits or overplayed ’80s oldies. On a broadcast network, a show containing any two of these elements would’ve been lucky to reach episode three, even on the CW.
My âMad Menâ Season 6 Finale Predictions, 100% Accurate on Some Alternate Earth
Cutler and Stan (Harry Hamlin and Jay R. Ferguson) rush to the nearest TV to see what’s in store for their characters.
ABC Family Orders Spelling Bee Game Show, Leaves “Bunheads” Rotting in Limbo
Former child actor Alfonso Ribeiro knows about gamesmanship. (photo credit: RangerRick via photopin cc)
Full credit for my Bunheads fandom goes to an atypical cast, talented crew, shrewd choices in songs and routines, the constant flurry of unpredictable pop-culture riffs, and Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino, who had to know that a ballet dramedy would a hard sell in today’s TV landscape. Alas, too few Nielsen commoners supported its first season to guarantee its renewal, but it beat enough late-night infomercials to merit extended reconsideration by the Powers That Be…who, four months after the season finale, have yet to decide whether it lives or dies.
This same management team had no compunction announcing their latest approved acquisition this week: a weekly spelling bee! Because certified TV scientists have proven in their shiny corporate labs that America loves its game shows, erstwhile Fresh Prince sidekick Alfonso Ribeiro will be hosting the upcoming Spell-Mageddon, in which contestants must refresh themselves on their old high-school vocabulary tests and enter the low-stakes world of competitive spelling, without benefit of Auto-Correct or even Auto-text. Truly this promises to be like an aerial death match without a net.
Midlife Crisis Crossover! 